The Clare People Archive

€83,000 will be spent by Ennis Town Council to slow down speed- ing drivers in Ennis.

That is the amount allocated to traffic calming works in Ennis under the council’s Draft Programme for Special Roadworks 2008.

In addition to outstanding works for 2007, the locations targeted in the programme are Hermitage, Shalee Drive, John Paul Avenue, Gordon Drive, Turnpike Road, Drehid- nagower, laneway beside St Josephs, Collins Park, Summerhill, Connolly Villas and Bridge Court.

However, despite concerns from local residents, traffic calming meas-

ures will not be installed in Ivy Road. A speed survey conducted by Ennis Town Council found speed limits in the area were not high enough to warrant the introduction of traffic management controls. Inbound, the total number of vehicles surveyed was 442.

The average speed recorded for vehicles travelling into Ivy Hill was found to be 36km/hour and the 85th percentile speed was recorded at 46.02km/hour. Outbound, the total number of vehicles surveyed was Tyee

The average speed recorded was 39km/hour and the 85th percentile speed was 49.55km/h.

The 85th percentile mark is the

speed below which 85 per cent of the vehicles were travelling and is a method used in determining the need for traffic controls.

The survey was carried out over a 24-hour period between 4pm on Jan- uary 10 and 4pm on January 11

In his report Town Engineer Tom Tiernan stated that as the 85th per- centile didn’t exceed 50km/h, in e1- ther inbound or outbound situations, traffic calming measures wasn’t jus- abELsee

In total, €720,500 is available to the council to implement the road- works programme.

It is proposed to spend €150,000 on road surfacing works at 10 locations around Ennis at Corrovorrin Grove;

Cappalawn, Roslevan, Laneway at Dalcassian Park; Avondale, Kilrush Road; Castlewood Park; College Green (A); College Green (B); Clau- reen Drive; Road by Golf Club; Lane at rear of Lifford Road.

A total of €145,000 has been allo- cated for footpath upgrading works while a total of €150,000 has been set aside to cover loan charges and CCAS hea eec Dele mr: Delea OED mYmere Nims Colm Nelom ENT.) stage of the Ennis inner relief road.

Ennis’ laneways will also get a makeover with the upgrade of Chap- el Lane and Cookes Lane. The next phase of the scheme involves the laneways linking the pedestrian sec- tion of Parnell Street with the Parnell street car park.

NEW Ennis Chamber President Niall Garvey has identified Cusack Park, Shannon Airport and pedestrianisa- tion as the key issues impacting on businesses in Ennis.

Mr Garvey, of accountancy firm Niall C Garvey Accountants and Co, was speaking after he was elected president at the recent Annual Gen- eral Meeting of Ennis Chamber, held at the Old Ground Hotel.

The meeting consisted of a review of the activities of Ennis Chamber during the past year by Outgoing- President Michael Evans and CEO Rita McInerney.

Michael Evans outlined the coor- dinated approach undertaken by the

Regional Chambers of Limerick, Shannon, Ennis and Galway in the wake of the announcement on Shan- non – Heathrow Services in August 2007.

He said he believes that this coop- eration 1S necessary in order to de- velop an economic counter pole to Dublin.

Mr. Evans went on to say that he had liaised with the Local Authori- ties over the past year and stressed the importance of the rapid comple- tion of the permanent Water Treat- ment System in order to ensure a reliability of the source.

The outgoing president also called for the fast-tracking of improved in- frastructure for the town including the road network and parking par-

ticularly in light of discussion around the pedestrianisation of O’Connell Street and Abbey Street.

The meeting then proceeded to elect the new officers and executive of the board with the following re- sults: President: Niall Garvey, Niall C. Garvey Chartered Accountants; Vice-President: Guy Flouch, New Idiom; Treasurer: Tony Barrett, AIB; Secretary: Margaret Neylon.

In his acceptance speech, incom- ing – president Niall Garvey said he looked forward to continuing the work of his predecessors in leading the chamber for the forthcoming year.

In particular, he would continue to co-operate with other bodies to pro- mote the greater good of Ennis, par-

ticularly as a place to do business.

He said the chamber must remain positive in promoting Ennis in an in- creasingly negative business climate, and he looked forward to dealing proactively with the known forth- coming issues, including the pro- posed development of Cusack Park, proposed pedestrianisation, and con- nectivity for Shannon Airport mov- ing to the future.

The additional members of the Ennis Chamber Executive for 2007 – 2008 are Michael Byrne, Wil- liam Cahir, Dervilla Evans, Mary Jo Duffy, Gerry Flynn, Paul Flynn, John Galvin, Grainne Hassett, Roger Leyden, John Madden, Diarmuid Mc Mahon, Oliver Moylan, Paul Mul- lane and Con O’Callaghan.

FOR the first time in the event’s his- tory, this year’s Fleadh Nua will fea- ture performances from an Ulster/ Scots Pipe band.

A pipe and flute band in the Ulster Scots tradition, the Hounds of Ulster are one of the provinces most high profile marching bands.

Announcing details of the festival programme at last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Rory Casey, of the Fleadh Nua committee, explained the festival is opening up to embrace the new cultural landscape.

He said, “We have to be careful

to address other cultures. There is a whole different cultural landscape out there than there was in Ennis in 1973. We talk a lot about the eco- nomic benefits of the Good Friday agreement but perhaps its time to reap the cultural benefits. If we are serious about living on this island to- gether, we have to develop relation- ships like this”.

The Hounds of Ulster, Mr Casey said, would not be marching in the annual Fleadh Nua parade.

The nine-day festival takes place in venues throughout Ennis from May 18-26.

Other highlights include a tribute

to acclaimed musician and teacher Frank Custy, a series of concerts in glor and a wide and varied pro- gramme of street performances and music workshops.

Mr Casey said the Fleadh Nua had survived because of the close links formed between the organising com- mittee, Ennis Town Council, local arts and cultural groups, Shannon Development and venues like the County Museum, Cois na hAbhna and Glor.

However, Mr Casey said he was disappointed with the response of the business community to last year’s BATE

“We have a close relationship with Ennis Chamber. But it was very dis- appointing, we sent out 300 letters and we only got one response. It is an Ennis festival and we do bring ben- efit to the town”.

Mr Casey explained that with 57 festivals taking place in Clare this year, the Fleadh Nua faced a chal- lenging, competitive market place.

Independent councillor Frankie Neylon said the festival should adopt a country each year to maximise the benefits of tourism.

Fine Gael councilor Johnny Flynn urged the committee to embrace new concepts like pod casting.

OVER 200 people have already signed up for the Ennis Tag Rugby League.

The sport has developed into a fix- ture on the summer sports calendar. This year 23,000 people have signed up to play, making it Ireland’s most popular tag league.

Tasked with over seeing the growth of the sport and maintaining its pro- file is Ennis man Brian Nevin.

Earlier this year, Nevin was ap- pointed Commercial Manager of the Irish Tag Rugby Association CUR eA

Two years ago he was part of the first team from Ennis to compete in the All-Ireland tag rugby champion- ship in Limerick.

In 2007 he was involved in estab- lishing the first tag rugby league in

Sab eb Ese

He explained, “We had been talk- ing about getting a league going in Ennis. | was always onto the asso- ciation about doing it, so eventually they challenged me to start a league in Ennis. We held coaching clinics in April in the rugby club. We though wed get about 10 people, but 105 turned up the first night. We ended up with 16 teams. It just grew legs and kept developing”. The teams that competed in the nine-week league were drawn mainly from local busi- nesses and clubs.

Brian said, “It was great to see players developing from the coach- ing clinics in April to competing in the league. If you do play rugby it is a great way to develop skills and, equally, if you’re not, its good fun to oe Nae

Nevin took up the role with the

ITRA after working for four years as Brand Manager for Erdinger Beer in the west of Ireland.

The idea of tag rugby is that it pro- vides an enjoyable way of keeping fit. There is also a huge social element to tag rugby with matches usually end- ing with a barbecue or a trip to the pub.

“The social aspect is one of the main reasons why the summer leagues have gone so well. On week three we have a salsa night where people can learn salsa dancing. On week seven of the league we’re hop- ing to organise Ireland’s largest table quiz. In week seven there will be a charity event in conjunction with World Vision, where, for every litre of water sold, Volvic will donate 10 liters to Africa”.

Perhaps the most eye-catching of the planned events is the beach tag

rugby tournament in Lahinch on June 21.

“We’ve got great support from the GAA clubs in Lahinch and Ennisty- mon and local businesses and the Gardai. There has been interest from teams around Ireland. Its definitely an event we would hope to grow over the next few years”’.

Registration is live now on www. volvictag.ie for Ennis RFC summer leagues. For more information call CAO U Lee

COLAISTE MHUIRE, Ennis, has been short-listed for the ECO- UNESCO’s Young Environmentalist Awards (YEA) 2008.

Competition judges visited the school yesterday (Monday) for the final judging process. The school has been short-listed for the national awards scheme in the Senior Eco- Consumerism category, for project “Tree Wise and Waist Knot’.

Students decided to work on con- sumerism through two different projects in order to make people aware of their role in reducing global

waste in the production of consumer goods.

To carry out the “Tree-Wise’ project the group decided to pot holly plants and Christmas trees.

The trees were sold in the Ennis Market to encourage people to grow their own Christmas tree instead of buying a new one each year.

The group invested the profits in environmental initiatives in_ their school such as a new composter called the ‘Big Pig’.

For the second project, ‘Waist- Knot’, the group organised a fashion show with second-hand clothes to encourage both students and parents

to be consumer-aware and to pass on second-hand clothes to others who would benefit.

After the event, the students decid- ed to sell the clothes from the fash- ion show and once again the results exceeded their expectations, with the profits donated to the “The Butterfly Challenge’ organisation.

Students from Colaiste Mhuire along with other participating school will take part in the YEA Showcase and Ceremony on May 13, in the Round Room of the Mansion House, in Dublin.

“We are delighted to see such a ereat variety of local environmental

action projects being carried out by young people all over Ireland. The quality of their projects is making the judging process more challeng- ing each year,” said Elaine Nevin, Director of ECO-UNESCO.

Each year ECO-UNESCO, Irelands environmental education and youth organisation, awards and celebrates young people who take part in en- vironmental projects, which protect their local environment.

Since the creation of the Young En- vironmentalist Awards over 10,000 young people have taken part with awareness campaigns taking place in over 750 schools and communities.

SHANNON Airport will now be in a position to maximise its growth as an independent entity, airport boss, Pat Shanahan has predicted.

The chairman of the Shannon Air- port Authority was speaking after Minister Noel Dempsey’s statement that the airport could run be running its own affairs in less than a year.

The transport minister has said he expects the separation of Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports to be completed within the next nine to 12 eatoyelaatcy

This follows the decision of the board of Cork Airport Authority (CAA) to accept the recommenda- tions of mediator Peter Cassells in

relation to the level of debt it should bear at separation.

The autonomy of the three airports has been held up for five years by the row over who should pay the €220 million debt for Cork.

The Shannon Airport Authority welcomed the announcement that the airports were to split.

“We have general agreement al- ready with the Dublin Airport Au- thority on separation and have put forward a robust and independently validated business case in this re- gard,” Shanahan said.

He predicted that “Shannon Air- port’s maximum potential can only be achieved as an independent com- mercial state enterprise. Even with limited autonomy since Shannon

Airport Authority Board was ap- pointed in September 2004, major progress has been achieved, with traffic growing by 50 per cent and a major restructuring programme be- ing implemented that has achieved cost savings of over €10m per an- num.”

According to Minister Dempsey a process of engagement is underway involving all the relevant parties and dealing with implementation and the technical and legal issues involved.

As part of the process, Minister Dempsey said there would need to be “necessary consultation with stake- holders”.

SIPTU in Cork have opposed the plan which will see Cork saddled with a debt of €113 million but with

assets valued at €220 million. Both Cork and Shannon airports were promised debt-free separation by the Government in 2004. Mr Dempsey yesterday ruled out the possibility of providing financial assistance to the CAA in the future should it run into funding difficulties.

On Thursday evening, a statement from the CAA said it had “sought and received assurances from the minister for transport that an inde- pendent Cork airport can rely on support, financial or otherwise, to ensure the airport’s continued viabil- ity in the event of it being unable to meet its fixed funding obligations as a consequence of the occurrence of certain adverse business risks or ex- traordinary events”.

A MEETING today of shop stew- ards at Aer Lingus seems unlikely to halt a stand-off between ground staff and management which could see workers suspended and flights under threat.

Aer Lingus management have set a deadline of 5pm today in Shan- non, Dublin and Cork for the ground crews to accept cost-cutting propos- AS

The 1,800 SIPTU workers em- ployed in ground operations, includ- ing check-in, loading and catering, voted to reject proposals negotiated between union and management by a three-to-one margin last February.

Since then, there have been some

negotiations, but now management has upped the ante by setting the oCer-Ke dbp ates

From 4am tomorrow, staff rostered to come on under the new arrange- ments will be expected to turn up and work with new practices or face Suspension.

The airline’s management has al- ready warned that they will close or outsource certain operations if this doesn’t happen.

Shop stewards representing the workers are due to meet at lunchtime today, but sources close to the two sides are not optimistic of any agree- ment being reached in time.

Management want the workers to Operate new rosters and practices as part of a masterplan to save the air-

line €20 million.

So far, agreement has been reached with most groups, including the pi- etsy

A spokesman for SIPTU said last night that the union’s members rejected the deal in February be- cause “they obviously felt it was too much. The plan includes things like 12 hour shifts, 4am shift starts and split shifts. This is a deal to save the airline €20 million and €10 mil- lion of that is to come from SIPTU members. While that is half the sav- ing and SIPTU represents half the workforce, in general, SIPTU mem- bers are not nearly as well paid as, say pilots, so it is a much bigger sac- rifice that 1s being asked of them.”

The union spokesman said that the

“fact that the company is making money and the top management has publicly said it is going to pay itself a big bonus is not helping matters.”

Last year, Aer Lingus Chief Ex- ecutive Dermot Mannion promised shareholders that he would imple- ment the staff cost savings from the beginning of 2008.

However, so far none of the pro- posed measures have materialised because of ongoing negotiations over new work practices and rostering.

SIPTU’s ground staff members had already voted to take industrial action if changes in working ar- rangements were introduced without agreement.

No-one could be contacted to com- ment in Aer Lingus.

A WEST Clare man died due to a brain infarct the cause of which could not be absolutely determined, an inquest into his death heard yes- KOE As

John J Darcy (68), Main Street, Mullagh, died at Ennis General Hos- pital in the early hours of July 13, 2002.

Solicitor Ger Gannon, representing the Darcy family, put it to Sergeant Joe Hehir of Miltown Malbay Garda Station that there had been an “inci- dent” in the previous 12 months be- fore Mr Darcy had passed away.

Sgt Hehir said there had been an in- vestigation of an assault on Mr Darcy the previous year.

During the assault Mr Darcy had

suffered a broken nose and had re- ceived five stitches. Sgt Hehir said that a complaint had been made in August 2001.

A minor had been dealt with in re- lation to this, under the national Ju- venile Diversion Programme which deals with young offenders by cau- tioning them.

The then superintendent in En- nistymon decided that the young boy be dealt with under the Juvenile Di- version Programme.

Superintendent Gabriel O’Gara pointed out to the inquest that the matter had subsequently been re-in- vestigated by an officer from outside the Clare division.

Arising from that investigation, a file was submitted to the DPP. The DPP said that the initial decision to

caution the minor, under the Diver- sion programme, was the correct de- cision.

The solicitor pointed out that Mr Darcy received treatment for his nose injury twice, the second of which was some days before he died.

State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy carried out a post-mortem examination on Mr Darcy’s body on July 13, 2002. She pointed out that he had received surgery for a nose injury in September 2001. He was readmitted to hospital in June 2002 for further corrective surgery, which was deemed a success. He returned home and was brought back to hos- pital some days later as he fell un- conscious. He remained unconscious until his death.

She said that death was due to pul-

monary thrombo embolism, due to deep vein thrombosis, due to immo- bility, which was due to brain stem damage.

“When he left hospital (on June 20, 2002) he appeared to be fit and healthy,” said Professor Cassidy.

However, she said, “Some cata- strophic event” had taken place prior to him losing consciousness. She said that one possibility was that he had suffered a small heart attack but “this diagnosis cannot be confirmed.”

She said that the State Patholo- gist for Northern Ireland, Professor Crane, had come to “similar con- clusions as myself, in that it was unlikely there was a direct associa- tion between the last surgery and his subsequent collapse and the develop- ment of the brain stem condition that

led to his death.”

Professor Cassidy said, “There’s little certainty as to the brain injury that led to his death. It’s undeter- mined.”

The solicitor put it to her, “The cause of death is the real problem. There is no certainty about that from the point of view of the Darcy fam- 7 A

Prof Cassidy replied, “It is most likely this could have occurred at any time, without any of the preced- ing events but that is as much as I can SNA

She said she could not be sure what caused the “catastrophic event that led to death’.

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea ad- journed the remainder of the inquest until a later date.

THE PLAYGROUND at Cappa will oLoMmm XCM ND OTSMMM sD. qe: More 001 0)00Ccs 0mm DOCG mz) facelift before the summer.

Members of Kilrush Town Council were given the good news at their meeting last week after Councillor Liam O’Looney (FF) asked that the playground be extended.

“As a father with young children

myself, I go there regularly and this is a facility which serves the com- munity very well. But three or four of the little activities that were there have been taken away. There’s now only one baby swing and there are long queues to use it. It wouldn’t take much to put an extra couple of swings in, for instance.”

Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) supported Councillor O’Looney and

asked whether there could be money sourced from the playground grants scheme to help.

Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) said that he feels that a “town the size of Kil- rush should have another playground. Could we look at developing one in Vandeleur?”’

Cllr Christy O’Malley (FF) said that “it should be a stipulation that when new developments are being

built they should include recreation ELOVU BIBL oy

In reply to Cllr O’Looney’s mo- tion, council officials said that the council “is in the process of seeking quotations from suppliers of play- eround equipment to replace existing equipment that is in poor condition and improve the overall layout and presentation of the play facilities at Cappa.”

When she asked whether this would be done in time for the sum- mer school holidays, Cllr Deirdre Culligan (Ind) was told by Town Clerk, Fiona Mooney, that this was the plan.

“With any contract, we are depend- ent on suppliers and how fast they can provide things but it is our inten- tion to go ahead as fast as possible”, she said.

THE SILVER key and citation which were given to one of Kilrush’s most respected citizens for service to the people are to be handed back to the council.

With the sad demise of Maura Na- gle, daughter of long serving town council member, Tom Nagle, Coun- cillor Tom Prendeville (FF) said the family had approached him to or- ganise the return of the key and cita- tion “for safe keeping and they ask only that the items be put on public display beside his photograph in the council chamber as a reminder of the civic-minded spirit of the man from Moore Street.”

Cllr Prendeville proposed that the council express it’s appreciation of the gesture to the family.

Paying tribute to the late town councillor, Cllr Prendeville said that Cllr Nagle, whose family carried on a bakery in Moore Street for many generations, entered public life as war clouds gathered over Europe in 1914. As a representative of the La- bour Party, he secured 452 first pref- AES CC O) ony

In November 1916, Tom Nagle along with Cllr Thomas Ryan were appointed delegates to an All-Ireland convention for the establishment of a Political Prisoners Amnesty As- sociation.

The town council was dissolved in May 1924 following “a sworn inquiry into the financial affairs

of local bodies in the county’, Cllr Prendeville said.

Cllr Nagle was in public life when members of Clare County Council were appointed to administer the af- fairs of the town during this period. One of their decisions was to buy the Town Hall for £275 and the Bridewell for £100.

The late Labour councillor became first citizen in 1930 on the proposal of Cllr Michael McMahon and he lost the chairmanship to the same Cllr McMahon in 1935.

Tom Nagle again became chair- man in 1941, a distinction which he repeated in 1945.

“After 31 years of glorious service to his town, Tom bowed out of public life in 1945,” Cllr Prendeville said.

Independent Cllr Jack Fennel said he remembers Cllr Nagle, who was personally known to his father.

‘He was a gentleman and a fine man. His bracks were famous – they would feed a family of 15.”

Cllr Prendeville explained that with the sad demise of Maura Nagle, the direct family line was no more and members of the Black family were now offering the key and the citation back to the council

Mayor Tom Clyne (Ind) said it was a “lovely gesture” on behalf of the family to hand the memorabilia pee

It was agreed that the family would be invited in to the council’s May meeting for the handover to take jo eleren