Category: News

MORE than 200 women in Clare are estimated to have opted for elective Caesarean sections last year.

According to the Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney, 44.8 per cent of Caesarean sections performed in the country’s public hospitals in 2005 were elective.

The Minister was responding to a question by Clare Deputy James Breen (Ind).

She informed him that a new collating system, allowing separate classification of elective and emergency sections, was not available before 2005.

Last month The Clare People revealed that 27 Clare women who gave birth in the National University Hospital Galway, opted for an elective Caesarean section.

One in three Clare women giving birth in the Regional Maternity Hospital, Limerick also had a caesarean section. But it is unknown exactly how many were classified as emergency and how many were elective.

According to the Perinatal Statistics for 2002, the Caesarean section rate in Irish hospitals increased by 72 per cent in less than a decade. In 2005, 30 percent of births in the Regional Maternity Hospital, Limerick were be c-section.

KILLALOE was a community in shock at the weekend as local people absorbed the news that one of the town’s most popular residents had died. Publican, Tom Elliffe, lost his fight for life after a serious operation last week.

Tom was well-known locally as a businessman and a very active community worker, who got involved in organising and promoting the town’s festivals and community organisations. Tom – who was just 62 years old – was the manager of Brendan Grace’s Bar, and it was he who sold the pub to the Dublin comedian in 2002. His partner, Lorraine Cantillion, told how Tom remained actively interested and involved in the business, which they bought together in 1990 and which is currently undergoing refurbishment.

“Even though it was not Richardson’s any more, he was so looking forward to seeing the renovations done,” she said.

A native of Tullamore, Tom worked for many years in Irish Steel and as a barman in Cork.

Another of his passions was darts. Tom was Chairman of the Irish National Darts Organisation. He and Lorainne had a business together supplying dart boards, darts and other equipment to pubs.

The Killlaoe publican was closely involved with the community council and the organising committees for the Brian Ború Festival and the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

“He loved animals and children and particularly his boxer dog, Jessie,” said Lorraine.

A saddened Brendan Grace gave the eulogy at the funeral as one of Tom’s closest pals.

“When the pub reopens I know that Tom’s spirit will grace the bar. Here was the captain of the ship,” said Brendan.

Speaking of Tom’s warmth and humour, the comedian told how the very first time he walked into the bar, which was then Richardson’s, “Tom asked was I Brian Ború and would I like to be Brian Ború in the festival.

“I agreed because I liked him as soon as I met him.

“The night I opened the bar in my name, I was making a toast and joked that it was great to find a pub that I couldn’t be thrown out of. Tom curled his lip that way he did and said ‘don’t be too sure about that.’”

Tom is survived by Lorraine, his children, Don, Joe, Pamela, Audrey and Valerie, his 93-year-old mother, Lily, two brothers and six sisters.

CLARE may not have risen up in revolution back in 1916, but 90 years on, public bodies in the county capital of Ennis and in Kilrush are gearing up to remember those who took up arms to strike for Irish freedom.

Wreaths of commemoration will be laid at the 1916 memorials in both towns, while ceremonies are also earmarked for Tuamgraney and the Republican plot in Drumcliffe Cemetery.

Mayor of Ennis, Frankie Neylon (Ind), will perform the honours at the ‘Laochra na Cásca’ plaque on the Club Bridge at 12 noon, while the Ennis Brass Band and the Army Reserve will be present for the occasion.

The commemoration plaque was unveiled for the golden jubilee Easter celebrations in 1966, by the then Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Joseph Rodgers and Clare County Council vicechairman, Michael Considine.

Forty years on, Mayor Neylon says it’s only right that the men of 1916 were remembered.

“These are the men who fought for our country and if we don’t remember the past, we don’t know how to shape our future,” he told The Clare People.

The ceremonies in Kilrush will be more lavish and are timed for 1pm. The commemoration wreath will be laid by Mayor Christy O’Malley (FF) while the guest of honour will be Independent TD James Breen.

“Everything will take place outside the Town Council offices where the plaque to the men of 1916 lies,” Councillor Tom Prendeville (FF) revealed.

“The Proclamation will be read in both Irish and English, while Padraig Pearse’s poem, The Wayfarer, will also be recited.

It’s only right that we are honouring the men of 1916 in this way,” added Councillor Prendeville.

Politicians local to east Clare are expected to be out in force for a wreath laying ceremony in the Republican park in Tuamgraney, which is known as the Garden of Remembrance.

Sinn Féin activists in the county will head for the Republican plot in Drumcliffe for their celebration of the Rising.

It expected that a leading official from the party in the Munster region will be present to perform the wreath laying ceremony and graveside oration.

Meanwhile, the Fleadh Nua which takes place in Ennis in May, will also mark the rising. This will take the form of a musical celebration in Glór on May 26.

“It will tell the story of 1916,” revealed Fleadh Nua chairman, Dónal Ó Loinsigh.

A 14-year-old boy who ran away from a residential centre in Clare five times last week has begged a judge not to send him to a boys’ centre in Dublin.

The boy, from Ennis, had been ordered to stay at the centre, as part of his bail conditions.

He is facing several charges, including burglary and criminal damage to cars.

The court heard last Friday that the boy was arrested in Ennis that day, on foot of a bench warrant. Garda Albert Hardiman said the boy was in breach of a bail condition.

“He continuously leaves the premises without authorisation and goes to Ennis,” he said.

He said the boy ran away five times last week, and disturbed his family when he arrived back in Ennis. Inspector Michael Gallagher said the boy’s mother was unable to control him and a place was available for him in Oberstown in Dublin.

Defending solicitor, Billy Loughnane, said his mother consented to this, but the boy wanted to stay in Clare.

When Judge Joseph Mangan said he was remanding him to Oberstown, the boy burst into tears and begged for one more chance.

“I’m sorry for running away. Can I get one more chance? I beg you so hard. I get down on my two knees and I pray. Please . . . I miss my family as well. It was just too hard to settle in,” he said.

Judge Mangan said to him, “You are making mugs of us.”

The boy then knelt down, saying, “I don’t like being on remand. I swear to God I’ll do everything I’m told to do.”

Judge Joseph Mangan remanded the boy to Oberstown Boys’ Centre, to appear again in court later this month.

A SENIOR member of Clare County Council said yesterday that council planners should be able to carry out their daily work without the fear of physical threat.

Leader of the Fianna Fáil group and trenchant critic of the council’s planning system, Councillor PJ Kelly (FF), was commenting after a 42year-old father of two, twice refused planning permission to build a marina, was fined €400 for assaulting a senior council planner.

Michael Bent of Ballymanogue, Scariff pleaded guilty at Scariff District Court, to assaulting Gordon Daly, former senior executive planner with Clare County Council, at a nightclub in Scariff on September 25 last year.

Mr Daly told the court that Mr Bent “became very aggressive and menacing, started pushing me in the chest, caught me by the throat and said ‘you’ve interfered in my life and you don’t like me interfering in yours now do you?’.”

Mr Daly said that he took this to be a reference to his then job with Clare County Council and Mr Bent being refused planning permission.

Prior to last September’s assault, Mr Bent superglued himself to the doors of the Clare County Council in February 2004 in protest at being refused planning for his proposed marina development.

In court, Mr Daly said that his girlfriend’s cousin intervened, placing herself between him and Mr Bent.

“I felt very threatened, shaken, shocked and also embarrassed given that the incident was viewed by a large number of people in that area of the pub,” said Mr Daly.

Solicitor for Mr Bent, Raymond O’Meara told the court that what happened on the night “was completely out of character for Mr Bent”.

“Mr Bent was intoxicated and things got out of control. Mr Daly suffered no injury as a result of the assault,” he said

Mr O’Meara said that Mr Bent has since apologised for his actions, however, Mr Daly said that he had not received any apology at any time.

Mr O’Meara told the court that Mr Bent had no previous convictions, was a member of the fire-brigade and was prepared to make a charitable donation.

After hearing the evidence, Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a fine of €400

“No one can tolerate this type of behaviour and it should not happen,” Cllr Kelly said.

THOSE who were executed during the 1916 Rising are being remembered across the country this week, but thoughts are also being spared for another band of volunteers, who lost their lives in a different war.

These were the men of the First World War, who were also executed at the hands of the British. They now form the basis for the “Shot at Dawn” campaign being taken up by the Government.

Twenty-six Irishmen were executed during the war. A new report has described the treatment meted out by the British military authorities as “shocking”. One of those executed was a Clareman, Thomas Davis, from the Turnpike area of Ennis.

He was charged with quitting his post on June 22nd, 1915.

What really happened was that he suffered bad stomach cramp and had to go to the toilet.

A few hours later, he suffered another attack of cramp.

Private Davis, who was a soldier with the Munster Fusiliers, was only 21 years of age. He was taken out at 5 am on the morning of July 2, 1915 and shot by a firing squad at Gully Beach in the Aegean Sea.

Now, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern is in the vanguard of a campaign to secure a pardon for Private Davis and the 25 others executed.

“It is our objective to recover their memory from the dishonour that was done to them some 90 years ago. This week, we mark the 90th anniversary (of 1916) and later on in the year, we will remember the Battle of the Somme,” said Minister Ahern.

“For too long, the experiences of the Irishmen who fought in the first World War and the losses suffered by their families were not talked about and commemorated as they deserved,” he said.

“The British military system of justice seemed to ignore clear evidence of medical afflictions and was marked by class-bias and a disparity in the treatment of different nationalities, including particular Irish soldiers,” added Minister Ahern.

A MAN with an address in Ennistymon has appeared in court on a series of motoring charges, arising out of a hit and run road crash.

David Wheeler (30), of Apartment 2, The Glen, Ennistymon, appeared at Ennistymon District Court, in relation to an accident on October 1 last, at Killura, Ennistymon.

Superintendent Eamon Dolan said the accused, who was driving a friend’s car, hit another car and carried on driving, before hitting a ditch and overturning.

Defending solicitor, Eugene O’Kelly, said his client was attempting to go home to his mother on the night in question.

He lost control, hit the ditch and the car turned over. He paid compensation for the damage to the other car.

“He was the first black person to captain a county championship team, when he captained Inagh to the hurling championship, some years ago,” said Mr O’Kelly.

He said his client has started coaching football in schools.

The court was told the damage to the car he collided with was almost €3,000 and the accused had paid €1,000 compensation.

“I was asked to pay €1,000 by the garda,” said the accused.

The owner of the car told Judge Joseph Mangan he received €1,000 in compensation and said he was satisfied with that, as the car was a 1988 car.

Judge Mangan adjourned the case to finalise the compensation issue.

AN English company has failed to secure the go ahead for a “Wellness” destination spa hotel near Killaloe.

An Bord Pleanala has refused planning permission to Unfinity Ltd., of Worcestershire, England to develop a 28-bedroom hotel on 37 acres of land.

Last August, Clare County Council refused the application, ruling that the proposal would seriously injure the amenities of the area and generate dangerous traffic congestion on local roads.

The council’s planners also warned that the development’s scale, siting and design would fail to integrate into the rural landscape.

In their appeal to An Bord Pleanala, the company said their proposal was aimed at a niche market known as “Wellness” destination spas.

“The destination spa’s sole purpose is to provide guests with lifestyle improvement and health enhancement through professionally administered spa services, physical fitness, educational programming and on-site accommodation.

The Board refused planning permission on a number of grounds following their inspector’s recommendation to refuse.

The Board stated that the site of the proposal was located outside any identified settlement in a rural area under development pressure and it was the policy of the council to encourage the development of integrated tourist facilities in, or adjacent to, existing settlements.

“This policy is considered reasonable. It is considered that the proposed development, located in a rural area lacking certain services and infrastructure, would militate against the preservation of the rural environment and, by reason of its scale, setting and design, would fail to integrate into the landscape and would seriously injure the visual amenities of the area.

“The proposed development would, therefore, contravene the provisions of the Development Plan and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”

LISCANNOR looks set to be twinned with the town of Paterson in New Jersey, to commemorate the invention of the submarine by local man John Holland 125 years ago, this year.

An open invitation has also been extended by the Mayor of Paterson, José Torres, to the people of Liscannor, to join in the celebration of the invention in New Jersey on May 1.

Holland was born in Liscannor on February 24, 1841, but later moved to the small New Jersey town, where he set up a naval company and won the contract to build the world’s first working submarine, ‘the Fenian Ram’ in 1881.

A public meeting was held in Liscannor last week to discuss the possibility of setting up a twinning agreement with the American town.

After attending St Macreehy’s National School in Liscannor, Holland spent some time in the Christian Brothers School in Ennistymon. He moved to Limerick, following the death of his father when he was 17years-old.

His father was in the coastguard and, as a young man, Holland expressed an interest in following him in this career. His eyesight was not of the required quality however, and he instead joined the Christian Brothers.

While in training to enter the Brothers he came into contact with a science teacher named Brother Dominic Burke, who encouraged him in his designs for a submarine.

Just before his final ordination into the Christian Brothers in 1873, he decided to leave the order and join his mother and his two brothers in Boston.

After working for a brief time in an engineering firm, he took up a teaching position at St John’s Catholic School in Paterson, New Jersey.

His original attempt to attract the US Navy to invest in his design were rejected, but following help from his brother Michael and funding from the Fenian movement, he constructed the 14-foot prototype, the Holland No 1, in 1877.

Using further money invested by the Fenians, Holland built the Fenian Ram in Delamater Iron Works in 1881.

He later set up the John Holland Torpedo Boat Company, which won the contract to build the first submarines for the American Navy in 1896.

A damning picture of staff shortages and accusations of restrictive practice in the planning process, was painted at yesterday’s monthly meeting of Clare County Council.

During a lengthy debate, council officials were urged to take immediate action to alleviate staff shortages in Clare County Council’s planning department. The situation at the planning office was said to be at “crisis point”. The council was also advised to adopt a common-sense approach to addressing the accommodation needs of people with physical and mental disabilities.

Councillor Christy Curtin (Ind) said resources for the planning department had remained static, even though the workload had dramatically increased.

“We need more planners and resources for the people of Clare. We have to carry on this campaign as the service is suffering,” said Cllr Curtin.

County Manager Alec Flemming accepted that problems existed, but admitted his hands were tied because of strict staffing regulations.

“There is a staff embargo in force and there’s not much we can do about it. Even if I did manage to be successful in allocating new resources there is still the question of money,” said Mr Fleming.

Earlier, the council heard that planning restrictions in the County Development Plan discriminated against the “physically incapacitated and the mentally dependent”.

In a motion tabled jointly by Councillors Peter Considine (FF) and P.J Kelly (FF) it was proposed that the plan be amended to ensure disabled people living with their families weren’t forced to seek residential care because they were denied permission to amend their households.

Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) said he knew of cases “where people with cerebral palsy had been treated appallingly”, while Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said in such cases, planners should adopt a “common-sense approach”. Accusations were also made that the County Development Plan inhibited rural regeneration.

Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) said planning guidelines, in particular Section 47, made it impossible for people to settle in rural areas.

Comparing the situation to one faced by Jews in the film Schindlers List, Cllr Prendeville asked, “are we forcing people to locate to towns and villages of County Clare.”

“Cromwell had an expression ‘to hell or to Connaught’ and now it seem to be the case of ‘to hell or to town’” said Cllr Martin Lafferty (Ind).