The Clare People Archive

EXPERIENCE has made way for youth, with two Clare young guns securing positions on the national political stage.

Fianna Fail’s Timmy Dooley, at 38 and Fine Gael’s Joe Carey, 31, were among the youngest TDs elected in last week’s general election.

Former poll topper James Breen (Ind) and veteran politician Sena- tor Brendan Daly (FF) were forced to reconsider their political futures,

having been defeated in the final ODEN aE

In contrast, the two young guns are anticipating their progression to the DEE

Deputy Dooley, who has spent the past five years in the Seanad, said he felt young people showed a great interest in politics in the run-up to the election and this translated into votes.

“Clare will be well represented in the younger stakes. We have to look at demographics in the county.

Joe and I will be able to look after a young County Clare. No doubt we both benefited from the young vote,” he said.

Fine Gael’s newest TD in Clare, Joe Carey 1s not going to be overawed by the presence of older, more experi- enced members of the Dail.

“Tis a young man’s or woman’s game now. I will bring a new energy, enthusiasm and vigour as anew TD,” he said.

He said he will be sad to vacate his seat on Clare County Council, after

eight years.

“T have great friends in the council. I got great support from councillors in the chamber. I will be sad to let it go, but I have progressed politically,” he said.

Mr Dooley believes that Clare is in with a healthy chance of getting a senior ministerial post, despite not securing a third Fianna Fail seat in the county.

“We haven’t the three but Tony Killeen has done a very good job in the Department of Labour. It would

be no harm to freshen up the Cabi- net with someone like Tony. We need somebody in the mid-west to west.

“It was disappointing we didn’t take the third (seat), but you’ve got to take ability into account too,” he said. Speaking shortly after his elec- tion on Friday, his party colleague Tony Killeen said, “Our situation in the county would be a lot better ob- viously if we had three candidates. I think the judgement made nationally about the performance of Fianna Fail in Clare won’t be positive.”

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.

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.

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.”

PARENTS often wish that they could have a fly-on-the-wall view of what goes on at their children’s childcare facility during the day.

Last week in Lough Graney, mums and dads of existing and future charges at the Lough Graney Kids Corner community créche got a chance to do just that.

Having recently celebrated their of- ficial opening, the creche committee organised an open-day for families of children already in the creche and those considering sending their youngsters there.

“We have an open door policy and it was good to let the parents see the activity oriented approach we have,’

said said Kathleen McNamara, Sec- retary of the childcare committee.

The childcare and after-schools fa- cility was purpose built after sucess- fully securing a building grant of €1 million and a further €94,000 for equipment.

The affordable community facil- ity started life in the national school, where it began as a playschool in a spare room.

“We applied for and got a staffing grant, which meant we were able to expand to pre-school and after school care. That grant was a major cog in the wheel. It gave us the opening to keep going forward,” said kathleen.

Now the facility operates out of a state-of-the art purpose built home at the back of the school, with fifty

children being catered for.

The structure is child-friendly, tim- ber framed with underfloor heating and wood floors for little feet.

The ethos of Kids Corner is not just to babysit the youngsters who come there during the day and after school, but to make the time spent there stimulating, fun and child-friendly.

“We are very activity oriented. While we do homework with the children, we also have people come in to do activities like gymnastics and crafts. We do a cookery class for children which is very popular,” said Kathleen.

The purpose built facility is also a boone to the local community, with regular activities such as the senior citizens’ yoga.

“When older people come here for a class, they get to mix with the chil- dren,’ said Kathleen.

The staff even offer a Summer camp and a room which can host birthday ey Nab lone

“The open day was a chance for people to come in and see for them- selves what we do here. That’s im- portant for parents who are bringing their children here,” said Kathleen.

Built by local builder, Michael Mc- Mahon to a design by architect, Peter Sheils, the childcare centre is shortly to have it’s own website.

THE actions of a Clare man who lit a fire in the toilets of a Limer- ick nightclub could have had cata- strophic consequences, a judge has SrBLOR

Mark O’Donnell (21), Ross, Feak- le, was jailed for six months at Lim- erick District Court last week, after pleading guilty to causing criminal damage at the Trinity Rooms night- club, on September 22, 2006.

The court heard that Mr

O’Donnell, who had no previous convictions, was caught on CCTV footage setting fire to a toilet roll in the men’s toilets of the club.

Garda Diane McCauley told the court that €750 damage was caused to doors, walls and tiles in the toilets.

The court also heard that the nightclub was forced to stop admit- ting people after the fire because of toxic fumes.

This, according to the club’s man- agement, resulted in a loss of earn-

ings of €1,000.

Defence solicitor John Herbert said there was no “rational expla- nation” for his client’s actions and insisted he had not gone out with the intention of causing harm.

Mr O’Donnell he explained had lit a piece of toilet paper and thrown it away, thinking it had gone out.

‘There is no explanation for what he was doing but he is extremely contrite,” he said.

Mr Herbert said his client, who works as a JCB driver, was a “per-

fectly normal young man”.

He said Mr O’Donnell was very aware that the actual consequences of his actions could have been very serious and added that the “enor- mity of the event has overwhelmed abheeae

Judge Tom O’Donnell said it was “extremely shocking” that a fire had been started in this fashion and said it could have been catastroph- ic, if it had not been dealt with quickly. Judge O’Donnell jailed Mr O’Donnell for six months.

A YOUNG man who was found witha knife in the sole of his runner claimed he carried it for his own protection. Leonard Keating (18), of Brook Av- enue, Togher, Cork, was found with a Stanley blade knife in the sole of his runner, at O’Connell Street, Ennis, on

December 16 last.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told Ennis District Court the accused told gardai it was for his own protection.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy said, “pos- session of knives is a very serious matter”.

Defending solicitor John Casey said his client currently works in a retail

outlet and hopes to study radio broad- casting in the future.

The judge asked, “Why does he need knives?”

The solicitor said his client has “*be- come a source for a certain individual in Cork. This individual has made his life an absolute misery”.

“He says he is terrified of this in-

dividual. He didn’t actually know he had it,” said the solicitor.

The judge replied, “It was in his runner. That beggars belief.”

Mr Casey said his client was “a nervous individual” and was in Ennis to get away from the other man.

The judge said he would adjourn the case to see how the accused behaves.

TALK of internal dirty tricks have left a slight cloud over the celebra- tions of Clare Fine Gael this week- NOR

With no specifics given, the 1s- sue became apparent late on Friday evening at the count centre in the West County Hotel.

During her interview with local ra- dio station Clare FM shortly after her arrival Fine Gael candidate Council- lor Madeline Taylor-Quinn alluded to all not been well among the Fine Gael candidates.

She poignantly paid tribute to her county council colleagues, candi-

dates Tony Mulcahy and Joe Carey.

Later in the interview when asked if there was a dirty tricks campaign, the seasoned politician said, “No doubt there was an element at certain levels, but it is not the place to go into it now.”

She refused to be drawn on the issue later in the night and again yesterday (Monday), but she did not retract her accusations. The former TD refused to be drawn any further on the issue.

Re-elected TD Pat Breen was ada- mant that his party colleague was not referring to him.

When he arrived in the West Coun- ty, he told waiting reporters that he had fought a clean campaign.

“I don’t know what Madeleine was on about. I don’t think it was me,” he Said.

Four candidates running in the four-seater Clare constituency had caused inter-party difficulty from the SFB

Both Deputy Breen and Cllr Tony Mulcahy had been selected at con- vention last May, with Cllr Taylor- Quinn and Joe Carey added by head- quarters at a later stage.

Deputy Breen publicly opposed the strategy, but he had to admit that the it worked when he was returned with running mate Joe Carey.

“My view was that a two or three candidate strategy was the best thing

to win two seats. My task always was to get two seats for the party and on this occasion the four-candidate strategy has worked well, because independent candidate James Breen lost so many votes.

“It’s astonishing that someone could lose over half of his first pref- erence vote. It goes to show you that no seat is safe.”

When asked how the strategy im- pacted on her election result, Cllr Taylor-Quinn said, “With four candi- dates one knew that the vote would be divided up.”

She said she was happy however that the party had increased its vote in Clare by 11 per cent.

A PUBLIC meeting was staged last night in the coastal resort of Lahinch in a bid to stiffen opposition against a five-storey apartment complex planned for the promenade. Currently, Clare County Council is evaluating plans by developer, Sea- mus Carroll for the €3 million com- plex that involves the demolition of the existing McDonald’s amusement arcade and construction of a five story building, including 20 apart-

ments, 18 duplex units, six ground floor retail units and underground car-parking.

However, chairman of Lahi- nch Community Council, Donogh O’Loghlin claimed yesterday that Opposition against the plan was erowing.

“The proposal resembles those apartment blocks from the former Soviet eastern bloc. It would be ab- solute madness if this was allowed to proceed and I hope that the coun- cil displays some sense and decides

to refuse planning permission,’ he SP HLG

Mr O’Loghlin confirmed that the four newly elected TDs had agreed to attend the meeting.

“What is planned is absolutely hor- rendous. It will dominate the skyline. It is around the same height as the Spinnaker building alongside it. We don’t want another eyesore in Lahi- nch,” he said.

In a fresh submission on their be- half, Eric, Mary and Isobel McDon- ald have expressed concerns over the

Ke) (em

The submission states, “The upper floors of the development have been reconfigured such that there will be substantial overlooking of my clients’ private apartment at the first floor of their property.

“This will result in loss of amen- ity of their existing residence and also affect the development potential of the property in the future due to the establishment of rights to light. . . furthermore, the nature of their arcade business makes them vulner-

able to break-ins, and the provision of windows at first floor level could facilitate illegal access to their prop- aaa

In a separate submission, Tom O’Hanlon stated that the proposed development would overlook and overshadow the surrounding build- ings to the detriment of these build- These

He said, “I would like to say that Lahinch does not need further holi- day home units that are locked up for eight to ten months of the year.”

PLANS for a €10 million windfarm seven kilometres from the east Clare villages of Tulla and Feakle have come under fire from local residents.

Last month, plans were lodged by Ventus Energy to develop eight tur- bines to supply electricity to 22,000 |aXeyaatercy

As part of the plan, the developers wish to remove 425 acres of forest plantation.

But in a strident appeal, residents say that the turbines proposed for the

site “are next generation machines optimised for off-shore use”’.

They state, ““As far as we are aware, there are no onshore wind turbines of comparable size operating anywhere in Ireland. The blade span is 93m or nearly twice as large as the turbines at Derrybrien for instance.

“The maximum blade tip height 1s 127m. The turbine tips will exceed the summit of Maghera mountain.”

The residents point out, “The pro- posed site is in a ‘preferred area’ for windfarms specified in the East Clare Development Plan. This is because

of its upland location and sparse hu- man habitation.

“However, the site is also desig- nated as a ‘vulnerable’ or sensitive landscape. Not all preferred areas for windfarms in Clare have this dual designation. Indeed, ECDP shows preferred areas nearby which do not have a vulnerable landscape designa- tion.”

ftom rons (eCcoe acum ontcaeUetcd elm aston eles landscape in close proximity to the proposed windfarm, close by to Lough Ea, which the residents state “is associated with Biddy Early in

local folklore. It is a uniquely Irish place and frequently visited by walk- ers, anglers, birders and the contem- tek ome

They say that the scale of the devel- opment would “represent a profane intrusion into this serene and private landscape.”

“The turbines will be visible form huge tracts of Clare and even Galway and Tipperary…

“Despite its huge visual impact, the power output of this development is very modest. With a rated capacity of 24 MW, the development will con-

tribute only OMW on average.

“The trend in responsible wind industry is towards larger off-shore installations. The project proposed by Ventus Energy has only seven per cent of this capacity, but may well come at a much higher cost in terms of our landscape heritage.

“The wind power developer has a strong financial incentive to employ larger turbines on higher ground. Unfortunately, both of these aspects are detrimental to the long-term in- terests of residents and visitors of County Clare.”