Category: Uncategorized

A YOUNG man lost his life after his car veered off the road and hit a sign just moments after he complained about feeling unwell. Peter McGov- ern, (39), a mechanic, from Deco- made, Lissycasey, died in a single- car accident on August 27 last year. Ennis Coroner’s Court heard last week from John Hill who said he met

Mr McGovern, who was his neigh- bour, at a football blitz in Lissycasey that afternoon.

He said Mr McGovern complained of a pain on his right-hand side, low down on the stomach area. He said he suggested to Mr McGovern to get medical attention and he said he would attend Shannondoc.

Martin Bosowsla said he was driv- ing along behind Mr McGovern’s car

on the main road near Lissycasey.

He said Mr McGovern’s car veered onto the hard shoulder on the left- hand side. He said he veered in twice and, at the Maxol filling station, he hit a sign.

Mr McGovern’s wife Marie said he had left their home in Lissycasey on the morning in question to go to Mass.

She later went to the football pitch

with their son and daughter. She saw her husband at the pitch. She was later informed that her husband had been involved in an accident.

Garda David Connolly attended the scene of the accident. He said Mr McGovern’s car was embedded in a sign outside the forecourt of the ga- eh Xen

Pathologist Dr James O’Driscoll carried out a post-mortem examina-

tion on Mr McGovern’s body. He said that death was due to shock and haemorrhage in association with multiple injuries.

“It was possible he had acute cardiac pain while driving along,” he said.

A verdict of accidental death was returned by the jury. Coroner Iso- bel O’ Dea said that Mr McGovern’s death, at such a young age, was “very sad and tragic”.

CALLS have been made for an om- budsman to be appointed to protect the rights of migrant workers and prevent a repeat of the situation which saw GAMA employees work- ing on the Ennis bypass being paid less than the minimum wage.

North Clare Councillor Martin Conway (FG) wants an ombudsman to be appointed as “a matter of ur- gency’. Following the recent ap- pointment of Ireland’s first Garda Ombudsman last month, Conway believes that an ombudsman for mi- grant workers would be a positive step.

Conway was the first public repre- sentative to highlight the plight of the Turkish workers who were involved in the construction of the Ennis by- pass through a notice of motion ta- bled by the north Clare councillor in

2005.

“It was amazing how a simple no- tice of motion at a council meeting helped trigger a follow-up set of cir- cumstances which ended up helping a whole community of workers get what they were entitled to anyway,” he said.

“With this in mind, I believe that there should be an ombudsman for immigrant workers set up as a matter OMT ESXes Neate

“Such an office properly funded with adequate language interpret- ers and real power would be a very important office for protecting the rights of non-national workers.

“It would provide a vehicle for non- national workers to ensure that their rights were being respected by Gov- ernment departments and other arms of the State which may take advan- tage of the fact that they are non-na- tionals with poor English.”

INAGH native, Sr Mary Neylon, re- turned to her native town this week in preparation for a major fundraiser which could drastically improve the lives of countless women living in poverty in Peru.

A mid-summer ball will take place in the West County Hotel on June 15, with all the proceeds going to the work of Sr Mary and the Cahercalla Hospice. Sr Mary is a Columbine nun and has been based in Lima for the last 20 years.

“She went to Lima in Peru, she

is there since 1989 or ‘90 and she comes homes every three years. She works with the poor, women’s groups mostly. She is trying to improve their situation, teaching skills and crafts so that they can make a bit of money and have a bit of independence for themselves,” said her sister, Brid Ca- eas

“There are a lot of poor people out there, especially in the remote parts. There are extremes. There is a lot of wealth, but there is an awful lot of poverty as well.”

The ball is being organised by fel- low Inagh native and Mayor of Clare,

Flan Garvey.

“When I became mayor, I said dur- ing my inauguration speech I would be listening very closely to what peo- ple needed and to help them out as best I could,’ said Flan.

“T am a director of the board at Ca- hercalla and Cahercalla Hospice is very dear to my heart. They give tre- mendous comfort to the terminally UU MeVele maetssbmBKo EIB Lore

“T said that I would organise this ball to help that cause. Then I was in contact with an old neighbour of mine, Sr Mary Neylon, who is in Peru. I asked her what help she

needed and she gave me a request of roughly €3,000 for an initiative with the women in Lima.

“The project involves setting up schemes where they can work them- selves and make a few bob of their own, make them feel good and make them feel wanted.”

The night will include a pre-dinner reception, a meal and then an evening of entertainment from Johnny Car- roll of the Famous Golden Trumpet and his band.

Tickets at €100 each are available from Flan Garvey or through the West County at 065 6823000.

A 71-YEAR-OLD Cooraclare man lost his life when he was knocked down crossing the road in Lissycasey last year, an inquest has heard.

Father-of-five Sean Gallagher was killed at Decomade, Lissycasey, on the night of April 17, 2006, while on his way to a dancing session, En- nis Coroner’s Court was told last Wednesday.

Sean’s son Shane said he had been at his parents’ home in Kilmacduane, Cooraclare that evening. He said his father, a retired carpenter, left the house to go dancing at the Boree Log pub in Lissycasey at around 9.15pm.

Shane passed that pub at 10pm and saw that a crowd had gathered. He continued on his way home and later heard that there had been an accident, involving a man from Cooraclare.

Shortly after he arrived home, two

gardai arrived at the front door with the devastating news that his father had been killed.

The inquest heard that Patrick Keane went to the Boree Log that night arriving at around 9.55pm. He got out of his car and said he saw Sean Gallagher getting out of his car, on the opposite side of the road. He was standing near the pub when he heard a loud bang behind him.

“T started running. I knew when I

saw him he was dead. People started coming out of the pub,” he said, in his deposition.

Sergeant Frank Naughton went to the scene of the accident that night. He said the body of a man was on the ground on the road on the Ennis side of the pub. He was told he had been struck by a car as he crossed the road.

Pathologist Dr Peter Fawl carried out an autopsy on the body of Mr Gallagher at Limerick Regional Hos-

pital. He said his opinion was that Mr Gallagher died due to shock, second- ary to multiple injuries, consistent with having been involved in a road traffic accident.

Coroner Isobel O’Dea suggested a verdict of accidental death and the jury agreed with this recommenda- tion. She expressed sympathy to the Gallagher family. ““To come on and see the accident must have been hor- rific,” she said.

WATER shortages in homes in east Clare are becoming a major problem, councillors have told local authority officials.

At a meeting last week of the Scar- iff area committee, councillor Joe Cooney said that there “have been in- creasing incidents of water shortages. In Tuamgraney on the last two bank holiday weekends, there were some houses that had no water all through Saturday and Sunday”’.

The councillors were discussing motions from Cllr Cooney and Cllr Pat Hayes asking what the council intends to do about water shortages which are affecting Tulla and Tuam- eraney.

In a written answer, senior execu- tive engineer, Sean Lenihan told Cllr Hayes that pumps serving Tulla were upgraded in April and it has been es- tablished that there are no significant oF CSE PO MS aCemD ACK 80F

But he added that in the event of wa- ter shortages this summer, it may be

necessary to restrict supply to some of the lower areas in order to boost the flow to areas on higher levels in the town.

The council will have to ask for the co-operation of residents in conserv- ing water and reducing how much they use if this happens, the engineer Sr RIOR

Problems with water supply in the Tuamgraney area would be im- proved when work goes ahead on the €392,000 sewerage and water scheme for Scariff before Christmas,

the members were told.

A further €190,000 has been made available for work on the water sys- tem in Tulla while Feakle will benefit to the tune of €105,000 for work on the water supply there.

Cllr Hayes said that at a recent meet- ing of residents in Tulla, the issue of water shortages were raised. “It was also raised in the context of future development. I would welcome this funding but we have to consider that an adequate water supply is vital to the future development of our towns.”

ACTIONS speak as loud as words for Cooraclare School of Speech and Drama with five of its students win- ning awards for performing from the Irish Board of Speech and Drama. Three students won gold medals and two senior students were given special awards with distinction for their achievements after completing their final grade examinations. Grade Four student Jenny Ryan from Kilrush and Grade Three stu- dents, Saoirse Griffin from Cappagh and Breda Quinn from Cooraclare

were awarded gold medals by the board while the other distinctions were given to Kate O’Gorman from Cree and Edel Tubridy from Coora- OE NKeor

Founder of the school, Bernie Tu- bridy, said that the examiner had congratulated all of the girls on the high standard.

“They all put in a lot of work get- ting ready for the exams. Different exams consist of recitation of po- etry, reading, mime and dramatic solos. The younger students would have given an impromptu talk about themselves as well.”

Ms Tubridy added that all of the school’s students, over twenty be- tween the ages of six and 16 years, also took part in an annual show.

“All of the children performed on the stage in Cooraclare Community Centre for parents in March and there was a variety of short plays, solos and poetry that night. They all take a great interest in it- especially on the drama side of things. We put a big emphasis on that and communi- cation skills of course.”

Since 1994, the school has had many graduates from its weekly classes perform in local drama pro-

ductions.

‘“Cooraclare has a strong dramatic tradition with well-known producer Tom McNamara organising plays for the Doonbeg Drama Festival. One of our award winners, Edel, played Molly in this year’s Cooraclare Dra- ma Group play –

IT’S not everyday you see young- sters aged between 10 and 12 years taking to the stage to tackle the very serious issues of illegal drugs and alcohol abuse.

But the kids who have been taking part in the Clarecare sex education, drug and alcohol awareness pro- gramme have taken the challenge on board in a play specially written for

aeKoeee

The 25 youngsters who took part in the eight week course at the Molua centre have formed a drama group to stage “Friendship” at the Kuin- cora Hall Hotel tomorrow night. (Wednesday, May 30).

This is the second year that the course has been run by childcare worker, Sinead Corbett.

“We wanted some way of showing the public what the children have

been doing on the course and this seemed a good idea,” said Sinead.

Drama therapist, Deirdre Clair came on board to pen the play for the youngsters around the themes which they had been exploring.

The result was a chance for the children from fifth and sixth class in the girls national school and the boys primary school to come together and stage the drama.

As well as exploring the themes

which they encountered on _ the course, it gave the children a chance to have fun and learn some stage craft into the bargain.

And after intensive rehearsals they’re ready to show the world what they can do.

Curtain up 1s at 7pm and tickets can be bought at the door.

Clarecare also run youth summer camps starting shortly and details of these are available from the centre.

A NATIONAL charity won’t be looking a gift horse in the mouth this June bank holiday weekend as a line of horse-drawn carriages makes a 150 mile journey to west Clare in a bid to raise money.

The unusual cavalcade, benefiting the Barretstown therapeutic recrea- tion programme, will saddle up in Kildare at 6am on Saturday, June 2 before travelling south.

Local volunteer Noreen O’Brien said that at least 20 carriages as well

as horse boxes and support staff from the Kildare Horse Driving Club will pass through Killaloe on Saturday afternoon before stopping in Inagh for the night.

“I got involved because my kids are into showjumping and we have friends in this club in Kildare. One of the organisers, Pat Commane, 1s originally from Miltown Malbay so that inspired a ‘Kildare to Clare’ trip. We are distributing lines locally and there will be buckets for dona- tions as they pass through.”

The cavalcade will leave Inagh at

midday on Sunday, June 3 arriving in Miltown Malbay an hour later and finishing in Quilty in the afternoon. There will be more fundraising that night in the Quilty Tavern with mu- sic and a raffle as the club try to pass the post for their €15,000 target.

Ms O’Brien added that the entire operation would be massive.

“The line itself is only one thing. They will have lorries with horse boxes because they will change to fresh horses every 10 miles, as well as a bus in front of them. Barrets- town is the only facility of its kind

in Ireland. It is like a summer camp for children recovering from serious illnesses so it’s a huge effort but for a very worthy cause.”

She said that anyone with their own carriage can join the line along the way but regretfully sulkies are ex- cluded because they are not covered by insurance.

It is hoped that the event will be successful enough to ride again next year.

To make a donation and support Barretstown, telephone Noreen on 065-7084708.

MOUNTSHANNON ands Scariff are in for a funding boost to help to- wards creating a playground for each area.

At a meeting of the Scariff area committee last week, local council- lors approved the equal division of the €83,000 in available funds under the Community Playground Grant Scheme between the two areas.

Members heard that committees in both east Clare areas have already put in considerable ground-work in terms of fundraising and both have secured sites where the facilities can be built.

Administrative Officer with the

council’s community and enterprise Section, Catherine O’ Hara, said that looking at population growth in both areas, “they both have a need of these facilities and they have already done a lot of fundraising and planning be- fore their applications came in”.

She told the meeting that a third ap- plication, which had previously been approved in Tulla for funding under the scheme, can’t progress at the mo- ment as the local committee have yet to find a site.

Councillor Colm Wiley suggested that the Tulla committee could be given extra time to come up with a site before the money allocated to WeJOOMKMRerrEse oem

Councillors queried whether it

would be more effective to give the entire sum to one of the areas and earmark next years funding for the Oo) ister

The members said they were con- cerned that both schemes would end up being half finished.

But Ms O’Hara said that as both committees already have sites, di- viding funds would be of benefit.

“The grants are not intended to cov- er the entire cost of providing these facilities. The residents committees still have to fundraise, take charge of the area when it is finished and come up with money every year for insur- ance and maintenance and while we can’t guarantee top up funding, they are free to come back and put in an-

other application in the future.”

Cllr Pat Hayes said that “both ar- eas could probably do with being al- located the full amount. They have both put together very impressive proposals”.

Senior Executive Engineer, Sean Lenihan, said that the cost of equip- ment for playgrounds is very high.

“One of those carousels, for in- Stance, costs €9,/00,” he said.

He added that council staff have spoken to both committees “and they are both ready to get started. This would give them the impetus to get on to the next stage.”

The councillors voted to allocate the money equally to both schemes in Mountshannon and Scariff.

CLARE farmers are being urged to attend an IFA Skillnet training workshop which takes place later this week at the Auburn Lodge Hotel in Ennis

The survey, which has been or- ganised by the newly appointed IFA Skillnet Network Manager and Clareman, Karl Skehan, will provide IFA members with the opportunity to get trained in completing the Farm Safety Code.

“Tax planning for succession 1s

very important, there were a number of tax issues which should be consid- ered when transferring assets such as the family farm,” said Clare IFA county chairman Seamus Murphy. “Any farmer making a will needs to clearly state the allocation of the Single Farm Payment in their wills that where the Single Farm Payment was not addressed in a will that it falls into the residue of the estate and were this to happen it may become inactive as there may be no land on which to activate the payment.” Meanwhile, IFA President Padraig

Walshe, launching the IFA Skillnet Safety Training Project in Dublin last week.

‘Already in 2007 there have been six farm deaths. These are great tragedies for the farm families con- cerned.

“The IFA Skillnet courses will as- sist farmers to manage their farms with safety and health to the fore, by completing the new Code of Prac- tice,” he said

IFA Skillnet is a member of a na- tional group of learning networks. These provide innovative, non-man-

datory training for a range of sectors. Skillnet organisations are funded by the National Training Fund operated by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment.

The workshop will take place from 10am 4pm at the Auburn Lodge Hotel, this Friday June 1. Places are limited and should be booked through the IFA Office in Limer- ick on 061-314196. There is a €50 charge per place for IFA members and €100 for non members. Lunch will be provided for all who attend the training event..