The Clare People Archive

FÁILTE Ireland and the Office of Public Works (OPW) are to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the possibility of reopening the Gort family home of WB Yeats as a tourist attraction.

The tower at Thoor Ballylee, just outside of Gort, was purchased by Yeats as his family home in 1917. It was used as a summer home by Yeats during his frequent visits to Gort, where he spent much of his time at the residence of Lady Gregory at nearby Coole Park.

The old tower has been closed to the public for some time and has been damaged by flooding activity over the last number of years.

Local senator Lorraine Higgins (LAB) has begun a campaign to secure enough government funding to reopen the tower as a tourist attraction. Higgins hopes that the combination of a renovated Thoor Ballylee alongside Coole Park will be enough to win literary tourists away from Yeats’ childhood home in Sligo and down to the Burren region.

“We need to reclaim our strong association with one of the English language’s foremost and renowned poets by ensuring Thoor Ballylee is restored as a prime tourist attraction in the region,” she said.

“Thoor Ballylee is steeped in connections with Yeats and should be just as important a tourist landmark as his grave in Drumcliffe in County Sligo. More than 100,000 tourists visit the poet’s grave in Drumcliffe every year and there is no reason whatsoever why Thoor Ballylee cannot achieve similar status as a must- see tourist destination.

“Thoor Ballylee has been extensively damaged by flooding, particularly in 2009. The River Coole which runs beside the tower is prone to flooding and overflows onto the road, and this has added to the difficulties from a tourist attraction point of view.

“I think it’s essential that every effort is now made to assist Fáilte Ireland, who are in charge of Thoor Ballylee, to carry out the essential remedial works that are required to restore and re-open the tower in time for next year’s tourist season.”

CLARE County Council have rubbished suggestions made by heritage campaigner and Environmental Editor with the Irish Times Frank McDonald that the local authority have deliberately allowing the listed buildings at Blakes Corner in Ennistymon to fall into disrepair in a effort to make it more publicly acceptable to demolish the structures and make may for a roundabout at the traffic black-spot.

Mr McDonald, who will speak at the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon later this month, also said that he does not believe that a plan to rebuild Blakes and Linnanes at a site pushed back from the roadway will come to pass.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a deliberate ploy [by Clare County Council]. It was done in Dublin in the late 1980 where the roads engineers were destroying whole streets to create space for motorways. They used to buy the building and let them go derelict – then they would claim that the buildings were dangerous and needed to be pulled down. It is a standard ploy that is employed,” he said.

“I don’t believe that that is going to happen [rebuilding Blakes and Linnanes]. I have seen enough of pledges being made about building being taken down and put back up again but that has never actually happened. They wouldn’t be the same building if that happened anyway.

“These buildings have been made protected structure because it was felt that these buildings were important in the context of Ennistymon’s heritage and now because Clare County Council wants to put in a roundabout on the road to Lahinch these building are to be torn down.”

Senior Engineer at Clare County Council, Tom Tiernan, yesterday said that Mr McDonald’s comments were not true. “He is wrong – it is as simple as that. I don’t know where he is drawing his conclusions from. We have carried out repair work on the building but our staff has been reduced and out budgets have been reduced,” he said.

“We are involved in a process at Blakes Corner and we will continue to be part of that process.”

Next Thursday, September 29, Mr McDonald will be in Ennistymon to speak about the effects that the construction boom have had on the landscape and environment of Ireland.

“I will be talking about the excesses that we indulged in. Like, for example, building motorways which are now losing money, like the M3 which was driven through the landscape of Tara, the M9 which terminates in a city which has less that 50,000 people and the Limerick Tunnel. All of these were build as Public Private Partnerships and all are losing money. So in addition to the hundreds of million that have been spent on building these roads, they are also costing us a fortune year on year as well because the traffic projections won’t be realised,” continued Frank.

“You can’t unbuild the Limerick Tunnel but there is a lesson that we need to learn from this. We need to learn to cut our cloth accord to the measure and we need to be mindful of the knock-on effects of building unnecessary motorways.”

THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been asked to communicate with the people of Shannon, amid concerns over the circulation of an unsavoury odour in the town.

Reports that a smell has been in circulation in Smithstown and Ballycasey in recent weeks have prompted widespread concern.

According to some reports, the smell is an unsavoury pungent odour, while other people are complaining of a sewage smell.

The matter has been referred to Clare County Council and the EPA and it is being investigated.

In response to a query from The Clare People , a council spokesperson commented, “Clare County Council received complaints in mid August regarding an odour in the general vicinity of Smithstown Industrial Estate, Shannon.”

“These complaints were investigated by Clare County Council and this investigation is ongoing. It is acknowledged that there is an odour present. The matter has also been referred to the EPA for investigation as there are three EPA licensed facilities located in Smithstown Industrial Estate.

“Clare County Council and the EPA are carrying out odour checks in the vicinity in an attempt to isolate a potential source for the odour,” added the response.

Local county councillor Patricia McCarthy (Independent) said that better communication from the EPA is required. She said that she filed a query on this with the EPA two weeks ago and while it was acknowledged, she has not heard anything since then.

She is fearful that the odour will be in existence for a lengthy period before it is tackled, similar to what happened two years ago when a smell circulated.

“I am aware that the council sent in a complaint in August. We are back at the merry-go-round we had two years ago. We deserve an explanation, sooner rather than later,” she said.

“It’s just not comfortable, whether it is the odour from the sewerage or Smithstown, it is a terribly uncomfortable feeling. It was going on and on before. Nobody is listening to us. They are not communicating. They are not keeping us informed,” said Cllr McCarthy.

Last week, it was confirmed that an investigation had been launched, which involves EPA inspectors carrying out odour checks in the vicinity, in an attempt to isolate a potential source of the smell.

In March of this year, the EPA put monitoring measures in place in the town and indicated at the time that it would continue for up to a year.

The EPA’s mobile laboratory which is located in the town actively analyses the quality of air in the town and surrounding areas.

THE Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (IRMO) say that they stand ready to treat any emergency cases that present from Clare during their four-hour work stoppage which is due to take place at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick tomorrow, September 21.

Speaking to The Clare People yesterday, the INMO’s Industrial Relations Officer, Mary Fogarty, said that the work stoppage was not aimed at the people of Clare but instead was taking place to highlight the underfunding of emergency health in the region.

Any emergency instances which require an ambulance, such as car accidents and heart attacks, will still be brought to the hospital where the INMO will have a skeleton staff in place to manage emergencies.

“There are still some talks taking place between the INMO and the HSE but at this point it is difficult to see a situation where the action planned for Wednesday will not take place,” said Ms Fogarty. “This will affect anyone from Clare who is brought to the hospital while the accident and emergency facilities in Ennis are closed during the night, and it will also affect any emergency situation in Clare, or anyone who needs to travel to the A&E in an ambulance.

“We will have a staff available to deal with emergency situations. This action is not targeted at the people of Clare, it is an effort to highlight for the people how these critical facilities have been under-funded.”

The planned four-hour work stoppage will take place at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick this Wednesday, September 21, from 1pm to 5pm. The INMO also confirmed yesterday that this is the first of a series of industrial actions planned by the nurses but they have declined to confirm or deny whether these actions will spread to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Ennis in the coming weeks.

The organisation have blamed the moratorium on the recruitment of registered nurses, the closure of 100 beds in the acute hospital services in the Clare and Limerick region, as well as the “failure of the reconfiguration process” to transfer all day surgery to Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospitals.

“Nurses working at the hospital have repeatedly raised their concerns in respect of the clinical safety issues with both HIQA and Senior HSE Management,” said Mrs Fogarty.

“Unfortunately, due to the inability of both bodies to address the deplorable clinical environment now visible daily at the hospital, nurses are driven to publicly highlight the extremely serious situation through industrial action.”

KILRUSH native Noel Kilkenny will be named as Clareman of the Year at a gala ceremony in New York next month. The Clare Association of New York will host its 123rd Annual Gala Ball on October 15 and, as part of these celebrations, Mr Kilkenny is to be awarded the prestigious title.

Kilkenny is currently posted as the Irish Consul General of Ireland to New York and has clearly made a big impression on his Clare brethren in the Big Apple.

“From the very start, Noel made his mark in the Irish and Irish-Ameri- can communities in New York. He stepped into his new position full force upon his arrival in New York just over a year ago,” said Cathy Hogan, president of the Clare Association in New York.

“In a very short time, he has endeared himself to the people of New York, and the Clare Association takes great pride in the fact that we can claim him as one of our own.

“We are grateful to Noel for his dedication and support of the Irish and Irish-American communities and are proud to add the name of yet another great Clareman to our honour roll this year.”

The Cappa native was educated at Kilrush CBS primary school and at boarding school in Waterford before going to college at UCD. He spent three years in the Irish Department of Justice before he began his career with the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1977.

As well as service as the Consulate General of Ireland in New York, he has also formerly served as the Irish ambassador to Estonia.

The Consulate General’s job in New York is to provide help to Irish citizens in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Since the County Association of New York was founded in 1888, its officers, members and friends have joined together each October to celebrate their Clare heritage.

Anyone who wishes to attend the annual dinner dance or has relatives in New York who may wish to attend is asked to e-mail coclareassociation NYC@gmail.com.

Mr Kilkenny is married to Hanora O’Dea, who is also a proud west Clare woman. They visit west Clare on a regular basis and were the honoured quests at a civic reception in the Vandeleur Gardens last year.

TEN YEARS ago, Donal Ryan’s life changed forever.

His pattern of behaviour changed, prompting his friends to sit up and take note.

Donal has always been an avid sports fan and a man who was meticulous in everything he did. His friends suspected that something was wrong one afternoon when he turned up late at a hurling game.

It was not like Donal. Sadly, the medics agreed that all was not well and a brain tumour was discovered after tests were carried out.

Donal, who is from Cratloe, was living in Melbourne at the time, having moved there initially on a working holiday visa in 1998.

He had previously worked as a mechanical design engineer in Ennis, having studied at the University of Limerick. It was three years after he moved to Australia that the tumour appeared.

“There was a bubble of cancer growing under my brain. It came out of the blue,” said 40-year-old Donal.

“My first symptom was turning up late for a hurling match. It was against the Sydney team, who were the arch rivals. By the time I got there, the game was half over. I had overslept. I was totally spaced out. I knew I was tired. I had gone to the doctor on September 4 and the match was on the 11th,” he said.

“The day after the hurling match, I turned up late for work. Two nurses called and brought me to the doctor. He looked into my eyes. He could tell there was something putting pressure at the back of my brain. There was a mass in there, under my brain. It was inoperable,” he said.

“They had to find out what it was. They bolted a cage to my head. I had a head of thick curly hair. They cut it all off. They had to take out a sample. They took a sample for analysis. It was a rare form of cancer. A bubble of cancer was enclosed in a little sack. As it was growing, it was squashing my brain,” he recalled.

He said that his symptoms were very definite and said he never suffered any head pain.

“I never had a single headache. My two symptoms were I was getting forgetful and I had extreme tiredness,” he said.

Once the diagnosis came through, Donal then underwent treatment, in an effort to shrink the tumour. This all took place in Melbourne.

“They tried to shrink it with radio- therapy. After that phase of treatment, I was extremely tired,” he recalled.

He was given time off work to recover and during this time he returned home to Ireland. The recovery went well and he returned to Melbourne when he felt that his health had restored.

Sadly, however, the tumour returned, in 2003.

“I went back to Melbourne. I relapsed shortly after getting back. It wasn’t spotted as quickly,” he said.

“My girlfriend suspected I was relapsing. She saw something in my driving. We went to the hospital. The scan showed up that it was back,” he recalled.

He underwent treatment in the form of chemotherapy. While the treatment has banished the tumour, which has never come back since then, Donal has a brain injury in that his short-term memory is affected.

After his treatment in Australia was complete, Donal returned home to Cratloe in 2003. He joined Headway in Limerick, where he has engaged in rehabilitative training since then. He believes that this will help him to secure employment in the future.

He has made great progress since his return home and although he is disappointed that his memory has been affected, he remains positive about the future.

“I have been stable. The tumour is completely gone. My short- to medium-term memory was badly affected. I don’t know if that was from the tumour or the treatment. I feel fine now. I am fairly independent. I haven’t returned to driving. I have been certified that I am able to drive but I haven’t driven,” he said.

He avails of a good public transport service from his home in Cratloe to Limerick city on a daily basis to attend Headway.

“I’d love to go back working, to do something in the engineering line, but my memory isn’t good enough. It will probably be just part-time,” he added.

“Overall, when I look back at where I came from, I’m grateful to be alive,” he said.

The manager of Headway, Denis Mangan, works with Donal in his training. Donal is one of 51 clients of the centre. Those attending have an acquired brain injury and all hail from the mid-west – Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary.

“Donal is on a programme which is the specialist resource service. There are work schemes in that. All going well, Donal will go on work experi- ence placement,” he said.

“The courses here would be evidence of new learning. We offer Level 3, Level 4 and Level 5 FETAC certification. This prepares for placements and further courses. We also offer counselling and support around dealing with difficulties,” he said.

“There are very set programmes. Clients look at their own abilities and work skills, communication skills and interpersonal skills.

“There is a huge amount of peer support among clients. People make friends here and socialise and go on trips and social outings,” he said.

One of the events that clients such as Donal are anticipating is Headway’s ball, at the Dunraven Arms Hotel, Adare, on Friday, October 7.

The money raised will go towards a new premises which Headway plans to move to in the coming months. Tickets, at a cost of € 100, are available from Headway – phone 061 469305.

THE Bulgarian Ambassador to Ireland has praised students in Clare for their efforts to ensure that the lessons of the most “infamous period of European history” are not forgotten.

Mr Emil Yalnazov was speaking in Ennis last week at the opening of a new exhibition that shows how the bravery of Bulgarian citizens during World War II saved the lives of an estimated 50,000 Jewish people.

‘The Power of Civil Society: the fate of Jews in Bulgaria during the Holocaust’, is currently on display in the De Valera Public Library in Ennis.

Mr Yalnazov, presented the exhibition to Holocaust Education Trust Ireland (HETI) on behalf of the Republic of Bulgaria State Institute for Culture and Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

HETI has provided the exhibition for display in branches of Clare County Library, earlier in the year in Shannon and currently in Ennis.

The exhibition demonstrates how the collective voice of the people of Bulgaria prevented the deportation of its Jewish population to the concentration and death camps of the Third Reich.

Speaking in Ennis last week, Mr Yalnazov said it was his “distinct honour” to introduce an exhibition “dedicated to a remarkable episode of history”.

He said the goal of the exhibition is to record history and pay tribute to the many known and unknown Bulgarian citizens who protected Jewish people at great risk to their lives.

He explained that all sectors of Bulgarian civil society – the community, professional classes, politicians and the church – engaged in “remarkable acts of humanism and bravery”.

Addressing students of Coláiste Mhuire and members of the Clare Active Citizenship network, Mr Yalnazov explained that despite Bulgaria being an ally of the Nazis, almost 50,000 Jewish lives were saved through the actions of Bulgarian citizens.

“To act against this dominating force is what is remarkable about Bulgarian civil society at the time. It was courageous,” he added.

Accompanied by his wife Sylvia, Mr Yalnazov praised students in Clare for their interest in the exhibition, which he said conveys a “message of peace to a young generation”.

“We take peace and reconciliation for granted but we need to remember that this was not always a fact,” he added. The exhibition runs in Ennis until October 1.

THE village of Quin will be full of fun on Sunday, September 25, as Scoil na Mainistreach hold their annual Fun Day and 10k run. Following on from the success of last two years, the committee decided to hold another day this year.

The day will kick off with the 10k run and walk which will see athletes head out from the school around a 10k loop on local roads and finish back at the school. Last year’s race was won by Michael Guerin, while Veronica Colleran took the women’s race. This year, the event will see plenty of challengers for those titles.

Entries are currently being taken on www.runireland.com, they will also be taken at the school on Saturday night, September 24, between 7pm and 9pm, and also on the morning of the race up until 11am. Entry to the race is € 20 and will include entry to the fun day in the afternoon. The route has been officially measured by the Clare Athletics Board with a Jones’ Counter.

The Fun Day will kick off at 2pm in the school field and visitors can look forward to a barbecue, bouncy castle, children’s races, horse shoe throwing, wheel barrow races, tug of war, human football, sponge boards, candy floss, puppet show, magician show, balloon modelling and a raffle.

Entry to the fun day will cost € 10 per person or € 20 for a family.

Scoil na Mainistreach principal Anne Fitzpatrick is looking forward to a fun filled day. “The committee have worked very hard organising this event and we are hoping it will be even better than last year. There really is something for everyone”

Speaking to The Clare People , she said, “Everything is ready to go so all we are hoping is that the sun will shine for us. We would ask that those wishing to take part in the run or walk would register online or on Saturday night if possible. If not, we would ask that they arrive early on Sunday to avoid any delay in starting the race. Unfortunately we will have to ask that there are no bikes on the route this year, however we are looking to plan a cycling route for our next event.

“This event is of great support to the school. This year, all proceeds from the day will go towards the development of our all-weather multipurpose play area for the children,” she said.

A NEW initiative which focuses on home composting will be launched in Shannon later this week.

The county’s first home composting demonstration site will be officially opened at the allotments in Shannon on Saturday morning (11.45am).

The county’s mayor, Pat Hayes, will perform the ceremony at the section of land which is located behind Illaunamanagh Cemetery. Those in attendance will be encouraged to take action, save money, prevent food waste and start composting.

“Both food waste prevention and home composting is something that can save households in Clare up to € 1,000 annually. By using savvy shopping techniques, planning household meals wisely and composting food scraps and garden materials at home, people can both reduce their weekly shopping bill and their rubbish charges while helping to reduce the amount of organic scraps that end up in landfill sites,” said Mr Hayes.

Clare County Council in partnership with the Stop Food Waste Team, an Environmental Protection Agency funded initiative, has trained 12 master composter volunteers from throughout the county.

The master composters are now available in communities to provide information on food waste prevention and home composting in Clare.

The Stop Food Waste Initiative was a response following Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) survey results which reported that the average person in Ireland was throwing out 300kg of organic scraps each annually from homes.

These food scraps and garden trimmings cost households in terms of disposal charges. The programme provides advice and training on how individuals can reduce the generation of these materials and safely manage them to create useful mulches and soil amendments.

The home composting site demonstrates compost turning and holding units, a leaf mould making bin; which are all simple ways to convert garden materials into a nutrient rich compost.

Master composter volunteers will also be on hand to introduce visitors to food waste prevention and composting. Members of the public are welcome to attend the official opening of the compost demonstration site and strong footwear are recommended.

THE Department of Education stands indicted of hitting the Clare economy where it matters most in the pockets of tourism interests around the county owing to the controversy surrounding the early return to school for many from both inside and outside the county.

That was the verdict delivered by Councillor Gabriel Keating as he demanded that the Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn revise the school holiday period so that families with children can remain at resorts until the end of August.

“Efforts to extend the tourism season in Clare are being thwarted by schools re-opening in August,” claimed Cllr Keating.

“Tourism is the backbone of many of our local communities with an estimated 3,000 people employed in the industry here in the county and it’s up to the Minister for Education to realise this,” he added.

The west Clare councillor pointed out the irony of the fact that the Government is talking about creating jobs – yet at the same time giving the imprimatur to the Department of Education to effectively put paid to thousands of jobs.

“One of the few areas which creates employment during the summer season especially for students who rely on this income to pay for their schools costs is tourism. The early return of those students to schools is threatening the survival of many of these tourism employers,” said Cllr Keating.

“Over the past two years the inclement weather and the recession has taken its toll on seaside destinations. For many tourism providers to survive they need to extend the tourist season not shorten it. That is why the early return of students to School in August is having such a big impact on them.

“Heretofore, families would remain on in places like Kilkee, Doonbeg and Quilty until the last week of August. Now, they are packing up around August 14 or 15, because they have to head back to get the children ready to return to School. Not reopening schools until the first week in September would give a welcome break to the tourism providers in the county,” he added.