Category: News

A GORT community group made a presentation on their achievements and work to the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, when he dropped in on them, while on a visit to Galway at the weekend.

Mr Ahern came to Gort to meet with GRACE (Gort Regional Alliance for Community and Environment).

GRACE is an umbrella association for 22 established and newly formed groups in the Gort region. The group is celebrating a number of successes lately, including its recent campaign to have a second entrance/exit to the town of Gort, off the new N18 Dual carriageway.

The Taoiseach met with delegates from all the GRACE groups and was presented with a Brazilian t-shirt by the Brazilian Association.

GRACE made a powerpoint presentation to the Taoiseach, outlining the various community development projects that they were currently undertaking.

Earlier in the week, a delegation from GRACE made a presentation on Water and Sewage in the town to Environment Minister Dick Roche, when he visited the town.

Dr Niamh Clune, Chair and Coordinator of GRACE, said they “were absolutely delighted to have Minister Roche and the Taoiseach visit Gort in one week. We were very impressed that the Taoiseach showed such interest in what we are trying to do, and are extremely grateful to him for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit us here in Gort. We also really felt that Minister Roche listened to our concerns about the water and the sewage and that these serious issues will be addressed in the near future.”

Paddy Grealish, of Grealish Glynn Associates, made a presentation on the issue of sewage, and Coley Roche from the Chamber of Commerce put forward the arguments on the issue of the town’s water.

Junior Minister Noel Treacy was also thanked for the success of the road campaign.

“We must also especially thank Colin Joyce, Parliamentary Assistant to Joe Callahan, who has been working closely with GRACE on a number of different projects. He helped arrange for GRACE to meet with Minister Dick Roche and the Taoiseach,” said Dr Clune.

The Taoiseach visited Gort after he had officially opened the Marine Institute’s new purpose-built facility at Oranmore.

The building has state-of-the-art research facilities for the science institute which is responsible for advising the Government on the status of fish stocks.

A MAN who was found in possession of 10 Rohypnol tablets in Ennis took them to help him sleep, according to his solicitor.

Josef Duna (39), a native of the Czech Republic, and with an address at Pineview Estate, Killarney, was, according to gardaí, caught ‘red-handed’ with Rohypnol – commonly known as the date rape drug – and three wraps of speed in Ennis, in July 2005. The street value of the drugs was €110.

His solicitor, Tara Godfrey, said her client had no previous convictions for drugs offences. Duna, she said, worked very hard in the kitchens of a hotel, where he earned €300 a week.

He moved to Ireland a number of years ago and has lived in Kerry for some time.

“He was taking amphetamine to keep him going and was taking the Rohypnol to help him sleep,” she said.

At a previous court hearing in April, Ms Godfrey said Duna – a father of three – was paying over money to an alleged supplier, when gardaí arrived on the scene.

She pointed out that her client was not a regular drug user, and hadn’t taken drugs for five years before the incident before the court.

“He is at a low risk of re-offending. He isn’t taking drugs now,” she said, on that occasion.

Judge Joseph Mangan, who had adjourned the case for a professional report on drug and alcohol abuse to be carried out, fined Duna €400.

A PRIVATE jet leased by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to allegedly transport Al Qaeda suspects through Shannon Airport was eventually sold by its owners following intensive media coverage in Ireland of the plane’s suspect movements and activities around the world.

Massachusetts based Premier Executive Transport Services sold the Gulfstream V jet, registration number N379P, to a company in Oregon in November 2004. The move followed claims of the plane’s involvement in the alleged covert transfer of suspects to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and an Egyptian prison where they were allegedly tortured.

News of the sale surprised anti war activists in Ireland who only a month earlier made a formal complaint to gardaí about the plane’s regular visits to Shannon Airport. The jet’s new owners, an Oregon based company called Bayard Foreign Marketing, declined to comment at the time about the purchase or what the aircraft would be used for.

The corporate-style Gulfstream aircraft, dubbed the Guantanamo Bay Express by local anti war groups, has visited Shannon at least fourteen times since January 2002 and has allegedly been used by the U.S. to “effectively kidnap so-called high-value targets and transport them around the world”.

On January 31st 2003, prominent Limerick based activist Tim Hourigan published details of U.S. military aircraft activity through Shannon. The extensive list included the Gulfstream jet which left Shannon for Washington DC at 12.30pm on January 18, 2003 and is known to have visited Shannon on several occasions before and since.

Commenting on news that the jet had been sold, Mr. Hourigan said, “Obviously changing the planes registration didn’t work for them so they sold the plane in order to get rid of the evidence. It is clear that the U.S. wants to keep its dirty deeds secret.” Mr. Hourigan also believes that the sale of the jet was prompted by the exposure by anti war groups in Ireland and abroad of the missions the plane has been used for.

Revelations in a Swedish television documentary broadcast in May 2004 claimed that two men were expelled from Sweden and transported to Egypt on December 18, 2001. According to “The Broken Promise” programme, the operation was carried out by hooded US agents travelling on board the same Gulfstream jet N379P.

The two men, Muhammad Al Zery and Ahmed Agiza, were alleged to have had connections with terrorist groups and to have been involved in Islamic movements in Egypt. Ahmed Agiza fled from Egypt to Pakistan and later Iran before finally arriving Sweden in September 2000 with his wife and children. Muhammad Al Zery, an acquaintance of Agiza, fled from Egypt in 1991 and arrived in Sweden in August 1999.

A request by Premier Executive Transport Services to transfer the plane’s registration to the new owners was filed on November 29, 2004. The bill of sale also filed with the Federal Aviation Authority confirms that the plane was sold two weeks earlier on November 16.

A month earlier, in October 2004, a group of mid west based peace activists made a formal complaint to gardaí in Shannon, following claims that the jet was being used by the US military to illegally transport Al Qaeda suspects toGuantanamo Bay in Cuba and Egypt. The group claimed that the jet regularly passed through Shannon Airport contrary to the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

THE seaside village of Liscannor has honoured a local man and maritime legend.

The 125th anniversary of the invention of the world’s first working submarine by the Clare-born John Philip Holland was marked at a ceremony yesterday. Junior Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister, Tony Killeen, unveiled a bronze sculpture at the site of a new hotel in Holland’s home village of Liscannor. The sculpture is the creation of Clare artist, Shane Gilmore.

The €3.5 million Cliffs of Moher Hotel is located just miles from the world-famous tourist attraction and will lead to the creation of 40 new jobs. The facility features 23 bedrooms, a public bar, 70-seater restaurant and the bronze sculpture commemorating Holland.

It is the second hotel in as many weeks to be opened by The Atlantis Holiday Group. Two weeks ago, the Clare-based tourism body opened the €8 million Tír Gan Éan House Hotel and Holiday Complex in Doolin, leading to the creation of thirty new jobs.

John Philip Holland was born in Liscannor in 1841. His father, John Holland Senior patrolled the headlands of County Clare as a rider with the British Coastguard Service. The young Holland was a teacher in Ireland until 1872, when he emigrated to the USA, where he taught in Paterson, New Jersey, until 1879. He drew up plans of submarines and in 1881, with funds from Irish associates, launched a small submarine called the Fenian Ram. He was later awarded a contract to build a submarine for the US Navy.

In 1900, the Navy bought the Holland VI for $150,000, about half of its design cost, and later renamed it the USS Holland. The vessel could travel 800km on the surface of the sea and 40km submerged. One US newspaper described it as “Uncle Sam’s Devil of the Deep”. Other countries, including Great Britain, Japan and the Netherlands, purchased Holland’s submarine designs. He died in August 1914, just months before a German submarine sank a British vessel at the start of the First World War.

“John P Holland is a figure of pride for many people in County Clare and unveiling a commemoration to this historic figure is our way of ensuring that his contribution to Liscannor and the wider world does not go unrecognised,” said Paddy Maher, of Atlantis Holiday Group.

PLANS by Ennis developers, McCarthy Brothers, to construct 120 residential units in the Ballybeg area of Ennis have been thrown into question.

Local resident, Jim McEnery, has lodged an appeal against Clare County Council’s decision last month to give the contentious scheme the go-ahead.

The proposed development comprises of 40 three-bedroom homes; 47 two-bedroom homes; five fourbedroomed homes and 28 apartments.

The council granted planning permission on the basis that the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area.

However, in the comprehensive appeal, Mr McEnery claims that the proposed development would seriously injure the amenities and depreciate the value of property in the vicinity”.

Describing the area as a “rural haven of tranquillity”, he maintains that if permission is granted for the present development, the use, enjoyment and amenity of his property will be irretrievably lost.

The location of an amenity area beside his property could also result in untold sociable behaviour and the diminution of privacy and he claims it is neither fair nor just that the applicant should make substantial financial gain at his expense.

Mr McEnery’s appeal has also raised concerns over the infrastructure serving the development.

He maintains that the Ballybeg Road, as it exists in its present condition, is incapable of accommodating the volumes of traffic that would be generated by the construction of 120 residential units.

The layout of the development also comes in for criticism and Mr McEnery believes that the proposed layout is an attempt to maximise the number of houses within the development and represents an over-intensive use of the site.

On that basis, he believes that permission should therefore be refused.

A decision is due on the appeal in September of this year.

TWO people have been charged as part of an investigation into an attack on two men in Shannon six months ago.

Two Lithuanian brothers – Arturas and Aivaras Segzda – sustained stab wounds in the incident, at Rossbracken, on December 5 last.

David O’Loughlin (19), of Finian Park, Shannon, is facing four charges while Jessica O’Leary, of Cronan Lawn, Shannon, is facing five charges. Both appeared at Ennis District Court last Friday.

Mr O’Loughlin is charged with two counts of assault causing harm; possession of a knife and possession of a knife with intent to cause injury.

Ms O’Leary is accused of two counts of assault causing harm; possession of a screwdriver and possession of a screwdriver with intent to cause injury. She is also accused of obstruction.

Solicitor William Cahir, for David O’Loughlin, said his client is currently serving a sentence and he was remanded in custody.

Ms O’Leary, an unemployed single mother, was released on her own bond of €100 on the application of solicitor, Una Moylan.

The cases were adjourned, for preparation for a Book of Evidence.

SHANNON DEVELOPMENT has welcomed calls from the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation for a 2,000seater international conference centre to be located in the region.

The ITIC says the centre would benefit from access to Shannon Airport, underpin passenger numbers there and help develop the Mid-West as a hub for wider economic growth.

In its report to government, the ITIC said that a regional conference centre for the region would rebalance regional growth, not only in tourism terms but in terms of overall economic activity.

In a statement, John King, Heritage and Tourism Director with Shannon Development said the body “fully endorses the call by ITIC for a major regional conference centre for the Shannon/Limerick area.

“The ITIC proposal is in line with Shannon Development’s regional tourism strategy, an important element of which is the undertaking of a feasibility study for such a regional conference centre. Shannon Development is currently working on the feasibility of this proposal in conjunction with key tourism trade partners in the Shannon Region. The study will determine the viability of this project and whether or not it can become a sustainable proposal”.

According to a statement from the ITIC, it is proposing “NDP tourism investment of €1 billion in 2007-2013 and, as part of this, a proposal for a major Regional Conference Centre in the Shannon/Limerick area with minimum capacity for 2,000 people.”

In its submission, the confederation said that if Ireland is to reach the Government target of 10 million overseas visitors by 2012, a “seachange ” is required in tourism performance.

The chairwoman of the ITIC, Catherine Reilly said that the Government “has done well from tourism and has the potential to do even better. But as this report articulates, much remains to be done on the investment side if the industry is to make its optimal contribution to Irish economic and social development.”

The confederation report claims that Ireland’s tourism product has become “tired and lacking in verve or bounce for many tourists”.

A TULLA man and his flug-tag crew found on Sunday that Red Bull doesn’t give you wings.

In fact, Emelyn Heaps and his home-built plane were grounded when they tried to take part in the Red Bull Flug Tag event in the River Shannon in Limerick city at the weekend.

An angry Emelyn told The Clare People that after rebuilding parts of his plane three times, when it came his turn to fly, “I was told that the tide had gone out. How hard would it have been to calculate what time the tide goes out?”

With a background in aeronautical engineering, Emelyn currently holds the distance record for the Flug Tag flight, after taking part in the event in Dublin five years ago.

A team of six worked to build his plane “Record Breaker” in a bid to beat Emelyn’s record.

“We arrived with the plane on Saturday, but weren’t told until Sunday that the launch trolley was too heavy. The Clare Scaffolding Company came to our rescue with aluminium poles to make it lighter and we rebuilt it.”

When the carriage was rebuilt, organisers then told the team that the river authority were not allowing trolleys to go into the river. “This despite the fact that there were already trolleys in the river from earlier flights,” said Emelyn.

They re-built their magnificent flying machine’s trolley a third time “but then we were told, sorry lads, the tide is gone out. You can’t go.”

The crew had planned to launch their “Lying Air” flight captained by Michael O’ Query, offering flights to anywhere in the world for €1 plus €300 Government tax.

Emelyn said that he was “bitterly disappointed and very embarrassed. I roped a lot of people into working on this with me and they were expecting a day of great craic. The Red Bull people said they would ‘look after’ us, but the only useful thing they did was to point out where the pub was.”

The plane cost about €1,000 to put together “but it took a lot of time from people who helped. I’m so angry because of them.”

A spokesman for Red Bull said that it was the health and safety team who pulled the plug on the Tulla team.

“It was such a hot day that the water level went right down with the tide. There were two teams left and we pleaded to even let both of them go together, but there was no go. We were gutted for them.”

The spokesman said that Red Bull would be contacting both teams in the coming days to try to find a way to ease the disappointment.

BUILDERS could be on site at the Kilrush Marina as early as the beginning of next year, developing a hotel, apartments and commercial units.

It is believed that Shannon Development has whittled down to three the number of interested parties contending to build on the site. All three are believed to have Clare connections.

Towards the end of the month, executives of the semi-state company will discuss the favoured contender with their counterparts in the Kilrush Marina Company, the Shannon Development subsidiary, which is responsible for the west Clare marina.

It is believed that the board of Shannon Development will then consult with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment before any final announcement on the future of the West Clare Marina is made. That announcement is expected some time in July.

Last summer, Shannon Development advertised for expressions of interest in developing the land around the marina. Its development was facilitated by a decision in December at Kilrush Town Council, to rezone areas of the town.

It is now believed that three companies are being considered for the project, all of whom are planning to build apartments, commercial outlets and a five-star hotel at the waterfront.

Promises have been made that the marina will continue in its present form, with plans to extend it by 100 births, up to 220.

The boat yard may have to be relocated towards the lock gates however.

The project will probably be built on a phased basis, with indications that ownership will only be handed over at the completion of each stage.

The semi-state company could face some difficulties in convincing interested parties of the benefits of transferring the land and marina to the private sector.

When contacted by The Clare People , a spokesperson for Shannon Development said the company could not comment on the details. He said “Shannon Development advertised expressions of interest last summer.

“We are currently carrying out final assessments of expressions of interest,” he said.

WORKERS’ representatives at Shannon Development have expressed concern about a new group that has come together to promote the west of Ireland.

The new entity, known as the Atlantic Way Group, includes many well-known names in business, politics, education and public administration.

The role it intends playing has already come under scrutiny in the Dáil.

“There is deep concern amongst staff over the role that the Atlantic Way Group will perform. It appears to have the same policies as Shannon Development,” a workers’ representative spokesman at Shannon Development told The Clare People .

“There would appear to be more than enough organizations doing the work that the Atlantic Way claims it will carry out. Is this just another unnecessary layer of bureaucracy?”

The official launch of the Atlantic Way Group is expected in the near future. Its mission statement says that, “it does not seek to do the work of any other group or organisation whose remit is to achieve stated objectives, but it will assist, profile and work towards supporting their objectives in an overall context”.

The group describes itself as, “a movement comprised of a number of committed people, representative of key private and public sector bodies, which seeks to maximise the development potential of the West by supporting and promoting best practice in every aspect”.

It sets out its principal aim as bringing “coherence, coordination and a sense of urgency to infrastructural development, excellent technological services, quality employment, lifelong education and quality of life.”

Those involved in Atlantic Way include former MEP, Pat Cox; Care County Manager, Alec Fleming; President of UL, Roger Downer; Shannon Development’s Chief Executive, Kevin Thompstone and the development body’s Chairman, Liam McElligott.

The group came under Dáil scrutiny, when Labour’s Ruairi Quinn quizzed Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister, Micheál Martin, on whether it would receive State funding. He also asked what role it would play and whether this would overlap with Shannon Development.

The Minister said that Shannon Development “facilitates and supports the Atlantic Way initiative, as it is consistent with the company’s focus on balanced regional development.”

He confirmed that this support included “a small financial amount, approved by Shannon Development as a support for the proposed launch of Atlantic Way and a range of practical non-financial supportive actions.”