Category: News

THE nephew of President Michael D Higgins, Donal Higgins, will contest the Clare County Council election for the Labour Party.

The Government party added the Ballycar man to the ticket at the 11th hour, registering him at 11am on Saturday morning, just 60 minutes before the deadline.

“It was as late as Wednesday that I decided, but it was something a I had been thinking about for a long time,” Mr Higgins told The Clare People .

He said he had been approached to run in the Shannon region a number of months ago but did not want to go up against his friend and party colleague Tony McMahon.

“Pascal [Fitzgerald] was also coming into that area so it was well covered. Then Michael McNamara [Clare TD] approached me to run in the Killaloe area. I had a good think about it with my wife and I decided to go for it,” he said.

Mr Higgins, a father of two young children, admits it will be a balanc- ing act to include the council in his life, but he knows from experience this is something he is good at.

During the last six years he has studied for his Science Technology degree in the University of Limerick, while also holding down a full time job at Zimmer, Shannon and caring for his family.

Mr Higgins was one of the workers who lost their jobs when Dell in Limerick closed, but after a year of unemployment and internship in Zimmer saw him eventually secure a full time job at night.

His degree course finishes this month, just in time for the council elections and a possible career on the local government body.

The 35 year-old grew up in the family farm in Ballycar, Newmarket on Fergus, and attended the local school followed by St Caimin’s College in Shannon.

He is married to Michelle and they have two little boys under the age of four.

He is the son of Maureen and John Higgins, the brother of the President of Ireland.

THOSE wishing to have a say in the make up of the new look Clare County Council and the European Elections have until this evening (Tuesday) to register.

The local elections are open to everyone over the age of 18 years old.

A total of 69 people from Clare have already registered to be candidates in the Clare local elections.

The closing date for candidate nominations was last Saturday.

During the last local and European elections in 2009, 63.86 per cent or 56,687 of County Clare’s 88,769 voters turned out to vote.

Clare County Council is reminding voters that the closing date and time for inclusion on the Supplementary Register for the Local and European Elections is 5pm today, May 6.

While you do not have to be an Irish citizen to vote in the local elec- tions; you must be over 18 years of age and you must live in the local electoral area.

Application forms for the supplementary register can be downloaded from www.checktheregister.ie or can be obtained from Áras Contae and Chláir and at Clare County Council Local Area Offices.

The Local Authority has also set up a Freephone Number 1800 245426 to assist people with their queries.

“The Local and European Elections will take place on Friday, May 23 and people who are eligible to vote, but who have not yet registered, have an opportunity between now and May 6 to apply to be included on the Supplementary Register which allows them to vote at the forthcoming elections,” said a council spokesperson.

Meanwhile, Clare County Council confirmed that the Count Centre for both elections will be Treacy’s West County Hotel on the Limerick Road in Ennis.

Ben O’DONNELL,
Gowerhass, Cooraclare, Late of Clonmel, Glasnevin and Met Eireann. Funeral Mass in Corpus Christi Church, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9, onTuesday (May 6th) at 1pm. Cremation afterwards in Glasnevin Crematorium at 3pm. Family flowers only please. Donations if desired to ABI Kilrush or The IWA Ennis.

Mary GUINAN (née King),
Kildysart, Reposing in Stafford’s Funeral Home, North Strand fromTuesday with removal to St. Francis Xavier Church, Gardiner Street, Dublin arriving for 5pm. Funeral mass onWednesday at 9.45amwith burial thereafter in Fingal Cemetery.

John FEENEY
, Stockport, Manchester and St MichaelsVillas, Ennis, Ashes laid to rest in Drumcliffe Cemetery.

AMERICAN billionaire Donald Trump will arrive in Clare on Monday for a whistle stop tour of Doonbeg Trump International Golf Links.

The real estate tycoon purchased the Greg Norman designed golf links and five star hotel last February for an undisclosed sum.

While his sons and vice presidents of Trump International Donald Jnr and Eric Trump visited the west Clare resort to sign the purchase contracts, this will be Mr Trumps first visit to the course since he reportedly paid € 15 million for the 18-hole golf links, hotel and spa.

He is expected to arrive into Shannon Airport early on Monday morning and travel to Doonbeg where he will meet staff and examine the grounds.

He is then scheduled to leave Doonbeg on Tuesday, and travel on to visit his latest acquisition – Turnberry Re sort in Scotland.

Mr Trump is quoted as saying he has plans to develop the West Clare golf course to make it one of the best in the world.

“I have a lot of time and I have a lot of money and the best thing for Ireland is that you allow that great site to have one of the great courses of the world.

“And I have hired for that purpose, Martin Hawtree, to study it,” he said.

“Depending on the study, we may leave it and enhance it or go for an entirely new course.”

However a complete rebuild of the links course at Doonbeg could bring him into conflict with environmentalists over protected dunes and the microscopic snail- Vertigo angustior – that limited the original Greg Norman project. While an exact itinerary of Donald Trump’s visit to the Doonbeg Resort that now bears his name has not been revealed, it is thought he will walk most of the course during his brief time at the venue. It is not clear whether Mr Trump, a reputed scratch golfer, will play any of his Doonbeg course. Tue06May14

CLARE is bracing itself for a marathon count following the local election on May 23, as the largest number of candidates in the country have reg- istered to contest the Ennis electoral area, with 27 people putting their names forward to contest eight seats. A total of 69 candidates declared as the deadline for local election nominations closed. Independent candidates are in the majority in Clare with a total of 19 non-party candidates registered. Fianna Fáil is running the largest number of party political candidates with 18, while Fine Gael will run 16. The Labour Party has nominated five candidates, Sinn Fein just three and new party Fís Nua is to run four candidates. The Anti Austerity Alliance will run two candidates in Shannon. The count will once again take place in Treacy’s West County Hotel.

KILLALOE is the only local election constituency in the Republic of Ireland without a Sinn Fein candidate. The Sinn Fein party in Clare confirmed on Wednesday afternoon there would be no party nominee for the new electoral area of Killaloe, despite rumblings from head office that a name would be added.

At the close of nominations at noon on Saturday, there was no Sinn Fein candidate registered in this electoral area, the only one south of the border without a candidate from the party.

Mike McKee will contest the election in the Shannon area, Noeleen Moran in the West Clare area and Cathal O’Reilly in the Ennis area in Clare.

And while Sinn Fein has a constituency without a candidate, the new party Fís Nua is doubling up on constituencies by running one Clare man in two elections.

Former chairperson of the Green Party in Clare Damon Matthew Wise is to contest the Clare local election in Ennis for Fís Nua while also nominated to run as a European Election candidate for the party in the Dublin Area.

Asked about his decision to contest two elections so geographically apart he said he was running in Ennis to support his party colleague Vera Moloney.

“As you know I am a disability advocate and campaigner across the island of Ireland, and indeed had five different nominations [originally],” he said.

Fís Nua will now contest four seats in the Clare local elections – two in Ennis Mr Wise and Ms Moloney, one in Shannon – Karen Christine Wise and one in Killaloe – Niamh O’Brien.

“Fís Nua had five voting members in East Clare (Killaloe area) in November 2013, and has been joined by four members in Shannon, with a further 16 members having joined or moved from GPI/CG in East Clare (Killaloe), Shannon and Ennis – giving enough members for functioning local area groups for each,” said Mr Wise.

FIANNA Fáil leader Michéal Martin has responded to criticism from within elements of the party in Clare that no new blood was introduced during the selection process for its local election candidates.

The Corkman was the first of the party leaders in town for the local and European election campaign, visiting Kilrush, Shannon and Ennis. “It is a very challenging campaign as the number of county councillors have been reduced from 32 to 28. If you had a larger county council it would be easier to bring in new blood,” he said.

The party leader also responded to criticism relating to gender balance with just two female candidates among the 16 Fianna Fáil candidates contesting the election.

“Despite the loss of large numbers of councillors in the 2009 election, Clare held quite well, so we have the best balance we could realistically have,” he said referring to the fact that the five candidates in the eightseat West Clare area are all out going councillors.

“In West Clare six would have been too many to run in an eight-seater, and some would say even five is too much,” he said.

“We want more women participants at party level and particularly at election. The change needs to come at a cultural level. It is an awful pity we don’t have the urban councils. They are a great option for women and indeed young people to test the water,” he said.

“Clare is losing out, meanwhile Dublin is getting 60 new seats. I believe rural Ireland could be under represented and could suffer,” he said.

He admitted that the party had to “refine” its selection process, which again came under criticism this year for not informing the delegates how many candidates would be selected until after they voted at convention.

Deputy Martin also denied that any deal was done with former Green Party Councillor Brian Meaney, when he joined Fianna Fáil.

Cllr Meaney was added to the Ennis ticket after convention, and Mr Martin said that the party was anxious “sitting councillors would get to run wherever possible”.

TWO new candidates have entered the race to represent their respective areas on Clare County Council.

The county’s first candidate from the Fís Nua (New Vision) party, Niamh O’Brien will contest the Killaloe Municipal Area, while Noleen Moran will take up the mantle for Sinn Fein in West Clare.

Ms O’Brien said she found herself in politics more by accident than a burning political career.

“I never had an interest in politics, but politics took an interest in me. I wanted to be able to tell my grandchildren in 30 years time when they complain about how bad things are that I tried my best, rather than just sitting there shouting at the television,” she said.

From O’Callaghan Mills, this East Clare woman is a founding member of the first Women’s Shed in the northern hemisphere.

She was also involved in the Know Your Number Campaign and works in a voluntary capacity supporting people with debt issues.

She went to primary school in Kilkishen and secondary school in Tulla and has an honours degree in Law and Business.

In the west, Ms O’Brien from Ballyvaughan has been a member of Sinn Féin for ten years and is the current county secretary.

Throughout her time in Sinn Féin she has been involved in campaigning on a range of different issues and is particularly concerned about the lack of women public representatives, because she believes that “the consequences of austerity and emigration are having a significant impact on the lives of women”.

She was educated at Lisdoonvarna Secondary School and worked in agriculture and in tourism for a time, before continuing to third level, where she attained a degree in Public and Social Policy from NUI Galway and an LLM from the Irish Centre for Human Rights.

WITH a reduction in council staff of almost 20 per cent in just over five years, councillors fought hard to retain what they could in their own areas at a hotly-contested meeting on Tuesday.

Suggestions from four members that a special workshop should be set up to decide where staff should be employed once the town councils are dissolved on June 1 was met with a firm rejection by the council’s most senior executive.

Sharp exchanges continued between the county manager Tom Coughlan and members, as Mr Coughlan pointed out that staffing issues were not the responsibility of the elected members.

“If that is the kind of system you want then you don’t need a county manager,” he said.

“I have to deal with staff and unions. Staff is not an issue for the council members and that is the law.”

Staff from Kilrush are to be moved to Ennis once the Kilrush and Kilkee Town Councils cease to exist, but 20 members are to remain in the Kilrush office to deal with local issues.

Shannon is to go through a similar process.

Concerned about the Ennistymon office, Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) argued that it would be humanly impossible to continue a service in the North Clare area if more staff were redeployed to Ennis.

Mr Coughlan said that the staffing levels should be sufficient in Ennistymon once some members are moved to Ennis to work in the Environment section. He said he would keep the situation under review.

He said he was already going “against the grain” by keeping two council offices open in the West Clare Area – one in Kilrush and one in Ennistymon.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said that this move was acceptable by the Government due to the huge geographical West Clare area, and was not against any policy.

And it was not just the county manager that came under fire at the meeting.

Cllr McCarthy said of Minister Phil Hogan – “This Minister should be shot”.

Minutes later on reflection the Shannon councillor said, “I would like to withdraw the action that should be taken against the minister and use the word sacked.”

FIVE North Clare teenagers will take the trip of a lifetime later this year to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

The students, who are members of the North Clare No Name Club, will travel to Africa in August.

As well as the gargantuan task of climbing the world’s highest freestanding mountain, the team must both mentally and physically prepare for such a challenge.

They are also busy raising funds for a charity in Tanzania. Each year, the Kilimanjaro Achievers focus on two charitable projects within Tanzania, which they feel could strongly benefit from their help. This year the two selected projects involve raising funds to expand an orphanage school in Cheti, Tanzania, and sponsor a number of children in the same orphanage in Tanzania.

Cheti School is a non-profit, nonreligious, non-government organisation with the dream of providing free education to children in the poorest areas and villages of Arusha, Tanzania.

As part of the trip, the No Name Club group will visit Cheti and help out for a few days at one of the school, gaining first-hand experience of volunteering with a charity abroad. It will be an amazing personal achievement for these North Clare youths and every level of support will be greatfully appreciated.

The No Name Club is a youth club specifically designed for teenagers from the ages of 15 years up, to cater for the gap between Junior Cert and Leaving Cert. It enables young people to organise and enjoy a positive alternative to alcohol and drug-centred activities, building selfconfidence and increase awareness of the effects of alcohol and drugs, thus helping young people make informed choices when they are older. The North Clare No Name Club was established last year, with it’s base in Lahinch and is still welcoming new members to this day from all parts of Clare.

The five club members travelling to Kilimanjaro include Dominic Talty, Declan, Ashling Talty, Naomi Harvey, Rachel Harvey and the club chairperson, Edel Harvey.

The club will hold a fire walk at the Falls Hotel, Ennistymon, on May 9. Support is greatly appreciated. Further information is available at 085 7551721.

There will be a fundraising night at the Galway Greyhound Stadium on May 10. Entry tickets for the night are € 10 per person, with under 12s entering for free.

THE issue of mental health should be higher on the political agenda, a prominent Clare-based social worker has said.

Paul Guckian also praised community groups for stepping in to plug the gap in the mental health services created by cutbacks in public service spending over the past five years.

Mr Guckian, who is the Principal Social Worker with Clare Mental Health Services, was speaking at the ‘No Man Is An Island’ conference in Ennis on Saturday.

In a talk on men’s mental health, Mr Guckian outlined the sign and symptoms associated with depression.

“At the severe end of depression, people can have serious thoughts of suicide, worthlessness, thinking life would be better for me or my family and friends if I committed suicide. That’s not uncommon. A lot of people would have that ideation but it is a warning sign and it is not uncommon.”

He called on politicians to bring the issue of mental health higher up he political agenda.

He said, “The other interesting thing about suicide, and I think this is important for a county like Clare, is that in Ireland, suicidal activity and suicides are a rural phenomenon. It’s much higher instance than in urban areas.

“These are the sorts of issues that are going to have be addressed by everybody in society. I see some of the candidates for the local elections in this room today and there are other people engaged in politics. But it is important this is put on the political agenda,” he added.

Mr Guckian praised the role played by community groups, such as the Ennis Men’s Shed, for the role they have played in assisting people af- fected by depression.

He said, “There are a huge number of community support groups and they really have stepped into the breach in this country since the crash, since the cutbacks in statutory and public services so we have groups like the Men’s Shed movement to help out.

“Unfortunately in the North West area of Clare, there are no social workers in those primary care teams again due to resource issues. For councillors in Clare, maybe that’s an issue they [politicians] could raise on the canvass to have properly funded primary health services,” he added.