The Clare People Archive

YOUNG people are being turned away from farming by an obsession with regulations and a lack of opportunity to expand the farming business warned IFA presidential can- didate, Padraig Walshe, last Nelo

Speaking at the launch of his election campaign, Pad- raig Walshe said Irish farm- ing is at risk of going into terminal decline, with dev- astating consequences for rural Ireland, unless radical changes are made in the way the industry is regulated and managed.

Mr Walshe said that farm- ers are being smothered with anti-competitive controls and regulations and with archaic

systems of trading. The presi- dential candidate warned that the EU authorities standards on food trade issues and the obsession with regulations are scientifically unjustified and are crippling the competitive- ness of farming in Ireland.

Mr Walshe also commented on what he called the archaic practices in the Irish meat in- dustry, describing it as ‘remi- niscent of the tangling days of 50 years ago’.

“A system where farmers do not know what price they will get for animals from one day to the next would not be tolerated in any other sector of the economy,” he conclud- ed. “The meat industry must come into the modern era and treat farmers as professional business people.”

LAST Thursday was a busy day for the ICMSA in Clare as two separate elections were held in the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon.

In the North Clare area Richard Devereaux of Ennistymon was elected as chairman while Mau- rice Harvey, also of Ennistymon, was elected as secretary and as a National Council member.

Martin McMahon of Broadford was also re- elected as the County Executive Chairman with Padraig Haugh of Moyasta securing the position of secretary. Interestingly, the Vice-Chair of the County Executive will be held jointly by Thomas Shannon of Lissycasey, Richard Devereaux, and Mark Clune of Feakle.

The President of ICMSA, Pat O’Rourke, ad- dressed the meeting and covered three main top- ics in his presentation. He began by criticising

the readiness of some co-ops to cut milk price for short-term considerations.

In this regard, he singled out for his particular criticism, the position adopted by Glanbia who had cut the price paid to their suppliers by 4 cents and had planned to cut it by 10 or 11 cents. Mr O’Rourke also pointed out that this decision com- pletely ignored the underlying strength of dairy markets, with returns from SMP and Casein re- NeNDNem OM asnbU Tee

‘Farmers are very tired of being the first to feel the heat whenever a co-op was faced with even the most transient of commercial challenges,” said Mr O’Rourke.

The issue of animal medication was also open for discussion and Mr O’Rourke said that the IC- MSA had met representatives of the dairy co-ops in Abbeyleix just over a week ago and all were agreed that the new rules on animal medicines,

insofar as they related to dairy farming, should be tied into the Dairy Herd Certificate.

The dairy co-ops also agreed that prescrip- tions for intramammaries should last for one year rather than the six months that the Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, has proposed. This would link the operation on mastitis control programmes at co-op level directly to the Dairy Herd Certificate.

‘At present all dairy farmers must submit dairy herd certificates annually and the linking of new rules on prescription and the Dairy Herd Certifi- cate would have many benefits and would consid- erably reduce the amount of paper work and costs involved,’ continued Mr O’ Rourke.

Mr O’Rourke concluded by calling for the Irish Government to exercise a veto on any attempt by Commissioner Mandelson to coddle British ex- porters at the expense of Europe’s farmers.

A CLOSE friend and colleague of Martin Griffin, who died in last Monday’s tragedy, has been speaking about the talented young tradesman whose funeral took place in Ennis on Saturday.

“Martin Griffin was one of the most infec- tious characters and the hardest working lad I

have ever met in my life,’ said John O’ Donovan of the Adalta Group, for whom Martin worked as a carpenter on the restoration of Coolreagh House at East Clare Golf Club in Bodyke. “My heart is breaking, it is just so hard to believe,’ Mr O’Donovan continued. “Martin Griffin was the most infectious individual. He was always happy and laughing and had an amazing smile. He was multi-talented and a gifted craftsman. He was a registered sub-con-

tractor and boy, did he work hard.”

Mick Doran, whose body was recovered early yesterday, also worked for the Adalta GSrxeltiey

Joe O Callaghan from Tulla, worked with his friends on the Bodyke project but for a different Coelseleree

Speaking of the two men who worked for

him, Mr O’Donovan said, “It is very difficult to

speak about these lads in the past tense but they were fierce hard workers. They were also great pals of mine and they were only working on my own house the night before they travelled to Doolin.

“They worked all day until 8.30pm and the craic we had was something else. Martin worked with me for the past six or eight months with his brother Michael. My heart felt sympa- thies go to both their families,” he added.

DOOLIN is no stranger to tragedy – the vul- lage made famous by the Russell brothers and known the world over has made the headlines for the saddest of reasons down the decades.

As the pall of gloom and depression descend- ed on Doolin over the past week, memories of similar tragedies in the popular tourist resort were revived. All of these drowning tragedies took place on the notorious Tra Leathan.

A priest named Fr. O’Keeffe drowned there

in 1923, while in 1959 two German tourists perished.

However, it was the horror story that un- folded on July 31, 1983 that sent shock waves all over Ireland and beyond. Eight young men lost their lives when they were swept out to sea while bathing at Tra Leathan.

Events began to unfold at 4.30pm when a large number of swimmers, having ignored the danger signs posted by Clare County Council in the area, got into difficulties. The combina- tion of the tide going out, rough seas, strong

undercurrents and shifting sands made condi- tions treacherous. Screams for help were heard as a number of people were swept out to sea. Those who managed to scramble ashore, and a watching crowd of about 70, could only look on helplessly as Tra Leathan claimed eight more lives. All of the dead were from outside the county and in the area for the weekend. A mas- sive operation involving the Army, Navy, Air Corps, Gardai, Civil Defence and volunteers was mounted to retrieve the bodies.

The dead included three brothers, James (25),

John (21) and Edward (19) Doran from Borris in Carlow; James Murphy (17) from Borris; Michael Murphy (22) and Colm Keyes (21) from Portlaoise; Denis O’Sullivan (30) from Sneem, Co Kerry and John Paul Leahy (19) from Kilmallock.

A veil of depression descended on north Clare and beyond after the tragedy. It was the worst maritime disaster in the county since nine lives were lost when the

that when big matches, at- tracting large crowds, take place, ‘There is an issue there in relation to the parking. It is becoming quite an issue. People are just throwing cars on footpaths. We have to real- ise that where there is a pitch, there

will be a certain amount of conges- tion and there is limited parking. . . .but people are getting blocked in and there is a danger for children living in the area,’ said the resi- eleim

Wolfe ‘Tones chairman ‘Tony O’Connell said there were stew- ards in place during last week’s fi- nal, but that stewarding is difficult when large crowds attend games. He said a bigger crowd that an- WCen Oye IKeLOMr-LH Ro sLOlorO MMO CoMeE-BOOTOMMUA ONTO D was arranged for Shannon at short notice.

“If the Council want to talk to us, we will talk to them, and also to the residents and gardai. We will talk to everybody and I am sure we will get a resolution,” said Mr

O’Connell.

Cllr Greg Duff, who raised the issue at a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week, said Clare County Council should take meas- ures to “curtail dangerous parking” in the vicinity of the pitch.

He said while he is happy to see fixtures allocated to the Shannon pitch, the parking issue should be addressed by officials of the club, gardai and the Council. ;

He said parts of Gleann an Oir, the estate close to the GAA pitch, were almost blockaded off, during the intermediate hurling final.

“When people are _ bringing crowds in, they should bear some of the responsibility,” said Cllr Duff.

Cllr Sean McKee said some cars

parked “half-way across people’s driveways,’ and drivers showed “scant regard for people who live there.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy said may- be it was time all partners involved should come together, so that resi- dents would have access to their homes, during matches.

Shannon Mayor Cllr Tony Mulc- ahy said a meeting should be set up between gardai, residents associa- tions, club representatives and the Town Council, to resolve the prob- one

“T’d suggest if we don’t get a meeting before Christmas, we should get one after . . .to get a traffic management plan in place,” said Cllr Mulcahy.

A LOCAL councillor is calling on Clare County Council to make Brennan’s Cross in Meelick safer for motorists and pedestrians.

Cllr Cathal Crowe has tabled a motion for the upcoming Killaloe area meeting of the council to have safety measures installed at the Cross. Brennan’s Cross is located on the Knocklisheen Road, one of the main arteries from Limerick

City into South-East Clare.

‘The junction is staggered with one approach road leading to the residential area of Elton

Court, Kilavoher, Ballycannon Heights and Glenn Abhainn and another leading to Meelick church and school. Traffic at Brennan’s Cross junction is particularly congested at morning and evening times when parents are bringing children to and from school and people are co- muting to work,” said Cllr Crowe.

The councilor said that he called “more than a year ago” for safety measures such as rumble strips and increased signage to be put in place on the approach roads to the junction.

‘ T don’t think enough has been done to make the junction safe and this time I will be asking the Council to carry out urgent repairs on the four approach roads, to remove earthen banks that limit visibility and put an extended rumble area in place,’ Cllr Crowe said.

NORTH Clare conservationist and co-ordinator of the BurrenLife farm- ing organisation, Brendan Dunford was appointed to the national Herit- age Council by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Dick Roche, last week.

The council is the statutory body whose main responsibility is to pro- pose policy to government for the preservation and enhancement of heritage in Ireland.

It is funded by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Lo- cal Government, and it was allocated more than €10 million in funding last year. “I am delighted with the appointment,’ said Mr Dunford.

“It not only signifies the impor- tance of the Burren but it also shows the value of the partnership between conservationists and farmers that the Burren is leading the way on.”

Mr Dunford moved to the Burren nine years ago to write his doctorate ‘The importance of farming practic- es on the natural heritage’.

After completing this work he es- tablished the not for profit Burrenbeo group and website with his partner Ann O’Connor in 2002.

His latest project BurrenLife, which was officially launched by Minister

Roche earlier this year, is focussed on examining sustainable farming methods for Burren farmers.

“The Heritage Council has an im- portant role to play in promoting best practice in protecting our national and local heritage when he appointed new members to the Heritage Coun- cil,” said Mr Roche at the announce- ment.

“It has established itself as a rec- ognised centre of excellence, and I want the Council to continue and build on the good work of the outgo- ing members across the whole range of heritage values that it has a role in promoting and protecting.”

The council will be chaired by former director-general in the Eu- ropean Commission Tom O’Dwyer, who is taking up his second spell on the council. Others to serve for the second time are; Dublin City librar- ian Deirdre Ellis-King; archaeologist Maurice Hurley; former senator Nio- clas O’Conchubhair and director of the Hunt Museum, Virginia Teehan.

Aside from Brendan the new mem- ber announced by Minister Roche are; Betty Coffey, the former Ca- thaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire Rath- down County Council; Billy Colfer, chairman of Wexford Historical Society; Professor Gabriel Cooney of UCD; broadcaster Ted Creedon;

artist Rhonwen Hayes; landscape horticulturalist Mary Keenan; gar- dening expert Finola Reid; Louth

County Manager Martina Maloney; Dr Caro-lynne Ferris, of the Coun- tryside Access and Activities Net- work in Northern Ireland; former

Cathaoirleach of Bray Town Council Noel Keyes and the Department of the Environment’s principal of herit- age policy, Donal Enright.

THE BROADFORD man whose body was found washed up on the shore at Doolin had just begun a new life in the home which he built with his fiancée.

31-year-old Mick Doran moved a cou- ple of weeks ago into the house which the couple had built on a site overlooking sce- nic Lough Doon, in Ballykelly, Broadford. Yesterday, saddened neighbours in Broad- ford offered prayers at a special evening Mass which local priest, Fr John Bane, said for the tragic man and his family.

Mick got engaged to his fiancee, Kit, last Christmas and together they had planned their new home in East Clare. His body was found washed up at Tra Leathan yesterday morning, one week after he and two friends from Tulla and Ennis went missing.

The body of Ennis man, Martin Grif- fin (24) was recovered off the same beach last Tuesday but the search for Joseph O’Callaghan (34) from Tulla continues.

All three had been socialising in Doolin the night before the tragedy, in which their jeep plunged off the cliff face.

A friend of the young carpenter described him as “a real character. He was a hoot – just larger than life. This is a terrible thing to have happened.”

Described as “‘an absolute master crafts- man,’ by his boss, John O’ Donovan, Mick was working on the restoration of Cool- reagh House at the East Clare Golf Club in Bodyke.

“He was a lovely fellah, as amiable a chap as you would meet,” said John. “He was a very hard worker and he is a huge loss to us in every sense – irreplaceable.”

Building work on the house and on a new golf village project at the club has stopped since the tragedy and will remain at a standstill for the rest of the week as a mark of respect. Many of the three men’s work colleagues joined the search parties combing the coast at Dollin in recent days. Residents of Tulla as well as friends and members of the O’Callaghan family also joined the search parties, as did people from Broadford.

Born in Waterford, which was his fa- ther’s native place, Mick lived for some time in England. His family moved back to his mother’s home town of Ennis after the death of his father at an early age.

He is survived by his fiancee, his mother, Anna , older brother Mark and sister, Ann- Marie. It is understood that the funeral will take place in Ennis.

A KILLALOE man has lashed out at a situa- tion wherein he would have to make a 30 mile round-trip to drop off sick certs in the the event of a postal strike.

With the strike looming last week, the De- partment of Social and Family Affairs wrote to Tom Clifford, telling him that he would have to drop his sick certs to the nearest department office.

‘“That’s in Limerick — a 30 mile round trip for me’’, said ‘Tom.

While the Killaloe man was stunned to hear that a trip to Limerick City was the only way

he could send his cert in, he was even more shocked to learn that to collect any money, he would have to “go to my nearest welfare of- ficer on the day after I would normally be paid. I’m supposed to be paid on Friday but the wel- fare officer only sits in Killaloe for a couple of hours mid-week”.

And while some recipients of disability ben- efit might be able to have payments made di- rectly into their bank accounts, Tom says this is not an option for him or the many others who have building society accounts.

“Tt can take up to 11 days for money to clear with the building society and the department

won’t pay into credit union accounts,” he said.

“It’s the usual story — a Dublin department thinks nothing exists outside The Pale. There’s no thought about how something like this af- fects people in other areas.”

There were delays following yesterday’s strike action, which went ahead as it was too late to inform Communications Worker Union members that pledges had been given.

The action was taken on foot of the com- pany’s refusal to implement the full terms of Sustaining Progress to the union’s 8,500 mem- leo uce

Having suffered heavy losses for several

years prior to 2004, it pleaded inability to pay the terms of the national agreement.

While workers did get a five per cent increase in January as recommended by independent as- sessors, they have been due to receive a cumu- lative total of more than 13 per cent. Another contentious issue 1s company plans to imple- ment major changes in its operations.

On Sunday night, the national Implementa- tion Body persuaded An Post chief executive, Donal Curtin, to back off from his refusal to have an independent assessment of the cost- ings on which the Labour Court had previously based a peace formula.

THREE young men who assaulted a man after he refused to give one of them a ciga- rette, have been remanded in custody for a week at Ennis Circuit Court.

Ryan Haran (21), of Lahinch Road, En- nistymon; David King (20), Doora, Ennis and Noel Mullane (23), of Ardnaculla, En- nistymon; each pleaded guilty to a number of offences, arising out of an incident at Teach Ceol, Deerpark, Ennistymon, on June 13, 2004.

Sgt Michael Gallery told the court the in-

jured party Sean O’Flaherty (33), was stand- ing at O’Brien’s Corner in the early hours of the morning, when he was approached by Noel Mullane. He was asked for a cigarette and he obliged but when asked for a second cigarette he refused. He was punched in the nose.

Some time later, as he walked up Church Street, he was grabbed by a number of men and brought to the grounds of Teach Ceol. He was kicked, thrown on the ground and punched. His shirt was ripped open and his trousers was cut. The hairs on his chest were singed by a cigarette lighter, he was cut on

the face and leg and was called names.

His pockets were searched and his wallet, which contained money, a bank card and credit card, was stolen.

The three accused men were seen around this time by a garda in a boisterous mood and under the influence of some form of in- toxicant.

There was evidence of loose gravel and loose change on the ground, where the in- cident occurred.

The injured party suffered trauma and shock but has since recovered and has moved to another county.

The court was told the three were unem- ployed at the time of this incident.

Judge Carroll Moran said he would ad- journ the case for a week and remanded the three in custody.

‘This is a very bad assault committed by three people very badly out of control. I know they pleaded guilty .. . but they in- flicted appalling injuries. He [the injured party] was kicked, thrown on the ground and kicked in the ribs.

“It’s about as bad as you’d get and it seems there was no motive,’ said Judge Moran.