The Clare People Archive

ONE OF west Clare’s most scenic walks has been targeted for industrial fly-tippers, with a large amount of industrial waste being dumped at the “back strand” of Seafield in Quilty last week. The rubbish was found by local photographer and nature lover, Ann O’Connell, who discovered the rubbish while out walking last Wednesday. The waste included a number of light fittings and long-life bulbs. Also included in the waste was the remains of at least one computer and a metre stick. Because of the nature of the rubbish Ann believes that it may have been dumped by someone in the construction industry to avoid from paying recycling or landfill costs for the waste. “I came across the waste last Wednesday while I was out walking and taking photographs. I know that it is a recent dump because I walked the same route four days previous to that and it wasn’t there,” said Ann. “There was a load of spotlights and low energy bulbs dumped aswell-as what looked like a computer and some other industrial waste. We don’t know who dumped it, but maybe it was a builder or contractor who didn’t want to pay to dispose of the waste properly. “It is a very scenic scenic area. I do walking there a lot and there are great views of the ocean and out towards Mutton Island and the Cliffs of Moher. This isn’t the first time that dumping like this has taken place in the area – not at all. It is a rocky enough place where it is dumped so I would imagine that the person who dumped this would have to be a local. “If children were to wander onto this rubbish it is the sort of stuff that could be very dangerous to them. They could injure themselves or get cut quite easily. There is also a very large ‘no dumping’ sign in the area so there is no excuse for whomever did this. It is just irresponsible.”

MORE than € 140,000 could shortly be released to community groups in Inagh and Kilnamona by Clare County Council, once a number of projects have been evaluated by a panel that is expected to announce their decision following a meeting on March 8th.

The money is part of a community fund which was set up to compensate local organisations for the construction of the local authority’s Central Waste Management Facility in Ballyduff beg in 2002.

According to an agreement, a small percentage of the profit made by Clare County Council on every tonne of waste taken in at Ballyduffbeg would be allocated to local “environmental” projects.

Between 2004 and 2006, a total of € 267,000 was allocated to local community groups under the scheme. At present, the local community is due to receive more than € 140,000 for waste disposed of in Ballyduff beg during 2007 and 2008. In addition, while the amount of landfill waste going to the Central Waste Management Facility has decreased in recent years, it is estimated that the community fund can expect as much as € 100,000 for waste disposed of in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

“My information is that this money has not been paid out since 2007 and I can’t understand why this should be the case,” said Cllr James Breen (IND), who campaigned against the siting of the Central Waste Management Facility in Ballyduff beg.

Clare County Council invited applications for funding in late 2009 for sustainable community based environmental initiatives or projects in the parishes of Inagh, Kilnamona and Cloonanaha under the Central Waste Management Facility Community Fund. The total funding available is € 140,775. A number of applications were received and are presently under adjudication by an independent Evaluation Panel. The Evaluation Panel is made up of six members in- cluding the Chairperson, three representatives from the local community, a representative from the community sector, a representative from the educational sector and a representative from Clare County Council.

No timescale has yet put in place for payments from 2009, 2010 and 2011.

“A number of meetings have taken place and when a recommendation is received from the evaluation panel, it will be placed before the members of Clare County Council for consideration. The next meeting of the evaluation panel is scheduled for March 8,” said Betty Devanny of Environment and Water Services with Clare County Council.

NORTH Clare has lost one of its iconic local businesses with the closure of Crosbies shop in Ennistymon after 21 years in operation. The shop, which was located in a prime retail spot at the Square in Ennistymon, closed last month with the effects of low-cost air travel being blamed for the demise.

According to proprietor Robert Crosbie, the shop was already facing difficulty before the beginning of the recession. Robert, who is also one of the driving firces behind the Project Ennistymon local business iniatitive, believes that a mixture of Irish people holidaying abroad and tourists having more restricted baggage allowances has put pressure on many high-end gift retailers.

“The viability of shops such as Crosbies was already threatened in due part by low-cost air travel. Cheap flights out of Ireland meant a lot of Irish people were going abroad for holidays, thus not spending at home,” said Robert.

“This, you might say, was balanced by tourists coming to Ireland but, because of luggage restrictions, these visitors did not have the same capacity to spend. And this was happening long before the recession hit.”

The window displays created by Suzanne Crosbie have been a local highlight for many years. Accord- ing to Suzanne, the fun of interacting with the local customers will be one of the things that she misses the most.

“We catered for the high end of the gifts and home accessories market and, as everyone knows, when money gets scarce, luxury goods are the first to feel the pinch,” said Suzanne.

“We loved the shop. and our customers. There wasn’t a day when you wouldn’t have a laugh about something. We are not young enough or old enough to stay in this type of business.

“I had always envisaged that by 2010 I would be able to ease up on working hands-on in the shop but the reality was that I was there six days a week, and after two years, I felt it was time to turn the corner.”

Crosbies first opened in June of 1991 and very quickly became an iconic feature of Ennistymon and North Clare. The high profile of the shop was in part due to Robert’s creation of the Folding Apple Basket, which was featured on the Late Late Show in 1994 and became an overnight success for the business.

The shop received the Best Traditional Shopfront Award from Clare County Council in 1995 and Robert and Suzanne won Clare Retailers of the Year in the FBD Excellence Awards for 2010.

Robert and Suzanne are currently looking at a number of new possibilities for the premises.

THE VOICE of one of Clare’s greatest living traditional musicians is set to appear in a revolutionary new album – which has been composed entirely from a series of spoken word interviews with some of the leading lights in Irish music.

East Clare fiddler Martin Hayes will feature on a new record entitled ‘The Speech Project’ which is the brainchild of Mancunian fiddler, composer and producer Gerry Diver.

Diver has taken a series of interviews with Hayes, as-well-as the likes of Christy Moore, and Damien Dempsey and harnessed the technical cadence of their speech patterns and composed melody lines to complement the musicality inherent in their words.

This revolutionary new way of composing music has led to a number of interesting discoveries – not least of which being the fact that Martin Hayes speaks in the key of G-minor.

According to Diver, Martin Hayes’ Clare brogue “drips with musical- ity”.

“There was even some parallels between Hayes’ words and music. A lot of his tunes are in G minor and Martin speaks a lot in G minor, too,” said Diver.

“Really, this all started as a happy accident. I heard an interview with Galway accordion player Joe Cooley and just happened to notice his voice pitch. There was no grand plan.

“Some of it was about the speech melody – taking the pitch and rhythm and putting those into a musical context by finding the musical and melodic contours that are there. For me, the parts that tended to stand out were where the interview became quite emotionally charged.

“So, for example, when Christy Moore talks about something that was quite emotional for him, he tended to go into D minor. So there’s a link between emotion and the more tonal parts of speech.

“I think people might listen to The Speech Project at different levels. They might listen to the content – to what is being said, but, in terms of the context, there’s more of a slight of ear pattern happening as well. Music sometimes expresses things which words can, and I hope that I’ve managed to find that balance between content, emotion and context.”

After spending decades based in America, Martin Hayes returned to East Clare last year. He has recently released his second album as part of the Triúr group which also includes Peader O’Riada and Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh.

PLANS are underway to recognise three Clare people who were passengers on Titanic.

This year marks the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the Belfast built cruise liner.

Over 1,000 people died in the tragedy and now an Ennis councillor has called on Clare County Council to commemorate the Clare people who were on board the Titanic’s maiden voyage.

In a motion submitted to last Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council, Cllr Mulqueen called on the council to mark the “memory of the two Clare men who lost their lives on board the Titanic and also remembers the relations of Mary Agatha Glynn who survived this huge loss of life 100 years ago.”

Cllr Tony Mulqueen told the February meeting of Clare County Council that two men – Martin McMahon from Cragbrien, Ennis, and Daniel Keane lost their lives when the ship went down in the North Atlantic.

However, one Clare woman, 18year-old Mary Agatha Glynn from Flagmount, survived the sinking after being rescued from one of the ship’s lifeboats.

Cllr Mulqueen told the meeting that the council should commemorate Clare’s links with the Titanic by erecting a plaque in memory of the passengers.

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), said plans are already under- way in east Clare to remember Mary Agatha Glynn. Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) backed proposals to erect a memorial plaque.

West Clare councillor, Christy Curtin (Ind) said recognition for the three Clare passengers would be appropriate.

He said Clare is a maritime county with a strong association with the sea. County Secretary Michael McNamara said the council is open to receiving suggestions about how best to mark Clare’s link to the Titanic.

CLARE Fine Gael backbencher Pat Breen yesterday questioned the credentials of Fianna Fáil when it comes to their recent protestations regarding the Government’s programme of asset disposal.

The West Clare TD said that concerns by members of the Fianna Fáil party, particularily concerning the workers in Moneypoint and Ardnacrusha, as “ringing very hollow”.

“It was Fianna Fáil who engaged Dermot McCarthy in July 2010 to undertake a review to consider the potential for the sale of state assets, including Commercial State Bodies, so any protestations now about this Government’s programme of asset disposal by Fianna Fail rings very hollow,” he said. “Our Government has reached an agreement on an asset disposal programme, as required under the EU/IMF Programme and provided for in our Programme for Government. The targeted proceeds from the programme is € 3 billion; and we have secured agreement from the Troika that a third of this € 3 billion can be reinvested into the economy to stimulate growth and jobs.

“The sale of a minority stake in the ESB will not now go ahead and the Government is committed to the retention of the ESB as a vertically integrated utility in State ownership, in spite of our decision to dispose of some of its non-strategic assets.”

“Both Ardnacrusha and Moneypoint are strategic power generating stations here in the County Clare. Ardnacrusha was the ESB’s first power station, opening in 1929, and today it continues to provide two per cent of the ESB’s total capacity.

“Moneypoint is one of the largest employers in West Clare, employ- ing up to 600 people depending on the number of contractors on site at any one time. The entire economy in West Clare benefits from having the ESB’s largest generating station based in the West.

“The workers live in Kilrush and the surrounding areas and this has a knock-on beneficial affect for local businesses and is helping to keep jobs in West Clare. Following the oil crisis in the 1970s, the generating station at Moneypoint was built in order to increase the level of ESB output and ensure that the country could become less reliant on oil imports.”

CLARE County Council should seek to tap into the wealth of expertise that exists among retired workers in order to generate ideas for job creation.

The idea was put forward by West Clare councillor Gabriel Keating at the February meeting of Clare County Council. Cllr Keating (FG) proposed that the council seek to tap into the “wealth of experience and knowledge” amassed by the “many active retired, highly qualified and talented individuals residing in Clare”.

Cllr Keating said the council should engage with people who are willing to volunteer, advice, mentor or share their skills. He told the meeting that people with ideas for job creation should be encouraged to bring their proposals to the council. He said 30 good ideas could generate 300 jobs over a period of 10 years.

Cllr Keating said people would also be encouraged to provide some financial backing to their proposals. He added that he did not want the initiative to become a “talking shop”.

Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) encouraged the council to facilitate people who can provide a role commensurate with their skills.

Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) said a broad invitation should be given to a wide section of the community. “There is a wealth of talent that can be tapped into,” he added.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said Cllr Keating’s motion should be sent to the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government to see if grant funding is available for the proposal.

In his reply, Director of Service Ger Dollard pointed to the high number of people who volunteered in Clare last year. He stated, “By the end of 2011, 731 volunteers were registered with Clare Volunteer Centre and had volunteered for 9,342 hours. The Clare Volunteer Centre, which opened in 2008 as part of a national network of volunteer centres, confirms that reduced opportunities had resulted in community and voluntary sector organisations focusing on more innovative ways to involve volunteers.”

Mr Dollard continued, “Clare County Council has a tradition of engaging volunteers in an advisory capacity with the community and voluntary sector such as voluntary housing, development of community recreation and sporting facilities including playgrounds, tourism initiatives, consultation process’ through focus groups when developing policy and identifying actions to implement policy.”

Mr Dollard told the meeting that the high number of retired people seeking to volunteer their time and expertise has emerged as a significant issue. He said the council would examine Cllr Keating’s proposal.

AN AMERICAN man is appealing to the people of West Clare to help him track down his Irish ancestors, and reunite a family that has been split apart since the Great Famine, more than 150 years ago. The Minnesota native is hoping that the people of Clare can help him track down any relatives of Mathias Breen, who hailed from the area of Kilofin in Labasheeda, and emigrated to America in 1851. Mathias Breen was born in 1833. His father’s name was Thomas Breen of Laghkil and it is thought that his father was probably Mathias Breen (Snr) of Ballina. Mathias (Jnr), who is the American’s great-grandfather, emigrated to the city of St Paul in America in 1951, just after the Great Famine. The American ancestor has contacted the Ireland Reaching Out project, asking them to assist him in tracing his Clare cousins. “The project is about connecting members of the Irish diaspora from all over the world, with people from the own parish and where their ancestors actually came from. We have volunteers in a number of parishes all over Ireland and they are researching their parishes and finding out who have gone abroad from their parish for the last 150 years. We are tracing those people and trying to reconnect the descendants of the people abroad with their parish back home,” said Paula Kennedy of the Ireland Reaching Out Project “While we normally look for people in foreign countries to connect with, we were contacted by a man in America who is looking for Breens in West Clare. He is looking for any descendants of his family and is very keen to make some sort of connections. At the moment, we have only one or two parishes in Clare who are part of the Reaching Out Project but we are hoping that more will come on board in the next little while.” Anyone who has information on the Breen family from West Clare and, specifically, any relatives of Mathias Breen is asked to visit www. irelandxo.com and make themselves known or ring 091 842013.

THE first ever Ennis Food Festival is among the proposals being considered for the next phase of the Create the Magic Initiative.

The initiative was launched last year as part of a push to make Ennis the friendliest town in Ireland. Around 40 businesses have so far backed the campaign which, through a series of seminars of workshops and seminars, focused on improving standards of customer service.

The next stage of Create the Magic will be launched in Ennis next week. Business people have met in recent weeks to develop new iniatives to help Ennis rebound from the recession.

These include plans to promote Ennis as the culinary capital of the Mid West by capitalizing on the town’s market history and popular cafés and restaurants.

According to one local businessperson, the idea was one of several put forward in light of the recent decision not to put Ennis forward for the 2013 Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann.

“After losing out on the Fleadh, it was just one of the ideas raised. Food festivals have been very popular and there hasn’t been one in Ennis before. We have a lot of cafes and restaurants. It would be ideal to have a food festival in Ennis.”

A new Create the Magic committee has been selected to guide the initiative in 2012. They are Mary Kelly, Mary Kelly Newsagents (Chair); Ciara Mulhern, Rowan Tree Café Bar & Hostel; Kathleen Sullivan, KT Sullivan & Associates; Marie Dillane, Banner Motor Factors; Mary O’Halloran, An Binsin Luachra; Sarah Malone, Zest; and Rita Mc Inerney, Ennis Chamber.

A Create the Magic information evening for the launch of the initia- tive for the coming months has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 7 at the Temple Gate Hotel, O’Connell Square, Ennis. Businesses are being urged to attend to maintain the energy of the initiative.

Members of Ennis Chamber and Ennis Development Forum, along with customer service expert Kathleen O’Sullivan, launched Create the Magic last March.

Members were also involved in the production of Ennis Share the Feeling, a promotional DVD that showcased Ennis at Christmas. The film drew over 11,000 views on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo.

MORE than € 73,000 was raised in Clare last year for Daffodil Day, as demand for the Irish Cancer Society’s free services also increased in the county. As the event’s 25th birthday approaches, the Irish Cancer Society continues to grow its support in Clare, as 733 more Clare people were diagnosed with the disease in last year.

In 2011, € 23,890 worth of financial aid was provided to people in County Clare, with services also increased.

The amount of nightcare provided by specialist cancer nurses in Clare increased from 98 nights in 2010 to 159 nights in 2011.

These nurses provided 8,110 nights of care to over 2,000 families nationally in 2011, which was an increase from 7,187 nights in 2010.

Specialist cancer nurses also supported 22,120 callers to the National Cancer Helpline (Freefone 1800 200 700) – 167 of these calls were from people in County Clare.

In 2011, the Irish Cancer Society also funded 13 Oncology Liaison Nurses in hospitals across the country to the value of € 497,943. One of these nurses is employed at the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, the centre for cancer treatment in Clare.

Travel2Care grants of € 356,966 were administered to patients across Ireland, with € 11,995 specifically going to patients in County Clare. Travel2Care is a transportation assistance fund which has been made available by the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) to patients travelling for cancer treatment and is administered by the Irish Cancer Society.

The organisation also distributed more than 688,266 cancer information booklets and fact sheets to people concerned about cancer across the country in 2011; 7,575 booklets and fact sheets were sent to people in the county. While there were 259 registered Daffodil Day supporters in Clare, many more assisted them in selling daffodils and gathering donations on the day.

John McCormack, CEO, Irish Can- cer Society said, “This year marks the 25th birthday of Daffodil Day, and, since it began in 1988, we have seen a massive increase in the demand for our services due to the ever increasing incidence of cancer.

“The latest figures from the NCRI show that there were 733 cases of cancer diagnosed in Clare last year. Now, more than ever, the services we provide are crucial.

“The money we raise on Daffodil Day goes directly to support people with cancer and their families at every stage of the cancer journey,” he said.