Category: Uncategorized

THE seaside town of Kilkee, received another blow this week with news that its tourist office is to close.

Despite falling tourism figures the popular holiday town had continued to fight to attract visitors to the area, with such projects as the redevelop- ment of the Sweeney Memorial L1i- brary now underway.

The West Clare Economic Task Force has also been working to en- courage tourists west next summer.

However Shannon Development confirmed that the tourist office, which opens during the summer months, will remain closed perma- eA

An information point is to be in- stalled in its place.

The decision to close what has been described as a “valuable resource for the seaside resort and the surround- ing region’, has been made due to NESE DEED RokI Ne BE SLICE

Fine Gael TD Joe Carey said he has written to those responsible in regional tourism to urge them to re- consider this decision.

“T do not believe that now is the time for us to be removing or scal- ing back on our tourist product. This is not a good long-term decision for Kilkee or the region in general, and I would ask Shannon Development to reconsider the closure of this of- fice. The tourist office in Kilkee is a

vital source of information on what to do and see in the area as well as a way for local business, such as ho- tels, guesthouses and restaurants, to promote their products. It’s removal and closure will have an adverse fi- nancial effect on the local region. It is not a good day for west Clare tour- ism,” he said.

‘The wider picture here is one of Government’s inability to properly fund and develop Ireland’s tourist product. A 12 per cent drop in tour- ist visitors to Ireland last year is very worrying. This coupled with the on- going uncertainty over both Ryanair and Aer Lingus and their business through Shannon Airport are placing huge pressure on the tourist industry

in County Clare. This region was promised a marketing fund post open skies to help sustain and develop our tourist sector. Yet that fund has never materialised. With tourist office now closing on this Government’s watch, it gives some indication of the pres- sures the mid-west region is facing.

“Notwithstanding the difficulties the sector faces, I do not believe that closing the Kilkee Tourist Of- fice will have a net gain for the tax- payer in the long run. Symbolically, the closure of this office will undo much good work that has been done in promoting Kilkee in recent years. I would urge Shannon Development to reconsider this announcement,” he said.

A RELATIVELY one-sided affair as an experimental Waterford side had 12 points to spare over an equally new look Clare side on Sunday. Wa- terford were sharp, focused and ea- ger to impress while a lifeless Clare looked like a side that had executed their pre-match routine up the nearby Knockmealdown Mountains.

In such circumstances, you would expect the winning manager to be glowing but as he watched his play- ers warm-down in the centre of the field after the game, Davy Fitzgerald was agitated, sensing that his former team-mates Ger O’Loughlin, Danny Chaplin and Liam Doyle had cagily refused to show their full hand. And in his typically passionate manner, he wasn’t about to keep his suspi- cions to himself.

“You can’t take anything from that game because Clare, in my opinion, did not try. Last Tuesday night they worked very hard and they were un- real last Tuesday night. The way they worked, the way they battled was unreal. I’m not fooled at all by that. That’s only mind games and I’m not into that so we came out, we played the game and I just don’t feel that they worked hard and that’s only my honest opinion. I know that there’s way more in Clare than that without a shadow of a doubt.

“The game last Tuesday night, they blocked and tackled and hassled and harried. Can you tell me that they blocked and tackled outside there? No.

“Listen, we did what we had to do and that’s fine but I’m not fooled. If they say that there are no mind games, then that’s rubbish, they did not go flat out there.”

Delving further, was he angry at Clare’s supposed tactics?

“We came to play a game and I’d like to have got more tackles and whatever, but I’m sure we will get them on June 7. I know myself be- ing from Clare what they are capa- ble of and I just feel they are capable of a bit more than what they showed there. All I am saying is we are read- ing nothing into that and we are ex- pecting an avalanche on June 7, we know what it’s going to be like. But at the same time, we had to come out and try to play the game today and we tried to play it.

“T just don’t believe in rubbish. I think you can’t tell me if you were at the game last Tuesday night that it was the same as today. You cannot. They put tackles into the Tipp lads, I was down there and I saw it my- self. I was waiting for that today and I didn’t see it. Did I learn anything today? No. Don’t be fooled.”

Such was Fitzgerald’s frustration that he couldn’t even fully evaluate his own side’s performance in such a lob sided clash.

““Isn’t it easy be good when you are not being tackled as hard? That’s what I’m saying to you. I will put it to you this way. Even Sparrow’s emo- tion on the sideline today compared to last week was totally different and I watched it closely. Last Tues-

day night, he was non-stop moving up and down the sideline, keeping the players going. Today I think you saw it yourself, not a word. I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to read into it like that so at the end of the day we won the game, that’s grand and we will play the final next week. I suppose for us, the National League starts in three weeks time and we know be- ing without seven or eight of the lads, we are going to have to work hard but I think my lads will work hard. We will be up against it in a lot of games but we will work hard. There are some great young lads there, ab- solutely fantastic but we will be up against it missing so many.”

However, it wasn’t long before the conversation reverted to Clare and Whether or not they simply rolled over ahead of the sides’ Munster championship semi-final on the June Bank Holiday Monday.

“T’m not saying that, I’m just say- ing why didn’t they tackle as hard as they did last Tuesday night? That’s all I’m saying, I just don’t feel they did it. They can say what they like, I don’t care. I saw the difference last Tuesday night compared to today. The way I looked at it, no-one is go- ing to learn anything for next June because we are missing a number of players, they are missing a number of players so what is it? Why waste a Sunday and just come down – let’s have a good game, that was the way I was taking it but at the same time, you have got to respect whatever way they want to do it, they do it and that’s the bottom line and we will do

the job we have got to do.

“The one thing I am very sure about, I know the lads that are over them they are very shrewd guys and I know that we will be in for an ab- solute dinger of a game come June. I know that, ’’m under no illusions whatsoever and we know that there will only be a point in it either way.”

Minutes later, Clare manager Ger O’Loughlin stepped out of the Clare dressing room blissfully unaware of his counterparts comments.

“IT wouldn’t expect him to say any- thing different,’ he responded with a smile. “No, we came down genuinely to give a good account of ourselves but we were just very flat today and just didn’t play any brand of hurling

at all. So we will put our hands up and say ‘look we have to recognise that we have an awful lot of work between now and June in the league and we will take heart from the other games we played in the competition as well’. I suppose the other side of it is that we are very much trying to settle on a team as well, we are try- ing out five or six lads every match so it’s not a settled team. That’s not an excuse, we were just very poor today.

“It was a wake up call I suppose. We were well and truly outclassed in nearly every position but I sup- pose from our own point of view, we have got a bit out of the Waterford Crystal. We were decent against Tip-

perary, we were very honest and we tried hard and in also in our first day out against WIT, we were very hon- est but today we just came up against a very smart and sharp team and we were a good bit behind. Don’t anyone underestimate that we have a moun- tain to climb if we are going to com- pete with them in June but that’s the task we have. So hopefully we will get there.”

With the championship firmly in mind, O’Loughlin is very wary of Clare and Waterford’s contrasting National League fixture list, however he also feels that playing in Division 2 should not be detrimental to Clare’s chances in this year’s Munster cham- eyCoyetsieul oy

‘There is no doubt about it, Water- ford will get three or four very good games in the league and we probably won’t have that but that’s the position we are in. We will have to go looking for matches that we will be playing top class teams in challenge matches but I think what we have to do is pre- pare ourselves to the best of our abil- ity and if we do that, we should be a match for most counties.”

Whether intentional or not, 1t seems the mind games have already begun ahead of the Munster championship. It may be over four months away but for two determined managers, realis- tically it will be never far from their thoughts.

WHAT better way to spend Valen- tine’s Day than amidst the breath- taking scenery of north Clare. More than 500 people are expected to turn out for the annual sponsored 10k walk organised by the Clare Branch of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, which takes place in Fanore on Feb- ruary 14.

The annual walk, which usually happens on the first Sunday of the new year, was postponed this year because of the poor weather condi- tions but organisers are confident that a large crowd will still come along and show its support.

Now in its eighth year, the walk has become a charity institution in the north Clare area.

Sponsorship cards are still available locally or from the Alzheimer Socie- ty office in Ennis, but people are also encouraged to come along on the day and donate what they can.

“We have had great support from people in Clare, Galway and Lim- erick and all over getting behind the walk for the last eight years and it’s been a pleasure to do it.

“It’s a very nice walk. It goes from the main road to the green road and then it goes to the grass green road up in Fanore. There is a lovely view out over the sea and over all the Burren,”

said co-organiser, Gerry Howard.

““Tt’s a nice relaxed walk. We have a great celebration on the day with traditional music, dancing and sing- ing in O’Donoghue’s Pub after the walk. We have a great evening after ro

AS in previous years, all proceeds from the walk will go to improve and extend both daycare, homecare and respite services for the Clare branch of the Alzheimer Society.

‘There are very few families who haven’t had some sort of brush with it – either Dementia or Alzheimer’s. When you are organising something like this, you are very much pushing an open door with people. Anyone

who has had experience of it is al- ways great when it comes to pitching in,’ continued Gerry.

“Every bob we make goes into the services in County Clare – there isn’t anything at all spent on administra- tion or anything like that.”

This year’s walk will take place from 12.30pm on Sunday, Feb- ruary 14, starting and _ finishing O’Donoghue’s Pub in Fanore.

Sponsorship cards are still availa- ble from the Alzheimer Society local office at Unit 17 Clonroad Business Park, Ennis on 065 6868621.

Cards are also available locally from Gerard Howard and Brendan Cusack.

GARDA reinforcements had to be brought in during a domestic dispute at a house on the outskirts of Ennis town, a court has heard.

Thomas Quinn (36), of Ashline, Kilrush Road, Ennis, was convicted of breaching the peace at his home on August 11, 2009.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told Ennis District Court on Friday that gardai were called to a disturbance at the house.

He said that a woman had a large cut to her head and wounds to her body.

He said the accused asked gardai to leave the house and became ex- tremely agitated.

“He kept saying to his wife, * You are not going to complain, are you?’,” said Inspector Gallagher.

He said that a broken shovel was found in a room in the house.

The court was told that garda rein- forcements had to be called in and it took three gardai to restrain the ac- Leer

The court heard that Quinn has a string of previous convictions.

Defending solicitor Andrew Darcy told the court that there has been a lot of tragedy in his client’s family in Kero nN DON Tere

“There have been two suicide at- tempts recently in his immediately family. His first cousin died tragi- cally last week,” he said.

Referring to the offence before the court, Mr Darcy said his client had been off drink and drugs for a number of years, but had indulged on this occasion, resulting in a domestic situation.

The defendant’s wife Margaret told the court that the incident was “out of character.”

‘“He’s a very good husband; a very good father. He was only after losing a sister at 39.

“He lost a nephew at 31. It was too much,” she said.

She said that she and her husband “are getting on like a house on fire now.”

“T’ve got six kids. If Thomas goes to prison, I don’t know how I’d man- age,” she said.

Judge Timothy Lucey said, “Even though she doesn’t make a lot of it, I think it was a serious incident that required gardai to be called.”

“Anybody who defies the gardai, that aggravates the whole thing. He made it difficult for everybody. It merits a suspended sentence. He’s got to watch himself and make sure he doesn’t lose the head,” said the judge.

He imposed a three-month jail sen- tence, suspended for a year, on con- dition that he keep the peace for that period of time.

A LITTLE taste of Italy is now be- ing cooked to order every night in Doolin following the opening of the La Strana Coppia Restaurant in the village.

The new restaurant, which is owned and managed by chef pair Carlo Sa- gnotti and Ornella Testa, opened last month and, despite the recession, it has been proving that there is always an appetite for good food in north Clare. They promise a mixture of simple and complex foods, all taken from their native region of Piedmon- te and their home town Turin.

“It’s the cuisine of the poor and the cuisine of the kings. Torino and Pied- monte, our native land, was the first capital of Italy in 1860 and the home of the Savoia royal family, crowned by the Alps high mountains where poor people lived. In the restaurant people will discover completely new dishes, with daring and unusual com- binations of ingredients you’ve never tasted in Ireland,’ said Carlo.

Carlo and Ornella moved to Ire- land last year and spent a number of months searching out the perfect lo- cation. Despite the difficult econom- ic conditions, they are hopeful their new venture will be a success.

“We were looking for a place in Ire- land that would suit all of our needs and our ideas and I think Doolin was always the place. After all we both love Doolin so we were happy to find a place here,” continued Carlo.

“We moved to Ireland back in June and since then we have been look- ing around, trying to find the perfect je e-Terer

“We think we have found it now. We have a very big menu, both dish-

es that people might know but also some more unusual recipes.

“We are optimistic about the res- taurant. We know that we are selling good authentic Italian food. We have imported it directly from Italy so we believe in what we are doing. So ina way it doesn’t matter if we are opti- mistic or not.

“But of course we are optimistic. We believe that it might be slow, but we think that we can have a good place in Doolin with this restaurant, because of the quality of our food. We won’t be an Italian takeaway serving just pizza and things like that. It’s all about the quality of the food.”

For more about La Strana Coppia

or to read a sample menu check out http://italianrestaurantdoolin.com or ring 087 7465982.

A WOMAN who complained about loud music got more than she bar- gained for as the neighbour she com- plained to arrived at her house a few hours later with a spade.

Arising out of the incident, Seamus Nestor, of Cluain Ard, Clarecas- tle, was charged with threatening a woman in the course of a dispute, at Cluain Ard, on July 7, 2009.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told Ennis District Court on Friday that loud music was being played at a house at around 7pm and a neighbour complained to the accused.

“She asked him to turn down the music as it was loud,’ he said. How- ever, Nestor laughed in the woman’s face and closed the door. At around 10.45pm he arrived at her house with a spade. The incident was witnessed by another neighbour and the court was told the witnesses were very traumatised as a result of what had

happened.

Defending solicitor John Casey said those involved live very close to each other. “At the time he (Nestor) had a serious drink problem. He had dif-

ficulties with Clare County Council at the time. It is council accommoda- tion,” he said.

‘He was wrong and he accepts he was wrong. He realises his neigh-

bours are entitled to quiet enjoyment of their own property,” he said.

“I suggest an adjournment for a pe- riod of time to leave the sword hang- ing over him. If he offends again he will face the full rigours of the law,” said Mr Casey.

However Judge Timothy Lucey was told that Nestor is still drinking and asked, “Is there any reason why it won’t happen again next week? He is still drinking.”

Mr Casey said his client is not drinking as much as he used to and has “quietened down. Perhaps in time it will settle. He would rather get on with his neighbours.”

The judge said, “It’s up to him to address his own difficulties. I can’t address them for him. He’s on the edge of a suspended sentence but perhaps a sentence would be too much, given his plea.” He imposed a fine of €400.

THE majestic view from the Cliffs of Moher stretched all the way to Sanya in the southern Hainan Province of China last week as a delegation from the Cliffs of Moher Experience took part in a special trade mission look- ing for new tourism business.

Representatives from the cliffs, along with a number of other tour- ism partners from around Ireland, were involved in the trade mission which was organised together with Visit Britain and Tourism Ireland in China.

The trip consisted of a number of face-to-face workshops, presenta-

tions and networking events with influential Chinese travel agents, the trade mission provided an excel- lent platform for the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre and other participants to showcase their tourism product and to communicate what is unique about the island of Ireland.

Through the course of the two-day mission, face-to-face meetings were conducted with more than 60 key Chinese decision-makers, encour- aging them to include the island of Ireland in their future holiday pro- eae DOOD ENLACE

‘The majority of overseas tourists to the island of Ireland continue to come from the core markets of Brit-

ain, mainland Europe and North America and, while this will con- tinue, it is important that we expand our focus beyond these markets and look to the long-term opportunities presented by the markets in Asia like China,’ said Jim Paul, Tourism Ire- land’s Head of New and Developing Markets.

“Britain 1s a very popular desti- nation for Chinese travellers, so it makes sense for Tourism Ireland to co-operate with Visit Britain, to tar- get those Chinese visitors travelling to Great Britain and encourage them to visit the island of Ireland as part OM slo pum nul Oe

“Tourism Ireland believes that the

Asian outbound travel market is set for significant growth in the coming years. In particular, China offers sig- nificant business potential for tour- ism enterprises around the island of Ireland. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisa- tion (UNWTO), the Asia-Pacific re- gion will be one of the fastest-grow- ing outbound regions, expanding by more than 6.5 per cent on average over the next I5 years.

“Visitors from markets like China stay twice as long as the average hol- idaymaker, are more likely to travel throughout the island and make a significant economic contribution to numerous tourism sectors.”

A WOMAN has told a court she feared she would be killed after a car came towards her zig-zagging over and back on the road, along the En- nis bypass.

Arising out of the incident, Kath- leen McCarthy (29), of Acha Bhaile, Lahinch Road, Ennis, was charged with driving without due care and consideration, on November 19, 2008. She denied the charge.

Kathleen Gibbons, from Lisdoon- varna, told Ennis District Court on Friday that she was driving on the Ennis bypass, near the Claureen roundabout, on the date in question.

She said she was travelling at a speed of between 45 and 50 mph when she noticed a car coming to- wards her, zig-zagging over and back the road. “First of all I thought it was somebody doing wheelies. I hoped it would straighten up. I thought, ‘I’m going to be dead’,” she recalled.

She said the car moved onto her side of the road and crashed into the side of her car. As a result, Ms Gibbons’ passenger door flew open. The airbag burst and there was blue smoke for a few seconds. She said the incident has “severely damaged my confidence.”

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client lost control of the steering wheel and spent several days in hospital after the crash. She received 21 stitches to the side of her head and suffered internal bleeding.

In a statement to gardai made some time after the accident, the accused said she did not know what had hap- pened.

“All of a sudden the steering wheel went free from me. I had no control,” she told gardai.

The court heard that the accused’s car was examined by the PSV in- spector and this found there were no defects with the steering wheel.

The solicitor said the accused was “driving carefully with all due care. There has to be an element of doubt. It was the middle of the day. It was highly unlikely she would be engag- ing in boy racing tactics.”

Judge Timothy Lucey said there may be another explanation for what had happened and said Ms McCa- rthy “may have had a blow out, but who can tell?”’

‘There is no question but the State have proved their case. There may be other explanations. It’s up to the de- fence to produce any evidence,” said the judge.

He convicted the defendant and fined her €250. He fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.

He told the solicitor, “If what you are Saying is correct, you should ap- peal it but you’d want to get better proof, better evidence.”

Road funding not nearly enough

ALMOST 500 children in Clare had brushes with the law in 2008, more than 50 of whom were brought be- fore the courts on charges.

Children under the age of 18 are brought to court on a weekly basis on various charges including public or- der, criminal damage, thefts, motor- ing offences, assaults, or occasion- ally on drugs charges. According to a report presented to the Oireachtas last week, 472 children in Clare were referred to the national garda youth diversion programme in 2008. This was down marginally from 2007 when the figure was 492.

The diversion programme aims to deal with children in a manner other than prosecution and under the scheme, cautions are issued, where the child is suitable. It deals with children between the ages of 10 and 18. However, prosecutions are taken in the childrens’ court, when all oth- er options are exhausted. Prosecu- tions were taken against 54 children in 2008; down from 60 the previous year. Formal cautions were issued against 84 children (107 in 2007); information cautions were given to

279 (267 in 2007); while no further action was taken against 34 children (27 in 2007). At the end of the year, 21 cases were still pending.

There were three times the number of boys getting into trouble with the law, when compared with girls. The figures show that, in Clare, 360 boys were referred to the diversion pro- gramme in 2008, compared to 112 girls.

In Clare, there were 616 referrals to the diversion programme in 2008. This is also marginally down on the figure for 2007, when 625 cases were referred on. The difference between the number of referrals and the number of children referred is that some children were responsible for HOLD Lee om usKourDhS

Of the 616 referrals; 107 were not suitable for the diversion programme. Formal cautions were issued in 130 cases, while information cautions were issued in 318 cases. No further action was taken in 32 cases.

Nationally, there was a decrease of 2.4 per cent in the number of children referred to the diversion programme in 2008. A total of 21,412 children were referred to the programme in Autry