The Clare People Archive

THE Fianna Fáil Dáil Ceantair in Clare have come out in favour of having Senator Brendan Daly added to the party ticket for next year’s General Election.

Its AGM last Friday night unanimously supported a motion in support of the Cooraclare man. A decision was taken by the 70 party members present to write to the party’s General Secretary, Seán Dorgan, and the Chairman of the party’s Election Strategic Committee, Finance Minister, Brian Cowen, outlining their support.

Senator Daly met with Minister Cowen last week and discussed the possibility of adding his name to those of Deputy Tony Killeen and Senator Timmy Dooley, on the party ticket.

He said that he told Minister Cowen it would be “pointless” putting three candidates forward in Clare, unless actual positive steps were taken on Ennis General Hospital.

He said he was taking the support offered at Friday’s meeting very seriously and he would make his decision on whether to run next week.

“I am taking that very seriously and am very supported by this. These are the guys who run the show in the county,” he said.

He denied suggestions that the outcome of last Sunday week’s Fine Gael Convention would play any role in his eventual decision.

Clare Fianna Fáil Vice-President, Frank Conway, said there were no dissenting voices to proposals that Senator Daly be supported, as “the west needs somebody to represent them.”

“He should be added immediately,” he said.

Officers were elected to their positions for the coming year were: Chairman, Denis Hayes; Secretary, Martin O’Loughlin; Treasurers, Mary O’Dwyer and PJ Ryan; PRO, Darragh McAllister; Youth Officer: Denis Murphy.

GARDAÍ working to break up a growing heroin supply network in Clare say they’re confident that charges will be brought against at least one suspected dealer.

Three separate files on the sale or supply of heroin, are currently being prepared for the DPP. No-one has ever been charged with dealing heroin in Clare.

The latest seizure of the drug came last week, when a stash with an estimated street value of €2,800 was located after gardaí intercepted a car and arrested a man and a woman.

The suspects – a man from Ennis and a foreign woman living close to Ennis – were arrested in Killaloe on Tuesday evening. The car in which they were travelling was searched.

Gardaí said the arrests were part of an ongoing anti-heroin operation.

The pair, who are in their late 20s, were detained at Shannon Garda Station.

The young man was released without charge on Wednesday night, while the woman was released without charge the following evening.

A file is being prepared for the DPP, while the drugs seized are being sent away for analysis.

The Head of the Divisional Drugs Unit, Sergeant John Brennan, said last week’s seizure was the third so far this year.

“The operation is continuing. Files on three people are currently being prepared, in relation to the sale or supply of heroin.

“No-one has ever been charged in relation to the sale or supply of heroin.

“It is a sign of what is out there. We feel we are making progress,” said Sgt Brennan.

A WEST Clare priest is the latest person to fall foul of Clare County Council’s contentious “non-local” rule.

Last year, Fr Martin Blake lodged plans to build a home at Cloonagarnaun, Mullagh.

However, Fr Blake’s thoughts of commencing work on his dream home in the first half of 2006 were scuppered after the council despatched a series of questions relating to Fr Blake qualifying for “local status”.

The council stated that the site for the home was in open countryside, where it was the policy of the council to permit, subject to site suitability, a single home for permanent occupation of local rural persons, who could clearly demonstrate a requirement to locate in the community.

As a result, Fr Blake was told that it was necessary for the local authority to establish that he qualified as a local person.

As a result, Fr Blake was asked to submit the location of his birth, the details and length of time he has spent in the area, his place of employment and if he was a house owner.

Along with questions over Fr Blake’s local status, the council also expressed serious concern over the ability of the site to treat effluent and that it would give rise to ribbon development.

In response, Fr Blake’s consultant said that the priest was born and reared at Cloonmore, Doonbeg and had lived his entire life in his family home at Cloonmore, Doonbeg.

In relation to his employment, the council was told that Fr Blake was a relief priest working in the diocese of Killaloe.

“The applicant is not a house owner and lives with his parents.

Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) said yesterday that Fr Blake was entitled to a home in the area “as his pedigree as a local person is undisputed. He comes from an old established family in the area.”

Independent councillor, Martin Lafferty told The Clare People that by asking such details of a priest, the council was demonstrating that it treated everyone equally.

“However, the Council is getting unfairly pilloried over the policy when in fact, it has come down from Government, through national legislation, and it should become an issue for the next General Election.”

A decision is due on the application later month.

TWO of three men charged in connection with a seizure of guns in Newmarket-on-Fergus last year have pleaded guilty.

Cathal O’Neill (39), of Upper Limerick Street, Limerick, and Michael Gerard Heelan (46), of Boherbue, Mallow, Cork, admitted possession of an imitation firearm, with intent to commit robbery, at Drumline, Newmarketon-Fergus, on June 24, 2005.

A third accused, John Murphy (46), of Ballina, Killaloe, pleaded not guilty to the same charge.

He also pleaded not guilty to possession of a sawn-off shotgun, five shotgun cartridges and a pepper spray canister, with the intention to incapacitate or intimidate a person, all on the same date. MEETINGS are continuing between representatives of a local steering group and the Department of Education and Science to progress development of a third-level education facility for Clare.

The steering group comprises representatives of the Vocational Education Committee, Clare County Development Board, and Shannon Development as well as a number of third level institutions in the region.

The three lead agencies are exploring funding options including the application of partial funding from the agencies themselves.

Direct funding from the department is out of reach for the moment.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Vocational Education Committee, George O’Callaghan, told the monthly meeting of the committee that Clare was reasonably close to two higher level

Stephen Coughlan, BL for the State, told Ennis Circuit Court that a jury would be required in the case of Murphy.

He said that 54 witnesses were contained in the Book of Evidence and there would not be sufficient time during last week’s Circuit Court sessions to deal with the case.

He applied for the Murphy case to be ad journed until later in the year.

O’Neill and Heelan will be sentenced at the end of Murphy’s trial.

Judge Con Murphy agreed to applications for probation and welfare reports to be compiled on the pair.

All three had been sent forward for trial to the Circuit Court, when they appeared before Ennis District Court in February. The three were arrested at Drumline, shortly after 10am on June 24 last year, and later charged. facilities in Galway and two more in Limerick.

But that there was a demand in Clare for outreach from those colleges and institutes.

It is conceived that a central unit or place where the third-level centres could provide such outreach facilities could be developed

He said that the facility will be demand-driven by Clare students, rather than by the thirdlevel centres and an interim director should be appointed soon, but finance was a first priority to that end.

The model for Clare, he added, would follow the example of that in Cavan, which has a director and administrator.

Over a twelve month trial period, the facility would be run by a sub-committee comprising representatives of the Vocational Education Committee and the other interests involved.

AN INVESTIGATION has been launched into the cause of an accident which has left a county council worker in a serious condition in hospital.

The accident happened last Wednesday morning when a digger been driven by the man, overturned. He was working on the Tulla road improvement project at the time.

A spokesman for the county council said that the emergency services were on the scene minutes after the accident happened.

A doctor from Tulla was at the injured man’s side even before the ambulance arrived.

He was rushed to hospital in Ennis from where he was transferred to Cork.

It is understood that the man underwent surgery in Cork where his condition was described yesterday as serious, but stable.

The Garda and the Health and Safety Authority are now involved with the local authority in conducting an investigation into how the accident happened.

A spokesman for Clare County Council said it was too soon to speculate on what might have happened.

ALEGATIONS of blackmail and threats against the safety of their families have been leveled against the Government by a spokesperson for the 41 Afghani men who ended their week-long hunger strike in Dublin on Saturday.

Rosanna Flynn, of the Residents Against Racism group, told The Clare People yesterday that the Government threatened to release the names of the hunger-strikers to the Afghani embassy in London, thus putting their families in Afghanistan in danger.

Ms Flynn, who has been acting as a spokesperson for the group, which includes former Corofin resident Hashmat Habbib, claims it was this threat that forced the men to give up their hunger strike on Saturday night.

“The men were threatened that the Irish Government was going to release their names to the Afghan Embassy in London if they didn’t leave. Whether it was done through the Gardaí or not, I don’t know, but it was that that made them go,” said Ms Flynn.

“They reacted very badly to this. It worried them greatly. They were more frightened of that than of dying on hunger strike”.

The week-long standoff came to an end on Saturday evening when the last of the 41 hunger-strikers left St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Eight minors had been removed by HSE officials earlier in the day after their situation began to deteriorate.

“The men were relieved when the younger men left. They had been trying to persuade them to leave as the younger people were starting to do damage to themselves and one was bleeding very badly,” continued Ms Flynn.

“One of the younger strikers had slashed himself down his arm. He had been threatening suicide if he was removed.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Justice declined to make any comment on the matter but a Garda spokesperson said, “there are 33 people in front of court at present and we will not be saying anything on that until that is dealt with, if at all.”

The hunger-strikers were charged with the forcible occupation of a premises at a special sitting of Dublin District Court on Sunday morning and will appear before Kilmainham District Court this Thursday.

Residents Against Racism will stage a demonstration outside Kilmainham court on Thursday morning.

PRESSURE is mounting on Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny to declare his candidate strategy in Clare for the next General Election in the wake of last week’s highly controversial selection convention.

With Fine Gael riding high in the national polls, The Clare People can reveal that Mr Kenny has been advised to, “sort out the mess in Clare” and so avoid an embarrassing split between grassroot members of the local organisation.

A speedy resolution to the impasse in Clare has been held up as crucial in a damage limitation exercise by Fine Gael headquarters to ward off a public conflict, which could affect the party’s chances of returning to Government.

Councillors Madeleine TaylorQuinn and Joe Carey are holding their ground on their respective desires to contest the election, amid speculation that a deal could be brokered between the two.

According to party insiders, Mr Kenny will offer Councillor TaylorQuinn a nomination to contest the Dáil election as promised before she contested the 2004 European election, and Joe Carey will be teed up for a seat in the Seanad.

The best case scenario for Councillor Carey would be the carrot of a Taoiseach’s nomination to the Seanad if Mr Kenny gets power. Failing that, Mr Kenny would commit to being in the frontline of Councillor Carey’s Seanad campaign around the country.

Councillor Carey refused to be drawn on such speculation, but in a statement said, “I have sought a meeting with Mr Frank Flannery, director of elections, to discuss the outcome of the Clare convention. I will not be making any further comment until after this meeting”.

Meanwhile, the fallout to the highly charged selection convention continues, with one Fine Gael source telling The Clare People this week that, “Joe Carey didn’t win a nomination because he broke the party whip in a vote on Cahercon Pier”.

In January, Councillor Carey abstained from a crucial vote on whether the pier should be listed as a protected structure. Despite that his party colleagues voted in favour of the designation.

And, The Clare People has also learned that “grave concerns” about the procedures followed in the selection convention were raised at last Wednesday’s National Executive meeting of the party.

A Galway delegate broached the subject, which prompted an open debate on the controversy. Enda Kenny was not present at the meeting, but is expected to face questions at the next meeting of the Executive on June 10.

Meanwhile, North Clare Councillor Martin Conway said he expects that a candidate will be added to the ticket soon. “There will be a recommendation made to the party leader to add a candidate in the near future. I would be very disappointed and surprised if there wasn’t a recommendation made at the next [Executive] meeting,” he said.

In March, Deputy Kenny added Dr John Barton to the Fine Gael ticket in East Galway after he lost out in the convention to Deputy Paul Connaughton and Senator Ulick Burke.

IN A week when a major poll suggests the electorate favour an alternative government, Clare is providing a major test of leadership skills for the potential Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.

While Mr Kenny has said he will “not get involved” in the candidate selection process in Clare, many within the party believe he has already promised his close colleague, Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, a place on the ticket, following her performance in the European Election.

The former Clare TD and senator received 22,000 first preference votes from within the county, in the 2004 European vote. Unlike many of the new faces elected in 2002, she has amassed front bench experience as spokesperson on Marine, Defence and European Security. Many believe this would be invaluable in a Fine Gael-led Government.

The party seems split, however, on who, if anybody, should be added to the ticket.

While some elements claim that Cllr Taylor-Quinn should be added, others say she cannot be added, as Cllr Joe Carey polled ahead of her, coming in just three votes behind Cllr Tony Mulcahy who was elected to the ticket.

Fine Gael Head Office said the National Executive would make the decision on a possible third candidate in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Labour are preparing for their own convention. So far the selection process is a two horse race, with East Clare County Councillor Pascal Fitzgerald and the chairman of the Ennis branch, Paul O’Shea in the running for the red ticket.

Cllr Fitzgerald, who is being proposed by the Shannon branch and his own Parteen branch, was first elected to Clare in 2004.

Paul O’Shea is no novice when it comes canvassing, having unsuccessfully contesting the last local election.

Party sources said they were confident of success and were not just making up the numbers.

To secure a seat, the party must keep ahead of the Green Party in first preference votes. Labour will then hope that the Fine Gael, Green and Labour pact will come into play, securing the Labour candidate the Green’s and any possible protest independent candidate’s transfers.

The party will meet next week to discuss the convention further.

It is likely to take place in September, according to Constituency Secretary, Noel Hogan.

Labour last had a Clare TD when Dr Moosajee Bhamjee was elected with 5,113-fist preference vote.

The out-spoken TD secured his position with transfers from Fine Gael and Independents.

HALF of Ireland’s gas needs could be met by two Clare based organisations over the next ten years if developments announced this week come to fruition.

Shannon Development has entered a potentially lucrative land development gas deal in Kerry while the proposed gas field off Spanish Point made significant progress over the last seven days.

The regional development agency has agreed an ‘option to purchase agreement’ with Shannon LNG regarding 281 acres of Shannon Development owned land bank between Tarbert and Ballylongford near the national grid gas pipeline. According to Shannon Development Chief Executive Kevin Thompstone the project could provide over 40 per cent of Ireland’s gas requirements. Under the agreement, Shannon LNG, an Irish subsidiary of Hess LNG Limited, is proposing to build a €400 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal on land on the Shannon Estuary.

According to Shannon Development the deal allows for full consultation with the relevant authorities and the local community.

The proposed terminal would comprise a ship unloading jetty, two or more LNG storage tanks and related buildings and facilities. In addition, a new pipeline, about 25 to 30km in length, will be built to transport the gas to the national gas pipeline system, east of the site.

Announcing the initiative yesterday, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin TD said the project; “has the potential to make a real difference to long term energy costs as well as to deliver significant environmental and employment benefits.”

Meanwhile, plans to develop a major gas field off Spanish Point moved a step closer last week with the announcement by Providence Resources that they are looking for a partner to help them develop the site.

The search for a third party developer is a significant step in the Spanish Point field and a company spokesperson described the interest being shown in industry as ‘significant’.

The company farmed out an 80 per cent stake of a similar project at Dunquin off the Kerry coast to the world’s largest publicly listed energy company, ExxonMobil, in February. A similar agreement could see work commencing on the Spanish Point site in the next 12 months.

Initial survey data indicates that there could be a 30 year supply of gas in the Spanish Point field while exploratory work on it’s sister site off the north Clare coast is ongoing.

Providence also announced gross profits in excess of €1million for 2005 last week.

AN INTERNAL Garda enquiry has been set up to examine the initial Garda investigation into the death of Gary Cotter in west Clare two years ago.

Mr Cotter (20), of Henry Street, Kilrush, was a front seat passenger in a car, which crashed at Moyasta, Kilrush, on April 11, 2004. The driver of the car, Mark O’Gorman, was found not guilty by a jury, of dangerous driving causing death, at Ennis Circuit Court last week.

Mr Cotter’s family say that many questions remain unanswered, arising out of the investigation into the death.

The Cotter family is unhappy with the way the investigation into Gary’s death was handled and have made a complaint to the Justice Minister Michael McDowell, outlining their concerns. This was forwarded to the Garda authorities and prompted a Garda investigation to be set up.

Clare Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn confirmed that a Roscommon-based superintendent had been appointed to conduct the enquiry and that he would report directly to Assistant Garda Commissioner Gerry Kelly.

“A senior Garda Officer has been appointed, at my request, to review all aspects of the Garda investigation into a road traffic accident at Moyasta on April 11, 2004, which resulted in the death of Gareth Cotter from Kilrush,” said Chief Supt Quinn.

The Clare People has learnt that the appointment was made last week, following consultations between solicitors for the Cotter family and Garda representatives. The officer in charge of the enquiry will liaise with the Cotter family.

“The officer will be reporting in the medium term. The investigation is independent of the Clare division and will report to Assistant Commissioner Gerry Kelly,” added the chief superintendent.

“The family have questions they want to answer and I think this is the way to do it,” he said.

In a statement released to The Clare People yesterday (Monday), the dead man’s parents Seán and Mary said, “This trial process regardless of the outcome, was never going to change anything for us, as we still have to deal on a day-to-day basis with the loss of our son Gareth (Gary).”

The Cotter family, including Gary’s siblings Owen (28), Eimear (25) and Eric (19), is hopeful that the investigation will “allay concerns and serious issues raised in relation to the manner in which the gardaí conducted the entire investigation into the death of our son.”