Category: News

LISCANNOR is to be featured in the first episode of a new RTÉ regional and community affairs programme, Pobal .

The bi-lingual programme, presented by Síle Seoige, offers communities around the country the opportunity to tell their own stories in their own way from their own localities.

The first report will feature some of Liscannor’s locals on an issue which is becoming a problem in the community, the imbalance between a declining population and the increase in the numbers of holiday homes.

The access television segment, called ‘Guth an Phobail’, is unique in Irish broadcasting history as each week it give one community the opportunity to talk about issues that are important in their own area.

The aim of the programme is to take a fresh look at what people are talking about in the four corners of Ireland and the first in the series will highlight an issue important to the residents of Liscannor.

Locals interviewed for the programme include Councillor Martin Conway (FG) who talks about how a cull is needed on further holiday home development in the village in the light recent census results showing a fall in the population. Local publican, Patrick Egan, talks of his fear for the future of the village as land prices soar and locals are priced out of the market.

Pobal will be broadcast on RTÉ One on Sunday’s at 5.30pm from October 15.

MANAGEMENT at Shannon Airport have been urged to broker a deal directly with Ryanair to protect local jobs, should the low fares airline become the majority shareholder in Aer Lingus.

Fine Gael General Election Candidate, Councillor Madeleine TaylorQuinn told The Clare People that it was critical that Shannon Airport was on high alert on all matters relating to the transaction.

“I would urge management at Shannon to negotiate immediately with Ryanair in order to establish Shannon as Ryanair’s European Transatlantic hub,” she said.

“Because of the good record that exists between Shannon and Ryanair, the management at Shannon will be in a unique position to broker a special deal with Ryanair especially relating to Transatlantic traffic.”

She described as “farcical” attempts made by the Government to stop the sale of Aer Lingus to Ryanair.

“Questions have to be asked would they be happy with an Arab or US investor?”

But the former TD she feared the introduction of a rationalisation programme by Ryanair that could result in the loss of Air Lingus jobs in Shannon.

Fine Gael TD Pat Breen expressed some support for the takeover.

“I was against this privatisation move because I could see the national airline being taken over by a foreign airline interested in the valuable Heathrow slots for example.

Now that the privatisation has taken place, we have to run with it and I believe the Ryanair bid would not necessarily be a bad outcome on the Aer Lingus ownership issue.”

“I find it incredible that Fianna Fáil politicians including Transport Minister Martin Cullen who were gung ho about selling off the airline can now criticise the moves Ryanair are making on Aer Lingus. The fact is that once you sell off the family silver, it can end up anywhere, as we saw with eircom.

“That said, that an airline with strong Irish connections and a proven track record is attempting to take over Aer Lingus may be good for the company and good for Shannon.

“Every time Aer Lingus has a seat sale, Shannon loses out on the promotions to the benefit of Cork and Dublin. Ryanair has not neglected Shannon.”

Speaking in Shannon, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was not happy to see the Ryanair takeover.

“I stand for competition and not monopolies. I have always been against monopolies and that is why I helped Ryanair so much. Obviously to be consistent I don’t want to see a monopoly now,” he said.

FIGURES released by Clare County Council show that it cost more than €15,000 to send a five-strong Council delegation to the Milwaukee Irish Festival last August.

The delegation, which was led by Mayor of Clare, Councillor Flan Garvey (FF), included the Council’s recently appointed PR consultant, Mark Dunphy of Dunphy Public Relations and three officials.

The figures show that €7,840 covered the flight and accommodation costs for Cllr Garvey and the three Council officials, Cliffs of Moher visitor centre Director, Kathrine Webster, paid for her own flight to the US.

The former Head of News at Clare FM was paid €2,470 for work before, after and during the Milwaukee trip; €2,197 covered his flight and accommodation and €550 went towards subsistence. The flights and accommodation were paid by the Council through the Clare Tourist Council.

According to Mark Dunphy, the agreed fee covered a service provided for the local authority over a three-week period. This work included the production of three radio documentaries on the Council’s visit which were subsequently broadcast on Clare FM; seven press releases which received local, national and international coverage; promotional work for Clare County Council at the Festival site; and the organisation of radio interviews at local, national and international level.

Mayor Garvey said the cost of the trip “offered very good value for the Council. It was the biggest Irish promotional event in the world and it was imperative that the Council had a presence there.

“There is proof that it has paid dividends with a number of choirs visiting Clare, while the Minister for Tourism in Nova Scotia has called for direct flights from Nova Scotia to Shannon. These are the direct benefits that I have proof of, but I’m sure there are others I am not aware of.

“There are hotels from Ireland spending a lot of money promoting their businesses, but we are promoting all of Clare. The value of the trip for Clare is undoubted and we had to be there.”

According to a press release issued by Mr Dunphy, over 3,000 tourists are expected to visit Clare via Shannon Airport over the coming months as a result of a tourism promotion drive launched in Milwaukee.

At the annual festival, an estimated 135,000 festival goers were offered discounted airfares to Shannon from Boston,Chicago and New York.

A 21-HOUR siege which rocked the town of Gort came to a successful end last night as an armed man who had barricaded himself inside his home gave himself up.

Anthony Burke (40) had been locked into his home off Crowe Street in the town since shortly after 11pm on Sunday night, following a domestic dispute.

A stand-off ensued throughout the day yesterday (Monday), as gardaí attempted to coax the man out of the home.

He had been in contact with gardaí between 11pm on Sunday and 2am on Monday. However he subsequently cut all contact, but answered calls from trained garda officers at teatime yesterday, raising hopes of a breakthrough.

This materialised and the siege ended at 8.20pm last night, when he walked voluntarily out of his home.

A number of shots were discharged from one of two shotguns he legally held, before Mr Burke was disabled by a beanbag round – a non-lethal weapon introduced in the wake of the Abbeylara siege in April 2000 in which John Carthy was killed – fired by a member of the Emergency Response Unit, which had been deployed to Gort for the siege.

Mr Burke was injured, but not critically, and was taken to University College Hospital, Galway, just after 8.30pm.

The horrific drama unfolded after 11pm on Sunday, when neighbours alerted gardaí that shots were fired from Mr Burke’s house in the local authority housing estate just off the main road between Gort and Galway.

His partner, who is understood to be from Kinvara, and two children quickly left the house, while shocked neighbours – who initially thought the shots were Halloween fireworks – were evacuated and were accommodated at O’Sullivan’s Hotel nearby.

Several more shots were fired between 11pm and 2.30am and two garda patrol cars and street lighting were damaged, but no-one was injured.

After hours of avoiding contact with gardaí, he answered his phone just before 6pm and continued to negotiate in “meaningful discussions” with gardaí.

Locals in Gort welcomed the breakthrough after a tense day. Mr Burke was described locally as a “decent, normal man who is liked in the town.”

A large number of garda resources were drafted in yesterday, including the Emergency Response Unit, the dog unit and the air support unit, while gardaí from all over the Galway division were drafted into the south Galway town.

MYSTERY surrounds the source of a small outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in the Tulla area.

Two people presented with the illness caused by a protozoan parasite at the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick.

No cases of the diarrhoeal disease were reported to the Mid Western Regional Hospital Ennis.

Clare County Council was notified of the illness and it carried out its own investigation. An environmental health officer took samples from the Tulla public water supply, but the presence of cryptospirosis was not detected in the water supply.

Cryptosporidiosis occurs throughout the world and in all age groups. In developed countries, Cryptosporidiosis is one of the most common causes of infective diarrhoea.

The disease can affect humans, poultry and other birds, fish, reptiles, small mammals (rodents, cats and dogs) and large mammals, particularly cattle and sheep.

In Ireland, the disease is not notifiable in animals and therefore the prevalence of the disease is not known.

Small traces of the parasite were found in the Ennis water supply last year leading to a boiling order for the town.

A temporary filtration system has since been put in place in Ennis, which continues to be monitored by the HSE.

This includes daily monitoring of raw and treated water for general coliform, E Coli, Turbidity, colour and chlorine. Weekly monitoring is also carried out for Cryptosporidium.

All samples of treated water to date have been negative for E Coli and Cryptosporidium.

CAIRDE Chuan Chinn Mhara (CCCM) are to put forward a candidate to fight next year’s General Election because they have “lost all faith” in the Government’s willingness to complete the promised €3 million sewage scheme for the Kinvara area The Clare People can reveal.

The identity of the candidate is likely to be decided upon at a meeting of CCCM in two weeks time, but the organisation confirmed yesterday that the candidate would be one of the ten people currently sitting on it’s committee.

“This is really an act of desperation at this stage,” said Stan Mac Eoin of CCCM. “We feel that we really have no choice now but to go down this path. Raw sewage is being pumped into Kinvara Bay every day. The ecoli count is huge and the sailing club have been told that it would be very dangerous if any sailor or child fell into the water.”

The campaign to construct a sewage treatment facility in Kinvara has been ongoing for the last 19 years. Funding for the project was announced in 2003, with details for the plant being submitted to the Department of the Environment in February of that year.

The project stalled at this point, however, with no progress being made until June of 2005 when the department referred the plans back to Galway County Council for modifications. To date, no further movement has been made by either organisation.

“CCCM has lost faith in the political process and the ability and will of politicians, both national and local, to provide sewerage treatment for Kinvara,” read a statement from CCCM. “Our experience in lobbying for a treatment plant for more than a decade reveals, we believe, a deeper malaise at the heart of Irish politics.”

CCCM believe that a lack of political will is at fault for holding up the project and are hopeful that they would stand a good chance of having a candidate elected.

“The frustration level is huge in Kinvara about the continued delay of this project,” continued Mr Mac Eoin. “We have been told that we are fifth in the priority list in the county but it’s hard to imagine anywhere that could be worse than this.”

This move could be more bad news for Fianna Fáil who currently hold two of four seats in the constituency. The Kinvara candidate could increase the pressure on Deputy Noel Treacy (FF) who polled the lowest of all elected candidates in the 2002 election.

BRING them on!

The days when clubs get to walk behind Tulla’s pipe band. County final days in hurling and football, the pairings of which have now been decided.

First serving will be Wolfe Tones and Newmarket-on-Fergus an intraparish final you could call it. You see, old Rineanna used to be in Newmarket parish. Rineanna stands on its own now; now to see who stands tallest on October 22.

Then it will be time for the first mid-Clare football final since Ennis Dalcassians and Clarecastle Emmets clashed in the 1899 final. Éire Óg v Lissycasey. Anybody’s game. All county finals are.

Bring them on, band and all.

THE Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) faces an uphill battle to have in place its plans for a €20 million greyhound stadium on the fringes of Limerick city by 2008.

As part of its ambitious plan, the IGB is planning to construct the five storey stadium and a three storey office building at Meelick and will employ 100 people. The proposal is to also include betting facilities, two restaurants and four bars with a dance floor and function areas.

At the time of lodging the plans for the stadium last July, the IGB anticipated that the staidum with a capacity of 3,000 would be in place by 2008.

However, in a submission to Clare County Council, the NRA has indicated that the stadium should not be in place until the €349 million tunnel under the River Shannon is operational in 2010.

As a result, the council has informed the greyhound board that, “it is not favourably disposed towards the proposed development as currently proposed for a number of reasons”.

The council stated that the proposed development was “premature pending the completion and operation” of the Shannon tunnel.

It also stated that the proposed development would, from a road safety point of view, endanger public safety and be contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.

In relation to the impact the proposed stadium would have on otters, the council requested that a comprehensive survey be repeated and the ecological mitigation measures be reviewed and revised as appropriate in the light of any findings.

The council has also stated that proposals to connect to the Limerick public main and foul sewer are not acceptable and are contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.

The board has written to Clare County Council requesting a meeting with council representatives. Following this meeting the board expects to be in a position to respond to the additional information requests in a manner that meets the approval of Clare County Council.

FÁILTE Ireland have given Clare County Council the green light to develop and implement the €1.4 million tourism management plan for the Burren.

The three-year scheme aims at improving the regions infrastructure by using new technologies such as touch screen digital information kiosks.

The plan will also incorporate the development of themed walking routes and the promotion of entry points to the Burren at five locations.

The project is entitled “Environmental Protection of the Burren through Visitor Management Initiative” and is the first time that the local authority and community groups have come together to plan for the future of the region.

Organisations such as Burrenbeo Teo, the Heritage Council and the North Clare Local Area Network have come together with Clare County Council and Shannon Development in planning this project.

“The Burren Region is long recognised as one of Europe’s most important landscapes due to the wealth and diversity of its natural and cultural heritage,” said Tomás Mac Conmara, Acting Heritage Officer with Clare County Council.

“It’s feared, however, that the unmanaged expansion of tourism in the Burren may potentially threaten the very resource on which the region depends. The Environmental Protection of the Burren through Visitor Management Initiative project has been initiated in response to this threat.”

THE blizzard that took hold of the county just over two weeks ago blew back in on Friday, but while Gordon was blamed for the previous storm this one was strictly Bertie.

As the media scrum prepared to do battle to reach the Taoiseach, the soldiers of destiny stood tall to protect their chief from the hail of questions about to be fired.

The officers stood shoulder to shoulder on the steps of the Great Southern in Shannon awaiting his arrival, the first line of defence for a Taoiseach very much on the defensive.

The first in command in the division stood tall, confident in his poise and title. Tony Killeen greeted all present with accuracy, speaking but saying nothing that would upset the volatile political situation. He showed no nerves, indicating only the ministerial poise his leader had previously attributed to him.

At the other end of the line up stood a veteran warrior. Brendan Daly had weathered bigger battles than this in

his career, and showed a calm exte rior.

He revealed none of his moves when asked how it would all play out. Despite his years, he was slow to call what would happen over the coming days.

The new recruit in the line was eager to please. While learning from the older heads he stood beside, one couldn’t help but wonder if nerves and experience would see him pull the trigger prematurely, but Timmy Dooley held his own.

A little jittery as he waited for the Taoiseach to arrive, could the young soldier be thrown into battle sooner than he planned and without back up?

And among the officers stood the aristocracy – Síle deValera. She was the only one among them whose plans could not be affected by the fall out of the coming days. Whatever ricochet hit this woman, her destiny was to play out the same. She stood confident, secure and loyal to the end.

As the Taoiseach came up the drive, his officers ran to greet him before the media descended with their questions.

Smiling, with less ease than he had in Kilrush the previous fortnight, he dodged the bullets, refusing to answer questions on trouble in the Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrat camp.

His entourage had also multiplied since his last whirlwind spin around Clare. The number of press officers and advisors had doubled – preparing for war.