Category: News

A BALLYVAUGHAN grandmother, who was given a symphysiotomy without her knowledge or consent while giving birth to her first son in September of 1965, says the “stonewalling” of the Irish state has forced her to take her case before the United Nations Committee Against Torture.

Details of the life and medical history of Ellen Moore were last week presented to the UN court in Vienna and Mrs Moore says the attitude taken by the current government and Minister for Health, James Reilly (FG) have forced this latest action.

After meeting with Mrs Moore and other members of the Survivors of Symphysiotomy (SOS) group last October, the health minister agreed to lift the statute of limitation involving symphysiotomy and allow sufferers to gain compensation through the courts.

The minister also agreed to release the second half of the Walsh Report, which probed the use of symphysiotomy’s in Irish hospitals, public. Neither of these promises have, to date, been kept.

“They have been stonewalling us and neglecting us. We worked so hard for the statute of limitations to be lifted and now it looks as if that that will not now happen. We were told in a meeting with Minister O’Reilly back in October that that we would receive the second half of the Walsh Report in two weeks – that still hasn’t happened,” said Mrs Moore.

“They [the Government] say one thing in public and they do the complete opposite in private. They are hoping that we will just go away. There are a lot of older women in the group and many of them have already died without receiving compensation.

“This isn’t just for us, this is for the next group of people who have something done to them without their consent. The state is not owning up to anything.”

This symphysiotomy procedure, which involved breaking a woman’s pelvic bone during labour, was carried out on an estimated 1,500 Irish women in the 1960 and ‘70s but fewer than 200 of these women are still alive.

A BUS company that aims to make Ennis one of the country’s tourism capitals says it intends to double its workforce in the town over the next 12 months. Dublin Coach commenced its daily Dublin to Ennis service in December 2013.

The company employs in excess of 100 people nationwide, with 27 of those jobs in Ennis.

Owner John O’Sullivan says the rolling out of new tourism products will see the company hiring more staff in 2014. “As of today we have 27 based in Ennis and we see that as growing significantly over the next 12 months. The tourism products haven’t kicked in yet and we expect that to double,” he explained. Mr O’Sullivan told The Clare People

NEW charges have been brought against a Polish couple charged with offences arising from the discovery of an alleged cannabis grow-house in West Clare earlier this year.

Jagoga Gajewska (19) and her partner Adam Wrobel (22), both with a former address at Lislanahan Lower, Kilkee appeared before Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

They are both charged with offences relating to the alleged discovery at Lislanahan Lower, Kilkee on January 13. On Wednesday, the court heard that new charges have been brought against the pair. Mr Wrobel and Ms Gajewska are charged with knowingly permitting premises at Lislanahan Lower, Kilkee on January 13, to be used for the manufacture, production and preparation of a controlled drug.

Mr Wrobel is charged with possession of cannabis, which at the time had a market value of € 13,000 or more. He is charged with possession of a cannabis plan and cultivating without license, plants of the cannabis genus, contrary to the misuse of drugs act.

Garda Eoin Daly of Kilrush Garda Station gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in respect of both accused. Counsel for both accused, Alice Harrison applied to have the legal aid certificate extended to cover the new charges.

Judge Patrick Durcan granted the application. Insp Tom Kennedy requested the matters go back to April 2 to allow time for the preparation of the book of evidence.

Counsel consented to the application and to time being extended for the service of the book of evidence.

She told Judge Durcan that Mr Wrobel has secured bail in the High Court but has been so far been unable to take it up. Ms Gajewska has taken up High Court bail, the court heard. Judge Durcan adjourned the cases to April 2.

A JUDGE has refused jurisdiction of a case where it is alleged a man confronted another man with an iron bar on a main street in Ennis last summer. At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Judge Patrick Durcan said it appeared to him that alleged incidents of this nature are becoming “too prevalent in Ennis”.

He was speaking after details of an alleged assault that took place on Carmody Street on July 1, 2013 were outlined in court.

James Galbraith (37), with an address at Lissanisaka, Claureen, Ennis is charged with assault causing harm to Dylan Dinan.

He is further charged with the production of an iron bar while about to commit assault.

Insp Tom Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the charges in the district court on a plea of guilty only.

Defence solicitor John Casey told the court his client would be pleading guilty.

Insp Kennedy said the alleged in- jured party was a passenger in a van when noticed the accused behind him at around 1.30pm on the day in question.

Insp Kennedy said it would be alleged that when the van stopped, Mr Galbraith came towards it with a crowbar and started to assault Mr Dinan.

Judge Durcan refused jurisdiction. “In my mind this type of stuff is becoming too prevalent in Ennis”, he said.

The case was adjourned to April to allow time for preparation of a book of evidence.

AN ENNIS based dentist has said his safety and that of his family’s has been “diminished” since a man threatened to kill him almost two years ago.

The doctor outlined his concerns in a victim impact statement read out by Garda Michelle Holian at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court last week.

Earlier this month, Eoin Hannan (41) was found guilty by a jury of making the threat against the dentist at his practice in Merchant’s Square, Ennis on May 11, 2012.

Mr Hannan, with addresses at Kilrush Road, Ennis and Shear Street, Kilmallock, Ennis was also found guilty of two counts of engaging in threatening, abusive and or insulting behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.

The jury acquitted the accused of making a threat to burn down the dentist’s practice. Mr Hannan had denied all charges, which arose from visits he made to the surgery on May 10 and May 11, 2012.

Mr Hannan denied making the threats to the dentist. He said, “I told him ‘I am a bullet’ and I left as fast a bullet.” He also said: “I told him to take his drills and get off my island.” Mr Hannan appeared before Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday fort sentencing. In the victim impact statement, the dentist said his general well-being and safety has been diminished and compromised since the threat.

He said he has increased security meaures as his dental practice. He said he no longer feels comfortable walking the streets of Ennis on his own because “the threat on my life still stands.” He thanked his family, friends and gardaí for the support he has received.

Defence Counsel Michael Collins told the court his client still “vigorously protests his innocence”.

The court heard Mr Hannan, who suffers from a form of bi-polar disorder, has previous convictions for robbery, public order offences and possession of knives and other articles.

“I am not a criminal. I do not regard myself as insane in any way”, he added. Judge Gerald Keys adjourned finalisation of sentencing to April 24. Mr Hannan was remanded in custody.

BALLYVAUGHAN grandmother Ellen Moore is preparing to share the story of her mistreatment at the hands of the state with the United Nations Committee Against Torture.

Mrs Moore was given a symphysiotomy without her knowledge or consent while giving birth to her first son in September of 1965. She has been living with near constant pain for the past 50 year since the procedure, which she describes as like “being butchered”.

She will be in Dublin today to officially launch a complaints on behalf of Survivors of Symphysiotomy (SoS) to United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) and United Nations Human Rights Committee. The SoS group, who represent more than 95 per cent of the women who were given symphysiotomy in Irish hospitals, say that they are going to the United Nations as the Government continue to ignore their de- mands.

“We are getting absolutely nowhere with the Government so I we don’t really have any choice but to take this step,” said Ellen yesterday.

“We are meeting tomorrow morning to vote on whether to go to the UN, but I believe that that vote is a foregone conclusion at this stage. The details are not 100 per cent clear but someone from the group will go to Geneva later this week. I signed a legal letter last week to say that I am happy that the details of my case go forward to the United Nations and I would be more than happy to Geneva and tell them my story.”

Elizabeth “Ellen” Moore says that she has wanted to die on a number of occasions over the years following her symphysiotomy, which has left her in near constant pain and completely incontinent. This procedure, which involved breaking a woman’s pelvic bone during labour, was carried out on an estimated 1,500 Irish women in the 1960 and ‘70s but fewer than 200 of these women are still alive.

CLARE County Council has begun an independent investigation into why asbestos material was illegally deposited at nine locations in West Clare and not disposed of properly.

A council spokesperson said there is “no evidence to suggest there are anymore sites”.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Health and Safety Authority has been informed that the council now plans to remove the hazardous waste from the locations in Kil rush and Kilkee.

“All of the asbestos material investigated to date consists of broken pieces of Asbestos Cement Water main. It is considered that all of this material originated on Clare County Council water services mains replacement and mains repai r works. The material appears to have been deposited over an undetermined number of years up to June 2013,” the spokesperson confirmed.

Asbestos waste material disposal is governed by legal requirements and the requi rements of the HSA and the EPA.

“A specialist asbestos consultant has been engaged by the council to advise the authority on the removal of the materials,” he added.

The removal of the material is to be undertaken in three phases.

Phase one, which is done in accordance with the advice of a specialist asbestos removal consultant involves the removal of pieces of broken asbestos pipe on the surface at all sites.

“This work will commence shortly and will take approximately three to four weeks,” said the spokesperson.

Phase two involves the appointment of a specialist asbestos consultant to develop and car ry out soil testing on the sites to establish the extent of asbestos material which is buried at the sites.

“Phase three will involve the removal of any asbestos material at any of the sites which is buried. The timeline for phase two and three is not known in detail as yet because it is subject to estimating the amount of material in each site,” he explained. The costs associated with car rying out these works are not yet known.

THE people of Gort are in a state of shock following the tragic death of two local people in a house fire n the town last Thursday morning. The victims, who have been named locally as 38-year-old Ben Whiteman and 65-year-old Nuala Sweeney, died after a blaze broke out at 2.50am at Tom O’Donnell’s Flats on the Rail- way Road.

Numerous tributes have been paid locally to mother-of-four Nuala Sweeney and to Ben Whiteman, who worked as a mechanic. The pair have lived locally in Gort for more than a decade but had previously lived in the Caher area of East Clare. Four units of the fire brigade from Gort and Loughrea attended the scene and spent more than three hours bringing the blaze under control.

While the incident is not being treated as suspicious, questions have been raised after the first unit of the fire brigade to arrive on the scene had to delay entering the building for 25 minutes until a back-up unit arrived.

The normal complement of firefighters in Gort is nine, but for several months the station been reduced to just four. The four-man crew had to observe the protocol of having a back-up crew to support them before they could enter the building.

Galway County Council, which administers the service, has been attempting to recruit additional personnel, but has had difficulty in securing appropriate candidates for the positions.

“Would lives have been saved, or would the building have been as badly damaged – and there is a shopping centre nearby – if Gort was fully resourced?” said local Cllr Gerry Finnerty (FF).

“I know the council have been trying to recruit firefighters; I’ve seen the flyers, but we just don’t have too many people who are willing to work in our town. We have lost one-sixth of our working population since 2006.

“I’m very concerned at the impact of the under-resourcing of the fire service is having in the town and in south Galway, which is a large rural area.”

THERE will be plenty of Clare interest in Cheltenham this week with Connolly native Stephen Murphy represented in the first race of the festival as owner of Western Boy, while Tubber native Derek O’Connor has two rides at the prestigious meeting.

Champion Point to Point rider O’Connor rides Shotgun Paddy in Tuesday’s National Hunt Chase (4.40) and will be on the fancied Indian Castle in Thursday’s Kim Muir (4.40). O’Connor is looking forward to the mounts and in particular Thursday’s booking.

“Shotgun Paddy mightn’t be suit- ed by the ground as it is drying out quickly, but I’m really looking forward to the ride on Indian Castle. He’ll probably be favourite and I’d be hopeful of going close there,” he told The Clare People on Monday.

This is the biggest week of the year for the Tubber man in more ways than one, both he and his wife Karen are expecting their first child during the festival, so Derek won’t be hanging around after Thursday’s race.

“No, there won’t be any time for celebrating win, lose or draw on Thursday, it will be straight home. We’re lucky, Karen and I, we have great family around us, so hopefully all goes well,” he said in the hope of a double celebration.

There will be Banner interest in the first race today (Tuesday 1.30) when Western Boy, in the colours of Newcastlewest based, but Connolly born Stephen Murphy, takes his chance in the Supreme Novices Hurdle. A winner at Leopardstown at Christmas, the Pat Fahy trained five year-old ticks all the right boxes and Stephen is hopeful of a good run.

“Well, we’d love to see him in the first six but above all you want him to come back safe and sound. It’s a very hot race but we’re hopeful he’ll give a good account of himself,” Stephen told us on Monday from the track. Western Boy will go off around 16/1 in the race and will be ridden by Davy Russell.

CONCERNS have been expressed that children unknowingly played on and close to asbestos material, while their patents fished at Lislanaghan Lake in Kilkee.

Local people said there was no signs to indicate any danger from asbestos at the site of the former reservoir prior to the issue being raised by former councillor PJ Linnane last June.

Clare County Council admitted this week that it did not know how long the asbestos was illegally dumped at nine sites in West Clare, stating “the material appears to have been deposited over an undetermined number of years up to June 2013”.

Described by medical profession as “the hidden killer”, asbestos can cause four serious lung and respiratory diseases that can take years to affect those exposed.

According to the Health and Safety Executive in the UK, these illnesses “will not affect you immediately; they often take a long time to develop, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything. There is a need for you to protect yourself now.”

It is understood the asbestos material dumped in West Clare is from broken pieces of the council’s own Asbestos Cement Water Mains.

It is also not known how much of this waste was deposited at the council depot in Kilkee, four other sites at Lislanaghan, Kilkee; the Dunlicky Road, Kilkee; the council depot in Kilrush; Ballykett, Kilrush and Breaffa, Kilrush.

Clare County Council said that it has commissioned an external independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the depositing of Asbestos-Cement materials and work is to begin this week on stage one of removing the dangerous substance.

It is ten months since Mr Linnane first reported the asbestos piping discovered near his home, and just over three months since the dumping in Kilkee was revealed in The Clare People .

In answer to a number of questions, a spokesperson for the council said yesterday that it had tested the pipe material at one of the sites.

“Some of the pieces of pipe consisted of white asbestos. Some of the pipes consisted of a mixture of white and brown asbestos. Asbestos cement pipes historically were made from white asbestos or a mixture of white and brown asbestos. All of the waste asbestos cement pipe material will be removed.”

Brown asbestos is considered by experts to be more dangerous to human health than white asbestos.

Meanwhile a Health and Safety expert told The Clare People that the asbestos pipes should have been identified before the process of removing them began. The asbestos material should then be double-bagged by those with special training and equipment before being removed by RILTA, the only organisation in the state qualified to do so.

“There is the potential of asbestos going into the air every time that the broken pipes were disturbed. This could be a danger to workers or anyone in the area that moved them in any way. The equipment used to remove the pipes would also be considered contaminated officially, but this would not pose a huge risk,” he said.