Category: News

THE bottles were well shaken and then uncorked, sending showers of champagne around the parade ring during this Easter Sunday celebration of returning Grand National heroes Martin Brassil and Numbersixvalverde.

Fittingly, the Dromoland Point-toPoint attracted one of its biggest ever crowds. Most of them had gathered to see Newmarket-on-Fergus man Brassil return in triumph to his home Point-to-Point after Numbersixvalverde’s stunning success in the 159th running of the greatest steeplechase in the world.

Sustained applause rang out around the old Dromoland Castle estate as Brassil and Numbersixvalverde arrived in the parade ring. A crowd of over 1,000 people had gathered to witness the historic occasion and show their appreciation.

“We’re in the presence of greatness here today,” came the announcement over the public address and everyone displayed their approval.

Brassil, whose introduction to national hunt racing came at the famous Dromoland Point-to-Point fixture, was bowled over by the reception.

In the emotion of the occasion, the National hero recalled how Dromoland and its racing had always inspired him.

“This is where it really started for me. When I was a young fella I would stand on top of the pier of the gate at home in Lisduff to see the top of the Turret Hill where the Point-to-Point used to be staged,” Brassil told The Clare People .

“I’d be looking up to see if I could see them setting up the course – if the tents were being erected and the fences were going up. It was the biggest day of the year and to come back here having won the Grand National and to get this reception is unbelievable.

“It’s great to be back in Dromoland in these circumstances – I’m amongst my own.

“I grew up with horses – horses were my life but you never dream of winning something like the Grand National.

“It’s the race everyone bets on, it’s the race that everybody watches – to win it has been an unbelievable experience for me and the reception I have got has been unbelievable. But this is extra-special for me, as I have come home.

“In one way, you could say that it goes in the family.

“My grandfather’s first cousin bred the winner of the Grand National – his name was William Reidy, from Rineanna, who bred Shannon Lass who won the race way back in 1902. I was aware of Shannon Lass growing up, but didn’t realise that there was a family link there,” added Brassil.

A HOMELESS hostel for the growing number of homeless people in Ennis may be in place before the end of the year.

In the absence of a hostel, two homeless people died sleeping rough in the town in recent years, according to the Chairman of Clare County Council’s Special Policy Committee on Housing, Cllr Joe Arkins (FG).

“People die everyday, but in a wealthy society, we should be appalled that people are dying on our streets,” he said.

A meeting of the committee heard that, currently, there are 10 people sleeping rough in Ennis and eight young people sleeping rough in Shannon.

St Vincent de Paul has entered pre-planning discussions with Ennis Town Council about a property in Ennis, which the organisation is considering purchasing to use as a hostel, according to Cllr Arkins.

Community Welfare Officer, Margaret Coffey told the meeting that the county’s homeless problem was being exported, with Clare homeless people receiving accommodation in hostels in Limerick and Galway.

Ms Coffey told the meeting that there were two or three bed and breakfasts in Ennis that accommodated homeless people.

“But it is becoming more and more difficult to get accommodation and, with the dancing championships on in Ennis this week, the bed and breakfasts just want the people out.

“Over the Summer it becomes next to impossible to get accommodation. That is why it is essential that a hostel is opened.”

Ms Coffey said that the age profile for homeless people presenting went from 17 to 75 years of age.

She added that Clare Haven Services provides a refuge for victims of domestic violence where women and children are accommodated.

However, Ms Coffey said that when a man presented as homeless, who was also a victim of domestic violence, there were no suitable services to direct him towards.

Ms Coffey said that the absence of the hostel is a major deficiency in the needs of homeless people. A hostel had “been talked about for four of five years, but there has been little progress,” she said.

It cost €320,000 for the homeless unit, since its establishment three years ago by the council and the Health Services Executive, to cater for 1,301 homeless people presenting.

Last year, the Unit spent €157,000 providing for 490 people, with most of the money being spent on bedand-breakfast accommodation.

Cllr Arkins said that the provision of a hostel is not a solution to the problem, but is one of the tools that can be used in addressing the issue.

He expressed his preference for a centrally located site in Ennis, with no neighbouring properties, to avoid planning objections.

AER LINGUS workers have been urged to join forces with fellow SIPTU members in the Great Southern Hotel chain, to take industrial action against the privatisation of the airline.

A member of Fingal Council, the local authority which has Dublin airport in its area, has called for escalating industrial action.

The call for SIPTU members working for Aer Lingus to take action would also affect members of the union working at Shannon Airport.

Councillor Clare Daly (SWP) said that the “privatisation of Aer Lingus is totally unjustified. It represents a threat to reasonable wages and conditions. We could face an Irish Ferries style situation once multinational speculators move in.”

Cllr Daly said she was “urging my union, SIPTU, to immediately convene a major conference of workers from both Aer LIngus and the Great Southern Hotels group, to draw up a serious campaign of escalating industrial action to stop this neoliberal Government, implementing privatisation policies for which it has no mandate.”

The call comes after SIPTU airport members, voted recently on a mandate for industrial action, should the management try to force rationalisation measures through.

The industrial unrest comes at a time when Shannon is reporting a 22 per cent increase on the number of passengers travelling when compared to the Easter Bank Holiday of last year.

Overall figures for the year show that passenger traffic at the Clare airport has grown by 38 per cent.

Despite the strong results, the directors of the Dublin Airport Authority have said that the break-up of the three airports will not take place for some time and probably not for at least a year.

The Authority will need about €300 million of distributable reserves before the break-up can go ahead.

At present, reserves stand at just €141 million.

DAA Chairman, Gary McGann, said that giving Cork Airport a debt-free status in future, as was suggested, could make the break-up even harder to achieve. He said he supported the new terminal at Cork, which is due to open shortly, but the question was finances.

NUMEROUS teaching principals in County Clare have resigned their position of responsibility and returned to teaching full time, due to what the INTO has described as lack of government support.

Clare representative on the Central Executive Committee of the INTO, Declan Kelleher, told The Clare People that teaching principals are among the most exploited group of workers in the entire public service.

Later today, the Corofin teacher will highlight the plight of the teaching principal when he addresses the annual primary teacher’s union conference, held this year in Killarney.

“So callous is the disregard of principals by the Department of Education and Science that they must be accused of denying proper health and safety standards to primary principals. Many principals are suffering damage to their health, because they are being allocated a workload which cannot be carried out without the required infrastructure,” he said.

The Clare INTO representative pointed to developments such as the Education Act, Education Welfare Act and the revised primary curriculum, summer work schemes and devolved grants as some of the extra responsibilities landing on school principals’ overcrowded desks.

The average number of applicants for a teaching principal position is now down to two from 10.

The INTO representative claims the added responsibility, without remuneration or appropriate infrastructure, is the root cause of the unpopularity of the job.

“Likewise, how can it be logical to acknowledge that at 179 pupils a school will have an administrative principal with 183 days to administer the school, whilst the principal in the school of 178 pupils has only 22 days substituted cover per annum provided for her or his administration time,” he added.

The Clare branches of the INTO will also highlight difficulties with class sizes during the week-long conference, amid claims from delegates that the Minister for Education has discriminated against small and medium-sized primary schools.

Under new Department of Education regulations, a 15-teacher school can expect a reduction of nine pupils on the staffing schedule, but at eight teachers there is only a drop of one.

“Obviously the minister feels that there is no class size problem in small and medium-sized primary schools. Rural schools feel totally frustrated and let down by this minister for education,” said Mr Kelleher.

A LITTLE-KNOWN Shannon-based aircraft engine leasing firm, which employs just 16 people, recorded a profit of over €35 million last year.

Accounts filed to the Companies Office by Shannon Engine Support Ltd (SES) show that recorded a profit of €35.74 million to the end of December 2004.

Staff at the company received, on average, a salary of €103,625, with the overall salary payout being €1.658 million. The directors received €385,000 between salaries and bonuses.

Of the 16 staff, seven work in customer support, four in marketing, two in finance and three in administration. The company’s net profit increased by €11.5 million on that recorded in 2003.

According to the accounts, “the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Engine Support Holdings (a subsidiary of CFM International Inc) and is engaged in the provision of a range of aircraft engine management services to the international civil aviation industry, centred on the provision of comprehensive spare engine support and allied services.

“The company has had a successful year, operating effectively. It is expected that the business will continue to develop and that the company is well positioned to benefit from any upturn in the aviation industry.”

The company had a turnover of €86.9 million in 2004 and its operating costs were €49.2 million. Its gross profit was €37.7 million and less administration costs resulted in an operating profit of €33.85 million. Four of the company’s directors are French and three are from the US. At the end of 2004, the company’s fixed asset were priced at €455 million with current assets valued at €66 million.

The largest proportion of business was carried out in Europe where the company received €44 million in revenues; €19 million in the Asia Pacific region; €12.6 million in the US and €11 million in the “rest of the world”.

At the end of 2004, the company’s fixed asset were priced at €455 million with current assets valued at €66 million. The accounts also show that the largest proportion of the company’s profits came from “aircraft engine support activities”, where the company received €60 million. It received €25 million in respect of future engine maintenance costs.

CLARE County Council has claimed that the Environmental Protection Agency acted outside its powers in censuring the local authority over its management of its €8 million landfill at Inagh.

Last month, the agency served the fifteenth non-compliance notice on the council over the management of the landfill.

The non-compliance notice centred on the alleged felling trees during the nesting seasons and on continuing odour problems caused by the landfill. However, in a strongly-worded five page response, the council is now formally requesting that the agency withdraw the two non-compliance notices.

“The agency would appear to have arbitrarily issued a non-compliance in relation to tree-felling, which it can be argued, is outside the scope of the licence as the issue of tree-felling is defined and protected within other statute.

“In the council’s view, the agency have in effect, acted ultra vires in the issue of non-compliance notice, as the basis for its issue is held by other authorities.”

The council pointed out that the Forestry Service and the National Parks and Wildlife Service had both categorically indicated that they had no reservation in relation to tree felling on this site.

“The felling of conifer trees during the first week of March would have minimal effects on the well-being of nesting birds as the birds would only be in the earliest stage of nestbuilding and indeed, little or no nestbuilding activity would have been anticipated during the exceptional cold conditions of that week.”

The council also argues that “in no way can the tree-felling be considered as environment pollution and as such should not result in the issue of a non-compliance which is specifically linked to the Waste Management Act.

“The matter of a non-compliance notice being issued on foot of information from the licensee is a source of concern to the council.”

On the EPA’s move to issue a noncompliance notice as a result of the site’s odour problems, the council queried whether in duplicated a previous notice.

The council states that the EPA has changed the reporting system as followed, since the facility was opened and that off-site odours are now a notifiable offence.

“The council is not aware that similar reporting arrangements apply at other waste management facilities. Is there a change in reporting systems for all waste management facilities?”

THE tightly knit community in Kilmihil is preparing to say goodbye to one of its young people this evening following a fatal road traffic accident at the weekend.

Trainee Garda Martin Coen, from Lackeen, lost his life during the early hours o f Saturday morning, when his car hit two horses at Garlow Cross in Navan, Co Meath.

It is believed the 26-year-old had been working in Kells Garda Station since the beginning of the year. Described by colleagues as a “promising garda” with a promising career ahead of him, Martin was due to graduate from the Garda College in Templemore, in the coming months.

The young garda was the sole occupant of the car that collided with two horses at 5.50am on Saturday. The two animals also died in the accident. Gardai in Navan are investigating the incident.

A GAA enthusiast, Martin played football for Kilmihill. He attended primary schools in Kilmihill and was also a past pupil of the Community College in the village. He was the youngest son of Ann and Billy and brother to Mandy and Brendan. He is also survived by nieces and a nephew. Martin will be buried with full Garda honours after noon Mass in St Michael’s Church, Kilmihil, tomorrow (Wednesday).

Meanwhile, the Shannon based Irish Coastguard helicopter airlifted a critically injured motorist after his car lost control and struck a wall in north Clare on Sunday evening.

The 23 year old sole occupant of the vehicle was only yards from his home, at New Quay, when his car swerved across the road before colliding with a stonewall.

Emergency services from counties Galway and Clare rushed to the scene, on the main Ballyvaughan to Kinvara road, shortly after 5.00pm.

Fire engines from Ennistymon and from Gort assisted an ambulance crew in removing the victim from the wreckage. An off-duty member of the ambulance service, who assisted colleagues at the scene, sought the assistance of a helicopter, such was his concern for the condition of the injured man.

The Shannon based Irish Coastguard helicopter, which was in the area at the time, made its way to the scene.

The chopper set down in a field next to the crash site and the injured man was quickly airlifted to University College Hospital in Galway where his condition was described yesterday as “serious, but not lifethreatening”.

THE Environmental Protection Agency has been criticised for unfairly penalising Clare County Council, following the latest report on the quality of water in Clare’s lakes. The report showed that Clare had the joint second-highest amount of “non-compliant” lakes in the country, at 14.

In reaction, politicians were accused of lacking political will, while the EPA were criticised for negativity towards Clare County Council, even though it had helped identify water pollution.

“It is quite worrying. The council has done its best with the limited resources it has, but it is appalling that there has been no guidelines from the EPA on the issue,” said Steve Symes, a member of Clare County Council’s Environmental Special Policy Committee (SPC).

“There is a lack of political will to ensure that the public has clean water to drink. The Council has put in place resources, bu it will never be able to do the job adequately with those resources and it is not good enough that there has been no improvement in the water quality.

He further added, “Each Summer, like clockwork, Lough Graney and Lough Derg are closed off for swimming. We are not making any progress and central Government is not providing the assistance.”

Mr Symes was reacting to a presentation by the council’s Senior Executive Chemist, Mary Burke on the most recent Environmental Protection Agency report.

Ms Burke told the SPC meeting that the EPA had dropped the ball in reporting the statistics.

In its survey, the council had surveyed a large amount of lakes, while Limerick County Council had only surveyed two lakes.

Ms Burke said that the report’s finding were biased against the local authorities who had done the work.

Chair of the SPC, Councillor Pa tricia McCarthy (Ind), said that the council had adopted the correct approach in its comprehensive examination of the county’s lakes.

Councillor Brian Meaney (GP) said that the council was being punished by the EPA because of the thoroughness with which it approached the work.

“Obviously, the local authorities that surveyed the most lakes were going to feature very high on the list.”

ELEVEN people were arrested on Clare’s roads over the weekend for drink driving offences as motorists recklessly ignored warnings over drink driving.

The arrests occurred between Friday and Sunday night during a heavy Garda clampdown over the busy holiday weekend. The majority of the arrests took place in the Ennis area while there were also offences in Ennistymon and Killaloe. The Easter crackdown came into force last Thursday night and ran through until today.

There was a strong Garda prescence operating on the roads over the weekend with unmarked vehicles supplementing the work of uniformed patrols. A number of operations were implemented by the Clare Garda Division including the targeting of known trouble spots. Gardaí say they are disappointed that so many people chose to ignore heavily advertised warnings about the dangers of drink driving.

The head of Traffic Corps in Clare, Inspector Kevin Moynihan said that the high figures were particularly disappointing in light of recent safety campaigns to curb the carnage on the country’s roads.

“Up to this morning (Monday) we had 11 arrests for drink driving, and we are very disappointed with that. It’s particularly disappointing, having regard to the fact that there was a lot of media coverage given over to the issue, that people continue to think that it is ok to drink and drive.”

There was also a heavy crackdown on other motoring offences with a number of fixed charge penalty points being issued for careless and dangerous driving.

The new Road Safety Bill proposed by Minister for Transport Martin Cullen will give Gardai wide ranging new powers to tackle the so called ‘hard core’ of drink drivers. Under new legislation Gardaí will be able to carry more speed checks and will have the power to randomly breathtest motorists. The introduction of the new penalty points system has also reinforced Garda powers. Since the addition of 31 new offences to the system, over 3,000 penalty points notices have been issued nationwide.

“From a speeding point of view the vast majority of motorists do abide by the rules of the road. But there are still people out there that continue to think that it is ok to drink and drive on the roads and that is a pity” added Inspector Moynihan.

BISHOP Willie Walsh, might have saved the life of a man living in Clare, if he had been responsible for handling the man’s clerical sex-abuse claim, the family believe.

A spokesman for the One In Four group told The Clare People that the bereaved family, “believe that if Willie Walsh had been the one dealing with Peter’s case, he would be alive today. He was a source of real comfort to Peter, as was his parish priest.”

Peter had been locked in a fouryear debate with the Diocese of Limerick over his abuse at the hands of Fr Denis Daly, when he was a ten year old altar boy.

His family said that Peter was particularly distressed to discover that the Church knew that Daly had been run out of his parish in Sydney by the police for a “moral lapse”, but did not admit this.

Peter was found dead at his home in Kilkee after years of fighting depression, and just days after a mediation conference with the diocese.

At an emotional press conference in Dublin yesterday (Monday) afternoon, Peter’s mother, Mary, said it was, “with deep sadness and immense grief that I am here to speak the truth for Peter, following his final battle with Dr Donal Murray, Bishop of Limerick and the Diocesan legal representatives.

“It was the unbearable weight of the denial of the truth that became too much for Peter. That denial must end.”

Mrs McCloskey said the abuse caused her son, “untold emotional and psychological suffering”.

She also pointed out that, “this suffering continued through his teenage years, into his adulthood and up to the day he died”.

Rejecting the Bishop’s statement that Peter had walked out of the mediation meeting, she said: “Dr. Donal Murray, Bishop of Limerick and his legal representatives had Peter nailed to the cross, well in advance of Good Friday.”

A spokesperson for Bishop Murray said the recent death of Peter Mc Closkey was “profoundly sad and deeply upsetting for all who knew him.”

The spokesman said that Bishop Murray gave an extensive interview to RTÉ’s Prime Time and the Irish Times concerning issues raised.

“Bishop Murray has been, and will continue to be available to meet Peter’s family and support them in any way he can at this difficult time, and to discuss concerns that they have.

“In order to respect the confidentiality due to Peter’s family Bishop Murray is making no further public comment for the time being.

“Bishop Murray invites anybody with concerns regarding abuse to contact in confidence the diocese, the gardaí, or the health authorities,” the statement concluded.