Category: News

NEARLY a quarter of million euros worth of funding announced on Friday for the repairs of four Clare piers is part of the € 16.8 million previously announced by the Government, despite reports to the contrary.

The funding – which amounts to € 130,950 for Liscannor Pier, € 65,700 for Ballyvaughan Pier and € 18,000 for Seafield Pier and Kilbaha Pier in West Clare – will not come from fresh government funding.

Councillors at yesterday’s North Clare Meeting of called for an end to the Government “spin” in relation to the Government funding for the storms, which they say is creating confusion amongst the public.

“We should not have any further announcements of this kind, this is very misleading. The very least that could be done is that we should know where we stand. This sort of confusion is not acceptable,” said Cllr Richard Nagle.

A spokesperson from Clare County Council said that the most recent announcement was supposed to indicate the exact locations where the funding would be spent and not to indicate that new funding was being made available.

Cllr Michael Kelly (FF), said that the most recent statement represent “spin” from the Government.

“There should be clarity, this is all spin. We would all be as well off to get a clear statement and leave it at that,” he said.

“This is the second time that there has been a misunderstanding like this. There is a lot of misinformation coming out about this funding.”

The four piers were severely damaged by the successive storms which rocked the Clare coast in January and February.

“This is no extra money, it is just clarification of where that money is going. My understanding is that this money has already been included in the general fund and that is that,” said a council spokesperson.

THE famous Lahinch ‘loo with a view’ – a tiny plot of land on the promenade which was sold for more than € 400,000 at the height of the property bubble – could soon revert to previous function as a public toilet.

The tiny property, which was sold by Clare County Council in June of 2008, could yet be purchased back by the local authority and redeveloped as toilets, using the same € 400,000 which the council received from the sale of the property more than five years ago.

Plans to develop a new state of the art public toilet facility at Lahinch have been shelved for a number of years. The money raised from the sale of the old toilets has been ringfensed for the project but Clare County Council has been waiting for matching funding from Fáilte Ireland before gong forward with the project.

Council officials at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting of Clare County Council said that the possibility of purchasing back the “loo with a view” would be examined. The property has not been developed since it was purchased at auction in 2008.

“Surely to God we could buy back that block at the top of the prom- enade and put in place a state of the art toilet. How much do you want to spend on these toilets?” said Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) yesterday.

“I am very frusratrated with the situation. Nothing has been done by Clare County Council or Fáilte Ireland. The criticism that we are getting in Lahinch because of the lack of toilets is unreal. We can’t walk down the promenade without being criticised. We have no public toilets in Lahinch and I think that is an absolute disgrace.”

At present the public is provide with access to toilets at Lahinch Seaworld, which councillors yesterday said were not adequate to deal with the crowds who descend on Lahinch beach each summer.

Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) also said that the council should not spend any more money on consultants reports.

“There were no less than three different consultants involved in producing the report and since the report was produce nothing has been done,” he said.

“Every year, every councillor in inundated with complaints about the toilets in Lahinch because they are not fit for purpose.”

The possibility of using the € 400,000 to extend and develop the current toilets at the Lahinch Seaworld will also be examined.

A COTTAGE industry in the cultivation of cannabis seems to be forming in West Clare according to a District Court Judge.

Judge Patrick Durcan made the comments during the case of a 44year-old man who appeared before him charged with growing six cannabis plants in his Tullycrine home.

Stephen McMinn of Tullycrine, Kilrush pleaded guilty to the cul- tivation of cannabis plants without a licence contrary to Section 17 of Misuse of Drug Act 1977 and the unlawful possession of a controlled drug contrary to Section 3 and Section 27 (as amended by section 6) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1984.

The court heard that on May 23 gardaí searched the defendant’s home in the presence of his wife and discovered six potted plants.

Defence solicitor Fiona Hehir told the court that he was growing the plants for his own recreational use.

“He is on social welfare and doesn’t have the money to go out at night and grows it as a pastime,” she said.

She added that he no longer smokes the drug and was “not a man typically involved” in this crime.

“It was more of an experiment,” she said.

Judge Durcan questioned if this did not make the issue more serious.

“You seem to have a bit of a cottage industry here in Clare,” he said to Gardaí.

“There is a bit of it,” replied pros- ecuting Garda Supt Seamus Nolan.

“More than a bit,” replied the judge.

The superintendent pointed out that there were a number of similar cases before the court.

“You don’t have a poitín problem down here?” queried Judge Durcan.

“More sale and supply,” replied the Garda Superintendent.

He added that it was “not something we take lightly.”

The judge ordered a probation report for Mr McMinn for May 20.

CLARE County Council reached settlements totaling € 8,837 on pothole related public liability claims since 2012.

The figures for public liability and employee liability claims settled or in process for 2012 and 2013 were revealed at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council.

Cllr Brian Meaney requested the information in a motion submitted to the adjourned March meeting.

He stated, “I request a case by case listing of all public liability and employee liability claims lodged settled or in process against Clare County Council for the year 2012, 2013”.

The Fianna Fáíl councillor also requested details of any legal costs arising from the claims.

The figures supplied by Clare County County Council show € 4,269 was paid out in pothole settlements in 2012.

Almost half of the settlements re late to a pothole in the Claureen area of Ennis.

In 2012, the council agreed settlements of € 2,117 for claims made in relation to potholes in Claureen.

Cllr Meaney questioned what measures the council is taking to ensure it doesn’t have to make further payments for pothole related claims.

He said in the case of Claureen pothole, it might be more accurate to call it the “Claureen chasm”.

Cllr Meaney also questioned what work had been done to repair a pothole in Fanore, which he said seems to have become more of a “fissure”.

The figures show that the council agreed a settlement of € 3,369.24 in 2013 for a claim arising from a pothole on the Fanore Coast Road.

“Did the car fall in, in its entirety to the thing or what happened”, asked Cllr Meaney.

He also sought further information on why the council paid out a settlement of € 10,912 in 2012 for a defective public litterbin in Shannon town.

Senior Executive Officer, Michael McNamara told the meeting that he did not have the information to hand.

A FAMILY were “terrorised” at their home in Shannon when a gang of 12 people arrived for a confrontation in the early hours of New Year’s morning, a court has heard.

Grandfather Michael Murphy (45) suffered cuts to his face, lip and knee during the incident at the Cluain Alainn estate in Shannon at around 4.30am on January 1, 2012.

Mr Murphy and his then 19-yearold son Kieran had to run a “gauntlet” of kicks and punches during the ordeal, the court heard.

Garda Colm Moriarty of Shannon Garda Station told the court that as many as 12 people were outside the house at during the incident which was sparked by an alleged assault at Finian Park in Shannon earlier that night. Four people appeared before Ennis Circuit Criminal Court yesterday having pleaded guilty to violent disorder. Schoolmates Daniel Larkin (22), from Mount Ivers, Sixmilebridge, Jake Egan (22), from Aidan Park, Shannon, Shane O’Connor (23), from Ballycasey Manor, Shannon and Gearoid Condron (22) from Drumline, Newmarket on Fergus, were among a large gang of people that traveled in cars from Shannon and Ennis to the quiet residential area near Hurler’s Cross.

Mr Murphy, his wife, son, daughter and young granddaughter were in the house at the time.

Garda Moriarty told the court that at one point a person, not one of the four men before the court, threatened to burn down the house.

When Mr Murphy Snr pleaded that there was a young child in the house, the reply from the person was “F*** the kids”. Garda Moriarty agreed with prosecuting counsel, Stephen Coughlan’s view that the Murphy family were “terrorised” on the night. The court heard Mr Murphy’s daughter was afraid to stay in the house for weeks after the event.

Garda Moriarty said Daniel Larkin organised people to go to the Murphy home to confront Kieran Murphy.

He said Mr Larkin alleged that he had been “jumped” by Kieran Murphy in Shannon at around 1.30am that night. The groups had been socialising in the Shannon Knights Pub. The court heard Michael Murphy found Mr Larkin and Jake Egan standing outside his front door at 4.30am. They were roaring for Ki- eran Murphy to come outside, the court heard.

Mr Egan, who plays rugby with St Senan’s rugby club, used his foot to prevent Mr Murphy from closing the door, an action that forced Mr Murphy to hit Mr Egan.

Counsel for the DPP, Stephen Coughlan told the court that Michael and Kieran Murphy went to the edge of the property and asked the gang to leave. Counsel said the men were “harried, circled and struck from behind”.

“It was like running a gauntlet. They were struck by one person, then another and then another”, he added.

At one point Kieran Murphy brought a knife to the door but was persuaded by his mother to leave the weapon in the house.

Garda Moriarty told the court Gearoid Condron and Shane O’Connor arrived at the house having been driven from Ennis in a black Audi car.

The court heard that Mr O’Connor, a rugby player, shouted “C’mon so you f*****, swing for me” at Mr Murphy Snr. Gearoid Condron, the court heard, pushed his way into the hallway and engaged in a fight with Michael Murphy. Mr Condron denies entering the house. At this point, the court heard that Kieran Murphy struck Mr Condron with a golf club.

Garda Moriarty said Daniel Larkin kicked the taillights of two cars parked in the driveway.

Jake Egan and Shane O’Connor have no previous convictions. Daniel Larkin has 16 previous convictions for road traffic offences.

Gearoid Condron has three previous convictions for road traffic offences. Judge Gerald Keys said he was willing to adjourn sentence to April 29 to allow the men time to come up with compensation for the victims. He ordered the four men to pay the money from their own pockets.

“This is money you are going to have to earn for yourself for the outrageous conduct of all four of you”.

Judge Keys said this was a case where Mr Murphy Snr had been kicked in the face. He said the accused were all educated men from good family backgrounds.

“None of you will walk away from this court without living up to your responsibility to Mr Murphy”, he added. The men were remanded on continuing bail to appear again in court on April 29. Judge Keys said he was not ruling out a custodial sentence.

PASSENGERS flying in and out of Shannon airport for St Patrick’s Day celebrations sighed with relief on Wednesday when a strike scheduled for Friday was called off, just over 36 hours before it was due to begin.

There was however some disruption to plans as Aer Lingus had cancelled 29 flights at the three airports affected and made changes to more than 40 others on Thursday and Fri- day.

Despite the upheaval however a delegation of council staff along with the mayors or deputy mayors of Clare, Kilrush, Ennis and Shannon made their flights to represent the county at parades, official functions and trade meetings in New York and New Jersey.

The Tulla Pipe Band also boarded a flight from Shannon to New York on Saturday to lead the Clare delegation down Fifth Avenue for the New York St Patrick’s Day parade.

On Wednesday the High Court granted an injunction preventing the union from staging the planned fourhour work stoppage at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports on Wednesday.

The threatened action was part of an ongoing dispute between workers, the Dublin Airport Authority and the Shannon Airport Authority over pensions.

Mr Justice Paul Gilligan upheld the injunction sought by the DAA and urged the parties to cooperate with the expert panel to resolve the dispute.

The DAA, Ryanair, Aer Lingus and the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, welcomed the move.

“I have said on a number of occasions that the strike should have been deferred given that the expert panel is currently engaging with all parties involved in the dispute,” said the Minister.

Fianna Fáil’s Transport and Tourism spokesperson Timmy Dooley said, “Around 10,000 passengers have been affected by this action on one of the busiest weekends of the year for the Irish tourism industry. The disruption has the potential to blight the good reputation that Ireland has built up over many years,” he said.

“While every worker has the right to strike to protect their interests, it should only be used a method of last resort, and not a threat issued when negotiations are still ongoing.”

The workers union SIPTU said it would be considering the judgment.

WEST Clare has produced not one but seven new millionaires, as the € 8.3 million Lottery Jackpot of March 5 was claimed on Thursday morning last.

Each of the lucky winners will receive almost € 1.2 million as a result of the € 24 prize winning ticket they bought in Miniter’s, Henry Street. Kilrush.

The secretive seven have elected to remain anonymous.

One of the lucky syndicate members spoke of the excitement the group felt since they became millionaires more than a week ago.

“Last Thursday morning I heard that the winning ticket was sold in Kilrush. I logged on to the lottery website and was in total disbelief when I saw we’d won.

“I couldn’t focus on the numbers. I thought that there must have been a mistake,” he said.

“I felt about 90 per cent sure we’d won, so I phoned the rest of the group and said, ‘I think we’ve won the lottery.’

Some of them thought I was messing and one said, ‘we’ve either won or we haven’t – there’s no think about it.’

It’s an amazing feeling. We’re absolutely delighted – it’s made millionaires of us all,” he added.

The lucky syndicate has played Lotto each week for the last two and a half years.

Their winning ticket was a mixed- play ticket and a Quick Pick was the winning line that landed them the massive € 8.3 million win.

The happy winners plan to have a quiet celebration and take some time to let the news settle before making plans.

This is the largest Lotto jackpot winning ticket to be sold in County Clare in Lotto history.

Over € 45 million in Lotto jackpot and Lotto Plus top prizes has been paid out in the Banner county since lotto began in 1988.

EVEN on the back of the Gathering and a reinvigoration of the American market.

Early bookings for Clare in 2014 indicate a major growth in visitors from England, mainland Europe, especially Germany, and Irish tourists.

Despite a slow start to 2014, brought about as a result of the storms in January and February, early booking at the Cliffs of Moher put them on target for a sizable increase on 2013, which was the attraction’s best year on record. If these number continue throughout the year, the Cliffs should break the one million visitor mark for the first time ever.

Despite a 12 per cent drop in visitors numbers to the Cliffs of Moher so far this year, manager Katherine Webster is predicting a healthy growth over the 12 months of 2014.

“No less than the rest of coastal County Clare, the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience had a challenging enough start to the year with the storm conditions experienced in January and the first half of February. Extreme weather led to the visitor centre clos- ing on a total of seven days in these two months. Prior to 2014, the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre had closed a total of 7 times in 7 years,” she said.

“As a result of the storm closures our visitor numbers for the first two months of the year are down on last year by 12 per cent on the same period in 2013. However, the month of March has started strongly and our advance bookings for the remainder of this month and for the season ahead are ahead of last years levels.”

Ennis hotelier Brian O’Neil yesterday urged Clare businesses to take advantage of the tourism trends and put Clare back on the Irish and inter- national map. He cites the introduction of a regular and inexpensive bus connections between Dublin and Ennis by Dublin Coaches a game changer for the local tourism market.

“There is a sea-change coming for tourism in Ennis and in Clare. The problem for tourism over the last few years has been the day tours coming out of Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher and other venues and spending very little in Clare,” he said.

“They [Dublin Coaches/Quick Tours] are going to make Ennis their mid-west hub. So people can stay in Ennis for a number of days and take day trips to the Ring of Kerry.

THE Clare tourism industry is primed for a bonanza in 2014, with tourist numbers visiting the county projected to grow by more than 10 per cent on last year.

A number of new initiatives – such as increased flights through Shannon Airport, the establishment of a low cost bus service to Dublin and the reopening of the the Spa Wells in Lisdoonvarna – are set to bring tourist numbers to record highs over the next ten months.

This predicted increase comes on the back of a double digit growth in tourism numbers coming to Clare last year – an increase that was driv

THE main road to the Loop Head Peninsula, which was closed for almost six weeks following severe storms, reopened on Friday afternoon.

Clare County Council completed extensive works to rebuild and repair over 100 metres of the regional road and coastal wall along Kilbaha Bay.

The reopening of the road was welcomed by the Mayor of Clare, Councillor Joe Arkins, who said, “The temporary reconstruction works were necessary to re-establish connectivity in Kilbaha and the wider Loop Head Peninsula, and are a timely boost for the upcoming tourist season. Recent weeks have already seen the launch of the Wild Atlantic Way with a number of Discovery points along that route situated in the greater Loop Head area.”

Works undertaken by council staff include the positioning of over 3,000 tonnes of rock armour along the sea- front, 1,200 square meters of surfacing works, and the pouring of over 200 cubic metres of concrete.

Siobhan Garvey, Marketing and Development Officer for West Clare said, “There is no doubt that visitors planning a trip to Loop Head Lighthouse and the Bridges of Ross on the Loop Head Peninsula will appreciate the improved coastal protection works, car parking facilities and increased safety infrastructure that has now been put in place at these locations.”

“The improvement works completed today add to a number of tourism infrastructural projects that were completed at both these locations along with the West End in Kilkee late in 2013. The speed at which these works were completed and the continued investments made in the Loop Head area reflects the Council’s commitment to tourism and to continually building the tourism product in the rural parts of County Clare,” she added.