Category: News

CLARE County Council is to construct a car park for visitors to one of the world’s most famous megalithic monuments.

The local authority, in partnership with the Office of Public Works (OPW), has purchased land adjoining the Poulnabrone Dolmen in a bid to alleviate traffic congestion at the site.

The dolmen is one of Ireland’s more accessible megalithic structures attracting over 100,000 people each year.

In the late nineties, the OPW purchased the 5000-year-old portal tomb and 15 acres of adjoining land from a local farmer in a bid to control visitor access to the site.

In recent years, the number of visitors to the monument has increased significantly leading to serious road traffic congestion and potential traffic safety issues at peak visitor periods. In response, Clare County Council and the OPW have completed a comprehensive site selection process for the provision of a carpark.

County Council Senior Planner, Liam Conneally says, “During the summer months, tourists are forced to park their vehicles on the narrow road leading to the five thousand year old portal tomb located”.

“We are satisfied that the parking area, which will cater for 15 cars and 4 buses, will lead to a better managed traffic situation.

The new facility should alleviate the traffic and pedestrian safety issues on the road fronting the monument” he added.

The council will own and manage the new parking area, which will cost between €250,000 and €300,000.

This figure includes the land cost, labour and materials. Submissions or observations with respect to this matter dealing with the proper planning and development of carpark went on public display in recent months and have recently been sanctioned by the county council.

No objections were made to the proposed parking area.

Chairman of the council’s Economic Development and Planning Special Policy Committee, Cllr. Richard Nagle said the parking area, which is expected to be completed by the end of summer, is “part of ongoing cooperation between Clare County Council and the OPW to improve visitor facilities and safety at attractions throughout the county”.

Located to the East of the road from Kilnaboy to Ballyvaughan, Poulnabrone was excavated in 1968 and found to contain the remains of between 16 and 22 adults and 6 juveniles, including a newborn baby.

Those buried in portal tomb were Neolithic farmers who lived in the Burren between 3800 and 3200 B.C.

ENNIS solicitor and member of Opus Dei, Brian McMahon, has branded Dan Brown’s novel and upcoming film The Da Vinci Code as destructive, fraudulent and dangerous, and warned Clare filmgoers not to view it as a work of fact.

Mr McMahon has been a member of Opus Dei since 1992 and is worried that some people way view some elements of the film as historical realities.

“The most destructive thing is that it holds itself up as fact but in reality it is a work of fiction,” said Mr McMahon.

“If you analyse the research it is all a puff of smoke, it is fraudulent and has no historic basis.

“It is taking people in and that is wrong and dangerous.”

Opus Dei is an international organisation within the Catholic Church comprising of lay people and secular priests.

Its stated mission is to spread Catholic teaching that ordinary life is a path to sanctity.

However, the organisation has been accused of secrecy, a right-wing political agenda and even cult-like methods.

“Opus Dei has been treated appallingly, (Brown) went absolutely bananas in his book. It is distorted and smacks of poor research,” continued Mr McMahon.

“He could have used any organisation he wanted, fictional or real, but he used Opus Dei. He thought we were a soft touch. It was malicious and done on purpose.”

While some sections of the Vatican have encouraged people to boycott the film, Mr McMahon welcomes the debate that its arrival has prompted.

“There is a lot of ignorance from the general public about the situation.

“A lot of people are lacking in information and are not encouraged to research it,” he said.

“We are living in a time where we accept whatever the soundbite says.

“I see this as an opportunity to stand up and disseminate the truth,” he added.

Mr McMahon is one of 12 Opus Dei members in Clare while the national membership is believed to be in the region of 1000.

He is particularly unhappy at the links drawn between Opus Dei and self-mortification, or self-harm, as a penance, which are drawn in The Da

. Vinci Code

“One of the book’s main characters is Silas who is portrayed as a monk, but there are no monks in Opus Dei,” concluded Mr McMahon.

“The self mortification has nothing to do with Opus Dei.

“It is historically part of the Church, like climbing Croagh Patrick.

“He exaggerated it to the point of being offensive.”

The Da Vinci Code open in the Ennis Movieplex on May 19.

AN Afghan national, who lived in the Corofin Hostel until last September, has told The Clare People that he is prepered to die on hunger strike if he is not granted refugee status in Ireland.

Hashmat Habbib is part of the 41strong group of men who are entering the second day of their hunger strike in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin protest at the Department of Justice’s refusal to allow them to remain in the country.

“My life is in real jeopardy if I return to Afghanistan. My enemies will kill me,” Mr Habbib told The Clare People through an interpreter yesterday.

“I am okay, but the situation here is getting harder as time goes by. I will stay on hunger strike until the Department of Justice lets me stay. I will keep going until I die if I have to. We are all committed to it.”

The hunger strikers, who are being led by Osman Hotak, claim that they are at risk of torture and death if they are forced to return to Afghanistan.

The group also includes blind diabetic Sultan Kabirchakari, whose health will be seriously affected by the lack of food and water.

“We want people to know that we are in worse circumstances than them. We have been mental prisoners for years,” said Mr Hotak yesterday.

“All of us will die unless we are allowed to stay. We are willing to end our lives.”

The stand-off began just after midday on Sunday when 33 Afghan asylum seekers, including Mr Habbib, entered the Cathedral and declared that they would refuse all food and water until the were granted refugee status.

The men were asked to leave by a member of the Gardaí on Sunday afternoon but have since been granted sanctuary by Cathedral officials. No attempt has been made to forcibly remove them.

These men were joined by eight others yesterday morning and it is believed that a number of other Afghani men are currently on their way to the Dublin Cathedral to join their countryman.

The men are aged between the ages of 16 and 45 and have all been living in different parts of the country for the last five years.

They believe that their claims for asylum have not been taken seriously by the Irish authorities and that they are just trying to highlight their situation.

Orla Ni Eili of the Ennis Refugee Council told The Clare People that it was an unsafe time to return these people to Afghanistan and that the Minister for Justice must look at each case on an individual basis.

THE number of offences being committed by juveniles in Clare has risen sharply, by almost 50 per cent.

Official statistics contained in the Garda Annual Report show that 576 referrals were made from the Clare Garda Division to the Garda National Juvenile Officer throughout last year.

This is a 48 per cent increase on the figure for 2004 (388).

Some 459 individual children were referred, under the Juvenile Liaison programme, last year.

This is an increase on 355 during 2004.

Fifty-nine of the 459 were deemed unsuitable for inclusion under the programme. Sixty-nine were issued with formal cautions; 267 received informal cautions while no further action was taken against 33.

Cases involving 31 of the youths are still pending.

Nationally, thefts accounted for 18 per cent of offences committed by youths, with criminal damage accounting for 10 per cent, followed by public order (nine per cent).

This trend is similar in Clare, according to Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn.

A second juvenile liaison officer (JLO), Garda Margaret Purcell, was appointed last year and works in conjunction with Garda John O’Neill.

“We have sent up a second JLO and that has increased our capacity to deal with that,” said Chief Superintendent Quinn.

“This is focusing on anti-social behaviour in the town,” he added.

The fight against crime in housing estates in Ennis has been boosted through the appointment of four community gardai in separate geographical areas.

Garda Tim Ryan is based in Ennis town, Garda Albert Hardiman is responsible for Cloughleigh, Garda Irene O’Flynn is based in the Lahinch Road area and Garda Jeremy Murphy is focused on the Tulla Road.

AN INAGH man accused of threatening to kill or harm a man, and of recklessly discharging a shotgun, has been acquitted by a jury at Ennis Circuit Court.

Brian Barry (53), of Ballyea, Inagh, was also accused of assaulting Patrick Nilan, causing him harm.

He had denied all charges, which arose out of an incident outside Purcell’s bar in Ruan, on January 8, 2005.

Mr Nilan, a farmer in Ruan, told the court he was in the bar on the night on January 7, where he met a number of people including Brian Meaney and Gavin and Derek Barry, who are both sons of the accused man.

He said he left after 2am and chatted to Mr Meaney in the pub carpark. They discussed going elsewhere for a drink and Mr Meaney asked the Barry brothers if they wished to join them.

Mr Nilan said Gavin Barry had said he had rang someone.

“I presumed it was somebody that was going to join us,” said Mr Nilan.

He said some time after, a car drove into the carpark and a man – who he now knows to be Brian Barry – jumped out, carrying a gun.

“He waved the gun towards me and said not to be holding his sons at ransom. I put my hands out and said, ‘What is going on?’ He said ‘I’ll tell you what is going on’ and fired a shot towards my feet. Next thing I got a belt of the gun above the eye,” Mr Nilan told the court.

He said he did not know what was the motive for this.

Defending barrister Michael Collins said Gavin Barry had phoned his father to say that they were in trouble and that he feared for his brother’s safety. As a result, Brian Barry drove from his home in Inagh to Ruan.

The barrister said when the accused got out of the car at first, he had no gun, and that Mr Nilan laughed at him.

“Mr Barry went back to the car and got the gun and he loaded it and you still approached him laughing,” said Mr Collins. Mr Nilan denied this.

Mr Collins said the accused had the gun pointed downwards at all times and said he was using the gun to frighten Mr Nilan off.

“He hit you into the side of the head with the barrel to get you to stand off,” said the barrister.

Brian Meaney, who lives in Ruan, told the court the accused pointed the gun at him and told him to stay in the jeep. Mr Meaney said he then heard a shot and got out of the jeep.

“He (the accused) said, ‘I’ll blow your head off’,” he told the court.

Mr Collins said his client told Mr Meaney to stay in the jeep, but that he did not point the gun at him.

“He didn’t point the gun at anyone,” said the barrister.

Mr Collins said there were “gaping holes” in the prosecution.

“This prosecution has raised more questions that Chris Tarrant in Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? ” he said.

The jury returned a verdict of not guilty on all three charges, on the second day of the trial.

FIFTY new gardai must be deployed to Clare, to deal with the spiralling number of incidents under investigation, according to the head of the Clare Garda Division.

Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn was speaking to The Clare People in the wake of the publication of the crime statistics for last year, which shows that gardai in the county dealt with almost 11,000 incidents last year — an increase of 19 per cent on the previous year.

The figures show that serious crime — headline offences — dropped by six per cent last year, when compared with the figures for 2004.

The detection rate in Clare increased from 33 per cent, to 36 per cent last year.

“It is always good to see crime down. The crime rate in Clare is 15.5 per cent per 1,000, compared to the national average of 25.9 per cent. That is 40 per cent lower than the national average,” said Chief Superintendent Quinn.

Non-headline offences — including minor assaults, criminal damage and public order and motoring offences — increased dramatically, by 31 per cent, from 5,142 in 2004 to 6,755 last year. This compares with an average national increase of 12 per cent.

“We are dealing with almost 11,000 incidents a year. That is a demand on our resources and is a significant increase.

“We are noticing that, on the ground, there is less and less time to deal with incidents and that is causing us difficulty. There is a huge stretch on resources and we have applied for more resources,” he said.

One of the areas poised to expand is the division’s Traffic Corps, which is to increase from its existing 12 to 31. That will include the establishment of a traffic corps in Killaloe, which will also deal with crime rates in the east Clare area.

“We have made a substantial application. We are looking for 50 gardai, under new national resources,” he said.

There are currently 267 gardai in the Clare Garda Division, which includes 24 who are based, temporarily, in Shannon.

“We have made the case on what we need. We are dealing with definite numbers,” he said.

There have been repeated calls for additional gardai to be deployed in various parts of Clare, not least Kilrush and west Clare.

Chief Supt Quinn said this is being monitored on an ongoing basis.

“We have set up very specific operations in west Clare. We have deployed and continue to deploy significant resources and that is ongoing,” he said.

FINE GAEL made history in the West County Hotel on Sunday – the largest selection convention in the party’s seven decades was staged, but it brought with it a whiff on controversy following the controversial decision by the top brass to deny a vote to 300 members of the youth wing of the party.

It prompted the 11th hour withdrawal of Councillor John Crowe who hit out at the party’s top brass over the decision. However, Fine Gael General Secretary Tom Curran was making no apologies for the controversial move.

“There is a procedure whereby one has to register as a voter. It was deemed that proper procedures weren’t followed,” he told The Clare People .

“If you were a new member of Young Fine Gael you had to attend an AGM.

“What we were really concerned about was the thought that there was a possibility that people would be signing up members to try to get selected at convention.

“We have to be very transparent in all our dealings, so the matter was appealled and the executive council of the party made a decision at the end of the day and some people were denied the opportunity to vote,” he added.

Convention chairman, Deputy Jim O’Keeffe, refused to be drawn on the controversy, preferring instead to dwell on the positive that the event represented the largest gathering at any Fine Gael selection convention in the country.

“I wouldn’t get involved in that controversy at all,” he said. “I think it is a great thing that we have so many members here. Quite a lot of them are new members and we are delighted to see new members coming in.

“We are a very open party and it’s great that they are coming in. I hope that they stay the course and become committed and long established members of the party.

“I want each of you delegates to secure ten votes for Fine Gael candidates selected for the General Election – if you do that Fine Gael will have two quotas and two seats. That’s the objection of this exercise. It is crucial that there are two seats in Clare for Fine Gael in the next election.

“I will be reporting to Enda Kenny on Tuesday – it will be a very strong report, it will be a very encouraging report.

“I have evidence before my own eyes of the vibrancy of the party in Clare. I think it is a great sign – I am hugely enthused by what I have seen here.

“I would wish that the enthusiasm and commitment that I have seen was translated in like measure all over the country in every constituency,” added Deputy O’Keeffe.

GARDAI in Clare were busiest in January, June and July of last year and note that their resources are most stretched during holiday periods. Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn said the increase in non-headline crime, by 31 per cent, is linked to alcohol.

“It is linked to the increased availability of money and the increased consumption of alcohol. The highest number of incidents occur during holiday time. These are very low in November and May, while the peak time for incidents would be January, June and July. January is linked with New Year’s Day,” he said, adding that a large percentage of incidents coincide with the closure of pubs and nightclubs.

Two pubs in Clare were closed last year for serving alcohol to underage people, while eight have been closed in the courts, over the years, under the Liquor Licensing laws.

The increases in the number of burglaries in Clare is a worry for gardai. There was a huge rise in the number of thefts from shops last year — 221, which is an increase by more than a third. Thefts from unattended vehicles fell by 15 per cent, to 187.

There were three burglaries in which firearms were used (aggravated burglaries) last year, while there were 317 burglaries last year, an increase of five per cent on the figure for 2004. Car break-ins has been particularly prevalent so far this year, and this is being targeted by gardai.

“We have been tracking this carefully. We have identified a number of people who we believe are responsible and are closely monitoring that. We are involved in a major operation across the western seaboard to counteract that,” said Chief Supt Quinn.

“You have groups from outside coming in to Ennis at night and they are hitting 10 to 12 cars at a time.”

There were two incidents of homicide last year and charges were brought in relation to both, which are pending before the courts. Incidents of rape and sexual assault decreased significantly. There were 192 drug seizures last year. 179 people were prosecuted for drugs offences last year, the majority of who were men aged 21 and over. There were 25 cases of breaches of domestic violence last year, 17 of which were for barring order breaches.

There were 4,784 road traffic proceedings initiated last year, which is an increase from 3,634 in 2004.

TONY Mulcahy’s selection as the second candidate on the Clare ticket for Fine Gael sparked a major controversy on Sunday evening, even before the official confirmation was announced.

As chairman of the Convention Deputy Jim O’Keeffe announced that Mulcahy would join Deputy Pat Breen on the ticket, some disgruntled voters at the back of the room booed loudly.

However, Mulcahy’s loyal supporters were having none of it and the Shannon Mayor was held shoulder high. Moments later Mulcahy, a native of Newcastlewest, spoke of his relief.

“I am relieved. It was a tough campaign. I knew it was going to be a hard battle,” said Mulcahy, a chef who works in the catering business in Shannon.

The huge increase in the number of people in the Shannon area declaring themselves as Fine Gael supporters benefited Mulcahy, who lives in the town and is involved in many sporting and social groups there.

“At the end of the day, I don’t apologise for anything I have done. Anyone is entitled to vote. If the people of Shannon come out and support me, I am not going to turn them away,” he pointed out.

Mulcahy dispelled any suggestions that the decision by Cllr John Crowe to withdraw at the last minute was part of a plan. Crowe first introduced Mulcahy to politics and encouraged him to enter politics 12 years ago.

The two formed a close alliance in the build-up to the Convention.

“I didn’t expect John not to contest. There was no preconceived plan. John is a great servant and campaigner and I regret him doing that. I am absolutely devastated for him,” Mulcahy said.

With the margin so tight in the end, Mulcahy believes his campaign team’s work swung the verdict in his favour.

“It is down to hard work. I had a team of 50 to 60, who have worked hard, while people came from all over the country to vote here today,” he said.

During his speech to members earlier in the evening, Mulcahy said, “Today is the proudest day of my life.”

Mulcahy was first elected to Shannon Town Council in 1994. Five years later he held on to that seat, and also won a seat on Clare County Council.

In 2004 he received 1,195 votes and retained the county council seat. He received almost two-and-a-half times the quota (820 votes) in the town council elections and retained his seat.

THE Labour Relations Commission (LRC) has imposed a news “black-out” on talks aimed at overcoming the impasse on the €30 million survival plan for Shannon Airport.

The talks commenced earlier this month with a Labour Court recommendation urging the parties to conclude the talks within a two-month period. Talks on restructuring commenced last summer, but were marred by accusation on both sides on the level of engagement. Before the LRC talks commenced earlier this month, no discussions had taken place on the substantive issues over the past nine months.

Fine Gael deputy Pat Breen said yesterday, “Obviously, if the LRC has imposed a blackout, they obviously mean business and we hope that all sides can produce a resolution beneficial to the future of Shannon.”

Shannon-based councillor Patricia McCarthy said, “Megaphone negotiations can have a negative effect and, on such a sensitive issue, I think it is advisable that a black-out has been put in place to avoid expectations being played-up or down. I believe, however, that there is a need to advise staff on how the talks are progressing.”

Both sides were observing the blackout and have declined to give any detail on progress.

Throughout the talks process, SIPTU has outlined its opposition to plans by the DAA to cut the workforce of 520 through 200 voluntary redundancies by outsourcing a number of areas of work at Shannon.

As part of the survival plan, the DAA is offering sums of up to €10,000 for the workers that remain. The voluntary redundancy package gives staff with over 24 years’ experience a €100,000 pay-off, and entitles workers to their company pensions at 55.

The DAA’s director for change, John Horgan, has previously expressed confidence that if the proposals were put to the workers at Shannon, a majority would vote in favour of the deal. Both the DAA and SIPTU declined to comment ahead of today’s talks.