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WHEN Gerry Sweeney left the pier in New Quay early JETS MA WV(crebslonree-himmaeleu sper reamm el tle did he know that he was about to face into the ordeal of his life.

Gerry had spent the early hours of Wednesday morning laying keep tanks and, as the weather began to worsen, he moved his boat to the Flaggy Shore. As he laid his final tank he lost his footing and plunged into the freezing water. Fail- ing to get back on deck, he had no choice but to hold on as the tide swept the boat out to sea.

“T had no choice but to hold on to the boat, take shelter from the weather and hope that it would drift out towards Deer Island,” he said.

As the boat drifted farther out to sea it became clear to Gerry that the boat would not reach Deer Island. He had no choice, he had to swim.

‘The hardest part was hold- ing on for the last 20 minutes. Leaving the boat I was fairly weak, I just decided to give it one last push.”

After making it to Deer Is- land, Gerry knew he had to find some shelter before the

storm worsened. Too weak to stand, he crawled to the top of Neo EDITOR

“When I got on to the island it was blowing force seven. I knew there was a mound of rocks on the top of the island. I had to get some shelter,’ he said.

Returning home after 10 pm, Gerry’s wife Martina knew that something was wrong.

COMA ACCU MANE KBE 0 MEO) the hob and that was unusual. I drove down to the pier and raised the alarm,” she said.

“It was a ferocious night,” said Gerry. “I knew that there were people out looking for me. They were risking every- thing by going out there.”

In force nine winds the Aran Galway Life Boat joined the search but it was the Shannon coast guard helicopter which finally spotted the stranded and weak fisherman.

“The first two times they flew over me,’ he said. “I put my life jacket back on so that they might see that.”

Visibility was so poor that the rescue teams could not even see the island and used the light of his life jacket to navigate. Just after 2 am, Ger-

ry was winched into the heli- copter and flown to safety. As he winged his way to Shan- non, the rescue teams joined

his family to celebrate.

“T would like to thank the Valentia coast guard, life boats from Galway and Aran,

the Doolin Coast Guard, the Shannon Helicopter crew and eround staff and all the locals who lent their support,” he

said. “They all came regard- less of the weather.”

SOME 300 delegates from all over Ireland and Europe will descend on Ennistymon later this month for the 17th annual SET eM Kees Oencouoleer

The conference, which is or- ganised by the Clare Tourism Council in conjunction with Clare County Council, takes place in the Fall’s Hotel from November 24 to the 26.

The conference, which will be chaired by north Clare County Councillor, Flan Garvey, is the only one of its kind in the Republic and of- fers interested parties the op- portunity to come along, plan and discuss how tourism can be developed and marketed in Ireland. This year’s con- ference will focus on quality and value for money in Irish tourism and is entitled *Posi- tioning Tourism – Quality or Price?’ “Everyone who talks about tourism in Ireland at the moment the first thing the mention is the price. Some

will say it’s too high and some will say it’s good value but value for money is a big thing,” said Paddy Maher of the Clare Tourism Council.

“One major thing is the idea of over regulation that we have here in Ireland. We will be discussing whether things gave gone over board com- pletely or whither we on track 2 UO0 NON Smee

The conference will open on Thursday evening with a spe- cial presentation for the win- ners of this years tidy towns competition.

After winning the national title, Ennis will be the central attraction for this but Ruan will also receive an award for being the most improved vil- lage in the county this year.

The main business of the

conference will begin on Sat- urday when the lectures will commence. Topics include; Tourism as an Economic Generator, Tourism and the Environment and Compet- ing through People. After the lectures the floor will be open to a question and answers ses- sion for all the delegates.

The Clare Tourist Council organised its first national

tourism conference in 1989. This two day event took place in the West County Hotel in Ennis and was called ‘The Tourism Explosion – Implica- tions for Ireland’.

Atl MERCO)INKoneICcmEEENCOMmE IETS foundations for future the conferences and over the years they began to attract more and more people from a wider spread of locations.

The annual conference has grown so much that not only does it help inform local peo- ple about best tourism practic- es, it also has become a valu- able revenue for the area with some 300 delegates and their families offering a boost to north Clare in the off season.

“The conference has been based in Ennistymon for the last number of years and we are very happy with the facili- ties on offer there,’ continued Mr Maher. It has a direct ef- fect on tourism in the area and could contribute as-much- as €250,000 over the three or Ane

ONE of Ennis’ oldest institutions will close its doors for the last time tomorrow.

The ESB Store in Carmody Street closes on Wednesday after over 40 years in business. Since the mid six- ties the store operated as a retail out- let for electrical goods and provided a bill paying service for customers.

Speaking on Monday in an empty store, staff were sad to be saying farewell to the shop.

“I feel sad really as it is the end of an era. It was a good place to work. There was camaraderie among the staff,’ said Marian Barry, who has worked there for over 30 years.

Last March ESB announced that it had sold the retail division of the company to the Bank of Scotland

(Ireland) (BSOI) for €120 million, resulting in the closure of all its out- lets nationwide.

A shrinking market share and in- creased competition from national and international retailers were the reasons given by management.

BSOT have also acquired the ESB’S retail loan book, which means that customers who had deferred pay- ments on electrical appliances can

make their repayments to BSOI while customers can now pay their electrical bills at An Post branches. Under the deal, ESB staff were given the option of working with BSOI.

The store currently employs five people and while some staff mem- bers have decided to avail of the opportunity others will continue to carry on working with the ESB at their offices in Station Road.

HEALTH services in the Mid-West have de- scribed the “poor” hygiene findings in the re- gion’s hospitals as “a wake-up call” for every- body working in the hospital service.

In the first ever national acute hospitals hy- giene audit, undertaken by Desford Consultan- cy Limited on behalf of the National Hospitals Office, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis, received a rating of 68 per cent, with the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, re- TORY Data On Ooo) 81m

The HSE Mid-West region said it fully ac- cepted the findings of the report and would immediately intensify efforts to make hospital staff of all grades more hygiene-conscious.

Among the audit’s suggestions to combat hygiene problems are training of staff in hand hygiene, basic cleaning techniques and the use

of cleaning chemicals and dilution rates.

Patient groups across the country have been calling for stricter hygiene regulations in hos- pitals for over a year in an attempt to control the antibiotic resident MRSA virus, which is rampant in hospitals.

Acute Hospitals network manager for the Mid-West, Mr John O’Brien, said, “We have to put our hands up and say that the results are disappointing and, clearly, we are going to have KoMClOMoloiiKompeMAUIAUD use

“On the positive side, Croom and St John’s received a ‘fair’ rating and Ennis, Nenagh and the Regional Maternity, while being classed as ‘poor’, were close to achieving ‘fair’ rat- ings. Our objective now is to ensure that all our acute hospitals are categorised as ‘good’ next time out.”

He continued, “We have to acknowledge, however, that the performance of the Mid-

Western Regional Hospital, Dooradoyle, was particularly disappointing, and that action must be taken to remedy the deficiencies identified by the auditor, particularly in surgical, medical and ICU. I will be taking immediate steps to prepare an action plan to address the findings of the audit.”

Dr Nuala O’Connell, consultant microbiol- ogist at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick said, “Considering the amount of ex- penditure in terms of resources and effort, the results give no room for complacency. We have to go back to the drawing board over the next few weeks and get everybody on board so we can do better.

‘Hygiene is the business of every single per- son working in our hospitals and it is also the business of patients and the public. All of us must work together to achieve a behavioural and cultural shift.”

THE Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has complained to the Department of Transport over the “aggressive campaign” being pursued to persuade over 500 workers at Shannon Air- port to accept redundancy.

The workforce at Shannon have until Wednes- day of next week to express interest in a redun- dancy package being put forward by the Dub- lin Airport Authority’s Director for Change, John Horgan. In a “survival plan”, Mr Horgan warned that Shannon’s underlying financial sit- uation is untenable, forecasting that the airport will have accumulated losses of €137 million by 2014 if immediate action is not taken.

However, in a letter to the Department’s As- sistant Secretary, John Murphy, from ICTU’s Industrial Officer, Liam Berney, Mr Horgan is accused of “pursuing an aggressive campaign which seeks to pressurise workers into accept- ing redundancy, while at the same time out- sourcing most of the work currently being done by direct employees of Shannon Airport.

“T cannot overstate the difficulties his actions have caused for the unions at Shannon and the wider union movement. Similarities have been drawn between the actions of Mr Horgan on behalf of a state-owned company and that of Irish Ferries management.

“There can be little doubt that his actions fly in the face of commitments given to Congress

by Government generally, by the Taoiseach in particular and the understanding reached as part of Sustaining Progress in relation to Pub- lic Enterprise.”

The letter continued, “It beholds the DAA to refocus negotiations and seek, in partner- ship with employees and their representatives, agreed restructuring. At an early stage, it was made clear to Mr Horgan that while the unions would be willing to have constructive dialogue on the cost base at Shannon, this was predicat- ed on the completion of a detailed analysis of the financial position, within the context that outsourcing of work was not an option.

“The financial position of Shannon is almost complete and the unions will be ready shortly

to engage in dialogue about any cost inefficien- cies. Concern was expressed during the course of the meeting about the future of the bilateral agreement with the United States. There is no doubt that this has provided a strong source of income for Shannon which in turn has sustained employment in the airport and Mid-West, and contributed to balanced regional development.

“While we note your frank assessment of the progress of negotiations between the European Commission and the US and the bilateral dis- cussions between Ireland and the US, careful consideration needs to be given of the possible grave implications for Shannon which may arise if the current arrangements cease, particularly in planning for the future of the airport.”

THREE young men who assaulted a man after he refused to give one of them a ciga- rette, have been remanded in custody for a week at Ennis Circuit Court.

Ryan Haran (21), of Lahinch Road, En- nistymon; David King (20), Doora, Ennis and Noel Mullane (23), of Ardnaculla, En- nistymon; each pleaded guilty to a number of offences, arising out of an incident at Teach Ceol, Deerpark, Ennistymon, on June 13, 2004.

Sgt Michael Gallery told the court the in-

jured party Sean O’Flaherty (33), was stand- ing at O’Brien’s Corner in the early hours of the morning, when he was approached by Noel Mullane. He was asked for a cigarette and he obliged but when asked for a second cigarette he refused. He was punched in the nose.

Some time later, as he walked up Church Street, he was grabbed by a number of men and brought to the grounds of Teach Ceol. He was kicked, thrown on the ground and punched. His shirt was ripped open and his trousers was cut. The hairs on his chest were singed by a cigarette lighter, he was cut on

the face and leg and was called names.

His pockets were searched and his wallet, which contained money, a bank card and credit card, was stolen.

The three accused men were seen around this time by a garda in a boisterous mood and under the influence of some form of in- toxicant.

There was evidence of loose gravel and loose change on the ground, where the in- cident occurred.

The injured party suffered trauma and shock but has since recovered and has moved to another county.

The court was told the three were unem- ployed at the time of this incident.

Judge Carroll Moran said he would ad- journ the case for a week and remanded the three in custody.

‘This is a very bad assault committed by three people very badly out of control. I know they pleaded guilty .. . but they in- flicted appalling injuries. He [the injured party] was kicked, thrown on the ground and kicked in the ribs.

“It’s about as bad as you’d get and it seems there was no motive,’ said Judge Moran.

AN EAST Clare woman suffering from the chronic fatigue syndrome ME has suffered a major setback in preventing her house being demol- ished.

An Bord Pleanala has refused permission to Denise Mitchell of Aughinish, Ogonnelloe to retain the demountable house she erected without planning permission.

Clare County Council has served enforcement proceedings on Ms Mitchell, and the local authority can now request her to restore the site to

its original condition.

Ms Mitchell did not inform the council of her medical condition, but in a supporting letter to An Bord Pleanala, Dr Genevieve McGuire of the Scariff Medical Centre said, “This lady is suffering from myal- gic enphelopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome.

‘She tells me that she is hyper- sensitive to all forms of chemical pollution and, for this reason, has chosen to live in the relatively clean atmosphere of Aughinish, Ogonel- loe, Co. Clare.”

The board inspector “reluctantly”

recommended that planning permis- sion be refused. He stated that there was “no argument that the proposed development is obtrusive or impact- ing negatively on amenities. I con- sider it to be benign in impact with regard to the visual amenities of the area’.

However, the board ruled that the site of the proposed development was located in the vulnerable lake shore environs of Lough Derg, in an area identified in the Clare County Development Plan 2005 as under pressure from urban generated de- velopment.

“Tt is the policy of the planning authority, as set out in the Develop- ment Plan, to limit new residential development in this rural area to serve the permanent housing needs of local rural persons,” the inspec- tor continued.

“Tt is considered that the applicant does not come within the housing need criteria of the planning author- AA

The appeals board also ruled that “the proposed development would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard, because access to the site 1s by way of a poorly surfaced,

substandard, narrow lane, which is unsuitable to serve additional hous- ing development”.

Councillor Brian Meaney (GP) said this week that he was disap- pointed for Ms Mitchell, but added, “The law is the law and changes should be made to the planning acts to deal with situations like this, though that would prove quite dif- Cove

“Enforcement has been generally haphazard and because you have a medical condition shouldn’t grant you a licence to breach planning Wise

A KILLALOE man has lashed out at a situa- tion wherein he would have to make a 30 mile round-trip to drop off sick certs in the the event of a postal strike.

With the strike looming last week, the De- partment of Social and Family Affairs wrote to Tom Clifford, telling him that he would have to drop his sick certs to the nearest department office.

‘“That’s in Limerick — a 30 mile round trip for me’’, said ‘Tom.

While the Killaloe man was stunned to hear that a trip to Limerick City was the only way

he could send his cert in, he was even more shocked to learn that to collect any money, he would have to “go to my nearest welfare of- ficer on the day after I would normally be paid. I’m supposed to be paid on Friday but the wel- fare officer only sits in Killaloe for a couple of hours mid-week”.

And while some recipients of disability ben- efit might be able to have payments made di- rectly into their bank accounts, Tom says this is not an option for him or the many others who have building society accounts.

“Tt can take up to 11 days for money to clear with the building society and the department

won’t pay into credit union accounts,” he said.

“It’s the usual story — a Dublin department thinks nothing exists outside The Pale. There’s no thought about how something like this af- fects people in other areas.”

There were delays following yesterday’s strike action, which went ahead as it was too late to inform Communications Worker Union members that pledges had been given.

The action was taken on foot of the com- pany’s refusal to implement the full terms of Sustaining Progress to the union’s 8,500 mem- leo uce

Having suffered heavy losses for several

years prior to 2004, it pleaded inability to pay the terms of the national agreement.

While workers did get a five per cent increase in January as recommended by independent as- sessors, they have been due to receive a cumu- lative total of more than 13 per cent. Another contentious issue 1s company plans to imple- ment major changes in its operations.

On Sunday night, the national Implementa- tion Body persuaded An Post chief executive, Donal Curtin, to back off from his refusal to have an independent assessment of the cost- ings on which the Labour Court had previously based a peace formula.

THE drive along the Clare coastline from The Cliffs of Moher to Bally- vaughan recently featured in the Sun- day Times top ten scenic drives in the world — little wonder then that prop- erty capitalising on the views along this dramatic stretch achieve top dol- lar prices.

Brand new on the market this week

is a detached house at Fanore, stand- ing on an elevated half-acre site. The uninterrupted views of the Aran Is- lands, Galway Bay and the stunning mountain scenery in Connemara can all be savoured from its ground floor reception rooms.

Priced at €600,000, the property is on the books with Open Door Prop- erties Ennistymon and selling agent Aine Hussey 1s expecting strong in-

terest from the holiday home market in this property.

The beauty of this house is that it isn’t remote, as it’s only a walk to the amenities at Fanore village. The developer is currently adding the fi- nal touches to the house, which will be finished to a top quality, turnkey standard. It will be sold with a mod- ern fitted kitchen including appli- ances, while the reception rooms will

have high quality wooden floors, and the family bathroom and the ensuite bathrooms will all be fully tiled.

The accommodation comprises four double bedrooms, all of which are en- suite. A very large open plan kitchen cum dining and living room, and a tasteful conservatory with cathedral style windows. There is also a utility room and a guest WC.

Aine Hussey expects strong interest

in the property not only from within the county but also from potential buyers in Dublin, Galway and Limer- ick. “It will appeal to those who want a holiday home close to a beach, with unbeatable views and importantly a new house, fully finished to a high standard, so they don’t have any of the hassle normally associated with house building themselves.

For full details contact 065 707283.

THE BROADFORD man whose body was found washed up on the shore at Doolin had just begun a new life in the home which he built with his fiancée.

31-year-old Mick Doran moved a cou- ple of weeks ago into the house which the couple had built on a site overlooking sce- nic Lough Doon, in Ballykelly, Broadford. Yesterday, saddened neighbours in Broad- ford offered prayers at a special evening Mass which local priest, Fr John Bane, said for the tragic man and his family.

Mick got engaged to his fiancee, Kit, last Christmas and together they had planned their new home in East Clare. His body was found washed up at Tra Leathan yesterday morning, one week after he and two friends from Tulla and Ennis went missing.

The body of Ennis man, Martin Grif- fin (24) was recovered off the same beach last Tuesday but the search for Joseph O’Callaghan (34) from Tulla continues.

All three had been socialising in Doolin the night before the tragedy, in which their jeep plunged off the cliff face.

A friend of the young carpenter described him as “a real character. He was a hoot – just larger than life. This is a terrible thing to have happened.”

Described as “‘an absolute master crafts- man,’ by his boss, John O’ Donovan, Mick was working on the restoration of Cool- reagh House at the East Clare Golf Club in Bodyke.

“He was a lovely fellah, as amiable a chap as you would meet,” said John. “He was a very hard worker and he is a huge loss to us in every sense – irreplaceable.”

Building work on the house and on a new golf village project at the club has stopped since the tragedy and will remain at a standstill for the rest of the week as a mark of respect. Many of the three men’s work colleagues joined the search parties combing the coast at Dollin in recent days. Residents of Tulla as well as friends and members of the O’Callaghan family also joined the search parties, as did people from Broadford.

Born in Waterford, which was his fa- ther’s native place, Mick lived for some time in England. His family moved back to his mother’s home town of Ennis after the death of his father at an early age.

He is survived by his fiancee, his mother, Anna , older brother Mark and sister, Ann- Marie. It is understood that the funeral will take place in Ennis.