KENNEDY TRIBUTE LECTURES

By Stephen McKinley

Irish great and good descended on New Ross last week for the Jean Kennedy Smith inaugural lectures in St. Michael’s Theater.

Among the speakers were former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, writer Tim Pat Coogan, senator and lecturer Maurice Manning, and broadcaster and historian John Bowman.

The topics included "Jack and Jean — the Kennedys in Ireland," presented by Manning, and "The Kennedy Charisma on the Irish wWorldwide," delivered by Coogan.

Reynolds paid tribute to the peace process role of Jean Kennedy Smith when she was ambassador to Ireland — not least the battle over the granting of a U.S. visa for Sinn Fein’s president, Gerry Adams.

The lectures were part of a weekend festival of arts, music and entertainment in the town. Sharon Shannon and Aslan provided music, according to the Munster Express.

FAUNA FLOURISHES

Dramatic news from an overlooked part of Fermanagh — beneath the surface of Lough Erne.

A recent survey by scientists shows an explosion in the trout and perch population, and the increase has an unusual source — the invasion of the zebra mussel, a non-native mussel that arrived attached to the bottom of boats in 1986.

Since then it has thrived in the lake, multiplying at an alarming rate and colonizing almost every corner of the waterway. Huge areas of lake bed are now carpeted with the mollusk.

An additional effect has been a marked increase in the clarity of the waters. The zebra mussel has been devouring the plankton that previously gave lower and upper Lough Erne a murky, pea green appearance.

Despite the invasive aspect to the zebra mussel experience, most local anglers are welcoming the increase in fish for catching and the water clarity.

But unwelcome news arrived along with the report. More than 50 salmon were found dead on the banks of the River Erne near the Ballyshannon hydroelectric dam.

Fishermen told the Impartial Reporter newspaper that the dead fish had signs of infection and fungal disease.

"We maybe have 50 dead fish so far this year. That is out of 1,200 that have gone on upstream," said fisheries expert Denis Doherty.

Water samples have also been taken to try to ascertain if pollution is a factor. Fisherman Paddy Donagher first discovered the dead salmon. He blamed the fish pass at the hydroelectric dam for the deaths, because the fish are injured while trying to scoot upstream, and called for it to be redesigned.

"There is now an increased number of fish trying to get up the salmon run at the ESB Station and they just can’t," he claimed.

FEAR TO FRAUD

Now that foot-and-mouth disease is no longer stalking the land, the Northern Irish Ministry of Agriculture has started to investigate fraudulent compensation claims from farmers saying they had slaughtered hundreds of animals that never existed.

Northern Ireland had four confirmed cases of the disease in Counties Armagh, Antrim and Tyrone from March to April. Investigators have found that payments were made to cover 4,741 slaughtered sheep that didn’t exist.

Of the 199 farmers who filed for compensation, 106 had fewer sheep than they claimed they had, and 17 had no sheep at all.

Minister for Agriculture Brid Rodgers warned farmers that court summonses would be coming their way if they had tried to rip off the government.

Chairperson of the assembly’s Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development, DUP leader Ian Paisley, denounced the fraudulent claims.

"The statement which the minister has released, especially in regard to sheep, is very alarming indeed," he said.

"There has been a deliberate attempt by certain members of this farming community to carry out a colossal fraud in regard to subsidy claims."

The announcement of the fraud investigation came a day after farmers throughout the province were given the all-clear to restock their farms following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth in March.

CORK ROAD COMPLAINTS

A mid-Cork road has been slammed as the "worst stretch of road in Ireland," and gardaí have confirmed that 60 percent of accidents in the Macroom district have taken place on the same road.

The stretch is from the Halfway to Ballyvourney, and TD Michael Creed has complained that the national Roads Authority has refused to fix the road, saying instead that a new road will be built eventually, and therefore repairs would be a waste of money – "false economy," said Creed, speaking to the Southern Star newspaper.

While there have been no fatalities to date, gardaí say there have been near cases. The most serious of these was a mini-bus, which almost left the road. They also estimate that 20 percent of accidents that occur here are not reported. Foreigners and tourists provide the greatest cause for concern. Gardaí are concerned that it could be up to 11 years before the new road is completed.

Last week, five people were injured in a three-car crash at Coolavokig. The road was blocked for an hour and a half in both directions. Ambulances from Cork and Killarney were called to the scene along with the fire brigade.