The Clare People Archive

SINGER Sean Keane will take to an interesting stage next Wednes- day when he performs at the Cliffs of Moher. The concert, which is in support of the local RNLI, will take place at the new Atlantic Edge Cen- tre at the cliffs from 8pm on Wednes- day, December 12.

Keane comes from one of Ireland’s most famous musical families, which also includes his sister Dolores, and has been performing since childhood. He was voted performer of the year

by readers of Irish Music magazine in 1998 and 1999 and was described as “the greatest Irish musical find of the 90s” by the London Independent.

He will be joined by local fiddler Tara Breen, concertina player and TG4 Gradam winner Edel Fox, singer Jennifer Ryan and harpist Meabh de SUNN oe

“We are delighted and excited to be hosting Sean Keane at the Atlantic Edge. I hope this will be the first of many concerts we will stage in the theatre here,’ said Katerine Webster, director of the Cliffs of Moher New

Visitor Experience. “The RNLI is a cause very close to our hearts and the concert fits in very well with our Christmas Music for Charity at the Cliffs programme that runs up to December 23.

“The lifeboat concert kicks off our Christmas programme which will see local Clare national and sec- ondary schools and other commu- nity groups performing at the cliffs on days throughout December for a range of local charities.

“Performances will take place both indoors and outdoors at the Cliff

Edge Centre and we hope this will be great experience for all concerned.”

The Sean Keane concert begins at 8pm but people are asked to be in the centre at 7pm, where there will be a drinks reception. All the artists and the cliffs centre are giving their time and place free of charge.

Tickets are available from Record Rack in Ennis or directly from the reception at the Cliffs of Moher, phone 065 7086141.

For more details of the perform- ance programme, visit www.cliffsof- moher.ie/events.

“HAMNA chakula nyumbani” — “There is no food at home”. When we answered the knock on the door last Sunday, Anna’s stark, simple message, her frail body and sad eyes told all. We know this family of seven. What she said was literally true. They would not eat that day if we didn’t help.

It’s almost Christmas but when you’re poor, Christmas means noth- ing. Here in Pemba, the vast majority of people are poor and it 1s a struggle for them just to survive. There is no big Christmas spending spree.

Yesterday in the fish market we saw an old man who had only 200Tsh (12c), buying the entrails of a fish for his dinner. It was all he could afford. Later at the shop a young woman on

her way to the hospital with her sick baby was buying a single dispos- able nappy.

What about Santa? Last week Laila, a tu- tor in the college asked me, “Who its this Father Christmas? I read about him in a book.” Christ- mas is a time for chil- dren’s toys and presents but we have never seen a doll and pram in Wete.

Baby brothers and sisters are their ‘dolls’. If kids have a ball it 1s usually made from plastic bags tied up in string and toy cars are manufactured from plastic containers with ‘wheels’ cut from old flipflops.

As I write, I am being serenaded by 10-year-old Makame (pictured),

sitting on the veranda playing his ‘guitar’ made out of a_ bent stick, a piece of fishing line and a margarine tin. We have yet to see a child with a mobile phone or an MP3 play- er. A ‘present’ for them would be a biro, a few marbles or a hair bau- ble which could double as a bracelet.

Leisure time here is different too. The ‘office night out’ is a group of men sitting on the footpath outside the mosque at dusk, drinking spiced tea from a communal kettle and play- ing draughts with bottle tops on an improvised board.

Meanwhile, groups of chatting women move along the street buying

cheap fried cassava or sweet buns from their neighbours’ food stalls.

In the west we have lost the simplic- ity of Christmas and the Christmas story. But for us this year, Christmas will be a low-key affair.

Despite missing family and friends it will be refreshing to celebrate the Holy Season without the trimmings, walking among children who have not yet heard of Father Christmas.

THE end of an era in policing in north Clare will be marked this week when Lahinch Sergeant Michael Gallery retires from the force. The Ennisty- mon native has taken early retire-

ment to concentrate on farming.

Mr Gallery has been the sergeant in Lahinch for the past four-and-a-half years and has played a pivotal role in controlling night-time lawlessness in the seaside resort.

He moved to Lahinch in 2003,

having served in Kilrush, Limerick, Pearse Street in Dublin and Donegal, over the past three decades.

His job over the past few years has been focused on curbing public dis- order on the streets of Lahinch, in- vestigating tragedies at the Cliffs of

Moher and solving rural crime.

During his career he spent a year working in Bosnia and intends to re- visit there in the coming months.

A bone of contention in Lahinch 1s the lack of Garda resources available in the town. “It 1s under-resourced. There should be at least four person- nel here (up to last year there were just two, with a third deployed there in 2006). I know the authorities have to look at 24-hour stations and make sure they are covered, but Lahinch 1s by far the busiest sub-station in north Clare,’ he said.

He has seen several rows on the streets as hundreds of youngsters pour out from the nightclubs in the early hours. The issue hit crisis point three years ago when a full-blown riot broke out. As a result, gardai objected to exemptions for the local nightclubs and he believes this has helped matters.

“Things were out of control. We looked for resources and didn’t get them. We objected to the exemptions. Judge Mangan became aware there was a problem and cut back closing times and imposed heavy fines for public order offences. The situation has changed. In 2005 there were 95 arrests for public order and 30 as- saults were reported. Five of those were assaults on gardai. We now have four gardai working every Sat- urday night and while there are up to 100 public order arrests every year, the number of assaults has reduced. There were just four assaults this year, so it is effective,” he added.

As he prepares to sit back and enjoy life in retirement, he says one thing is crucial in police work — being seen on the beat. “I worked in Pearse Street for 10 years and rarely did I ever sit in the car,” he said.

THE top official in the Department of Transport has moved to quell re- ports that the Shannon Airport Au- thority and Shannon Development are to be merged.

In response to a question from Fine Gael TD Pat Breen at the Dail’s Transport Committee, the Secretary General at the Department of Trans- port, Julie O’Neill, said: “I have heard suggestions along those lines.

It has not been raised as an explicit proposal at this stage.

Ms O Neill was speaking at the Dail ‘Transport Committee last Thursday where senior officials from the department explained why Min- ister Noel Dempsey was not told of Aer Lingus plans to withdraw from the Shannon-Heathrow service.

She added that there was “no spe- cific proposal on my desk or in the department in regard to that issue.”

On the work being done by a top

level Government inter-departmen- tal group on Shannon, senior official, John Murphy said: “A number of de- velopments are being examined in other areas in terms of institutional reform and the investment that needs to be made, whether under Transport 21 or in other areas. Work will pro- ceed on that.

Mr Murphy said in answer to a question from Mr Breen on the €53m economic and tourism development plan for the Shannon region that it

would “be finalised shortly”.

As part of the committee’s plan to produce a report on the future of Shannon, chairman of the Shannon faVbu led maULNeLO UIA CS¥a Ua Ne erclme)er:Net- ce han is to also appear before the com- mittee in the near future.

Ms O’Neill acknowledged that in the context of other challenges facing Shannon airport, the SAA needed the loss of its Heathrow slots “like a hole in the head”.

Deputy Timmy Dooley said that

he was “still baffled as to why they failed to communicate this critical information to the minister”.

He said: “It has had an impact on the region which I represent and, in my mind, will have an extremely se- rious impact in the coming years.

‘While the members of the delega- tion might believe their actions blind sided the minister, those actions have devastated or have the potential to devastate an entire region,’ Deputy Dooley added.

DEPUTY Joe Carey (FG) has called into question the commitment of the minister of transport to the people of the mid-west, following the min- ister’s response to Dail questions by Deputy Carey last week.

On ‘Tuesday last, Deputy Carey raised the issue of the designation of the Shannon-Heathrow route as a public service obligation route (PSO).

Deputy Carey said that the minis- ter’s response confirmed that “the Government is continuing to treat the Shannon-Heathrow issue with a slight hand, laden with political am- bivalence.

The designation of Shannon-Heath- row as a PSO first needs to be raised with the British authorities, and then a case made to the EU and for the ap- plication to be published in the EU

Journal,” said Deputy Carey. “The response | got from the minister was to the effect that contact with the EU has been requested at an early stage. There was no sense of urgency in the minister’s response, just further fob- bing and prevarication.”

Deputy Carey is now calling for contact with the British authorities to be made, and a genuine and pressing case made to the EU within weeks.

The Fine Gael deputy said that “Both industrialists and tourist bod- ies in the mid-west are facing an un- certain new year as the Government continues to drag its heels on this.

He added: “If this route were to be designated as a PSO, it could facili- tate continued connectivity for the west of Ireland to the world’s largest hub at Heathrow.”

SHANNON Airport is ideally placed to exploit the vast opportunities aris- ing from the EU US ‘Open Skies’ Agreement which will come fully into effect at the end of March next year.

That is the view of the transport minister, Noel Dempsey, who de- clined to answer directly questions from Clare’s two Fine Gael TDs, Pat Breen and Joe Carey, on the Aer Lingus commitment to retain serv- ices on its transatlantic routes out of

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Minister Dempsey’s predecessor, Martin Cullen, stated that he had received assurances that Aer Lingus would maintain transatlantic passen- ger levels to 400,000.

However, rumours abound that Aer Lingus may reduce or even withdraw completely its transatlantic services for the winter 2008-09 period.

In a written Dail reply Munister Dempsey said: “It is understood that Se eV U OUD M ae fort to ensure that year-round trans- atlantic services are maintained. I

would be confident that the airport authority, with the continued support of business and tourism interests in the region, can respond to the chal- lenges and opportunities presented by Open Skies.

“I understand that several studies have projected that the Open Skies agreement will lead to considerable economic benefits for Ireland, for the business sector, for the tourism industry and for the air transport in- dustry itself.

“On 7 November, Aer Lingus an- nounced that it would for summer

2008 maintain daily direct flights between Shannon to New York and Shannon to Boston and a daily flight to Chicago via Dublin. This re- flects a continuation of the schedule now being operated over the winter 2007/2008 period.

“In comparison with the 2007 sum- mer schedule the difference in the 2008 schedule is that the Chicago service 1S Operated not on a direct basis but indirectly via Dublin.”

In relation to the appointment of a further two appointees to the Aer Lingus board, Minister Dempsey

said “the State’s appointees will seek to ensure that all future decisions of the company, that have significant implications for wider government, aviation or regional development policies, including issues impacting on the mid-west regions, are consid- ered at board level”

On the business plan for Shannon airport, Minister Dempsey said that “I await the DAA’s overall consid- ered views on airport separation to enable the plans to be examined by the Minister for Finance and myself,’ the minister said.

A DOOLIN-BASED ferry company has failed to provide to Clare County Council with documentary evidence of legal interest that it owns the land it has placed a temporary ticket of- fice upon.

Earlier this year, the council asked Cliffs of Moher Cruises to submit documentary evidence of the compa- ny’s legal interest to apply for plan- ning permission for the ticket office at Doolin pier.

The council pointed out that the land on which the site was located was an area zoned in the North Clare Area Plan where it is the objective

of the council to reserve these lands for the future development of the pier and land based facilities and to facilitate the development of water based commercial activities for tour- ism and leisure uses for a sea rescue oon auee

As a result, the council states that they are concerned that the proposed development for retention will repre- sent piecemeal development which will hinder comprehensive develop- ment of these lands.

In its latest response to the council, Cliffs of Moher Cruises state that in relation to “the evidence of legal evi- dence in the lands, please be aware that the council as well as other par-

ties have been unsuccessful in their many attempts to establish legal in- terest in the site”.

The company state: “This is a live issue being dealt with by Clare County Council and we believe that it is current and ongoing.”

They added: “We have previously acquired temporary planning per- mission from the council to operate our temporary ticket office at this location.

“We have paid all rates due to the Clare County Council. We have paid all harbour fees with full agreement with Clare County Council.”

The company state that the tempo- rary retention permission is sought

for a period of three years and is sought until such time as a perma- nent facility is erected by either a public body, a private enterprise or a public-private partnership.

The company states: “We are pre- pared to co-operate with others in the development of such an approved structure which would be fully com- pliant with the planning require- neon nSed

The company points out that the business has been operational from Doolin pier since March 2003 and was granted temporary retention permission in February 2004.

A decision is due on the application later this month.

that the council is hopeful that it will be open “a week or so” before Christmas.

“There are, however, a couple of weather dependent activities that need to be completed and if things went bad in that respect we may have difficulties,” he said.

The Ennis bypass from Barefield to the Limerick dual carriageway opened ahead of time last January.

The remaining parts of the projects have all run behind time.

Ennis Chamber of Commerce CEO Rita McInerney said that it would be great if the link roads were open up to two weekends before Christmas.

“I believe it will help the businesses for the bypass to be open. It is impor- tant for access around the town that these sections are opened.”

The chamber CEO said that it was also important that the link roads were finished off well with footpaths and lighting.

“People enjoy walking and cycling on the link roads as a leisure activ- ity,’ she said.

Ms McInerney said that the link

roads were also important to the vis- ual impact of the town.

‘“T expect that these roads would be finished to a high standard. It is im- portant that they are finished prop- erly as it gives a good impression on the approach to the town,” she said.

This weekend also saw the first weekend of the pedestrianisation of the town centre for Christmas shop- pers. Retailers had mixed fortunes with many blaming the bad weather for sales. Late last week the Ennis Chamber of Commerce asked the council to postpone the pedestriani- sation when the stormy weather was predicted. The council had already advertised the closure of the roads,

so it had to go ahead.

Ms McInerney said that next week when the Christmas lights are switched on it would bring an even more festive feel to the centre of the town and be more inviting to shop- OL uCR

The CEO also suggested that a change to the barriers stopping cars from entering the centre of the town would also help. The barriers used last week gave the impression that the roads were closed off completely and an alternative should be consid- Kerem

The Holy Family National School will also be opening its car park from next weekend at €3 per day.

A DUBLIN-BASED housing asso- ciation has scaled back its plans for an apartment complex in Ennis town centre in order to overcome local council and resident concerns.

Last September, Ennis Town Coun- cil refused planning permission to Cluid Housing Association for a five storey apartment block adjacent to Ennis Tennis and Badminton Club.

The proposal involved plans to con- struct 21 one bedroom apartments and six two bedroom apartments.

However, Cluid Association 1s now seeking permission to construct three and four storey buildings in the erounds of Waterville House to ac- commodate 14 one bedroom apart- ments and three two bedroom apart- ments.

The housing association is also seeking planning permission for two one-bedroom apartments within Wa- terville House.

The Ennis Tennis and Badminton Club lodged a strident objection to the previous scheme pointing out that “with a large junior membership, the club has rigorous child protection schemes. Consequently, units with views overlooking children at play is of serious concern to all members”.

In a subsequent refusal, the council stated that due to the scale, massing, height and excessive site coverage

would result 1n over-development of the restricted site.

The council concluded that the pro- posal would compete visually with the Cornmarket building and Water- ville House, would detract from the character for the setting of Water- ville House and would fail to respect its context and contravene the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

The council also refused planning permission after ruling that the de- velopment would result in over-look- ing and over-shadowing of adjacent residential buildings and would seri- ously injure the amenities of prop- erty in the vicinity.

“The proposed development there- fore would materially contravene a policy of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan 2003 and the zon- ing objective for the area which 1s to protect residential amenity.”

The council also refused planning due to the proposal’s “layout and den- sity and consequent lack of private Open space to serve the residential units would result in a sub-standard form of development which would seriously injure the amenity of future occupants. The council found that inadequate on-site parking would re- sult in over-development of the site. Rather than appealing the decision to An Bord Pleanala, Cluid Housing Assocation lodged revised plans to overcome the council’s concerns.

A HIGHLY cosmopolitan group of adult learners, including Polish Rus- sian and Croatian nationals, received their certificates at a special ceremo- UNAS DOW BI OD ON KB Keero NLU AZ

The awards were the end result of courses delivered by Clare Adult Basic Education Service (CABES), an arm of County Clare Vocational Education Committee’s Adult and Community Education Service.

The 147 strong group of certifi- cate recipients was the largest in the county to have gone through assess- ment.

Dr Sean Conlan, head of the Adult and Community Education Service, who presented the certificates, said that the high number was another milestone for the service.

He complimented the courses par- ticipants on their courage to return to education and upskilling themselves in various subjects while juggling with their other commitments.

He said his service providers were delighted to be in a position to of- fer such wide-ranging courses to an ever-growing international popula- tion in the county as well as indig- enous residents.

Recipients of certificates were

participants in CABES programmes in Knockalisheen Accommodation Centre, Clarecare Primary Health- care and various CABES courses.

Karl Quinn, co-ordinator of Eng- lish Language Programmes, who was master of ceremonies, pointed out that the range of subjects cov- ered included English for speakers of other languages, child develop- ment and play, learning skills, com- puter literacy, computer applications, communications, food and nutrition, food and cookery and understanding POLKoRGUDLAUUEAUO KONE

The courses were certified by the Further Education and _ Training Awards Council of Ireland.

CABES delivers one-to-one and group tuition to learners wishing to improve their skills in reading, writ- ing, spelling and basic maths as well many other subjects. Themed litera- cy classes allow learners to explore a subject while improving their liter- acy. Themed classes include stained glass, preparation for the driver the- ory test, computers, woodwork, arts, crafts and cookery.

Resources for the courses include a library available to students and an extensive range of adult-based read- ing writing and numeracy materials, including computer software, avail- able on loan.