Category: Uncategorized

SPECULATION is growing that the proposed creation of a Marine Res- cue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) in Ennis will be put on hold because of increased local pressure in both Valentia and Malin Head.

Ennis had been considered the fa- voured location for the creation of the new station, to coincide with the phasing out of facilities at Malin Head and Valentia, with Cork and Galway also in the mix.

Last week Ceann Comhairle and Kerry South TD, John O’ Donoghue spoke out against the move. In an

open letter addressed to his Fianna Fail colleague, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, O’Donoghue stated that closing the Valentia centre would not improve service and would have a devastating effect on the locality.

With a similar movement already in operation in Malin Head, Minister Dempsey in coming under increased pressure, both from within and out- side of Fianna Fail, to reverse the decision. This could mean the end to a possible Marine Rescue Co-ordi- nation Centre (MRCC) in Ennis and as many as 50 jobs that would have come with it.

The Minister for Transport is to

meet with representatives of both groups later this week to discuss the ongoing situation.

He has already given a verbal com- mitment that no jobs will be lost as a result of restructuring work which takes place within the Marine Res- cue Service.

Minister Dempsey’s decision to faze out Valentia and Malin Head represents a u-turn in Government policy, as in 2002 the then Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Dermot Ahern, gave commitments to the future of both centres and also funded a mas- sive upgrade of facilities.

A CLARE politician has vowed to go back to the streets to register the anger of women in the mid-west who may not be able to avail of the life- saving Breastcheck service in Clare or Limerick until 2009.

While eligible women can travel to Cork as of last week, mid-west TD, Labour Spokesperson on Health, Deputy Jan O’Sullivan has revealed there will be a two-year delay in roll- ing out the service here.

And Labour Councillor Paschal

Fitzgerald has pledged to go back on the streets of Clare to collect more signatures to add to the thousands he has already handed in at the Dail de- manding the service.

“Despite the news that the service will be available in Cork, it is still extremely disappointing that all eli- gible women in the greater mid-west will not be called for a screening service until the end of 2009,” Depu- ty O’Sullivan said.

Cllr Fitzgerald said that he and party colleagues “stood on _ the streets and collected thousands of

signatures calling for this service to be available in Clare and we will do ime: hex-0 00 ae

He continued, “The Government is ignoring the people of the mid-west. Broken promises are one thing but people’s lives are at risk here.”

The Breastcheck programme pro- vides a screening service for women aged between 50 and 64.

Since its inception, there has been an 80 per cent uptake by women of- fered the service to attend for screen- betes

Statistics have proven that where

a screening service 1S in operation, deaths caused by breast cancer have considerably reduced due to early de- tection.

The National Cancer Screening service spokeswoman could not say precisely when women from Clare might be called to avail of the serv- ice but said that the service is being rolled out as quickly as possible.

Deputy O’Sullivan welcomed the announcement that breast screening for eligible women started in Cork from last week, despite a delay of nearly five years since it was first

promised.

“T, along with my party colleagues, have been campaigning for a number of years to have the national free breast-screening programme extend- ed to the south and western parts of the country.

“While I welcome the announce- ment which will allow women throughout the mid-west to avail of the screening programme in Cork, the full roll-out of this vital service throughout the country must be pro- eressed without further unacceptable delays,” she said.

THE Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey has confirmed that he has held no discussions with his British Government counterpart to establish a subsidized service on the Shannon- Je (edevKey se celvicorn

The subsidy, known as a ‘public service obligation’ is seen by many observers as a last chance to secure the Shannon-Heathrow route.

However, Minister Dempsey told Fine Gael deputy, Dan Neville, “I have had no discussions to date with my UK counterpart concerning the establishment of a PSO on the Shan-

non-Heathrow route because such discussions would be premature.

“Ireland already has an air serv- ices Public Service Obligation (PSO) scheme in operation. The scheme provides for the subvention of air services from Dublin to Kerry, Gal- way, Knock, Sligo, Donegal and Derry.”

He added, ““The relevant EU Coun- cil Regulation allows a Member State to establish a PSO route in respect of scheduled air services to an airport serving a peripheral or development region in its territory, where such air services are considered vital for the economic development of the regions

concerned and where air carriers are not prepared to provide them on a commercial basis.

‘My department has recently writ- ten to the EU Commission with a view to exploring what the options if any exist for facilitating the provi- sion of air services to meet the con- nectivity requirements of the west of Ireland in a liberalised, competitive aviation market.

“My officials have requested an early meeting with the commission on the matter. Following that meet- ing, my department will be in a po- sition to advise me on appropriate contacts with the British authorities.

With regard to not being informed of the Aer Lingus decision to trans- fer Heathrow slots from Shannon to Belfast, this has been fully dealt with following the report of the Secretary General of my department into the matter.”

In response to a question from Dep- uty Pat Breen on the provision of the US customs and border protection facility at Shannon, Minister Demp- sey said, “The operation of these fa- cilities would be subject to an inter- governmental treaty to be concluded between the two countries and the advice I have received is that this would require new legislation.”

THE Santa Experience at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park will feature on RTE Nationwide on Monday, December 17 next when presenter Michael Ryan and an RTE Nation- wide film crew will be welcomed by the Shannon Castle Entertainers who will perform traditional Christ- mas carols for the crew.

The Bunratty Santa experience has been running for the past five years and is an important part of Shan- non Heritage’s calendar of events for the home market. The Folk Park has been transformed into a Christ- mas wonderland with activities and Christmas characters in every nook and cranny. Over 8,500 visitors from

all over will attend this year’s event. Although the Santa visit part of the experience is now booked out, visi- tors can still come to the Folk Park and enjoy the festive atmosphere. Also we will have the well-known Lambert Puppet Theatre putting on a performance of the Magic Toy Shop Puppet Show on December 28 to 30. Tickets are still available for this. The Folk Park Christmas experi- ence is designed for all the family, they can call in to see Mrs. Claus in her Kitchen as she prepares for Santa’s trip – making sure his clothes are ironed and he has plenty of food for his journey. A traditional Irish story teller is on hand to enthral both young and old as he recalls colour- ful tales of Christmas long ago. The

village street is decked with holly, and festooned with fairy lights and adorned with a Christmas tree. New this year is a polar bear exhibit which is causing quite a stir with visitors.

A troupe of Santa’s Elves will be on hand to welcome visitors and there are indoor play areas. Christmas themed shops selling traditional fare will ensure that visitors can get in a bit of last minute shopping. If the re- tail therapy is proving too much then a complimentary glass of mulled Wine awaits the adults in Corry’s Pub on the village Street.

DETAILS of the horrific injuries sustained by Ennistymon schoolgirl Marguerite O’Dwyer were recalled at the inquest into her death yester- Cr MA

The 17-year-old was killed by her brother Patrick (now 22) in the fam- ily home at Shrohill, Ennistymon, on November 29, 2004.

He was found guilty by a jury of manslaughter, by reason of dimin- ished responsibility, at the end of a six-day trial in the Central Criminal Court in April and was later jailed for Six years.

His defence had claimed that he suffered from a mental disorder, when he killed his sister, a Leaving Certificate student.

State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy told the inquest into Ms O’Dwyer’s death yesterday that she had been “the victim of a violent assault” and had sustained “at least 90 stab wounds” and “at least six blows to the head.”

“This type of injury would cause rapid death and was irrecoverable,” she said, adding that many of the stab wounds appeared to have been “inflicted after death.”

She may have been knocked uncon- scious by the first blow,” she said.

She said that the young woman had sustained 64 stab wounds to the trunk, many of which were deep and which had penetrated organs. Dr Cassidy carried out the post mortem into the death on December 1, 2004.

“She had been healthy prior to this,” she said.

‘The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, as a contributory cause stab wounds to the body,” she HKG

Coroner Isobel O’Dea told the jury that the most appropriate verdict is “in accordance with the findings of the Central Criminal Court” and the jury agreed with this.

Ms O’Dea expressed her sympathy with Marguerite’s parents Paddy and Claire, who attended the inquest. She said it was “a very tragic and unfor-

tunate occurrence.”

Inspector Michael Gallagher also sympathized with the O’Dwyers “on the tragic loss of their beautiful daughter”.

Earlier, Marguerite’s employer at Enzo’s chipshop in Lahinch, Olivia Gosseau, said the young girl had worked in the fast food outlet part- time for a number of months while she attended school. She worked six days a week during the summer holi- days.

She said that Marguerite had called to the chipshop with her friend Laura Hartigan on the evening of Saturday, November 27, 2004.

She said Laura looked for that night off so that she could attend a party at Marguerite’s house.

She said that Marguerite worked between 2pm and 6.30pm the fol- lowing day, Sunday, November 28.

Marguerite told her she had tidied up the house after a party the night before.

“She said Patrick had got drunk the night before. He hurt himself,’ re- called Ms Gosseau in her statement.

Marguerite told her employer that Patrick was at home asleep, when she went to work that Sunday after- noon.

“She was in great form. She left at 6.30pm on foot. It was the last time I saw her,” she recalled.

Garda Pat Brennan said he was driving the patrol car at 2.45pm on November 30, 2004, when he re- ceived a call to go to Ennistymon Garda Station.

When he and his colleague, Garda Alan Keane, arrived at the station, Patrick O’Dwyer was sitting in the public office.

“Patrick O’Dwyer had come into the station and informed Garda Gantley he had killed his sister,’ said Gda Brennan.

O’Dwyer handed the keys of the house to the garda and said, “She is in the sitting room.”

The two gardai went to the house and found Marguerite’s body in the sitting room.

‘Her skull appeared to be smashed open to the right-hand side. There was a lot of blood. A blanket covered the body,” he recalled in his deposi- tion to the inquest.

Marguerite was pronounced dead by a doctor at 4.50pm and her body was identified by her uncle, John Ryan.

IN A hammer blow to Shannon Air- port’s plans to prosper with the ending of the Shannon stop-over, the Minis- ter for Transport, Noel Dempsey has dismissed the proposed €53 million package for the region as ‘illegal’. With the Open Skies regime set to be introduced from April next, re- gional hopes were being pinned on a €53 million economic and tourism plan to counteract any negative im- pacts on the transatlantic market. Prior to the general election, former A BecTely ced mm\YODON Co AVE DUOSO mm GREUE (on promised ‘a very big package’ for

Shannon.

However, in the Dail last Thursday, current Transport Minister, Noel Dempsey said that the proposed €53 million package “is illegal and we would not get away with it. The €44 million sought in market support is equivalent to the entire Tourism Ire- land budget”.

Minister Dempsey said that the €53 million proposal “was basically a request for €44 million in market support and €9 million in route sup- port for Shannon. I have explained on many occasions that it cannot be done because it is against EU state aid rules to provide any money for a

scheme of that nature.”

Minister Dempsey also stated that the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has invested about €100 million in Shannon Airport in the past four or five years. He said, “Shannon Air- port Authority wants independence and provided we can come up with a plan, it should get it. It must stand on its own two feet subsequently. There will be an open, competitive environ- ment and restrictive practices of any nature will have to end.”

He added, “The timing of airport restructuring will depend on the crea- tion of the appropriate conditions that will ensure the financial sustainabil-

ity of each of the three State airports. The restructuring process will require coordinated strategies to achieve the operational and financial readiness of each airport.”

In response, Deputy Joe Carey said, ‘These statements represent, even by this Government’s ambivalent stand- ards, a disgraceful u-turn on pre-elec- tion promises.

“In terms of the €100 million spend on Shannon that the minister points to, only 12 months ago Pat Shanahan described the physical look of Shan- non as ‘tatty’ and ‘scruffy’. It begs the question, where did the €100 million cov ae

A LEADING A&E Consultant has claimed that many people who die from cardiac arrest or sudden car- diac death do so because not enough lay-people know basic CPR (Cardi- opulmonary Resuscitation).

Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the Mid-West Regional Hospitals in Limerick and Ennis, Dr Cathal O’Donnell said, “We have a dismal outcome from cardiac arrest or sud- den cardiac death. Less than five per cent survive and on average, 14 people die from cardiac arrest every 24 hours. Many of them die because they don’t get CPR or a defi- brillator to them in the first four to five minutes.”

Dr O’Donnell, who is also Chair- man of the RESUS 2007, a confer- ence and skills showcase held in Limerick at the weekend added, “Irish lay-people do not know how to do basic CPR and this is the main reason that people die. Many more would survive if everyone could do CPR properly”.

The annual event aims to increase survival for cardiac arrest, trauma resuscitation, road traffic accidents and poisonings. 400 providers from

in-hospital and pre-hospital services as well as the voluntary ambulance sector gathered to hear national and international speakers outline cut- ting edge advances in resuscitation science and to see them in action

simulating emergency medicine pro- cedures in recreated A&E scenarios.

World renowned resuscitation ex- pert, Professor Douglas Chamber- lain of Cardiff University said that “In the absence of such life saving

community action, people will con- tinue to die. International research shows that heart attack victims who get CPR have a better outcome than those who are first defibrillated. Hand compression can sustain life

for 60 minutes. It is vital that more people are taught this life saving ey ReLeere LUN Kome

Ennisman, Dr Brian Maurer, Medical Director of the Irish Heart Foundation echoed a call for govern- ment action. “There are a number of challenges for the Government in improving the health outcomes of those in need of acute emergency care in Ireland. Making CPR train- ing part of the school curriculum would make a huge difference. The Irish Heart foundation has requested a meeting with Mary Hanafin, Min- ister for Education, to discuss the development of CPR training within schools”, he said.

Chief Superintendent John Farrelly of the Garda Traffic Corps outlined the success of the recent ‘random breath testing’ initiative which had saved 72 lives this year alone. More than 400 drivers are caught through random testing every week and the commitment to further reduce blood alcohol levels will save even more lives, he claimed.

THE inquest into the death of a young man who died after he was slashed in the throat at an Ennis pub was delayed for over 16 years due to a mix-up, it has emerged.

The inquest into the death of Cork native Robert Lynch (22) at Ennis Coroner’s Court yesterday was told the Coroner was not aware the in- quest had never been held.

Coroner Isobel O’Dea said the in- quest into the young gardener’s death wasn’t held previously as “I wasn’t aware it hadn’t been held until now.”

“The file was completed at very Short notice,’ said the Coroner. She immediately scheduled the inquest, after she was made aware it had not taken place.

In 1992, Christopher Cooney (42) was convicted of the murder of Mr Lynch, at the Banner Arms.

Cooney had an address in Shan- non at the time. His family has since moved to west Clare.

Retired Sergeant Phil Coll told En- nis Coroner’s Court yesterday that he was the sergeant-in-charge at Ennis garda station on February 17, 1991.

He received a call to go to the Ban- ner Arms where there had been a fa- Ye eel) patee

He went to the scene and the body of Robert Lynch had been removed to Ennis General Hospital.

The inquest was told that attempts by medical staff to resuscitate Mr Lynch were unsuccessful.

Retired State Pathologist Dr John Harbison carried out the post mortem examination on Mr Lynch’s body. Dr Harbison is retired and current State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy out- lined the details of the post mortem to the inquest.

She said that Mr Lynch had suffered one “major injury,” a large cut to the front of the neck, which stretched ‘from one side to the other.”

The wound, she said, was “fairly deep” and “cut through muscles.”

“There was no evidence of any oth- er significant injuries to the body,” she said.

Death was due to the inhalation of blood, as a result of an incised wound to the neck, concluded Dr Harbison.

‘He was not in a position to say which direction the weapon was drawn,” said Dr Cassidy.

Ms O’Dea pointed out that a mur- der conviction had been recorded in court, in this case.

‘There is sufficient evidence to es- tablish the deceased met his death by murder” and the jury agreed a ver- dict in accordance with this.

The details surrounding Mr Lynch’s death were brought to light earlier this year when it emerged that Fianna Fail Deputy Tony Killeen’s constitu- ency office made enquiries about the release of Mr Cooney.

Those revelations enraged Mr Lynch’s mother Nora, who criticised Mr Killeen and said the representa- tions caused more heartache for the family. The politician said he was unaware of his office making the representations and he visited Mrs Lynch in Bantry.

Mrs Lynch didn’t attend yesterday’s inquest, but her daughter Bernie was present.

CHILDREN as young as I1 are being dried out after they binge on alcohol, according to the mayor of Clare. Councillor Patricia McCarthy (Ind) made the comment this week, amid a public debate on the dangers of the combination of alcohol and drugs. The scourge of drugs came to prominence again last week after the death of model Katy French (24), af- ter she had taken cocaine. Two young

Waterford men Kevin Doyle (21) and John Grey (23) also died last week, days after they had taken cocaine at a house party in Waterford.

One of Cllr McCarthy’s colleagues on Shannon Town Council said the situation in Waterford happens “on every street corner”.

The debate arose at the town coun- cil on Tuesday night when Cllr Greg Duff (Lab) proposed that the council support the call by the National Youth Council for stiff measures to control

the availability of alcohol.

Councillor Sean Hillery (FF) said the combination of alcohol and drugs isa “lethal cocktail’. He said, “I think it is time the Government stopped the advertising of alcohol in relation to games. We are glorifying alcohol. It is very hard for young people.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said alcohol has become more easily ac- cessible for people of all ages.

“From 11 up they are going into hospitals to be dried out. Alcohol is

glamourised. It is a dangerous, dan- gerous drug. It is time for the Govern- ment to take control,’ she said.

“With the smoking gone out of public places, people are drinking at home and there are no measurements. You don’t measure the whiskey. You don’t measure the brandy. It is a dan- gerous situation. The Government has been negligent. It should address the situation with the same vigor as it addressed the cigarettes.”

Labour’s Tony McMahon said he

Kor -DUCLOM MOT LMOODN (CUNO MOST hYmolom- lm Ul emr-ks alcohol takes over.

“Children may not be cared for properly in those situations and can lead in places to domestic violence. The danger is children would accept this as Some kind of norm,” he said.

Referring to the association between alcohol and sport among young peo- ple, he said, “Everywhere you go your head is stuck in a cup of alcohol. If you weren’t going to get drunk on it, you would get drowned.”

THE Burren Connect Project and Burrenbeo have launched an educa- tion programme aimed at opening up the Burren Region’s vast and varied heritage to primary school students.

The Eco-Beo education programme will be delivered between next Janu- ary and June to eight national schools in North Clare and South Galway, offering over 200 primary school students and their teachers a unique insight into the Burren’s world fa- mous karst landscape.

The primary schools participating in the 2008 programme are Kinvara,

Kilnaboy, New Quay, Corofin, Kil- fenora, Doorus, Kilshanny and ‘Tub- ber with additional funding being sought to extend the course to other Burren schools in 2008 and 2009.

The launch of the programme took place at The Michael Cusack Centre in Carron, where course tutors, spon- sors and participating teachers came together to finalise details.

It was announced that over the 10- week duration of the course, par- ticipants would learn about various aspects of the Burren – its animals, plants, monuments, landscape and culture – through a series of colour- ful classoom presentations.

This will be followed by weekly quizzes, e-newsletters and assign- ments.

Professional course tutors, all of whom are experts in their individual areas, will deliver each module. Stu- dents will be taken on a Burren field trip, where they will have the oppor- tunity to put their new found knowl- edge to the test.

Eimer McCarthy of the Burren Connect Project said that the theme of the Eco-Beo education programme would be ‘My Burren Heritage’ to increase awareness and appreciation of the heritage of the Burren among the children who live in this special

place.

The Eco-Beo concept was original- ly developed by Burrenbeo, which introduced the programme to six Burren schools in 2004.

The Burren Connect Project, for- merly known as the ‘Environmental Protection of the Burren through Visitor Management Initiative’, is funded by the Failte Ireland Devel- opment Fund, Clare County Coun- cil, Shannon Development, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Bur- renbeo and is working to link com- munities, environment and tourism to conserve the Burren.

Carol Gleeson, Project Manager,

explained, “The key aim of the project is to ensure the sustainable use of the Burren as a tourism des- tination, through a co-ordinated ap- proach to visitor management and environmental protection.”

The Burren Connect Project is presently progressing a number of other initiatives, including a series of traffic management plans, and driv- ing, cycling and walking routes.

The project is implementing con- servation programmes at Poulnab- rone Dolmen and Fanore beach, as well as exploring the potential for the development of eco-tourism in the Burren.