Category: News

THE Holy Family School in Ennis yesterday expressed its concern at the impact of a proposed move by Ennis National School, to a new site without proper planning, on the future educational needs of the town.

The school yesterday reiterated its call for a sociological survey to be carried out before Ennis National School or Cloughleigh National School relocate to new sites, in the wake of Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council proposing to rezone a site at Ashline on the Kilrush Road to facilitate the relocation of Ennis National School.

Chairperson of the Board of Management of Holy Family, Ciana Campbell told The Clare People , “It is a matter of urgency that the sociological study be carried out. It is not good enough that it is proposed to build a new school and wait for a new community to be built around it. We have consistently asked for the study and are still asking for it. We don’t know why it hasn’t been carried out.”

The Board of Holy Family is now likely to make a submission to Clare County Council on the proposed rezoning and the impact it will have on the school.

Principal of Holy Family senior school, Margaret Cooney said, “We are opposed to any move by any school without proper planning. The planning that needs to be done around the proposed move by Ennis National School hasn’t been done.

“The council’s planner’s report into the rezoning talks about a new community being created around the new Ennis National School, but there is no mention of the impact this will have on the present community. The report has talked about the environment impacts, but said nothing about the human impact,” she added.

Ms Cooney pointed out that Holy Family’s Board wrote to Bishop Willie Walsh in 2002 seeking an independent sociological survey to assess the impact on other schools.

“This hasn’t been done. With Ennis and Cloughleigh moving, there is nothing going to be put in their place. Holy Family is at capacity and these are huge issues that nobody is addressing,” she said.

Ms Cooney also said she would not allow prefabs to be erected on Holy Family School.

“Personally, I would like to see a single stream school remain at the Ennis National School site. With the expansion of Ennis, we should be talking about additional schools for the town, not just relocating existing ones.”

A NEW daily flight service from Shannon to New York will see an additional 283 passengers through the airport every day.

Delta Air Lines today announced it is adding a further 14 weekly flights from Ireland to the US, tripling the number of services it operates from Ireland.

As part of Delta’s international expansion, which will see Delta Air Lines launch 11 new transatlantic routes across six new markets to become the largest carrier across the Atlantic between Europe and the US, Delta today started daily services from Shannon and Dublin to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

In addition, the airline is also increasing capacity on its services to Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport during the peak summer season.

From today, Delta will be the only US carrier to serve both the Southeast and the Northeast US from Ireland.

The good news for Shannon Airport comes just after Continental Airlines launched its new daily Shannon – Newark service, which began on Thursday, May 4.

This service is bringing an extra 25,000 seats annually and will provide a major boost to tourism and business activity in the region.

Loren Neuenschwander, Delta’s managing director for the Atlantic Region, said: “After 20 years, Ireland remains an important market for Delta, with particularly strong bilateral trade and industrial links, not to mention a thriving tourism industry between the two nations.

‘Over 900,000 visitors travel from the US to Ireland every year, with over 40 per cent coming from New York and the South-eastern states.

“Hence Ireland plays a key role in our major international expansion strategy.

“Demand for our new service between Shannon, Dublin and New York has been strong to date on both sides of the Atlantic and we are confident that this demand will continue.”

Delta’s new route between Ireland and New York-JFK forms an integral part in a series of 11 new transatlantic routes to be launched by Delta this summer, including six brand new markets – Kiev, Budapest, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv and Düsseldorf.

In total, Delta will offer non-stop service to more than 60 international destinations from Atlanta this summer, including 23 routes across the Atlantic. From New York-JFK, Delta will offer customers non-stop service to more than 28 international destinations with 18 routes across the Atlantic.

THE trial of a man accused of murdering Ennis native Fergal Landy outside his Killarney apartment has heard the deceased received two stab wounds, one of which was through the heart, and proved fatal.

Mr Landy (27), a native of Considine’s Road, Cloughleigh, Ennis, had lived in Killarney for some time prior to his death, in January of last year. He had worked as a chef in the tourist town and had been friends with the accused.

Joe Greaney (35), a native of Limerick, and with an address at Cahernane Meadows, Muckross Road, Killarney, denies murdering Landy, but admits manslaughter.

Outlining the Prosecution case to the jury at the outset of the trial, Senior Counsel Patrick McCarthy said the accused arrived at the deceased’s house – a short distance away – armed with a knife and a golf club and was “spoiling for a fight.”

“It appears that Mr Greaney contacted Mr Landy a short time before the fatal death,” said Mr McCarthy.

He said the initial contact was through a text message, and this was followed by a telephone conversation between the accused and the deceased.

“The telephone conversation was overheard on speaker phone by Mr Landy’s partner. A number of threats were made by the accused to the deceased,” he said.

Mr McCarthy said the accused had asserted that he was “coming to get” Mr Landy.

“He shouted, ‘Come out. I’m going to kill you’,” said Mr McCarthy.

According to Mr McCarthy, the accused said, ‘You are so dead,’ and ‘Come out you f***** or b******’.”

“We would say he [Greaney] was the aggressor,” said Mr McCarthy.

“The deceased came out of his home with a golf club. It was clear in the light of what was said, the accused was the aggressor. A person faced with a violent attack is entitled to defend himself. He took something with him to defend himself,” he added.

Mr McCarthy said, it’s the Prosecution’s case that, taking into account what was said by phone and text and the accused’s visit to the deceased’s home, the accused presented a “hostile” environment. He said that violence was committed on the deceased before midnight on January 24, but that he was not pronounced dead until after midnight on January 25.

Mr McCarthy said the fatal wound entered the chest cavity sack around the heart and went through to the heart. He said the weapon “has been described as a chef’s knife.” The wound was 12.2 centimetres deep and the knife was more than 29 centimetres long. Mr Landy sustained several other minor knife wounds.

The trial continues this (Tuesday) morning and is due to conclude later this week.

A THIEF roared at gardaí that he hoped they would “die a slow and agonising death” and tried to kick one of them in the face, a judge heard.

William Delaney, a Traveller with an address at Gort Road Industrial Estate, Ennis, pleaded guilty before Ennis District Court to stealing aluminium worth €1,000 at Quin Road Business Park on January 30. He also pleaded guilty to a charge under the Public Order Act.

The court heard that Delaney claimed he had been told by an employee of McCarthy builders that he could take the aluminium but that when gardai were called, he did not identify the person who had given him permission.

“He became abusive to a number of employees of the company and to gardaí at the scene,” a garda witness told Judge Joseph Mangan. “He roared that he hoped they would die a slow and painful death and he tried to kick a garda in the face.”

The man’s solicitor said that Delaney “was on medication on the day in question, although he is not offering this as an excuse and he is not offering this as an excuse for behaving without decorum. He has apologised profusely.”

The court heard that the aluminium was recovered. Delaney has seven previous convictions, Judge Mangan was told. The judge jailed Delaney for five months for the theft and two months for the Public Order offence. He set bail for an appeal at €750.

RESIDENTS of Flagmount and surrounding areas could be sitting on pots of silver and gold, and a Co Meath-based mineral explorations company is set to find out.

Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey has published a notice confirming that minerals, including silver and gold, appear to be under the lands in and around Flagmount, in the waters of Lough Graney and the islands it contains. These minerals are not being worked.

The Minister has confirmed that he intends to grant a license to Arum Mineral Resources Ltd, Aurum House, 40/41 Watergate Street, Navan, Co Meath.

The license will enable the company to explore the designated area for mineral deposit, though it does not authorise the holder to mine the areas.

The actions permissible under a prospecting license are, in general, non-invasive and have a minimal environmental impact.

Flagmount is one of three areas being targeted by prospectors. Minister Dempsey has also published his intention to give two separate licenses to Central Mining Finance Ltd, 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London, England.

The English firm is intending to prospect for silver and base metals in townlands around the Bunratty area and also in the east Clare townlands of Keelderry, Newtown and Ballymacdonnell.

On the prospect of gold under the lands at Flagmount, Clare County Councillor Pat Hayes (FF) told The Clare People: “I would be delighted if there was a gold mine under the land here. Whatever comes from that, the local community should benefit first.”

Cllr Hayes said that the prospectors have been coming to the Maghera area for a number of years seeking out minerals.

“Since I was a young fella, they have been coming to the area. I remember they found a little known mineral called diorite in the 1960s, though it was never mined.”

“It would be a massive boost for the area if gold was found in Flagmount. I am not sure if landowners have any rights to minerals under the ground. There is a query on that.

“We are so used to companies coming to east Clare looking for minerals, but they have never found enough to justify a commercial operation,” he added.

A SENIOR Clare Garda has said he expects the Criminal Assets Bureau to make a significant move on criminal gangs in Clare within the next year.

Speaking at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council, where Chief Superintendent of the Clare Garda Division Liam Quinn delivered a comprehensive overview of policing in Clare, Superintendent John Kerin said that he was confident that CAB would deal a major blow to criminal activity in Clare.

Responding to questions concerning the measures in place to deal with criminal activity Mr Kerin said, “Within the next 12 months, there would be very significant movement by the Criminal Assets Bureau” on criminals within Clare, but we need the help of the public and we would be keen to extend our drug education programmes to more schools.”

On the issue of increased resources for the Divisional Drug Squad Superintendent Kerin said that current staffing levels were adequate for the force to operate effectively, but that extra resources would be welcome

Earlier, Clare’s most senior Garda said the introduction of tough new Anti-Social Behaviour Orders would serve as an effective deterrent to crime in the county. Although saying he was reluctant to comment on matters which were still to be enacted into legislation, Chief Superintendent Quinn said that fear in communities and the broad groundswell of support for the measures would be welcomed.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders form part of the proposed new Criminal Justice Bill which is due to pass before the Houses of Oidreachta later this year.

Responding to queries from Councillor’s requesting his views on a wide variety of policing issues Mr Quinn said if adopted the measures would be useful.

“Normally, in matters to do with policies such as this, we tend to keep our noses out as they can get chopped off. There is fear in communities out there. I have worked in communities where fear is a very real situation and it is terrible. If and when the Minister does enact legislation we will make use of it straight away and there does seem to be a huge public support for it”

When pressed over his views on the formation of the controversial Garda Reserve Association (GRA) Mr Quinn said that in line with recent comments by the Association of Chief Superintendents he was not opposed to the proposal.

“There is a need for more resources. In so far as what the idea might be, I would like to see a Garda presence in every town but unfortunately that is few and far between.”

Cllr Jerry Flynn had earlier expressed his disappointment that Shannon was not to be considered a divisional Garda station while Cllr Bernard Hanrahan (FF) echoed the calls of many councillors that more resources should be provided for isolated rural areas to deal with the growing problem of drug abuse.

Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) said that more policeman were needed on the street and Councillor Brian Meaney (GP) said drug problems had to be dealt with through cross body initiatives.

Mr Quinn expressed his frustration over the delay in the roll-out of essential CCTV services in Ennis.

THE injuries sustained by a Shannon man in an accident in Spain may not have been as a result of a hit-and-run, it has emerged.

Ger Keane is in a critical condition in hospital in Spain with serious head injuries, following an incident while on a golfing holiday in Malaga last week.

It was initially thought he was the victim of a hit-andrun accident. However, a friend of Ger’s, who had travelled on previously holidays with the group, but was not available to travel to Malaga, said a clearer picture is now emerging.

“It seems that Ger came across two of this friends being mugged and went to get help. He was on his way back with a security guard and he may have jumped to get out of the way of a car and his head hit the footpath,” the friend said. “His injuries look like he may not have been hit by a car. Nobody actually saw what happened so it is not certain at this stage.”

Members of Ger’s family have travelled to Spain to be with him. Ger, who is in his early 40s, is well known in sporting circles in Shannon, particularly through his connection with Park Rangers soccer club, where he has played and coached youngsters.

DRASTIC traffic calming measures are to be introduced in a Clarecastle estate to curb mounting traffic problems in the area.

Temporary speed ramps are to be installed in St Joseph’s terrace after a petition containing 100 signatures from residents in the area was presented to council officals. Locals are said to be very concerned that the estate had become a “rat run” for traffic avoiding delays on the N18.

Councillors had originally wanted to install two permanent ramps in the area but agreed a temporary solution after Hugh McGrath, senior execuCALLS were made by a Clare TD at the weekend’s Fine Gael Árd Fheis to liberalise the Irish insurance market by allowing EU-based competitors greater freedom.

Speaking on a motion proposed by the Sandymount, Dublin, branch of Fine Gael, Clare Deputy, Pat Breen, tive engineer, expressed reservations about such a course of action.

The petition was presented by Cllr Joe Carey (FG) at yesterday’s Committee Meeting for the Ennis Electoral Area. Cllr Carey’s motion called on the council to urgently provide speed ramps as the heavy volume of traffic using the road posed a definite risk to children living in the area.

Cllr Carey said residents’ concerns had been ignored for too long and that urgent action was needed.

“There is potential there for a serious accident,” he said. “I know that this is tied up with the bypass being finished, but I don’t want to be the one explaining to parents that said that in a market such as Ireland’s, the insurance industry was relatively small and despite a lowering of prices in recent times, many analysts felt there was room for improvement.

“A small market restricts choice and leads to high prices. In any survey comparing profits, Irish insurers always come out better than insurance companies, for instance, in the ramps didn’t go in because the bypass wasn’t finished. Clare County Council must deliver speed ramps to the people of Clarecastle. It’s like a rally circuit down there at eight in the morning.”

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) supported Cllr Carey’s call, saying other forms of traffic management had a negligible effect on speeding.

“I’m living in an area where there were traffic calming measures imposed and you might as well have been lighting candles. If residents want that, then we should accept it.”

Mr McGrath said he was against the idea as speed ramps represented a last resort. “Speed ramps are the very UK market.

“In one notable survey by the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, it found that motor insurers in Ireland reported 11 times the profit earned by their UK counterparts between 1983 and 1999,” he said.

Deputy Breen, his party’s spokesman on small business, added that he received many queries from young last option on a list of traffic calming measures. We would conduct a traffic flow survey of the area to assess its needs. Lighting and signage are far more effective. Ramps have a detrimental look, feel and sound.”

There were some heated exchanges over the issue. When Mr McGrath asked whether councillors now determined engineering policy for Clare County Council, Cllr Brennan replied that as elected officials, wanted their decisions carried out.

Tom Coughlan, director of services, intervened and proposed a compromise. “There has never been a vote at an Ennis Electoral meeting. We could put in temporary ramps.” people in particular who are frustrated at the prohibitive cost of motor insurance.

“I feel that new entrants would encourage more attractive packages for such people,” he said.

He pointed out that if the Irish insurance market was healthy and competitive as was often claimed by the industry here, then they have nothing to fear from competition.

“In the same way that entrants such as the Bank of Scotland are shaking up the mortgage market, I feel the entrance of new insurers to the market would have a positive effect for consumers.

“If Ireland is to shake off its ripoff image then the underlying reality has to be tackled. It’s not just about marketing the image but tackling the cause,” he said.

Deputy Breen said afterwards that any person unable to get a quotation for motor insurance could contact the Insurance Information Service (016761914) who would assist them and arrange for their case to be considered under the terms of the Declined Cases Agreement.

Among the other Clare Fine Gael members who attended the weekend Ard Fheis for a special meeting of the party’s councillors were cllrs Madeleine Taylor Quinn, John Crowe, Martin Conway, John ‘Mashen’ McInerney, Oliver Garry, and Joe Cooney. Councillor Crowe missed by one vote being elected to the executive committee of Fine Gael councillors.

FIANNA Fáil members in Clare will kick off the party’s 80 year anniversary celebrations over the weekend with a commemorative evening in Kilfenora.

The event, which has been organised by the Ennistymon/Miltown Malbay and North Clare sections of the party, is the opening event in a nationwide calendar of events taking place over the weekend.

Retiring Clare TD, Síle deValera, will be guest of honour at the ceremony which will take place in Vaughan’s Bar on Saturday evening.

“The main event of the celebration will be Síle deValera’s speech,” said one of the events organiser, Mary Crawford.

“She will speak on the topic of ‘Fianna Fáil: 80 years on’ and will be the only person to make a speech on the night.”

Another highlight of the night will be a special commemorative booklet compiled by the west and north Clare groups.

The booklet will include a variety of photographs from the last 80 years as-well-as messages from An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds.

“It is a compilation of all the things that people have picked up from over the years,” continued Ms Crawford. “All the photos that are in there have some significance for Clare people. For example, there is one great photo of Charley Haughey meeting a group in Miltown Malbay where his driver at the time came from.”

The event will be attended by Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Corofin’s Tony Killeen who remembers some of the parties biggest achievements in the county.

“Undoubtedly, Dr Paddy Hillery signing Irelands accession in to the EU was a major achievement for the party in Clare,” said Minister Killeen.

“Clare has also benefited from the economic revival over the last number of years and Fianna Fáil can claim a lot of the credit for that.

“I have a slightly different view of this from that of other people as I have attend Council of Ministers meetings in the EU and see the level of admiration that is there for the Irish success story.”

The Kilfenora commemoration will be followed on Sunday by a major exhibition of artefacts in University College Dublin. This exhibition will feature a significant amount of photography and election material and includes Fianna Fáil’s first ever policy poster.

CLARE’S 2,300 registered Fine Gael members are focused on this Sunday’s selection convention in Ennis where five party members, including sitting TD Pat Breen, will fight it out for two nominations to run for the party at the next general election.

The other four candidates seeking selection are former TD Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn; Cllr Joe Carey, the son of former TD Donal Carey; Cllr John Crowe; and Cllr Tony Mulcahy.

Deputy Breen said the number of people seeking selection was a mark of the vibrancy of the party in Clare.

“Unfortunately there will be losers as well as winners at the convention but I know that everybody has their eye on the greater goal of regaining a second seat in Clare,” he said.

“I am looking forward to a dynamic convention where the party faithful in the county will get an opportunity to assess the candidates.”

With five of the better-known members of the party vying for a position on the blue team’s ticket in 2007, one Fine Gael insider has predicted, “it will be a right dog-fight.”

Fine Gael won two seats in Clare in the 1982, 1987 and 1989 elections. Deputy Breen added that it was apparent from this weekend’s Ard Fheis in Dublin that there was a new mood of optimism in the party which had built itself up and unified itself under the leadership of Enda Kenny.

“Leading the Fine Gael team going into the next election will be an honour,” he said.

“I have spent the last four years seeing at first hand what the problems and issues are for people in Clare and after nine years of the same Government, people are looking for change.”

The party selection convention is scheduled for the West County hotel in Ennis this coming Sunday.

The Fine Gael party has seen a 2,000 per cent increase in its membership in Shannon town in the past year.

Membership has increased three fold across the county.

The Shannon town branch has swollen to 21 and a half times its original size, from 24 to 516 in the run up to its election convention now pencilled in for mid-May.

Across the county the party figures have also increased to more than 2,400 members as the party prepares for its one member, one vote general election candidate selection process.