No Clare TDs on Kenny’s front bench

Written by Claire Gallagher

WHEN Enda Kenny announced his front bench on Thursday last there were no Clare TDs in the line up.
Deputy Pat Breen (FG) said he was not disappointed because he was not expecting an appointment.
His colleague Deputy Carey (FG) also claimed he did not expect a promotion, as he was just three years in the Dáil.
Deputy Carey had been one of the first TDs to come out in support of Deputy Kenny, during the leadership challenge led by Richard Bruton.
The Clare TD said he believed that the new front bench, which included Deputy Bruton, represented “a very strong and credible team as we look forward to a general election in less than two years time”.
“There is a good geographic and skills spread among the new team. I particularly want to congratulate Michael Noonan and believe his appointment, as finance spokesperson will benefit the whole of the mid-west when Fine Gael lead the next government.
“From my own personal view, I know there was a lot of speculation in the past fortnight regarding my position, yet it’s worth remembering, I’m only in this job three years and never expected a front line promotion so quick. To be even linked with one was flattering. 
“I’m happy to continue to serve as best I can the people of County Clare and continue with my current brief as juvenile justice spokesperson,” he said.
As well as his brief as deputy spokesperson in justice, Deputy Carey was also appointed Deputy Chief Whip of Fine Gael.
“There’s a lot of work to be done in the years ahead to ensure that this country is put back to work and on a sound financial footing. I intend to play my part fully to ensure that happens,” he said.
Deputy Breen also welcomed the appointment of Limerick Deputy Noonan to the front bench.
The former leader was appointed finance spokesperson.
“It is an appointment that will benefit the mid-west,” said Deputy Breen.
“It is business as usual for me and back to representing the people of Clare as best I can,” he added.
Deputy Breen is to remain as deputy spokesperson on Foreign Affairs.
Fine Gael leader Deputy Kenny said, “Fine Gael is united and focused on the major challenge facing the party and the country.
“The team I have picked provides a mixture of both experience and youth and will lead our party into Government after the next election,” he added.

New Cliffs charges to end public right of way

Written by Andrew Hamilton

Clare County Council have denied that a new pricing system soon to be introduced at the Cliffs of Moher will prevent people from accessing the world-famous site for free.
The Clare People has learned that management of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience are planning to introduce a major overhaul of parking and facility charges next month which - according to one of six independent traders based at the centre - is a deliberate effort to trick tourists into paying for accessing the site.
A long-standing public right of way exists at the Cliffs of Moher, meaning that each of the one million tourists who visit them each year have a right to walk the cliffs for free.
Since the opening of the €31 million Cliffs of Moher Experience in 2007, the council has charged €8 per car for parking and a separate charge of €4.95 to access the Atlantic Edge Exhibition Area.
However, according to cliffs trader Gerry Cahill, thousand of tourists are being tricked into paying to enter the exhibition area each year because the local authority is purposely confusing the issue.
He also claims that none of the centre’s six independent tenants were made aware of or consulted about the price change - despite claims by Clare County Council to the contrary.
According to Katherine Webster, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, the changes have been made to make the payment more straightforward and “easier for people to understand”.

Decision pending on Ennis manslaughter appeal

Written by Laura Whelan & Emer Connolly

AN APPEAL by a Barefield man, against his conviction for the manslaughter of schoolboy Michael Doherty in Ennis three years ago, will be ruled upon at a later stage.
The appeal lodged by John McGovern (20), was heard at the Court of Criminal Appeal last Tuesday, just one day short of the third anniversary of the death of Mr Doherty.
Mr Doherty (14), who lived at Ashline, Ennis, died during a fight outside a Supermac’s restaurant on O’Connell Street, Ennis, on June 23, 2007.
McGovern was found not guilty of murder by a jury at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Ennis, in February 2009, but guilty of manslaughter. McGovern, who was 17 at the time of the killing, was also convicted of producing a knife that night. In March 2009 he was jailed for six years for the killing and also received a three-year concurrent sentence for the knife charge.
The three-judge court heard last week that McGovern, of Ballyduff, Barefield, Ennis, had faced a “somewhat confusing trial with conflicting evidence”.
Among the grounds of appeal put forward on his behalf was that the judge failed “to explain or expand on” the defence of “self-defence” in respect of the “knife charge”.  
His lawyers said this failure resulted in the jury’s verdict of manslaughter being “contaminated” and therefore rendered it “unsafe”. It was also argued the trial judge’s recap of the evidence in the case was unsatisfactory and deficient.
The court heard how on the evening of Mr Doherty’s death, from Mr McGovern’s “prospective”, he “was a man who was under attack”. McGovern – who had no previous convictions – was “felled to the ground” by the victim who was “an accomplished boxer”.
However, the director of Public Prosecutions opposed the appeal. Counsel for the State said it was “illogical to suggest” that any failure to point out the issue of self-defence in respect of the “knife charge” made the manslaughter conviction unsafe.
The court was told that “detailed directions” were given to the jury in respect of the first count, that of murder, and that the trial judge was “quite clear” regarding the issue of self-defence.
The court adjourned its decision and will deliver its judgment in the appeal at a later date.

After the floods, here’s the drought

Written by Andrew Hamilton

SERIOUS water restrictions, including rolling water cuts, could be enforced in Ennis, Tulla and north Clare if heavy rainfalls, forecast for later this week, do not materialise.
According to Clare County Council, yesterday’s light rainfall has had little or no impact on the water levels in the under-threat reservoirs, with more than two inches of rain now required before water reserves can even begin to be replenished.
The local authority will tomorrow instigate a number of restrictions on water use in the three affected areas. The restrictions, which will remain in place until the end of July, prohibit the watering of gardens and sports grounds, watering crops and washing cars.
“The rain that fell today [Monday] was very light and we need a significant fall to have an impact. More rain has been forecast for Wednesday night and Thursday so hopefully that will help the situation,” said Sean Ward, an engineer with Clare County Council.
“The weather has been so dry that we need to get something in excess of two inches to get the groundwater moving again and replenish the water supplies.”
Some night-time water cut-offs have already been imposed in Tulla and Clare County Council say they are monitoring the situation in Ennis, Lickeen Lake in Ennistymon and in Tulla on a daily basis to determine if more restrictions are to be introduced.
“Despite the flooding which took place late last year, rain levels were low in December, January and February - which is when you expect the lakes and resevoirs to be refilled. Most of the water from last year’s flooding simply flowed into the sea,” continued Mr Ward.
“We have no artificial storage facilities in Clare. Storing this water would be hugely expensive and it would involve the flooding of acres of land. The overall solution for this problem in Clare is better water conservation.
“This has been an exceptionally dry year, the driest since 1995 from what I understand. You can’t really draw a connection between this and global warming. There is not enough evidence yet for that.”
From midnight tonight, Tuesday, June 29, restrictions will be in place on a number of activities in Ennis, Clarecastle, Barefield, Crusheen, Tulla and all public supplies in north Clare and connected group water schemes.
The local authority has advised people in these areas to repair all leaks, avoid washing cars and watering lawns and check all lands and agricultural buildings for leaking pipes and leaking taps on troughs.

Ennis mayor’s ‘phasing out’ fear

Written by Ronan Judge

AT THE June meeting of Ennis Town Council, members debated the recently published Mid-West Regional Homeless Framework Plan, a strategy that aims to address homelessness in Clare, North Tipperary and Limerick.
Towards the end of the debate, which heard frequent criticisms of the absence of any place on the Mid-West Regional Consultative Forum for members of Ennis Town Council, Independent councillor Tommy Brennan expressed a view that has become a regular feature of his contributions to council debates.
This latest regional strategy, warned Cllr Brennan, represented another “way of phasing out small local authorities….which the minister (John Gormley) has in his head anyway”.
As the newly elected mayor of Ennis, Cllr Brennan remains as wary as ever about what he views as the gathering pace of regionalisation.
“All these things lately have been regionalised. There is regional homeless policy, a regional retail strategy, regional planning. Everything is going regional. My fear is that in time all these things will be dealt with at a regional level and local representatives will have no input whatsoever,” said Cllr Brennan yesterday.
He believes the growth of regional forums is undermining the ability of local councillors to best represent the views of their constituents. 
“I believe that the local authorities and the town councils represent the people that elect them and it’s their connection with the executive of the council. They know their elected representatives and they come to us when they have something to deal with,” he said.
First elected to Ennis Town Council in 1979, Cllr Brennan is also a sitting member of Clare County Council, where he was first elected in 1985.
The Ennis native was elected Mayor of Ennis at last week’s annual meeting of Ennis Town Council, winning a 6-3 vote ahead of fellow nominee Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab).
It is the fifth time, whether as chairman or mayor, that Cllr Brennan has held the office. He is also a former mayor of Clare.
“Anytime you are elected mayor of your town, it’s a great occasion. Whether its once or twice, it doesn’t matter,” said Cllr Brennan.
Looking ahead to the next 12 months, the new mayor has identified infrastructure and housing as the council’s main priorities.
“I would like to see the main drainage treatment plants going ahead, the upgrading. Because at the present time there is no capacity in the sewerage. Also I’d like to see more local authority housing. We have a 1,020 on our housing list. I’d like to see more local authority housing going ahead. We got no allocation last year and so far none this year,” he said.

Dr Phil stands up to bullies

Written by Andrew Hamilton

THE world most famous psychologist Dr Phil McGraw has taken up the cause of Fanore teenager Phoebe Prince.
Speaking last week Dr Phil called for new measures to prevent bullying to be put in the place in the aftermath of the death of the 15-year-old Clare girl in America earlier this year.
Phoebe took her own life after enduring months of bullying by schoolmates at South Hadley School in Massachusetts after she moved to America with her family last September.
Nine teenagers have been charged with a variety of crimes, including statutory rape, in relation to the harassment of Phoebe and proceedings are due to take place later this year.
Speaking at a special hearing on cyber-bullying in Washington, Dr Phil said that teenage bullying in America had gotten “out of control”.
“These kids are getting isolated in their homes. They’re getting isolated on these computers and they’re getting their reputations ruined,” he said.
“These keyboard bullies are anonymous which means they’re even meaner and more aggressive because they can hide behind anonymity.
“These bullies can use Photoshop to doctor pictures and put a child in a humiliating or embarrassing situation. They write emails, write letters, and so often we see these kids become isolated, withdrawn, and stop going to school.
“They can even - as we have seen so tragically with situations like Phoebe Prince - wind up actually taking their own lives. I mean, this is a terrible burden on these kids.”
Dr Phil was testifying before the US House Committee on Education and Labour on Capitol Hill in Washington.
“We’ve got to figure out what to do to get this under control. And so much of what’s going on today is beyond parents because our kids are much more computer literate than we are,” he said.
“We’ve got to give the educators the tools they need to prevent this. There is never any detention [for bullies]. There is never any complaint that is followed up. So, this is something that’s affecting almost half of children and we’re basically not doing anything about it.
“We need to track down who these kids are.”

Killer met kidnap victim online

Written by Brian Kavanagh

A CONVICTED murderer serving a life sentence has been given a 10-year sentence for kidnapping a man he met through a gay chat room and robbing him at knifepoint.
Michael Downes (43), formerly of Marian Avenue, Ennis, bound his victim with tape and robbed him of €230 in cash, an ATM card and two mobile phones before threatening to cut his “nuts off”.
He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the false imprisonment and robbery of the man in Grangegorman on August 10, 2007.
Downes is serving the life sentence for the murder of 50-year-old Finbar Dennehy in September 2007 and has 20 other previous convictions including six for blackmail, five for theft and one for sexual assault.
Detective Garda Damien McCormick told Ms Martina Baxter BL, prosecuting, that the victim came in to contact with Downes after replying to a message he had left on a gay chat line.
The vicim told gardai he invited Downes in to his apartment under the assumption that they would have sex, after having met him briefly earlier in the week and exchanging a number of text messages.
He said Downes arrived at his apartment unshaven and carrying a black sports bag, and that after he had taken a seat on a couch, he told the victim to get undressed.
Det Gda McCormick said the victim complied with Downes request, as he had done so in a “non-threatening” manner, before turning his back to close the living room blinds.
Downes then pulled his victim close, produced a two-pronged kitchen knife and forced his victim to lie face down on the couch, telling him: “Don’t fight me, if you fight me I’ll f**king kill you”.
Downes then proceeded to rifle through the victim’s personal possessions, taking his wallet and ATM card while he lay prone on the couch, his hands and ankles trussed up with tape and the flex from a mobile phone charger.
Demanding the PIN code for the ATM card, Downes threatened to return to the apartment and cut the man “to bits”, “cut his nuts off” and cut his little finger off  if the PIN code proved to be false.
During the ordeal, Downes also remarked to the man that he had psychiatric difficulties, telling him his full name and that he intended to get a bus to Galway later that afternoon.
When the victim was satisfied that Downes had left the apartment block, he managed to upright himself and unravel his hands after four to five minutes of struggle before raising the alarm.
Det Gda McCormick said Downes left his victim  “extremely shaken”.
Mr Paul Greene SC, defending, said Downes was aware he had hurt his victim, his victim’s family and his own family and that he “deeply regretted” having done so.
Counsel said that Downes had come from a small town in the west of Ireland, where his sexual orientation was not common, and that he was troubled by this as well as a difficult family background.
Mr Greene said there was “more to say” but that his client had instructed him not to divulge anything further save that he was “ready to be punished”.
Judge Patrick McCartan said that Downes, who also received a two year sentence for robbing another man of his ATM card in 2007, had committed a very serious offence where he had armed himself with a knife and tied his victim up.
Judge McCartan imposed a ten year sentence and said that Downes’ personal difficulties or sense of grievance could not explain his committal of the robbery.

‘Stop this trial’ orders judge

Written by Emer Connolly

THE JURY in the trial of an alleged assault outside an Ennis nightclub in which a woman’s teeth were broken has been discharged.
Darren Daly (21), of Childers Road, Cloughleigh, Ennis, denied assaulting the woman, causing her harm, in the early hours of January 13, 2008.
The complainant told Ennis Circuit Court last Wednesday that she was socialising in Kearney’s nightclub at Lifford, Ennis, on January 12, 2008. She said that around 2am, there was an argument between her friend and another girl over a mobile phone and several people got involved. She said the accused, Darren Daly, who she had known to see, was ejected from the premises.
She and a friend left and sat on a ledge outside. The woman told the court that Darren Daly walked over to her and said, “As for you,” and boxed her with his fist. She fell to the ground. She sustained broken teeth. While at the hospital the following day, she said the accused phoned her on her mobile. “He apologised. He said he was sorry. He asked me not to press charges. He said there was money there for my teeth,” she said.
The woman told the jury that she underwent treatment to her teeth and also attended a maxi facial  specialist because she had sustained nerve damage under her eye.
It was put to the woman by Stephen Coughlan, BL, for the prosecution, that the photographs of her injuries were “unsightly” and she agreed that it had been a source of embarrassment for her. She was off work for over a week, due to the injuries.
Defence counsel Pat Whyms put it to the woman, “You told the doctor you had been punched and kicked in the teeth and face but it’s not what you told the guards and it’s not what you told Mr Coughlan a few minutes ago. How is the jury supposed to know when you can’t even say what happened?”
The woman replied, “I don’t know how my teeth were broken. I presume he kicked me in the face. When I fell to the ground, my teeth either hit the ground or he kicked me in the face. . . As a result of him boxing me, my teeth broke.”
The complainant’s friend, who was sitting on the ledge with her, told the court, “Darren Daly came out of nowhere and boxed her. She fell to the ground. It all happened very fast. It was over in seconds.” Asked did she see the accused kicking her friend into the face, she said, “No.”
Darren Daly told the court that he was punched in the face by an unknown person in the nightclub and bouncers removed him from the premises. He denied striking the woman and said he didn’t see her. He admitted phoning the woman the next day, but denied apologising or offering her money, saying, “I’ve no money to give her.”
“I said to her, ‘You think it was me who hit you’. I said, ‘Are you sure?’ She said, ‘That’s what I’m being told anyway’,” he told the court.
After an issue was discussed in the absence of the jury, Judge Rory McCabe then recalled the jury, telling them, “I’ve decided to stop this trial at this stage because a legal matter has arisen. We can’t continue,” and discharged the jury.

Will minister leave airport ‘in limbo’?

Written by Bernie English

THE Minister for Transport has said that Shannon will be given its autonomy next year if the board asks for it. Minister Noel Dempsey was speaking during a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Transport Committee and answering points made by Deputy Pat Breen (FG) about the status of the airport.
Deputy  Breen told the House, “The minister acknowledged that in 2009 overall passenger traffic was down. At Shannon Airport it was down 23 per cent, while in Europe and the UK it was down 13 per cent  and seven per cent  respectively.
“The minister, meanwhile, has shelved plans for granting autonomy to Shannon Airport management until 2011. This is unacceptable for the airport’s management as it is forced to work with one hand tied behind its back. In the past, the airport performed well when management could make its own decisions, particularly in the time of Brendan O’Regan and Liam Skelly. However, a conflict of interest between the Dublin Airport Authority and Shannon Airport has arisen. For example, the Dublin Airport Authority would like to have the Lynxs cargo company locate in Dublin when Shannon is vying for it too,” he said.
Deputy Breen asked if the minister had plans to remedy the situation “or is he going to leave Shannon Airport in Limbo?”
Minister Dempsey said that the Clare deputy was “incorrect in claiming I shelved plans for the separation of Shannon and Cork airports from the Dublin Airport Authority. Due to the severe economic downturn and its effects on the international aviation industry, the chairs, boards and management of the various airports requested me to postpone the planned separation of the Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports from the one authority. They believed it would not be prudent considering the economic positions in which they found themselves.
“Next year, it is intended to examine the various possibilities for separation. I will listen carefully to the board and management of Shannon Airport if they want it to be separated from the Dublin Airport Authority to run their own affairs. Their decision will carry much weight with me, so long as everyone knows the consequences of such a move.”
He added that he did not know too many people who felt that Shannon Airport could have survived the economic downturn alone. But Deputy Breen said that his question related to the management of the airport.
“It is about Shannon Airport management making its own decisions without having to go back to the Dublin Airport Authority for approval. There is a conflict of interest when it comes to both airports trying to attract new investment projects reporting to the one authority.”

Ballad of Bobfest

Written by TJ Flynn

TJ Flynn talks to Brian Fitzgerald, one of the organisers of the second annual Bobfest, which takes place in Clonlara and celebrates the life and music of Bob Dylan.

A century down the line, it is a given that students of literature and philosophy will closely study the works of Bob Dylan. He’s a modern-day Mozart, a trapeze artist, an illusionist, a master of the media. Since he travelled down Highway 61 and landed in New York on a snowy winter’s day, he has remained in constant transformation.
Folk singer, liar, finger-pointing writer, poet, rock ‘n roll great, recluse, family man, born-again Christian, author, fake Santa.
It’s not just his songwriting ability or his penchant to avoid a label that has snared fans for the past six decades; it’s his ability to say the right thing at the right time and this is something that transcends physical, mental and social boundaries.
Everybody trapped in the web spun by Dylan can recall when and where they got stuck with vivid, day-glo clarity.
For Brian Fitzgerald, it happened when he was in his late teens, shortly after he had broken up with a girl.
“I thought I was Liam Gallagher at the time,” he says. “I was huge into Oasis but just after me and my girlfriend had broken up I went to a mate’s house who said ‘here, have a listen to this’.”
Fitzgerald was handed The Freewhelin’, one of Dylan’s earlier albums. He popped on ‘Don’t Think Twice’ and Dylan’s lyrics and voice lit up his mind.
“Jesus. I’d never heard anything like this before. It was like he was speaking to me, speaking at me. I totally got what he was saying. And I just listened over and over to this track.
“Of course I’d heard of Bob Dylan before but I hadn’t really listened to him. The next day I went into town and bought The Best Of. It just took off from there.”
Now Fitzgerald, along with Keith Forde and Tony and John O’Gorman, are putting the finishing touches to Bobfest 2010, which takes place on Saturday night at the Angler’s Rest in Clonlara, as a pre-cursor and little trailer to the following night’s big picture: Dylan’s appearance at Thomond Park in Limerick.
The organising crew of Bobfest 2010 are drawn mainly from Limerick but chose Clonlara as the venue for the celebration of Dylan and his music because of its proximity to the city and its accessibility, as well as the Angler’s Rest open-minded attitude to what they have in mind.
Last year, they hosted the first ever Bobfest, staging it at the foot of a mountain in Tipperary. With little promotion or advertising, over 150 people showed up.
The plan was to simply keep it simple. Little expense, a communal vibe and a good time guaranteed. They bought a couple of marquees for performances and a barbecue for grub and everything else was pure bells and whistles.
Those who turned up were invited to give their own take on Dylan’s work and the night ended late with the Minnesotan’s work being put to rap.
The following morning, it was clear there was a strong desire among those present that Bobfest should be continued and, when it was announced that Dylan was appearing in Thomond Park, the date was clear and obvious.
“Bobfest was something we had been speaking about for a long time,” continues Fitzgerald, “so when it proved to be such a big success last year, we definitely wanted to keep it going.
“This year, things are going to be a little more official. We have a nominal entrance fee of €15 and once more it’s going to be a relaxed vibe. We have seven or eight bands lined up and each will get stuck into Dylan. After that, I can see something informal developing into the night.
“There’s a great feel to the location and with the first band coming on stage at 6pm, we’re going to have a long evening of music. That’s more or less the template we have and it’s all about affordability as well. I know of some people who are coming to Bobfest who can’t make it to see Dylan the following night because ticket prices are too high.”
After this, it won’t end there. While Bobfest will look set to continue, Fitzgerald et al are looking at establishing a ‘60s music festival in Limerick in 2011.
“There’s little happening in the place along the lines of this, so we’re convinced there’s a hunger out there for it.”
For now, it’s all about Clonlara and Saturday night and Dylan’s music.
If the great man does it for you, then don’t think twice about not being there. 

For more information, email bobfestireland@gmail.com. Tickets, priced at €15, are now on sale at Euro Empire (formerly Empire Music) O’Connell Street, Limerick and also at The Angler’s Rest, Clonlara. You can also pay at the door on the day of the gig.