Category: News

A CLARE-based freight and transport service provider, Eoin Gavin Transport, has won a prestigious industry award at the third annual TPN Awards. The awards are designed to reward excellence and to raise the standards and public perception of the freight and logistics industry in Ireland. TPN (The Pallet Network) members from around the country voted in the awards, judging their peers on their performance in categories such as customer service and contribution to the national network.

Mairead Barrett, a longstanding employee, was awarded the TPN Outstanding Contribution Award 2010 for the depot. The award recognises excellent service for the customer and business and contribution to the overall success of TPN. Eoin Gavin, Managing Director, said, “We were delighted to hear that Mairead achieved such an award for the company, particularly in this difficult economic climate. The team have worked incredibly hard over the last year and it is great to be recognised by peers in the industry and within The Pallet Network. These awards demonstrate how the transport and logistics industry has radically changed the way it operates and reflects the forward thinking of transport, logistics and freight companies like Eoin Gavin Transport.”

Operating from a purpose-built 5,000 square foot warehouse in Bunratty, Eoin Gavin Transport currently employs over 15 staff with a fleet of 13 trucks. Via the TPN network, the company provides domestic overnight delivery to the 32 counties and 48-hour delivery to the UK, as well as international express deliveries. TPN is the only network in Ireland or the UK that has achieved ISO9001:2000 accreditation for all depots across the country and was also recently awarded the internationally recognised standard for Quality Management Systems, ISO9001:2008.

A NORTH Clare road, which was severely damaged during the construction of a water scheme more than two years ago, was described as nothing mote than a “cow path” at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting of Clare County Council.

The road, which is located in the Dromoher/Crossard area of north Clare, was down for inclusion in the annual roadwork’s programme in 2010 but was dropped due to lack of funding.

Speaking on a motion put forward on yesterday’s meeting, Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) urged the road to be included as a priority for the 2011 programme.

“It’s almost not a road anymore, it’s a cow path. Just because these people live in rural Ireland, they pay their road tax, it doesn’t mean that they are not entitled to a half decent road to go to work and to the shops on.

“If there is to be any road works budget this year, we need the message going forward to have this road dealt with. We had an understanding before that roads which were withdrawn in 2009 were on the programme for 2010. I think the same situation should be used for this road, which was withdrawn because of lack of funding in 2010.”

TWO Fianna Fáil councillors yesterday blamed the former Minister for the Environment and Green Party leader, John Gormley, for the failure of many rural sewage schemes in Clare to gain funded over the past two year.

Commenting on a motion in relation to the Miltown Malbay wastewater treatment plant put forward by Cllr Michael Hillary (FF) at yesterday’s North Clare Area Meeting, Cllr Richard Nagle and Michael Kelly claimed that a combination of red-tape and a bias in favour of Dublin projects, resulted in a number of Clare projects not going ahead over the past few years.

“I would hope that when we have a new Minister for the Environment, that the first thing that is done is to simplify the process of applying for a treatment plant,” said Cllr Nagle.

“Over the last number of years the system has been so bureaucratic that we did not do very well in the number of projects which got funding. It seems that the priority was given to larger development in places in the surrounds of Dublin. We were definitely the poor relation. The last thing that we need is that there remains so much bureaucracy that it continues to bogs down the whole process.”

According to Cllr Michael Kelly, the proposed redevelopment of the Miltown Malbay sewage system and a number of other projects would have received funding had it not been from red-tape from the Department of the Environment.

“We are now in the unhappy situation where sewerage systems would have been put through by now had it not been for the bureaucracy of the Department of the Environment,” he said.

“This was not the fault of Clare County County, it was a bureaucracy land mine,” Cllr Kelly concluded.

This debate was sparked off by a motion from Cllr Michael Hillery, who is worried that the Miltown Malbay wastewater treatment system will not be granted an EPA licence for 2011.

“We have been looking for a proper sewerage system in Miltown Malbay for many years but with the financial situation at the moment that wont be happening for awhile. However, the system in Miltown does need to be upgraded if it is to get a EPA licence,” said Cllr Hillery.

“The sewerage system there was built in the 1940’s and is not suitable to deal with the increase in population which has taken place over the last few years.”

THE MAIN road between Ennistymon and Lahinch came within an inch of being closed over the Christmas period, it was revealed at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting of Clare County Council.

The road, which carries an estimated 20,000 cars per week during the winter months, was severely damaged as a result of the pre-Christmas cold snap, with local authority crews forced to conduct daily emergency repairs on the road.

Despite these efforts, a large number of minor accidents were reported on the road during the Christmas period.

Responding to a motion put forward by Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) at yesterday’s meeting in Ennistymon, council engineer Stephen Lahiffe said that the road “was in danger of being closed” over the Christmas period.

This section of the N67 is one of the main routes in north Clare and is also a major tourism artery, carrying more than € 1 million visitors to the Burren each year.

Clare County Council yesterday confirmed that a new contractor has been hired to strengthen and tar the road with works expected to get underway in five weeks. This follows difficulty in engaging a contractor before Christmas, with one chosen contractor going into liquidation and a second being unable to raise a bond for the project.

“The money is still there and work will start in the next five weeks and that is good news. I would hope that when the work is completed that we will have a state of the art road between Ennistymon and Lahinch,” said Cllr Nagle.

“I have been inundated with complains about the state of the road over the last few weeks. That there had to be daily works carried the road just to keep it open shows how bad it was.”

Seconding the motion, local councillor Martin Conway (FG), said that the road should have been prioritised long ago.

“This is the main connnectivity route to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. Even at off peak we are talking about 20,000 cars per week and much more in the summer,” he said.

“This is one of the most used stretches of road in the county. Really and truly it should have been prioritiesed long ago. I would like to commend the council for the work they have done to keep it open. It is just such a pity that so many small acident had to take place on the road over the last while.”

A MAN ACCUSED of assaulting his former partner has had his bail revoked after gardaí claimed in court that he breached a condition of bail.

Larry Connors (18), with an address at Town Court, Shannon, is facing three charges of assaulting his 18-year-old former partner in Shannon on various dates in December.

He was brought before a special sitting of Ennis District Court last Saturday week, where bail was granted, despite Garda objections on the grounds that the alleged victim would be “terrorised” by the accused.

During that court sitting, a senior garda said that the accused was in a relationship with the alleged victim “and in recent times that relationship turned violent”.

He said the woman is the mother of a 10-month baby boy and “during the course of these (alleged) assaults, she was caring for her child and had her child in her arms”.

He said that the baby was taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick with serious injuries including a burn mark, two broken arms – one of which was broken in three places – a broken leg and multiple bruising to the body. “The State says (the woman) was assaulted at the same time the child was assaulted,” said Inspector Tom Kennedy. However, no charges have been brought in relation to the baby.

A number of bail conditions were attached, including that the accused stay away from the alleged injured party and her family.

Mr Connors appeared before Ennis District Court on Friday, charged with trespass and engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour, at an address in Shannon, the previous evening, January 13. Inspector Kennedy applied to revoke the defendant’s bail, saying it would be alleged by gardaí that Mr Connors breached a condition of his bail. “He was to have no contact with the injured party. We say he contacted the injured party,” he said. The woman who Mr Connors is alleged to have assaulted then told the court that she was at home the previous evening. Asked did the accused contact her, she said, “He didn’t contact me. I was in the kitchen. He was chatting to my mother outside.” Inspector Kennedy asked her did she receive phone calls and text messages from the accused, to which she replied, “I never received them. I didn’t have the phone.” Defence solicitor Caitriona Carmody then submitted to the court that there was no evidence that the accused had breached bail. The woman’s mother then told the court that her daughter is fearful of the accused. She said that Mr Connors called to their home the previous evening and asked to speak to her daughter. “I wouldn’t allow him to because he wasn’t allowed to come anywhere near us,” she said. She said that he then started shouting and got “very violent”. “He said, ‘If you don’t get out of the way, I’ll hit you to get to (her daughter),” she told the court. She told the court that Mr Connors sent a number of text messages and made a number of phone calls to a phone owned by him but which was in the possession of her daughter.

“My daughter is a nervous wreck. I’m nervous myself,” she said.

Ms Carmody put it to her that her daughter said she had not received phone calls. The woman replied, “She was in the hospital. I had the phone.”

While the woman was giving evidence, Mr Connors shouted from his seat in the courtroom. He was ordered to remain silent by Judge Eamon O’Brien, who later told the solicitor: “You might advise him about his demeanour in court.”

Mr Connors took the stand and told the court he was not at the woman’s house the previous evening. Asked why would the woman’s mother claimed that he was, he replied, “Because she hates me with a passion.”

Ms Carmody submitted to the court that the woman’s evidence was “compelling. She didn’t appear to me to be petrified or scared.” The judge replied, “Are you suggesting her mother does not know her daughter?”

The solicitor said her client “has vehemently protested his innocence.” She said there was a “total conflict. The evidence is not clear cut.”

However, the judge said he was satisfied with the evidence from the woman’s mother and revoked bail. Mr Connors was remanded in custody to appear again in court later this week.

A MAN who is serving a six-year jail sentence for killing a 14-year-old boy during an Ennis street row is attempting to bring a case to the Supreme Court, after he lost his appeal against a conviction for manslaughter last July.

Michael Doherty, who lived at Ashline, Ennis, died as a result of a fight outside Supermac’s restaurant on O’Connell Street, Ennis, on June 23, 2007. He died from a single stab wound, having been knifed with a Swiss army knife.

John McGovern (21), of Ballyduff, Barefield, Ennis, was found not guilty of murder by a jury at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Ennis, in February 2009, but guilty of manslaughter. He later appealed the conviction, but lost the appeal at the Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA).

However, McGovern succeeded in his application to have a conviction for possession of a knife on the night of the boy’s death set aside.

His legal team has now made an application to the court to bring an appeal of the CCA decision to the Supreme Court.

This application before the CCA will be heard in three weeks’ time, after which time the CCA will decide whether the case can go before the Supreme Court.

“The Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) will hear the application. If you lose an appeal, you can seek leave to bring a further appeal on a point of law of public importance. He has applied to bring that and that will be heard in the Court of Criminal Appeal.”

AN Ennis mother has teamed up with an All-Ireland dance champion to allow children with special needs to pursue their dancing dreams.

The Sparks Dance School in Ennis has been hosting classes in hip-hop for children of all ages with moderate to general learning disabilities and children with autism spectrum disorders.

The classes started last November and are the brainchild of local woman Margaret Hargaden.

Margaret, whose daughter Shona attends classes and competed for Clare at last summer’s Special Olympics, said she wanted to create an environment where children with special needs could meet outside of school hours.

Margaret explained, “Shona couldn’t be meeting her friends after school, they are from all over the county. She needed something. I just wanted her to have a bit of exercise and one other parent asked me, was there anything? I said no one’s going to do anything so I just said, right, I’ll do it”.

Margaret said there has been plenty of interest in the classes from children and parents alike.

She said, “I put posters up in CEIS and in Clare Crusaders and literally it snowballed from that. People just got in touch and it went from there. They love it. I had said every two weeks, but I think we’re going to go every week. They all want it. We never have less than seven but we can have up to 17. It can be fairly manic.”

Margaret continued, “The parents get to meet up. It’s really helpful for us as well. The parents that have to go can go if they have to go somewhere and I have a number I can ring them or text them if a child is upset or anything. If there is any issue, I can get them to come back. They’ll only be 10 minutes away anyway.”

The success of the classes owes much, Margaret said, to the guidance of instructor and All-Ireland champion dancer Mikey O’Loughlin.

Margaret said, “Mikey is brilliant. He’s adapted because some of the kids would’ve problems with noise, if it’s very loud the minute they come in. So Mikey starts it very gradually and he builds it up. Whereas that won’t happen if you go into an ordinary class. It would be too loud. With the lights then as well, he’ll see if they are all ok. He’s adapting to their needs literally.”

Founded in 2000 by local woman Lordes O’Donoghue, Sparks Dance School teaches all styles of modern dance with classes for children, teenagers and adults.

A WEEK is a long time in politics and in that very long week for Fianna Fáil in Clare it has turned its fortunes around from a party that was grappling to find a candidate to one that is now confident it can retain its two seats in Clare.

Nationally the party faces political meltdown when it goes to the people in the coming months, but in Clare the soldiers of destiny have begun fighting back with a new private of strong political pedigree.

Dr John Hillery, the 53-year-old son of the late President Paddy Hillery, will join sitting TD Timmy Dooley on the ticket, just ten days after the shock announcement that Minister Tony Killeen is to retire.

In Fine Gael uncertainty still surrounds the number of candidates that will remain on the ticket, with pressure coming on one of its former TDs to run as an Independent candidate in west Clare.

Speculation is mounting that Cllr Joe Cooney, a poll topper in the 2009 local elections will be added to the Fine Gael ticket, while The Clare People can reveal that former Fine Gael TD Madeleine Taylor-Quinn has been approached by a group of people from west Clare who believe the way is open for a west Clare TD. The Moyasta woman refuses to say if she is even considering such a proposition as potential candidates still meet with Fine Gael management.

Meanwhile, Labour is beginning to up the pressure in the constituency with the arrival of party leader Eamon Gilmore on Thursday next to support the party’s hopeful in Clare – Michael McNamara.

THE impact of last month’s freezing weather continues to be felt with one Ennis music school forced to re-locate due to serious water damage.

Repairs to Maoin Cheoil an Chláir are expected to continue for five months after water tank and pipes burst at the school building at Erasmus Smith House, College Road, Ennis.

The school, which was founded by Fr Harry Bohan and Mícheal Ó’Súilleabháin in 1994, provides lessons in classical and traditional mu- sic to young musicians. Lessons will now be given at the nearby St Mary’s Hall for the duration of repairs.

“We are lucky because the hall is right beside us and that wasn’t damaged. There was a lot of damage but we managed to get everything out this week,” said school director Hans Boller. “When the thaw set in there was so much pressure, the pipes just burst. The water came running down the walls and out of the sockets.”

The water supply situation has stabilised in Clare but the mayor of Ennis, Cllr Tommy Brennan, has warned that water meters may have to be re-installed to avoid being damaged during periods of low temperatures. Cllr Brennan told the January meeting of Ennis Town Council that sub-zero ground temperatures had destroyed many meters. It is thought that hundreds of water meters in the Ennis area were badly damaged by cold weather.

Speaking during Private Members time in Dáil Eireann last week, Fine Gael’s spokesperson on Overseas Aid, Human Rights and Clare TD Pat Breen paid tribute to council staff and the local fire service for their efforts during the recent water crisis. “I commend the local authorities on the work they did and in particular Clare County Council in my constituency and the local fire service which mobilised water tankers and set up standpipes in the affected areas. That was done very quickly and these people are to be commended for this. Throughout the holiday period local authorities had to deal with thousands of leaks and it put considerable pressure on local authorities. I am told that in Ennis alone there were 360 breaks since St Stephen’s Day in one small area, which shows the extent of the problem.”

IT HAS happened in the past and will probably happen again, that when Clare Fianna Fáil backs are to the wall, the soldiers of destiny come out fighting.

Sunday’s convention was no exception with Fianna Fáil man John O’Rourke leading the charge.

Many arrived at the West County expecting a despondent and defeated party but finding a new candidate with a strong Clare political pedigree seemed to have recharged the batteries.

Firing up the delegates Mr O’Rourke called for unity of cause and the facing down of the party’s many critics.

With the son of former President and Minister – the late Paddy Hillery – taking his seat at the candidates’ podium, the Kilmaley man even referred to the famous and impassioned speech of Dr Hillery at the 1971 Ard Fheis.

It was during the fallout from the arms trail, which was tearing Fianna Fáil apart, but Dr Hillery rose to the defence of Taoiseach Jack Lynch as forces tried to undermine the leadership.

Facing down the would-be rebels he famously said, “Ye can have Boland, but ye can’t have Fianna Fáil.”

Mr O’Rourke was just as passionate as he introduced Dr John Hillery.

“We have gathered here today probably under a cloud but we apologise to no one. We are Fianna Fáil, one of the biggest national parties founded by our forefathers in 1926.

“And over that length of time up until today we have gone through several fights and we have come out the other end. Let the media nor nobody else, all our critics or the opposition doubt the strength of Fianna Fáil,” he told delegates.

“We will come out of this and we will come out a better party. We had the arms crisis and they said we would never survive it. We had a man from Clare here who said ye can have anything but you won’t have Fianna Fáil.”

These words were welcomed with a resounding round of applause from a fired up crowd.

“So let us go out every man woman and child from Loop Head to Killaloe, from Caherdaven to Bellharbour and fight this election like it was never fought before and elect those two candidates,” said Mr O’Rourke.

Later when Minister Tony Killeen (FF) was asked to announce that Taoiseach Brian Cowan was to stay on and fight for the leadership of the party, the news was greeted by a standing ovation from the growing defiant crowd.

Chairman of the convention Minister Eamonn Ó Cuiv (FF) was also in fighting spirit as he told the party faithful, “I love being written off because it makes me go, and I am sure it makes you go too.”

Only time will tell if the party is capable of keeping this fighting spirit going as they approach many hostile doorsteps during the weeks of the campaign.