News

AT STEPHANIE Fitzpatrick’s funeral on Thursday, Father Robert McNamara paid tribute to the warmth of Stephanie’s family, writes Owen Ryan. Fr McNamara addressed a packed church in Lisdoonvarna, with many more listening outside to the homily. “When I was just in my first week here in Lisdoon, Marian asked me to drop in to see Biddy. I arrived, Biddy had the kettle on, and she asked Marian to put out the good jug for the priest. It was far I was reared from jugs! “Anyway, Biddy then produced this wonderful brown bread, for which I later discovered she was famous, and it was in the sharing of that bread that love and warmth and hospitality became really present, and God was there too undercover. “As the philosopher Wittgenstein had written over his doorway: ‘bidden or unbidden, God is present’. “That home of hospitality and love and welcome was the home that Stephanie came from, and it was a home of …

Clare TD Violet Anne Wynne has resigned from Sinn Féin according to national media reports, claiming she was the victim of “psychological warfare” from within the party. In a statement Ms Wynne alleges she was the victim of a campaign of “psychological warfare” from local elements within the party. She said she did not have a problem with Sinn Fein TDs in the Dail however. The mother of six said she felt her unplanned pregnancy was used “as a stick to beat her with”. “I was a proud Sinn Féin TD and took my membership with the party very seriously, I believed that they were the party for United Irelanders and were the future for this island. I now have experience that I can no longer ignore that states otherwise,” she said. Ms Wynne stated the issues she continuously faced seem to be at local level within the organisation and she highlighted what she said was a lack of “structures”. …

CALLS to restore full 24-hour accident and emergency services in Ennis Hospital are not justified, according to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly. Around the clock casualty cover was controversially removed from Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospital in April 2009, despite years of campaigns by Ennis Hospital Development Committee. There have been repeated requests for Ennis Hospital to be upgraded from a Model Two to a Model Three acute healthcare facility in view of the regular chronic overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick. No life-threatening injuries can be treated in Ennis, Nenagh or St John’s where only limited care is provided for patients who are over the age of five in the Minor Injury Clinic. All three injury units provide timely treatment for a range of minor injuries, helping to ensure that the Emergency Department at UHL can prioritise emergency care for the sickest and most seriously injured patients who need it most. The units also treat sports injuries, including hand and …

Formal plan for offshore wind facility won’t be before board for two years while tanaiste says coal-burning plant won’t be decommissioned until country is is confident it can replaced with secure renewable supply THE ESB has put its plan before An Bord Pleanala for a production facility for off-shore wind-turbines at its Moneypoint power station in west Clare, writes Gordon Deegan. In a notice published by An Bord Pleanala, it confirms that the ESB is now engaging with the appeals board in pre-application consultation for its planned fabrication facility for the construction and assembly of floating offshore wind turbines. The pre-application consultation is required under the Government’s Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID) system and is a prelude to formal plans being lodged with An Bord Pleanala. The production facility for the off-shore wind-turbines is part of the ESB’s overall multi billion euro Green Atlantic at Moneypoint programme that is to transform the power station site into a green energy hub. The …

DOCTOR Lena Madden woke up on Thursday morning to text messages offering condolences after the invasion of her home country by Russia. An Ennis-based academic, Lena has lived in Ireland for 20 years and in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine she is very concerned about the prospect of thousands of deaths. “The thing that people don’t talk about is loss. The biggest thing is loss of human life. How many people will die? How many children will die? The soldiers are someone’s children too.” Dr Madden’s father and step-mother were already here visiting when hostilities started, but her mother is living in the east of Ukraine. “I’m from Donetsk, the place where the war is happening currently and where it started in 2014. I moved to Ireland in 2002, that’s 20 years ago. I didn’t live through the war, but my Mum says she has lived through war already. She’s got an approach that she …

HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly has refuted claims that a “clean up operation” was carried out in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) to present a better picture for him before his hospital visit last week, writes Dan Danaher. Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, February 17, Sinn Féin Senator Paul Garvan highlighted a “shocking” issue at UHL concerning the minister’s visit to the hospital. “I had people reach out to me from the hospital yesterday to tell me what was happening ahead of his visit. Trolleys have been moved out to other wards in the hospital, as well as to step-down hospitals. “One person told me that there were more private ambulances there yesterday than they had seen in a long time. They were to get patients out, ahead of the visit. “Unfortunately for hospital management, and in fairness to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, he called in unexpectedly yesterday (Wednesday) evening. “The response to that was to hide patients in the …

FARMERS in North Clare are being “terrorised” on their own lands and a Garda Inspector has been assigned to look into the issue.  Clare’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) was told, at its quarterly meeting, that a proactive response is needed from Gardaí, after the issue was raised by two Dáil deputies. The matter was highlighted by Deputy Cathal Crowe who handed over a number of registration numbers to the Chief Superintendent.  “There’s a group of farmers in the Liscannor area who are being terrorised at the moment,” he said. “Very frequently, people come onto their land with shotguns, hunting for rabbits and foxes, and, as a farmer is entitled to, they approach them to clear them, only to be told the gun will be used on them. This is happening repeatedly. “It’s one thing to be terrorised on the streets, but to be terrorised on your own property is an entirely different thing. So, they work together and they’re in …

A MEMBER of Clare County Council has described as “deplorable and shocking” the treatment of public representatives by Irish Water at a recent briefing.  Councillor Pat Hayes was sharply critical of the utility following the online event last Monday (February 14) for members of the authority. He said that while Irish Water had originally committed to an in-person briefing, with members of the media present, the utility appeared to have had a “change of heart”. “We had a commitment for a briefing before one of the monthly meetings, at which media could attend, on issues including waste water treatment, network leakage and the extraction of water from the Shannon,” the Fianna Fáil member outlined. “There was a change of heart somewhere along the line and it became an in-camera meeting. Then, it was decided to hold it on Zoom. Because councillors were travelling to Ennis for the monthly meeting, we ended up dotted around the headquarters, some having to use …