Category: News

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.

THE rate of burglaries in the Clare Garda Division increased last year, but there was a drop in the number of assaults, sexual offences and public order incidents, according to latest crime figures.

Statistics obtained from the Department of Justice show that overall, reported crime has dropped by 16 per cent in Clare since 2003.

Some, 530 headline offences were committed last year, compared with 1,651 in 2004. The figure for 2003 was 1,820.

Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn said the reduction over the past two years was “significant.”

“While you have reductions in crime over two years, 2003 was a bit of a high, with 1,820 offences,” he said.

“There have been across-the-board reductions in assaults and sexual offences. Certainly here in Ennis, the trend has been downwards in relation to public order,” he added.

“Burglary will always be a concern. We have had a number of incidents of arson and stabbings in Kilrush, which have largely been brought under control, as a result of operations in that area,” he said.

Approximately one-third of all headline crimes are detected in Clare every year, which is along the lines of the national average.

Clare TD James Breen (Ind) has expressed concerned at the increased availability of drugs in Clare.

He said a lack of hobbies for young people was at the root of the problem.

“The temptation to experiment is great. In Shannon, for instance, there is no cinema and no disco and Kilrush is the same way.

“If we are to address the problem, we have to put the facilities in place for young people.

“Young people have nothing, no pastimes.

“They are standing idly by corners with nothing to do,” he said.

He said ecstasy and cannabis resin were widely available and that young people as young as six, should be educated on the dangers of drugs.

“The gardaí are under-resourced. The sooner the Minister for Justice gives the extra resources to deal with drugs, the better,” he said.

FUNDING for public patients attending the radiotherapy unit at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital is being delayed, partly because of Department of Health guidelines, according to a senior health manager.

The clinical practice guidelines adopted by the department were highlighted as problematic for the satellite radiotherapy service, by John O’Brien, Hospital Network Manager for the Mid West Region.

The Health Service Executive Mid West has already applied for the €2 million funding necessary to run the Mid-Western Radiation Oncology centre every year.

“We have got some funding for cancer services, but we feel this service should be funded separately,” said Mr O’Brien, former assistant CEO of the health board.

The satellite unit on the grounds of the hospital in Dooradoyle, Limerick is currently treating 140 public and private patients from Clare, Limerick and Tipperary.

Patient referrals to the consultant radiation oncologist in the unit arise through the twiceweekly new patient clinics, or for in-patients at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital.

More than 1,600 treatments have been delivered by the on-site multi-disciplinary team of specialists in radiation oncology medicine, since it opened last October. There is now one linear accelerator at full service with capacity for a second.

Mr O’Brien told last Tuesday’s meeting of the Regional Health Forum West that the Department of Health now wanted to bring that second line on stream.

BISHOP Willie Walsh said this week that people were in denial about child sex abuse being a society-wide issue.

“Blaming the church on the issue of child sex abuse is partly to avoid the fact that this is a serious societal issue,” said Dr Walsh, in an interview with The Clare People .

He said that he had argued previously that the issue of child sex abuse was a societal issue, “but nobody wants to hear that.”

“Society is very much in denial over the issue of sex abuse. I am wary about saying this, because it may be in some way be interpreted as a denial on my part. That is the difficulty saying this.

“It is an uncomfortable issue to face up to, as it is easy for someone to convince themselves that it is someone else’s problem.”

Dr Walsh said that “people are entitled to criticise the Church on the issue.”

He also responded to concerns raised recently by a senior Clare cleric, Canon Caimin O’Carroll, over the church guidelines requiring priests to step aside when an allegation was made against him.

“I believe that we need to listen to the fears expressed by priests while at the same time to ensure that children are not put at risk.

“It is an important issue between bishops and priests and I have discussed the issue with priests in the diocese.

“The issue of trust between bishops and priests is very important and I am prepared to listen to the views of priests.

“It is always necessary to strike a balance between the rights of natural justice both to the person that makes the allegation and the natural rights against whom the allegation is made.

“It is always important to find the right balance and ensure that children are not put at risk.”

Asked was the church striking the balance, Dr Walsh said, “I hope that that is the intention.”

Dr Walsh said that the priests were worried that, in other professions, there was a requirement to make the complaint in writing, which was not required if an allegation was made against a priest.

“All these issues can be resolved by sitting down with the priests and talking in an open and honest way and by reassuring them that they will be treated in a just fashion,” he said.

AN AMBITIOUS new proposal that would see over €4 million spent on upgrading broadband facilities in Ennis has been submitted by Clare County Council to the Department of Communications, Maritime and Natural Resources.

Councillors in the Ennis electoral area were informed at last week’s area meeting that a detailed submission aimed at addressing the shortfall in high speed Internet within the town had been forwarded to the department.

A total of 15.2km of fibre optic cable would be laid in Ennis under the proposal.

Government funding would account for 90

cent of the cost with both Clare County Coun cil and Shannon Development providing a further 5 per cent each.

Broadband technology would be installed in Ennis under the Department’s Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) scheme, which proposes the laying of “carrier neutral” fibre optic cable, where previously access to fibre optic technology was exclusive to the company that had installed it.

Councillor Joe Carey (FG) said he was astounded that Ennis had not been prioritised for Broadband access given its status as an information age town. He also stated that there were several blackspots around the Ennis area where broadband was unavailable.

“It is impossible to access broadband in Clarecastle. We are in limbo, it is a problem. It’s hard to fathom that Ennis hasn’t been prioritised and now we have top go with our begging bowl to the Government”

Councillor Brian Meaney (GP) said that many consumers found existing broadband suppliers too expensive and said that the problem could be traced back to the privatisation of Eircom.

THE Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, has publicly apologised for the delay in improving classroom conditions at three Ennis primary schools.

Conditions at Ennis National School, Scoil Chríost Rí and Ennis CBS have been criticised for a number of years, for overcrowding and a chronic lack of suitable facilities.

Speaking at a Confirmation Mass at Ennis Cathedral on Saturday, Dr Walsh said teachers were working in school buildings that were “not appropriate for these times.”

Both Ennis National and Scoil Chríost Rí are to move to new buildings, while work is to be carried out on the existing CBS building on New Road, Ennis.

Ennis National School’s relocation to a site at Ashline, Ennis, is dependant on rezoning, while a site for Scoil Chríost Rí has been earmarked on the Lahinch Road, but has yet to be finalised.

He told The Clare People that he felt partly responsible for the delays.

“While some progress is being made towards providing new buildings, I expressed regret to the teachers, parents and pupils for any responsibility I may have had for the delay.

“I feel that I was responsible for some of that delay, partly because I made a commitment which I was unable to deliver on in relation to one site (near St Flannan’s College) a number of years ago,” he said.

“I accept as patron of the schools that part of my responsibility is to try to work towards having all school buildings up to a reasonable standard.

“I certainly have been most eager to have new schools. I am sensitive to the difficult conditions under which the teachers have to work,” said Dr Walsh.

“I would be hoping the site matters would be cleared up within the next couple of months,” he said.

He said the apology was made in the context of thanking the teachers for their good work.

“I felt it was appropriate for me to acknowledge the fact that I didn’t do as well as I should have done.”

Meanwhile, the rezoning issue central to Ennis National School’s relocation will come before both Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council next month.

A statement from the sub-committee of the Board of Management of Ennis National School issued to The Clare People said, “The Department of Education has been in contact with the Killaloe Diocesan Office, expressing their wish to progress the new building as soon as a site becomes available.”