The Clare People Archive

THE Health and Safety Authority is investigating an explosion and fire at Dromoland Castle, which has left one workman seriously injured and

another with minor injuries.

The two were working with a gas burner last Friday, sealing a window in the hotel, when there was an ex- plosion.

It is understood that a small gas

cylinder exploded, which promptly led to the fire breaking out.

One of the men – a 60-year-old from Lisdoonvarna – was engulfed in the flames and suffered 40 degree burns to several parts of his body.

He had to be airlifted to University College Hospital, Galway, where his condition was described as critical. He remains in hospital, where he is still being treated for his serious in- juries.

His colleague, a Kerry native, was also taken to hospital, with minor in- juries.

Both were employees of Michael McNamara builders in Dublin and were working together on the win- elev

The fire service used an aerial plat- form to lift the man from the roof, after he had been treated there.

The incident occurred before noon, as dozens of people were getting ready to attend a wedding. The ho- tel was evacuated. None of the group suffered any injuries and were al- lowed back into the hotel some time Eire

Very little damage was done to the hotel, as the fire did not spread from where it started.

Gardai, along with five fire units and a number of ambulances, attend- ed the scene. Gardai took statements from various witnesses and members of the Scenes of Crime Unit, based in Ennis, also attended the scene of the fire.

Representatives from the Health and Safety Authority also attended the scene and carried out detailed ex- aminations, in an effort to ascertain the cause of the blaze.

AN investment of €lb in Money- point power station announced by the ESB is expected to significantly reduce the carbon dioxide being real- ised into the west Clare atmosphere, as well as proving a vote of confi- dence in the station’s future.

Plans for the local power station for 2025 will see the electricity supply board attempt to build a so-called “clean coal” generating plant.

Clean coal is basically coal that has had the carbon dioxide extracted from it, thus preventing it from pol-

luting the atmosphere.

The ESB are facing one major diffi- culty in the west Clare element of its national €22 billion, 12-year invest- ment programme.

Commencement of the work on the clean coal-fired generating plant in Moneypoint is dependent on one major factor – that is, one has yet to be invented.

The ESB admit that no-one has yet arrived at a workable system of do- ing this, or of storing gas instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.

The ESB 1s confident, however, that such a solution will be found as huge

resources are being invested on re- search and development.

Meanwhile, Munister for State, Tony Killeen (FF) received confir- mation from the ESB that it is not going to adopt a proposal to build a gas-fired generating plant.

“The ESB’s announcement has consequences not only for environ- ment but for the local economy,” he said.

“For almost 30 years, Moneypoint has acted as one of the largest em- ployers in west Clare and has played a major part in the development of vibrant communities in the area.

“This announcement by the ESB that it is planning to invest in a clean coal-fired generating plant by 2025 will ensure the station’s viability.”

The new plant, if and when it goes ahead, 1s likely to produce 700 mega- watts of electricity, making it the big- gest producer in the State in today’s etsy

According to industry calcula- tions, that is enough power to supply 700,000 average households.

Work started on the Moneypoint project back in 1979. The station each year consumes two million Kevebate ey mrerey- 0B

THE first-time house buyer has re- treated to his bunker and is showing no signs of coming back out.

That is the view of leading auc- tioneer, Philip O’Reilly who was responding to the Homebond figures for the first quarter that show a 63 per cent drop in new house starts in Clare on the corresponding period last year.

New house starts in Clare for Janu- ary to the end of March showed that construction on 76 new houses com- menced.

This compares to the first quarter for 2007 where developers com- menced construction on 211 new homes.

Homebound accounts for 75 per cent of new house registrations and O’Reilly said that the Government needs to act in order to entice the in- vestor back into the market.

O’ Reilly remarked that since Octo- ber, there has emerged a new trend of a significant number of houses pre- built around Ennis waiting to be sold off.

This new phenomenon is in con- trast to the situation during the boom

years where a large percentage of houses were sold off from the plans of new estates.

O’Reilly said that the first time buyer is waiting for the market to bottom out. However, he said that he believes that the market may have already bottomed out and that first time buyers will now get very good value.

O’Reilly said that the Government only tinkered with stamp duty, but that stamp duty needs to be removed on houses under 1,200 sq ft.

Director of local building compa- ny, Keco Construction Ltd, Eugene

Keane acknowledged the drop in the number of registered homes for Homebond.

However, he said, “Ennis is still in a strong position. Supply of housing has kept in line with demand over the last number of years which has kept the prices reasonable and below the national average.”

Underlining its confidence in the local housing market, Keco cur- rently has five planning applications in the planning process, totalling 506 houses, in Ennis (317), Crush- een (83) and Newmarket on Fergus (66).

ENNIS Chamber and sponsors UI- ster Bank were in Ennis Golf Club last week to finalise details of the Golf Classic, which takes place at the club on April 24 and 25.

This 1s one of the premier social

and networking events for Ennis Chamber, with 200 golfers partici- pating from the business community along with their colleagues and cli- ents from Clare, the mid-west and around the country.

Friday’s launch at Ennis Golf Club was attended by Pat O’Hanlon, Head

of Clare Business Centre and Paul Mullane, Senior Manager Clare Business Centre; along with Ennis Chamber President, Niall Garvey; Golf Committee Chairperson, TJ Waters; and Ennis Golf Club’s Pat MacCarthy.

In respect of their sponsorship of

the Ennis Chamber Golf Classic 2008, Paul Mullane of Ulster Bank said, “We are delighted to support this event. Ulster Bank Clare Busi- ness Centre offers local support to businesses combined with the global strength of our parent RBS.

“We look forward to an enjoyable two days of golf. We are pleased to support Ennis Chamber of Com- merce, with whom Ulster Bank enjoy a long association.”

Also commenting on the occasion Chamber President Niall Garvey said, “Ennis Chamber is delighted to bring the golf classic back to the town of Ennis.

“We have received much welcomed support and input from our sponsors, Ulster Bank, in order to ensure a suc- cessful event.

“Despite the adverse weather con- ditions of the past number of months, Ennis Golf Club is in excellent con- dition. This promises to be a hugely enjoyable event that is not to be missed.”

Teams of four will play for a range of executive prizes; with the an- nouncement ceremony taking place at 9pm on April 25 in the Ennis Golf Clubhouse.

Tee times are available on the af- ternoon of April 24 and from early morning into the afternoon on Fri- day, April 25.

Teams of four are €600, while in- dividual players, at €150, are wel- comed to be teamed up. A three- course meal is also included for each Oitoe

Corporate sponsorship of tees/ ereens can be availed of at €200 each. Brochures and booking cards are available from Margaret Ney- lon, Ennis Chamber, 54 O’Connell Street, Ennis, 065 6842988. Early booking is advised in order to secure your preferred tee time.

CLARE Youth Theatre will per- form their production of the classic “To Kill a Mockingbird’ in Glor this Neto) .e

Based on the book by Harper Lee, the story is set in 1930’s Alabama at the height of the American Depres- sion and addresses the themes of racism, poverty, honour and rites of passage as seen through the eyes of a young girl.

The cast is comprised of teenagers from across Clare and the globe, in- cluding Ennis, Ballyvaughan, Lahi- nch, Liberia and Bosnia.

The cast have been rehearsing since last September every Saturday in Glor and, together with their direc- tor Eleanor Feely, have adapted the book for performance, scripted ad- ditional scenes, designed the set and are creating live music for the per- formance.

This is the third production by CYT. The previous shows were “The Story of Eyam’ in 2006 and ‘Alien Nation’ by Max Heffler in 2007.

Earlier this year, another cast, com- prising members of the CYT, pre- sented a show entitled ‘Streetscape’, directed by Theresa Leahy, which took a jaundiced look at the received

concepts and attitudes towards men- BDO N LoTR

Director Eleanor Feely said the cast were keen to meet the challenge of bringing an established classic to SRR SX or

She said, “This year we decided wed like to have a go at a classic. I love books, obviously, and I knew that this particular book was on the school courses. I thought I’d like to have a shot at it and bring the young people with me on another journey. I thought we could adapt it ourselves.”

Eleanor added, “The whole book is about prejudice, about fear of differ- ence more than anything else. People

usually associate the book with be- ing about racism. | don’t think that is its main theme. I think it is probably fear of difference as seen through the eyes of the young.”

The Clare Youth Theatre is an ini- tiative of the County Arts Office and is dedicated to excellence in artistic endeavor through developmental cre- ativity. The company 1s also aligned to the National Association of Youth Drama (NAYD), which allows ac- cess to national and international theatre events and practitioners.

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ runs in Glor on April 10 and 11 at 8pm. Informa- tion and tickets from Glor box office.

THE hurricane and the whirlwind may have blown town, but the mis- sion continues for three Clarecastle girls.

Fiona Donnellan, Emma Clancy and Amy McEnery reaped the re- wards from last week’s exhibition match between snooker legends Alex Higgins and Jimmy White, but the work continues to raise funds for the annual Niall Mellon Building Blitz in South Africa.

Fiona, Emma and Amy travel to South Africa on November 28, to spend eight days working in the township of Khayelitsha in Cape

Town. Before going, the girls each have to raise €5,000.

Established as a ‘dormitory town’ in 1984, during the apartheid era, Khayelitsha is one of the youngest and biggest townships in the Cape. The Blitz will take place in one of the oldest parts of the township.

Housing conditions are very poor and the area is also desperately over- crowded, with up to four families in shacks on one tiny plot.

The Niall Mellon Township Trust will build 800 houses for the com- munity here and 250 of these will be completed by the volunteers during the one-week building blitz.

For one of the group, Emma Clancy,

there is a strong family association with the project. Emma will be fol- lowing in her father Michael’s foot- steps when she goes to South Africa.

She said, “We’re going out on the Niall Mellon building trip. They go to South Africa to do a 10-day stint every year. We’re heading out on No- vember 28 to December 6. So hope- fully it will all go well for us. My Dad, Michael Clancy, has been going for four years. Hopefully we’ll do a bit of building ourselves.”

Last Saturday’s high-profile fund- raiser came about through a meeting between Clare FM journalist Fiona Donnellan and one of the event or- ganizers.

Emma explained, “It was through Kevin. Fiona gave him a bit of air- time on Clare FM and he said if they ever came back to do something like this, he would keep us in mind.”

The Niall Mellon Township Trust was established in 2002 to provide homes to the impoverished com- munities in the townships in South Africa.

HOPES are high that a new public art project will provide a fitting trib- ute to the newly re-developed Clare- castle National School.

During the month of May, a spe- cial subcommittee of the board of management of the school will com- mission a contemporary artist(s) to develop a new art project for the school.

Artists are now invited, through an Open competition basis, to submit proposals to the school and a special site visit is arranged for April 10 for those interested.

The vision is to commission a new art project in the context of the school and/or surrounding area.

The school is keen that the art project will be modern and, in keep- ing with school ethos, would like to see the commission progress in a child-centered way.

However, the school is managing the project in line with the National Guidelines on Public Art, which pri- oritises time for the artist in the com- missioning process.

This public art project is funded through the Department of Educa- tion and Science’s Per Cent for Art Scheme and 1s coordinated by a Pub-

lic Art Subcommittee of Clarecastle national school’s board of manage- ment, with assistance from Clare County Council’s Public Art Pro- gramme and Arts Office.

Seven years after instigating pro- cedures to secure a new school, re- development on Clarecastle National School began in 1996. Apart from the original 1935 structure, which was retained, the rest of the building was demolished.

The new school caters for 290 children, housing — state-of-the-art classrooms fitted with the latest IT resources, library, computer rooms, PE and multi-purpose rooms.

The teaching staff comprises 12 mainstream teachers and three re- source teachers.

A spokesperson for the school said, “The school sees this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for pupils, teachers, parents and grand- parents, of the broader school com- munity, to engage with a major art project.”

Those who wish to view submis- sions made through the open compe- tition process may view images of the proposed art projects in the school hall on Saturday, May 17, when the school will be open for First Holy Communion.

‘BE alert, be involved’ was the mes- sage at the launch of the Ballybeg Community Alert scheme.

Clare’s top ranking Gardai urged communities to support the new partnership initiative, launched in the West County Hotel on Wednesday.

A joint initiative between residents and local Community Guard Den- nis Collins, the Ballybeg Commu- nity Alert scheme is the first to be launched in Clare.

Representatives of community groups in Quin, Sixmilebridge, Lis- sycasey and Crusheen were also in attendance and it is hoped similar schemes will be established in those Kersh

Addressing what he termed the changing dynamic of Irish society,

head of the Clare Garda division, Chief Supt Gerry Mahon, said local communities have an important role to play in crime prevention.

He said, “I would ask that people to be aware of what is going in their own community. We are not asking people to snoop, just to be reasonably conscious of their own safety.”

Chief Supt Mahon continued, “Irish society has changed so much, there are a lot of new dynamics. We have new communities coming in, different cultures, and people aren’t interacting in maybe the way they used to. It has left a gap, particularly in daylight hours. It can leave elderly people vulnerable.

“We are not being overly demand- ing, just asking people to be con- scious of people that need help in their community. It’s down to a few

at the end of the day.”

Supt John Scanlon of Ennis Garda Station urged closer links between the gardai and community groups.

‘Things are good in Clare but from time to time you will have people coming in and doing burglaries. If we get a heads up about suspicious behaviour, we can prevent it. The main problems we are dealing with are burglaries in homes, a small bit of anti-social behaviour and break- ins to cars”.

Supt Scanlon added that an extra community guard would soon be al- located to Ennis.

Garda Dennis Collins said, “We have had great interest in the scheme since last August. Ballybeg has to have one of the most pro-active com- mittees in Clare. It has led to people getting to know each other better and

closer contact with the Gardai.”

Crime Prevention Officer Joe Downey said, “This is about being active, being involved and being alert. It is a joint, co-coordinated and structured approach to crime preven- tion. This doesn’t have to die after this meeting. We want you to bring this message back to your commu- ia Ae

The Community Alert programme was established by Muintir Na Tire in 1984 in partnership with An Garda Siochana, with the aim of providing an effective Community Policing and Crime Prevention Network.

There are now 1250 community alert groups throughout the country.

Bernard Kearney of Muintir Na Tire urged the new committee to publish a regular newsletter and avail of Government funding.

THE fourth member of an east Clare family joined the Irish army on Thursday, the same week as his older brother arrived home from a tour of duty in Kosovo.

The Boyce family from Meelick have a proud history of serving with the Irish Army, as father Company Sergeant Tommy Boyce and his three sons have all served their country.

The youngest son Alan, now Private Alan Boyce, graduated in Clonmel with 34 more recruits from Munster.

The 121st Recruit Platoon was at- tested on November 19, 2007, in Col- lins Barracks, Cork.

Training commenced immediately and was completed on April 3.

As well as Private Boyce, Private John Corry from Clarecastle also

joined the army in November and passed out on Thursday.

While it was an especially proud day for the young man from Meel- ick, it was tinged with an element of saddness. His older brother Tommy lost his life in a car accident on his way to work in Clonmel in 2000.

The officers in Clonmel have since dedicated an award for new recruits to the memory of the late private.

This year Alan was part of the group to win the award, a fitting trib- ute to his late brother.

Meanwhile Alan’s brother Private Jason Boyce and his father served with the 37th Infantry of the Defence Forces in Kosovo for the past six peepee stse

The young private arrived home on Tuesday from his tour of duty with 90 more soldiers, just two days be-

fore his brother passed out.

His father is due back from Kosovo this Thursday with the remaining 150 personnel of the 37th infantry eroup.

Private John Joe Rouine from En- nistymon was the second member of the Defence Forces from Clare to arrive safely back to Shannon last Veto

THE challenges posed to Broadford National School by rising costs have met with a terrific response by the lo- oN ereyeapeeltvaviare

Enrollment numbers at the school are set to jump by 50 per cent in September, meaning that extra strain is being placed on the school’s re- sources.

Like many schools in Clare and around Ireland, Broadford has been hit by cutbacks to the summer works scheme and the imposition of water charges.

In order to raise money to increase the playground area, improve the schools IT facilities and replace doors and windows, a fundraising committee was established in the school.

So far the support received has sur- passed all expectations. The most re- cent event was a race night held over the weekend at Vaughan’s Bar.

Liam Patterson who has been prin- cipal in Broadford since 2006 said the challenges faced by the school are emblematic of those faced by countless other schools in Clare.

“The capitation fees the schools

receives only covers about half of the running costs. The cutback in the summer works scheme has hit us and the water charges are big things. It seems to be endemic of the melt- down that is occurring across the Department of Education. It is the children that are suffering. But we are no different than any other of the hundreds of schools who find them- selves in this position.”

He continued, “The fundraising committee has been extremely well supported by the staff, the parents, the kids and by the wider community outside Broadford.

The number of pupils attending has risen from 66 in 2006 to 90, with the jump largely attributable to the rise in development in the area.

As well as the upgrade work to the existing facilities, an unit for chil- dren with autism will be opened in the school.

Mr Patterson added, “A new hous- ing estate has opened across from the school. We have about 83 families in the school at the moments and all of them have given great support.

“We have had great support from local businesses. It has surpassed all expectations.’