The Clare People Archive

PLANS by the University of Limer- ick (UL), the country’s leading sports university, to extend its Clare campus by 25 acres with sports amenities have come under fire. In a planning application lodged with Clare Coun- ty Council, UL is seeking planning permission for two standard soccer pitches, one GAA pitch and one rugby pitch along with a sports pavillion and 392 car-parking spaces.

However, in an objection against the development, local resident, Caro- line O’Brien of Shravokee, Clonlara states that “our greatest concern re- lates to the impact that this develop- ment would have on our property at

Shravokee, Clonlara.”’

She states, “The proposed devel- opment will have a very significant footprint on a very special landscape, namely a floodplain of the River SJat-evelOnee

“The loss of 25 acres of floodplain would have enormous consequences for the rich natural habitat of this area.

“On occasion, flood waters have en- croached within a few metres of our buildings. Even the slightest increase in the flood levels in this flood plain would inundate our property.

‘The cumulative effect of these vari- ous developments on this flood plain will inevitably increase the future of floods.

“We are highlighting the serious threat presented to our property by the proposed development.”

Ms O’Brien cites the Clare County Development plan, which states that “proposals for development on the coast, within a flood plain or adjacent to a river or its flood plain, will only be permitted where it can be clearly demonstrated that it does not place itselt at risk of harm to life or dam- age to property through flooding or increase the flood risk in the relevant river catchment”.

She states, “In our opinion, the pro- posed development is at variance with this condition.

“If this development proceeds and our property is consequently affected

by flooding could you please indicate where the responsibility lie.”

However, consultants for UL state that “the proposed development com- plies with the requirements of the County Development Plan”.

The university states that “the sports facility is an appropriate landuse in a floodplain and it is adaptable to cli- mate change”.

The consultants state, ““The extent of the development, relatives to large river flood levels and large floodplain extent will result in no impact on lo- cal water levels and effects on flows downsteam will not be significant.”

The consultants admit that the sub- ject lands have been subject to isolat- ed flooding incidents in the past.

A GARDA investigation into the misappropriation of thousands of euro in rents 1s “complex”, a court has been told.

The comment was made, as the State was granted an extension of time for preparation of the Book of Evidence in the case of a property agent, who is accused of 61 charges, in connection with the misappropria- tion of almost €80,000 in rents.

Fiona Lillis (36), of Lisduff, New- market-on-Fergus, is accused of 49 theft charges and 12 charges of de- ception, in relation to €76,540, be- tween December 17, 2007 and Sep- tember 30, 2008.

The charges relate to the owners of six properties. She is facing 45 theft charges and four charges of deception in relation to one prop- erty owner Richard Dineen, totalling €59,570, relating to rent and rental deposits for accommodation at Kin- cora Apartments, Shannon.

Another six charges – three theft charges and three deception charges – relate to Adrian Kelly, in relation to a property at Dun na Manach, Quin. The other six charges relate to Kin- cora Apartments, Shannon.

Ms Lillis appeared in court initial- ly in July and the case was adjourned to last Thursday. On Thursday, In- spector John Galvin, prosecuting, said that the book of evidence was not ready. He asked for a two-month adjournment.

However, defending solicitor Ca1- triona Carmody said, “This has been going on since July. My application is that it be adjourned peremptory against the State.”

Inspector Galvin said, “It’s a com- plex matter. It will take time.”

Judge Joseph Mangan extended time for service of the book of evi- dence and adjourned the case for two months.

A SIX-MONTH jail term has been handed down to a woman who plead- ed guilty to charges under the Theft and Fraud Offences Acct.

Cora Mulqueen (35), of Kincora Apartments, Shannon, pleaded guilty to altering a Department of Social and Family Affairs cheque and three other offences, arising out of an inci- dent in December 2007.

Shannon District Court was told previously that Ms Mulqueen was a chronic heroin addict and had been unsuccessful in her attempts to give up the drug.

Her solicitor, Caitriona Carmody, said that her client has now moved away from Shannon and is off her- oon

Judge Joseph Mangan said the pro- bation report in the case was “very negative” and imposed a six-month jail term. He fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.

A JUDGE has been asked to dis- qualify himself from hearing a pub- lic order case, after reference was made to a defendant’s record, prior to the hearing of the case.

At Kilrush District Court, solicitor Eugene O’ Kelly applied for free legal aid for his client, who was charged with two offences under the Public Order Act.

Judge Joseph Mangan asked what the allegations were. Superintend- ent Michael Comyns, prosecuting, said it would be alleged that the ac- cused urinated against the door of a premises and was very intoxicated.

The judge then asked, “Are there any particular exceptional circum-

stances in the case that I should know about?”

Supt Comyns said there weren’t. The judge then asked was the de- fendant at risk (of going to prison). Supt Comyns replied, “He would be. He has a number of previous.”

Mr O’Kelly then said, “The court has been told this man has a number of previous convictions, before hear- ing of the case. I must ask the court to stand aside and another judge hear this case.”

Judge Mangan then granted free legal aid and adjourned the case for hearing at a later date.

Mr O’Kelly asked, “Are you dis- qualifying yourself from the case, Judge?” to which Judge Mangan re- plied, “Yes.”

CONCERNS about the welfare of animals on a farm in west Clare have been aired in court, by a veterinary inspector.

After a court heard that animals on the farm were thin and hungry and were confined by an electric fence, the farmer undertook to rectify the situation within two months.

Patrick Shannon (55), of Carrowna- calla South, Kilrush, pleaded guilty to four charges of cruelly ill-treating animals.

Veterinary inspector Vincent Lam- bert told Kilrush District Court that inspections were carried out on the defendant’s farm on a number of oc- casions late last year.

‘He has been visited on his farm since 2003 in relation to welfare of animals kept on the farm,” he said.

‘“T have observed a deterioration of

the situation,” he added.

He said that the animals were con- fined by an electric fence, while the animals were very thin and hungry.

“Over a period of time, we have served notices on Mr Shannon. He has failed to comply,’ he said. For instance, he said, Mr Shannon had been asked not to confine the ani- mals by an electric fence, while he had also been advised to reduce stock numbers on his farm.

During one visit, on September 23 last year, he said the animals were being strip grazed, confined by an electric fence. “The animals were empty looking. They were lowing for feed. We discussed the situation with Mr Shannon. He failed to appreci- ate the situation, that animals were suffering. We advised him to reduce numbers and clean out the sheds and prepare for winter storage,” he said.

He said he visited the farm again

on October 7, when the animals were on bare ground. “They were on their knees, in an attempt to reach grass outside the electric fence. They were in danger of shock from the electric fence,” he said.

Further visits took place on Novem- ber 12 and 19, but issues remained. The animals were still confined and were on their knees, trying to get ac- cess to grass.

Defence solicitor Michael Ryan said his client was sincere but mis- guided and Mr Lambert agreed with Wen Ke

“He had strongly held views. He might not have appreciated the se- riousness of the matter or the dete- rioration the animals had suffered,’ said Mr Ryan.

He said his client’s family had op- erated the farm, which was “a prime holding” of over 80 acres, for more than 100 years. “He had views which

we may not agree with, on the ecol- ogy of the farm. He hadn’t used fer- tiliser on the farm for 12 years. He didn’t agree with it,” he said.

He said his client had had a prob- lem with a neighbour and this had been on his mind a lot. He said the accused would undertake to cease strip grazing with immediate effect, indefinitely, while he would no long- er use an electric fence.

“He would go about tagging and testing of the animals, with a view to disposing of all 35 animals,” he CrHG

“The primary concern should be for the animals,’ said the solicitor.

He said the defendant would give an undertaking to rectify the situa- tion within two months.

Judge Joseph Mangan adjourned the case for two months and said, ‘He has a problem if everything isn’t done in two months’ time.”

REFEREE Rory Hickey was in the car park ahead of most of the sup- porters in Quilty last Saturday – gear bag in hand and ready for the quick escape.

Such was the level of anger at the final whistle, with Cooraclare grab- bing a controversial – if well deserved – equaliser five minutes into injury time, that the Eire Og man thought discretion to be the better part of val- our and so he made a quick departure from Quilty.

In truth however, it’s hard to under- stand what either side had to com- plain about.

Doonbeg and Cooraclare had served up a thrilling 60 minutes of football – filled with commitment, tension and no little amount of skill – when two injury time decisions left the large crowd exhilarated, and no doubt counting down the days until the replay.

The controversy, if you want to call it that, began in the 60th minute with the sides deadlocked. A high specula- tive ball from Kevin Nugent was lost by the Cooraclare keeper Joe Killeen and wound up in the back of the net.

Pandemonium erupted in the stands as the Magpies took the lead for the first time since the seventh minute as the Cooraclare faithful cried foul and square-ball.

Hickey consulted with both lines- men before rightly awarding the goal.

Gasps abounded, but the biggest drama was yet to come.

In the fifth minute of injury time Co- oraclare substitute Declan O’ Looney lofted a free kick that landed menac- ingly in the Doonbeg area sending bodies from both sides flying in all directions.

In the disarray that followed, Doon- beg stalwart Padraig Gallagher came away with the ball and a whistle from

the referee appeared to bring the match to an end.

The celebration in the stand was Short lived however, as it soon be- came apparent that the whistle was for a foul, with the umpire deciding that Gallagher had picked the ball off the ground, and not the final whistle.

Mark Tubridy showed great nerve to goal the spot-kick – sparking relief for Cooraclare and anger from a sec- tion of the Doonbeg players.

It had been a hot-blooded but fair encounter, with no quarter asked or given, and it’s easy to understand some of the frustration at the final

whistle. But, as one of the few neutral spectators in Quilty on Saturday, this reporter can say that this was a great game and, by and large, a fair result.

Cooraclare were in a different class for the first 40 minutes – sti- fling Doonbeg with their speed and relentless running – and they were good value for their 1-6 to 0-4 lead. Doonbeg had raced into an early lead with points from Jamie Whelan and David Tubridy.

But Cooraclare were proving much more mobile around the field and began to make that pay on the scoreboard. Points from Don Garry,

Hughie Donnelly and Cathal Lillis followed with Sean Maguire’s well taken goal giving them a healthy erYee

Colm Dillon and Brian Egan point- ed late in the first half to keep the Magpies in touch but Cooraclare took up where they left off after the break with scores from Andrew O’Neill, Mark Tubridy and Sean Maguire.

The half-time introduction of Frank O’Dea into the Doonbeg midfield was starting to pay dividends. The Magpies’ talisman rallied the troops and scores followed from David Tu- bridy (2), Enda Doyle Brian Dillon

and O’Dea himself to level the match and set up the grandstand, injury time finale.

What a finale it was.

KILMURRY — Ibrickane — steam- rolled the challenge of O’Curry’s to progress to the semi-finals of the championship on Saturday.

Any possibility of underdogs

O’Curry’s shocking the champions basically vanished inside the first 60 seconds, by which time Kilmurry al- ready had the ball in the net.

Paul O’Connor’s goal was a brutal statement of intent and though it took Kilmurry until the second-half to re-

ally tear into a commanding lead, O’Curry’s never really recovered. Ger Quinlan’s frees and O’Curry’s overall workrate in energy sapping heat, ensured Kilmurry didn’t com- pletely run amok in the first-half. But graft alone was never going to

be enough. O’Curry’s struggled in attack, a failure reflected in the fact that their first score from play didn’t arrive until the 39th minute. They had one great chance to draw level in the 10th minute when Ollie Quin- lan was pulled to the floor by Kil- murry goalkeeper Dermot O’Brien. A goal would have tied the game at 1-1 apiece and no doubt have done wonders for O’Curry’s confidence. But Michael O’Shea’s weak strike was comfortably saved by O’Brien. O’Curry’s moment passed and Kil- murry were not in a mood to give up other soft chances.

Leading 1-6 to O-3 at half-time, the men in red and green really flexed their muscles after the break.

Three swift points pushed Kilmur- ry nine points clear and sucked all the competitive juice from what was rapidly becoming a fairly bloodless Neeuoe

The job done, Kilmurry unloaded their bench. Noel Downes, just back from a groin injury, hit the field and bagged a quick I-l. Odran O’Dwyer also got some precious game time as the champions coasted home.

Peter O’Dwyer was a central figure throughout and it was his pass that kickstarted the move that led to Kil- murry’s first goal. Stephen Moloney kept possession alive at the end line. Johnny Daly and Mark McCarthy were both involved as the ball was swiftly transferred across O’Curry’s defensive cordon to Paul O’Connor who rifled the ball to the net.

Ger Quinlan’s second minute free steadied O’Curry’s but a sense of erim inevitability was beginning to set in. O’ Dwyer was lording it at mid- field. O’Shea fluffed his penalty and by the 17th minute Stephen Molo- ney’s expertly taken point pushed Kilmurry 1-3 0-1 ahead.

O’Curry’s packed the defence and tackled like crazy but Kilmurry still found scores easy to come by. A bril- liantly incisive move saw Moloney go close before lan McInerney thumped over two frees and McCarthy slot- ted over on the stroke of half-time to leave Kilmurry 1-6 to 0-3 ahead.

As they had done at the start of the game, Kilmurry again went for an early kill after the break. Points from Michael Hogan (2) and Moloney took the wind from O’Curry’s sails. Kilmurry could afford to start think- ing about the semi-finals.

Downes entered the fray in the 43rd minute and his first meaningful con- tribution was to slot the ball over the

bar. Daly added a free before Ger Quinlan kicked his fifth point of the day. By now the effort of having to hunt Kilmurry’s forwards was begin- ning to take its toll in O’Curry’s wea- ry defence as the game turned into a target practice session for Micheal McDermott’s side.

Downes took a handpass from Michael Hogan and buried the ball high to the net for Kilmurry’s second goal in the 54th minute.

Michael Carmody registered a point for O’Curry’s before Shane Hickey’s hard running was rewarded with a powerfully hit point. Ger Quinlan landed the game’s final score but it’s the champions who roll on.

BRIDGE Celtic were the victors af- ter this one sided Premier Division clash against Lifford on Wednes- day last. The final tally of five goals tells it’s own story and portrays how dominant the Bridge team were over their Ennis counterparts. They took the early initiative and attacked from the kick off. After a few chances they finally found their goal scoring touch through Ger O’Connell on 20 minutes. They did not have to wait as long for their second however as O’Connell scored again a few sec- onds later when Bridge won posses- sion back from Lifford’s kick off. He slotted the ball home confidently and now really set up Bridge to push on and ensure this win as early as pos- sible. Lifford were stunned but they did get a chance to get themselves back into the game. They were awarded a penalty and Roberto Pinto stepped up to take the kick. His ef- fort however was unsuccessful and

this became a huge turning point in the game. Instead of pulling back a goal they really missed their oppor- tunity. The significance of this miss increased when ten minutes later

Bridge found their third goal. The dangerous Shane Byrnes was the pro- vider and the insurance goal had now been found. Then three became four when Trevor Howard scored a crack-

ing volley just before half time. This was becoming a landslide victory and the prospect of more goals must have sent Lifford in at half team really fearing the worst. In fairness to this Lifford team, they did manage to re- store some pride. They scraped back two goals, with Ryan Boyle’s finish in particular providing the Lifford fans with something finally to cheer about. Suddenly had hope of a mirac- ulous come back been moulded. Un- fortunately for Lifford, Bridge now felt they had conceded enough goals and decided they wanted to score a few more. They only got the one though. Dave Hickey wrapped up his team’s goal scoring in the middle of the second half after a great period of well controlled passing. Burke in the Lifford goal had no chance and sadly for him had to pick the ball out of his net for the fifth time. The threat of any possible fight back had now been neutralised for good. Bridge contin- ued to attack but some credit must be given to young centre half Darren

O’Neill who gave his all throughout the game but his efforts alone were not enough to prevent Bridge Celtic maintaining their unbeaten start to the campaign. Lifford now really have to go back to the drawing board as with three losses from three, their prospects for the season are already looking very bleak.

NEWMARKET Celtic move up to second in the Premier league ta- ble after defeating holders Bunratty last week. After a good win against Rock Rovers the previous Sunday, Newmarket were full of confidence coming into this match. Therefore it wasn’t much of a suprise when they got off to a fantastic start. In the opening five minutes, they managed to grab the lead. John Paul Healy the Newmarket midfielder provided the goal scoring finish. This was the end result of some very direct build up play that Bunratty just could not seem to cope with. Their defence obviously were still not fully awake and warmed up but unfortunately for them Newmarket were not planning on hanging around. They wanted to press home their power and strengths from the very kick off. Bunratty now really had it all to do. Going behind so early meant that attack now had to be their best form of defence and they had to try and pull one back. However their negative position got even worse when Newmarket dou- bled their advantage after 20 min- utes. Again the goal was the result of some lapse defending. A deep cross

into the box failed to be cleared and after a number of attempts to get the ball away, it was deflected by John Ryan into his own net. This was Bun- ratty’s final nail in their already half lowered coffin. For the remainder of the first half, both sides had half chances but nothing really material- ised as Bunratty went in at half time

with it all to do. The second half con- tinued in a similar fashion. Bunratty tried to exert as much pressure as possible with an effort by Pat Twom- ey being one of the best chances they managed to create. Unfortunately for him and his team, his first control let him down and he could not punish the Newmarket defence. Newmarket

did not sit back either with Healy and Feeley in particular looking the most likely to increasing their lead even more. As the game came to a close Bunratty really tried their hardest but it was not going to be their day. Newmarket had sealed this win after an excellent opening period and they never looked back from this to inflict defending champions Bunratty to their first defeat of the season.

Ennis will be made for walking

FEARS have been raised that the Royal Air Force (RAF) have been secretly using Shannon Airport to transport goods and possibly weap- onry to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Photographs taken earlier this month by the Shannon Watch organ- isation show a number of contain- ers clearly marked property of RAF waiting to be loaded onto a Omni Air International plane in Shannon.

The containers were also marked property of Brize Norton, increasing speculation that their cargo inside was bound for conflict in Afghani-

stan or Iraq. The Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire is one of the main staging posts used to transport troops, weaponry and equipment to various war zones.

It is also home of the RAF’s strate- gic air transport (AT) and air-to-air refueling (AAR) forces. It is the most important British military base for maintaining the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

‘This raises further serious ques- tions about Shannon’s role in the oc- cupations of Iraq and Afghanistan,’ said a Shannon Watch spokesperson.

“What might an American civilian plane – that looks like it is carrying

US troops – be doing with RAF con- tainers? Is Ireland now part of the re- supply chain for all of the belligerent NATO forces around the world? And if so, is it being done with our gov- ernment’s approval or without it?”

The incriminating photographs were taken in Shannon Airport in the morning of Saturday, September Dee

According to a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs, British military aircraft rarely land at Shannon Airport and no and offi- cial landings have taken place so far in 2009.

Permission for the landings by

foreign military aircraft are usually granted provided that the aircraft is unarmed, carries no arms, ammuni- tion or explosives, and does not en- gage in intelligence-gathering, and that the flight in question does not form part of a military exercise or ey oro lnleyee

According to Shannon Watch, pro- testers are normally removed from the airport when they attempt to photograph Omni Air International planes at Shannon Airport.

However, they say that on the day in question last Saturday no attempts were made to remove the photogra- phers from this part of the airport.