The Clare People Archive

THE funeral will take place in Ennis today of a well-known father of four who died following a tragic accident last week. Ennis man Sean O’Sullivan got into difficulty while swimming at Whitestrand near Spanish Point.

The incident occurred at around 5.30pm on Friday. A lifeguard on duty was asked to check on Mr O’Sullivan’s position in the water. A boat alerted the lifeguard to the presence of a body in the water.

Mr O’Sullivan was brought ashore where attempts were made to resuscitate him.

Mr O’Sullivan was brought by heli- copter to University Hospital Galway where he was later pronounced dead.

He was an experienced swimmer, lifeguard and sub-aqua diver from a well-known and popular sporting Ennis family. He was a long-serving member of the Ennis Sub Aqua Club and worked for many years as a lifeguard. Two of Mr O’Sullivan’s sons, as well as two nephews, currently work as lifeguards in Clare.

Mr O’Sullivan’s family are also well known from their long-time involvement in the Community Games.

Tributes have been paid to a man described as a “fantastic” person and athlete.

A spokeswoman for Clare Commu- nity Games said, “Clare Community Games were shocked and saddened at the sudden death of Sean O’Sullivan on Friday last. Sean was vice chairman of Clare Community Games in 1998 and 1999.

“He was very actively involved in all aspects of the games both at Area and County level. Sean won a Silver medal for Judo at the National Finals in Mosney in 1974. Sean is the son of John and Cecilia, President and Vice President of Clare Community Games,” she continued.

“We extend our sympathy and prayers to all the O’Sullivan family and extended family. Ar deis Dé go raibh a anam.”

Friend and Clare Water Safety Development Officer, Liam Griffin, described the incident as a “terrible tragedy”.

He added, “He was a fantastic fella, a real lovely, lovely fella. He was involved in water safety for a long number of years. He would have been a lifeguard on all the big beaches in Clare. Everyone is numb after what happened.”

Mr O’Sullivan is pre-deceased by his sister Rose. He is survived by his wife Helen and sons Cian, Eoin, Cormac and Donnchadh. He will be sadly missed by his family, extended family and wide circle of friends. Funeral Mass takes place at 11am today at Ennis Cathedral. Burial afterwards in Drumcliffe Cemetery.

CLARE County Council has been urged to consult with landowners requesting their cooperation for a walking path around Ballyalla Lake.

The proposal was put forward at yesterday’s meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral Area.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP), who put forward the motion, told the meeting that he was not expecting the matter to progress quickly.

Cllr Meaney said, “However, this would be a first step to write to landowners to see if they would be willing to make land available.”

According to Eamon O’Dea, Senior Executive Engineer, a number of issues have to be considered in the context of any development at Ballyalla.

These include funding to compensate private landowners in the area and to construct the walking path. He stated that the majority of land around the lake is in private ownership.

Mr O’Dea added, “Different levels to which the lakes rise at different times of the year would cause difficulties at the exact location of the pathway.”

Cllr Meaney said water level problems could be overcome though the use of elevated walkways.

Cllr Tom McNamara (FF) told the meeting that a great opportunity existed to develop Ballyalla.

He said the project should initially focus on improving footpaths and toilet facilities while a playground should also be considered.

He said that by working alongside a local community group, the council could seek 75 per cent of the project costs through the LEADER programme.

Cllr McNamara added, “Something like this would really lift the area.”

It has previously been proposed that the next Ennis Development Plan contain provision for a land corridor linking Ballyalla with the Lees Road Sports and Amenity Facility.

UP TO 70 students, the majority from America, have been unearthing the historical mysteries of the Burren for the past two years thanks to the Caherconnell Archaeological Field School.

Within the last year the school, which allows students to get involved in the archaeological dig on the Caherconnell fort received academic accreditation from NUI Galway.

The accreditation adds even more academic weight to the course overseen by Irish archaeological heavy weight Dr Michelle Comer.

All of its achievements will be celebrated on Friday evening next when the school is officially opened by Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan.

The family run fort and school has already added significantly to the historical knowledge of the area in the last two years.

Colm Davoren of Caherconnell Archaeological Field School told The Clare People that “education means a lot to the family.” The fort was originally built by the family and “it is our lineage” explained Mr Davoren.

Among the finds the students and their supervisor discovered just a stone’s throw from the school in the fort was a hearth the pre-dates the originally presumed date of the fort.

They also uncovered a footpath to the fort, which is now available for the public to see. The remains of a mystery woman dating back 400 years was also discovered. Her body was defleshed and disarticulated, a practice that should have finished many years previous – adding to the mystery. Mr Davoren said that plans are in place to begin excavating the main fort next year.

Siobhán King from Shannon Development has also pledged her support for the business.

“Caherconnell stone fort is an excellent example of a family-owned business in the heart of the Burren. They have worked over the years to maintain their uniqueness as a product, while at the same diversifying to build on their product offering. The addition of the field school is a fine example of this and is testimony to the enthusiasm, hard work, and innovation of the owners to develop the business as a key tourist attraction within the Burren,” she said.

“There has been an influx of archaeological students who come to Caherconnell to develop their ar- chaeological techniques and to add to their experience in a truly meaningful way.”

Dr Michelle Comber, the archaeological director at Caherconnell and a lecturer of Archaeology at NUIG, said the “field school provides an amazing opportunity for us, as archaeologists, to unearth information on the Irish past, and to pass on our skills to the next generation of archaeologists. The school also allows the local community to share its proud heritage with an international audience – continuing the centuriesold Davoren tradition of providing education in the Burren.”

THERE were 200 per cent more houses and commercial units added to the Clare building stock during the first six months of this year, when compared to the same period in 2011.

As many as 327 new residential and commercial buildings were recorded in Clare for the first six months of 2012, according to new figures released by GeoDirectory.

GeoDirectory was jointly established by An Post and Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) to create and manage Ireland’s only complete database of commercial and residential buildings.

The figures represent a year-onyear increase of 200 per cent compared to the same period in 2011 when 109 new buildings were added in the county.

The increase in new building additions in Clare in the first half of 2012 is in contrast to the 23 per cent fall recorded nationally.

The 327 new buildings identi fied in Clare were composed of 295 residential buildings, 29 commercial buildings and the were dual-purpose buildings with both residential and commercial elements. These new additions bring the total number of buildings in Clare to 57, 521.

Of these new buildings 11 per cent remain unoccupied in County Clare compared to 12 per cent nationally.

Across the country, GeoDirectory recorded 5,620 new buildings, consisting of 4,837 residential buildings, 590 commercial buildings and 193 dual-purpose buildings with both residential and commercial compo- nents. The new additions for the first six months of 2012 bring the total number of new buildings in the Republic of Ireland to 1,889,143.

Clare was one of just seven counties to buck the national trend by experiencing an increase in new building additions compared to the same period in 2011.

Commenting on the figures, Dara Keogh, CEO, GeoDirectory, said, “Current figures for new additions represent a 94 per cent decrease from the peak in 2007, when GeoDirectory identified 60,781 new commercial and residential buildings across the country.

The new figures have identified a vacancy rate nationally of 12 per cent for new building additions, which in effect would mean that 9 out of 10 new commercial and residential buildings are occupied.

TOURISTS have been sucked out of North Clare over the last two weeks with the Volvo Ocean Race creating a “vortex” for holiday makers, according to one leading Clare hotelier.

While hundreds of thousands of tourists flocked north to take in the spectacle in Galway, Clare tourism operators were left kicking their heels for two successive weekend and the expected tourists failed to show up.

According to Lahinch hotelier and president of the Irish Hotel Federation, Michael Vaughan, the Volvo Ocean Race was good news for Galway, but very bad news for Clare.

“The year had started okay and May wasn’t so bad but things were very bad in Clare, and North Clare in particular over the last few weeks. The Volvo Ocean Race succeeded in hovering up all the tourists that were coming out west in recent weeks. It was like a vortex for tourists,” he said.

“It was the same when it happened two years ago – it created a very quiet period for tourists in Clare.”

This news comes just weeks after early season positive numbers from the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience were overturned by a very poor opening to June. This sudden downturn in the numbers visiting the cliffs was put town to a concentration of both Irish and European tourists travelling to Poland and the Ukraine because of Euro 2012.

This trend has sparked fears that the expected boost to tourism number predicted to take place during the London 2012 Olympics – may not materialise later this year.

THE national spokesperson for the ISPCA, Aiden Corcoran, has agreed to meet with Ennis woman Deirdre Ryan in an attempt to bring to an end a four-month-long row involving the Clare Dog Shelter in Ennis.

Ms Ryan, who is founder of the Rover Rescue organisation, claims that she is being denied access to dogs from the Ennis Shelter. While this is being disputed by staff at the shelter, Mr Corcoran confirmed last week that he is willing to travel to Clare to meet Ms Ryan and “mend bridges”.

Contact between the ISPCA National Office and Rover Rescue was made through a local intermediary who has connections with both organisations.

“Unfortunately, in the interest of the health and safety of the public enter- ing the shelter and disease control, it was found necessary to introduce new standard operating procedures at all ISPCA-run shelters,” said Mr Corcoran.

“Visitors and members of the public entering the kennels were identified as high risk and this practice was discontinued.

“All rehomeable dogs are made available to the public, including Deirdre, for rehoming and to suggest otherwise is simply unfair.”

It is as yet unclear when the proposed meeting will take place and whether the Clare Dog Warden, Frankie Coote, will have any role to play in the proposed bridge-mending.

Over the last three years, Rover Rescue has rehomed hundreds of Clare dogs in Wales and England.

However, founder Deirdre Ryan claims that she has not been able to re-home dogs as she normally would since February of this year.

A COMPROMISE appears to have been reached between Clare County Council and Minister Leo Varadkar over the involvement of the local authority responsible for Shannon in the decision making process for the Airport.

The main bone of contention between the two concerned Clare County Council’s lack of involvement in the three steering groups appointed to oversee the process.

Following a meeting between the two sides it would appear that a formal mechanism will now be put in place whereby there is communication between the Council and the three groups.

A Clare County Council delegation met with Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar on Thursday to discuss issues relating to Shannon Airport’s separation from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).

Following the meeting at the Department of Transport in Dublin, Mayor of Clare Councillor Pat Daly announced that the Minister had committed to putting a formal proc- ess in place to facilitate input by the Mayor and Clare County Manager, on behalf of the Council, with the Chairs of the recently announced Steering Group and two Taskforces.

“Minister Varadkar listened to our views and accepted we have a valuable contribution to make to the process,” stated Mayor Daly.

He continued: “The Council accepted that if the Minister was to add additional members to the Taskforces that he would have to reopen the entire process and that could have delayed the work of the relevant Taskforces. Therefore, the Council did not request to be included on the Taskforces. We asked for a process that would facilitate the Council influencing, and participating in the decision making process. The Minister positively responded to that request.”

Clare County Manager, Tom Coughlan confirmed he has already met with the Chairs of the Taskforces.

“The Chairs strongly indicated to me that the Council’s input to their deliberations would be essential to the process. The outcome of today’s meeting with the Minister is that a formal process is being put in place to facilitate that role.

“Clare County Council, as the Local Authority for Shannon and Clare, looks forward to playing a key role in devising a plan for the future development of Shannon Airport,” he added.

The Clare County Council delegation that met with Minister Varadkar included Mayor of Clare Cllr. Pat Daly, Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan, and Councillors Patricia McCarthy, Richard Nagle and John Crowe, each members of the Council’s Corporate Policy Group.

PRESSURE is mounting on An Post to bankroll a mid-week bus service for the people of Corofin who lost their local post office last week.

Following requests from members of the local community, Clare Accessible Transport have now started a Saturday morning service connecting Corofin and Kilfenora, one of the closest post offices to Corofin.

However, North Clare Senator Martin Conway (FG) met with offi cials at An Post last week and asked that the postal agency supply a midweek bus service to ease the pressure on locals.

“Many elderly people in Corofin and many of those on social welfare do not have transport and they will find it difficult to get to Kilfenora.

“I’m calling for An Post to provide bus transportation on a Tuesday and Friday for people without transportation, until an alternative premises can be found in Corofin,” said Senator Conway.

“An unfortunate set of circumstances led to the resignation of the postmaster in Corofin and to the closure of the post office.

“I acknowledge that An Post is doing its best, but the connectivity issue between the villages needs to be addressed,” he said.

Clare Accessible Transport hosted their first Saturday morning return service between Corofin and Kilfenora last week.

The not-for-profit organisation has committed to the service on a shortterm basis but could extend the service if required.

“The service leaves from outside Bofey Quinns in Corofin at 11.30am on Saturday and returns from Kilfenora at 12.15pm.

“We have a number of members in the Corofin area and they asked us to look at introducing this service,” said a spokesperson.

The Saturday morning bus service between Corofin and Kilfenora is open to anyone but users are asked to pay a € 10 yearly subscription to Clare Accessible Transport.

Following that, anyone with a travel pass can use the service for free, while a € 2 charge applies for the over 16s, and a € 1 charge applies for children under 16 years of age.

Children aged under five can use the service for free. Pre-booking is essential by ringing 061 924375.

Meanwhile, An Post have introduced an external postbox in Corofin to replace the posting facility in the Corofin Post Office and have confirmed that mail collections will continue at normal times.

It is still not clear when regular post office service will be resumed in Corofin.

WATER levels on the River Shannon rose by a massive 500 centimetre in just 10 days in June, raising fears of unprecedented summer floods affecting parts of East and South Clare. Water levels on the river are currently on a par to the levels normally seen in October and November.

This has sparked concerns that an unprecedented summer flood could hit East Clare communities who are sometimes affected by winter flooding from the Shannon.

Concern has also been expressed that waterlogged area in parts of the county could be more susceptible to winter flooding this year – if the backlog of water doesn’t get a chance to clear.

The overall water levels on the River Shannon last month were more than 300 centimetre higher than the average for June of 2011.

According to figures released by the ESB, who control water flow at Ardnacrusha, water levels on the river rose from 37.7 metre on June 6 to 38.2 metres on June 16 and stood at 38.3 metres at the end of June.

The June water level was on a par with the November 2010 level, while it was marginally higher than the peak level in October 2009 – when many Clare towns were devastated by flooding.

It is as yet unclear how much of this massive backlog of water can be cleared by the ESB’s management of the Parteen Weir and Ardnacrusha.

A build-up of water which began in October of 2009 eventually contributed to widespread flooding across many areas in South East Clare later that year.

RIVER levels in Ennis remain under constant observation amid rising concerns from local businesses over flooding.

A senior official with Ennis Town Council said yesterday that rainfall and water levels in the Ennis area probably the most “watched pieces of data in the county”.

Eamon O’Dea was responding to concerns sparked by recent heavy flooding in Clonakilty, Cork.

Cllr Tony Mulqueen (FG) told a meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral Area that businesses in the Abbey Street area fear a repeat of damage suffered during unprecedented flooding in November 2009.

He said, “When people saw what happened in Clonakilty, it made them more conscious of flooding.”

Mr O’Dea said council staff had recently conducted round-the-clock observation of water levels around Ennis.

He said an alert system is in place and that measures such as sandbags and electrical pumps are on standby in locations around the town.

However Mr O’Dea warned that there are certain extreme rainfall events that could not be planned for.

The meeting also heard that work on the lower Fergus Certified Drainage Contract is anticipated to commence in October.

The information was released in response to a motion tabled by Cllr James Breen (Ind).

“I am asking the up to date position in relation to the elimination of future flooding at Abbey Street Car Park. When will work on the river begin?” he said.

In his reply, Mr O’Dea stated, “The Office of Public Works (OPW) are presently carrying out a tender assessment on the lower Fergus Certified Drainage Contract. The works include the Abbey Street car park and area behind houses opposite the Abbey. The OPW anticipate that work will commence on the scheme in October 2012. The Council has requested that the work in this area is prioritised by the OPW contractor.”

The project was delayed earlier this year after the OPW was forced to abandon its tender process.

Mr O’Dea said that process had now re-commenced but that it may take some time before a contractor is appointed. “It is a fairly laborious process,” he added.

Cllr Breen said, “Its disappointing. This is the third year that this project has not started. Rate payers in the area are very concerned.”

The scheme will see improvements to river walls and other flood defenses on the Fergus from Bank Place to Doora Bridge. Phase one of the scheme is credited with preventing floods in large areas of the town centre during November 2009.