Category: News

DEPUTY Timmy Dooley (FF) will begin the election campaign as Fianna Fáil’s most senior member, after just one short term in office as a TD.

The former senator will lead the ticket for one of the toughest facing the party in its 85-year history.

A man that has already started on the hustings, he is well aware of the unwelcome reception that is likely to meet the party at the door and he admits that people have a reason to be angry.

“We as a party had some success, but particularly from 2000 to 2007 we made some mistakes. In my opinion, people have to come forward and identify those mistakes but we must accept in our public spending we were somewhat out of control. We became overly dependant on the taxation associated with the property situation as it was,” he told delegates at the party’s convention on Sunday.

“But that was an economic model that was prevalent right throughout Europe,” he added.

The east Clare man said all of the other parties were just as culpable when they said the Government “should spend more and tax less and stay away from regulations”.

“So they didn’t have any answers. They didn’t have any different an- swers. So they have a kind of a gripe now at this stage to get power. I think the public will have to be careful about accepting their word over ours,” he said.

“Yes we made mistakes but in my view we have to accept the consequences and move on.”

He said playing the blame game will not resolve the problems of the country.

“If you look back you learn. If you lean back you fall,” he said.

He added that it was not just politicians but society at large that had to resolve the problems of the county.

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.

PROJECTS LIKE the € 10.5 million development of specialist health services at the Mid Western Regional Hospital have become possible thanks to the support of the Mid Western Hospitals Development Trust and the assistance of its philanthropists, and the hard work of charities supporting the health services.

Founded in 1986 the trust has raised well in excess of € 16 million for public hospitals in the region. The trust has benefited from the support accrued from the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am’s since 1990.

Chairperson of the Mid Western Hospitals Development Trust Louis Creavan explained, “This funding makes such a significant impact on developing health services in this region. We also sincerely thank the public for their committed support and tremendous generosity over so many years to the Trust. The money so generously donated has provided specialist equipment and services such as CAT scanners, a radiotherapy centre, Cath laboratory, MRI centre, hydrotherapy centre, urology, renal, endovascular, intensive care, neurology and ophthalmology equipment.”

In addition to the € 16 million already spent on equipment for midwest based public hospitals, the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust is now providing a € 4 million construction costs Dermatology Unit and Specialist Breast Unit. This unit, which is part of the € 10.5 million initiative, will dramatically change the way dermatologic and breast care disease services can be delivered to patients in the mid-west region.

“We are delighted to be associated with the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland and Cystic Fibrosis Association – TLC4CF – in setting a new headline for health service development,” aid Mr Creavan.

Una Anderson Ryan, Chairperson of the Parkinson’s Association said, “It is impossible to describe the dif- ference the new Neurological Unit, which includes an Acute Stroke Unit, will make to the lives of so many of our members and their families. A unit like this should be provided in every hospital in the country. Some patients have very difficult symptoms that require privacy and the smaller wards and private rooms will provide this. Overall, the new unit will be an invaluable resource that will make a significant difference in improving patient care and quality of life.”

Owen Kirby, chairperson of TLC4CF, added, “This is a very positive move and a critical next step in TLC4CF’s goal of achieving a world class facility for CF Adults in the Mid Western Regional Hospital. TLC4CF would also like to acknowledge the other very positive fact that the staff complement at MWRH dedicated to CF patients has increased as part of our overall drive.”

“The number of adult CF patients attending MWRH is increasing all the time as people living with CF are surviving longer. There is a dedicated Paediatric CF team at this hospital, but at present the facilities in the mid-west for adults with CF are very basic, which is why this announce- ment is so important.”

IT HAS BEEN hailed as the building that will fill the significant gaps in the mid-west’s health system.

Yesterday (Monday) the HSE unveiled a € 10.5 million development of specialist health services at the Mid Western Regional Hospital.

The development is aimed at filling significant gaps in the provision of specialist services including cystic fibrosis, neurology, stroke, dermatology and symptomatic breast disease.

The purpose built six-storey building on the hospital’s Dooradoyle campus represents a united effort from the Mid Western Hospitals Development Trust, the Parkinson’s Association and the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland.

Planning permission for the development was received on December 23, 2010. Construction is due to begin in June 2011 and the various components of the project are expected to be operational by January 2013.

Construction costs are estimated to be € 10.5 million and additional funding is available for equipment.

Louis Creaven, Chairperson of the Mid Western Hospitals Development Trust, said, “Pressure on public finances means that the work of bodies such as the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland and Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland, TLC4CF Mid-West Branch of Cystic Fibrosis Association and the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust, is today more important than ever in meeting the gaps in the public health service.”

The much needed development will provide for patients from Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, and will include a specialised Cystic Fibrosis Out-patients Unit with five treatment rooms and an in-patient unit with nine en suite rooms.

A Neurological Unit to cater for 11 neurological conditions will also be included to cater for the very young with epilepsy, all ages with Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neuron Disease and the more common condition of stroke.

Complex technical treatments will be provided in a special six-bed unit. Overall the unit will serve some 5,000 patients.

A Dermatology Outpatient Centre will also be added to bring all dermatology services together at one location and to act as a focus for dramatic improvements in services for dermatology patients throughout the region. As many as 6,280 dermatology patients were seen in the Mid West Regional Hospital in 2010.

A Symptomatic Breast Specialist Unit to consolidate services which are at present fragmented in different areas of the hospital will complete the development.

As many as 5, 500 new patients and return patients were seen in 2009 at

ENNIS STUDENT Katie Drennan knows better than most the importance of the adult Cystic Fibrosis Out Patient Unit which makes up part of the € 10.5 million development unveiled yesterday (Monday).

Twenty-year-old Katie (pictured above), a second year Business Studies student at the University of Limerick, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) when she was just shy of her third birthday.

Her 19-year-old brother Jordan also has CF.

“The difference this new development will make for my quality of life and for many other CF patients is difficult to summarise,” she explained.

“Over the past 20 years I’ve had a lot of experience of the Irish hospi- tal system, some of it good and some quite difficult. I’ve spent a lot of time as an in-patient in the Mid Western Regional Hospital, in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin and in St Vincent’s Hospital. This wonderful new facility will improve the lives for all Cystic Fibrosis patients in the mid-west region.

“The benefits of such a unit are many. It means we will not have to travel to other CF centres in Dublin to receive our treatment. We will not have to endure long hospital stays away from home. We will no longer fear the risk of cross-infection when we attend the hospital for treatments.

“Such a unit will also benefit our families, as long-term absence from the home due to frequent hospital stays can sometimes be very diffi- cult, and the absence from our families and friends can sometimes be the hardest to deal with,” she said.

“The importance of an isolation facility cannot be over emphasised enough and the recent appointment of Dr Brian Casserly as the first Adult CF Specialist Consultant in Limerick is a major step forward.

“TLC4CF hopes that this new unit will also mean that CF patients attending the Mid Western Regional Hospital will not have to go through A&E to be admitted to hospital, which has always been detrimental to CF suffers health, due to the high risks of cross-infection.

“With the continuous help of TLC4CF all CF patients attending the hospital won’t have to endure the dangerous and inadequate services that previously existed,” said Katie.

THE development of a hydro-power facility at the Old Mill in Ennis could be used to supply the electricity requirements of recreational facilities and of the wider community in Ennis, a meeting has heard.

Last week local councillors urged Ennis Town Council to consider renewable forms of energy to supply power to the Ennis Leisure Complex and the Lees Road Sports and Amenity Park.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) told the January meeting of Ennis Town Council that the “significant infrastructure” in place at the Old Mill could be utilised to generate power, of which the nearby Ennis Leisure Complex “would be a willing customer”.

He said the mill had been identified as a potential source of hydropower in a report carried out by the Limerick Clare Energy Agency.

According to the report, ‘Micro Hydro Electricity Potential in County Clare’, the mill has the potential to produce 259 megawatts per hour.

The report estimates that it would cost € 216,000 to develop suitable turbine facilities at the mill.

The report states, “Because of the central location of the proposed site, and the high volume of traffic that passes through daily, a hydro-power development at this location would give a very strong indication of support for the micro-hydro industry in County Clare. The historical location of the mill reflects the excellent hydro resource at this point, downstream of the confluence of the Claureen and Fergus rivers. The theoretical average power of the river is 240kW.”

Pat Stephens of the Limerick Clare Energy Agency explained, “We looked at six commercial and six domestic micro-hydro projects. There are already one or two projects out there in the county; The Falls Hotel is one. What we looked at, essentially, was if you were to try and re-establish the one in Ennis, what would it cost and how much energy would it generate. There’s potential there for it.”

Cllr Meaney also urged the council to consider the development of a 500-megawatt wind turbine at Lees Road. Noting that the acceptance of such a project would depend on the outcome of a cost-benefit analysis, Cllr Meaney said a wind turbine would meet energy needs at Lees Road and also serve to “landmark the site”.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) told the meeting that 60 per cent of the hot water required at Ennis Leisure Complex could be met by the installation of solar panels in the complex’s south-facing roof. He said the remaining demand could be met through the use of woodchip burners.

THE water supply situation in County Clare has now stabilised and is back to normal, according to Clare County Council.

The local authority said yesterday that as of January 10, 2011, there would be no further planned shut offs of the water supply in any part of the county.

Water tanks are still available at The Promenade in Lahinch and the County Council offices in Ennistymon.

A spokesperson said, “The council would advise persons to remain vigilant in respect of water supplies to vacant properties and land as water demand is still high. As usual, the council appeals to the public to conserve water at all times. The council would like to thank the public for its understanding response to the water supply situation over the last two weeks.”

At yesterday’s monthly meeting of Clare County Council, County Manager Tom Coughlan praised the efforts of council staff, many of whom, he said, had worked for free to repair water supply problems last December.

Mr Coughlan told the meeting that a total of 200 people had been involved in the council’s response to problems that emerged following extreme cold weather conditions. He explained that Clare had experienced three periods of severe weather over the past 14 months and that while some staff were paid for their work, many had responded on a “goodwill basis”.

He said that in a lot of cases, council staff were experiencing their own water supply problems at home while at the same time attempting to alleviate difficulties encountered by the wider public.

Mr Coughlan said someone had remarked to him that a lot of the criti- cism levelled at the public service had “died down” over the last two months.

He added that it appeared to be “open season” on public servants for 10 months of the year, but in periods of water supply shortages and busy accident and emergency units, criticism is far less vocal.

“It’s just a comment that was made to me. I’m not saying I agree with it”, said Mr Coughlan.

He said the council’s response to crisis had been formulated prior to freezing weather, and had been de- livered “on the ground” through local area offices.

There was also unanimous praise for council workers from councilors and officials at the January meeting of Ennis Town Council.

Town Manager Ger Dollard told the meeting that the council’s helpline had logged 500 calls a day since December 20, 2010, and that 360 leaks had been repaired in Ennis since December 26.

Town Engineer Eamon O’Dea said there had been a huge increase in demand for water use in Ennis resulting in production at the Ennis Water Treatment Plant reaching almost 20,000 cubic metres on December 27.

Normal demand in the Ennis area is 15,000 cubic metres. Mr O’Dea said the council had turned off water in almost 70 unoccupied premises and businesses in Ennis.

He said that during the supply shortage period, Clarecastle, including the Roche pharmaceutical plant, received water from Ennis and west Clare.

LANDOWNERS have welcomed a decision by Clare County Council to implement the council’s existing Wind Energy Strategy as part of the County Development Plan 20112017.

There was a near unanimous vote in favour of keeping the current wind energy strategy, as proposed by Councillor Brian Meaney (Green), at yesterday’s monthly meeting of Clare County Council.

Cllr Meaney had urged the council not to amend its current wind energy strategy, as it would jeopordise the viability of many proposed windfarm projects in Clare.

Cllr Michael Begley (Ind) said the council had to decide if it wanted to have a wind energy policy that was “likely to happen or an aspirational one”. He said that under the revised strategy proposed in the County Development Plan, many areas identified as potential wind farm locations would be significantly reduced or completely eliminated.

Cllr Martin Conway (FG) criticised the role of the Department of the Environment, who had sought changes to strategy. He said the proposed changes were a “classic example of Big Brother” trying to interfere with a locally formulated policy.

Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) said that any downgrading of the strategy would “significantly reduce chances of employment” in many areas of Clare.

Cllr James Breen (Ind) said, “At the same time that the economy is struggling we can’t do anything that will hinder employment.”

Landowners from east Clare, who are seeking to develop a wind farm in an area between Broadford and Ardnacrusha, sat in the council gallery while the vote was taken.

After a majority of councillors voted in favour of keeping the existing wind energy strategy, one landowner told The Clare People of his relief at the decision.

He said, “We felt that the original plan that was in place was acceptable to us and now there was an amendment coming. Amendments at this stage are changing the goalpost com- pletely. There was an amount of time and energy put in at that stage. We were happy that we could go ahead with planning a wind farm in our area, or go towards planning one.

“If a decision is made, we need to stay with that particular decision. The amendments that were being proposed would have made it a lot more difficult to proceed with a viable unit.”

Over 30 landowners in the Broadford, Ardnacrusha area are seeking to form a co-op to develop a windfarm over a “large area”.

Another landowner, who did not wish to be named, remarked, “It’s tied down to farmers setting up a co-op in the area. It’s about the local community, local jobs.”