Tag Archives: kilkee

FORMER primary school principal, 81-year-old, Patrick Barry from Kilkee has moved to appeal his prison sentence for indecently assaulting 11 women while they were pupils of his in West Clare. Barry lost an appeal against conviction last week with the Court of Appeal “unable to hold” with him on any of his 12 grounds of appeal. He had pleaded not guilty to 67 charges of indecently assaulting 11 women on dates between 1964 and 1985, while they attended Moyasta National School as pupils. He was found guilty by a jury of 59 counts of indecent assault and not guilty of the remaining eight counts by direction of the trial judge Judge Gerald Keyes. Barry was given an afective sentence of 11 years imprisonment with the final five suspended by Judge Keyes at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on November 19 2014. Speaking on behalf of the Court of Appeal on Monday, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan said the three judge court was …

A former primary school principal has lost an appeal against conviction for indecently assaulting 11 women while they were pupils of his in West Clare. Patrick Barry (80), of Well Road, Kilkee, had pleaded not guilty to 67 charges of indecently assaulting 11 women on dates between 1964 and 1985 while they attended Moyasta National School as pupils. Barry was found guilty by a jury of 59 counts of indecent assault and not guilty of the remaining eight counts by direction of the trial judge Judge Gerald Keyes. He was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment with the final five suspended by Judge Keyes at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on November 19 2014. Speaking today (MONDAY) on behalf of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan said the three judge court was “unable to hold” with Barry on any of his 12 grounds of appeal and accordingly his appeal against conviction was dismissed. Mr Justice Sheehan said Barry had been …

A COMBINATION of good weather, the Wild Atlantic Way and a public holiday saw huge numbers of people flock to the Clare coast at the weekend. Tourism providers across the county are reporting one of the busiest Easter weekends in recent years. One prominent hotelier said it was “more like August than April”, which meant that seasonal staff could be hired over a month earlier than usual. Attractions across the county also recorded high visitor numbers, with the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre, Bunratty Folk Park and Craggaunowen all recording increases this year compared to last. “It was a super weekend,” John Burke from the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point and Hotel Doolin stated. “We had a surge in customer numbers. People just want to flock to the coast to cool down and it was great to see it pick up so early in the season. It has allowed us to recruit earlier in the year. Normally, seasonal staff wouldn’t …

A DOCUMENTARY by renowned filmmaker Daisy Asquith, which explores the very personal story of her mother’s conception and subsequent adoption after a dance in the 1940s in West Clare, will be screened on Channel 4 on Sunday, March 29 at 8pm. Her grandmother had to run away and give birth to her baby in secret before handing the baby over to nuns. Daisy’s mother was eventually adopted by English Catholics from Stoke-on-Trent. Her grandmother returned to Ireland and kept her secret. The identity of Daisy’s grandfather remained a mystery for another 60 years until Daisy and her mother decided it was time to find out who he was. Their desperate need to know took them on a fascinating and moving adventure in social and sexual morality and the fear and shame that Catholicism has wrought on the Irish psyche for centuries, connecting them with a brand new family living an extraordinarily different life. “I was compelled to find out who …

WHEN Noelle Brown decided to look for her birth parents, she was met with consistent opposition and stone walling, tough experiences she has turned into something positive through her play, Postscript. Born into a mother and baby home in Cork in the 1960s, she was adopted at eight weeks of age. She grew up knowing about the adoption but had very little curiosity around it. “I knew it from a very young age, which was great because I grew up at a time when people weren’t told. I knew people who were told when they were 21, which obviously didn’t go down very well but I suppose those parents thought they were doing the right thing as well. For me, there was no shock element to it.” She grew up quite happily in a loving home and now she says her contentment with her lot may be why she didn’t spend much time thinking about her birth parents. “It [her …

A POLISH man, found to be cultivating almost €165,000 worth of cannabis in the attic of a rented house in Kilkee, said he did it to help pay for his wedding. However, since being detected, his former fiancée has left him and he has spent a year in jail. Adam Wrobel (23) and his former fiancée, Jagoga Gajeuska (20), who were both living at an address at Lislanahan Lower, Kilkee, appeared before Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Friday last for their sentencing hearing. Wrobel pleaded guilty to cultivation, while Gajeuska pleaded guilty to allowing a premises to be used for cultivation on January 13, 2014. Garda Eoin Daly gave evidence that the owner of a property at Lislanahan Lower raised concerns about his property, after receiving a €640 electricity bill. The landlord said there were two Polish nationals living in the house and this had been arranged through a third party, who was also Polish. He told the gardaí that …

THE improper disposal of asbestos at a number of locations in West Clare was unacceptable, it has been acknowledged by Clare County Council. Commenting on the independent report released this week, compiled by two former county managers in Cork and Tipperary following an investigation into the council’s disposal of waste asbestos cement pipes, chief executive, Tom Coughlan said, “The confirmation that the disposed material does not pose a public health risk is an important finding but does not negate the fact that the operational practices that led to the improper disposal of asbestos were unacceptable”. “These practices fell short of the standards, policies and procedures that were in place within Clare County Council at the time and which remain in place in order to comply with a changing regulatory environment and enhanced guidance documents,” he added. The council has yet to put a figure on what the asbestos disposal will cost. Earlier this year, Councillor PJ Kelly told a then …

CLARE County Council’s efforts to progress with learning how to treat and dispose of asbestos at various sites in West Clare have been hit by the receipt of only one tender, following a public procurement process. Based on information provided by consultancy firm RPS, in August the council sought tenders from companies who would help to establish the extent of the asbestos issue. Clare County Council confirmed on Wednesday that it has terminated the tender process without appointing a consultant. The council is now reviewing its options, in consultation with RPS. Last March, Clare County Council commissioned an external, independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the depositing of asbestos and cement materials at a number of sites throughout West Clare. At the time, the council said it informed the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) of its intention to remove the hazardous waste material from nine separate locations in the vicinity of Kilrush and Kilkee. A specialist asbestos consultant was engaged …