The Clare People Archive

in response to a Freedom of Information request to the Depart- ment of Arts, Sport and Tourism.

In an internal department memo of November 2006, a senior official cautioned against State financial aid for Shannon.

“Any plan will have to take into ac- count the full implications of the new

State aid guidelines for regional air- ports. The EU Commission is already scrutinised existing arrangements in Shannon and it is not clear what the outcome of that scrutiny will be,” the official wrote.

“In the meantime, caution 1S fe- quired in relation to the articulation of any public commitments of sup- port to Shannon.”

In a separate email from a senior department official to Failte Ireland in March, 2007, the official states, “One key issue is marketing and airports. There are State guidelines on this. There are Commission en- quiries in relation to Shannon. It is

important that both agencies make it clear that they are not in the busi- ness of marketing airports. They are in the business of exploiting the marketing opportunities that access routes present.”

In the same email the official states, “The new aviation environment, in- cluding the advent of ‘open skies’, presents tremendous opportunities for Shannon airport provided it can break out of its old dependency men- tality, focus on the opportunities and provide the level of economic and ef- ficient service required by both con- sumers and airlines.

“In particular, the airport will need

to look beyond the north Atlantic and look at the opportunities presented by routes to Britain and mainland Europe.

The same official in a separate memo states, “From a tourism per- spective, there is little point in mak- ing a special marketing push in re- lation to an area unless the requisite tourism product is there and at the right quality.

“Tt 18 essential that, in addition to new product development, problems in connection with traditional tour- ism products be resolved .. . It is im- portant to understand that marketing alone will not do the job.”

THERE has been a call for Ennis Town Council to alter proposals for the planned re-development of Fair Green to include a helicopter land- Thohcan oy-1e

An extensive re-development of Tim Smythe Park is being proposed, with consultants already assigned to the project.

The plan would include an enhanced pitch maintenance programme and the improvement of playground fa- cilities with the aim of making the area a more open and family-friendly CIVIC space.

The final stage of redevelopment will involve the upgrading of the pitch adjacent to Steele’s Terrace and the provision of new dressing room ELON D BLA lony

Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn is calling for the current plans to be amended to allow for the inclusion of a helicopter landing pad.

There is currently concrete space for helicopters at the Lifford road end of Tim Smythe Park. Cllr Flynn said it was crucial to the health infra- structure of Ennis that a landing pad oem ULEADD NICO

“The current design plans do not make provision for a landing pad.

There is a hard standing area in the northern quarter of the Fair Green where helicopters can land, but I am worried that this will be lost if the plans go ahead as they do now,” he said.

“Particularly with things like spinal injuries, it’s vital we have a helipad close to the hospital that it is easily accessible for ambulances.

‘‘T have asked the town engineer and the consultants to make provision for it in the plans. It’s very important we keep it there. It is a very significant OLSArel Ke) ovaslos sl MM er-lap lowers oelouebNsrcaB bem nsle Fair Green.”

Meanwhile, further developments

are expected at Ennis’s other main sporting facility, Lees Road. The council is currently examining the feasibility of constructing a large indoor facility at Lees Road. Town Manager Tom Coughlan has said that no definite decision has been made on where to locate such a facility. Cllr Tom Glynn (FF) has called for an indoor arena to be built at another location.

Work has already begun on an all-weather running track at Lees Road and it is expected to take three months to complete. Work on a cross- country running track is expected to proceed later this year.

IRELAND’S first regional writing centre has opened in Limerick under the auspices of the newly established Shannon Consortium.

The University of Limerick (UL), Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) and the Institute of Technol- ogy Tralee (ITT) have joined forces under the Shannon Consortium with the establishment of the centre at University of Limerick.

The centre will work with individ- uals and groups of students to help them develop their writing skills.

The centre was set up to meet the need for a coordinated, systematic approach to the development of writ- ing for both academic and profes- sional purposes.

While writing centres flourish in American universities, the concept is a new one in Ireland. The centre can draw on an established academic writing support programme at MIC and the writing centre and writing research forum at UL.

Fintan O’Toole, who officially launched the centre, said, ““We live at a time when the misuse of language is more deliberate, more organised and more professional than it has ever been.

“Whether it is obfuscation at the tribunals, the spinning of the Iraq war, the marketing of so-called “low fat” foods, or the subtler kind of re-branding that led, for example, to ‘global warming’ becoming the much more benign ‘climate change’, the use of words to obscure realities has become a key tool of power.”

‘Attention to structural and stylis- tic features of a text promotes basic literacy skills and with so much writ- ing done on either a word processor or online, writing promotes IT lit- eracy, according to Professor Don Barry, UL President.

The project was financed from over €18.6 million in Strategic Innova- tion Funding granted to the Shannon Consortium over the past two years. It involves collaboration between language specialists and subject spe- EVA

NINE animals at various stages of decay were found in a shed at a west Clare farm when gardai and veteri- nary inspectors visited last summer, a court has heard.

Arising out of the inspection on June 11, 2007, Patrick McCarthy (46), of Cloughauninchy, Quilty, pleaded guilty to two charges.

He admitted permitting carcasses of lifestock to remain unburied in an open shed and also pleaded guilty to

cruelly ill-treating a cow, by allow- ing it to remain in a shed among nine animal carcasses which were at vari- ous stages of decay.

Sergeant Joe Hehir told Miltown Malbay District Court that he went to the accused’s farm accompanied by two veterinary inspectors from the Department of Agriculture.

“We went into a shed at the rear of the house. There were a number of animals in the shed at various stages of decomposition,” he said.

He said there were five animals

dead in one shed and four in anoth- ae

‘There was between four and six inches of slurry in the shed. There was one live cow amongst the other dead animals,” he said.

“It was a very serious matter. The animals were in a very bad state. I think Mr McCarthy let things go,” he said.

He explained to the court that the accused had inherited the farm from his father. He had been transferred to Dublin through work and had got rid

of most of his 100 animals. However he ran into difficulty, said Sgt Hehir.

“His herd started increasing. He was unable to sell them,” he added.

Defending solicitor Grainne Arkins told the court that the only difficulty was with the animals which were housed in a slatted shed.

“It escalated out of my client’s con- trol. He has 10 animals at the mo- ment and doesn’t intend farming in the future,’ she said.

Judge Joseph Mangan fined him €1,200.

A PROSECUTION taken against a couple accused of assaulting their wheelchair-bound children was with- drawn by the State, after some of the case was heard in court last week.

Martin and Mary Browne of Knockbeg, Kilmihil, had denied as- saulting their wheelchair-bound son and daughter, aged 23 and 17, in the carpark of the West County Hotel, Ennis, on July 15, 2007.

Witness Gillian O’Gorman_ told Miltown Malbay District Court that she was sitting in the lobby of the hotel when she saw a family with two young adults who were both in wheelchairs.

She said the family’s car was parked in a disabled zone and the parents were attempting to put the two young adults into the vehicle.

“The girl didn’t have the ability to communicate. They didn’t have full control of themselves,” said Ms O’Gorman. She said the girl seemed “agitated”.

She said she saw the parents slap- ping the young adults while loading them into the vehicle.

“IT thought the force used was exces- Sive,’ she said. She said she took the registration of the vehicle and made a complaint at Ennis Garda Station.

Defending solicitor Bote O’Kelly put it to the witness, “You made assumptions about the treat- ment of them. Why didn’t you go to the hotel manager? If you were that

concerned why didn’t you go out and intervene?”

She replied, “I was one person. I don’t think anything good would have come of that.”

Mr O’Kelly said that the two young people’s conditions are such that “they are subject to spasm and they jerk a lot. They have to be physically restrained.”

The witness replied, ““There’s a ditf- ference between physically restrain- ing and walloping someone. What I saw was not acceptable. Whatever was happening, the force was exces- sive.”

Mary Browne told the court that both of her children were born with a very rare disease. She said on the date in question, her son started laughing and this upset her daughter. She then got agitated and started jerking in her wheelchair at the hotel.

She said she had to move her daugh- ter’s head to get her into the vehicle.

Asked by her solicitor did she slap the children, she replied, “No. I’ve never slapped the children.”

Mr O’Kelly said Ms Browne has been honoured by President Mary McAleese for her care of the chil- Clone

While giving evidence, Ms Browne broke down in tears. Inspector Tom Kennedy said, “In the light of the evidence presented, the State will withdraw the prosecution.”

Judge Mangan pointed out that the witness was “perfectly justified in doing what she did”’.

A COURT has heard that a motor- cyclist is still receiving treatment for injuries sustained in a road collision with a bus last June.

Arising out of the accident on June 30, 2007, bus driver Simon Quinn (51), of St Michael’s Place, Ballya- gran, Limerick, was convicted of

careless driving.

Garda Diarmuid O’Brien told Shannon District Court that a Mr Baker was driving his motorcy- cle and stopped at a stop line at the end of a road at Bothar na Luachra, SJ etbabetoyey ;

He said that a Bus Eireann bus, driven by the defendant, approached from the motorcyclist’s left, indicat-

ed and turned right onto Bothar na BE e Ne

‘The bus cut the corner and collid- ed with Mr Baker,” said the garda.

‘The motorcycle fell to the ground on top of Mr Baker. He received injuries. He is still receiving treat- ment for his injuries,’ said Garda O’Brien.

Defending solicitor Mr Lenihan

said as Mr Quinn was approach- ing the junction, a car was also ap- proaching and he did not see the motorcycle.

He said his client had been driving with Bus Eireann for seven years and previously had driven heavy goods vehicles for 25 years.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a fine of €400.

A THREE-year building project to construct a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on the Shan- non Estuary is to begin shortly.

The EPA report attached to the €400 million project in Tarbert and Ballylongford states that the danger to the people living nearby and to the environment is very low.

The report said, “The resident im- pact of the proposed development on human beings will be a positive eco- nomic and employment effect.

“Results from the quantitative risk assessment show that the risk to in- dividuals living and working around the facility would be very low when compared with other ‘everyday’ risks.

“The existing residence around the terminal lie outside of the Health and Safety Authority’s respective land use planning zones.”

Once up and running, the natural gas will be pumped from tankers to storage tanks, then converted to natural gas before being piped to end users.

The terminal will include a ma- rine berth, jetty and secure mooring, LNG offloading facilities, storage tanks, and vaporisers to turn LNG from a liquid back into a gas.

The gas will then be connected up to the national gas grid.

The terminal will be built on 281 of the 600-acre land bank owned by the State for large-scale maritime-re- lated industry.

Shannon LNG, which is an Irish subsidiary of Hess LNG, outlined a number of reasons as to why the terminal was first proposed for the

Shannon estury. Among these was the exhaustion of gas fields.

“The Kinsale Head Gas Field is now nearly exhausted” and the “UK North Sea reserves are rapidly de- pleting,” it stated.

In an outlining brochure on its plans, Shannon LNG claimed that its natural gas is one of the safest and least environmentally hazardous en- ergy sources.

“LNG has had an exemplary oper- ating history and all these facilities have been operating without seri- ous public safety incidents, some for

more than 30 years.”

It stated that the construction and operation of the facility would be regulated by Government depart- ments and agencies including Kerry County Council, An Bord Pleanala, the Environment Protection Agency, the Health and Safety Authority, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and the Commission for Energy Regula- tion.

“Trish and international regulations and standards will govern the design and operation of the facility.”

SECTIONS of the Clare fishing in- dustry are on the verge of collapse as a result of the all-out ban on wild salmon fishing.

The ban, which was introduced last year, has already resulted in a number of fishermen leaving the industry, with many others being forced to switch to the already crowded lobster and crab sector.

According to one west Clare fisher- man, the Government has abandoned GET com ER ialouselosMO Om Asim ITI (on

“It’s affecting an awful lot of peo- ple, from Loop Head right up to Black Head. It’s very difficult for any of us to keep going. The salmon was our big thing. We had 32 days a year and in those days we were able to pay for the rest of our fishing for the whole year. But that is all gone now, said Quilty fisherman Michael Crane

“The compensation being offered by the Government won’t make one inch of difference to the fishermen in ETc

“The bottom line is that Govern- ment didn’t do its job on this. We have got no back-up here at all, we have just had to take everything on the chin and get on with it. We have no choice and the Government doesn’t seem to care.”

According to Mr Galvin, fishermen are being forced to either leave the industry altogether or switch to the already well served lobster and crab sector.

“The navy are out there checking us every day. When we come back to port, we are met every day by people going through our catch, checking all the fish. Everything we land is gone through,” he continued.

“There are lot of people who just can’t cope with it. People are leaving the business all over the place. The

only choice is to try and get into lob- ster or crab but there 1s enough peo- ple already doing that and it’s just putting more pressure on people.

“It just doesn’t pay anyone to get in a boat and go out there and fish. Peo- ple are walking away from it all over the county. They have no choice.”

Meanwhile, Minister of State and Clare, Tony Killeen last week said that the Government remained com- mitted to helping Clare communities to diversify and reduce the effect of the loss of income from wild salm- on.

His comment follows the announce- ment of an allocation by Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister Eamon O’Cuiv of €200,000 to Rural Re- source Development Ltd.

THE director of Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) and the chairman of Shannon Development come out in support of a planning applica- tion for a multi million euro tourism project on Lough Derg.

Last month, the €100 million plan was lodged with Clare County Coun- cil to convert a health spa formerly jointly owned by Paschal Carmody into one of the country’s leading resorts. The former Killaloe doctor and his wife, Dr Freida Carmody, sold Tinarana House – on the shores of Lough Derg – to Limerick devel- opers Joe Hanrahan and John Shee in the summer 2006 in a multi-mil- lion euro deal.

In the largest single investment in the east Clare economy in a number of years, the developers have stated that 200 permanent and temporary

jobs will be created when the centre becomes operational, while a further 200 jobs will be generated through the construction of the development.

The plan includes that the refur- bishment of TJinarana House; an 18-hole championship golf course designed by designer, Jeff Howes; a spa and wellness centre; a 32-bed- room aparthotel; multi-purpose ban- queting and function/conference fa- cilities; 155 two-bedroom short-term accommodation units and an eques- trian holiday village.

An Environmental Impact State- ment is being lodged with the ap- plication and Tinarana Ltd are esti- mating that the resort will contribute €30 million to the regional economy every year and €8 million to €10 million for the local economy.

Despite of the scale of the project, the planning application has received no planning objections from locals.

Instead, the director of the SAA, Martin Moroney, has taken the unu- sual step of making a submission on a planning application offering the au- thority’s support. In the submission, Mr Moroney states, “I wish to support the integrated tourism development proposed for Tinarana House.

“The development will enhance the tourism product offering in County Clare and will increase the attrac- tiveness of the region to international visitors. The project will contribute to the growth of Shannon Airport.”

Chairman of Shannon Develop- ment, Kerry county councillor John Brassil (FF) has also offered his written support for the project in a separate submission.

Joe Hanrahan said, “I believe that our proposals are a vote of confi- dence in the future of east Clare and the Lough Derg area.”

A decision is due later this month.

IN what’s been a hectic few weeks at Park AFC, the Shannon club had double celebrations this week with the opening of a new dressing room facility coupled with the 35th anni- versary of the founding of the club. It comes on the back of the School- boy Awards, attended by FAI CEO John Delaney and despite some bad weather over the weekend, a large turnout was present for the unveiling of the facilities.

Three of the club’s founding mem- bers – Brian “Tosh’ Collins, Martin McGuane and Ted Germaine — were present and expressed their delight at the progress the club has made.

Also on the day Joe O’ Donnell was made an honorary life member of the club. Speaking at the opening, Chair-

man of Park AFC, Peter Webb paid tribute to the effort that was put in to get the facilities completed, saying Karen Dunne and Damien Nolan had put in a great deal of work through- out the whole project. Joe O’ Donnell was also made an honorary life mem- ber of the club and later that evening, the anniversary celebrations kicked off in the Shannon Knights, where Gareth Quirke was named Player of the Season for 2006/2007 and Dam- ien Nolan was named Club Person of the Year.

For photos of the opening, the re- cent schoolboy awards and more see www.parkafc.com