News

The case of a man accused of the unlawful cultivation of cannabis plants in Newmarket-on-Fergus will be heard in the circuit criminal court. Ciaran Cullinan (32), with an address at Curraderra, Barefield, appeared before Ennis District Court charged with three offences contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act.  Cullinan is charged with possession of cannabis and possession of cannabis for the purposes of sale or supply. He is further charged with the unlicensed cultivation of cannabis plants.  All three charges relate to a garda search of Cullinan’s former address at the Green Door apartment, Newmarket on Fergus on April 2, 2021.  Sergeant Noel O’Rourke gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Cullinan. The court heard the accused made no reply to any of the three charges after caution.  The accused was represented in court by solicitor, John Casey.  Sergeant Aiden Lonergan said the garda file in the matter had been forwarded to the director of public prosecutions (DPP). Sergeant …

A MAN has appeared in court charged in connection with two alleged assaults in Ennis town centre last week. Ennis District Court heard further serious charges maybe be considered against Stanislav Koniukhov (51) who is also charged with the unlawful possession of three “dagger-type knives”. Koniukhov, a Russian national with former addresses at the Citywest convention centre, Dublin and in Ennis, was remanded in custody with consent to bail to appear again in court on December 7.  The accused faces two charges of assaulting of Philip Brosnan, contrary to section 2 of the Non Fatal Offences Against The Person Act.  It is alleged Koniukhov attacked Mr Brosnan at the Rowan Tree hostel on November 23.  Koniukhov is also charged with stealing a register of residents from the Rowan Tree hostel, also on November 23.  The accused is further charged with possession of three Albaniox, dagger-type knives, after he was searched at Henry Street garda station, Limerick on November 24.  That …

UNRESOLVED concerns over jet-ski activity on East Clare waterways have been raised at the November meeting of Killaloe district councillors.  Councillor Pat Hayes asked that Director of Services Anne Haugh would take up the matter.  “There are issues around Lough Derg in particular,” he said. “These were not resolved over summer. This time of the year is the time to try to get them sorted out. What has resulted so far is not to the satisfaction of councillors. I don’t know how we deal with it, but I would like to see back on agenda.” Ms Haugh suggested that a meeting be arranged with Cyril Feeney, Senior Engineer at the Environment and Water Department. “That would be welcome,” said Councillor Hayes. “There is a petition in circulation and it is something we can’t ignore.” The petition was launched in August, calling for restrictions to protect swimmers at Knockaphort, a popular bathing spot and launch point for vessels sailing to Inis …

REOPENING the rail stop at Crusheen is something that the Green minister for transport cannot refuse, in the view of Councillor Pat Hayes. The Fianna Fáil member is calling for a business case to be made for the reopening of the stop on what he described as “the very successful Limerick-Galway line”. “This is a critical thing that can make a difference in climate mitigation,” he said.  Councillor Hayes highlighted the amount of new housing in Crusheen, Tulla and Quin and said reopening the rail stop offered huge opportunities to give people access to public transport. “We had the transport minister in the county recently for a lovely day of sod turning,” Councillor Hayes said. “There is a lot of debate about transport and this is an issue on doorstep that we need to address ourselves. There was an application to change zoning in this area in Crusheen and we resisted, because we have a real opportunity to improve public …

A LONG-SERVING former Doolin Coast Guard member has claimed a lot of people in North Clare have been emotionally upset by the fallout from the sacking of 12 volunteers. After joining the Doolin Unit in 2002, Bernard Lucas became a Coast Guard climbing instructor in 2007 and equipment inspector in 2009. Over the last ten years, Mr Lucas has travelled all over the world for Work at Height with another former member Conor McGrath who put safety procedures and carry out rescues if necessary for film productions. When the unit was stood down, he recalled this was blamed on irreconcilable differences between members. But when six members were taken back, he claimed this created the perception the 12 others were the ones causing the problem, that wrongly created a “them and us” situation. “Some of the group of ten were very quiet but were not asked to go back. There was no support put in place for these people. One …

GARDAI are appealing for witnesses to an aggravated burglary that occured in Ennis on Saturday evening. Female occupants of a house in John Paul Avenue estate were threatened in their sitting room by two men who entered the house wearing black clothing and carrying implements. The incident occurred at 7.45 p.m. on Saturday evening last November 26. The males did not take anything and nobody was injured. The two men ran out the front door to a waiting car. If anyone saw this car or anyone who may have dashcam/camera footage they are asked to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065 6848100.

DEVELOPMENTS to promote Inis Cealtra will include a significant boost for the public realm, as the visitor centre in Mountshannon is on track to open in the third quarter of 2024. At a briefing for councillors, on foot of the announcement of €3.9m in government funding, Tourism Officer Joan Tarmey described the plan as “probably the most significant tourism project ever undertaken in East Clare”. She said the Council’s Tourism Department was delighted with funding announcement from the Department of Community and Rural Development. The allocation followed a successful Council application for funds to repurpose and extend the Old Rectory building in Mountshannon to create what Ms Tarmey described as “an iconic centre”. “The time has come for East Clare to shine,” she told members of the Killaloe Municipal District. “This is an historic period house from 1905 on a magnificent elevated site. it has a prominent location within the village and can contribute very much to the village. “The …

BUSINESS people across Clare will be relieved that the County Council’s 2023 budget agreed on Friday, contained no increase on commercial rates. While the initial proposal from the Council executive was for a 2.5% increase, that wasn’t accepted by the Councillors and the figure will now be frozen at the 2022 level. Speaking on Tuesday, Councillor Mary Howard said it would have been impossible to justify an increase. “Having come out of a worldwide pandemic, dealing with the after affects of Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the supply chain issues that have been there for the last two years, I just think increasing rates would be the wrong thing to do, absolutely, at this time.” She said that the “vast majority” of people she spoke to were similarly opposed to increasing rates for next year, and the proposed 2.5% increase had little support. “Looking at Ennis, what I’ve seen since businesses have reopened, in O’Connell Street a number have …