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A CANCER expert told a jury that he “had great difficulty” believing that a specialised laser treatment – photo- dynamic therapy (PDT) – would have any affect on deep-seated cancers.

A consultant radiation oncologist at Galway University Hospital, Profes- sor Frank Sullivan gave evidence as an expert witness called by the pros- ecution in the case against former GP Pascal Carmody.

Prof Sullivan told the Circuit Court in Ennis that he worked with PDT for treating some cancers while he was

cancer centre director for Holy Cross Health, Silver Spring as well as CEO and medical director of Maryland Regional Cancer Care.

He said the treatment would only be effective when treating cancers on the skin or on the lining of structures such as the airways and food tube.

PDT involves the use of a photo- sensitising drug that is administered intravenously through the vein.

When it reaches the cancer cells in the presence of oxygen if a light is shone directly on to the cancerous cells they will very likely be killed.

He told the court that the laser

would not penetrate more than 5mm and was ineffective on deep-rooted cancers such as lung cancer or can- cer in the bone.

The 1l-person jury has already heard that 15-year-old Conor O’Sullivan from County Wexford had undergone PDT treatment in July 2002 in the East Clinic.

Having examined the young teen’s medical notes Prof Sullivan said that he had suffered from a very aggres- sive form of cancer – Ewing’s Sar- coma.

“I can see no reason to consider PDT for the child,’ said the expert

with 25 years experience in cancer treatment.

Prof Sullivan was also asked about the effects of PDT on the cancer suf- fered by Mullingar man, the late JJ CRUE toe

He said the 46-year-old’s cancer had spread even after his stomach, part of his liver and spleen had been removed.

“To shine a light that would only penetrate 5mm would be very inef- fective,” he said.

He said that likewise the treatment would be ineffective in the late John Sheridan from Kilkenny who had

suffered from cancer of the rectum that spread to the liver.

Prof Sullivan also gave evidence that patients treated with the licensed photosensitising drug – photofolora – were extremely sensitive to light for AUemeaeyela ele

They would suffer from severe sun- burn and their lips and face would swell if they went outdoors without wearing long clothes and a special PPI Ele ENF

He said the only information he had on the drug used in the East Clinic – radochlorin – was that it was from Russia.

LOBBYING of councillors by three Ennis-based companies has resulted in Clare County Council reversing rezonings that would have wiped millions of euro off the value of the companies’ lands.

However, planners have warned that by reversing one of the proposed rezonings the council could, in the future, be open to compensation claims over flood damage.

The draft Ennis plan is due to go on

public display next week. An earlier draft of the plan, circulated to coun- cillors in recent weeks, showed that lands owned by Michael Lynch Ltd, Tom Hogan Motors Ltd and T Sheils and Co Ltd had inferior zonings.

The businesses involved scrambled to lobby councillors ahead of a series of meetings behind closed doors. The draft put before the July meeting of Ennis Town Council yesterday shows that they have been successful.

Last year, Tom Hogan Motors Ltd paid in excess of €10 million for

an eight acre site incorporating the One Mile Inn on the Lahinch Road in Ennis. That was zoned “local cen- tre” in the 2003 Ennis Development Plan, conferring on it the ability “to sustain and strengthen the area as a centre of commercial, retail, cultural and community life’.

However, in the new draft Ennis plan, planning officials removed that zoning and instead moved to have a large proportion of the site rezoned to “open space” and “flood risk” with the remainder zoned “commercial”.

In recommending that the flood risk zoning remain, a report put be- fore the meeting yesterday stated: ‘The portion of the site to the south of the property is known to be a flood risk area for which photographic evi- dence of winter flooding exists.

“It is strongly recommended that the lands should be zoned as per the draft development plan to protect the council against any future claims.”

But the councillors countered that flooding problems “due to blocked drains during by-pass construction

(are) now resolved. Flood risk on site should be determined by experts at time of any planning application.”

The councillors also ruled that the Michael Lynch and Co Ltd site near St Flannan’s roundabout should re- tain its “Proposal Site” status. Plan- ners had sought to rezone the site to “other settlement land” and “residen- tial” to protect the amenities of adja- cent properties.

Councillors also ordered that “com- mercial” zoning be reinstated on the site owned by T Sheils and Co.

A FILM festival that opens in Ennis this week provides the ideal opportu- nity for young filmmakers to express their talents.

Lights Out! opened in Glor yester- day and runs until July 18. Across a series of workshops, young people are treated to a diverse programme of animation, live action, documen- tary and short films. There will also be opportunities to get hands on ex- perience behind the camera with an exciting set of film workshops.

All events take place in Glor Irish Music Centre. There is a weeklong crash-course entitled ‘Make your own Movie with Fresh Film Festival’ (July 14-18 Age 12+), one day anima- tion workshops (July 14-18 Age 8-12) and a special opportunity to learn about the classification process and let young peoples’ voices be heard at IFCO – Meet the Censor! ( July 14 Age 8-12).

At the end of the week there will be an opportunity to see and discuss the films made by young people during the week at the Young Filmmakers

Panel (July 18 All Ages).

Lights Out! patron Kathryn McKi1- ernan, from RTE’s The Den, said ‘I believe Lights Out! is a wonderful opportunity for young people to ex- plore and experience the fascinating world of film and storytelling.”

The festival has been specially de- signed with the help of the young consultants panel which enabled young people to have an active part in the planning of all aspects of the festival. Clare was well represented on the panel by two young film bud- ding directors, Conor Fahy (12) from

Ennis and Ruth-Ann Browne (14), from Cree.

In addition to the main film screen- ings there will be two sets of Quick Flix (6+ and 15+) short film screen- ings showing the best of young peo- ple’s shorts from the film festival circuit.

Lights Out! is an initiative of the Irish Film Institute and is sup- ported by our the Ombudsman for Children’s Office as well as RTE, The Ticket, The Irish Film Board, The Arts Council and Clare County Council Arts Office.

THE second annual Outdoor Land- scape Painting Competition takes place this weekend in Lisdoonvar- na. After hosting Ireland’s first ever competition of its kind last year, the organisers have decided to expand this year’s event into a full weekend of activity.

The weekend artsfest, which 1s be- ing organised by the Burren Painting Centre, will attract 30 aspiring paint- ers for the competition and countless other for the weekend’s festivities.

“Last year was the first year and we ran a very successful competti-

tion on the Saturday. But this year we have tried to make it more into a weekend so we have more events organised which are taking place all over the weekend. So it’s going to be more of an artsfest this year,’ said Chris O’ Neill of the Burren Painting Centre.

“On the Friday evening we have a demonstration by the oil painter Fergal Flanagan from Wicklow. We are going to use the newly renovat- ed Town Hall for this. We will go straight from the demonstration into an exhibition of local artists curated by Doreen Drennan.

‘We have several professional art-

ists from this area who all paint in the Burren. So most of the art will be very relevant to north Clare and the Burren area. This exhibition will be on for 10 days and will be the first art exhibition in the new art space in the Town Hall pavilion.”

The competition will kick off on Saturday morning with painters be- ing whisked off to three secret lo- cations in the Burren to begin their ernonlmuetce

“We have 30 people at this stage and many of those will be doing nu- merous works. After registration we will give them the coice of the three locations, which are secret up until

that point,’ continued Chris.

“We give them a bit of advice and a map and off they go. That whole process is quite exciting – it’s like we have a bit of orienteering before we start painting. All paintings must then be in by 6pm for the judges to start their process.”

Judging will take place on Sunday morning while a drawing workshop will be conducted by Frank Sandford in the Burren Painting Centre.

The winning paintings will be dis- played at the King Thomand Hotel for a prize giving lunch where 12 prizes will be handed out. For more www.butrenpaintingcentre.com

THE man who administered laser treatment to terminally ill cancer pa- tients at the East Clinic in Killaloe had been struck of the medical regis- ter in the United States, a court heard last week.

Dr Bull Porter lied on his CV for the job with Frieda and Pascal Car- mody, saying that he had worked in the Mater Hospital in Dublin, when

he hadn’t.

But neither of the Carmody’s was aware of this, the Circuit Court sit- ting in Ennis heard last week.

Porter – who has now left the juris- diction – was also struck off in Cali- fornia for not paying alimony and abandoning a patient and was the subject of a Garda investigation into his involvement in advance cosmetic surgery in Cork. The jury was hear- ing evidence from statements made

by Pascal Carmody during inter- views with gardai. The court heard that a month after he joined the East Clinic, Dr Frieda Keane and Carmo- dy wrote to him, pressing him to reg- ister with the Irish Medical Council.

He replied to her that he had dis- cussed the matter with Pascal Car- mody and, as he would be practising in the capacity of a technician ad- ministering light therapy and not as a medical doctor, there would be no

need for him to register.

Carmody told gardai in an inter- view that neither he nor his wife were aware of Dr Porter’s back- eround. When he came for interview at the clinic he presented a CV and said that he had recently been in- terviewed for the post of opthalmic consultant at the University Hospital in Cork. Carmody told gardai that his wife had called one of the people who sat on the interview panel and

was told that they would not be offer- ing Dr Porter the post but that he had been an excellent candidate.

Carmody told gardai that they were both satisfied that such an eminent body as CUH would have run checks on an interviewee’s background.

The court also heard from former nursing and administration staff at the East Clinic that they found it a “happy” place to work with a good atmosphere.

A LAHINCH businessman has been told to shut down an art gallery and studio on the resort’s main street which does not have planning per- mission.

Clare County Council has stated in a warning letter issued to William Stackepoole, of 1 Lois Ma, Lahinch, that an unauthorised development is taking place: the change of use from an existing cottage to a commercial art studio and gallery.

The council considers the develop- ment to be unauthorised “as it does not have the benefit of planning per- mission and does not constitute ex- empted development”.

Mr Stackepoole is required to “cease all commercial operations and activities at this location imme- diately; revert the structure back to a dwelling house and remove all ad- vertising signage associated with the

art studio and gallery”.

In the event that the development is continued, the council may issue an enforcement notice. A council spokesman said that officials were currently reviewing the file.

Earlier this year, Clare County Council granted planning permis- sion to Mr Stackepoole to construct a new hotel on the main street.

However, the decision has been ap- pealed to An Bord Pleanala by the adjacent Kenny Woollen Mills prop- erty which, it is claimed, will be de- valued by €1.5 million.

The council gave the go-ahead to construct the 16 room hotel in spite of opposition from Pat Kenny of Main Street, Lahinch and Donal Kenny of Kenny Woollen Mills.

“This proposed development is over-build of the worst kind,’ Pat Kenny claimed.

“This is a village. This site is a cottage with a small yard and some

outhouses. The proposal to build 16 apartments, restaurant, bar and re- ception areas on this small site is lu- dicrous and has already been refused by An Bord Pleanala.”

Co) a'(o en eo eenlCoD mole meNnIAKore mI NTe development taking into account the urban setting and concluded that it would not seriously injure the ameni- ties of the area and be in accordance with the proper planning and devel- opment of the area.

The council planner’s report stated, “It 1s considered that the proposed three storey building is of an appro- priate scale for the main street of La- hinch having regard to the respective heights of the adjacent buildings to the north, Shamrock Inn and south, Kenny’s Woollen Mills.”

A decision is expected on the ap- peal later this year.

TWO Ennis fishing groups cast out together last week in a bid to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) society of Ireland.

Members of both the Ennis District and Angler’s Association (EDAA) and the Fergus Salmon Anglers de- scended on Dromore and Ballyline lakes near Ruan last Sunday for a charity pike fishing competition

MS Ireland as fishing enthusiasts took to the water to compete.

MS is a chronic condition of the central nervous system. The central nervous system consists of the brain

and spinal cord.

It is the most common disabling neurological condition of young adults, affecting approximately 6,000 in Ireland, 85,000 people in the United Kingdom, 250,000 in the USA.

“We have been out collecting for flag days and we’ve had a few other events ourselves but this time we de- cided to try and do something for an- other organization. The MS society do great work’, said EDAA president Gerry Kenny, explaining the motiva- tion behind the event.

Established in 1935 and 1980 re- spectively, both the EDAA and the Fergus Salmon Anglers have played

important roles in sustaining sal- mons stocks on the River Fergus and maintaining the appearance of the river and the surrounding environ- mental habitat.

A massive renewal programme commenced five years ago aimed to restore the River Fergus system and develop it as a major tourism re- elt Keee

The work, grant aided by the Her- itage Council, involved the rehabili- tation of the River Fergus fishery, improving the access to the water- ways, working with local landowners and consultation with the Heritage Council and the Regional Fisheries Board.

Improvement works carried out so far include the erection of vortex weirs, bank-side pruning and the placement of random boulders.

Gerry explained that while many improvements have taken place along the river, old problems still persist.

“Our main work has been stocking the river with salmon and keeping numbers up’, said Gerry, “We have done and awful lot of development work, tidying up sewage and other litter that gets thrown into the river, re-gravelling and repairing the river walls. Pollution though is still the biggest problem we have at the mo- ment. Its unfortunate, but pollution is still a big issue on the Fergus”’.

SHARON Collins is this week adjust- ing to her surroundings in Mountjoy prison, having been found guilty of conspiracy to murder her partner and his two sons and also of soliciting a man to kill the three.

The mother-of-two was taken into custody at the Central Crimi- nal Court at teatime last Wednesday, having been found guilty by a jury of six charges.

The 45-year-old has been placed in the Laurel House unit of the wom- en’s prison, the Dochas centre.

She is sharing the area with nine others, including Tanya Lamb (30), who is serving a 10-year term for killing her partner with a hockey

stick. Anthony Jordan died after be- ing attacked in Ballymun, Dublin, in 2003.

AY ES @ro) Ure cede (orem SIRO) Moan ry day and after she is sentenced, this will be limited to weekly visits.

“She is adjusting to her circum- stances, changed as they are,” said a source close to Ms Collins, yesterday. Newspaper claims that she is con- stantly crying her eyes out and had to be seen by a doctor as an emergency due to her distressed state have been described as “exaggerated.”

“Every person who is admitted to prison is seen by a doctor,” said the source. Collins was found guilty of soliciting Essam Eid to murder PJ, Robert and Niall Howard. The jury delivered its unanimous decision at

2.25pm last Wednesday, after delib- erating for eight hours.

Forty minutes later, the jury re- turned verdicts on the conspiracy to murder charges. They found Collins guilty of conspiring to murder the three Howards, but could not decide whether her co-accused Essam Eid was guilty of the conspiracy charges and returned a verdict of disagree- ment.

Any appeals in the case will be lodged to the Court of Criminal Ap- peal, after the sentencing in October.

After the verdicts were returned to the court, Prosecutor Tom O’ Connell immediately asked for Collins to be remanded in custody.

‘Her status has now changed. She is a convicted person. She has been

convicted of very serious crimes. My application is to have her remanded in custody,” he said.

However, her legal team pointed out that there was no danger of Col- lins not turning up for sentence in October and sought various medical reports to be carried out.

Mr Justice Roderick Murphy ruled that it was not necessary for some- one to be on bail for psychological reports to be carried out and he re- manded her in custody.

Paul O’Higgins, SC, for Collins, requested that she be remanded to Mountjoy women’s prison rather than Limerick, pointing out that her two sons were living in Dublin.

The judge said this was a matter for the State and the court would be

happy to make the recommendation.

Minutes after Collins was driven away to prison, her solicitor Eugene O’Kelly asked for privacy for her two sons Gary and David, who had supported their mother throughout the eight-week trial.

“I would like to say that the two persons that are most affected, other than Sharon, as a result of this ver- dict, are her two sons. These are two fine young men that have displayed loyalty, devotion and love for their mother. They have stood by her in this trial and their lives have now been shattered as a result of the out- come. I would ask that they be af- forded respect and privacy so that they can adjust to the changed cir- cumstances,’ said Mr O’Kelly.

THE long promised €39 million for the development at Ennis Gen- eral Hospital is to be included in the HSE’s capital funding programme for this year, despite assurances ear- lier in the year that the money had been redirected to projects in the east coast.

That is according to Fianna Fail TD Timmy Dooley who said that he and minister of state Tony Killeen (FF) got reassurances from the Minister

for Health that Ennis General Hos- pital would be on this year’s capital jeyuescan:beaneaten

In March the Clare TD had been critical of the HSE claiming that they were favouring projects in the east coast ahead of the promised funding for Ennis.

Speaking in the Dail at the time he said that the HSE had tried to stop the development at every opportuni- ty by putting forward “the notion of value for money audits, cost-benefit analyses etc and has tried at every

opportunity to block the project”.

At the end of March, the HSE’s hospital networks manager, John Hennessy, said that while he hopped the project would go to tender shortly it would not do so in 2008.

The HSE official said that although there was money available for ena- bling works the serious capital in- vestment – the €39 million promised – would not be available this year.

“As far aS we are concerned we are proceeding without planning and preparations, and we expect the

funding to be there in 2009.”

Deputy Dooley said that he was delighted that the Clare politicians were successful in convincing the minister of the needs of Ennis Gen- eral Hospital.

“It 1s particularly satisfying for us who fought for it to be included. Up until recently it was agreed to exclude it from the programme. It is satisfy- ing to retain the €40 million alloca- tion when we are going through a changing time in the economy and are being asked to curb spending,”

he said.

‘This is a vote of confidence in the staff at the hospital particularly in dealing with the recent outbreak of C-diff,’ he added.

“I now look forward to finalising the construction details and I would be hoping this project will finally commence next year.”

Member of the HSE’s west forum Cllr Pat Daly (FF) said he was de- lighted with the pending announce- ment. “We have worked hard for this,’ he said.

PEOPLE in Ennis get the chance to have their say on the future develop- ment of the town when the review of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan 2003 goes on public display in the coming weeks.

Councillors were presented with the document at the July meeting of Ennis Town Council and agreed to submit the pre-draft development plan 2008-2014 forward for public consultation.

Apart from obtaining the review document itself, which planning of- ficials revealed is costing €100 per copy to produce, the public is also being invited to engage with the process in a variety of ways.

The plan will be available for download from the websites of both

Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council.

Submissions and questions relating to the plan can also be sent by email. Senior planner John Bradley told last week’s meeting that all incoming emails will be logged and a response will be sent to anyone submitting a query just as soon as the system is o) oer 1a Ceyered

“These events will be fully adver- tised in local media beforehand. We want to market this and publicise this document as much as possible’, said Mr. Bradley.

A number of public information events will also take place at loca- tions around Ennis, confirmed Mr. Bradley.

The review of the Development Plan for Ennis and Environs com- menced with a 9-week period of

public consultation on December 8 2006. The Development Plan covers a 6-year period and the current plan is due to expire later in the year in December 2008.

Mr Buckley said that considerable work remains to be done in order to have the final plan ready in time for the December deadline.

He said, “There is still a lot to do with this document. We are trying to get 22 weeks work done in two weeks. We will be burning the mid- night oil in the coming weeks, I can assure you.”

He continued, “We hope to have it ready for you (councillors) for the October meeting and all the issues can be resolved in time for the plan to be adopted by December 9”.

The plan will guide the future growth of Ennis and its surrounding

environs in a way that will set out the future land use requirements of the town’s community for economic de- velopment, recreational, social, com- munity, residential, transport and in- frastructural needs.

The review of the 2003 plan has also addresses other zoning issues in relation to flood risk management, energy efficiency and traffic manage- ment.

Independent councilor Frankie Neylon told the meeting that it was the important the public was made aware that their views would be tak- en on board.

He said, “I would suggest that we would use the County Museum for these public event and I think it is important that it 1s made clear that submissions can be re-entered into the plan”