Category: News

TWO ENNIS nightclub bouncers have been acquitted of assault, on direction of a judge, at Ennis Circuit Court.

Keith Molloy (34), of Waterpark View, Drumbiggle, Ennis and John Maduro (26), of Bishop’s Court, Ennis, had pleaded not guilty to assaulting Stuart Daly, causing him harm, on the Watery Road, Ennis, on February 27, 2005. Two others, Gerard O’Brien (30), Frenchcourt, Clonroad, Ennis, and his brother John O’Brien (27), of Radharc na hInse, Drumbiggle, Ennis, pleaded guilty, at the start of the trial, to assaulting Daly, causing him harm. They will be sentenced later this month.

All four were also accused of engaging in violent disorder, at the same place on the same night, but were also found not guilty, on direction.

Counsel for the prosecution, Stephen Coughlan told the jury at the outset that the assaults committed on Daly were such that they gave rise to a situation of violent disorder.

Stuart Daly, from Clancy Park, Ennis, told the trial Keith Molloy refused him entry to the Queen’s nightclub on the night in question, on the grounds that he was too drunk.

He said later that night he was knocked to the ground and kicked and boxed, on the Watery Road.

When asked who hit him, he said, “I’m not sure. I could see a grey bar coming down, hitting me.”

He sustained a broken leg in the incident. He told the court he heard afterwards that “they thought I had scraped (Keith Molloy’s) jeep.”

Barrister Michael Collins, who represented Molloy, said that when confronted, Daly pulled a knife. Daly denied this. Mr Collins said the only people to assault Daly were the O’Briens.

Gerard O’Brien’s barrister Michael Fitzgibbon said his client did not have any metal bar, but admitted he hit Daly “a few punches.” He said Daly attempted to jump over a wall and fell backwards. Daly denied this.

John O’Brien’s barrister Mark Nicholas said his client had no bar and gave Daly a few digs and slaps.

Maduro’s barrister Elaine Houlihan said her client did not touch Daly.

The court heard that in a statement to gardaí, Molloy said his jeep had been scraped with either a knife or key on the night in question. The only person he had stopped from entering the Queen’s that night was Stuart Daly.

After hearing legal submissions on the second day of the trial, Judge Con Murphy directed the jury to bring in a verdict of not guilty, on all charges.

CLARE County Council is to place details in relation to all new planning applications on its website later this year.

However, the Council’s Director for Planning, Bernadette Kinsella said that in response to concerns expressed by the Data Protection Commissioner on the level of detail to be made available online, the Council is in consultation with the Department of the Environment on the issue.

She said: “we are awaiting guidance from the department with regard to the treatment of applicants’ personal data.”

In the annual report of the Data Protection Commissioner published last week, the Commissioner stated that it has “an issue with the placing of the submissions in relation to planning files in their entirety on a web-site”.

The Data Protection Commissioner cites a case study in his report on the issue where he states “even where there is legislation providing that information must be made available to the public, this may not always mean that it is appropriate to place such information on a website”.

The Commissioner Office states: “where details of submissions are being placed on a website – thus being made available to a potentially huge audience – our advice is that the minimum of personal information should be disclosed.

“In our opinion, it should be sufficient in such cases to give the name and address of the person concerned. It should not be necessary for the general public (as opposed to Council officials) to have the phone numbers of the people concerned – the scope for abuse (e.g. in the form of harassing phone calls) is obvious in such cases.

“Where submissions are being scanned in order to be placed on a website, our advice is that any phone/ email contact details contained in them should first be ‘blacked out’.

“While this involves extra work for already hard-pressed Council officials, we believe that the effort involved is worthwhile in order to protect the privacy of the people concerned.

Ms Kinsella stated: “the Council commencerd scanning documentation relating to Planning applications in May, 2005.

“Since 1st January 2006 all new applications being lodged are scanned and available for viewing on the four computers located in the Public Office of the Planning Department.

“These computers provide members of the public with the ability to search Planning Files and view documents which have been scanned.

“We intend having these scanned images available on the Council website. It is planned that this would happen in the latter part of 2006, subject to the resolution of some technical issues.”

THE Diocese of Killaloe has been forced by Clare County Council into drawing up a masterplan for 85 acres of land in Ennis that could net the diocese a massive €30 million windfall.

Last night (Monday) Clare County Council voted unanimously to rezone 85 acres of land at Ashline to facilitate the relocation of Ennis National School.

The diocese proposes to construct 590 houses which would place a €150 million value on the development.

However, a diocesan spokesman confirmed to The Clare People yesterday that the diocese was forced by the council to draw up the tentative masterplan, as part of a proposal to relocate Ennis National School.

The diocese originally lodged a submission to rezone a small parcel of the land for ‘community use’ to allow the relocation of the school.

But, as the spokesman explained, “In order for the proposal to be evaluated, the council demanded that a masterplan be drawn up in relation to what would ultimately happen with all the lands owned by the diocese, before deciding on the school issue.”

Local auctioneer, Philip O’Reilly of Property Partners said last night that the rezoning would place a €30 million value on the diocesan property, based on a cost of €55,000 per site.

The masterplan has yet to be published.

However, The Clare People understands that the diocese’s consultants have told the council that the lands are better suited for high density housing than the three areas zoned for such at Roslevan, the Lahinch Road area and Clarecastle.

Along with 590 homes, the Diocese also proposes the development of sheltered housing for Cahercalla Hospital.

The proposal will allow the creation of distinct residential sub-areas, while community facilities will be placed at the centre of the area. The diocese also proposed a park area to separate the new development from existing housing.

They added that the proposal is also intended to facilitate the redevelopment of Ennis National School into a three-stream, 24 class school with the capacity for 707 students and a staff of 45.

The masterplan further proposes a commercial development to the entrance of the area that would be visible from the N68 roundabout.

The development of the lands is to be carried out in four phases over a 21-year period, with the first phase commencing in 2007-09 with the construction of the school.

MEDICS believe that the man found with serious head injuries in Lisdoonvarna a fortnight ago was assaulted.

Jim Kearney (56) was found unconscious close to the town centre, in the early hours of Monday, April 24. He has undergone surgery in hospital in Cork, where he remains in a critical condition.

Initial garda enquiries led them to believe he sustained his injuries in a fall. However, The Clare People has learned that new medical evidence has now raised further issues.

Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn, who is leading the investigation into the incident, said, “Further medical evidence, which is available to us now, would seem to indicate that the injuries may not have been inflicted due to a fall”.

“He has serious head injuries, which would seem to be caused by a fall, but what caused the fall is the question,” he added.

Gardai have interviewed a number of people who were in Mr Kearney’s company in the hours leading up to the incident and are continuing to conduct enquiries.

They will meet with medical personnel at Cork University Hospital this week, in an effort to further their investigations.

Mr Kearney is a native of Wexford and has worked as a chef in various north Clare restaurants for many years.

A YOUNG man who was the victim of an unprovoked attack in Ennis has told how he has become a recluse as a result – his attacker was jailed for four years last week.

Anthony Conlon received a threeinch deep wound to the chest, after he accidentally bumped into David O’Loughlin, along a footpath at Harmony Row, Ennis, on June 30, 2005.

O’Loughlin (19), unemployed, of Finian Park, Shannon, was jailed for attacking Mr Conlon, a native of Mayo, after he pleaded guilty.

Detective Sergeant Joe O’Brien told Ennis Circuit Court that Anthony Conlon (who was then 21) and his girlfriend were walking down the street at around 7.30pm.

O’Loughlin and Mr Conlon bumped into each other, along a narrow footpath. Words were exchanged between the two and O’Loughlin stabbed his victim in the chest, just under the ribs.

Mr Conlon sustained a wound, three inches deep and one-and-a-half inches long. O’Loughlin was arrested later that night and the following day he admitted his part in the stabbing.

He said he had thrown the knife into the River Fergus, but it was never recovered.

A consultant surgeon who assessed the victim said he was “lucky to have survived, considering the depth of the wound.”

Dt Sgt O’Brien said there was “absolutely no logic whatsoever” for what had happened, that the victim and his girlfriend were out for a walk, minding their own business.

He said O’Loughlin is a “very volatile individual” who comes from a “dysfunctional” family.

Mr Conlon, an apprentice aeroplane mechanic, was in intensive care for a week after the assault and was unable to work for five weeks.

“I don’t go out anymore. I am basically a recluse… No more walks – I take the car,” he told the court.

He has fully recovered from his injuries, but remains wary of anyone he meets on the footpath.

In court, O’Loughlin apologised. “There is nothing I can say or do to take away the injuries I have done to Anthony Conlon. All I can say is sorry.”

His barrister Brendan Nix said his client has been in foster care since he was 11.

“It is a bad case. It could have been an awful lot worse,” said Mr Nix.

Judge Con Murphy said the offence was “horrendous” he said Mr Conlon “very nearly sustained a fatal injury, given where he was stabbed was very near to his heart.”

He said he accepted O’Loughlin was pleading guilty and that he apologised.

“He came from a dysfunctional background, which is no fault of his own,” he said, imposing a four-year term.

O’Loughlin has already served six months on remand and this was taken into account.

A north Clare legal firm has secured planning permission for contentious plans to construct a first floor extension to its property.

The extension, at Chambers & Co., is a replacement for one that the company built without authorisation. They were subsequently refused permission to retain the structure and accepted they must demolish it.

Plans to replace the illegal structure with a smaller extension met with opposition from neighbours, Sean and Carmel Conway, who claimed the extension would have a detrimental effect on them.

But, granting permission, the council stated that the development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area, or of the properties in the vicinity and would be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

The council stated that by replacing the existing first floor extension with an ‘A’ shaped gable extension, the light to the Conway’s property would not be significantly affected.

THE Mayor of Ennis believes the only thing that will curb serious crime is to increase garda presence on the streets.

Councillor Frankie Neylon said it is not acceptable for someone to take out a knife and stab an innocent passer-by in broad daylight, as happened in the case of David O’Loughlin.

He was jailed for four years at Ennis Circuit Court last week for stabbing Anthony Conlon, at Harmony Row, Ennis, on June 30 last year. The attack occurred a stone’s throw from Ennis Garda Station.

“Anybody who takes it upon themselves to stab someone is just not acceptable,” he said.

“You don’t expect anybody to stab someone outside a garda station, or outside a hotel, or wherever.”

He expressed concern that knives are being carried around town and said this appears to be some people’s “daily routine.”

“When it comes into the town, you have to be able to deal with it. We are very short of gardai on the ground,” he said.

“We should be looking at some way of ensuring visitors to our town would be healthy while they are here and that they leave healthy. If you want to curb this, you have to have gardai on the streets,” he pointed out.

THE University of Limerick president, who extended the growing centre of education into Clare, has retired on health grounds. Professor Roger GH Downer decided to stand down as president and vice-chancellor last week following an 18-month battle with serious illness.

Under the forward-thinking professor’s leadership the university acquired 125 acres of land in Co Clare to allow expansion of the campus across the River Shannon. Building projects include the magnificent University Arena, MSSI Building, Millstream research complex, a bridge across the Shannon and three student villages. Prof Downer has also been credited with establishing the Office of the Dean of Teaching and Learning, which has introduced major initiatives in teaching, and learning.

During his presidency undergraduate student numbers increased substantially and he initiated the development of new programmes in various fields. He has also led the campaign to bring a graduate medical school to UL. In particular he focused on creating a researchintensive institution and achieved substantial increases in research income, research output, post-graduate student numbers, patent applications and spin-off companies.

Professor Downer nurtured relationships with local communities and was a champion of access programmes in socially disadvantaged areas of Limerick, established the access campus in Southill and arranged the building of the first crèche on a university campus in Ireland. Although he will stand down as president the professor will continue to undertake academic and related activities on behalf of the university until August, 2008, the date on which his tenure as President would have ended.

GARDAI say they are satisfied that serious head injuries sustained by a man in Lisdoonvarna last week were as a result of a fall.

Jim Kearney (56) was found in an unconscious state on a footpath close to the Square in the town, in the early hours of Monday last. He had been seen leaving a pub in the town a short time earlier.

Mr Kearney, a chef who hails from Wexford, was removed to hospital in Ennis.

He later underwent surgery at Cork University Hospital, where he remained in a critical condition yesterday.

It was initially unclear how he sustained his injuries.

A full garda investigation was conducted last week and a Detective Superintendent was deployed from Galway to work on the investigation.

Clare Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn said it appears Mr Kearney was not the victim of an assault.

“It seems there was nothing to indicate there was any assault. The indications are his injuries were as a result of a fall.

“Our investigations haven’t indicated there was anything suspicious,” he said.

A number of people have been interviewed by gardai, including those who found the Mr Kearney at around 2am, and people who were in his company earlier that night.

CLARE County Council is to proceed with plans to develop a further four permanent Traveller halting sites in Ennis and Liscannor this year. The sites will accommodate 20 families and the estimated cost is €6 million.

Last week the council announced that, after almost a decade, all Clare Travellers have been accommodated and there are no longer any Travellers living without water or sanitation on the roadside.

However, arising from new Traveller family formations and the need to accommodate those living in temporary emergency accommodation, the council has identified an accommodation need for 88 families, with 64 in immediate need.

According to an update provided to members of the Special Policy Committee (SPC), the council has identified sites at the Tulla Rd, Kilrush Rd and Ashline in Ennis and Laghcloon, Liscannor.

The update states, “Every effort will be made in 2006 to progress the construction of the permanent traveller accommodation sites as identified in the programme as a matter of urgency.”

Last year, the new Traveller Accommodation Programme was thrown into disarray after the council withdrew its Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for its original site earmarked for the Kilrush Rd.

County manager, Alec Fleming made the rare move after councillors voiced their opposition to the CPO on the lands at Kilmorane on the outskirts of Ennis. In pursuing the CPO, the council had placed in jeopardy two €250,000 homes currently being built for two elderly settled couples on the site.

Outlining the progress on the plan, the council’s acting director for housing, Josephine Cotter-Coughlan said, “In recent weeks, five Traveller families have been allocated standard local authority housing by Ennis Town Council and they will be taking up accommodation in the coming weeks.

“One further family has accepted accommodation from a voluntary body in the Ennis area and will also be taking up residency in the coming weeks. Clare County Council are currently advancing plans for a number of Group Housing Schemes in the Ennis and Ennistymon areas.

“Sites have been identified and discussions are taking place with the landowners involved. Permanent accommodation must be provided for the families living in the temporary emergency sites.

“There are also a number of families living in private rented or sharing with family members that must be accommodated in the current programme.

“There will also be new families formed in the coming years and their accommodation needs must be met,” she said.