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THE heartbreaking circumstances surrounding the deaths of a brother and sister within ten weeks of each other earlier this year have been re- called at inquests into their deaths.

Philip Madden (18) died on Janu- ary 13 last, while his sister Rachel (17) died on March 22, at the family home in Clonlara.

The Coroner’s Court in Ennis last week heard that their father Michael discovered both bodies at the back of the home. In his deposition, Michael

Madden said that his son Philip had been drinking and arrived home at around 9.30pm on January 13 last.

After a short while, his son went out the back of the house. When he didn’t return, the father went out to see where he was and found him hanging. He tried mouth to mouth resuscitation, but his son did not respond and was pronounced dead some time later that night.

The inquest heard that Philip’s sister Rachel went into Limerick city with a friend on March 22 last. She arrived home at 12.45pm. The inquest heard

that she seemed to be very happy in herself. At around 2.40pm, her father went out to feed rabbits in the back yard and saw Rachel hanging.

The inquest was told that Rachel’s sister found a note in her bedroom, dated March 22.

An autopsy carried out on Philip’s body showed elevated levels of alco- hol.

Pathologist Dr Vouneen Healy, who carried out an autopsy on Rachel’s body, said no alcohol or drugs were ClaKererere

Coroner Isobel O’Dea said she

would record open verdicts in both cases, 1n accordance with the medi- cal evidence.

She noted that the level of alco- hol in Philip’s system was elevated “which may or may not have affected his decision”.

She said she was conscious of the fact that Rachel had undergone coun- seling and had gone through a stress- ful time.

‘As a parent, I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose two children in such sad circumstances in such a short space of time,” she said.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Clare has said that the announcement of an in- dependent investigation into the op- eration of services at Ennis General Hospital is “insufficient on its own to restore public confidence in the health system”.

Councillor Madeleine — Taylor- Quinn said that “only corrective ac- tion in areas of deficiencies will help restore that confidence, which has

been shattered”.

The mayor said that an investiga- tion into the specific cases of misd1- agnosis was absolutely essential. She added that the families of the patients deserved and were entitled to the full facts of what went wrong.

Mayor Taylor-Quinn stressed that the Health Information and Quality Authority’s (HIQA) review of serv- ices at Ennis General Hospital must take account of recent history.

“Will the HSE, its predecessor the Health Board, and the Department of Health and Children firstly acknowI- edge their negligence in lack of sup- port for the hospital over the last 20 years when 40 beds were withdrawn from the hospital? Secondly, will they acknowledge that for that pe- riod of time they have continuously downgraded Ennis General Hospital by stealth? And thirdly will they ac- cept that had they responded posi- tively to the repeated concerns raised by the Hospital Action Committee and public representatives that the cases of misdiagnosis may not have occurred at Ennis General Hospi- tal?” she asked.

Fine Gael Deputy Pat Breen has given a guarded welcome to the an- nouncement of a HIQA review of

services at Ennis General Hospital. He warned that this review “must not be used to progress the Agenda of ending 24/7 accident and emergency services at the hospital.

“T hope that this review will lead to badly needed improvements at the hospital and that it is not being used to implement the Hanly Report by the back door. Staff and management at Ennis General Hospital have been forced to work in crowded conditions with poor facilities for years and in spite of numerous Government prom- ises of funding, not one cent has been seen yet of the ©39m redevelopment plan,” he said.

The review must “focus on provid- ing improved services and _ facili- ties for the people of the county”, according to Sinn Féin’s county spokesperson Cathy McCafferty.

Speaking after the announcement Ms. McCafferty said, “This re- view must concentrate on finding out what resources Ennis General needs to ensure the tragic events revealed in recent days do not happen again.”

PREMIER League football comes to West Clare this November with the visit of Tottenham Hotspur. Coach- ing staff from the north London club will descend on the village of Mul- lagh on November 7 and 8 for two days of coaching clinics.

In a significant development for soccer in the Banner County, Spurs are linking up with local club West Clare United. It is the first time that the English Premier League club has entered into such a partnership agreement with an Irish club.

There are already plans for further events next year with some of the club’s star names expected to visit

Mullagh as part of the Tottenham Hotspur roadshow, planned for July AU

Needless to say excitement is al- ready building in Mullagh. Tom Egan, one of the founding members of West Clare United says anticipa- tion is already at fever pitch.

‘“T had rang them earlier in the year and we only just received confirma- tion that they were going to come over. It’s been great since we’ve heard. The kids have been out prac- ticing before they go to school. It’s a major boost for soccer in West Clare and for soccer in Clare in general.” Tom continued, “There is going to be members of the coaching staff and the head of the Youth Development,

Paul Griffiths coming over.

All the places are already gone for the coaching clinics, its booked solid. It’s a great boost for soccer.”

West Clare United were set up eight months ago. The club is based at the Community Sports Field in Mul- lagh. The club draws its members from Cooraclare, Cree, Doonbeg, Mullagh, Quilty, Milltown Malbay, Kilmihil, Inagh.

“We have over 100 children in- volved in the club and are delighted with the phenomenal response we have received in getting the club off the ground in an area which would by many have been viewed as aGAA stronghold’, added Tom.

This season the club fielded teams

at under 11 and under 13 with both sides performing strongly in the re- spective leagues.

Tom continued “The committee of the sports field in Mullagh have been wonderful in helping us organize Training and match days and main- tained the pitch in great condition which has been remarked upon by all who have played on it. Our sin- cere thanks go out to them for all eles Dum atsah ome

A SOCIAL stigma continues to pre- vent people seeking help for depres- sion, according to a consultant psy- chiatrist based in Ennis.

Dr Moosajee Bhamjee said that while many people are more will- ing to seek help for mental illnesses, several others are hiding it from the public and are not getting the medi- cal assistance they require.

He said that from a genetic stand- point, if one person in a family suf- fers from depression there is a pro- pensity for at least one other person to also suffer, as genetics play a sig- nificant role.

‘There is a proneness to increased psychiatric illness. The risk is in- creased if the person is close to you, especially in schizophrenic and bi- polar conditions.

“Close families are at higher risk. That is why we do a family history with each individual and we ask these questions,’ he added.

“If a family member suffered from depression, we would ask what tablet

worked for that person and we may recommend it for the individual,’ he added.

He said it was up to the individual to tell medial personnel if a family member suffered from depression, but said there were stigmas affecting Webi

“This has decreased a little bit in that we talk about it now. Newspaper articles and magazines all talk about depression. However the stigma is contributing to people taking their own lives,” he said.

He said that while people generally seek help for depression more and more, a stigma prevents many others from doing so.

“People do not want to admit it. They feel they are letting themselves down,” he added.

However, many people are very much opposed to the idea of going into a psychiatric hospital, “even though they are depressed and sul- cidal.”

THE cocaine-related deaths of two west Clare men has prompted gardai to issue a stern warning on the avail- ability of toxic forms of the drug.

A 22-year-old man died from a suspected cocaine overdose in Au- gust, while details have just emerged about another cocaine-related death – also in the greater Miltown Malbay

area – afew months earlier.

In that incident, a 29-year-old man was found dead in his apartment by his girlfriend. He had cocaine in the pocket of his jeans, while cocaine and alcohol was detected in his sys- 008

At an inquest last week, a doctor said that his death was due to acute cardiac respiratory failure, second- ary to the presence of opiates, co-

caine and alcohol. This has prompted gardai to warn about the devastating effects of the drug. “We are still seiz- ing significant quantities of cocaine, which is a worry. Our advice for anyone thinking of experimenting with cocaine is not to,’ said a garda spokesman.

“Cocaine is generally cut with oth- er substances. People who prepare cocaine are unscrupulous as to what

substances they use to bulk it,’ he said. He said that buyers do not know what they are getting and cocaine can be toxic. The speed at which people get into trouble with cocaine is frightening. We are amazed at this. People are more likely to get into fi- nancial bother, followed by addiction problems,” added the source.

In Clare, cocaine is sold at around €100 per bag, or €50 per gram.

THE Minister for Health Mary Har- ney last night personally apologised to the family of Edel Kelly, over her misdiagnosis.

The 26-year-old mother-of-two from Kilrush died from cancer in June, having previously been misdi- agnosed at Ennis General Hospital.

Last week, her parents Una and John and partner Noel McGreene came out publicly to speak of their anger in relation to the Edel’s situa-

intone

In the wake of their revelations, an independent review of services at En- nis General Hospital was announced by Minister Harney.

The Kellys met with Ms Harney in Dublin last evening and were heart- ened by her words.

“She apologised profusely. The family was appreciative of the apol- ogy. She indicated the terms of ref- erence (of the independent review) would include an examination of Edel’s case,’ said solicitor for the

Kelly family, Eugene O’ Kelly.

She said the Minister said the in- ternal report into the hospital will be disposed of as soon as possible and this will be followed by the independ- ent review, within three months.

“She has promised three months,” said the solicitor.

Fears that the revelations and subsequent review would lead to a downgrading for the hospital were raised by the Kellys, but the minister allayed any such concerns and de- nied that this would happen.

Mr O’Kelly said that Ms Harney was very sympathetic in her apology during the hour-long meeting.

‘The parents have a wish to remove themselves from the limelight and deal with their grief now,” said Mr O’ Kelly.

He said the legal action taken by the Kelly family, against the HSE, will proceed. This had commenced by Edel, prior to her death, and her family has pledged to continue it in her memory.

Mr O’Kelly said that the Kellys

were disappointed with certain as- pects of the meeting with the head of the HSE Professor Brendan Drumm last week.

“While Professor Drumm _ was apologetic to them, he would not apologise for the misdiagnosis. He apologised for the delay in treatment. They were impressed by the sinceri- ty of the apology but they felt 1t could have gone a little further,” he said.

He said the family remain grief- stricken but are pleased that the cir- cumstances surrounding the tragic

INTENSIVE lead analysis is being carried out on the Ennis water supply in the wake of revelations concerning water supplies in Cork and Galway. Town Engineer Tom Tiernan con- firmed yesterday that more rigorous testing procedures are being imple- mented following news of lead con- tamination of the water supply in parts of Galway City and Mallow. Mr Tiernan said that under law, the council was already required to reg- ularly test the water for lead but that

given recent events these procedures have been intensified.

“We were already conducting these tests but in response we are carrying out more intensive lead investiga- nova icra

Mr Tiernan said the council were awaiting test results but that no prob- lems had yet emerged with the En- nis supply. He added that there are certain areas of the town where lead piping is in place but that the council had removed a substantial amount of piping during re-development work on O’Connell Street, Abbey Street

and Parnell Street.

Independent councillor Frankie Neylon has called for individual test- ing of homes in the St Flannan’s Ter- race, Connolly Villas, St Michael’s Villas and Hermitage areas of En- Wh

Cllr Neylon said that piping net- works in homes there are most sus- ceptible to the risk posed, if any, by lead contamination as they are among the oldest built houses in the en aee

“Connolly Villas was built in 1932, St Michael’s was built in 1954. These

areas were built before the 1970s and these are the type of homes that would be affected,” said Cllr Ney- lon.

He added, “I’ll be calling for tests to be carried out on all of these areas in Ennis. The supply in the houses themselves needs to be analysed and not just the supply from the pump- house to the house.”

On Friday last the Environmental Protection Agency wrote to all local authorities to advise them of the steps that need to be taken if the local au- thority becomes aware of lead levels

in excess of the parametric value ina public water supply.

According to the EPA there are 944 public water supplies in Ireland and that the latest testing results indi- cate that over 99 per cent of samples taken were compliant with the lead CI TILOrKOR

Since the introduction of the Drink- ing Water Regulations in March 2007, eleven local authorities have notified the EPA of exceedances of the lead parametric value in relation to 23 out of the 944 public water sup- plies.

, their mother paid tribute to the men who

were involved in the dramatic life- saving rescue. The drama occurred shortly before 8pm last Thursday, when the girls were caught in rip currents while they splashed around in the water. The girls’ mother, who lives locally but did not wish to be named, said she looked on in horror as the girls were dragged out to sea.

A man in his 20s who had been surfing paddled out to rescue the girls, while two others also helped out, as they were brought safely to shore.

“The waves took the little one’s legs away. My 10-year-old then went to help her. I dived in to get them but

I couldn’t get them. I ran back and screamed for help. People came run- ning from everywhere to help,” said Meloy Dam peLOlNetorm

“My youngest daughter shouted, ‘Mammy, I’m drowning. My 10- year-old went to help her,’ she re- called. “It all happened in about 10 minutes. It was that quick. It was just one of life’s freaks. It happened so quickly it was terrifying,” she added.

“My little one said, ‘Mummy, I thought I was going to die’,” recalled iW elom palelaales

The two girls were not injured but suffered shock from the ordeal and were seen by a doctor at Shannon-

doc, aS a precautionary measure. Their mother said those involved in the rescue were fantastic.

‘They were heroes. They were calm and collected; completely profession- al. I fell to pieces. The two lads took charge and the other guy was great as well. I will be eternally grateful to them. What mother wouldn’t?” she added.

The two girls are strong swimmers and were wearing wetsuits, which stood to them in the face of the dif- ficult conditions at sea.

“It was a lovely evening. they want- ed to go to the beach. They have done it a million times,” she added.

GOVERNMENT regulations which require shopkeepers to place all to- bacco products under the counter and completely out of sight of their cus- tomers will deal the final death blow to local convenience shops according to a prominent Ennis retailer.

Jim O’Dowd who is a member of the Convenience Stores and Newsa- gents Association (CSNA) and own- er of O’Dowds Convenience Store at

the Turnpike in Ennis claims that if civil servants have their way, small newsagents will face higher costs and fewer customers because of the way new rules restricting the sale of tobacco are enforced.

“No-one will have a clue whether we even Sell tobacco or not,’ he HOR

Under the new rules, customers who want to buy tobacco have to ask for a special menu and shopkeepers fear their turnover will be dramati-

cally reduced as frustrated custom- ers queue to view a menu and then wait while the shopkeeper retrieves the tobacco.

“Our shops are all about speed and convenience for the customer. If you take that away you are destroying our business model and taking the last advantage we have left”, the En- nis shopkeeper said.

Shopkeepers say there is al- ready a simple solution to the problem. The Bill passed by the Dail

that restricts tobacco advertising does not insist that all products are put out of sight; it allows for a sample pack of each product to be displayed behind the counter to provide cus- tomer information.

“Our members will have to foot the bill to train staff how to use the new system – couple this with the fact that it will now take us twice as long to stocktake and you have a huge im- position on local shop owners,” said Vincent Jennings, Chief Executive of

the CSNA.

‘Furthermore, there is no way that all the shops in Ireland can possibly be re-fitted in time for the supposed deadline of next summer. This will leave shops exposed to prosecution that could devastate their business at a time when they are already under severe economic pressure.”

Minister Mary Wallace is due to decide whether to impose the single pack or the stricter menu option in October.

CROKE Park is a place for winners — losers tend to blend into the back- ground, forgotten in the euphoria of others, save the post-match ritual of winning captains calling for those three cheers.

Those cheers and the stock in GAA trade of ‘is mor an ondir dom an chorn seo a ghlacadh….’ are two staples of All-Ireland finals days, whatever the code and whatever the grade.

So it was on Sunday afternoon when the Clare ladies inhabited this lonely existence. The week before it was Kerry who lost an All-Ireland they were supposed to win; Clare now knew how their neigbours on

the southern bank of the estuary felt, because this was an All-Ireland they were supposed to win.

But like Kerry, there were no ex- cuses. Only grace and humility in defeat.

“In fairness to Tipperary they de- Served to win,’ said team trainer David O’Brien. “We were talking about it during the week that you might dream all your life of having the game of your life in an All-Ire- land final, but it doesn’t usually hap- pen. World records aren’t usually broken in Olympic finals.

“But look at Tipperary. In fairness to them, probably eight, nine or ten players had the games of their life. We didn’t have anyone who could

come off the field and say that ‘that was the best game I ever played’.

“Things didn’t happen for us and a lot of breaks went against us, but Tip- perary still deserved to win. We’re not going to say that this went against us, or that went against us. The team that deserved to win won it — that’s being totally honest about it.”

There was nothing else that needed to be said. This was Clare’s darkest hour, but they have to look to the dawn and come back.

And, like Kerry they will be back.