The Clare People Archive

CLARE is one of six constituencies being actively targeted by the Green party in the next General Election.

As it officially unveiled its Clare candidate, Cllr Brian Meaney, the party said it “should take seats in Clare, Wicklow, Galway West, Carlow-Kilkenny, Dublin North-East and Louth”.

This would ensure a doubling of the number of Green TDs already in the Dáil.

The Clare councillor is not perturbed by suggestions that rural counties such as Clare are often put off by perceived Green Party policy.

“I know that there is a lot of negative campaigning going on in relation to me and the Green Party here in Clare, but I ask people to treat with suspicion the whispers of those who view me as a threat,” he said.

The outspoken councillor said farm incomes had fallen and Clare farmers had to work longer and harder for less.

“Farmers are fearful that the Greens are anti farming, well I want to make it very clear that I and the Greens see the production of food as far more than the hobby activity the other parties have relegated it to.”

Chairman of the Green Party in Clare, Gerry Murtagh, said the Green candidate was the popular choice among the membership in Clare.

“His record of political activity to date is exemplary and while his comments may raise eyebrows at times, his motivation to seek further involvement in public life is beyond reproach. The people of Clare need more than a populist representative, who you can drink pints with and is good at going to funerals.

“Our representatives need the ability to engage with the legislative process and plan for the future of the constituency and the country. We believe that Cllr Meaney has those abilities.”

This will be Cllr Meaney’s third general election.

THE 12th annual Éigse Mrs Crotty traditional music festival saw upwards of 10,000 visitors dancing on the streets of Kilrush over the week.

Attendance figures for daily concertina classes were up on previous years, while the ‘ceili in the square’ remained one of the most popular features of this growing arts festival.

Mrs Crotty, a native of Cooraclare, was one of the most respected exponents of the concertina in West Clare. For many years she ran a bar in Kilrush Square – Crotty’s – with her husband Micho. While Micho ran the bar, his wife could be found sitting in a corner, teaching students from far and wide the intricacies of the concertina.

After her death in 1960, several attempts were made to hold a commemorative event to mark her contribution to traditional music, but it wasn’t until 1994 that concrete plans were put in place.

Outlining the importance of the festival, local councillor, Liam O’Looney said that from a business point of view, it’s one of the focal points of the summer season. “It’s an important way for us to attract tourists to town for the weekend. If they come one year, they always seem to return, we get great repeat business and I think that’s a testament to the event.”

In advance of the festival, there was some concern that the staging of the World Fleadh in Ballybunion would adversely affect numbers in Kilrush. Yet the opposite seems to have been the case, with many foreign visitors taking in both events.

“There was some concern that the World Fleadh would have an affect,” said Cllr O’ Looney, “We had 1,500 every day at the sessions in the square alone and we seem to be have had our busiest year. Certainly we have a larger foreign contingent, they may have been disappointed with Ballybunion and decided to head down here for the weekend.”

During the festival, Crotty’s Bar staged a nightly concertina club, where members of the Kilfenora Ceili Band orchestrated proceedings, while the local primary school doubled as a concert hall for the likes of Andy Irvine, Clare native Chris Droney and the Five Counties Ceili Band.

“The festival was spurred on by the local community,” said Crotty’s proprietor, Rebecca Brew, “there was a feeling it was there to be done. The concertina is linked with this area, having arrived here in the middle of the last century on the tall ships, it was a very affordable instrument, only costing a shilling, and women have always been associated with it mainly because of its size. The festival has gone from strength to strength in recent years and we are delighted with the response”.

CLARE farmers could be in line for a cash windfall if new measures aimed at protecting Irish herd numbers are passed through.

Senator Brendan Daly (FF) has made representations to the Minster for Agriculture Mary Coughlan to support discussions which are taking place at present with regard to the protection of the Cow Suckler Animal Welfare Scheme. These measures are aimed at protecting the Irish suckler cow herd which currently numbers 1.1 million.

It is expected that when details are finalised and passed by the European Union, payments of €100 a cow could be made to farmers. Talks are taking place with farming organisations and it is expected the proposed scheme would be ready for next year.

The main focus of the suckler cow welfare scheme is to maintain the suckler herd and to produce better beef animals. It would also focus on record keeping, breed improvement, environmental and welfare standards and education and training. Courses would be organised by the Department of Agriculture and Teagasc with the costings likely to be funded by the Exchequer.

At present there are 65,000 suckler farmers in Ireland and the new measures are expected to be tied with the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS).

“I have spoken to the Minister who made a strong commitment to the protection of the suckler herd when she spoke to me at the Tullamore Agricultural Show. I have drawn her attention to the situation in Clare where many farmers are apprehensive about the of the agricultural industry” said Senator Daly.

JUST three days into proceedings and this year’s Merriman Summer School has already created it’s fair share of highlights and controversy. The theme of this year’s festival is the life of Michael Cusack and has been organised to commemorate the centenary of the death of the Carron man who founded the GAA.

The Summer School was officially opened by Mícheál Ó’Muircheartaigh at the Spa Wells on Saturday night. This ceremony was followed by the opening lecture of the school which was entitled ‘The Man from Carron’ and delivered by Ennis native Br Seán McNamara.

Mr Ó’Muircheartaigh must have been impressed with what the former teacher from the CBS in Ennis had to say as it prompted him to mention Br McNamara’s belief that Croke Park should have been called Cusack Park during his Radio 1 commentary between Cork and Kerry on Sunday.

Interestingly, Br McNamara has donated one of only two copies of a diary kept by Cusack on a visit to Clare in 1902 to the Burren Centre in Kilfenora. The diary will remain on display in Kilfenora until the Michael Cusack Centre is officially opened in Carron in 2007.

Another early highlight of the Summer School was a lecture by Luke Gibbons entitled ‘Putting in a Good Word for the Citizen: Joyce, Race and Immigration’ which took place on Sunday night.

“It is going very well so far – there is a great buzz going through the place,” said Marian O’Callaghan, of the Merriman Summer School. It is starting to take on a life of it’s own. With the Merriman you go from one highlight to another but I think that the Balloonitics on Wednesday evening will draw a very large crowd so people should make sure to come early.”

The Balloonitics Theatre Company will stage a dramatic performance of the Cyclops Episode from Ulysses on Wednesday evening at 8.30pm. The character of ‘the citizen’ in this episode is widely believed to be representation of Cusack.

Aside from this an exhibition of the work of eight local artists will be opened in the Spa Well today, August 22, at 4.30pm. The former President of the GAA, Seán Kelly, will host a talk entitled ‘Remembering Michael Cusack: Legacy and Commemoration’ on Thursday evening.

Also on Thursday, the founder of the Merriman Festival, Con Howard, will launch a new book entitled ‘There Might Be a Drop of Rain Yet’ which is set in Scariff in the 1920’s.

GARDAÍ are urging members of the public who may have information on a robbery on the the post office in Liscannor to come forward, after the horse box believed to have been used in the raid was found in east Clare.

The robbery took place last Thursday night week, August 10, after entry was gained to the premises via the adjoining public toilets.

Initial suggestions indicated that €20,000 was stolen in the raid. However gardaí have now increased this estimation to €37,000 in cash, along with stamps and dog licences.

A dark coloured car, pulling a blue horse box, was seen leaving the scene, in the direction of Lahinch and was seen in the Lahinch area at 5.40am.

Gardaí believe this travelled the back roads, en route to Killanena, where it was discovered last Monday afternoon. However none of the money stolen was recovered.

“This horse box was found in a forest area and the safe, which contained the money, was found beside it. The safe had been broken open,” said Ennistymon Superintendent Eamon Dolan.

“We believe this may have travelled the back roads, possibly via Corofin. We believe the horse box was stolen in the Liscannor area. We are appealing for anyone who may have seen the horse box to contact us. It is distinguishable,” he said.

A teenager was arrested in Ennis, in connection with the incident last Friday morning, under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

He was detained at Ennistymon Garda Station throughout the day, before been released without charge later that evening.

“Our enquiries are ongoing in relation to this and we are continuing to look for information. We believe up to four people were involved,” said Supt Dolan.

Gardaí have viewed CCTV footage of the incident, which showed that three people were on the premises, while another person may have waited in a car outside. This footage is being sent to Dublin for further analysis.

Ennistymon gardaí can be contacted on (065) 7071020.

A DISABLED CLARE woman, who needed to park her car in a reserved hospital space, claims that she couldn’t do it because some hospital staff were hogging the spaces.

When her husband rang to complain that the new spaces allocated for wheelchair users at Limerick’s Regional Hospital were full of nondisabled cars, he claims he was told that staff who regularly use the spaces had threatened industrial action if they were clamped.

The east Clare woman, who has asked not to be identified, has to use a wheelchair.

Last week, her husband drove their car, bearing an official disabled sticker, to collect her from hospital but found all the disabled spaces full.

“There used to be just a few spaces in the car park, but this was increased to 11 spaces recently,” he said. “But I still couldn’t get a space. There’s a notice warning that anyone illegally parking in a disabled space will be clamped, yet not one of these cars was clamped.”

The man rang the car-park management company and claims that he was informed that “after the extra spaces were provided, they contacted hospital management to say clamping should begin, But that the parking company said the hospital had told them not to do that because staff who had used the spaces before they were converted were threatening industrial action if any of their cars were clamped. What my wife and I want to know is how these people can be let away with that?”, he said.

In a statement on behalf of the hospital, a spokesman said, “We regret any difficulty experienced by this couple. The new parking system was introduced on May l and a review of its operation over the first few months will be held early next month. We have not been clamping illegally parked cars so far in an effort to get voluntary co-operation with the new system but this will change.

“Illegal parking by staff or members of the public in disabled places will not be tolerated. The remarks attributed to hospital management are incorrect.”

CLARE shopaholics are still lagging behind their city slicker cousins when it comes to the spending league.

People in Clare are ninth in line nationally in terms of how much disposable income they enjoy, while Dubliners have more money to throw about than residents in any other county.

Figures just released by the Central Statistics Office for 2003, the latest year the stats are available for, reveal that Dubliners have an average disposable income of €21,082 while Clare residents have just €17,541 to play with.

That’s in comparison with individual disposable income in Clare in 2002 of €16,210.

Dublin is followed closely by Kildare, where consumers have an annual €19,261 to throw away and Limerick, where earners can spend €18,785 of their annual income.

Cork also scores highly on the rich list, with individual disposable income running at €18,583.

The breakdown showed that workers living in the southern and eastern regions have disposable income which are 2.9 per cent above the national average, but the west, the midlands and the border regions are eight per cent below the State average.

The poorest county in the State in terms of disposable income is Donegal, where denizens have just €15,594 to spend each year.

This is being attributed to the county having suffered a series of major job losses in recent years.

Kerry also performs poorly, with disposable income there running at €16,087, fourth from the bottom.

More than 1,500 jobs have been lost in IDA supported companies in Kerry since 2002.

Disposable income is calculated as total income less deductions for tax and social insurance contributions.

The CSO figures reveal that both actual and disposable income has doubled in the period 1995-2003.

In 1995, average gross earnings were €11,344 compared to €22,553 in 2003.

The statistics also show that the southern and eastern regions are the country’s economic powerhouse.

The value of goods and services produced in these regions rose by a total of 67 per cent between the years 1998 and 2003.

NEW guidelines on environmental protection could prove costly for repeat polluters.

A document released by the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday last places the responsibility firmly on companies to financially face their environmental responsibilities.

The Guidance on Environmental Liability Risk Assessment, Residuals Management Plan and Financial Provision will, according to the EPA, help companies, local authorities, financial institutions and consultants to assess “the inherent risk to the environment that an industrial activity poses” and will help them to “quantify and provide adequately for their environmental liabilities”.

“Though intended as a guide for companies, this document very firmly underpins the polluter pays principle, by ensuring that inability to pay cannot be used as a means to avoid remediation or compensation responsibilities by companies that pollute,” said Dara Lynott, Director, EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement.

“The level of financial provision required of a company will vary depending on three things: the complexity, and therefore the risk, attaching to the site; the sensitivity of the receiving environment and the effective management of environmental risk by the company,” he added.

“The guide also underpins the rationale for granting pollution prevention and control licences by the EPA. Such licences confer considerable enforcement powers on the EPA and considerable responsibilities and costs on licensed companies,” Mr Lynott concluded.

As well as identifying risks for companies the guidelines also assists companies to prepare for closure and aftercare of facilities in a structured manner. In addition, it will provide information on reducing potential damage to the environment, minimising the long term impact of manufacturing and waste management facilities upon closure and also help companies on financially planning for environmental liabilities.

This year in Clare, only Schwarz Pharma based in Shannon received a fine for €110,000 having been prosecuted under Sections 8, 82 and 84 of the Environmental Protection Agency Acts, 1992, 2003 for 11 separate charges for breaches of its Integrated Pollution Control licence.

MORE than 50 events are scheduled to take place around Clare during Heritage Week 2006, which takes place from August 26 to September 3. Clare County Council says the events will include a range of talks, field trips and exhibitions aimed at encouraging people to take an interest in their local heritage.

Activities will cover a broad range of heritage issues such as the limestone pavements of Ireland and Britain, Ennis placenames, seabird watching, biodiversity, monuments and castle houses, the geology of Scattery Island, songs around the Slieve Aughty, whale and dolphin watching. There will be a fieldtrip to Inchicronan Abbey, a bat talk and walk, an exhibition of Clare Embroidery and a talk on the Field Monument Advisor Programme currently underway in Clare. Heritage Week 2006 will also be marked with the publication of the findings of the Clare Cuckoo Survey 2006.

Heritage Week is part of European Heritage Days, a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union. Locally the event is co-ordinated by Clare County Council and the Heritage Council with support from the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

“Clare’s rich architectural and cultural heritage is invaluable and should be celebrated,” said Congella McGuire, Heritage Officer with Clare County Council. Imagine waking up in the morning in a county very different from the Clare of today. One in which the Burren’s majestic Karst landscape did not exist, where there were no castles and ancient monuments to visit, where our native birds and animals did not populate the countryside, and where there were no parks or forests to contrast with urban life.

“It is, therefore, imperative that people take an interest in Clare’s built, natural and cultural heritage thereby encouraging its conservation and preservation. With something for everyone, both young and old, I would urge people to take the opportunity to experience Clare’s heritage.” McGuire stated.

Further information and an events listing for Clare is available on www.clare.ie/ news/news.html or www.heritageweek.ie.

A PUBLIC meeting to debate antisocial behaviour will take place in Lahinch tomorrow evening following another weekend of violence in the north Clare village.

Six adults and one juvenile were arrested there over the weekend on a variety of charges relating to fighting and damaging private property.

Two people were arrested on Friday night, three on Saturday and a further two on Sunday.

In recent weeks, Lahinch has received one extra garda to help deal with the growing antisocial problem being suffered by the town during the summer season.

Meanwhile, the Lahinch Community Council will host a public meeting tomorrow evening, August 23, to discuss matters of public interest in the town.

The meeting will tackle the growing antisocial problem as well as the proposed new developments on the village’s promenade and the new bylaws that are due to come into effect from September 1. The meeting will take place in the Castle Course Clubhouse at 8pm on Wednesday, August 23. A spokesperson for the community council said that everyone in the town was welcome to come and openly discuss the issues.