Category: News

RESIDENTS opposed to the multi-million euro extension of the Whelan Group’s flagship operation have called for an oral hearing to be held into the contentious proposal.

Last month, in spite of location opposition, Clare County Council gave the green light to the Whelan Group to extend its quarry at Fountain outside Ennis.

In their appeal to An Bord Pleanala, local residents, Michael Halpin, David Copley and John Hehir have requested that an oral hearing be held, “taking into consideration the many issues of public importance raised in this case, the EU dimension and the large number of submissions made.

“There are many issues not least the location of the development in Drumcliffe Springs catchment, an area of extreme vulnerability, and recent public concern about the quality of water in Ennis and environs with the recent ‘boil notices’ issued.

“We have been subjected over the past twenty-five years, to a deterioration in our quality of life as a result of serious vibrations from blasting, noise and dust and as the quarrying moves nearer to our dwellings and into yet another townland the proposals for the future look bleak indeed, should the appeal fail.

The company now has an opportunity to respond the residents’ claims and a decision is expected on the appeal in the summer of this year.

OPPOSING factions in a feud, who ended up on charges because they had a set-to on the steps of the courthouse, had a second courthouse showdown while waiting for that case to be heard.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy was told that every time particular members of the McDonogh and Mongan families met, there was trouble.

Bernard McDonogh of Ashline in Ennis, Christopher McDonogh of Davitt Terrace in Ennis, and Edward and Christopher Mongan of Clondalkin in Dublin had previously been convicted of violent disorder. While they were leaving court after that conviction, they started trading insults on the steps of the court, Ennis District Court heard.

That resulted in their appearance in the court on Friday on Public Order charges before Judge Aeneas McCarthy.

But Inspector Michael Gallagher told the judge that after the court rose for lunch, while the two sides waited for their case to be heard, “there was another altercation.”

He said that the on-going tensions were the result of a long-standing feud between the two sides. But apart from their flare ups when the two sides met, the judge was told, they were law-abiding citizens who had never been in trouble with the gardaí.

“After each incident, all four appear genuinely remorseful, but when they confront each other, it is like a red rag to a bull,” Sergeant Alan McLeish said.

Solicitors for both sides said their clients were pleading guilty to the charges and wanted an end to the tensions.

As the Mongans had now moved to Dublin, the opposing factions were less likely to meet. Each of the men is father to five children, the court heard.

The court heard that as a result of the original violent disorder conviction, the parties were due to have three year suspended sentences imposed and these would take effect in July, provided there was no further trouble.

Judge McCarthy said that he took “a serious view of trouble at the courts. People should be able to come to court without getting caught up in feuding gang violence.”

He jailed each of the men for terms of four months and two months on the two public order charges. He set bail at an independent surety of €1,500 and their own bonds of €500 each.

MORE than 100 jobs will be created in North Clare this summer through the launch of a major new tourism company, the Atlantis Holiday Group.

The Liscannor based group will bring together a variety of different forms of accommodation in the North Clare area and hopes to cash in on the new visitor facilities at the Cliffs of Moher, as well as other new visitor attractions throughout the county.

The group consists of two hotels, a guest house, holiday homes and a pub, as well as a new music and performance facility, in the Doolin and Liscannor area. Prominent member of the Clare Tourism Council and former manager of the Burren Centre in Kilfenora, Paddy Maher, will act as Group Development and Marketing Manager for the Atlantis Group.

“We are trying to focus on the tourism markets that are developing at the present time,” said Mr Maher.

“We know from Fáilte Ireland that traditional pursuits, such as music, will be a major focus of development over the next 10 years or so.”

The group is currently involved in redeveloping Joseph McHugh’s famous pub in Liscannor, which was formerly owned by Clare hurling legend, Davy Fitzgerald. They are also developing the new Cliffs of Moher Hotel, on the site of the old Captain’s Deck Restaurant, in the town.

“It will be a 23 bedroom hotel located just across from the harbour in Liscannor,” said Mr Maher.

“We are hoping to receive four star status with a restaurant and a bar area out the front.”

The group also has interests in Doolin, where Ballyvara House, the Tír gan Éan House Hotel and the Doolin Holiday Village will all be flying the Atlantis Group’s flag. The five diamond rated Ballyvara House will also feature a new 40-seater restaurant.

Aside from the portfolio of accommodation, the group has plans to develop a new music and performance facility in Doolin.

“We are hoping to have that up and running by the end of the summer,” continued Mr Maher. “It is going to be open all year round and will be available for any local group who wants to put on plays and concerts.”

Ballyvara House and Joseph McHugh’s pub are scheduled to reopen next month, while the two hotels will be fully operational for the 2006 Summer season.

THE long running saga over Cahercon Pier took another twist last night after it emerged that a marine surveyor employed by Clare County Council was denied access to vessels moored at the site.

At Clare County Council’s monthly meeting, members were told that a marine surveyor had been employed by the council to undertake an assessment of the vessels located at Cahercon Pier under the Merchant Shipping Act.

While an initial report was obtained by the council, the report was incomplete as the surveyor was denied access to the vessels. The council have also been unable to determine who owns the vessels and are seeking advice on how to proceed with the matter.

Fine Gael Councillors Oliver Garry and Martin Conway both requested to know what options were available to the council since the decision was taken not to include Cahercon Pier on a list of protected structures. Last month the council went against the advice of the County Manager and voted not to include the pier on a list of protected structures.

An updated structural report on the pier showed that while the pier was in reasonably good structural condition, damage and dilapidation had occurred along the pier walls.

Cllr Garry, who had previously proposed that the pier be listed, stated that he was wasn’t against encouraging employment in the area and urged the council to resolve the issue of access as speedily as possible.

Cllr Conway said that a large number of people in West Clare were disappointed with the outcome of last month’s vote and proposed that a special meeting to discuss the matter be convened in April.

Cllr Madeleine Taylor-Quinn asked the council to find out who the ships were registered under and whether the substances that were carried on board were harmful or not.

A LEADING Clare psychiatrist has identified a new addiction afflicting western society, and putting lives at risk.

“Tanoraemia” is an addiction to tanning, according to Dr Moosajee Bhamjee.

“Tanoraemia people wish to look tanned all the time, winter and summer and for every special occasion. These people are called Tanorexics,” he said.

Tanoraemia can occur at any age, and does not discriminate between genders or class.

The outspoken psychiatrist and former TD warned that addiction to tanning can be detrimental to a person’s health as well as affecting their finances.

“They are so addicted to looking tanned that they will not heed advices about the dangers,” he said.

“People are going from one sun bed centre to another and are not listening to the advice of the sun bed owner.”

Dr Bhamjee told The Clare People that a worryingly high number of people were changing tanning centres without informing the owners that they might already have been on a sun bed that day or week.

“Some people are even buying their own sun beds and installing them in their own homes,” he added.

It is not just sun beds that are causing concern for the Clare psychiatrist. Spray tans and self-tanning products are also feeding into the tanning frenzy, he maintains.

“The consequences of the “false tan” are that people may develop an allergy to the liquid. It may harm one’s eyes, it can come off on clothes,” explained Dr Bhamjee.

“Prevention is very difficult and needs community support and for people to heed the advice of their friends and doctors,” he added.

Those addicted are also finding it difficult to take precautions to prevent the development of skin cancer, he said.

According to research by the Irish Cancer Society, as many as seven per cent of people use sun beds in Ireland.

The research also shows three per cent of users use sun beds once per week, five per cent use them twice per month and eight per cent about once a month.

The majority of users are in the 1534 year old age group.

Six per cent of users admit to have used sun beds for the first time before aged 15 years and 27 per cent, when they were between 15 and 19 years of age.

THREE men arrested in connection with the murder of nightclub security man, Brian Fitzgerald, have been released without charge and a file sent to the DPP.

It is believed that while a Clare person is still being investigated in relation to the murder, this person was not one of those arrested during the past week.

Two of those arrested were held in Dublin and one in the Midlands under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

James Martin Cahill from Birmingham and with family connections in West Clare is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Mr Fitzgerald.

The 30-year-old has told gardaí that he will testify against his criminal associates.

Cahill was paid €10,000 to kill the father of two, three years ago, in one of the most notorious murders in Limerick city.

Mr Fitzgerald was shot outside his home in Corbally in the early hours of November 29, 2002.

The 34-year-old father was head of security at the former Doc’s nightclub in Limerick.

It is believed a crime gang targeted him when he refused to allow drugs to be traded in the club.

After pleading to the murder charge last November, Cahill told his sentencing hearing that he was willing to testify in any future cases.

“What I am trying to say is that I will testify against people. That is why I feel my life is in danger,” he told Mr Justice Paul Carney.

A decision by the Supreme Court made just two weeks after Cahill’s sentencing, to dismiss an appeal by Dublin Crime Boss John Gilligan against his 20-year conviction on drug trafficking charges, gave gardaí fresh hope of finding all of those involved in the Fitzgerald murder.

At the time Gilligan’s lawyers challenged the reliability of witnesses under the Witness Protection Programme.

The programme was put in place to protect those willing to turn State’s witness and give essential evidence against their criminal partners.

Gardaí said that the decision by the Supreme Court to give qualified support to the programme is of huge importance to further investigations into the murder of Brian Fitzgerald.

A BARMAID who had a pint glass thrown at her for refusing to serve a man a drink was then threatened that she would never make it to court if she persisted in giving evidence of the assault.

John Maughan (32) of Stone Court in Ennis was before the Ennis District Court charged with assaulting barworker, Ann Woods and with intimidating her as a witness.

The court heard that the accused man admitted throwing a glass at Ms Woods, hitting her on the side of the head on October 28 last.

She had refused to serve him drink because he was unsteady. The court heard the glass didn’t break.

At a later date, Inspector Michael Gallagher the Ennis District court, Maughan threatened Ms Woods that he would “break her legs if she appeared in court.

He told her, “you won’t get there you c*** bitch.”

Ms Woods gave evidence that she found Maughan “very intimidating.”

The accused man’s solicitor, Tara Godfrey, said her client wanted to apologise to Ms Woods.

He had a serious drink problem for 13 years and his wife had now gone to England with their two children, Ms Godfrey said..

But his family were trying to help him stay sober and had arranged to have him assessed in Bushy Park.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy said that he took “a very dim view of witnesses being intimidated.

“The whole integrity of the justice system depends on people being able to testify.”

He jailed Maughan for nine months on the intimidation charge and a further four months for the assault with the glass.

He set bail for an appeal at €2,000 with Maughan’s own bond of €500.

A GARDA sergeant, who stopped to play good Samaritan to a motorist in trouble, found he had to book him instead.

And when Shannon-based Sgt Dermot O’Connor brought summonses for no insurance, tax or driving licence against Martin McDonagh of 44 Ard Alainn in Ballybane, Galway, he discovered that the man had 68 previous convictions, 60 of them for road traffic offences and was disqualified from driving at the time.

Sgt O’Connor told Ennis District Court that while off-duty, he was driving when he saw the defendant overtake him and then pull in to the side of the road, as if he had broken down.

“I went to see if I could help him and saw that he had no tax or insurance and he did not have a driver’s licence,” said Sgt O’Connor.

His record showed that he had 68 previous convictions, 60 of which applied to offences under the Road Traffic Act.

His solicitor said that McDonagh was just 21 years old and was currently serving a 19 month sentence due to end in August.

“He had bought the car just a short time previously and he was driving from Galway to visit relatives in Shannon,” the solicitor said.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy imposed a sentence of six months for having no insurance and ruled it should start after the completion of his current sentence.

THE sounds of fireworks crackled in the air, carrying all the way from Shanaglish over the blurred borderline that separates the Beagha parish from the Clare country of Tubber.

The sounds were Shanaglish’s signals of celebration – the Messiah wasn’t among them, but the prodigal son was. That’s what the former Bishop of Galway, Dr Eamonn Casey, is being called in these parts.

He finally landed in sleepy Shanaglish on Thursday afternoon last. Not that Shanaglish was sleeping. Instead the place was soon alive, kicking and basking in the notoriety of it all.

The paparazzi came to the village, staking out the parochial house next to Shanaglish church, where Casey has set up home. It wasn’t a long stake-out. Dr Casey arrived there at 4pm and an hour later appeared at his front door to face the cameras and waiting journalists.

“I am very pleased to be back in Ireland and I would like to express my gratitude to you parish priest (Fr Paddy Callanan) and my bishop (Dr Drennan), for the warm welcome,” said Dr Casey who was flanked by Fr Callanan and Fr Martin Glynn of Galway Cathedral.

“I look forward to settling down here amongst the people of Shanaglish and look forward to getting to know them as my neighbours,” said Dr Casey as he read from notes.

“I regret that, in the past, I let a number of people down. This caused grave hurt to some and, for that, I am deeply regretful and sad. I now ask for privacy as I settle down in my new parish and amongst my own people,” he added.

All the while, photographers present took the first shots of Dr Casey in his old diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora for the first time since he fled Ireland 14 years ago, after it was revealed that he had fathered a son with American divorcee Annie Murphy.

Two locals were present for Dr Casey’s first public engagement in Shanaglish – local publican Michael Whelan and Seamus Clandillon who said, “it’s time the press stopped hounding him and allowed him live his life.”

These words were echoed by Fr Callanan. “He wishes to be left in peace now,” he said on Dr Casey’s arrival, while in Sunday’s 10 am mass in Shanaglish, he suggested local people might “perhaps discourage” photographers from turning up in the area.

Dr Casey was not present at mass.

LISDOONVARNA woman Shelley McNamara made history this week by becoming the first ever architect allowed to join Aosdána, a group made up of Ireland’s leading artists.

The organisation, which was founded by Charley Haughey in 1981 with Samuel Beckett as it’s first member, has recently opened its ranks to architects and choreographers. Ms McNamara is the first from either discipline to be granted membership.

Aosdána boasts some of Irelands leading artists, with the likes of Colm Tobin, Neil Jordan and Noble Laureate, Seamus Heaney, among its membership. Ms McNamara’s appointment is a major milestone for the group and has raised a number of eyebrows in the artistic community.

“It is the first time that architects have been considered for Aosdána and I would imagine that I am the first of many,” Miss McNamara told The Clare People.

While she is delighted with her appointment, she pointed to a numbers of problems that have to be addressed in the planning process in Ireland at the moment.

“I think that there are a lot of problems, mainly the fact that new developments don’t always consolidate within an area,” she said. “It’s not always to do with the architect, it’s about the planners as well. We all have to take responsibility for tackling the problem.”

Born in Lisdoonvarna, Miss McNamara attended UCD before establishing Grafton Architects with Yvonne Farrell in 1977.