The Clare People Archive

“THIS is like their Christmas in many ways because many of them don’t have families and would not be looking forward to Christmas Day.”

These are the words of Community Mental Health Nurse, Breda Latham, as she oversees the final dress rehearsal of participants in the concert being staged by mental health support network ‘Embrace’ in Glór on Wednesday, December 20.

“I hope that people come along and support it. That would be most important thing is that people would support it,” she said.

The concert will showcase talented performers who have been working with Embrace, most of whom are new to the stage. They will perform some original work including song and music.

“One in four people suffer mental health difficulties at one time in their life. Music, dance, poetry, story telling and painting allows our creative side to get in touch with ourselves. Building self-worth and self-esteem is all part of recovery and good mental health and it takes great courage to perform in front of a live audience,” Ms Latham explained.

“It is the first ever concert for many involved. It has been very scary and there have been a lot of ups and downs,” she said.

The launch of ‘Laughing Through Depression’, a book of jokes by Aidan Hastings and ‘Send me your Love’ a CD by Anthony Smith will take place on the night.

Mr Hastings will be accompanied on stage by two of his children, Geraldine and James, while his daughter, Claire will be selling the books.

“The hope is that the night will raise a good few pounds for people with disability. My book ‘Laughing Through Depression’ is ideal for The concert starts at 8pm tomorrow adults and kids as it is book full of (Wednesday) at Glor. clean jokes,” he said.

“We will have a good laugh on the night. There will be a lot of fun, a lot of old songs. It is therapeutic for the performers too. It gives us a lift and it is nice to be known that you’re wanted, it is a nice feeling”, he added.

THE PARENTS’ council of Seamount College, faced with the threatened closure of their children’s school, have come up with facts and figures supporting their case that the school should be given a reprieve.

The parents carried out an extensive analysis of the second level educational needs in the Kinvara area and, a spokesman said, their conclusion “is that to lose Seamount College, a quality school with an existing educational infrastructure, will be a catastrophe not just for the community but also for the wider area”. Meanwhile, the school principal is understood to have made an appeal to the trustees, the Sisters of Mercy, not to close the doors.

The analysis carried out by the parents included looking at the latest Census results which confirm the strong population growth in the area.

They also took into consideration existing and future planning permission. “Permission has been granted for 1,216 dwellings within six miles of Seamount College in the last five years and there is enough High Density Residential Zoned Land within 1km of Seamount for another 1200 houses.

“Already within the primary schools of the area, before any of these new houses are built, there are over 450 children that will require education over the next few years,” the spokesman said.

“Neighbouring schools in Oranmore and Gort are at, or near, capacity. We believe that there is a moral and political imperative that we in Kinvara and its environs are afforded the same opportunity that other communities have enjoyed – to move from a single sex school to a modern mixed model to cater for all the children of the catchment. The answer to our educational requirements is not to bus our 500 children out of our catchment across catchment borders to neighbouring schools that are already at or near capacity,” the spokesman said.

The parents say that if the government’s National Spatial Strategy is promoting growth of the N18 GalwayLimerick corridor as a counterweight to Dublin, “why allow the educational infrastructure to be dismantled? Particularly in an area that rapid growth has already started”.

In support of the argument for the school, parents also point to the fact that population growth in the area was 38 per cent over the last four years. In the Kinvara catchment area alone there will be 500 children requiring secondary education by 2010.

“If you add in the three schools that have a strong tradition of attending Seamount College that number rises to 700 children,” the spokesman said.

THERE has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases of Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis in the western region, including Co Clare.

Overall figures for HSE West however – an area that encompasses the old Western, Mid-Western and North-western regions – saw a reduction in the number of STIs reported last year, down 16.4 per cent to 2,721. Drops were reported in ano-genital warts down 18 per cent to 1,040, non-specific urethritis down 46.7 per cent to 626 and herpes down 7 per cent to 91.

While the overall number of STIs may have decreased health experts believe that the observed decline could be masking an underlying trend that continues to rise.

There has been a dramatic increase in reported Chlamydia up more than 30 per cent to 817; gonorrhoea was up 34.2 per cent to 51 and syphilis up 85 per cent to 37.

These figures could be the tip of the iceberg however.

Brian Neeson, Health Promotion Functional Manager with the Health Service Executive said, “The figures around a disease like Chlamydia can be misleading because many cases go undetected – about 70 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men will show no symptoms of Chlamydia – and the same is true of gonorrhoea (up to 86 per cent of women and 55 per cent of men are asymptomatic. We cannot be certain how many undetected cases there are so we would ask people to have a check up with their GP or in a STI clinic if they are sexually active.”

Mr Nelson advices that a condom is the best protection and encourages people “to carry condoms as sex is unplanned on many occasions”.

Research into the attitude of people in Ireland towards sex uncovered a clear trend of decreasing condom use across all age groups.

In 18 to 24 year olds the most common reason cited for non-use of a condom was alcohol or drug use (20%), while 18 per cent claimed no contraception was available, 16 per cent said sex was unplanned and 15 per cent did not consider it.

Provisional figures from the HSE also show that slightly more than eight out of ten STIs reported are found in people aged between 20 and 39. The majority of reported STIs – 63.6 per cent – are found in the 20-29-age bracket.

THE DOOLIN Coastguard Unit yesterday confirmed that surfers have made contact in a bid to improve safety measures for surfing near the Cliffs of Moher.

Mattie Shannon said that one of the five surfers who was surfing off the Cliffs of Moher last month when two refused assistance from the Irish Coastguard has made contact to discuss improved safety measures.

“It was agreed that the Coastguard Unit would be notified if the surfers would be going out surfing again and that they would be contactable by VHF radio,” he said.

On November 24 last while engaging in tow-in surfing of the 30 ft Aill na Serracht wave off the Cliffs, two surfers got into difficulty with a third on the shore and they all refused to be winched to safety by a winchman from the Irish Coastguard Helicopter in an rescue effort involving 40 people.

Mr Shannon described the decision by two of the surfers not to accept assistance from the coastguard as “very foolish”.

The latest move comes after the surfers who refused assistance were warned that they could face fines of up to €2,000 each.

Irish Coastguard Service search and rescue manager, Eamon Torpay confirmed that they intended to take action against the surfers concerned.

“We are looking at provisions of the Irish Maritime Safety Act and are consulting with Gardai, Irish Water Safety and the local Water Safety Officer,” he said.

Mr Torpay said that the surfers’ actions “were irresponsible and showed a lack of respect towards the rescue services”.

Last Thursday, the Irish Marine Search and Rescue Committee (IMSARC) described the surfers’ behaviour as ‘completely unacceptable’. They claimed the surfers “refused assistance from the helicopter, because the crew would not recover their surfboards. Eventually the surfers were rescued by the Doolin Coastguard boat and transferred to the Aran Islands lifeboat”.

“During the attempted helicopter rescue, the pilot and crew displayed exceptional airmanship and courage in manoeuvring the aircraft into position to carry out the rescue. They were operating close up against the cliffface and succeeded in lowering the winchman on a 260-foot cable to recover the surfers who had become stranded on rocks below.”

Along with Gardai and the Dept of Defence, the committee is also made up of representatives from the Irish Coast Guard HQ, Naval Service HQ, RNLI HQ Ireland Aircorps HQ and Irish Water Safety.

AN Ennis-based businessman believes he can reduce the HSE’s exorbitant taxi bill by as much as 40 per cent.

It was revealed at the HSE West’s Regional Health Forum Hospitals’ Committee that as much as €677,000 was spent on taxis bringing non-emergency patients in the Mid West to hospital during the first 10 months of this year.

Now Bus Slánte’s Seán O’Shaughnessy says he has proposed a solution to the local HSE that could reduce that bill by more than €270,000.

Bus Slánte currently services the Mid Western Regional Hospital Ennis, St Joseph’s Hospital Ennis, Shannon Health Centre, the Maternity Hospital Limerick and the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick three times a day with an open bus service.

The company plan to add the Orthopaedic Hospital in Croom to the service early next year.

The service is open to patients and the general pubic.

Mr O’Shaughnessy explained that many people with disability or mobility difficulties also use the service for going to Limerick as they can access it easily.

He is proposing that the service can be expanded and used by the hospitals in Clare and Limerick for ferrying non-emergency patients to other hospitals in the mid west for tests – a service that is currently costing the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of euros.

The service would be free to those availing of free travel and could cost just €5 per head to others.

Mr O’Shaughnessy has suggested that taxis could be used to bring patients from rural areas to one of the urban centres and Bus Slánte could then pick them up there.

He said taxis are currently bringing people to hospitals for tests and waiting for them while they are treated.

All the while the cost is increasing.

“There will be no inconvenience to the person (with the new service).

“The only change to the current service is that people would have to change on to the bus,” he said.

Bus Slánte currently has one bus in service and another on the way.

Should it be successful in convincing the HSE of the merits of this idea, it plans to add two more to the fleet, and also hopes to secure charity status.

Clare Representative to the HSE Mid West Regional Forum Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) believes that Mr O’Shaughnessy’s proposal could help reduce the spiralling costs to the health services.

THE developer of the €50 million plus Kilrush Marina Project is expected to be announced in mid-January, following the postponement of a meeting of interested parties until then.

It is believed the preferred bidder for the development of a hotel, apartments and commercial units on the marina is awaiting final approval from Departments of Finance, and Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

In summer 2005, Shannon Development received 11 expressions of interest for the development of the prime site around the Kilrush Marina. The number was then whittled down to three and eventually one.

Kilrush Town Council voted to rezone areas of the town in December last year to include further commercial development at the marina.

It is believed the development will be phased over five to seven years with each phase signed over to the developer only on completion. Promises have been made that the marina will continue in its present form, with plans to extend it by 100 berths up to 220.

The boat yard may have to be relocated towards the lock gates, however.

THE significant increase in burglaries and theft in Clare this year is partly attributed to the growing number of people taking heroin.

That’s the view of Acting Chief Superintendent John Kerin who said that the growing number of people using heroin and cocaine in Clare was a particular source of concern.

He confirmed that arrests for people selling drugs this year is up to 46 from 26 last year – an increase of 77 per cent.

Supt Kerin said that people don’t appreciate what a drug-related conviction will do to their prospects of securing a visa for the US or Australia or securing a job in the public sector.

“We believe that if we control our drugs trade, we control our crime and if we don’t control it, more and more young people become involved in it.”

He also expressed concern that that younger offenders are getting involved in public order incidents where there is a lack of respect for anyone in authority. He cited an incident last weekend in Ennis when Gardaí gave chase to two youths and, when they came back, found their patrol car had been broken into although they were only gone two minutes.

“We got one person and the other is being interviewed today. There is that kind of breakdown with young people and the biggest problem would be drink – and drugs – related.”

Giving a commitment for larger numbers of Gardaí policing rural areas, he said that if they got additional resources, they would be deployed to rural areas where people want to see more Gardaí.

Supt Kerin said that additional Garda resources have been assigned to Lahinch, Miltown Malbay, Sixmilebridge and Tulla.

A SENIOR Garda said yesterday that Clare Gardaí are to target a number of individuals based in Clare in cooperation with the Criminal Assets Bureau in the new year.

Acting Chief Superintendent John Kerin said that Gardaí are to focus their attention on half a dozen individuals or so who show wealth with no apparent means of income and this will be done in co-operation with CAB.

However, he said that there was an absence of gun-related crime in Clare in 2006, with no murders taking place, compared to two in 2005.

“Is that down to good policing or just good fortune? Thankfully, we don’t have the criminal elements that they have in Limerick.

“But is it only a matter of time before some of them start moving out here to escape Limerick and set up house here and certainly if they did, that would be a problem for us.”

Acting Chief Supt Kerin said that there were no armed robberies in Clare last year and while that was most unusual he hoped it would continue.

He said that the number of serious assaults this year was on a par with last year while minor assaults were down by 11 per cent.

To date this year, there have been 1,000 arrests for public order in Clare.

“Ennis is the main centre for public order offences, but I would still say it is not as bad it used to be.

“The Gardaí are a lot stricter, make arrests quicker, intervene earlier and we are putting more people on the streets. Even with that, there have been some nasty enough incidents during the year.

“I am reasonably happy and of course I would prefer if some of the assaults didn’t happen, but the lads throughout the county are on top of the public order situation”

He said that drink-driving arrests were up 72 per cent on last year – an increase of 197 to 469 to date this year.

“Last year, we had twelve fatalities on Clare’s roads and this year is it seven. That is a drop of 40 per cent but we are working off small figures. Seven is a relatively low figure and we want to keep it as low as possible,” he said.

AS the fourth anniversary of the murder of Seán Poland looms close, his family is still holding out hope that his killers will be caught.

Mr Poland (39) was shot dead at his home at Blackwater, Ardnacrusha, on New Year’s Eve, 2002, after he answered the door to a group of men. They tied up and attacked his partner, Joanne Lyons, and made off with a sum of cash.

Although a number of people were arrested in connection with the murder, no-one has ever been charged. The investment of major garda resources into the investigation has failed to result in any charges being brought. Mr Poland’s sister Marie Horgan – who lives in Ballyheigue, Kerry, is still hoping that the murder will be solved.

“It does not get any easier, where there is no closure. We are still holding out hope. You couldn’t put closure on it, especially when you see other cases being solved. It is heart-breaking, especially when we knew he was innocent. Seán was a good person,” said Marie.

“We will never get over it. If we could find out who did it and why, it would help in some way,” she added.

She hopes that someone’s conscience will affect them or that someone’s memory into what happened that night will lead to a breakthrough.

“People talk. Someone has to have heard something and we would appeal to people to go to any garda station and let them know,” she said.

She said every killing in Limerick brings her brother’s death back to her. Yesterday’s murder of Noel Crawford (40) at O’Malley Park in Limerick was particularly chilling, given that he was around the same age as Seán.

Seán was a bricklayer by trade and was also a second-hand car dealer. His family originally hailed from Clontuskert in east Galway and Séan grew up just miles away in Portumna. The family moved to the Ardnacrusha area when Seán was very young. His brother Ray lives just 100 yards from where Seán had lived with his partner.

“Seán was a happy-go-lucky fella with a big heart. He would do anything for you. The family was very close always,” said Marie.

While most families are looking forward to New Year’s Eve celebrations, the Poland family will gather in Clontuskert, for Seán’s fourth anniversary mass, and will pray that his killers will be caught.

THE ARMY are to be called in to deal with future flooding problems in Clonlara. Defence Minister Willie O’Dea has pledged he will call out the troops if the River Shannon breaches its banks again.

Residents spent days doing battle with the might of the river to keep it out of their homes last week. Many, including a 77-year-old woman, a heavily pregnant woman and a family of six had to be evacuated.

Today, Springfield woman Nora Mason (77) is back in her home but her daughter, Geraldine Quinlivan, said she is “a prisoner because of the stones and sandbags we have had to keep heaped at her door. We can’t risk taking them away and she can’t get out because she walks with a Zimmerframe.”

An angry Geraldine told how her mother’s home “would have been ruined but for the efforts of my husband, brothers and sons who were down there until 5am on Friday morning, fighting to keep the river out of my mother’s house.”

The ESB have come under fire for the timing and way in which water was released through the Parteen Weir and Ardnacrusha dams, but a spokesman for the company said it was necessary because of the heavy rainfall bringing extra flows of water into Lough Derg.

“The water was being let down for days before this. There has to be better management and better communication about this,” said Geraldine.

Local Councillor Cathal Crowe had a meeting with Minster Willie O’Dea and he has “given assurances that he will use the army to assist residents if this happens again”.

In the meantime, the Fianna Fail councillor wants the river dredged at strategic points and he is “asking for the road to be repaired where part of it was washed away”.

Cllr Paschal Fitzgerald also wants to see the river tackled and cleaned, a move which local people have demanded.

“It’s not good enough for Minister Tom Parlon to tell people they have to live with it. The river needs to be cleaned and people here are rightly angry about this. Who is going to pay for the clean-up where septic tanks have overflowed into people’s gardens and what about the damage to the road?”

And while the flood waters have receded, the residents say their anger is not going to drain away.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil Senator Brendan Daly believes that had a bill introduced to the Dáil years ago got the go-ahead, Clonlara may not now be under water.

“Several years ago, I introduced a Private Members’ Bill to establish a Shannon river council, the purpose of which would be to bring together the various organisations with responsibility in this complex area. The Commissioners of Public Works, fisheries, Bord na Móna and a range of environmental bodies have an interest in this issue,” he said.

The west Clare senator was critical of the delay in the various bodies coming together to respond to the flooding issue. He said the meeting on Thursday last was “a bit late in the day.”