The Clare People Archive

A KILKEE man who is serving a 12- year sentence for aggravated sexual assault was yesterday handed a five- year-term for sexually assaulting a woman in Ennis.

Brian Mulvihill (30), of Lislana- han, Kilkee, admitted the offence, relating to an incident at a flat in En- nis, in January 2005. He also admit- ted sexually assaulting a woman in Tralee in November 2004.

Both incidents and the aggravated

sexual assault occurred within a five-month spell when Mulvihill was “gripped” by drink.

During that time, Mulvihill’s “life crashed around him. His old friend drink let him down and led him on a merry dance,” said his barrister Mark Nicholas.

The 12-year term, imposed at the Central Criminal Court last April for the assault on a 20-year-old student in a caravan in west Clare in August 2004, is currently under appeal.

Referring to the Ennis incident,

Garda Val McCormack told En- nis Circuit Court that Mulvihill had been drinking with the injured party for several hours. They both later re- turned to her apartment.

She went to bed and “as she knew him, she allowed him to sleep on the bed outside the covers, fully clothed,” said the garda.

She fell asleep and when she woke up, he was sexually assaulting her.

When she shouted and attempted to push him off, he started pulling her hair. She attempted to strike him

with a bedside lamp and flee the apartment, but had difficulty escap- ing. He asked her to promise not to the tell the gardai. She agreed, in an effort to get away from him. The young woman was later treated at a sexual assault treatment unit.

Mr Nicholas said his client “went on a downward spiral over the five months and was out of control on olen om

Judge Carroll Moran said Mulvi- hill was invited to stay at the young woman’s house, but “he abused the

invitation and took liberties of a fair- ly intrusive nature.”

He noted that a psychiatric report on Mulvihill didn’t question the ex- istence of sexual deviance which, he said, had to be a factor.

“It can’t all be down to drink and mood swings,’ he said.

He said he must impose a prison sentence and jailed him for five erase

“What he did was dreadful but there has to be some element of pro- portionality,’ he said.

THE house that inspired the final play ever penned by WB Yeats is in the centre of a growing row between the descendants of its former owner and the State.

Tyrone House, which is located on the outskirts of Kilcolgan and close to Coole Park in Gort, where Yeats spent much of his time, was the inspiration for the Nobel Prize winners’ final play, “The Death of Gee y re

The 18th-century property, which was formerly the home of the St George family, has also been cred-

ited as inspiration for a number of other artistic works, including “The Big House of Inver’ by Somerville and Ross.

According to the St George family, the Government has gone back on a commitment to purchase and pre- serve the historic property.

The property, which is currently in a State of disrepair, was designed by renowned Irish architect, John Roberts for Christopher French St George in the early 18th century.

One of his direct descendants, Gordan St George, last week criti- cised the Government for going back on acommitment to allocate funds to

purchase and preserve the property.

The house was abandoned in 1905 and then burnt by the IRA during the War of Independence in 1920. It iS now in private ownership but has been ransacked and looted down through the years.

Galway County Council has pre- viously tried to purchase the build- ing on behalf of the Department of the Environment, but with no suc- TIE

Labour TD and former Minister for the Arts, Michael D Higgins has sup- ported a proposal to purchase Tyrone House, but ownership problems de- layed the plan.

According to Deputy Higgins, fur- ther representations were made last year but he was informed that Gal- way County Council had written to the owner in relation to the building but had received no reply.

‘The Death of Cuchulain’ was writ- ten by Yeats in 1939 and tells the sto- ry of the last few days of his life. It was the fifth in Yeats’ series of plays on Cuchulain.

He also wrote ‘On Baile’s Strand’ in 1904, “The Green Helmet’ in 1910, ‘At the Hawk’s Well’ in 1917 and “The Only Jealousy of Emer’ in 1919.

Yeats also penned a number of po- ems on the legend of Cuchulain.

FARMING experts and conserva- tionists from all over Europe will at- tend Ireland’s first Farming for Con- servation conference which takes place in Ennistymon next month.

The conference, which is being or- ganised by the BurrenLIFE Project, aims to bring together leaders in the field to assess and examine the eroundbreaking strides which have been made towards creating sustain- able farming in the Burren.

The conference will also focus on pooling the participants’ knowledge and discovering new and exciting ways of creating sustainable farming in north Clare and across Europe.

The conference, which is entitled ‘Farming for conservation — support- ing the future’, will take place in the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon from Feb- ruary 24 to 27.

The conference will include speak- ers from a number of European coun- tries and in particular from other limestone regions such as the Alvars of Sweden, the Causse in France and the Yorkshire Dales in England.

The Minister for Environment, Heritage and local Government, John Gormley (GP) and the newly appointed Director of Teagasc, Pro- fessor Gerry Boyle, will be among those to address the conference.

Proceedings have been broken into three sections with the first day fo-

cussed on introducing the concept of ‘farming for conservation’. This will include presenting European case studies, outlining the work of the BurrenLIFE Project and a dis- cussion on the practical difficulties and obstacles associated with farm- ing for conservation. Day two will involve a visit to a number of Burren farms where conservation farming 1s taking place. These field trips will be followed by a panel discussion on the future of farming for conservation in the unique context of the Burren. The final day of the conference will look at potential models for Supporting and delivering farming for conservation. A discussion will also take place on the marketing of

conservation produce and on deliver- ing conservation through innovative agri-environmental schemes.

The BurrenLIFE project is just over half-way through its five-year long project on north Clare. The overall aim of the organisation is to help cre- ate a means of farming in the region than can both protect the local ecol- ogy and give local farmers a means of making living.

Over the past two years, they have undertaken the largest campaign of scrub removal ever seen in Ireland, established a producers group for top-quality ‘ecology class’ Burren beef and lamb and undertaken a mas- sive education programme aimed both at children and older people.

NEXT Friday sees the opening of the first exhibition of the year at the Bur- ren College of Art in Ballyvaughan. The exhibition, which is entitled ‘Flicker’, explores the possibilities that emerging technology and exper- imental new-media can have on art and artistic creation.

‘Flicker’ also aims to introduce a selection of Dublin-based artists to the region and allow them to explore how art can function in a more rural context.

It is also hoped that this launch will be the first in an active programme of shows and screenings of lens- based artists at Burren College of Art Gallery.

The exhibition will run from next Friday, January 19, until February 16 at the Gallery of the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan.

The five Dubs making their way out west for the show include Mark Cullen, Brian Duggan, Niamh Mc- Cann, Cliona Harmey and Darren Bolger.

Mark Cullen’s recent work explores artificial and natural light instal- lation while Brian Duggan’s work creates on performative based video installations.

These installations aim to question the limits of the physical body and endurance.

Niamh McCann on the other hand uses a variety of new technologies to push the boundaries in drawing and

photography.

Cliona Harmey’s is based in audio- visual pieces in which she uses sound installation, video and printmaking.

The final member of the group, Darren Bolger, is an experimental film-maker.

All the artists have also been ac- tively involved in a number of im- portant Dublin-based new-media art collectives and initiatives, including Pallas Contemporary Projects, Tem- ple Bar Studios and ArtHouse. The show 1s curated by Martina Cleary, a multi-media artist and lecturer at the college.

Burren College of Art is an inter- nationally recognised not-for-profit independent college specialising in undergraduate and graduate fine art

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The exhibition will be opened by the film-maker Vivienne Dick this Friday, January 18, from 6 to 8pm. For more information check out www.burrencollege.ie.

Meanwhile, following the success of the Ennistymon Christmas Ex- hibition which featured works from well-known Clare artists Richard Sharpe, Barbara Roder and Finola Graham, Sarah Fuller has taken up residency in the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon.

Sarah will host her puppet show and art exhibition in the gallery until January 26.

For more information on this ex- hibition, contact the gallery on 065 POP a Teele)

STORIES and the ways in which they are passed on and retold is the central theme of the 2lst Annual Spring Conference which takes place next month. The conference, which is entitled ‘Narratives of People and Place: Burren Stories, Told and Un- told’, takes place in the Burren Col- lege of Art in Ballyvaughan from February | to 3.

“Stories knit community together – both the telling and the listening of a story bind us. As I have been organising this conference, I have been amazed by different conversa- tions I have overheard walking down

the street. In Ireland we don’t seem to disguise our telling of a story. We don’t hide it,” said conference direc- tor Anne Byrne.

“If I tell you a story, you are bound to me through the telling of that story and I to you. In the Burren it- self there is a lot of activity going on around that idea. It’s almost like the old community 1s still held in our minds and in our imaginations and it just needs to be expressed and found ayers be

“All the time you hear it said that there is no such thing as community anymore, but as long as you tell sto- ries the community can be given life here 00 ae

The conference will include a number of expert speakers who will each aim to explore different elements of conversation and storytelling in a Burren context. Speakers include Daithi O’hOgainof the Department of Irish Folklore in UCD, writers Re O Laighleis and Kieran Sheedy, Celtic Scholar Sean O Duinin, Lelia Doolin and Donnachada O’Corrain.

‘This year we are trying to draw at- tention to the stories that we tell our- selves, but also about the places we live in and the people who populate those place. Some of those people way well be gone and forgotten, or gone and remembered, but the con- ference is about bringing attention to

the story,” continued Anne.

‘We have a wonderful collection of speakers but it’s important not to for- get that this is just a representation of some of the people who tell stories.

“The Burren is an organising de- vice – it’s a place where nature meets you face to face, there are no distrac- tion. I think that does something, it helps the creative process. These are all creative people – whether they are farmers or people working in art or in film. They are all people who have a passion about storytelling.”

A CHANGING society that sees more single or separated men on the Clare housing list must be reflected in future council budgets.

This is according to Clare County Councillor Brian Meaney (GP), who says that the increase in the number of marriage break-ups sees more and more men looking for accommoda- tion.

“We have a significant number of single men on the register looking for houses due to the breakdown of marriages and relationships,” Coun- cillor Meaney said.

‘These are not priority and this is something the budget of Clare Coun- ty Council is going to have to reflect Ved sCom RU LAU NK ones

The councillor said in many cases the men were required to leave the family home after the break-up and

continue to pay maintenance.

He said while it was only right that they paid maintenance, the financial pressure saw them on the housing list and requiring distance.

This is a growing sector on the list and a group that he has become more aware of in recent times.

Nora Kaye, from Clare County Council’s housing section, said that there are currently 1,/00 people re- corded on the housing list.

This number, however, also makes provision for the number of people receiving rental supplement who are required to be including on the same iS a

“I would say the actual need 1s clos- er to 800,” said Ms Kaye.

She said that while there were no special provisions made for single men, they could apply for housing, rental supplement and other schemes through the council.

WEST Clare locals have been count- ing the cost of the destruction of part of the sea wall at Cloughauninchy Beach near Quilty which has virtu- ally drained Lough Donnell.

A number of campaigns have taken place over the last two decades for minor works to be carried out to safeguard the model, or salmon weir, which formed part of the sea wall. According to locals, these essential repairs would have cost less than €100,000, while the cost of rebuild- ing the seawall and model could now run into millions.

In environmental terms, Lough Donnell, which is usually the home for wild salmon and trout, is almost totally dry with the Annageragh Riv- er now running directly into the sea. It is yet unclear what impact this will have on wild salmon reaching their natural spawning ground up river.

The lake is also a major feeding ground for thousands of wild birds.

“We have been trying to get this fixed for years. We first tried to get a new model built in the early 80s. Over the past 10 years, we have been consistently on about this,” said local man Bill McNamara.

‘The whole sea wall is now in dan-

ger of going. The tide 1s going straight back into that lake now. What was a 10 feet gap just two week ago is now about 70 metres wide. More and more is being ripped down each time the tide comes in.”

The destruction of the sea wall will also have a major impact on local tourism, with Cloughauninchy Beach being divided in two by the fast-mov- ing water and stones.

“We had a nice bit of work done with the road to the beach last year. Clare County Council tarred and had also agreed to build steps down to the beach when the model was fixed,” said local man Michael Shannon.

‘“T’m concerned primarily about the wildlife in Lough Donnell and the habitats which have been developed there over the last 100 years but from a tourist point of view it 1s very sig- nificant. The beach 1s totally distort- ed now. It’s gone from a lovely beach to a wreck with rocks all over it.

“It used to be a mile long but it has been cut in half. We need the OPW to take responsibility for this now. The longer they wait the bigger the cost will be.”

POOR load factors on the new Shan- non-Dublin route have prompted Ry- anair to pull the service less than six weeks after it was launched.

The new route was launched on No- vember 28 last but passengers were yesterday informed that the service is to be abandoned from February 4 next.

All passengers who have booked tickets on or after that date are to be fully refunded, with a brief Ryanair

statement confirming that the route has been pulled following “an opera- tional review”.

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Patricia Mc- Carthy (Ind) said, “The decision is not unexpected as the load factors on the flights were low.”

She added, “One wonders about all the talk from people wanting the route as it was not supported. Ryanair doesn’t hang around when routes are making losses.”

Fianna Fail TD, Timmy Dooley said, “It is a blow at one level but I

understand that it hasn’t been utilised in any real way. This has happened with every other carrier who has tried to make a success of the route.

“There is a good train network in place now and people obviously fac- tor in the time spent in the airport at either end and I’m not sure that the flight times were convenient to peo- ple.”

Passengers are now greeted by a large billboard erected by Ryanair saying ‘Welcome to Ryanair coun- try’ and on Sunday, Ryanair chief ex-

ecutive, Michael O’Leary denied that Shannon was becoming over-reliant on Ryanair.

In place of the Dublin route, Rya- nair has launched a_ three-times weekly service to Palma in Majorca, ensuring that the number of Ryanair routes served from Shannon remains at 31. Two million people are expect- ed to fly on Ryanair services out of Shannon this year.

At the airport on Sunday to give out free flights to all passengers on the final Aer Lingus Heathrow flight

out of Shannon, Mr O’Leary said, “If you look at some of the coverage of the Shannon issue, you would swear that Shannon is closing today. It is not. In six months time, no one will even notice that Aer Lingus is gone.”

He added, “Shannon is going to finish up with more routes and more traffic after the Aer Lingus pull-out and we have to get that message aCrOSS.””

He said, “Closing a profitable route from Shannon at a time when the air- line is losing money 1s nuts.”

THE Director of Shannon Airport, Martin Moroney was upbeat and optimistic on Sunday despite a Lon- don-bound Aer Lingus flight leaving the airport for the last time.

While politicians and commenta- tors predicted devastating conse- quence for the mid-west airport, Mr Moroney was taking a more positive approach.

“We are quite happy with the Air France (City Jet) service starting up

in February. I think we will go from strength to strength,” he said.

“We also have very strong trans- atlantic services which we are very happy with, having come through the open skies challenge – a major challenge for Shannon, when many said we would have no transatlantic services. We see Aer Lingus as being very important for Shannon – crucial for Shannon in the future of transat- lantic and we support them fully and its business.

“It was a commercial decision and

we accept that,” he said of the air- line’s decision to pull the Heathrow slots from Shannon in favour of Bel- eRe

‘Heathrow broke down into three main areas. One-third of the traffic connected on to Europe and global locations and two-thirds to London. We have increased flights to London with Ryanair.

“We have the Air France service to Paris so we believe we haven’t lost any connectivity. In fact, we hope that in the near future City

Jet could begin a service to London City which is right in the middle of London’s financial centre, probably better than Heathrow for business connections to London itself. Once we get that, I believe we will have a superior product for business peo- ple,” he said. Mr Moroney admitted that a link into London City was not imminent, however. “It is unlikely to happen this year,” he said.

While he would not reveal the economic loss of the link, as it was “commercially sensitive’, he said that the loss of 320,000 passengers was a “commercial challenge’. He said, however, that the new service to Charles de Gaulle and added serv- ices from Ryanair would counteract the loss.

“Obviously it is a blow and we would prefer if it did not happen but certainly it is not a major issue for the airport. And our strength in terms of financial contribution is coming from the fact that we restructured our cost base. We have saved 10 million off the cost base. We will expand our commercial activities. You will see improvements in retail and catering this year in Shannon and you will see additional car parks so we have no problem facing the future despite this loss,’ he said.

The airport director said while there will be no Heathrow service from Shannon in 2008, the airport would continue to work to restore it.

NINETY-YEAR old Tom Casey from Sixmilebridge loaded the first piece of luggage on to the first Shan- non Heathrow flight fifty years ago.

Tom – who worked even before that laying drains on the site where the airport was to be built – was in Shan- non on Sunday to say goodbye to the Heathrow slots.

“It’s a very sad day but this airport could never close,’ an emotional

Tom said.

Among passengers checking in for the last flight, feelings were also run- uubereaseuhcaaw

Sharon McGann from London was a regular traveller on the route.

“Tm from Gort originally. I like to come home as often as I can. My fa- ther was ill recently and at the age my parents are, I want to be at home as much as possible. I live ten min- utes from Heathrow so it was very handy. I don’t know how often I’ll be

able to make it now,” she said.

Peggy Owers from Hampshire has a house in Clare and flies regularly. “It’s disgusting the flight is always fully subscribed. TV’ fly to Dublin now and travel down but I won’t fly Aer Lingus.”

Aideen Goggin from Shannon was flying out to Heathrow but will have to return from another airport. “And Pll have to stay an extra day. The course I’m doing finishes Friday but I can’t get a flight till Saturday.”

Bernadette Marren for London flew regularly to visit relatives in Clare and the west.

‘This is cutting off the west of Ire- land for everyone. Aer Lingus must have have got loads of money to move to Belfast but they shouldn’t have been allowed to leave Shannon Stranded,” she said.

Theresa and Tom Madden from North Tipperary say the loss of the flight means many lost family days.

Tom has to travel on business and

connect to a flight from Heathrow several times a month.

“IT could fly from here late Sunday or even early Monday – now I’II have to add the most of two days travel- ling to every trip,’ he said.

Thersa is angry that the move will mean more time away for Tom.

“Sundays are important days when you have small children – weekends are important. This is robbing us of time with our children growing up,” ORO KeKy Mr HUCe