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10 Irish Examiner Monday 09.11.2009 LOCAL NEWS XX2 - V1 Sinn Féin councillor Toireasa Ferris and husband Patrick Kelly outside the church in Ardfert, Co Kerry, following their wedding. The daughter of TD Martin Ferris smiled as a gust of wind took hold of her veil. Picture: Domnick Walsh/Eye Focus Decision due on Blackrock development by Louise Roseingrave A PLANNING decision is due this week on a dramatic 50 million residential development that will transform a waterside city suburb if it gets the green light. Long-running plans to re- develop a 1.3 acre site on the banks of the River Lee at Blackrock village have at- tracted much interest, with a total of 22 submissions made during the current city council planning process. Permission for the devel- opment is being sought by Cork Boat Club in association with Grangefield Developments Ltd. The development has been significantly scaled back from the original pro- posal. First submitted in 2006, it was subsequently withdrawn. The current proposal pro- vides for a mixed-use development, ranging in height from two to four storeys over basement level, with a total of 28 residential units. The new mini neighbour- hood will be serviced by a centre, which includes a restaurant, three shop units, and a boardwalk area. In keeping with previous proposals for the site, the existing Cork Boat Club building and one existing house adjacent to it will be demolished. The plan proposes reclamation of up to half-an-acre of public foreshore, as well as private slips and pontoons. City Manager Joe Gavin has previously expressed his support for a plan that would include a boardwalk linking Blackrock Castle to the harbour at Blackrock, providing a walkway that would eventually span the river’s edge from the city centre out to Rochestown. The proposal is currently with city council planners and is due for a final deci- sion within days. Tourist town clamps down on ‘tacky’ advertising signs by Donal Hickey A CAMPAIGN has been launched in Killarney to remove ugly advertising signs not deemed to be in keeping with the area’s reputation as a top tourist destination. Town manager John Breen yesterday said about 70 businesses had been contacted about the signs and the response so far had been encouraging. “We’ve outlined our efforts to win the top prize in the Tidy Towns compe- tition and are urging people to work with us,” he said. “We appreciate the difficulties people are in due to the current eco- nomic situation, but we’re aiming to get tacky signage removed.” Mr Breen said some of the signs were “well short” of standards that should re- flect Killarney’s image as a high-quality destination. Killarney mayor Michael Gleeson, who raised the issue at this week’s town council meeting, called for bylaws to control the plac- ing of advertising posters and display materials in public places. “The existing free-for -all in a town committed to neatness and tidiness is very inappropriate,” he said. Mr Gleeson said people had put up advertisements in places he thought were almost impossible to reach and he maintained the un- controlled advertising was a form of littering. Fianna Fáil councillor Tom Doherty suggested that outdoor advertising and posters should be re- stricted to specified areas of the town. Independent councillor Niall O’Callaghan pleaded with council officials not to act in a heavy-handed manner with businesses that were struggling to survive. Killarney has come within a few marks of win- ning the top Tidy Towns prize in the past two years and some councillors warned that excessive ad- vertising could damage the town’s chances. Stylish Wayne is a cut above the rest by Eoin English A HAIR dresser who runs a salon in a picturesque village has won one of his industry’s top global awards. Wayne Partridge, 41, runs Wayne Lloyd Hair in Ballydehob in West Cork. And he has just won the Global Stylist of the Year 2009 in the short trend category from the OMC Prestige Club in Paris. The OMC (Organisa- tion Mondiale Coif- fure/World Hairdressing Organisation) is the world’s biggest beauty organisation. It describes itself as the body representing the elite of the industry, with over 60 member countries. Wayne Lloyd Hair in the first Irish winner of the Global Stylist of the Year award. The award was based on an stunning image of a hair style worn by model, Muireann Levis, shot by Dublin-based photographer, Brendan Duffy. Wayne designed and cut a striking Purdy-style bob for Muireann and the photograph was selected by the OMC Prestige Club from over 250 applicants from 40 countries. Originally from London, Wayne has been a hairdresser for 26 years. He has lived and worked in Ballydehob for the last two years. He is also a member of the Irish hairdressing team. Despite the recession, he said his salon is busier than ever. “We are so busy we are planning to move to a bigger premises in the new year,” he said. Wayne Partridge, below, who was named Global Stylist of the Year based on a stunning image of a hair style worn by model Muireann Levis, above, shot by Dublin-based photographer, Brendan Duffy. Wayne runs Wayne Lloyd Hair in Ballydehob in West Cork. FLYAWAY FERRIS Paramedic service to be deployed early next year by Sean O’Riordan THE advanced paramedic service is set to be deployed in North Cork early next year and then rolled out into Cork city and Kerry. HSE spokeswoman Nor- ma Deasy revealed the news as the first five advanced paramedics in the southern region were about to take up their posts in West Cork. These specialists could save countless lives in emergency situations, especially in iso- lated rural areas which are miles from major hospitals. Ms Deasy said advanced paramedics have a Graduate Diploma in Emergency Medical Science from UCD, which takes approximately two years to complete. These are the most expe- rienced ambulance men and women in the country. No- body is admitted to the course unless they have six or more years experience working in the ambulance service. The diploma they take is comprised of various aca- demic and practical mod- ules. These include major emergency management, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, health and safety and law, along with practical experience in healthcare facilities such as GP practices, operating the- atres and maternity units. The service to be provid- ed in North Cork will be identical to the West Cork model. The advanced paramedic team will offer 24-hour, 365-day cover in the region. Ms Deasy said at present she couldn’t provide an exact start-up date for the advanced paramedic service in Cork city and Kerry. The West Cork service will be officially launched tomorrow at Bantry General Hospital. Details of the service will be outlined by the HSE’s di- rector of reconfiguration Professor John Higgins, its regional director of opera- tions Pat Healy and assistant chief ambulance officer Michael Norris. The advanced paramedics will also take part in an emergency response exercise on the hospital grounds which will involve a simu- lated collision between a car and a cyclist. The paramedics will be equipped with a rapid re- sponse vehicle, which will be fully equipped with the necessary medical equip- ment to allow to deal with emergencies of all types — from heart attacks to strokes to road traffic accidents. They are specialists in pre-hospital emergency care who are trained to provide care in all types of medical emergencies. They possess a wide range of skills which include ad- vanced airway management, initiation of IV fluids (drips) and administration of medi- cations such as pain relief and anti-convulsing thera- pies. These paramedics can provide advanced life sup- port in resuscitation situa- tions and complement other care providers such as paramedics, doctors, nurses and first responders in the community. Special 30th birthday party planned for naval vessel by Sean O’Riordan SHE’S clocked up enough miles to travel twice to the moon and back, carried out 5,000 fishery boardings and collected 3.5 million in fines. To salute the ship’s achievements, a special 30th birthday party is planned for the LÉ Aoife later this month. During her career she has clocked up 525,000 nautical miles and has been involved in some notable operations. In 1985, LÉ Aoife was in- volved in the operation that found the flight recorder — the so-called “black box” — from the Air India disaster off the south-west coast. The aircraft was blown up by terrorists, with the loss of 329 lives. Seven years ago, LÉ Aoife was the search and rescue on-scene coordinator to provide assistance to the burning Canadian subma- rine, HMCS Chicoutimi, off the north-west coast, enduring some harsh seas over a prolonged spell. Built at the Verlome Ship- yard, Cobh, in 1979, she became the sixth ship of the Naval Service fleet, joining three ageing minesweepers from the UK Royal Navy and her sister ships, the LÉ Deirdre and LÉ Emer. Today she is part of a fleet of eight ships, as one of the more experienced vessels. In 1997, the vessel was adopted by Waterford City Council and the ship main- tains close links to the city, the port and its people. The children’s ward in Waterford Regional Hospi- tal is the ship’s designated charity and the ship’s com- pany makes regular contri- butions from funds raised through various events. On November 27, she will celebrate her 30th year in commission, during which time she has detained 225 vessels, mainly for fish- ery offences. Navy spokesman Lieu- tenant Commander Terry Ward said a birthday party to mark the occasion was planned. “A number of special guests will attend, including members of her original crew commanded by Com- mander Eoin McNamara,” Lt Cdr Ward said. Her current captain, Lt Cdr Brian Dempsey, said commanding a naval ship was the highlight of all naval officers’ careers and that he was very proud to command LÉ Aoife. “This anniversary allows me to acknowledge the sig- nificant contribution she has made to the protection of Ireland’s maritime domain,” Lt Cdr Dempsey said. The LÉ Aoife, which has detained 225 vessels, mainly for fishery offences, over her almost 30 years in commission. Anne Finch, Castletownbere, leaves the newly-installed Dursey Island cable car. Picture: Dan MacCarthy Swinging in to Dursey with holy water and sheep droppings With a little help from Psalm 91, Dan MacCarthy braves a force-six gale to travel in Ireland’s only cable car after its 35,000 upgrade IT’S blowing a force-six gale. The newly-installed cable car to Dursey Island in the extreme south-west of Co Cork rocks back and forth on its hawser. A drop of 100 metres to the sea below is visible through the cracks in the floor. Surely no sane person would entrust their lives to the safety of this small tin box? The car swings in the howling wind. Cable car operator Paddy Sheehan is undaunted. He will only stop running the cable car if it hits force eight. Onward the brave. The self-locking door clicks shut. Sturdy benches line each side of the air- borne car. Rain lashes off the windows. In the corner, a font of Lourdes holy wa- ter hangs from a string and a photocopy of Psalm 91 is sellotaped to the wall to re- assure the terror-stricken: “God will put his angels in charge of you, to protect you wherever you go.” Suitably emboldened, I take my seat and the car wobbles across the strait, moving through two pylon -like towers. This is Ire- land’s only cable car and for novelty value alone, is well worth the trip. Fifteen minutes later it comes neatly to halt. The island has been with- out a cable car for several months, The islanders, all five of them, have had to make do with boats to make the 500-metre cross- ing. Not as easy as it sounds, for the seas that crash through the sound have been known to sink many a boat. After negotiations with a company in England were complete, the new cable car link was installed in Octo- ber. It came as a relief to Anne Finch of Castletown- bere, who owns a holiday house on the island. She bears witness to the danger- ous seas, having recently suffered an injury herself when climbing off a boat. A bracing walk to the far side of the island and there it is, a force eight. Huge waves crash off the cliffs and off the nearby Bull Island lighthouse, protector to the smaller Cow and Calf is- lands. The return walk leads past an early 19th century signal tower and the ruins of three hamlets, once home to around 300 peo- ple. Five permanent homes and a few holiday homes are scattered among them. Back to the cable car for the return trip. The wind is a mere force six. Reassured by the drop in the Beaufort scale, I board for the return jour- ney. A certain group of fleecy white animals have preced- ed me, for the floor is now covered in droppings. Without any signal, the car suddenly moves forward and lurches back to the mainland. Just two passen- gers on the return journey and no one waiting to go back. Still, the cable car is a vital link to what would otherwise be an isolated community. For the farmers and fishermen, bird-watch- ers, hill-walkers and day- trippers, the island is once again connected. Just re- member to recite Psalm 91 as you cross. ■ The Dursey cable car runs from 9am to 11am, 2.30pm to 4pm and 7pm to 8pm, Monday to Saturday.
