The Clare People Archive

THE National Park and Wildlife Services (NPWS) has applied to Clare County Council to reconstruct an access bridge to one of Clare’s lake islands.

The NPWS has applied to build the bridge to Rabbit Island from Dro- more Wood Nature Reserve in Ruan.

The project will also include new hand railing.

According to the planning appli- cation submitted to Clare County Council on August 1, the site of the project is located within a special area of conservation and within in an natural heritage reserve. There is currently a pedestrian rope bridge accessing the island.

A decision is due on the applica- tion to reconstruct the bridge on Sep- tember 25, that will allow visitors to Dromore to access the island in comfort.

An area of approximately 400 hec- tares or 1,000 acres, Dromore was established as a nature reserve be- cause of the diversity and richness of its flora and fauna.

Its richness comes from its many different habitat types. These include a river, lakes, turloughs, callows (flodded meadows), limestone pave- ment, fen peat, reed beds and spe- cies-rich woodland.

The reserve has historical and ar- chaeological aspects. The 17th cen- tury O’Brien Castle is still standing by the lake edge. This is also the

sites of Cahermacrea Castle, Kilakee Church, two ring forts and a lime kiln. Two self-guiding nature trails of approximately one hour exist within the woodland and a section of the 140 kilometres Mid-Clare Way also passes through.

This loop overlaps on part of the Castle Nature Trail and the Mid- OETA ENE

liday homes.

Earlier this year, in the face of op- position from local nuns and resi- dents, Clare County Council granted planning permission to Brendan O’Doherty, Patrick Montgomery, Paul Montgomery, and John MclIner-

ney for 96 homes in the village.

However, in common with other planning permissions the council has issued for multiple housing devel- opments along Clare’s coastline in recent years, the planning authority stated that all the homes should be used as permanent dwellings.

The four appealed the decision ar- suing to An Bord Pleanala that new homes being limited to permanent occupation only “will undermine the principal economic activity” of the resort.

The four argued that the council

acted outside its powers in demand- ing that the homes be used for per- manent occupancy only, contending that at no stage did they enter an agreement with the council concern- ing the occupancy of the dwellings. The developers point out that the identified permanent housing need within Lahinch is 20 new dwellings. They state, “The scheme as per- mitted by the council provides 96 homes. Allocation of 20 per cent of the units for social and affordable housing equates to 24 units, which is four units in excess of the identified

need for permanent dwellings up to pA ae

The developers claim that the lim1- tation of the use of the dwellings for permanent use only is “unsustain- able”’.

The appeal states, “The identified local need for principal places of residence has therefore been accom- modated in full by this development without any need for the imposition of a condition restricting the occupa- tion of the overall housing develop- Tees ne

However, in spite of the strong ar-

guments made, the developers have withdrawn their appeal to An Bord Pleanala and this may be influenced by a recent decision where another developer appealed the permanent occupancy clause and came very close to having the entire develop- ment thrown out.

In relation to the Patricia Stack- epoole appeal, the inspector recom- mended that planning permission be refused for the entire development and it was only granted after the An Bord Pleanala over-ruled the inspec- tor’s recommendation.

THE prospect of exploiting a huge gas and oil reserve off the Clare coast moved a step closer this week with the news that Providence Resources has brought in a new partner to work on the Spanish Point field.

This brings the project to it’s next stage of development and it now looks likely that commercial drilling will begin at the site in the next two years.

Providence Resources, which is fronted by Tony O’Reilly Jnr, last week signed a staged farm-out agree- ment with Chrysaor Holdings, which will carry out a 3-D seismic apprais- al work programme of the Spanish Point Field in return for an initial 30 per cent interest in the gas and oil.

The Spanish Point Field is located some 200 kilometres off the Clare

coast in an area known as the Porcu- pine Basin. Providence also owns the exploration right for it’s sister field, known as the Burren, also located in the Porcupine Basin.

Independent studies of the Spanish Point field show recoverable volumes of gas ranging from between 293 and 527 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE). Even the lowest estimate from the field would be enough to fill Ireland’s entire demand for natural gas for decades.

Chrysaor is a privately owned ex- ploration and production company backed by the commodities invest- ment team of Barclays Capital and Natural Gas Partners.

According to details released by Providence last week, Chrysaor has the option to earn up to a maximum 70 per cent interest in the event that two wells are subsequently drilled on

Spanish Point.

Depending on the results of the 3-D seismic programme, Chrysaor may then undertake to finance the drilling of up to two appraisal wells where it will commit not less than 60 per cent cost share.

This proposed farm-out deal be- tween Providence and Chrysaor is subject to the approval of the Irish Government.

Tony O’Reilly Jnr, chief executive of Providence, said the agreement was significant, especially from a shareholder’s perspective as it was a very cost-effective way of advancing a project.

“Having carried out the necessary pre-development work, it is very ex- citing that the partnership has now been able to partner with Chrysaor to advance this large project to the next exciting stage,” he said last week.

AS Clare hurling All-Star and Wa- terford senior hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald prepares to take on Kil- kenny in the All-Ireland Senior Hurl- ing Final, he also faces some strong opposition on the home front.

The Sixmilebridge man has the unanimous support of the Deise in his role as hurling manager, but back in Newmarket-on-Fergus his ambt- tions to become a successful hotelier have met with planning objections.

The two-time All-Ireland winning goalkeeper has applied to Clare County Council to demolish his pub- lic house the Bellsfort Inn in New- market-on-Fergus and replace it with a 23 bedroom, boutique hotel.

Seamus and Ann Ryan, who live beside the well-known public house, have objected to the proposed re-de- velopment of the site for a series of

reasons and submitted that “these reasons present sufficient grounds for the planning authority to refuse the application for the redevelopment of the site.”

The couple lodged an objection to the proposal on August 1, claiming that the site is “extremely compro- mised in its area to cater for the level of treatment required for the pro- posed development.”

The Ryans also believe that there will be a loss of amenity by reason of noise and odour.

The submission to Clare County Council also stated that any propos- als to address difficulties with storm water management are speculative.

“It is anticipated that the traffic generated from the development will significantly increase traffic move- ment and manoeuvres at this section of the R472,” the statement said.

As well as issues about the defini-

tion of the boundary walls on the plans the submission also referred to issues about significant reduction in light to the Ryan’s home result- ing from the proposal, and invasion of privacy as a result of the develop- ment of half the ring fort both par- WCET DESe

“Nothing in the development pro- posal indicates that the development makes any contribution to the lo- cal area, or presents a demonstrable need for this type of development in the area. The Shannon area is cur- rently well served with food and ac- commodation facilities.

“We earnestly request the planning authority to refuse permission for the proposed development, taking ac- count of our concerns regarding the overdevelopment of this site, which will give rise to serious negative im- pact on the local environment,’ the 13-page submission concluded.

FOUL play has been ruled out in the case of two skeletons that were dis- covered buried in Quin last week.

Gardai had initially feared one of the remains might be that of a Bal- lykilty woman who disappeared 21 years ago.

An archaeological team alerted the Garda after they discovered two skeltons in a shallow grave while conducting a survey for the develop- ment of Quin community centre.

Further tests revealed the remains are more than a hundred years old

and may even date back to Medieval Wbeslone

The grim discovery was made be- hind the centre by the team work- ing under archaeologist Edel Ruttle of TVAS (ireland) Ltd, a Crusheen based archaeological consultancy ooyenh ey Nah Ye

TVAS director, Graham Hull, ex- plained that the company “is obliged to inform the gardai when remains are found in these circumstances”.

He added that osteoarchaeologist Mara ‘Tesorieri, who was onsite at the time, “was reasonably sure that these were antiquated remains but

the gardai had to be informed and a portion of jaw-bone was sent to the State Pathologist in Dublin for ex- ~Neeuper-lu (eye lae

An initial analysis by ‘Tesorieri “suggests that one of the skeletons is that of a female aged over 45. It may be associated with the neighbouring St Fineen’s church and we think that it’s possible the wall of the graveyard around the church may have been moved at some stage”.

Investigating gardai first had to eliminate suspicion that the remains could be those of Mary Guire, a local woman who left her work in Knap-

pogue castle in 1987 and was never Toros mbexe nO

“Once we were told that the remains were more than 100 years old, that would be the limit of garda involve- ment,” said Inspector Tom Kennedy.

Ger Buggy of the Quin community centre development committee, said that he is “very glad there was noth- ing untoward involved. The bodies have been covered over again.

“We had planned to put in a drive- way but a report has been sent to the Department of the Environment and we are waiting to see if any further action is necessary,’ he added.

THE developers and opponents for a planned €10 million explosives plant at Cahercon are to clash at an An Bord Pleanala oral hearing on the contentious scheme.

This follows the appeals board in- forming by letter on parties to the appeal that it has decided to hold the oral hearing and a spokeswoman for the board said yesterday that a date has yet to be decided upon.

Last March, the council granted planning permission to the Whelan Group-owned Shannon Explosives

to construct the the plant at Cahercon pier, Kildysart.

It was the latest twist in the coun- ty’s longest running planning saga that started nine years ago when plans were first lodged.

Along with local group, Cairde Chill an Disirt Teo (CCDT) ap- pealing the decision, the Kildysart Explosives Opposition Group (KE- FOG) and An Taisce have appealed, while the Whelan Group have also appealed against conditions in the planning permission.

In tandem with the appeals board informing parties about the oral

hearing, An Bord Pleanala has asked all parties to comment on a fresh submission by August 26 next by Cairde Chill an Disirt Teo that the board should allow the appeal on a number of grounds.

In a follow-up submission to the board on its initial appeal and related to the Environmental Impact State- ment (EIS), CCDT contend that the EIS is defective in several aspects and in particular doesn’t deal with issues raised by a submission lodged by the Department of the Fisheries.

The appellants point out that the department indicated that the por-

tion of the proposed development is not within the ownership of the ap- plicant and encroaches on the fore- shore and that this encroachment on the foreshore will require a further intertidal zone.

CCDT contend that contrary to what has been stated by Shannon Ex- plosives, the foreshore licence must be obtained before any such works are carried out and in general, the development must comply with de- partmental requirements.

CCDT point out, “It is plain there- fore that the EIS as lodged, which denies that any part of the facility

will be on the foreshore, is clearly incorrect and doesn’t deal with the requirement to raise the level as re- quired.

“The appellants claim on all fore- going grounds, this application must fail and even without the necessity of an oral hearing, the board should al- low the appeals.”

In response, the board has told all the parties that it is of the opinion that it is appropriate in the context of justice to make submissions on CCDT’s new submission.

A decision may be made on the ap- plication this year.

ENNIS TOWN Council has been accused of showing no goodwill to- wards the traders in the Ennis Farm- ers’ Market.

Spokesman Jason Horner said the traders are very frustrated with the lack of response from the council to- help promote the market which takes place each Friday at the town’s his- toric market area.

Mr Horner said that the council recently ended the monthly market at Glor as it didn’t comply with the council’s casual trading bye-laws.

A grower and seller of organic pro- duce, Mr Horner said the council “don’t seem to want to do anything Koma ee

He said business was thriving for the market traders.

“Things are really going well and the market helps bring people into the town centre. We have a good reg- ular clientele and what we are doing should be encouraged.”

Mr Horner said it is getting to the stage where the attitude of the coun- cil towards the farmers market 1s stymieing the development of the market.

“We are not looking for a lot, but

we don’t seem to be successful in what we are asking for.”

He said that the traders sought an electricity connection from the coun- cil, but were unsuccessful, while a request for a water connection was met with what Mr Horner described as “an unhygienic connection which was only knee high”.

The longest running problem 1s the issue of cars parking in the area des- ignated as the Farmers’ Market the night before and this makes it very difficult for stall holders to erect their stalls on market morning.

“We have been in touch with the council on this but they have done nothing for us.”

Mr Horner said some of traders who operate at Ennis also operate at Kilrush where there is a market every Thursday.

“The contrast is really obvious where Kilrush Town Council re- sponds in a positive way to requests made by the traders there,” he said.

ANOTHER semi-final. One step away from their second successive All-Ireland Junior final but manager Colm Hanley thoughts are only con- centrated on Sunday. Although Clare are favourites to overcome the chal- lenge of rookies Laois this weekend, Hanley refuses to take their oppo- nent’s inexperience for granted.

“We are happy to be in the semi-

final and are almost back to where we want to be I suppose so we are back to basics for the week now to get ourselves prepared for Sunday. It’s going to be a good battle because Laois are a very tough side. It would be very easy to underestimate them but they are going to be physical, they are going to be dogged and the way this weather is going, if we get a bad evening, all of a sudden things are very level.”

Clare are unbeaten in both league and championship this year at their own grade, picking up the Division 2 league title along the way but the most striking aspect of the current side is their balance, richness in depth and blend of young and expe- rience that have propelled the side this far. And Hanley has nothing but praise for his players.

“The things is that there is more talent in this county, certainly com-

ing through the ranks, than there is in any other county. You could see it last year with the likes of Kate Lynch and Carina Roseingrave really ex- celling with the juniors and they are still hurling for the minors this year and really performing as well. Chloe Morey as well came through this year and if you add that to the likes of Laura Linnane, Deirdre Murphy, Claire McMahon and so on, then without a doubt it is definitely a more

balanced side. It’s a much fitter and stronger side than last year because the girls have bounced back really well from the disappointment of last September and have really put mas- sive work in. So overall we are de- lighted with where they are at at the moment and we couldn’t really ask for more. Hopefully that will stay the same for the next few days and be enough to get us over the semi-fi- nal.”

INTERNATIONAL golf comes back to Shannon for the first time in many years this week when the club plays host to the third annual European Seniors’ Team Championship.

The course was put on the world map over 30 years ago during the heady days of the Shannon I[nterna- tional Pro-Am that attracted some of the top professionals of the day like Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, Hu- bert Green and many more.

Now, it’s the turn of some of Eu- rope’s top amateurs to take the Shan- non stage from Wednesday to Satur- day of this week. Twenty teams from around Europe will compete for the coveted title that’s now in its third year of competition.

Ireland enter this event as defending champions, having won the title last year in Bled Golf Club in Slovenia. Captained by Tommie Basquille, a past President of the Golfing Union of Ireland from 2007, the Irish team boasts a strong team as they go in search of back-to-back titles.

Leading the Irish team will be Irish Seniors and European Seniors

Champion Adrian Morrow from Portmarnock Golf Club. A past Irish international at full senior level and two-time South of Ireland champion

at Lahinch, Morrrow is joined on the team by John Carroll (Bandon), Maurice Kelly (Killeen), Liam Mc- Namara (Woodbrook), Hugh Smyth

(Mourne) and former Walker Cup

star and British Seniors Champion

for 2007, Arthur Pierse (Tipperary). Speaking ahead of the event, Shan-

non captain Billy O’Sullivan said “We have great pleasure in hosting this event at Shannon Golf Club and we extend a Cead Mile Failte to all the visiting participants together with their supporters, and indeed all the visitors who may come to enjoy this Championship.

“Over the past year a lot of hard work has gone into the preparation of our course and club house for this wonderful Championship. I hope that these efforts will be reflected in a greater sense of enjoyment of our facilities by all our visitors.”

President of The Golfing Union of Ireland, Barry Doyle (Carlow) thanked Shannon Golf Club for their wonderful facilities. “Shannon Golf Club has very kindly hosted many International, National and Provin- cial Championships over the years and will provide the players with a wonderful experience and lasting memories. A big thank you to all at Shannon Golf Club for their efforts and hospitality which will be second to none.”

published an interview with jockey Stuart Webster in which he claimed that Fallon had assaulted him in the weighing room after a controversial race in Beverely ten years previ- ert

Fallon had been suspended for six months after an altercation with Webster on 14 September, 1994, at the conclusion of the John Mangles Memorial Handicap. In his clash with Webster after the finishing line Fallon pulled Webster from his mount Sailormate.

However, Fallon claimed that in an incident which occurred between the two in the weighing room, he was acting in self-defence. Two years af- ter Webster’s interview 1n the