The Clare People Archive

SHANNON and Doonbeg could be the locations for two new nature reserves, Clare County Council announced this week.

The nature reserves will be the topics for discussion at two county council workshops being held in association with Clare Biodiversity Group on August 12 and 13.

The public meetings come less than a fortnight after the people of Miltown Malbay, Quilty, Spanish Point and surrounding areas were asked to help identify a potential location for a nature reserve in their area.

In Doonbeg, residents are being invited to give their opinion at the workshop to be held in the local community hall, on Saturday, August 12 at 2pm. Locations already identified by the council as potential wildlife reserves include Doonbeg Bay and Tullaher Bog.

“There is a great diversity of wildlife and habitats in and around Doonbeg such as the coastline and bogs further inland,” said Biodiversity Officer, Elaine Keegan.

Similarly in Shannon, another workshop will be held at The Oakwood Arms Hotel on Sunday, August 13 at 2pm.

The local community will again be asked for their input into the creation of a wildlife area before being shown the proposed nature reserve site in the town.

“In Shannon there is an area of wetlands behind the Leisure Centre which is a possible area for a nature reserve. It would be very accessible considering it is so close to the town centre,” Ms Keegan concluded.

LAST week’s decision by American Airlines to discontinue their Boston to Shannon service has been hailed as the first step in relegating Shannon to a regional airport according to Clare TD Pat Breen (FG).

Deputy Breen called on the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, to put in place a package of measures to assist the airport saying that the region needs more than photo opportunities from the Minister.

“All airlines now operating transatlantic services to Ireland are gearing themselves up for Open Skies and are realigning their services with this in mind,” said Deputy Breen.

“Of course, as I have continuously warned, in every country where there is an Open Skies agreement, airlines choose to fly into the capital city. In Ireland’s case they will operate into Dublin only and Shannon will simply become a regional airport.”

A spokesperson from American Airlines said last week that the airline will phase out its daily flights from Logan International Airport to Shannon on October 28. The spokesperson described the move as “essentially an economic decision” aimed at operating fuller and more profitable flights.

The airline will continue to service Shannon by re-routing their Chicago Service, which currently operates through Dublin, and replacing their existing B757 with a B767 on this route. The pullout is the second negative story for the airport in recent times and has sparked fear in some quarters that it will trigger a chain reaction of withdrawals.

“The ending of this service is another major blow to the hard pressed tourism sector in the Mid-West Region and to the small businesses in the area who were providing auxiliary services. Coming hot on the heels of the decision by World Airways to transfer its business to Germany, it will also raise further fears about the future of the In-flight Catering Section at the airport,” continued Mr Breen.

“The current uncertainty in relation to the future of transatlantic services is having a negative impact, which could lead to a lack of confidence in tourism development in the Mid-West, if remedial urgent action is not taken.”

This news comes just days after doubt has been cast over the continued use of Shannon Airport by American companies contracted by the US Government to transport troops. Prestwick Airport has emerged as the front runner to draw some of the lucrative business away from Shannon.

THE number of people arrested on suspicion of drink driving over the Bank Holiday weekend was significantly reduced when compared with other holiday weekends, as gardaí mounted one of the biggest ever crackdowns.

Several checkpoints were set up all over the Clare Garda Division over the weekend and four drivers were arrested. This compares with seven, during the August Bank Holiday weekend last year.

It is a huge decrease on the figure for the last Bank Holiday weekend, in June, when 13 drivers were arrested. It also shows a sizeable reduction, when compared to the May Bank Holiday weekend, when nine drivers were arrested on suspicion of drink driving. There were also nine arrested during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend in April.

However, The Clare People has learned that the number of people arrested on suspicion of drink driving during July showed a 150 per cent increase, when compared with the same month last year. Forty-five were arrested last month, compared with 18 in July 2005. Two arrests were made in Killaloe, and one each in Kilkee and Ennis. Those arrested will face court appearances within weeks.

Gardaí say the reduction in arrests over the weekend indicates that the dangers of drinking and driving is being taken on board, in the wake of the introduction of random breath testing. More than 400 drivers in the Clare Division – which takes in parts of North Tipperary – were breath tested randomly over the weekend, none of which yielded positive results.

Sergeant Brendan McDonagh of the Traffic Corps said the reaction to the random breath testing has been “positive.” There appeared to be a “very high rate of compliance” to the new law which prohibits the use of handheld mobiles while driving.

“At the moment, we are advising people about the dangers of using mobile phones while driving. Anyone we see using a mobile phone while driving, we pull over and advise them to get hands free kits,” he said. “There seems to be a very high rate of compliance here. We are delighted to find that and hopefully it will make a major difference”.

Gardaí say they will continue the crackdown on drink driving. 283 drivers were arrested in Clare last year and up to last week, the number of arrests in the county had risen by 62 per cent, when compared to the same period in 2005.

BALLYVAUGHAN-based author, Sarah Poyntz, has expressed dismay at what is happening in the Burren.

Ms Poyntz, who writes a column on rural life for the Guardian newspaper in the UK, recently described to her half-a-million readers how she had come upon tourists loading stones from a wall in the Burren into the back of a car.

She received letters from Guardian readers in the US and the UK in response to her column, in which she wrote, “Our walk began badly. We came upon visitors who were dismantling one of the glories of our Burren – a stone wall, a normal single wall.

“The stones were being loaded into a car. I asked the visitors to return the stones to the wall and waited while it was done, explaining that it is forbidden to remove or disturb stones or plants and how people dig up the rare flowers and cart away rocks for suburban gardens.”

This week she told The Clare People : “I do enjoy writing the Country Diary for the Guardian , but I have thought of giving up writing it because I feel terrible at what is going on in the Burren. People are uprooting flowers, removing stones, creating small little dolmens all the time. It is not a good situation”.

Ms Poyntz said that the flowers and rocks were being removed “due to the lack of wardens on the ground because the Government won’t pay for them”.

She added that the fields in the Burren are now full of ragweed and “this poisonous weed is choking flowers like the orchid,” adding, “I am not hopeful for the Burren”.

Ms Poyntz also expressed her dismay over some of the “dreadful houses” that have been allowed to be built and their impact on the Burren landscape.

Recently, Clare County Council has secured a €1.6 million plan to end the continuing environmental damage to the Burren and rejuvenate the area’s tourism industry. This follows Failte Ireland and the Department of the Environment allocating €1.6 million to an integrated management strategy for the Burren.

Ms Poyntz concluded, “Whatever needs to be done, needs to be done soon.”

THE skipper of the boat on which Boris Yeltsin spent Friday fishing has described meeting him as a “humbling experience.”

Seasoned angler and boatman Willie O’Callaghan, from Ennis, said it was “an honour to be asked and trusted to take care of Mr Yeltsin for the day – it is something I will never forget.”

Mr O’Callaghan, who runs Liscannor-based O’Callaghan Angling Cruises, had the task of organising a day of fishing for Mr Yeltsin, and had to ensure that the visit remained secret. The skipper’s 42-foot angler cruiser, True Light, was thoroughly inspected by security personnel ahead of the excursion.

“I am sure they checked my credentials to make sure we were up to the job. They told us what they needed for the trip and everything was in place when they arrived,” he said.

Mr Yeltsin was accompanied by his grandson and son-in-law, Russian security personnel and members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit. The party of 12 arrived at Liscannor pier early on Friday where they were met by Willie O’Callaghan.

“When I was introduced to Mr Yeltsin, I went weak at the knees. It was a very humbling experience to stand before a great man like that. He is an absolute gentleman,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“We left Liscannor at 9am and spent the morning fishing about seven miles off Hag’s Head. Mr Yeltsin hooked a good few and was delighted. I had arranged lunch on Inis Óirr, and had a horse and carriage collect Mr Yeltsin at the pier and take him to the hotel. He was amazed there are still little islands in Europe with such a relaxed and friendly way of life. There was a trad session in the hotel and he was really taken by it, even clapped along.”

Mr O’Callaghan continued, “On the way back from Inis Óirr, Mr Yeltsin wanted to do a bit of shark-fishing but unfortunately we didn’t catch any. He spoke a lot with the people with him but the only words of English he used were ‘no problem’. He obviously enjoyed himself and gave me a big hug before he got off the boat.

“It was one of those things you think will never happen to you. You read about a man like that or see him on the telly but you never think you will be taking him shark-fishing,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

Ostán Inis Óirr chef, Darren McNamara from Scarriff, said, “I got a call from Willie O’Callaghan at 11.30. He said he had 10 VIPs with him and they wanted lunch in a private room. Sure, Willie is always having the craic with me so I said no problem, I’ll sort ye out. Not sure whether he was joking, I cleared a room and got it ready anyway.”

FORMER Russian President Boris Yeltsin returned to Moscow on Sunday following a three-day private visit to Clare, part of which he spent shark-fishing off the west coast.

Mr Yeltsin’s last visit to Clare made international headlines when an Taoiseach, two ministers, a guard of honour and an army band were left standing on the tarmac at Shannon Airport. Yeltsin had agreed to make a stopover on his way back to Moscow from the US, but it was more like a sleepover as the Russian leader failed to appear from his aircraft, sparking a minor diplomatic incident.

On September 30, 1994, Albert Reynolds and the Irish and Russian greeting parties were left standing for over an hour as Mr Yeltsin’s plane inexplicably circled Shannon Airport. They then waited for a further 15 minutes after it landed, before they were told the president was too tired, and then too ill, to see them. It was rumoured that the vodka-loving leader had enjoyed his favourite tipple on the journey from Washington. He finally appeared in Moscow to set the record straight, saying, “I just overslept. The security services did not let in the people who were due to wake me”.

Mr Reynolds denied at the time he had been snubbed saying, “I completely understand. Mr Yeltsin was acting on the orders of doctors who said it would be better for him not to get off the plane. He suffers from bad blood pressure. When a man is ill, a man is ill”.

Mr Yeltsin arrived in Shannon on Thursday, almost 12 years after that diplomatic gaffe. On this occasion, there there were no dignitaries to meet him.

The former President was whisked off amid tight security to the fivestar Dromoland Castle where he stayed for three nights. Mr Yeltsin travelled to the Cliffs of Moher on Thursday and enjoyed a day’s sharkfishing on Friday off the Clare coast, breaking for lunch on Inis Oír. His boat, skippered by local man Willie O’Callaghan, returned to Liscannor shortly after 6pm.

Three officials from the Russian Embassy were on hand to meet Mr Yeltsin, who smiled and waved to a dozen or so onlookers. Although frail and requiring assistance alighting from the boat, Mr Yeltsin was in good spirits, sitting at the front of the private coach which awaited him and waving for photographers as he was driven away.

LAUGH-a-minute comic, Peter Kay has splashed out on a retreat in the lakeside village of Killaloe.

The British comedian is reputed to have paid €1 million for the mansion on the shores of Lough Derg, and he will have some famous neighbours in his new home.

One of the most recent new residents in the area was Euro-millions winner, Dolores McNamara.

Gay Byrne’s daughter, Crona, also lives in the area and she was in the news recently when her home was broken into by a gang who made off with jewels, including a ring which was a gift from the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.

Kay is entertaining at the Trinity Room’s third birthday bash. VIP guests at the knees up include Munster men, Peter Stringer, Ronan O’Gara and Paul O’Connell as well as comedian Pat Shortt and Miss Ireland, Sarah Morrissey.

The 33-year-old Bolton-born Kay appeared on stage with Billy Joel at his gig in Croke Park last weekend.

TWO Ennis businesses have failed in a bid to expand operations, as a result of planning decisions by Ennis Town Council and An Bord Pleanala.

Plans by Liam Cleary to redevelop his existing car sales site on the Kilrush Rd have been shot down by Ennis Town Council, while plans by Pat and Catherine Fitzpatrick to demolish their existing shop on the Tulla Rd and construct a new unit has been refused by An Bord Pleanala.

Mr Cleary sought to construct an underground car park, 13 retail units at ground floor level, 12 apartments and a cafe at first floor level, 12 apartments and a commercial unit at second floor level, and two penthouses at roof level.

However, the council ruled that the proposed development “would set an undesirable precedent for development within proposal sites.

“The proposal to locate residential accommodation over existing workshops would constitute haphazard development by virtue of noise and nuisance, would be injurious to the residential amenity of both existing houses and the proposed units, and taken in conjunction with the remainder of the proposed development would result in over-development of the site.

“By reason of its height, block form and layout, the absence of adequate private open space or public open space to serve the apartment units, it would seriously injure the amenity of existing and proposed residences.”

In response, Mr Cleary has appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanala, claiming that “our proposals would enhance this site which is underdeveloped and in such close proximity to Ennis Town Centre. Occupants of this development could walk in five minutes to the town centre without having to drive and to clog up the existing town”.

The council refused planning permission for the Fitzpatrick development, prompting the applicants to appeal to An Bord Pleanala. The Inspector had ruled in favour of the development, but the appeals board disregarded that recommendation and refused permission on two grounds.

The board ruled that it would constitute over-development of the site and seriously injure the amenities of the area. The Board also ruled that a shortfall in parking provision would result in overspill roadside parking which would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard.

THE new €50 million retail park proposed for Ennis’s Quin Rd will not adversely impact on the quality, vitality and viability of the core retail area in Ennis or the wider town centre area.

That’s according to the Retail Impact Statement (RIS) lodged with the application by Ennis businessman, Sean Lyne and Noel Connellan.

Their plan is expected to create 150 jobs, provide 14,840 sq metres of space and will include a large anchor DIY store with garden centre and builders’ yard. Ennis Retail Park will also comprise nine smaller retail units.

The retail impact statement does not envisage the Quin Rd business park being in place until 2010, and forecasts that it will have the highest turnover of three retail parks currently planned for Ennis, at €35 million by 2010.

In spite of the €100 million annual spend at the three retail parks, the RIS forecasts that there will be surplus capacity of €7.6 million in the market available. It concludes that the park will not have an adverse impact on the town centre.

“As stated in the Retail Planning Guidelines, a retail park development in the range of 8,000 to 15,000 sq m is unlikely to have a material adverse impact on the more important town centres,” the RIS states. “A retail warehouse park of the size and location proposed would not give rise to a long term increase in the number of vacancies in the Ennis core retail area.”

The RIS also argues that “the location of the proposed development offers a high level of accessibility for those purchasing comparison goods.

“The subject proposal is consistent with the zoning of the application site and fully accords with the requirements of retail development policy as set out in the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.”

It also argues that the proposal will “enhance the attraction of Ennis as a shopping destination and will serve to maintain investor interest in all sections of the retail and wider economy, thereby meeting plan objectives for the promotion of a sustainable economy.”

A decision is due on the application later this year.

THE commercial growth of Ennis continues, with plans lodged for a €25 million retail development at Claureen on the town’s western fringes.

Tom Howard is seeking permission to demolish the One Mile Inn and construct a mixed use development of 11,895 sq metres in total.

A retail impact statement submitted with the planning application estimates that the development will have an annual turnover of €25 million each year.

The development will include retail units, a car showroom, an office-medical centre, and a café bar and restaurant. It also includes 15 residential units and a crèche, along with the provision of 566 car-parking spaces.

In lodging plans, consultants acting for Tom Howard state: “The attached planning application is requesting planning permission for a high quality, architecturally designed mixeduse development at a local centre.

The consultants point out that the town council’s planning department “has not raised any major issues with the scheme and have been broadly supportive of the principles of same” in pre-planning discussions .

The retail impact statement states, “The amount of retail space available in the catchment area is seriously inadequate to absorb even conservative estimates of shopping expenditure”.

It also points out that, while Ennis town centre is the main centre within the catchment area, “it is widely perceived that the town centre is lacking in convenience and high order comparison outlets.

“The development proposed under this application will not be in competition with Ennis town centre but will service a local catchment area in addition to the western hinterland of Ennis in terms of bulky goods.

“The lack of and nature of retail provision at present in the immediate area ensures that a considerable leakage of retail spend seeps out of the catchment area to other areas such as Limerick city. This proposal will help to reverse this leakage.”

The retail impact statement also points out that the “proposal will facilitate local people to do their shopping in a more convenient place to where they live and it will facilitate multi-functional trips.

“Therefore, the granting of this retail planning proposal would be of significant advantage to the retail sector and most importantly to the consumer.”

A decision is due on the application later this year.