PROTEST THIS EVENING AT CHRISTY O' SULLIVAN'S OFFICE

For further information/comment, please contact: Paul Hayes 086-8589019 (SF candidate for Cork South West, or Cllr. Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin, 086-2202029)

UNEMPLOYMENT PROTEST THIS EVENING

AT CHRISTY O' SULLIVAN'S OFFICE

West Cork Sinn Féin has organised a protest outside the constituency office of Cork South West Fianna Fáil Deputy Christy O' Sullivan at McCurtain Hill this evening Friday 6th August, at 6.30pm, to give people an opportunity to come together irrespective of political affiliations to show their disgust at the latest record unemployment figures. The event is part of a national day of action against unemployment being organised by Sinn Fein throughout the state.

Yesterdays CSO statistics showed that 13.7% of the working population is now out of work, a rise of 34,400 in the last year.

Clonakilty SF Councillor Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin stated that these shameful figures are disgraceful. "And we are not sure how many young people have emigrated since the recession started, and this is probably another conveniently forgotten statistic for the Fianna Fáil led government of which Christy O' Sullivan is a member. I am personally aware of many people in their 20's who have been made redundant and many others who have opted to abandon this country in search of work elsewhere because of the governments failure to address the crisis. Peoples dignity and morale is at an all time low, as they wait for up to four months for miserly social welfare payments.

Sinn Féin will be focusing our attention on where it should be, at the doors of Fianna Fáil. In the last couple of months, Deputy O' Sullivan came to national importance in defence of a small minority of the population involved in hunting, and apparently threatened to consider his position if he didn't get his way on these issues.

Yet he has been silent on the last two budgets, and the bank bailouts, corrupt politicians and defends government ineptitude on all fronts.

And to add insult to injury, the T.D.'s won't be back at proper work for the people or the country until October! Imagine a manager of a company in serious difficulty taking four months holidays!

This evening, we invite everyone who is disgusted with the attitude of Fianna Fáil and these latest scandalous statistics, to join us irrespective of their political affiliations to let the people who govern us that their policies are just no good enough.

We will be handing in a letter of protest to the office at the end of the demonstration".

CRÍOCH

LATEST VANDALISM IN CLON - 3rd July 2010

Piece written for "Clonakilty Notes", Southern Star, dated 10th July 2010

CAR PARK VANDALS

Vandalism in Clonakilty town took on a new low last weekend, when a car parked at Deasy’s Car Park, was overturned by a number of men from up the country. It appears the thugs arrived into the car park sometime after 2.30am on Sunday morning 4th July, and randomly choose the 1988 registered white Ford Fiesta, parked there by its owner who was attending a wedding, and proceeded to lift it and turned it on its roof. At the time, a number of locals were in the car park at the time, and apprehended one of the culprits and called the Gardaí. The Gardaí arrived and arrested a number of people in relation to the attack on the car. Any information about the incident can be given to the Garda Station on 023-8821570.

Last weekends incident is the latest and most serious to date at Deasy’s Car Park, which is a haven for reckless driving, noise, illegal drinking, littering and related activities by a small minority of people who show no respect for the facility as evidenced by the skid marks on the tarmac, and the broken drink bottles, glasses and cans that are strewn around the place after each invasion by these anti-social elements.

As well as this, the increasing regularity of these gatherings over recent weeks has been causing great concern, discomfort and even fear for nearby residents, who are kept awake into the early hours by loud exhausts, blaring car radios and screaming human beings. Some of these residents are elderly and not in the best of health, while others have young children.

That a gurrier element like this can assemble, cause havoc for hours on end until nearly dawn week in week out, and that nothing appears to be done to clamp down on this activity in a tourist town that prides itself on Tidy Towns awards, high standards of living, and community spirit is leaving many people wondering why this loutish behaviour is tolerated?

Clon First Responders Launch

MARY HARNEY LAUNCHES CLON FIRST RESPONDERS GROUP

Minister for Health, Mary Harney, T.D. was joined by representatives of the HSE and several other first responders groups, as well as local politicians and supporters at the Quality Hotel last Friday when she official launched the Clonakilty Community First Responders Group. 12 local fully-trained voluntary first responders were presented with their certificates by the Minister, in what was a proud day for Clonakilty and the hard working committee who have been organising, meeting and training, ably led by Pat Evans for the last year and a half. A further 10 more volunteers are ready to commence training in September, and the group hopes that by year end, there will be 30 qualified and “on duty”. Three community Defibrillator Machines have been placed at The Imperial Hotel, O’ Donovan’s Hotel and Maxol Filling Station over the last week to coincide with the launch. Now in Clonakilty, the HSE-trained First Responders will be able to attend at Cardiac, Choking, Collapsing and other related emergencies in the town with Defibrillators and Oxygen. If someone feel they or someone in their company are getting chest pains, have gone unconscious, collapsed or are choking or having breathing difficulties, they should ring 999 or 112 as for all emergencies. While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, a First Responder, if available, will be directed to the patient by the Ambulance service, who will deliver immediate care which may prevent deterioration of the victim. They will also carry and administer oxygen to the patient while they await the arrival of the Doctor and Ambulance. As soon as they arrive at the scene the First Responder stands back. All the First Responders are fully trained by HSE experts, having undergone intensive theory and practical courses over the last year. They have made a commitment to serve the local community in their own time, totally voluntary and unpaid, and will work in pairs. A rota has been set up whereby at two are on call at any time right around the clock, seven days a week. At last weeks launch, people saw a simulated situation where the First Responders and the Ambulance Crew went into operation when a man got a “heart attack while watching television at home”. The audience, in the presence of Minister Harney, watched intensely as the system kicked in. The first 15 minutes can be critical for a patient with such a condition, and in Clonakilty, a First Responder can be on the scene within 3 - 4 minutes. (The First Responders operate in a 6 kilometre radius of the town centre). Often unfortunately, the ambulance might be up to 45 minutes away, so the care that the First Responder service administers can mean the difference between life and death. Indeed, a number of people from other parts of Ireland spoke about how First Responders saved their lives, when they had cardiac arrests. Mari Hanly, another member of the Clonakilty Committee that has ensured Clonakilty has a First Responder Group, emphasised that the become involved, doesn’t mean that you have to have any previous medical training whatsoever. Over the course of approximately 20 hours, over a few days, volunteers are trained by highly professional HSE tutors. By the end of the training, they are competent in CPR, using a Defibrillator and administering Oxygen and Aspirin to an at risk patient. For every minute a victim of cardiac arrest does not receive CPR or a shock from a defibrillator, their chances of survival drops 10% for each minute that goes by, so, every moment is crucial. While people with first aid courses, etc. are welcome to be involved, it’s not necessary, she emphasised. The group stresses that at present there are three defibrillators located in Clonakilty town, which is what he group can afford at present. If funds allow in the future, more will be purchased and placed at other strategic locations around the town, and would be delighted if local fundraising groups considered them for donations. At the launch, the patrons of Bernie’s Bar and the Lions Club were acknowledged for their generosity to the group to date. (Indeed, the whole idea of setting up a Community First Responders group, stemmed from the tragic and untimely death of the late Tim O’ Brien a few years ago. Tim was a popular bowler and patron of Bernie’s Bar and died suddenly from cardiac arrest. His friends were instrumental in the setting up of the group). They also encourage other people in the community to consider joining and training as First Responders, as they say that the more people trained up, the lesser the commitment will be on each in terms of being “on call”. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Mari Hanly on 087-7746404 or email clonfr@gmail.com.

MAY SUSTAINABLE CLON MEETING

MAY SUSTAINABLE CLON MEETING

Around 30 people attended the May open public meeting of Sustainable Clonakilty at O’ Donovan’s Hotel, which had three different topics with related local experts as the programme for the night.

First up were the three Transition Year girls from Sacred Heart Secondary School who have come to national attention for their Sea Lettuce Briquettes project. Muireasa Carroll, Denise Hurley and Mairéad Kingston got third prize at this years BT Young Scientist in the Biological and Ecological section. Over the course of last autumn, they collected fresh sea lettuce that was coming ashore in abundance at local beaches. They explained how they washed it out, compacted it into briquettes with the hand-operated appliances readily available in hardware stores for making newspaper briquettes, and allowed the briquettes to dry out for a week in an airy greenhouse. They then carried out numerous experiments, and found that the “Algabrix” they created burn twice as long as the standard peat equivalent and gives out three times as much heat. They have patented their product. They explained that by collecting the sea lettuce while fresh, there are no gases and it’s carbon neutral, as being a living plant it takes in CO2 from the atmosphere. Therefore it has no negative impact on the environment. The three girls are heading for Shenzin in China in July to showcase the Algabrix at the International Youth Science and Technological Expo there. Muireasa, Denise and Mairead will be heading into 5^th year after the summer holidays, received a generous applause for their presentation.

Next up was Paddy Rose, MD of local company Progressive Solar Heating Ltd. With the aid of slides Paddy explained the different models of solar panels, and the basic principals of how they work to provide heat and hot water for households. He advised people thinking about installing a system, to get the best possible advice and company, saying there are some operators who really don’t do the best job. One basic principal, while it may sound obvious, is that solar panels to work effectively, must face the sun. He revealed how he had been called to look at some systems installed by companies who had placed the panels at the back of the houses. While they were out of sight aesthetically for the eye, they were in effect useless for the job they were designed as they received little sun to create the energy. Paddy also predicted that in time to come, electricity will be generated also from solar panels on domestic dwellings.

Last but not least, Consultant Robbie Lambert who is an expert on many sustainable issues spoke about the different type of lighting. He introduced his talk by saying lighting is now just about giving light for the situation, different colour light is used in different situations and it affects the human mood. He outlined various types of bulbs and lighting systems from the standard family home, to street lighting to flood lighting used on sports grounds. He advised that having sensors for outdoor security lighting was the most energy efficient and also effective. He also pointed out the down sides of some new products, where people are changing over from the standard type. Very often, it requires the changing of the whole fitting, which can be expensive and in some cases, messy in a finished house.. But he said in an average home they would pay back for themselves in about two years. He also said he was doing a lot of business with China in developing new lines, and was also working with a number of local authorities in relation to future public lighting, and how new systems are more energy efficient and cost effective. All in all the audience got a good variety of things to think about as they went home and showed their appreciation and interest with many questions coming from the floor during the course of the evening.

GOOD LUCK ANJA

CLON WOMAN ON ST. JAMES WALK TO SANTIAGO

Clonakilty woman, Anja Bakker is started the St. James Walk last Thursday 27th May from St. James Well, Ardfield, just outside Clonakilty, and will finish at Santiago, Spain later in the summer. Anja has decided to engage on the walk, carrying a harp which she will play along the 4,000 km route, to raise funds for the “One in Four” organisation and Cork Sexual Violence Centre.

She says she was horrified like most right-minded people by the Murphy Report and Ryan Report into the abuse of children by those who were supposed to be caring for them.

She stated, “I believe, in fact, that we believe ‘abuse’ in not acceptable anymore in this society. And because I feel the point cannot be made strongly enough I am committing my summer to standing in solidarity with all whom have been and are still being abused. I am carrying a 26-string harp from St James’ Well in Ardfield, Clonakilty, West-Cork to Dublin and after that to Santiago de-Compostella in Northern Spain”.

She is currently on route to Dublin, and from there will walk down the coast to Rosslare, from where she will catch the ferry to Roscoff. She will follow the French coastline down to the mouth of the Gironde just above Bordeaux where on the Point Grave she will join the Voie Littorale one of the four medieval Camino routes over Bayonne where the way will come together on the Voie Francese a little before Burgos to finally finishing in Santiago de Compostella.

The Camino to Santiago or the ‘St James’ Way’ is traditionally one of personal growth and healing. People can follow her progress and make donations by logging onto her website: http://web.me.com/kees.vroege/From_here_to_Santiago/Welcome.html

Fair play to her. God bless her strength.

INTERESTING TALKS FOR HOUSEHOLDERS THIS THURSDAY NIGHT

TALKS ON LIGHT, HEAT AND SEA LETTUCE!

This Thursday 20th May Sustainable Clonakilty will hold it’s monthly open public information meeting, starting at 8pm at O' Donovan's Hotel. This should prove to be a very interesting meeting for householders, as the group has invited three local speakers, to talk about a different aspect of sustainability.

Consultant Robbie Lambert will be speaking on the best lighting for home and industrial use that is environmentally-friendly, but also economic for the person paying the bills! Paddy Rose of local company, “Progressive Solar” will give a talk on heating with the help of the sun, and thirdly, students from Sacred Heart Secondary School will give a presentation on the sea lettuce briquettes they have produced which has won them national recognition.

As usual, the monthly meetings of Sustainable Clonakilty are open to all who are interested to attend.

In the meantime, the group is appealing to people to please complete and return (via email) the survey about your energy usage in the home. Recently, everyone on their e-mail database was asked to fill up the form and email it back. The information from this survey will be important going forward as the group lays plans for the Clonakilty district to become energy-neutral by 2020.

WEST CORK SF CANDIDATE TO BE AGREED ON FRIDAY

SINN FÉIN GENERAL ELECTION CANDIDATE TO BE AGREED ON FRIDAY

Clonakilty Sinn Féin enthusiastically welcomed the results of last weeks General Election results in the Six Counties which saw all of the party’s five M.P.’s retain their seats. The big focus was on Fermanagh-South Tyrone, where the Minister for Agriculture, Michelle Gildernew was defending the seat in that constituency, against an SDLP and a united Unionist candidate.

In the end, she kept the seat by the narrowest of margins after three counts. A number of West Cork Sinn Féin members, including one member from the Clonakilty Cumann, were on the hustings in the last week in Fermanagh-South Tyrone to help boost the campaign there. The seat was taken from Unionist control 29 years ago by Bobby Sands, while he was on Hunger Strike in Long Kesh. Ken McGuiness held it for around 18 years after, and Sinn Féin since 2001.

Looking to the next General Election here in the southern state, all SF members and supporters in the West Cork area are invited to attend an important party meeting in the Parkway Hotel this Friday evening 14^th, where the candidate will be selected. While no one knows when the general election may be, given the instability of the government and the economic crisis that has enveloped the country, it’s possible the government could fall at any time. Sinn Féin in Cork South West aims to be ready for this fight whenever it comes along, and agreeing and endorsing a candidate on Friday is the first step in the process. All Sinn Féin members and supporters in the area are encouraged to attend.

Anyone in the general Clonakilty area interested in going who wants to share transport should contact Cumann Cathaoirleach, Séamus deBúrca on 086-4009649.