*Cllr Mary Howard (FG). Photograph: Eamon Ward
WOMEN in Ennis have appealed to elected representatives to strengthen their efforts to make the county town safer.
In proposing an audit of the public spaces of Ennis, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) said the murder of Ashling Murphy started new conversations across the country including Co Clare. “They’ve asked me how we could make the town safer,” she outlined of discussions with female constituents following the death of the Offaly primary school teacher.
Lees Rd and Tim Smythe Park were the places to start with the audit, Cllr Howard stated. She believed the audit needed to focus on lighting levels, footpath conditions and hedgerow maintenance.
Senior executive engineer, Siobhan McNulty detailed that the Active Ennis team and gardening section colleagues “inspect facilities regularly to ensure they are maintained at optimum standard”. They were also reviewed on foot of the motion.
At Tim Smythe Park, upgrades of the pathways has been completed with a section of pathway near the grotto and de Valera statue in need of improvements once funding is secured. The perimeter lighting is “sufficient” with future upgrades to focus on internal locations within the park. For both hedegrows and street furniture, she said it would be “desirable” to upgrade the planting scheme and replace existing iron benches and picnic tables.
Works were completed last week at Lees Rd in areas of the woodland were pooling water was an issue. Other areas will be assessed on a phased basis “but the worst affected areas have been addressed”, McNulty confirmed. “We have costed the installation of a path from the cycle way to the entrance of the woods and will look to deliver this within our current maintenance budget”. Lighting was described as “sufficient for the usage”, costings of an upgrade of the floodlights to LEDs is to be completed. The vegetation along the pathways in the woodland was cut back during the growing season while six new bench seats were installed.
Speaking at the March meeting of the Ennis MD, Cllr Howard commented, “if we haven’t learned from what happened in January, we will never learn”. She continued, “I regularly meet mothers with buggies in Lees Rd and they just want to feel safe, older citizens are the same and they very much appreciate the benches”.
“I will never forget the shocking death of Ashling Murphy, I will never forget it, my mother was being buried at the same time as Ashling was murdered,” Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) stated. “I’m not sure if lighting would have helped Ashling because it happened during daylight but lighting does help,” she added.
Discussions to improve lighting have been held by the Active Ennis group, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) confirmed. He flagged that lighting on the Steele’s Terrace side of Tim Smythe Park was worth improving. Cllr Pat Daly (FF) agreed, “the pathway near the Eamon de Valera statue needs to be improved, that is important particularly with the chief looking down”.
“I never thought we would end up talking about Eamon de Valera on this motion but sín a bhfuil,” Howard responded. “Personal safety has become a big issue, it is incumbent on us all to do the best we can to find these weak sports and do the best we can,” the former Mayor of Clare concluded.
