The Clare People Archive

A FAMILY has been plunged into sadness following the tragic death of a grandmother in Ennis on Sunday.

The 74-year-old woman was with her two young grandchildren in the Francis Street area of the town when the accident occurred.

Josephine Lucas was struck by a reversing car near the Aldi and Tesco shopping centres. Despite the best efforts of emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Gardaí are investigating the incident, which they have described as a “tragic accident”.

They have appealed for the members of the public who may have witnessed the accident to contact them at Ennis Garda Station.

CCTV footage of the area will also be studied as gardaí attempt to piece together the sequence of events that led to Ms Lucas’ tragic death.

It is thought she was at the rear of the car putting shopping into the boot, when it suddenly reversed and knocked her over.

Ms Lucas’ granddaughter and grandson who were with her were unhurt but were treated in hospital for shock.

The accident occurred at around 1.30pm and the road was closed for a period. Two units of the fire brigade from Ennis along with two ambulances and rapid response advanced paramedic responded to the incident.

AN ENNIS man who was trapped inside his home for a number of hours by fallen trees on Wednesday says he fears further damage if storms strikes again.

Terry Hayes was sitting with his daughter and grandchildren at his home in Shallee Drive, Cloughleigh, when he says he heard a loud crack on Wednesday afternoon.

“There was this noise. I didn’t have clue what has after happening until this big tree fell down in the front of the house. Two more trees fells later on,” explained Terry.

Ennis was battered by strong storm force winds on Wednesday with dozens of trees uprooted and knocked over at locations around the town.

Terry says the family were trapped in the house for a number of hours and required the assistance of friends and neighbours to get out.

“The trees fell from a private property. We couldn’t get out. We were ringing the emergency services but they didn’t come but I understand they were probably stretched because of all that was going on around the town.

“I rang someone in the council and they told me to stay inside. I told them I was ringing them because I couldn’t get out of the house!

“I rang friends of mine and they came down with two chainsaws and cut back some of the branches. I was able to get out the front and we man- aged to get the kids out the back,” explains Terry.

Terry says the experience as particularly frightening for his grandchildren. “It was a very scary experience, especially for the kids. I was trying to stay calm but I was shaking inside. All of it happened in the space of 10 to 15 minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it. I have to say thanks to the neighbours for all their help,” he adds.

The trees knocked the boundary wall and damaged a car parked in the front drive way.

“There are other trees that are loose now and the fear is that if we got another strong storm like that they could fall at any moment,” he says.

WORK has begun on the regional road through Kilbaha, but the good news stops there for the Loop Head residents.

Last week residents protested when Clare County Council insisted that the regional road through the village of Kilbaha must remain closed as it was seriously compromised by the high tides and winds on St Brigid’s Day, February 1.

This weekend the West Clare area branch of Clare County Council has begun work on “interim remedial works” on 120 metres of the sea wall in the village.

Senior area engineer Cyril Feeney said that this work will allow the council to reopen the road, which is its priority. The work is expected to be completed in just over a week.

Meanwhile for residents in Ross Bay life remains difficult, as it is unlikely that money will be available to repair the local road in the near future.

Children going to St Cuan’s National School, Kilbaha, are being driven up to 50 kilometres daily to get them to school and home. For families like the Magners who live just three kilometres from the school, they must take a round trip of more than 16 kilometres just to make class, as the Ross road is impassable since the Christmas high tides and storms.

For Pat Magner the added time taken to get his children to school is among the least of his worries, as 20 per cent of his farm land has been flooded three times in a month.

This prime grazing land will not be useable until late autumn and will take a huge financial investment to put right. The dairy farmer may even be forced to sell some of his herd affecting his livelihood further.

Mr Magner is not alone in his plight as farmers from all over the peninsula are facing another tough year, having already come through a fodder crisis just last spring.

“No one has given us any assistance or help,” said Mr Magner.

Meanwhile in Kilkee Clare County Council has engaged a specialistconsulting engineer to assess the seawall and Strand Line.

When work can begin on the wall however is subject to if and when financial assistance becomes available from Central Government.

The Strand Line from Jimmy’s Hill to Minster’s Place remains closed to traffic but pedestrian access is being maintained via the town side of the street. Council engineers are monitoring the structural stability of the road and seawall on a continual basis.

AN ESTIMATED 62 customers in the county were still without electricity at time of press last night, as Storm Darwin blew out transmitters and damaged lines on Wednesday last.

At the height of the storm as many as 8,400 homes in the county were without electricity.

ESB crews worked around the clock and over the weekend to restore light and energy to homes, but four areas in the county are still in darkness.

As many as 30 customers in Ennis North were still reported to be without power yesterday evening (Monday), while 10 customers in Kilrush, 10 in Rineanna and 12 in Cranny are also without power since Wednesday afternoon.

Last night ESB crews suspended power for almost four hours at 52 homes in the Miltown Malbay area to fix a fault, and 15 homes in Drumquin.

As 130 kilometres per hour winds blew across the county on Wednesday, emergency services in Clare responded to more than 150 separate weather related incidents.

As many as 8,400 homes in Clare were without electricity on Wednesday, with many homes still without power today. At the height of the storm 11, 500 Eircom customers also had their communications systems interrupted.

ENNIS Golf Club is counting the cost of Storm Darwin after dozens of trees were knocked over on the course on Wednesday afternoon.

It is estimated that around 130 trees were knocked over or uprooted along the 107-year-old course.

A full assessment of the damage has been carried out.

The course is expected to remain closed for a number of days to facilitate removal work.

In a message posted on the club’s Facebook page, Club Manager Pat McCarthy thanked all members who had volunteered to help out.

He stated, “In common with the rest of the country, Ennis Golf Club has suffered seriously from the recent storms. The unprecedented winds of Wednesday have knocked large numbers of evergreen and deciduous trees all over the course. Many more have been left in a weakened and dangerous state.”

Mr McCarthy continued, “A full assessment of the damage has been carried out and contractors are quoting for the clean up at present and we expect work to commence early next week. In the interests of safety and to allow the heavy work of removal we have no alternative but to close the course for at least a week. We will keep members updated via email regarding the reopening of the course. We are grateful to our members who have volunteered their help but, until such time as the dangerous work is successfully completed, we cannot allow members onto the course.”

The club was among numerous areas of the town where trees were knocked over by storm force winds on Wednesday.

A number of patients had to be evacuated from the top floor of Ennis General Hospital because of fears that winds could damage the roof.

No signs of damage was found and the patients were able to return to the building.

Fallen trees near St Flannan’s College forced the closure of a busy road while gardaí were called to deal with an overturned truck on the M18 motorway outside Ennis.

FURTHER evidence that Shannon Airport is on the right flight-path to recovery was released over the weekend with the news that the airport recorded a promising increase in the number of flight movements coming through Shannon in January.

This increase is more impressive when the effects of the recent storms are considered. Shannon Airport itself has been forced to close on a number of occasions in recent weeks and a number of flights destined to arrive at Shannon Airport were also cancelled because of difficulties at other airports.

Shannon Airport recorded an average total of 38 daily movements in January of 2014 compared to the same month in 2013. This amounts to a year-on-year increase of more than 3.2 per cent.

Ireland’s en-route traffic, which means the total flights that pass through Irish airspace but do not land, decreased by 9.2 per cent in January. This decrease has been blamed mostly on the poor weather and, if a similar sized decrease was felt at Shannon Airport, it means that real flights must have shown a sizable increase to off set the effects of the poor weather.

This is in stark contrast to the number of daily movements recorded for January of 2013, which were the lowest recorded at Shannon Airport for more then a decade. These drop, which coincides with the air- port’s first month of independence from the Dublin Airport Authority, represents a 10.7 per cent year-onyear drop on the flight number from January of 2012.

“Continued strong performance in our terminal business is very encouraging. Recent announcements by a number of airlines suggests growth will continue for the remainder of the year,” said Peter Kearney, Director of Air Traffic Operations and Strategy at the Irish Aviation Authority.

SHANNON Airport has stepped up to the mark as a key economic driver for the mid-west region, according to Transport Minister, Leo Varadkar, who has told The Clare People that Donald Trump’s acquisition of Doonbeg Golf Club was made possible by having an international airport on its doorstep.

Speaking in Shannon Minister Varadkar lauded the “the renewed energy and vibrancy” as a new growth phase was announced for airport services that will see a new programme of hangar development come on stream in the next year.

“It is fair to say that recent high profile investments in this region like the Regeneron announcement for Limerick and Donald Trump’s acquisition of and planned investment in Doonbeg would not be happening were it not for Shannon Airport’s presence,” said Minister Varadkar.

His comments came as a new deal was signed for an eight-year lease by Air Contractors, a member of the ASL Aviation group, with the Shannon Group for the remaining hangar space at the airport.

This will be used by Air Contrac- tors for line maintenance on its fleet of Boeing and ATR aircraft, including its Boeing 757 aircrafts which will be flown by Aer Lingus on the new daily Shannon-Boston service launched last week and its six times weekly JFK New York service that commences in March.

The airport currently has 50,700sq meters of space in nine hangars, all of which will be fully occupied following the signing of contracts with Air Contractors.

To meet a current request for near term additional hangar space, the board of the Shannon Group recently agreed to seek planning permission and to tender for the procurement and associated works of a fabric hangar of 4,300sq metres capable of accommodating wide-bodied aircraft.

It is anticipated the new hangar – intended to be the first of a number of new hangars developed at Shannon – will be built and open for business by the end of the year.

“I welcome the board’s progress in relation to hangar capacity and its plans to develop an additional hangar this year,” said Minister Varadkar.

“This is in keeping with the wider plans for growth at Shannon, includ- ing the development of an International Aviation Services Centre here to complement the existing cluster of 40 aviation related businesses operating in Shannon.

“The development of maintenance facilities is one opportunity identified under this plan and this is a very positive first step in that space,” he added.

According to Shannon Group chairperson, Rose Hynes, the airport is “making strong early progress in relation to the wider Shannon project. Our success in achieving full occupancy of our hangar capacity is evidence of this”.

SHANNON Airport’s return of profit and passenger growth in a little over a year since it was granted its independence from the Dublin Airport Authority has been hailed as “very impressive” by the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadakar.

On what as his first visit to the airport since it became an independent entity on December 31, 2012, Minister Varadkar told The Clare People that the upsurge in the fortunes of Clare’s international airport has “certainly validated the Government decision” to let Shannon chart its own future.

“To be brutally honest as minister, I didn’t think the airport would manage a profit in year one, I thought it would take three years for that to happen. That is one of the areas where we are ahead of schedule,” said Minister Varadkar.

“It has been a very impressive first year for Shannon Airport and the performance has certainly validated the Government’s decision to give the airport its independence. The financial position of the airport is very strong and last year was about stabilisation and making a reality of a merger and this year is about growth,” he added.

In its first year full year of independence Shannon reversed five years of successive passenger decline by recording a marginal increase in numbers on 2012 to just over 1.4m passengers.

Chief executive of the Shannon Group, Neil Pakey said the airport is projecting double digit percentage passenger growth this year based mainly on increased Ryanair services and increases services on transatlantic routes.

“During the last six months, we have been successful in securing new capacity and have to make sure the marketing is right and we are hopefully looking at double digit-plus growth,” he said.

“The airport has paid its own way since separation,” confirmed Shannon Group chairperson, Rose Hynes. “We are able to present him [Minister Varadkar] with a really positive report card on the airport’s first year as an independent entity. We have very strong momentum at Shannon, and the passenger growth, in particular, has been hugely satisfying.

Commenting on the return to profit, Minister Varadkar said it means that “the airport is a stronger position to invest and do things. If you are making losses, you are eating into your reserves”.

“Our priority in 2013 was to stabilise the position at the airport, stem the five-year decline in passenger numbers and increase connectivity,” continued Ms Hynes. “We are in passenger growth mode now and this will continue in 2014 and we will continue to make progress in the creation of an international aviation services centre in Shannon,” she added.

NORTH Clare farmers have pledged to fight on against the decision to sell the Ennistymon Mart to Aldi following a “fruitless” meeting in Ennis yesterday.

Three member of Ennistymon IFA met with representatives from Clare Marts for a number of hours yesterday, at a meeting facilitated by Clare IFA president Andrew Dundas.

At the meeting, a spokesperson for Clare Marts confirmed that the sale of the mart had been agreed by the board of Clare Marts, but said that contracts had yet to be signed and the sale was dependent on planning permission being granted.

Tom Clair from Ennistymon IFA said yesterday that the people of Ennistymon feel like they have been “sold-out” by their fellow farmers for a “few dollars” from a multi-national.

“The people up here will fight this to the bitter end, that is for sure. But we are desperate downhearted that this has happened,” he said.

“The way that this has come about is not right.

“After all that was gone through to get that mart there in the first place and now to have it sold out from under us by our fellow farmers. And just because they had a few dollars dangled down in front of them. It’s not right.”

Yesterday’s meeting followed a protest help by more than 20 North Clare farmers outside of Ennis Marts last Tuesday evening and a mass meeting of more than 450 people which took place in Ennistymon earlier this month.

Those opposed to the sale will now likely take to the planning system to try and block the sale going through by lodging planning applications once Aldi bring forward a proposal.

The land where the mart currently sits was gifted to the people of Ennistymon by the McNamara clan as an area for fairs.

“It is though that the mart’s deeds could yet contain a condition requiring it to be operated for agricultural purposes. The Clare People contacted Clare Marts in relation to this story but they had no comment to make.

SHANNON-based mining company Mincon could be set to double in size over the next two or three years – with the prospect of more jobs coming on stream in looking increasingly possibly. That is according to Mincon’s “house brokers” Davy Stockbrokers, who in a letter to potential investors last week described the Clare company as ‘outperform’ and said it was primed for expansion.

“It has grown rapidly in recent years, while generating returns of over 20 per cent,” the Davy note said. “[The company is] a pure play on the structurally less volatile global consumable rock-drilling products industry.”

Earlier this year, the company’s two biggest shareholders gave employees € 1.2 million from their own private funds to reward them for their hard work over the years.

Company founder Paddy Purcell and Kevin Barry initiated the employee recognition plan, which excluded all members of senior management.

The money was paid to Mincon’s 140 eligible employees across the group and was based on years of service with a payment of € 1,000 per staff member per year of service.

The Shannon-based rock drilling engineering company was founded in 1977 and listed on the Dublin and London stock exchanges late last year. Many of the company’s Shannon-based employees have been there for a number of decades.

“It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Mincon Group employees that it has grown from its origins in Shannon into the interna- tional business it is today, with operations in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Australasia and with its securities quoted on the ESM and AIM,” said Paddy Purcell at the time that the payment was announced.

“As the largest shareholders in the company, Kevin and I wished to take this opportunity to show, in a tangible and meaningful way, our appreciation to the staff for their contribution in bringing Mincon to where it is today and positioning it for the next phase of its development organically and through acquisitions.”