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FORMER Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who died yesterday (Mon- day) at the age of 76, visited Clare last year. He spent his time shark fishing off the west coast and had hoped to return again in the future.

The skipper who took care of Mr

Yeltsin during his trip to Clare last August has expressed sadness at the loss of a “great man”.

Ennisman Willie O’Callaghan said, “I was saddened to hear of Mr Yeltsin’s death. I met him for the first time in Liscannor last August and he left a major mark on me and the area. He was such a big man and a gentle

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“It was an honour to be asked and trusted to take care of Mr Yeltsin for the day. It 1s something I will never forget. We had hoped the he would return again someday, I am sure he wanted to. I know he thoroughly en- joyed his time in Clare and Liscan- nor. He was definitely a very happy

man during his time here.”

Mr O’Callaghan, who runs Lis- cannor-based O’Callaghan Angling Cruises, had the task of organising a day of fishing for Mr Yeltsin. He had to be sure that the visit remained se- cret. Security personnel checked the skipper’s 42ft angler cruiser, True Bitedeie

‘Tam sure they checked my creden- tials first to make sure we were up to the job. They were onto us to tell us what they needed for the trip and everything was in place when they arrived,” he said.

During his visit, Mr Yeltsin trav- elled to the Cliffs of Moher and en- joyed a day’s shark fishing off the Clare coast, breaking for lunch on Inis Oir, the smallest of the Aran Is- lands.

Mr Yeltsin’s previous visit to Clare in 1994 was far more memorable. He made international headlines after he left Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, two ministers, a guard of honour and an army band standing on the tarmac at Shannon Airport. Yeltsin had agreed to make a stopover at Shannon on his way back to Moscow from the Unit- ed States but, as it turned out, it was more like a sleepover.

Mr Yeltsin returned to Shannon Airport last August for the first time since that diplomatic gaffe over 12 years ago. The former President was whisked off amid tight security to the five-star Dromoland Castle where he stayed for three nights.

PUMPS which would help solve the drought being experienced by Killa- loe residents have yet to be hooked up because there are technical prob- lems with the power supply needed.

Local councillors were told that after years of difficultites in getting water suppies to either end of the town and to homes up Convent Hill, new pumps have been bought which would bring water as required.

But the positioning of the pumps

was incorrect for linking them up to the necessary power supply, Sean Lenihan of the council’s engineering department told Killaloe council- lors.

Cllr. Tony O’Brien expressed con- cern that there are “a number of new housing developments coming on-stream in Killaloe and we are brining them on without address- ing what is a major deficiency in our infrastructure. People living in the town have no water. It is incumbent on Clare Councty Council to supply

water and the council needs to pro- vide the pumps which were prom- ised in 2005”.

The engineer told councillors that it is “just a logistical problem with getting the electricity connected up. We have to take some responsibil- ity in that the location given to the ESB may have been slightly in error. They are looking at it and coming back to us”.

Meanwhile, the members of the Killaloe area council were told at a meeting last week that the authori-

ties are to look again at the timing of the traffic lights in Killaloe.

Councillors complained that there were massive tailbacks and delays over the May and Easter bank holli- day weekends.

Officials told the members that what is needed in the long run to solve the town’s traffic problems is for the new bridge to be built. The problem is the volume of traffic and at the lights, the number of move- ments that have to be catered for, councillors heard.

has learned.

This follows last week’s announce- ment of the sale of the family-owned business to the North South Pig Company, with the loss of between 40 and 60 jobs. A delegation from the IFA met with the Duffy family last week and confirmed that in ex- cess of €400,000 was still owed to farmers.

The factory has refused to issue any form of payment to farmers, even though they are currently still trad- bate

“Many of these pig producers are family-farm operators, who are reli- ant on this money to remain in busi- ness,’ said IFA pig committee chair- man, Michael Maguire, who called on the AIB to mediate with the Duffys on behalf of the farmers.

“The most alarming aspect for these farmers is that bank cheques have not been issued for three to four weeks, despite reassurances that they would.

“Considering the asset value of the plant and surrounding land is valued 71 He eos ONO B(O)e mmr Te(G Mm Hs (omme-Celmm Oer-lmmre| high percentage of these pig produc- ers are AIB customers, the onus is on AJB to bring about a satisfactory solution to this issue.”

Meanwhile, it is now believed that North South Pig Company will con- tinue to use the facility as a slaugh- terhouse but will discontinue all de- boning and other processing work.

This would mostly likely mean job losses in the region of 60 people, as opposed to the 80 jobs reported in the national media last week.

Dutffy’s was the first company in the Gort area to start employing Brazilian workers who immigrated from the town of Anapolis. It is also likely that the majority of job losses will come from the Brazilian com- munity.

Plant owner Sean Duffy began Gort’s connection with Brazil after a trip to South America some 10 years ago, when he brought back three skilled workers.

In recent years, the population of Gort has climbed to more than 2,400 people, including some 600 Brazil- TE DaWDOObSOUESS eeDOT ASE

TWO units of the fire brigade were called to assist the crew of a Health Service Executive ambulance in Clare in the early hours of Saturday morning after smoke began to blow from its engine.

The HSE has denied, however, that the safety of a patient travelling in the ambulance at the time was in any way compromised by the incident or that the ambulance was “burned out”’ as had been reported on local radio.

The incident occurred near Bunrat- ty at around 3.20am as the Limerick City-based ambulance was. trans-

porting a patient from Shannon to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick. The patient was not in any danger and the call was not an emergency.

According to a spokesperson for the Regional Fire Control Centre in Lim- erick, they received a call at 3.24am reporting a vehicle on fire on the in- bound lane of the Ennis to Limerick dual-carriageway near Bunratty.

Two units of the fire brigade from Shannon responded to the incident and were at the scene within min- utes. While originally reported as a vehicle on fire, no fire was found on arrival by the fire service.

The HSE has confirmed that one of its ambulances was involved in the incident but that safety of the patient or the two-person crew was never oyna one yeeb isle em

‘There was an oil leak in the engine and the oil splashed on to the engine manifold creating smoke.

‘The ambulance crew pulled over immediately and, in accordance with procedure, they notified the Regional Ambulance Control Centre in Lim- erick of the matter.”

A second ambulance was sent to the scene while the local fire brigade was also notified as a precaution.

The HSE spokesman also con-

firmed that there was no danger to the patient or the crew and that the patient was transported on to Lim- erick in a second ambulance a short time later.

“The ambulance crew remained with the patient at all times and a short time later that patient was transported to the Mid Western Re- gional Hospital in Limerick on board another ambulance.

‘There was no fire and the vehicle was not damaged.”

It had been reported on one radio station that the vehicle was burned out in the incident. However, the HSE denied this.

KILLALOE and O’Briensbridge are the next two areas in east Clare which will benefit from the local authority’s cash for playgrounds scheme.

Clare County Council has set aside ۤ3,000 for the two areas, both of which had applied for grant funding under the scheme.

A meeting of Killaloe area council- lors was told last week that the prob- lems which have dogged the grant- ing of planning permission for play facilities in Parteen and Meelick are Aledo Ob

Planners met with the developers to discuss concerns about public light- ing and other matters.

The councillors were told that both schemes can now move ahead and it’s expected that work should begin be- fore the end of June.

The meeting heard that proposed sites had been identified in both ar- eas. Area engineer, Sean Lenihan, said that there is “strong community support” behind each proposal, with a local group pushing for the facility.

Killaloe councillor, Tony O’Brien, said that the “two projects are com- mendable. It’s great to see _ that communities are willing to be- come involved and undertake these projects”.

Councillors were asked how they wanted the available money divided. Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald said that it

should be given equally to both com- munities.

But, he added, he would “like to see the planners meeting with the developers and getting it right from the start, unlike Meelick and Parteen and one and a half years on, there are still no playgrounds in these areas”.

Community and Enterprise Admin- istrative Officer, Catherine O’Hara, said that the local authority is en- couraging all community groups to ebgage in the pre-planning process.”

She added that the grant, while it assists communities to provide fa- cilities, “never covers the entire cost which is usually more in the region of €120,000. It’s just a contribution towards it”.

Cllr O’Brien asked that should one or other of the groups being unable to draw down the grant, because of something unforseen such as a site falling through, that the money should then go to the remaining eroup and not out of the area.

The planning stumbling blocks holding the Parteen and Meelick fa- cilities back were resolved last week at a meeting organised by local coun- cillor, Pascal Fitzgerald, between planners and members of the two Loy eaveenlAKoieky

Almost €500,000 a year is divided between six electoral areas in the county and nine playground develop- ments are due to be part funded this yeasr from the 2006 grants scheme.

LISDOONVARNA Failte is facing a race against time to secure €1.27 million in Government grant-aid funding towards the provision of a new theatre for the north Clare Ke e0k

Currently, Clare County Council is deciding on the group’s plans to restore the existing Park Pavilion building, which will accommodate a theatre and community uses.

“Grant funding of €1.27 million has been set aside for the realisation of this project. However, we are re-

quired to satisfy the Department of Tourism of the project’s feasibility by June 30,” said architect for the project, John O’Reilly, in a letter to the council.

“To achieve this, we would greatly appreciate the council’s efforts in progressing this application within the two-month decision date dead- line.” The work proposed involves the carrying out of works to a pro- tected structure or a proposed pro- Kee Kore MID MUCOLAU TKO

Mr O’Reilly said that the project was for theatre and community use for such events as the Lisdoonvarna

Matchmaking Festival and it would encourage tourism in an area zoned for tourism development in the Clare County Development Plan 2005.

The Department of Tourism states that Lisdoonvarna will have to pro- vide evidence of matching funding to enable completion of the project and to comply with all conditions set down by the council and the Office of Public Works (OPW).

The letter also states that the pro- moters will have to provide any addi- tional funding required to complete the project. The letter states, “If the above conditions are not met by June

30, the grant will be withdrawn.”

Independent councillor Martin Lafferty said last night that “the res- toration of the theatre will provide a valuable asset for Lisdoonvarna and itis being driven by chairman of Lis- doonvarna Failte, Joe Garrihy.

“The building itself has a rich his- tory. It has a huge hall and massive floorspace and should be of great use to the people in the local area.”

The original grant was made by former Heritage Minister, Sile de Valera. Lisdoonvarna Failte success- fully applied for an extension to the erant approval.

THE Diocese of Killaloe “has no 1m- mediate plans” to sell the lands oc- cupied by the Ennis residence of the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh.

A spokesman for the diocese said yesterday, “There are no immediate plans to sell Westbourne or the lands here. It is the Bishop’s residence and also accommodates the diocesan of- fice.”

The spokesman said that if the St Flannan’s (Killaloe) Diocesan Trust didn’t explore the possibilities with the land owned by the diocese, its members could be held in breach.

Last week, it emerged that the trust was seeking to have the eight acres of prime development land at Bishop Walsh’s Westbourne residence re-

zoned for mixed-use development to allow residential, commercial and retail activities take place at the site.

The surprise move would greatly increase the value of the lands and raise the prospects of shops and busi- nesses being developed on the site.

‘There are very onerous responsi- bilities attached to acting on behalf of the trust and I’m sure if these possi- bilities weren’t explored, there would be questions down the road from the Commission of Bequests and Dona- tions,” the spokesman added.

The planner’s response to the Church request pointed out that the site is an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) and that the residence, Westbourne House, is a protected Habel Abb Ken

The spokesman also confirmed that

the trust made a submission in rela- tion to all diocesan property in the greater Ennis area.

“Zoning of land has only come into force in recent years and we are ex- ploring what zonings should apply,’ he said.

The request to rezone lands at Dr Walsh’s residence is one of a series of applications by the Diocesan Trust in the Ennis area.

The trust also lobbied the council to rezone lands at Station Road in Ennis, the Maria Assumpta Hall, a scout hall and some space near the St Peter and Paul Cathedral.

The review of the Ennis and Envi- rons Development Plan is due to be discussed by members of Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council at their May meetings.

A GROUP of people living in a housing estate in Shannon have ac- cused their local Residents Associa- tion of failing to be democratic and has asked the town council to refuse to make grants available to it.

In a letter addressed to Shannon Town Council and signed by 21 Cro- nan residents, it 1s claimed that the Cronan Residents Association 1s not representative and does not hold public meetings.

Those who signed the letter stated that several people living in Cronan have endeavoured to join the com- mittee, but have been refused entry. They say that they have called for an AGM, on several occasions, but this

request was not granted.

“We would feel Cronan deserves a residents committee that engages with the issues in our area 1n a posi- tive manner,’ stated the letter.

“We can only assume that the com- mittee does not want other residents to have a say in their area,’ added the letter.

The letter also stated that the group has not produced financial state- ments. “It is not our aim to allege financial impropriety, but we believe that a Residents Association com- mittee should be seen to operate in an open and honest manner in all matters,’ it stated.

“We request that you refuse this committee, of the Cronan Residents Association, further funds or grants

until this committee submits a fi- nancial report to an Annual General Meeting of an open and accountable Cronan Residents Association,’ it added.

Following receipt of the letter, Shannon Town Clerk Tomas Mac Cormaic wrote to the Chairman of the Residents Association, Jim Duffy.

He has asked him to furnish the council with minutes of the AGM, showing that the officers have been democratically elected. He has also requested a financial statement which has been adopted by the members.

“It would also be helpful if the council could be informed of the method used to notify residents of the time and place of the general

meeting and if the council could be given a list of the members showing that the association is representative of the majority of residents in the Cronan estates,” said the town clerk, in the letter.

The Chairman of the Residents As- sociation Jim Duffy told

Wel Sree lia acwreuon oes (CoeKEo.¢olou ce enced its busiest week in many years with each of Clare’s seven fire sta- tions responding to a series of gorse, bog and forest fires over a wide area.

To the week ending April 20, fire crews responded to more than 30 gorse and forest fires across Clare spending. They spent almost 60 hours tackling the blazes over hun- dreds of acres.

The weekend rain brought a wel- come respite, helping to bring many

fires under control and extinguishing others. Fire crews hope continuing rain will prevent fires from restarting although it is feared that the worst of the gorse fire season 1s yet to come.

Units of the brigade from different stations were called to some of the fires.

The most severe took up to seven hours to bring under control. Less threatening fires were allowed burn out. The fires were at Kilmaley, Whitegate, Mountshannon, Kilfeno- ra, Broadford, Doonbeg and Mo- yasta.

Clare County Fire Service was un- able to confirm the actual causes of the fires in Clare.

It is thought that in some cases lo- cal farmers began to burn off gorse on their lands and these fires got out of control. However, the hot weath- er probably caused the majority of NB Kee

The fire authority has warned that burning of gorse on lands is prohib- ited between March | and August 31 each year. According to Clare Coun- ty Fire Service Chief Officer Adrian Kelly, “Landowners have a special

responsibility to preserve the coun- tryside, its landscape and its wildlife. They should take reasonable precau- tions to ensure that uncontrolled fires do not occur on their property be- tween March and September.”

Clare County Council’s fire author- ity has laid down very strict guide- lines. “Where farmers are burning scrub/vegetation, they must in all cases inform the fire service at least one day before burning, giving the location, time and duration of burn- ing,’ Chief Kelly said.

Speaking about the public involve-

ment in assisting to fight fires on lands, Adrian Kelly said, “While Coillte personnel and ourselves gen- erally work in groups, both to be more effective and also for safety es- pecially during dusk hours, members of the public that assist may not do deh

“They must also be co-ordinated. If members of the public/landown- ers are assisting Coillte/Fire Service, they should accompany these per- sonnel at all times to ensure proper co-ordination of resources to deal with these incidents.”

GARDAI have refused to comment on an allegation that a Liscannor man has been “punched, kicked and beaten” by members of the force on numerous occasions over the last six eaeyelaetsy

Niall Harnett, of Clare Shell to Sea, claimed to have been the vic-

tim of harassment by members of the Gardai since October 2006.

Mr Harnett, who has an address in St Bridget’s Well, is one of a number of Clare people currently protesting against the construction of a Shell pipeline in Bellanaboy, Mayo.

“IT have done nothing wrong, nor ever been accused of any offense of law at Bellanaboy. I have been

punched, kicked and beaten by gardai. I’ve been forcibly searched on the street against my will and I have had personal property stolen and destroyed by gardai.”

Mr Harnett was arrested, but later released uncharged, following an altercation with gardai last Monday, April 16.

“IT have also been under constant

surveillance by gardai who film me constantly and refuse to give legal reasons for this.

“T asked them to stop filming and they refused. I informed them that I would be taking immediate action to protect my fundamental human and constitutional rights by physically di- recting their video camera away from myself. As a result, I was arrested.”

A Garda spokesman declined to comment on the specifics of the case but said, “Within reason, we would always explain what we are doing but not always.

“I have no first-hand experience of the situation up there but, from what I can see, everyone already seems to filming everyone else anyway,” he SP ALGe