Category: News

THE first phase of the new Cliffs of Moher Visitors’ Experience was officially opened by Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Tony Kileen last Friday. The €31.5 million project represents the biggest capital expenditure on a single tourism project ever in the history the county.

Phase one on the project incorporates some 300 metres of cliff edge pathways, viewing platforms and seating areas looking out over the cliffs facade and is now open to the public.

Opening the first phase, Minister Killeen was highly complementary of the work that has been done.

“I think it is fair to say that the project fully respects the natural environment of the Cliffs and is in keeping with the overall integrity of the site,” said the Minister.

The new viewing platform provides views from the Cliffs of Moher to Hags Head in the south, as well as the vista over Liscannor Bay. The platform, which is paved with Liscannor stone and faced with limestone, has been specially designed with multiple seating terraces to allow for visitor seating.

The existing cliff pathways have been extended to the south and a new raised platform allows views to the north towards O’Brien’s Tower and the Aran Islands. This platform also provides a vantage point to view Goat Island, the low grassy promontory below the tower, which is home to one of the largest puffin colonies in Ireland.

The cliff’s famous Liscannor slab walls have been restored and extended and the grassy areas outside the walls have been made into an ecological reconstruction. The cliff edge has been sanctioned a Special Area of Protection (SAP) under the European Union Birds and Habitats directives.

Ealls have been designed to make it more difficult for visitors to go out on the extreme cliff edge.

A SLIGHT rise in the levels of the parasite cryptosporidium present in the Ennis water supply has prompted Ennis Town Council to re-issue a warning over water usage.

The council has reissued the notice after tests revealed increased levels of cryptosporidium in the water supply servicing Ennis and its surrounding environs. A period of heavy rainfall is being blamed for the rise.

The council took the precautionary measure to remind members of the public that infants, pre-school children and immuno-compromised patients, should not drink the water.

“The notice is only a reminder there has been absolutely no change in the status,” said Ennis Town Engineer Tom Tiernan.

No cases of human crytosporidiosis have been notified to Ennis Town Council, or to the Health Services Executive. In July 2005, a notice was issued to all households stating Ennis Public Water Supply was considered a high-risk supply for Cryptosporidium presence.

A temporary water treatment plant for the town is expected to be completed by May, while tender documents for a permanent €13 million water treatment facility for Ennis recently received Departmental approval.

THE official leading the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre project has confirmed that the council is in talks with US-based business people in order to secure corporate sponsorship.

Ger Dollard expressed confidence that the talks, involving business people with Irish links and aimed at bridging the €4 million shortfall in the €31.5 million project, would bear fruit.

In spite of the shortfall, Mr Dollard expressed confidence that the centre would be completed on time and within budget.

However, the costs of visiting one of Ireland’s best known attractions is set to soar under a new pricing regime.

It will cost €8 per car and €60 per standard coach from next year when the centre becomes operational. Currently, it costs individuals €4 to park any vehicle.

Tourists face an additional charge of €4 per adult, for visiting the interpretative centre, while concession rates for groups, families, children and others will also apply.

When the centre opens next year, 94 people will be employed at peak season, including a team of 16 rangers to provide guided tours to visitors.

Last Friday, Junior Enterprise and Employment Minister, Tony Killeen, officially opened the the first phase of the project, consisting viewing platforms, 300 metres of cliff edge pathways and seating areas at the cliffs.

Mr Dollard also revealed that the council would accommodate buskers at the Cliffs.

“This must be a managed controlled way and we will be going through a process later in the year to seek expressions of interest to progress this,” he said.

According to Mr Dollard, the new charges would “reflect the vastly enhanced facilities both in and out of doors.” He described the new prices as “excellent value”.

“The original charging philosophy in which a single charge of €7 per head for access to all aspects of the visitor experience has been replaced with an alternative, more flexible approach.

“A visitor could spend up to two hours in the interpretative centre if they wished to do so, as well as an unlimited amount of time on the cliff edge and in the public areas of the visitor centre, plus the support of the rangers”.

Mr Dollard said that the new rates were comparable to other visitor attractions in the area, including Ailwee Cave, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, the Burren Centre and Blarney Castle.

FOUR out of every five people arrested on suspicion of drink driving in Clare last year were convicted and put off the road.

The revelation that there was an 83 per cent conviction rate in Clare last year comes amid Garda warnings that people who drink and drive over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend will pay the price.

The number of people arrested on suspicion of drink driving in the county is continuing to rise.

Ninety people were arrested between January 1 and yesterday (Monday), which is a 23 per cent increase on the same period in 2005.

The head of the Traffic Corps in Clare, Inspector Kevin Moynihan said drink drivers were “likely to get caught and as likely to get convicted in court. An 83 per cent conviction rate is certainly one of the highest in the country.”

He said people appear to have slowed down behind the wheel in the past week, with the introduction of the additional 31 penalty points offences.

The Bank Holiday clampdown will kick off on Thursday night and will run through to Tuesday morning.

“There has been a marked decrease in speeding in the past week, but we are still warning drivers to take care this weekend. Don’t drink and drive and observe your speed,” he said.

“Towns, villages and licensed premises will be monitored,” he added.

A new unmarked vehicle, allocated to the Divisional Traffic Corps at the end of March, will be used to target drink drivers and those who are driving in an erratic manner.

Meanwhile, the Garda Traffic Corps in Ennis should be extended by June, while the new Traffic Corps, to be based in Killaloe, is also expected to be up and running by then.

Interviews for the positions will be held next week.

LAST week’s opening marks the first step towards the completion of the €31.5 million Cliffs of Moher Visitors’ Experience. The remaining phase, which includes a subterranean visitor centre building and further cliff edge works in the area of O’Brien’s Tower, is expected to be open early in 2007.

Along with the development of a new visitor centre, Clare County Council also envision the development of a comprehensive programme of visitor and education activities at the site.

A team of rangers will be employed to operate on the cliff edge and within the visitor centre building providing information, guiding and first aid, as well as providing a safety role.

Plans for a visitor centre at the Cliffs of Moher have been muted for many years. These plans were originally held up due to concerns over the environmental impact that a centre might have on the surrounding area.

With this resolved, an international competition was launched to design the new visitors centre. This was won by Cork based company Reddy/ O’Riordan/Staehli Architects. The contract to build the new centre was awarded to Rohcon Ltd.

However, the projects was further delayed due to a disagreement between Shannon Development and Clare County Council over what role each organisation would have with the development and management of the visitors centre. In more recent times the Cliffs of Moher Visitors’ Experience has met with controversy over attempts to prevent buskers and traders from operating at the cliffs. This situation is ongoing with Clare County Council stating their intention to go to the High Court to seek injunctions against traders.

THE world’s best Irish dancers have descended on Ennis for the annual All-Ireland and International Irish Dance Championships.

This is the fourth year that the championships organised by An Chomhdhail have visited Ennis and as usual the venue is the West County Hotel.

Ennis had previously been the venue in 2002, 2003 and 2004 with Dublin being the venue in 2005. Hundreds of competitors, parents and interested spectators have been circulating the Ennis venue since the competition kicked of in style on Sunday (April 9).

The seven day festival runs from April 9-16 with the concluding event taking place on Easter Sunday night. The event is a huge boost to the local economy with most local accommodation taken up.

This year there is a truly international field with competitors Ireland, England, Scotland, USA and Slovakia taking part. Mattew Donoghue, Chairperson of An Comhdhail said the event has been a major success do far.

“It been pretty hectic alright. There’s been dancers, parents, uncles, friends, cousins, aunts, granparents, everybody you could think of, has been around”

“Over 200 competitors will compete in the event. The people are really enjoying it and everybody is settling in after Sunday’s opening ceremony.

“Everything is going according to plan and as usual Ennis has been an excellent venue. So far we have had the five solo championships and the competition will finish with the senior championships next Sunday,” he added.

The event willl return to Ennis for 2007.

A 20-year-old carpenter from Whitegate was killed when he lost control of his car and hit a ditch on his way home from a night out in Scariff.

Ennis Coroner’s Court heard that Colin Worrall, of Knockbrack, Whitegate, died in the single car crash close to his home in the early hours of December 4 last.

A statement from Mr Worrall’s friend, Gearóid Treacy, who was travelling in the car with him at the time, was read out during his inquest at Ennis Coroner’s Court last week.

He said that he met the dead man in a pub in Whitegate at around 9.30pm, where they had a few drinks.

They later went to Scariff, via taxi, and ended up in a nightclub there. Afterwards they went to get a takeaway.

They waited for an hour for a taxi to Whitegate and then started walking out the Mountshannon road, where they got a lift.

The man who gave them the lift drove them to the pub where Colin had parked his car earlier.

The inquest was told that Colin wanted to get his car, a black Mitsubishi Lancer.

According to Gearóid, they got into the car and Colin was to drop Gearóid home, after 4am.

He said Colin was not driving fast. He hit a ditch and the car flipped over. He couldn’t see anything and called out Colin’s name.

According to the man who had given the two a lift, he offered to drive them home, but they “wouldn’t hear of it.”

Garda Joe McGlynn, who investigated the accident, said when he went to the scene, Colin was lying on his back and the car was on its roof. He said there was no sign of the deceased wearing a seatbelt.

He said the car hit a ditch and ended up 20 metres into the driveway of a newly constructed house.

The doctor who carried out the autopsy on Colin’s body in hospital told the inquest that he sustained multiple fractures of the skull, which contributed to his death.

Coroner Isobel O’Dea suggested a verdict of accidental death and the jury agreed.

“It was a very sad and unfortunate accident . . . two young men returning from a night out,” she said.

She extended her sympathy with the family of the deceased.

“It is a terrible shame. You were expecting Colin home from a night out and he tragically died,” said Ms O’Dea.

AS family and friends of murdered Ennistymon woman, Emer O’Loughlin, gathered for her first anniversary mass on Sunday, gardaí were continuing to investigate whether her killer was in the UK.

The 23-year-old art student was discovered burnt to death, close to Tubber, on the Clare/Galway border one year ago, last Saturday.

Despite an intensive Garda investigation, no-one has been charged for the Emer’s horrific death, in the caravan she shared with her boyfriend.

As he mourned his youngest daughter, Emer’s father Johnny said he had been through hell during the past 12 months.

“Emer was a lovely young girl. The man that did this – what sort of man would he have to be, I ask myself?” he said, in a weekend interview.

The young woman had studied art in Galway and just days before she was killed, was overjoyed to learn that she had been accepted into the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin.

But Emer didn’t live to realise her lifelong dream. Instead her distraught family and friends have been left to try and come to terms with her brutal killing.

The chief suspect in the case, a Galway man in his 40s, disappeared some time after the murder.

His clothes and some personal belongings were found on the Aran Islands last April. But he hasn’t been seen since.

Detectives continue to suspect that he faked his own suicide by leaving his clothes on Dun Aengus cliff, in an effort to throw the them off the scent.

The team investigating the case have liaised with UK police, amid reports that the suspect was seen there.

A garda close to the investigation said while there was a possibility that the suspect was overseas, there was nothing to prove this.

“There is no evidence that he is dead or alive. The fact that his clothes were found close to the cliff edge suggests he fell over, or threw himself in. However there are suggestions that he is alive and well, living in the UK,” he said.

CLARE patients awaiting neurological assessment at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital are being forced to wait years, according to Labour TD, Jan O’ Sullivan.

A single visiting neurologist, who works at Limerick two days a month, has not taken new patient referrals for two years, resulting in them being sent instead, to hospitals in Galway, Cork and Dublin.

Deputy O’ Sullivan said that thousands of people in the mid-west, suffering from conditions such as such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and many other conditions, were effected.

“This is a matter of urgency because the visiting neurologist no longer accepts new patients,” she told the Dáil.

“The situation is woefully inadequate and very distressing for patients. General practitioners have been instructed to refer new patients to Dublin, Cork or Galway”.

Deputy O’ Sullivan revealed that a circular sent to GPs in the mid-west region, two years ago, confirmed the waiting list for neurological assessment had “grown substantially and waiting times for routine appointments of several years are not uncommon.”

Yet the situation had not improved since then. She pointed out that the Comhairle na nOspidéal report on neurology and neurophysiology, of April 2003, recommended that a post be developed in Limerick. The national task force on medical staffing recommended further neurological posts in the country.

“I have raised this issue by way of parliamentary question at least three times and we are still waiting for a most essential service in the midwestern region”.

In response, Minister for State at the Department of Health, Tim O’Malley, said that as part of the estimates for the health services in 2006, additional funding of €3 million was allocated to the Health Service Executive specifically for the further development of neurology and neurophysiology services nationally.

“The Mid-Western Regional Hospital has the services of a visiting consultant neurologist two days per month. The consultant provides an out-patient service for review or return patients and an in-patient consultation service.

“Due to pressure on the existing service, new patient referrals are forwarded to the neurological services at Cork, Galway or Dublin. ln view of the pressures, the development of neurology services at the mid-western regional hospital is an urgent priority for the Health Service Executive in 2006.”

He said that the Government was committed to the continued development of neurology services nationally and that resources had been made available to commence neurology services in Limerick in 2006.

A CLARE Garda sergeant received €23,041 in overpayments last year, figures released by the Dept of Justice show.

The statistics released record a massive increase in Garda overtime in Clare last year, with the top ten earners receiving €167,065, compared to the €127,904 paid out in 2004.

In all, the force across the country received €77 million in overtime last year – a slight decrease on the €84 million received by the force in 2004.

The department also revealed that it cost €478,769 to fund the continuing Garda operation at Shannon Airport in 2005, mounted in response to the continuing transport of US troops.

The figures, which were released yesterday, show that the highest Garda earners in Clare were an inspector, three sergeants and a garda (see table).

Inspectors basic earnings are around €51,000, while sergeants earn between €40,209 and €46,299 on normal duties. A garda’s payscale goes from €22,212 to €39,914 after 17 years service.

“The reason that the overtime is €77 million is that the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has failed to increase adequately the number of gardaí. We don’t have enough gardaí, it is an obvious problem,” said Fine Gael’s Justice spokesman, Jim O’Keefe TD.

He said that the Garda representative organisations had assured him “the issue of overtime doesn’t play a part in the opposition to the proposed Garda reserve”.