The Clare People Archive

TRIBUTES have been paid to one of Ennis’ best-known families who are celebrating 50 years in the bakery business.

Pat and Mary O’Connor opened their first shop in Ennis, in 1961. Today, there are eight O’Connor’s Bakeries, which supply quality breads and confectionary to Ennis, Shan- non, Gort, Galway and Limerick.

At the September meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) proposed that the Council officially congratulate and recognise O’Connors on achieving the milestone. Cllr Brennan said the family had been good employers in Ennis and in other towns and had done an enormous amount of good work without seeking attention or acclaim.

“These people deserve to be recognised,” he added. Seconding the motion, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) described the O’Connor family as “quite hardworking people”.

He said the business employs between 140 and 145 people. Cllr Meaney said the family had implemented a good business model that other businesses should consider following. Councillors also backed pro- posals from the Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) for a Citizen Recognition Awards Scheme.

According to a report prepared by Town Clerk Eddie Power the objective of the scheme is to recognize local people/organizations who have made a significant contribution to community life in Ennis or by their actions raised the profile and image of Ennis.

Nominations will be sought from the public in five categories: (a) sport/recreation (b) community/volountary (c) business/professional (d) youth (e) arts and culture.

Councillors decided against selecting an overall winner. An adjudication panel comprised of councilors will decide who will be honoured in each category. The awards will be presented at a civic event.

PARTICIPANTS are gearing up for the 22nd annual Clare Garda cycle, which will set from Ennis on Saturday.

Members of the Clare Garda division will be joined from colleagues in Mayo and Galway for the cycle, which will take in an 84 mile round trip from Ennis to Gort.

This year’s event will raise money for Sláínte an Chláir – Clare Cancer Support – a Kilnamona based group that provides provide support for people living with cancer, their families and friends in a safe, positive, caring and confidential environment.

Clare Cancer Support provides access to information about diagnosis, treatment and care..

Crusheen based Garda Declan Keavey said as many 40 Gardaí will take part in the cycle. He said people could contribute money at their local Garda station or to passing cyclists.

Previous cycles have raised money for Cahercalla Hospice, Clarecare and the Irish Wheelchair Association.

Garda Michael O’Halloran, one of a group Gardaí who organised the first cycle from Ennis to Salthill in 1989, explained that Sláinte an Chláir was chosen this year in memory of two colleagues Mick Mulryan (Scariff) and Sgt Michael Haran (Ennis) who passed away in recent months.

He said the Clare Garda division was delighted to be associated with the group. He said the event had been strongly supported by the Clare public.

“People in Clare are brilliant, absolutely fantastic. Without them it wouldn’t have been a success”, he added.

Ennis woman Teresa Gilmartin, who is in recovery from cancer, praised the high standard of support on offer at Sláinte an Chláir.

“There is a lot of loneliness around after the treatment. It’s like being in a new body to be honest.

“You don’t know what these symptoms mean because they are all different. You’re body has totally changed. Its great to chat to somebody who has been there just to get the re-assurance.”

She added, “Anything they can do they will do. They are just so supportive. They are just the most wonderful people.”

Martin McMahon, treasurer of Sláinte an Chláir, explained that 600 people in Clare are diagnosed with cancer every year.

For further information on Clare Cancer Support, call 1850 211 630 or 087 691 2396 or email admin@clarecancersupport.com

WHEN the dust settles – life must always move on. There are few places in the world which greater embody this spirit than New York City. After the terrorist attacks of September, it would have been all too easy for the people of New York to become paranoid, hard and bitter – always looking over their shoulder for the next potential threat.

But a life lived in fear is no life at all and the spirit of the great melting pot which is New York could not exist without trust and an ability to embrace new people and cultures.

While there has been some who have used the events of September 11, according to Shaun O’Connell, New York is still the city where anything is possible.

“In general, I think that New York is still a welcoming place for people from all backgrounds, but maybe I think that some members of the Muslim community might thing otherwise. At any time where there are moments of fear and moments of the unknown there are certain people who will try to capatilise on it,” he said.

“Like the so-called World Trade Center mosque. I used to do martial arts training in a building two doors down from this Muslim community centre, it does not face the site of the World Trade Center and you wouldn’t even know that you are close to it.

“But we had a lot of right-wing people who were making a fuss of this mosque, which was totally disingenuous. The local people down there were already in favour of the mosque – it had passed muster locally. And then, as soon as the election [the 2008 presidential election] was over, no-one was making an issue about this anymore. So some people have tried to use September 11 for their own aims but for most regular New Yorker this is still a welcoming city.”

While the worlded watch on at the large commemorations and even larger speeches over the weekend, the event was marked for the people of New York in one hundred thousand other small ways.

“I think that as important as it to publicly commemorate this event I thin that a lot of people have been marking this event in their own private way. People will look in from afar and see the larger commemoration, but the things that I notice are a lot more personal that that. Like my neighbour, who is a retired fire captain, he lost scores of friends in 9/11 and was forced to search through the rubble and inhale all of that air when we were told it was clean and safe. He has been forced to retire because of what he inhaled during the rescue,” continued Shaun.

“His wife worked in finance at the World Trade Center and she lost a lot of friends on that day too. Most of the friends that I have in the different Irish organisations are either retired firemen or retired policemen, so they all have a story to tell. So while people might look in from afar and see the commemorations, there are so many personal commemorations going on around the city right now.”

Shaun is a member of the New York County Clare Association. His great-grandfather Patrick O’Connell emigrated from Clooncolman nearly 100 years ago and his nephew Buddy O’Connell, lived on that family farm in Clare until he died five years ago.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, 9.58am. Shaun O’Connell is on a stopped subway train, less than a mile from the World Trade Center, when the South Tower collapses – instantly killing more than 300 people.

Shaun, a member New York’s County Clare Association, is a vice president for AFGE Local 1760 and works within sight of the famous Twin Towers. He has spent all morning moving from delayed train to delayed train, inching closer to Ground Zero, until finally, sometime after 9am, all the trains stop moving.

After spending hours trapped in the underground, Shaun finally arrives to City Hall Station and makes his way on foot to his duty station in 26 Federal Plaza – less than half a mile from the World Trade Center. After being refused entrance to his station by FBI agents with submachine guns, Shaun turns for home – still unaware of the magnitude of what has happened.

Below are extracts from an email sent by Shaun to his friends and family on the evening on September 11, 2001.

“I began walking north by northwest to home. I made it to Church Street, a few blocks north of Chambers Street. At this point, I finally witnessed the magnitude of the attack. I looked for the common landmark that so many New Yorkers used to navigate, but it was gone,” he wrote.

“A large dust and smoke cloud was the only thing there. I could not believe it. I was joined by thousands of other stranded people just walking around in disbelief, staring at the void, standing around parked cars with radios blaring the news, and waiting in line for their turn using a pay phone.

“I started walking north up Sixth Avenue seeing people with ash on them and cars caked with dust. I would stop periodically just to look back at the altered skyline.

“When I reached West Third Street, a man was exhorting pedestrians to donate blood at St Vincent’s. I also saw a motorcyclist ferrying a firefighter on the back of his hog. I proceeded to walk to St Vincent’s and saw a mass of people outside waiting to give blood. I was told to just leave my name and telephone number since they were overwhelmed… so I went to find a place to eat and rest. I stopped at McKenna’s bar and saw the TV images for the first time. I quickly ordered a well-done burger and a stout. I was fixated by what I watched.”

On Thursday, September 13, just two days after the terrorist attack, Shaun returned to work – not at his offices on Federal Plaza but in East Harlem, seven blocks away from Ground Zero.

THE horror of September 11 has been recalled this week by a Doonbegman whose daughter escaped with her life thanks to a decision that changed the course of here life in a number of ways.

Claire Ring, daughter of PJ Harvey from Banhsa in Doonbeg, worked in the North Tower of the World Trade Center – her office with Oppenheimer being on the 34th floor.

Harvey was at home in Hyde Park, New York, when the tower was hit at 8.46am that September 11 morning and for a few frantic hours after learning of the terrorist attack sought the whereabouts of his daughter.

“It was incredible,” Harvey told The Clare People this week. “It changed the face of the free world and changed the face of travelling forever. Straight away I said to myself ‘Claire is at work in the World Trade Center, is she safe?’

“Everyone who worked on the 34th floor got out, but the thing was, knowing Claire she would have waited for her friend Jennifer, who worked higher up and who was pregnant. She would have waited just to make sure she was alright. That’s what happened to a good many people. They never thought the whole building would come down and they hung around waiting for friends.

“We got a call to turn on our television and after that we were frantically trying to track her down. We thought she was gone to work – it wasn’t until around 12 o’clock in the day that we found out that she hadn’t gone to work that day, that she had gone to the doctor.

“What a relief that was. Going to the doctor that day probably saved her life – it was the day she found out she was pregnant. She was 31 at the time – she had a lovely baby boy Kyle and has had three more since. We could just thank God,” he adds.

The 70-year-old, who is home on holiday, worked in New York City for many years and was head of the local 608th union, giving work to many people who were subsequently lost in the Twin Towers attack.

“We lost ten carpenters from our union,” he recalls. “We lost two brothers who were working with the financial company Cantor Fitzgerald. A great friend of mine from Fermanagh lost two sons that day. I remember sending them out as apprentices from the 608th Carpenters Union and they went onto work for Cantor Fitzgerald,” adds Harvey.

OPINION is divided on how Dr Brendan O’Regan should be honoured in Shannon.

While members of the local town council agree that he should be remembered in a notable way, the exact project to be chosen was the subject of debate at a meeting last week.

The motion was proposed by the town’s mayor, Councillor Mary Brennan, who said that Dr O’Regan’s achievements should be remem- bered.

His immense contribution to the airport and Shannon Development was recalled, with councillors expressing the view that this should be linked to the project.

“One way we could honour him would be to have a viable airport. He would be very sad to see what we have today,” said Fine Gael Councillor Seán McLoughlin.

Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy said she was opposed to naming streets and buildings after people.

“He was associated with Shannon Development and associated with the airport and the industrial estates. It’s a pity Shannon Development when they were naming their building that they didn’t name it O’Regan House,” she said.

Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn said he was in agreement with Cllr McCarthy. “I don’t agree with buildings and roads being named after people,” he said.

“He was a man of vision. He was a pioneer of his time,” he said.

Fine Gael Councillor Mike Fleming made a suggestion that a bus shelter be named after Dr O’Regan.

“I wouldn’t be in favour of any road or sign but there’s a new bus shelter going into Cronan. It could be the O’Regan bus shelter,” he said.

Fine Gael Councillor Vincent Coleman suggested a connection to the Lynxs Cargo facility. “If it gets off the ground, it will bring development opportunities to the airport,” he said.

THERE have been calls for the bandstand at the Town Park in Shannon to be removed, after bricks were taken out of the centre piece.

Local town councillor Mike Fleming raised the issue at a meeting of the town council last week.

A motion was tabled by the Fine Gael councillor, who said that several bricks have been taken out of the bandstand. “They are piled up around it. I can’t see the guards having the time or wasting their time going up there,” he said.

He said that the centre piece is becoming a serious problem due to this and said that the bricks are being used to break windows of apartments and cars at Brú na Sionna.

Labour Councillor Tony McMahon supported the calls, saying, “It’s unsightly and dangerous. Either the bricks need to be put in place in such a way they can’t be easily removed or the whole thing needs to be changed to something else or moved altogeth- er out of it.”

“I don’t think anybody went in there with a pick axe. Probably a few loose bricks made way to others,” he said.

His party colleague, Cllr Greg Duff said, “The Town Park should be there for the use of the community. If the vandalism is ongoing, the guards are right beside it. Perhaps they should look at patrols.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said, “It’s a bad design. It’s a disgrace. It can’t be left in that condition. Damage will be caused. It’s getting un- sightly. It’s dreadful.”

In a written response to the meeting, it was stated that Clare County Council is in the process of taking the Town Park in charge.

“The provision of a bandstand for the park was a condition of planning associated with the Brú na Sionna development and therefore any changes to it will have to be consented to by the planing authority. Any vandalism and anti-social activity occurring in the Town Park should be reported to the gardaí,” stated the response.

CLARE COUNTY Council is not in favour of installing litter bins in residential estates in Shannon, a meeting was told last week.

In a written response to a motion put forward by Shannon Town Councillor Vincent Coleman (Fine Gael), the council stated that litter bins are regularly used as bins for household waste.

Cllr Coleman called for the bins to be put in place in the Cúl na Gréine estate.

However, according to the council, the bins were previously vandalised in this estate. The council also stated that it does not have the resources to collect waste from bins within residential estates. The response also stated, “If they are not emptied on a regular basis they attract rodents and wasps.”

However Cllr Coleman – whose query on this issue was his first motion since he was co-opted to the council in June – said he was not happy with the council’s response. “In other estates they have bins and they are being collected. . . What is the problem?” he asked.

Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy said that residents in that estate are doing excellent work, having recently reformed a residents’ association. “It should be possible to incorporate at least two collection points,” she said.

Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn said, “This is a totally negative response and offers no words of encouragement for people living down there.”

Labour Councillor Greg Duff said that residents’ associations should have the support of the town council. “We have to put our resources behind the residents’ associations,” he said.

Fine Gael Councillor Seán McLoughlin agreed, saying, “These people have done fantastic work. They have cleaned it from top to bottom. The least the council should do is put in a few bins.”

A PROGRAMME of servicing and replacing storm water infrastructure in Shannon should be put in place.

That’s according to Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn, who raised the issue at a meeting of the local town council last week.

Cllr Flynn said that work is “crucial” for the upcoming winter season.

In response to Cllr Flynn’s motion, a written response from the council stated that poor ground conditions in the town has led to settlement of some roads and adjoining slit channels.

“Subject to available resources, remedial works is undertaken in conjunction with road resurfacing under the multi-annual road works programme,” stated the reply.

“Given the extent of the works required, however, the costs are likely to be significant and will take some years to complete unless specific funding, separate from that provided in the Road Works Programme, is made available,” it added.

According to the council, drains that are subject to flooding will be inspected in the interim and within budgetary constraints, an arrangement will be made for necessary remedial works to be undertaken.

In reference to the council’s response, Cllr Flynn said it was “like Noah saying we’ll trying to repair the ark when it’s sinking”.

Sinn Féin Councillor Cathy McCafferty said that areas which are likely to flood easily should be prioritised when drains are being cleared. “In this day and age, it’s totally not acceptable,” she said.

OFFICIALS at Ennis Town Council have admitted frustration with the National Roads Authority’s (NRA) policy towards motorway signage for Ennis.

The issue was raised at the September meeting of Ennis Town Council, where members discussed a motion put forward by Councillor Brian Meaney (GP).

Cllr Meaney urged the Council to consult with the NRA, pointing out that there are no signposts for Ennis on numerous sections of the motorway network in the mid-west.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Meaney said a stronger case should be made to ensure Ennis is “identified as a major junction in the midwest”.

In his response to Cllr Meaney’s motion, Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan said the NRA does not regard Ennis as termination point.

He explained, “The main reason Ennis fares poorly on the national road signage relates to NRA standard policy, which dictates that the number of destinations to appear on signage should be minimised and that priority is given to destinations at termination points of relevant routes. Unfortuneatley Ennis loses out in a number of situations where one would expect it should feature due to the fact that it is not a termination location on the N/M18. I have received this explanation from the NRA on a number of occasions when I have raised this issue previously.”

Mr Tiernan continued, “Ennis isn’t indicated on signage along the approaches to the Tulla Road interchange because a decision was taken in advance of opening the Ennis bypass that it would not be appropriate to encourage Ennis bound traffic to take the Tulla Road route into town for a number of reasons including: concerns regarding traffic capacity of the route; the risk associated with encouraging increased quantities of traffic (particularly large vehicles) to enter Ennis under the Corrovorrin railway bridge whose clearance above road level is less than desirable; the extent of residential development along the route.”

Senior Executive Engineer Eamon O’Dea admitted that the issue of ter mination points had been “extremely frustrating” for the Council.

“We’re not happy about it and we will talk to them about it,” he added.

Councillors were critical of the NRA’s policy towards Ennis. Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said it was not “satisfactory” that on main motorways “you find every other sign but no sign for Ennis”.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said the NRA does not seem to realise that there is a community beyond the Ennis bypass. He claimed Ennis had been “treated appallingly” in comparison to other large towns like Athlone.