Category: Uncategorized

STREET signs should be put in place in west Clare – but only if they are spelt correctly.

That was the message delivered at a meeting of Kilrush area councillors yesterday evening.

The issue was raised by Councillor Pat Keane (FF), who called for Clare County Council to ensure all streets and lane-ways in town and villages are properly named and identified.

“If a shop opens, the next thing 1s the street 1s named after the shop,’ he said.

He said it was important to ensure

the names were inscribed in both English and Irish.

He was told by Executive Engineer Eamon O’Dea that the council, in conjunction with tidy town and vil- lage groups, would arrange the erec- tion of street and laneway names, subject to funding being made avail- able.

Councillor Tom Prendeville then made one request – that the names be spelt correctly.

“Would ye do a bit of research into it and make sure they are spelt properly? There is nothing as bad as putting up something in wrought iron and it is spelt wrong,” he said.

It is important for you to make a will because if you don’t, the law on intestacy decides what happens to your property. A will can ensure that proper arrangements are made for your depend- ants and that your property is distributed in the way you wish after you die, subject to certain rights of spouses and children.

A person who dies having made a valid will is said to have died ‘testate’. If you die testate, then all your possessions will be distributed in the way you set out in your will. It 1s the job of the executor or executors you named in your will to make sure this happens. There are legal limits as to how much of your property goes to which person, as set out in law in the Succes- sion Act, 1965. An executor can be a benefici- ary under the will. In other words, the executor can also inherit under the will.

After you die, somebody has to deal with your estate, by gathering together all your money and possessions, paying any debts you owe and then distributing what is left to the people who are entitled to it. If you leave a will before you die, one or more of the executors you named in your will usually has to get legal permission from the Probate Office or the District Probate Registry for the area in which you lived at the time of death to do this. Permission comes in the form of a document called a Grant of Rep- resentation.

If you did not name any executors in your will or if the executors are unable or unwilling to apply for a Grant of Representation, documents called Letters of Administration (With Will) are issued. When your estate 1s distributed, the legal rights of your spouse and children, if any, will be fulfilled first after any debts are paid before any other gifts are considered.

A person who dies without a will is said to have died ‘intestate’. If you die intestate, this means your estate, or everything that you own,

is distributed in accordance with the law by an administrator. To do this, the administrator needs permission in the form of a Grant of Rep- resentation. When a person dies without a will or when their will is invalid, this Grant is issued as Letters of Administration by the Probate Of- fice or the District Probate Registry for the area in which the person lived at the time of death. The legal rules governing the distribution of your property apply: e When you have not made a will e When the will has been denied probate be- cause it has not been made properly or a chal- lenge to it has been successful ¢ When the will does not completely deal with all your possessions. In these cases, after debts and expenses have been deducted, the estate is distributed in the following way. UMAOlt-Veomel mish {ore Moye e A spouse but no children (or grandchildren): your spouse gets the entire estate. e A spouse and children: your spouse gets two-thirds of your estate and the remaining one-third is divided equally among your chil- dren. If one of your children has died, that share goes to his/her children. e Children, but no spouse: your estate is di- vided equally among your children (or their children). e Parents, but no spouse or children: your estate 1s divided equally between your parents or given entirely to one parent if only one sur- a Aone e Brothers and sisters only: your estate is shared equally among them, with the children of a deceased brother or sister taking his/her Satur e Nieces and nephews only: your estate is di- vided equally among those surviving. e Other relatives only: your estate is divided equally between the nearest equal relationship. e No relatives: your estate goes to the state.

THE Department of the Environ- ment has said it is not possible to “ac- curately project” when work on the long awaited Ennis Clarecastle main drainage scheme will be completed.

In a statement issued in response to a number of queries related to the status of the scheme, a spokesperson said the department had approved a preliminary report for the scheme and that construction was expected to commence in 2009.

The spokesperson said, “The En- nis/Clarecastle Sewerage Scheme, which includes the provision of a new wastewater treatment plant, is included in the department’s Water Services Investment Programme 2007 – 2009 as a scheme to start con- struction in 2009.”

“The department has approved

Clare County Council’s preliminary report for the scheme and, subject to some amendments, the council’s brief for the appointment of consult- ants to prepare contract documents for the scheme. It 1s understood that the council is currently preparing a Procurement Assessment Report with a view to finalising the brief and allowing the appointment of consult- ants as soon as possible.”

‘A decision on the council’s budget proposals for the scheme, which were received last April, will shortly be conveyed to the council,” contin- ued the spokesperson.

Concern over the timeline of scheme was raised at a recent meet- ing of councillors representing the Ennis Electoral Area.

At that meeting Town Engineer Tom Tiernan said he did not expect the scheme, which was first proposed

in 1995, to be finished until 2013.

Mr Tiernan also admitted that the limited capacity of Ennis sewage system had forced the council to is- sue refusals to a number of signifi- oF Talis lead ley evento ice

He said the council was consider- ing the development of a temporary treatment facility, estimated to cost €1.5 million. There were calls from a number of councillors for any such facility to be funded by the Depart- ment of the Environment.

However a spokesperson for the department stated, “The department has received no proposals from the council in relation to temporary treatment facilities. Given that there are a number of stages still to be gone through, it is not possible for the department to accurately project at this stage when the scheme will be completed.”

Clare cystic fibrosis branch warns of bogus collector’

KILKEE is today coming to term with the tragic loss of one of the town’s elder statesmen. The body of pension- er Eddie Sweeney (75) was recovered on Sunday afternoon following one of the largest coordinated rescue at- tempts in recent local history.

A retired fisherman, Mr Sweeney has been missing since getting into difficulty while lobster fishing with his friend, Philip Browne, last Thurs- day afternoon.

Mr Browne, who lives in Sixmilebri- dge, survived the accident by remain- ing in a pocket of trapped air under the overturned boat for more than an hour, before being discovered by the rescue services.

The 55-year-old Limerick native had heroically tried to save Mr Sweeney’s life by holding onto him after the boat capsized, however rough waters forced the two men apart. The alarm was raised shortly after 3.30pm when it was reported that a boat had over- turned near the Diamond Rocks in

GU aren

Kilkee Marine Rescue Service and the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter went to the scene and be- gan a search of the area where they discovered a small fishing vessel.

Mr Brown was located under the vessel shortly before 5pm and was airlifted to hospital in Tralee.

More than 200 people took part in the rescue of Mr Sweeney who’s body was discovered by divers from Kilkee Sub-Aqua Club just before lpm on Sunday afternoon. It was discovered

at a depth of 38 metres in an area of Kilkee Bay knows as the Pinnacle. The body was recovered and brought to Ennis General Hospital for a post mortem examination.

The rescue efforts were ham- pered by poor weather condi- tions on Thursday and _ Friday. The search, which was coordinated by Valentia Coast Guard, involved mem- bers from the Kilrush RNLI Lifeboat, the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard, the Naval Service, Garda Wa- ter Unit, Kilkee Marine Rescue Serv-

ice, the Irish Coast Guard helicopter and members of the Civil Defence. Members of diving clubs from as far away as Athlone also took part in the search.

Meanwhile, two wind-surfers had a lucky escape when they got into dif- ficulty in water off Spanish Point on Saturday. The pair were pulled out to sea by strong currents where one man was separated from his board.

The two managed to swim to shore together and are said to be unharmed after the incident.

Gerry even put the loo on a raised

platform to try to solve the difficulty, but nothing has worked.

“T contacted the council but I was told that they can put pipes in for me but until they get a new treatment plant, it will be no good to me. And God knows when that plant will hap- pen.”

Gerry maintains he needs the ground-level loo as the other toilets in his home are upstairs “and you don’t want to drag muck through the whole house if you’re working in the garden’.

Senior Executive Council Engineer, Sean Lenihan, said that the problem lies with the fact that the old main drain is shallow near Mr McNama- ra’s home “and the flow is quite slow. When the new pipes are in they will be buried considerably deeper and steeper and the flow away will be faster.”

The engineer said he would inves- tigate prioritising Mr McNamara’s pipe-work, but warned that it might be some time before he can be con- nected.

“We are waiting for approval for the tenders to upgrade the sewerage treatment plant but if we can make his connection live immediately then we will do that as soon as the neces- sary pipe work is done,’ Mr Lenihan said.

SUSl Se syle

They just work off a different script to every other team in Clare. Clare football history teaches us this, but still we’re ready to pen their obitu- ary every time they take to the field. The quills were dipped and ready for action at 3.15pm in St Michael’s Park in Kilmihil.

Half-time and with the Blues 1-6 to 0-4 down the end seemed nigh. The team that slugged it out with the best

of them in the Munster club cam- paigns in 2003 and ’05 had reached the end of the road.

Maybe the Cois Fharraige festival took it out of them, or maybe they were looking forward to next Sun- day’s Strand Races.

Meanwhile, heads were shaking on the terraces, too many cigarettes were being smoked and abuse was being hurled at the management team made up of Johnny Joy, Donal Hayes and Georgie Roche.

‘“W hat the f**** are ye doing,’ went

one anguished and angered cry when Noelie O’Shea was called ashore in seven minutes before half time. His replacement, Kieran ‘Chilli’ De- loughrey wasn’t listening and neither were Joy, Hayes and Roche.

Instead they were focusing on half-time — getting the team into the dressing room as quickly as possible and starting over.

“We were a shambles in the first half,” said Joy afterwards. “Shannon Gaels were all over us and were dic- tating the pace of the game and we

laid it on the line at half-time.

‘There were some harsh words spo- ken in the dressing room I can tell you and players came out and showed their pride in the second half.

‘We needed to do what we’ve been doing all year, that is fight hard for the ball and start working as a team together. The lads out on the field won that game with their heart and their desire. Everyone one of them — the lads that started and the fellas that came on. I knew they had it in Wetoee eae

THE County Manager has defended the Ennis water supply.

Speaking at yesterday’s meeting of Clare Council, Alec Fleming said the temporary filtration plant at Drum- cliffe, Ennis “produces an excellent quality of water”.

Mr Fleming said that since the sys- tem was introduced two years ago there has been a massive reduction in the risk from cryptosporidiosis.

Mr. Fleming also revealed that when the permanent treatment fa- cility comes on line in Ennis, the Council will be spending €1 million a year in providing clean drinking water to the citizens of Ennis.

However Green Party council- lor Brian Meaney has called for the council to stop using the temporary facility to filter Ennis water.

Cllr Meaney said reports by the En- vironmental Protection Agency have revealed that between 15 and 30 per cent of the water supply bypasses the filtration stage. He said that by opt- ing not to use the system, the council would be sending strong message to the Department of the Environment.

“It is apparent that the membrane filtration system hasn’t worked. Giv- en the strident economic conditions I don’t think we should be throwing bad money after bad money. If we say we don’t use it, it would send a clear message to the government. We are paying for something that isn’t working,’ added Cllr Meaney.

Mr Fleming said, “It 1s my job as County Manager to bring the risk down as far as I possibly could. We are working as best as we can”.

He said that expenditure on water in the year has been “considerable”.

AN Inagh based artist 1s to open her home and studio to the public in a unique new slant on the artistic exhi- bition. Ashley O’Neal, who has spent most of her career in New York, is this month inviting small groups into her home on the foot hills of Mount Callan to experience her work in a homely setting. She has transformed her home into Baunsheve Studios, and hopes to offer people a unique exhibition experience.

‘Throughout the month of Septem- ber, and possibly on from that, I am Opening up my studio to the public

by appointment. People can call me and arrange a time to come to the studio and see some of my work,” she said.

“When you go into a gallery people can sometimes be very intimated and besides that they don’t get the chance to meet the artist behind the work. I am offering people the chance to come in and chat about the work and what they see.

‘“[’m very open as an artist and I enjoy talking about what people are seeing and feeling when they look at my work.”

As a landscape painter, Ashley be- lieves that living in north Clare, on

the border of the Burren, has had a huge influence on her work.

“IT moved to Clare from New York City about two years ago now. I have set up a studio in Inagh and have spent the last while taking in the lo- cal lore and a lot of the landscape of the place,” continued Ashley.

‘For me it was amazing just to go out in the landscape, seeing as I am a landscape painter, after spending a lot of time in such an urban area. You can go to a place out here and find that no-one else is with you, it gives you a very individual and personal experience of your area.

‘Most of my work starts as realistic

landscape painting but by doing the painting itself it can actually move into the abstract. I find that people can tend to come back to paintings after they have seen it with new ideas about it.

““T really want this to be a casual en- vironment where people can come a have a one-on-one with the artist, to meet the real deal.”

People interested in having a look at some of Ashley’s work should con- tact O85 1437131 or check out www. ashleyoneal.com for more details.

WITH the poor weather showing no signs of clearing, The Department of Agriculture last week offered some relief to Clare farmers by lifting some of the restrictions on early up- land grazing in the Burren.

Clare TD and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Tony Killeen, confirmed on Thursday that the de- partment has sanctioned a once off lifting of the restriction placed on REPS 2 and 3 farmers from grazing animals in upland areas of the Bur- ren before October 1.

The north Clare TD confirmed that the decision had been taken in light

of the impact of animals grazing on lowland areas that have been ad- versely affected by record-breaking rainfall this year.

Minister Killeen said that partici- pation in REPS 2 and 3 is guided by traditional farming practices where- by animals are moved from lowland areas to upland grasslands during Aurea

“This year, however, we have wit- nessed extremely wet weather con- ditions, which have made the move- ment and grazing of cattle in lowland areas extremely difficult for farm- eI ae OLomnsy-b (Om

“T am delighted to confirm that the Department has agreed to lift the October Ist restriction on condition

that individual farmers notify the lo- cal Department of Agriculture office of their intention to move animals.

“The approval of once off early ac- cess to the firmer winterage lands in upland areas of the Burren will be of benefit to farmers, the environment and animal welfare.”

Minister of State Killeen pointed out that the Department’s decision comes just three weeks after Minis- ter Brendan Smith announced a six- week extension of the REPS slurry- spreading deadline.

Meanwhile, Clare Fine Gael TD, Joe Carey last week called on the Minister for Agriculture to extend the scheme for investment aid for Farm Waste Management. This

scheme has involved the building of slatted houses in order to comply with EU directives.

Over recent months, extreme weath- er conditions have hampered severe- ly building work. “Summer 2008 has been one of the worst on record for rainfall in Ireland. Records show it was the wettest August for 170 years with between 14 and 21 wet days during the month,” he said.

“There is no doubt that farmers have had a very difficult summer, with tillage farming, in particular, badly hit. We need to ensure that the farming community is given every assistance dealing with the weather conditions and the difficulties the ex- treme weather present.”