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ete tle lived with his elderly brother for half the year from 2002, before moving into the family home permanently. Mr Dempsey claims that the house, which is built on boggy land approxi- mately 20 feet from the road, was se- cure up until 2002 when the road was upgraded.

He said that the heavy traffic that used the road then caused the house to shake and the house to crack.

The Environmental Health Officer with the HSE and two engineering reports commissioned by Mr Demp- sey and his late brother point to a house in serious disrepair.

“While the dwelling is obviously unfit for human habitation at this stage. I would also have concerns for Mr Dempsey’s safety while he is occupying the house,” the environ- mental health officer said in a letter to Clare County Council in April PAU

The house is visibly subsiding with the walls coming apart at the corners and also separating from the ceiling by approximately 30mm.

‘In two areas of the house the prob- lems are so severe that there is dan- ger of collapse. It 1s doubtful if it is economically advisable to attempt to shore up or repair these dangerous areas,’ the letter said.

“IT would recommend that Mr Dempsey be provided with alterna- tive housing preferably in a location of his choosing but alternatively oth-

er options should be fully explored,” the Environmental Health Officer had advised a month earlier.

An engineering report commis- sioned by Mr Dempsey this year said that “vibrations can be felt underfoot with the passing of heavy traffic’ and ‘settlement appears to be related to the increase heavy traffic’.

“The end result is that the main body of the house is 375mm out of level. The flat roof extension to the rear 18 225mm out of level. With the settlement, various cracks have opened up throughout the structure and the roof has developed a hump- backed appearance. Walls have be- come off plumb by up to 125 mm. The floors have broken and become off level due to that upward pressure from the subsoil,’ it said.

Mr Dempsey said he has repeatedly asked the council to put a weight re- Striction on the road, but to no avail.

A spokesperson for Clare County Council confirmed that the local au- thority carried out dilapidation sur- veys on four houses on the stretch of road in question last week, before any work was to begin.

Consultant engineers on behalf of the local authority carried out an internal and external dilapidation survey in two of the four houses, and an external survey on the remaining two, including Mr Dempsey’s.

The council spokesperson said that Mr Dempsey refused access to his home when the council’s consultant engineers called to carry out the sur- vey, so they could only analyse the outside of the house.

An internal survey is necessary to examine the foundations and to get a full picture of a subsidence.

The council were also unable to put “tell tales” into the cracks, which measure any changes.

Mr Dempsey told

TRADITIONAL African and Irish musicians will join together for a special concert in Ennis on June 14. Organised by the Pastor Bright Martey from the Global Revival Evangelistic Ministry (GREM), tick- ets for the event are now on sale. Among the names taking to the stage in Cois na hAbhna are singer Kate Purcell, singer Amo Ghana, Evelyn Bamfo, the Ennis Gospel Choir and the GREM praise team. The event is being organised to

raise money for the Ennis based Eee SE Moroes (eee

Clare Haven women’s refuge opened its doors in Ennis in 2002 and over the years has provided a place of safety and a range of sup- ports to hundreds of women and children who were made homeless due to domestic violence.

Clare Haven Services refuge has been shortlisted as one of the local deserving children’s projects in con- tention for the €10,000 prize from AIB Ennis through the Better Ire- land Programme.

The branch will award €10,000 to the local project that tops the poll in a public text vote which has contin- ued over a four-week period from May 6 to June 6.

Anyone who would like to regis- ter their support for the charity can simply text ENNIS followed by B to 53099 by Friday, June 6.

The award is part of AIB’s Better Ireland Programme which supports children with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities and also chil- dren affected by drug and alcohol abuse, homelessness or a lack of ac-

cess to mainstream education due to poverty.

Pastor Bright Martey who started the GREM in March 2005 said “We want to do a concert and we want to do it right. I have always said that if I was going to put on a concert then I would do it right. I am very busy at the moment; we have bands com- ing over from Holland. Hopefully we will get a good crowd in Cois na hAbhna.”

For further information and ticket reservations contact 087 2919619 or log onto www.brightmartey.com.

CLARE County Council are to paint two listed buildings in Ennistymon bright white with luminous yel- low stripes in an effort to curb the amount of accidents taking place at the location.

Blake’s corner has become infa- mous in recent years as an accident blackspot, with local residents claim- ing that an accident takes place there at least once a week.

The local authority is in the proc- ess of purchasing both Blake’s and neighbouring Linnane’s, located just before the bridge in Ennistymon.

They plan to knock both build- ing and reconstruct them a number of metres back from the road when funding becomes available but, in the meantime, they propose to paint the building luminous colours to make them clearly visible to motorists.

Both buildings are more than 100 years old, have been granted ‘listed’ or protected status by the Office of Public Works and appear on thou- sands of postcards.

The buildings, located three feet below street level, are classic ex- amples of the town’s old-fashioned shop fronts. Indeed, Blake’s earned national notoriety as Ireland’s small- est pub until it closed for business a decade ago.

‘There is a huge problem with cars crashing into those buildings. There are huge volumes of tourists com- ing through there on a daily basis

and they don’t know what is await- ing them when they turn the corner. I am very concerned that there will be a serious accident and that is why I have suggested that reflective paint 1s placed on the walls of the building to alert people that there is a dangerous Situation ahead,’ said Cllr Martin SOE aea CaF

‘This is just a temporary shot-gun measure while the process of moving the building is undertaken. That has

to go through a planning, consulta- tion and funding process. I am real- istic enough to realise that that will take a few years to happen.

“In the meantime, we need to see some progress being made. It’s a bal- ancing act between preserving what is traditional with road safety. In that situation, I will always come down on the side of road safety.”

Council engineer, Donnie Buckley confirmed last week that the local

authority had purchased one of the buildings involved and is at an ad- vanced stage in purchasing the other. The local authority is also to host a meeting in the coming weeks to at- tempt to get the building in question delisted, allowing construction work to take place.

WARNING that Ireland’s green in- frastructure is under threat, the Her- itage Council has launched an action plan to halt the decline of Clare’s biodiversity by awarding funds to five eco-friendly projects throughout the county.

Funding has been awarded to the Clare Bat Group for the conserva- tion of bat species and raising aware- ness with local community groups; the Clare Biodiversity Group for the planting of native trees, fruit trees and wild flowers along newly laid cy- cle lanes; Ennis and District Anglers Association for the restoration of a section of the River Fergus; Tuam- graney Development Association to restore an unmanaged woodland for wildlife; and Lisdoonvarna Commu- nity Centre for work on the Lisdoon- varna Biodiversity Park.

The Heritage Council has award- ed funding of over €7/00,000 to 52 projects around the country that will protect, manage and restore local bio- diversity. The funding is provided by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

The council wants to highlight the importance of wetlands, as well as the damage caused by invasive spe- cies to biodiversity in Ireland. Wet- lands are essential for flood control, pollution control, water supply, and peat lands also serve as vital carbon sinks that could help address climate change. Invasive species are causing problems in our waterways and for- ests, impacting on native biodiversity and affecting water quality.

A South African pondweed sus- pected to have come from a local ornamental garden pond has become established in Lough Corrib, Ire- land’s second largest lake and home to salmon, otter and an internation- ally recognised wild trout fishery. The plant is forming a dense canopy on the lake surface and is blocking out light. This in turn impacts on the native fish and plants in the lake. A task force has been set up to remove the South African pondweed at con- siderable expense.

Other invasive plants such as Rho- dodendron and Gnuant Rhubarb, originally brought in as ornamental garden plants, are causing consider- able damage to native woodlands and the landscape, especially on the west coast.

Meanwhile, zebra mussels (pictured below) are having a serious effect in Lough Derg and waterways along the Shannon and elsewhere, block- ing water pipes and boat engines and affecting native fish species.

Among measures to halt the decline in biodiversity are the planting of na- tive trees, shrubs and flowers; cutting down on household chemicals; plan- ning new developments more sensi- tively as well as preserving wetlands, coastal areas and important habitats. For further information, see www. heritagecouncil.ie.

A FIRST of a kind art gallery ded1- cated solely to photography is to open in Kilrush this week.

On Thursday night well known Kil- rush solicitor Eugene O’Kelly, along with his wife Felicity, will see their dream come true when their purpose built gallery opens to the public.

The NatureQuest Gallery of Fine Art Photography will feature the work of some of the best-known pho-

tographers in the county.

Among the work on display is that of Christy McNamara. Much of this work has never been seen in Ireland before. A lot of it from New York and Los Angeles, will be on display.

Dave Dakin and Carsten Krieger, who have made Loop Head their home, will also be using the space to display their works.

The gallery will be dedicated to providing exceptional images of west Clare by predominately west Clare

photographers.

Mr O’Kelly, himself an accom- plished amateur photographer, has championed the promotion of pho- tography as a fine art form and this gallery is dedicated specifically to photography and will be innovative in that commitment.

It will also provide sculpture rep- resentative of artists and subjects of west Clare.

Kilbaha artist Seamus Connolly’s work will be on display from the

opening night.

NatureQuest Gallery, located on Burton Street just off Market Square in Kilrush, has been developed from the historic buildings of the But- termarket and offers state of the art lighting, and a professional gallery atmosphere.

The opening reception will take place at 7.00pm on Thursday night and will be launched by Dr Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dol- phin Group.

DESIGN plans for the redevelopment of Fahy Hall are close to completion according to the Doora Barefield parish pastoral council.

At a public meeting held in Fahy Hall last week, residents viewed drawings by architect Victor Leyden and were invited to make their own submissions.

A new church, community facilities including a children’s playground and a new hall are proposed on the three-acre site.

Concern over the lack of commu- nity facilities initiated the drive to redevelop Fahy Hall.

Fr Michael McNamara explained

that the greater facilties were needed to service the growing population in the Roslevan area.

“There are roughly over 1,000 houses in the area and that works out at around 3,000 people, according to the Ennis and Environs Develop- ment plan. A lot of the land has been zoned housing. One of the biggest complaints has been that there is no social facilities,” he said.

Fr McNamara said funding for the majority of the work has already been secured.

“It looks like we have money avail- able. The cost to the local commu- nity would be about one third of the estimated total cost. Until we get planning permission we won’t be

able to put a proper figure on it,” said Deer ee

This is the third version drawn up for the redevelopment of Fahy Hall. Fr McNamara is confident that this part of the process is nearing com- pletion.

‘“We’ve had progress. People have been invited to submit their thoughts and suggestions on the plans. This is the third professional plan that we have had drawn up. People have had a good chance to look at it and ex- amine. We feel the plan that is there at the moments is fairly close to the final plan,” he said.

‘At the moment the sooner we can progress the better. A lot of the back- ground has been done. The commit-

tee have been told the financial re- sources are available,’ he added.

A cornerstone of traditional Irish music and culture, Fahy Hall has been home to the Doora Barefield branch of Comhaltas Ceolto6iri Euir- eann since 1972.

In the late 1970’s the decision was taken that the branch should look for a permanent home. Colm Fahy, a member of the branch, very kindly donated the site for the hall, and it has been home to the Doora Barefield branch ever since, becoming a focal point in the community ever since.

Members of the Doora Barefield branch together with friends and neighbours built the hall on a volun- FD AYA Oy SC

HOPE springs eternal for the resi- dents of Crusheen this week follow- ing the confirmation that Iarnrod Eireann will reexamine the possibil- ity of building a stop for the Western Rail Corridor in the village, months after ruling out the proposal.

It has emerged that, following a meeting with the Crusheen Devel- opment Association last month, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamaon O’Cuiv (FF), has urged the rail company to

reconsider its position on the Crush- een stop.

Responding to a Dail question from Clare TD Pat Breen (FG), Minis- ter O’Cuiv said that CLAR fund- ing could be made available for the project.

“I met a delegation regarding Crusheen station on Friday, May 16. I indicated that in discussions with Jarnr6d Eireann, further proposals had been requested from them in re- FVe Te) MaKOMnd Cem enim ise Um Goue lee under the CLAR programme,” said Minister O’Cuiv.

“T also indicated that, in this con- text, 1f proposals for Crusheen sta- tion were included, they would be considered in respect of CLAR fund- ing, subject to such funding being available.”

The announcement has been given a cautious welcome by Deputy Breen, saying that it could solve the problem in Crusheen if brought to fruition.

“The local Crusheen community have been very proactive in progress- ing this matter and Clare County Council are very supportive, having agreed to provide the car parking fa-

cilities,’ said Deputy Breen.

“IT welcome the positive signals emanating from Minister O’Cuiv and I hope that when the outstand- ing issues are resolved that budget- ary constraints will not delay this project.

“While there were outstanding is- sues to be resolved, he did indicate that once these issues had been ad- dressed and they re-submitted pro- posals for CLAR Funding in relation to the Western Rail Corridor, which included a stop at Crusheen, he would look favourably on this.”

ONE of the biggest construction companies in the mid-west tripled its profits before tax to €1.6 million, ac- cording to the most recent accounts filed with the companies office. Accounts to the end of September 2006, show that the Michael Lynch (Group) Ltd increased its profits be-

fore tax from €507,000 in 2005 to €1.6 million in 2006.

Last week, An Bord Pleanala gave the company the go-ahead for a large-scale housing development at Lifford in Ennis which should go some way towards making up for failing to secure a planning permis- sion for a €50 million retail park at Clonroadmore.

The Ennis company almost dou- bled its turnover going up from €27 million to €42 million, underlining the money-generating capacity of the firm during the building boom.

The accounts show that the group’s operating profit was €2.1 mullion in 2006 — up from €1.52 million in 2005 – and retained profit combined with shareholders’ equity funds

amounted to over €8 million.

Underlining the importance of the company to the local economy, the number of people on payroll was 71 with staff costs for 2006 amounting to €4.8 million.

And the value of the company’s landbank continues to increase with the returns showing that in 2004, the company had development lands val-

ued at €5.7 million. This increased to €12.4 million by September 2005 and to €15 million at the end of Sep- tember 2006.

The accounts stated that the com- pany proposed not to pay a dividend in 2006.

The returns to the companies office list Seamus Lynch and Mary Lynch as directors of the firm.

Lough Graney Youth Club will be flying the flag for east Clare in the Gort branch’s section of the AIB Better Ireland Awards.

The east Clare group will be com- peting against two Gort groups to win the coveted text votes that could see them pocket as much as €10,000.

The youth club, which is in its sec- ond year, has already dared to con- sider how it could spend the gener- ous prize.

“We are delighted with this short listing and if we won the €10,000 we would be able to purchase com- puters and filming equipment for our youth club.

This would enable our young peo- ple to become more involved in the community and also we could do many different projects incorporat- ing other age groups,” said Kathleen McNamara, Chairperson of Lough Graney Youth Club.

“Winning this award would ben- efit the entire community including pre-school, primary school children, after-school, adult education and the older members of our area. In this way our youth would appreciate and value their own community and en- able it to grow more progressively or become community leaders of the JUUAb Kr

“We are in the Clar area of dis- advantage and we do not have any

amenities on hand for our young people. We do not have a commu- nity centre, which is a major disad- vantage for our youth. Also, we have to travel long distances for cinema, etc,” she said.

This does not limit the amount of work the Lough Graney Youth Club do in any given week, however.

Last Saturday, the youth club went to Caher House Estate for a barbeque while that night the Lough Graney Youth Club Singers performed for a pre-exam Mass in Kilclaran Church, which was officiated over by Fr Brendan Quinlivan.

The local, people can support the youth clubs campaign to win the coveted €10,000 by texting GortC

to 53099.

Even if the group don’t win they will receive a donation for every text KAAS Aor b

The two other groups competing for the prize are Ballinderreen Play- group and the Gort No Name Club.

To support the Ballinderreen Play- eroup text GortA to 53099, while you can support the Gort No Name Club by texting GortB to 53099.

All texts must be in before June 6 to count.

THE Government has serious con- cerns about the latest proposals ta- bled last week at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations, according to Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Tony Killeen.

The Clare TD made the comments after the Minister for Foreign Af- fairs, Micheal Martin attended his first EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

Speaking following the meeting, Minister Martin said that he had grave concerns about the latest WTO

papers on agriculture and non-agri- cultural market access.

‘The risk of serious damage being caused to European agriculture from an unsatisfactory WTO deal must be of grave concern to everyone in Europe, producers and consumers alike,” said Minister Killeen.

“This is particularly the case at a time when food security is looming as, potentially, a major issue for the jaUinet none

“After his first meeting with other European foreign ministers, Minis- ter Martin said that he had serious concerns that new market realities and emerging food security issues

are being ignored in the rush towards an early deal.

‘He made it known that Ireland has profound reservations about the lat- est WTO papers on agriculture and non-agricultural market access. He also agreed with others present who questioned whether the objective grounds currently exist for an early WTO ministerial meeting.

“Minister Martin made it very clear that the obvious imbalance in the present set of proposals makes them unacceptable to Ireland and to others.”

“If it is to be acceptable, a WTO agreement must not undermine Eu-

ropean agriculture. A WTO deal must deliver real benefits to Europe and to developing countries.”

“Ireland wants a WTO agreement as much as any other member state but it must be fair and balanced in re- spect of what the EU is being asked to concede and what it is receiving in return.

“Minister Martin and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, are determined to continue working with other mem- ber states so as to ensure that any outcome to these negotiations will not result in our key interests being sacrificed.”