The Clare People Archive

THERE was joy for the family and friends of baby Sergio O’Connor who came through a gruelling six hour operation in Boston on Saturday.

One year-old Sergio, who is one of a set of twins, had been in America for more than a week waiting for the life saving surgery to reconnect his oesophagus.

Sergio was born on March 5 last with a rare condition which prevents him from eating, drinking or swallowing. Sergio, who before travelling to America had only been released from hospital for a few hours on Christmas day, came through the operations well but is still in an induced coma.

Sergio and his twin brother Tadhg were born into one of North Clare’s best loved traditional music families with his father Donal, his grandmother Ann O’Connor (nee Dillon) and his uncle, the former TG4 Young Musician of the Year, Liam O’Connor, all taking part in countless sessions around the county over the years.

Sergio still has a large number of relatives in Ennistymon and other areas and a large number of fundraising concerts have taken place around the county in recent months, in help in the cost of his life changing surgery.

The youngster went into surgery at 7.30am local time and with surgeons using a rare process known as the Foker treatment, to reconnect his oesophagus. The operation went well but Sergio will remain in an induced coma for another week so that his oesophagus has time to heal up.

Sergio’s family in America say that are “over the moon” with the surgery and are very thankful to the entire team here at the hospital. Sergio will still require other procedures and surgeries in the future but last Saturday’s operation is seen as a key milestone in his recovery.

THE life and times of the the founder of the GAA, Clare man Michael Cusack, is to be celebrated in a new annual summer school which has been proposed for the Michael Cusack Centre in Carron.

The summer school, which was proposed by Cllr Michael Kelly (FF) at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting of Clare County Council could see the local authority working hand and hand with the GAA to bring hundreds of delegates to Carron each summer.

Councillors resolved at yesterday’s meeting to make contact with the Clare GAA county board in an effort to move forward the summer school in partnership with the GAA.

“There are schools taking place all over the country. A school like this would be a great source of income and would also showcase the Burren to tourists,” said Cllr Kelly.

“You could get more than 200 people in an area for such a conference. Michael Cusack was the founder of the GAA and, to be honest, I can’t believe that there isn’t already a summer school to mark the man.”

The motions in favour of the sum- mer school received widespread support from local councillors.

“I think that it is an excellent idea. Maybe the GAA could help lead the way in this as well. It would be a money making venture for the GAA and the spins offs for the wider areas could be massive,” said Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) who seconded the proposal.

“It could help put the Burren and the Michael Cusack centre on the map – more then they are already.”

WOMEN are considered the fairer sex, but now they can be officially labelled the longer living sex as well where Clare is concerned, the latest statistics for the county from the 2011 National Census of Population have revealed.

The figures that were released in the third bulletin report from the Central Statistics Office last Thursday, show that there are now 14, 519 people of pension age in the county, with women outnumbering men. The latest breakdown of the battle of the sexes in Clare comes on the back of the first bulletin report from the CSO that revealed that there were more women than men in the county for the first time since the 1871 census.

In April it was revealed that of the county’s 117,196 population, 58,898 were female and 58,298 were male. Now, confirmation that women in the county are living longer than men has come with statistics which reveal that there are 7,652 women of retirement age in the county as against 6,869 men.

The figures for those of retirement age in Clare shows that, in keeping with national trends, the county is home to an ageing population. The 2006 census returns for the county showed that there were 12, 519 people of retirement age, which represented 11.5 per cent of the total population of 110, 590.

Five years on there has been a jump of 2,065 in the numbers of people of retirement age living in the county, with the increase to 14,519 meaning that 12.4 per cent of Clare’s 117,196 population are now of pension age.

In releasing the breakdown of figures of those of retirement age, the CSO has split the post-65 generation into five different groups – 65-69, 7074,75-79, 80-84 and 85 and over.

The biggest gap between females and males is to be found in the 85 and over category, with females outnumbering males by more than two to one. There are 1, 581 of 85 and over in the county, 1,070 of them being females to only 511 males.

This trend of women being in the majority is continued in the 75-79 age group, where there are 1,359 women to 1,264 men and the 80-84 category where the breakdown stands at 1,069 women to 781 men.

EMERGENCY services recorded one of their busiest weekends in recent years as the Banner county took to the water to take advantage of the scorching heat.

A large number of incidents were recorded in the North and East of the county – with coast guard units in Doolin and Killaloe responding to seven different incidents, none of which resulted in major injury or the loss of life. This hot spell comes a week before the roll out of lifeguard services in county – with lifeguard’s not due to begin work at Lahinch, Kilkee, Fanore and Spanish Point until this weekend. Councillors at yesterday’s North Clare Area Meet- ing of Clare County Council suggested that an “emergency response team” be put in place to react to large numbers of locals and tourists descending on Clare’s coastal beaches outside the normal tourist season.

Speaking to The Clare People yesterday, Clare County Council’s Civil Defence and Water Safety Officer, Liam Griffin, said that lifeguard services had been maintained in the county – despite cuts to all other areas of the local authority staffing.

“Despite a considerable reduction in local government funding and other cutbacks within the sector, we have taken the decision to retain the same level of lifeguard cover as provided in previous years,” he said.

COMMERCIAL flights in and out of Shannon Airport have dropped by almost 10 per cent in the last year.

According to the latest figures from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) commercial terminal flights at Shannon were down 9.8 per cent in April 2012 when compared to April 2011.

It stated that there are now just on average 48 commercial daily movements at the Clare airport.

Commercial international arrivals and departures for Shannon, Dublin and Cork airports dropped by 4.6 per cent in April 2012, when compared to April 2011.

On a cumulative basis commercial terminal traffic for Shannon, Dublin and Cork airports for January to April of this year was 3.1 per cent.

It was not all bad news for the aviation sector however. There was an increase of 0.2 per cent in Ireland’s en-route traffic movements, or flights that do not land in Ireland, in April 2012 when compared to April 2011.

However, North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe/US Flights) saw a decrease of 0.16 per cent in April 2012, when compared to the same month in 2011.

On a cumulative basis the growth in en-route traffic movements and North Atlantic Communications flights for January to April 2012, compared to the same period last year, was 0.9 per cent and 1.17 per cent respectively.

THE task force charged with responsibility for separating Shannon Airport from Dublin Airport Authority control won’t have a Clare County Council involvement – this is despite demands from the local authority to be included in the process of implementing the airport much-heralded independence and Department of Transport denials that the make of the high-powered committee has already been decided upon.

However, leaks to the effect that the county’s premier decision-making body has been left of the whole process emerged at the weekend when the first six members of the Department of Transport’s eight person ‘steering committee’ were revealed.

The group has been established to advise the Government on the separation of Shannon of from the DAA and its subsequent integration with the property assets of Shannon Development under the new independent airport structure.

Dr Alan Aherne, Declan Keane, Eamonn Brennan, Ed Hansom, Pat Dalton and Rose Hynes have been appointed to the task force, with the remaining appointments to be filled by representatives of both the Departments of Finance and Transport.

Ms Hynes is chairman of Stateowned energy group Bord Gáis and a former executive with Shannonbased aviation leasing group GPA. She is also a former member of the Shannon Airport Authority that was established in 2004 by then Trans port Minister, Seamus Brennan.

Mr Hansom is another former GPA executive who has been appointed to the high-powered committee, while Mr Brennan is chief executive of the Irish Aviation Authority.

Mr Dalton is an executive with investment group One51 and a former member of the Cork Aviation Authority.

Mr Aherne is a former adviser at the Department of Finance and is on the board of the Central Bank of Ireland, while Mr Keane was chairman of the interdepartmental working group report on mortgage arrears.

“We want representation on that committee and have to demand it,” Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) told a special meeting of Clare County Council’s Strategic Policy Committee for Community and Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Services last week, with former Mayor of Clare, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) saying “Clare County Council should have proper representation on the new Shannon Airport board.”

Speaking to The Clare People , Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan underlined Clare County Council’s need to be involved in the airport’s future. “The council considers that it should be involved and engaged in any future plans for Shannon Airport,” he said.

“There are issues surrounding the future of the airport which require immediate clarification,” he added. The county manager was referring to plans for the potential development of the council owned land bank in and around Shannon Airport as well as the appointment of a steering group.

THE Irish Taxi Driver’s Federation has insisted that Ennis taxis remain one of the safest modes of transport available.

The national body issued the reassurance after an Ennis driver was given a two year suspended sentence at Limerick Circuit Court for assaulting a passenger.

Martin White, who is the Clare representative for the federation and has 30 years experience driving in Clare, said he had never heard of a taxi driver attacking a passenger before this incident.

“The number one priority for a taxi driver is the safety and well being of the passengers,” he told The Clare People .

“This was a one off incident and I had never heard of it before. He shouldn’t have taken the law into his own hands. He should have called the Gardaí if he thought there was an issue with the passenger and the fare.”

Mr White said that all taxi drivers undergo Garda checks.

“As drivers we are there to bring passengers home safe and I believe taxis are still the safest form of trans- port.”

Meanwhile taxi driver Okechukwu Utuke (44), of Dun na hInse, Ennis, received a two-year suspended sentence after he was found guilty of assaulting passenger Michael L’Estrange and fracturing his collarbone in a row over a € 15 fare on April 25, 2010. The case was heard over three days in Ennis.

During the case Mr L’Estrange told the jury that he had gone for a few drinks in town and left for home at around 1.30am. He said that he had started to walk but when he got to Country Pine, he “flagged” down a taxi.

He asked the driver to bring him to his home at Gort na mBlath. Mr L’Estrange said he stopped a short distance from his house as he never got a taxi directly to his home “because you don’t know who’s who”.

Mr L’Estrange said that after the car came to a halt in Gort Na mBlath, he disputed the fare of € 15, adding that it usually cost between € 7 and € 8.

The court heard that Mr L’Estrange dropped € 10 onto the front passenger seat and left the car.

He said that the driver followed him from the car, knocked him to the ground and started digging him with his fists.

THE Burke’s group of hotels are now the largest employers in the North Clare area following the announcement that they will create 15 new full-time positions with the reopening of the Tír Gan Éan House Hotel in Doolin.

This brings to 125 the number of full-time people employed by the group – between the Armada Hotel, Hotel Doolin and Tír Gan Éan – surpassing the 120 currently employed by Data Display in Ennistymon. A further 65 seasonal jobs will be also be generated at the three hotels between now and the end of October. Tír Gan Éan, which is located beside Hotel Doolin, was closed last year, by another hotel operator.

Managing director of the Armada Hotel and Hotel Doolin, John Burke, said that the new jobs were made possible, in part, because of the nine per cent VAT rate on tourism operators.

“The fact that the lower VAT rate of nine per cent for the tourism in- dustry will continue into 2013 is good news not only for the Irish tourism and hospitality sector, but also for consumers as the cost of accommodation can be maintained at extremely competitive rates,” he said.

“The decision to acquire Tír Gan Éan is key to our strategy of providing quality accommodation at an affordable rate. It will be marketed at overseas visitors, as well as the rapidly growing domestic market,” added Mr Burke.

General manager of Tír Gan Éan House Hotel and the award-winning Hotel Doolin, Donal Minihane said the hotel will offer ‘a boutique guesthouse experience’ complete with its own in-house bakery.

“Doolin very much remains the jewel in the crown of north Clare tourism. Its scenic location close to the Burren and on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as its affiliation with the Irish Traditional Music scene has meant that the village has continued to attract visitors, despite the downturn in the global economy,” he said.

SURF school operators in Lahinch will be confined to a single area on the northernmost end of the Lahinch promenade, when new beach byelaws come into effect on July 1. The new bye-laws, which were passed into law by the Clare County Council last week, will provide ten car-park spaces, two for each surf school, where trading can now take place. The surfers will now also be encouraged to enter the water using the northern steps, in an effort to segregate surfers from walkers and other beach users. Over the last ten year surfing has become a key part of the summertime trade in Lahinch – with hundreds of people surfing or learning to surf on the beach each day. The Lahinch prom now supports five official surf schools who help attract a large number of tourists to the county each year. “We have received a massive number of complaints from people who walk and swim at the beach. People can’t park, they can’t walk the prom because there are wet-suits everywhere and the surfers are there waxing their boards,” said Lahinch Cllr Bill Slattery (FG). “I think the surfers are getting a good deal out of this. They have been breaking the bye-laws by trading there up until now and this will give them a legal right to trade on the prom.” Just one submission was made when the draft bye-laws went on display last month. Local man, Liam Grant, suggested that the close proximity of the surf school would create tension between the businesses, that one of the surf schools would be given a “prime” location on the prom, that the need of surfers were not being listened to and that tighter regulations for the surf schools, in the same regulations, would be preferable to moving the school. The council took one of these suggestions on board and the slot allocated the surf schools will be rotated year-on-year, to ensure that no school is given the prime location.

MORE than 70 soccer players and officials from Newry and Mourne will travel to Ennis this weekend to participate in a series of matches being held as part of County Clare’s district’s twinning arrangement with the Northern Ireland district.

Mayor of Clare Councillor Pat Hayes will welcome the travelling party at a function in the Clare Inn Hotel on Friday evening ahead of a number of soccer games in Ennis at the weekend. The initiative is being held under the auspices of the Clare County Council Sports Exchange Programme.

Lees Road Sports and Amenity Park will be the venue for U11 and U12 nine-a-side round robin tournaments on Saturday from 10am to 12:30pm. Children from the Clare Schoolboys/girls Soccer League Emerging Talent Programme will take on children from the equivalent player development programme in Newry and Mourne.

Another tournament will take place at the astroturf facility in Lees Road on Sunday from 10 to 11.20am when teams will comprise of a combination of players from Newry and Mourne and Clare.

Lees Road also will host a senior challenge match between Clare Premier Division side Hermitage FC and Bessbrook United FC from the Carnbane (Newry and Mourne) Football League on Saturday at 10.30am, while a Special Olympics five-a-side tournament will be held from 10 to 11.30am.

According to Denis Hynes, FAI Development Officer in County Clare, “We very much welcome this opportunity to meet up with players and officials from Newry and Mourne and indeed, the Irish Football Association (IFA). This weekend’s games not only celebrate the long standing relationship between Newry and Mourne and Clare but also represent a good opportunity to compare the standard of our underage players with that of their Northern Ireland opponents.”

The FAI’s Emerging Talent Programme was launched in November 2006 and on a phased basis since that time has now developed into a national programme.