Month: July 2007

THE allocation of almost €2 mil- lion for a voluntary housing project in Shannon should further reduce housing waiting lists in the town, according to the mayor.

Last week, funding of €1.85 mil- lion was allocated by the Govern- ment for a ten-unit voluntary hous- ing project at Tullyvarraga Hill.

It comes in the wake of Clare County Council announcing details of a new 60-house development at Cluain Airne last month.

That project will consist of 45 three-bed houses and 15 two-bed dwellings. This project is subject to local approval.

With 165 people waiting for social

housing in Shannon, the council be- lieves the project is critically impor- tant. However, local residents have reservations that the number of 60 is too high, in the area.

The Tullyvarraga scheme is under the auspices of Respond, an organi- sation which rents out the accom- modation to those who are waiting to buy houses.

The project is geared towards those who are attempting to purchase pri- vate houses or who have a desire to buy under the affordable scheme.

The mayor of Shannon, Council- lor Sean McLoughlin (FG) believes there is a need to address the hous- ing waiting lists in Shannon. How- ever he stressed the importance of ensuring green areas are maintained

throughout the town.

‘There is a huge need for housing in Shannon. The existing Respond scheme, at Rineanna View, has been a huge success and there are good community facilities there too. The people there are very happy,” said Cllr McLoughlin.

‘“Hopetully the development at Tul- lyvarraga will start shortly and fin- ished within 12 months,” he added.

Along with these projects, a six- unit scheme, for the aged and elderly, is to come on stream in Ballycasey, while a major private housing devel- opment in the Cronan area – of more than 500 units – will also address the need of potential house buyers.

The mayor believes every effort must be made to tackle the waiting

lists.

“It will just take some time. If the development in Cluain Airne goes ahead, it will take people off the list, within the next year or two,” he Sr HTOR

‘There is a huge amount of people who couldn’t get a house in Shannon, because there were none available. They will be able to move back into the town now, with the new develop- ments coming on street,” he said.

‘There is still a need to keep green space in Shannon. We don’t want overcrowding and we should try to balance everything. I would also like to see amenities going into these developments as well,’ added the mayor.

HUNDREDS of people are expected to converge on Sixmilebridge this weekend for the fifth annual Sum- mer Festival.

Among the highlights of this year’s festival will be performances by Prison Love and Robert Mizzell, who will play on Friday and Satur- day nights respectively.

The activity will kick-off with a balloon race on Friday night. Five hundred balloons will be let go, from near the marquee, which will be erected on the old soccer pitch on

the Shannon Road.

The balloons will travel for miles and some may even fly overseas. Name tags will be attached to each balloon and the owner of the balloon that travels the furthest will get a prize of a Smyth’s toy voucher. Last year, the furthest balloon travelled to Scotland.

Organiser Vicky Ward said the fes- tival will present a variety of events for everybody.

“Sunday will be the family day, with bouncy castles, magicians and face painting, while Saturday will be a mixed bag, with go-kart racing

– with home-made go-karts – and a car boot sale,’ she said.

The go-karts participating in the race must be home-made and will feature a variety of components, in- cluding old wheels, pellets and old pram parts, all in the name of fun!

“It will be fun, seeing 50 children between the ages of eight and 16 fly- ing down the road in carts,” said Ms Ward.

Saturday night’s events will also in- clude a barbecue, while another bar- becue will take place on Sunday.

The Kilfenora Ceili Band will bring the festival to a close, with a

performance at the marquee on Sun- day night.

“Everybody is talking about the festival. We have been going door to door selling the balloons and have got great feedback,” added Ms Ward.

“People will travel here from all over the country,” she said.

The organising committee is in- debted to the local business commu- nity, which will help to finance the event again this year.

Tickets for the concerts are avail- able in advance from The Bridge Complex, phone 061-713666.

THE village of Sixmilebridge liter- ally bent over backwards last week in welcoming a team of Danish gym- nasts for the Irish leg of the recipro- cal exchange with the local commu- nity.

The team, which specialises in rhythmic gymnastics, put on several acrobatic displays and a workshop as well as visiting many of Clare’s most famous attractions.

Joergen Madsen, one of the team leaders with the party of 60 from Haderslav, said that the trip was “a great experience and fun” as always.

“Our group wanted to make spe-

cial contact with another group and Kevin and Dolores O’Loughlin re- sponded over 20 years ago. People have been coming from Denmark since then and we have seen a lot of Ireland. Our two countries like sing- ing and music and performance and everyone loves the visits.”

He added that the young people got the genuine Irish experience staying with host families in Sixmilebri- dge and Kilmurry and had enjoyed events such as a special camogie match, social evenings and tours of the Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty and Ailwee Caves.

Even the cold and showery condi- tions had not put a dampener on the

nat oy

‘The weather has not been the best but we had some very good days. They still liked it very much and we will look forward to the Irish visit next year or the year after. We have a big festival every four years and our Irish visitors like this very much,” he Sr nLG

Over 45 members of the Sixmileb- ridge variety group spent nine days in Denmark last year.

The exchange has been going on since 1988 and according to Mr O’Loughlin, a formal twinning ar- rangement could be on the cards for the 21st anniversary next year.

‘Hundreds from the village have

participated over the years and they all learned about new customs and had the challenge of adapting. Peo- ple from the first visit are still friends today. It’s a big voluntary effort lo- cally and Dolores and the committee do a lot of work to organise it.”

He paid tribute to all involved and thanked everyone for helping with the huge fundraising effort to cover 40. ene

FROM humble beginnings in 1951 in Killaloe, the South East Clare Show has grown to be 1n the elite company of the top ten shows in the country.

And while the show didn’t go ahead in Killaloe after 1957, it has run for 17 years now at it’s revival location in Bridgetown.

Details of this year’s show, which will be held on July 22, were re- vealed at the launch last Friday night and it promises to be a great family and community day out.

There will be 24 classes in the horse show event, which is being or- ganised by Caitriona Bourke. This includes five all Ireland qualifiers and the Limerick lady champion 2007 qualifier.

The 27 classes in the cattle sec- tion are in the hands of Conor Hayes while Michael Hayes is looking af- ter the very popular dog show event. This will have 13 classes including the Gain dog food all Ireland cham- pionship qualifier.

A new addition to this year’s show will be the vintage classic cars, ably

steered by Joe English. Mary Spei- ght, Bernie English and Kate McAu- ley are looking after the home indus- tries section.

There will be nine classes for youngsters as well as lots of fun at the Little Miss and Bonny Baby com- petitions as well as a fancy dress.

And there will be music and carni- val fun for everyone to enjoy on the CEMA

And if any excuse was needed to put on the good frock for the day, there will be a prize for the best dressed lady.

Launching the show, chairman Pat Hayes said that the committee “would like to thank the landowners. Without their help, the show couldn’t go on. We would also like to thank all our sponsors, particularly our main sponsor, Tom Marsh.”

THE Tuamgraney Development As- sociation has condemned the lack of progress by Clare County Council in addressing serious problems with water, pathways, road surfaces and safety in the town.

Association PRO, Margaret O’Meara, said that although resi- dents have raised over €91,000 to- wards local improvements the au- thorities have not been as generous in addressing long-term issues.

Council representatives were invit- ed to a public meeting last Tuesday but were unable to attend. Instead, Senior Executive Engineer Sean Lenihan, outlined upcoming work in

“NO molset-n ee

The email advised that a collapsed pipe causing “flooding opposite Has- setts” had been indentified for repair, further footpath repairs are depend- ent on funding and resurfacing and signage improvement will soon SEC a

It added that tenders for a water/ sewerage scheme will be decided later this summer but as it will cover several areas it 1s up to contractors where and when it will start.

He offered to arrange a meeting ata later date and Ms O’Meara acknowIl- edged this but added that phrases such as “in the coming weeks” were too vague.

“The road surface is appalling and

at the meeting we had a slideshow of 64 photographs showing potholes and dangerous footpaths. There is inadequate signage for our one-way system among other things. An au- dit by the national school showed that over 100 heavy goods vehicles pass by it a day and there is no pe- destrian crossing and no proper sig- nage. We’re afraid some child will be killed.”

Businesses have also complained about water pressure, sewerage and minor issues like the irregularity of road sweeping.

She added that there have been “mixed messages” about work and problems have arisen such as a traf- fic island having to be continually

moved- issues that could be avoided if plans were made “in consultation, not in isolation”.

TDA Chairman, Damien Heaney and other voluntary groups are call- ing for less “reassurance” and more action.

“The council have said that coun- cillors will collaborate with us and they are. Some work has also been done but there 1s still no proper time- frame or budget. We feel that there should be a concrete plan. It’s very frustrating because we have devel- oped the memorial park, done land- scaping and put up fences and signs. Everyone is trying to do the best for the village that they love,’ said Ms O’Meara.

A TEAM challenge tackled by a Corbally family showed that there ain’t no mountain high enough to stop Clare people.

The four-strong team trekked 75km across the Kerry Mountains, with an enthusiasm that won them Best Team Spirit in the Challenges 4 Charity (C4C) Kerry Challenge 2007.

Trish McElligott, Fanchea Molo-

ney, Michelle Moloney and Pa Molo- ney are local heroes this week after their terrific feat. But the four have more than just teamwork to be proud Oe

They also raised money and aware- ness for this annual event that fund- raises on behalf of DEBRA Ireland and Fighting Blindness.

The trek, which wove through the Kerry Way, Beara and Dingle Pe- ninsulas, tested even the fittest of

the 42 teams taking part. “But each kilometre was met by spirit and en- thusiasm, making for an unbeatable atmosphere,” a spokesman for the event said.

The measure of events success 1s in the €68,000 raised by participants. This money will go to the medical research teams and support groups funded by both charities, and will have a significant impact on their work.

Next up is the sister to the Kerry Challenge, the Wicklow Challenge, taking place this coming September 14 to 16. This event dubbed “Trek with a Twist’ includes fun-based tasks in addition to an extensive three day trek through Glendalough, the Wicklow Way and Powerscourt.

To register or find out more about the event, phone O01 677 6856, go online to www.c4c.ie or e-mail info@c4c.ie.

RESTORING the bridge in Killaloe to it’s former glory will cost in the region of €100,000 Clare County Council officials have revealed.

A meeting last week of council offi- cials and elected members from both the Killaloe and Ballina sides of the river was being updated on progress with plans to repair the structure.

Council engineer, Sean Lenihan, told the meeting that the project is now at the stage where the council 1s seeking quotes from conservation ar- chitects for the job.

He told the meeting that the work

will be “slow and expensive” but of necessity as the bridge is listed as a national monument.

“The scope of this has increased considerably on what was first envis- aged,” he said. “Initially, we thought it was just a matter of cleaning off vegetation but there are some spots where the vegetation has become al- most part of the structure and it’s not just a matter of pulling it out. There’s a lot of restorative work and repoint- ing needed.”

The council’s conservation offic- ers became involved in assessing the project and they advised senior staff that conservation architects would be

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The question of where the money will come from for the work is still being discussed.

‘‘T have contacted the Heritage Coun- cil and they have a special fund which I hope might be available to us and we have inspectors from the department coming down on August 6. We’ll be making representations to him to see if we can get any department funding. After that, it will be between the two councils to pay for it,” said Sean.

Meanwhile, the meeting was told that the brief has now been finalised for the new river crossing at Killaloe.

Senior Officer, John Sheehy said

that the finished brief is about to be issued to those consultants who ex- pressed an interest.

“The consultants then have six to eight weeks to come back to us and we would expect appointments to be made after that,” he said.

The Clare council officer added that the new crossing “is a big project and it will take time. There will be issues on the links to the existing roads and after the consultants have been ap- pointed, there will be at least a year’s work for them to do. Anyone who is expecting a bridge to be there within a year has to realise that won’t hap- pen.”

LISDOONVARNA will play host to an Irish debut this September as Ireland first ever outdoor painting competition takes place in the Bur- ren Painting Centre.

Outdoor painting competition or ‘paint-outs’ have became popular in America in recent years but this is the first one which has ever been organised on this side of the Atlantic. The competition sees a large group of artists gather together on one day to paint and offer different artistic takes on the same moment in time.

“It’s an opportunity for good ama- teur artist to come together and paint for one day. Each person who comes to the day will have their canvass or paper stamped in the morning and they will sent out to three location

around Lisdoonvarna,” said Chris O’Neill of the Burren Painting Cen- nko

“They can choose any landscape the can find in those three locations. They can paint all day, submit their work and the judging will be carried out the next morning.”

The judging panel includes Irish painter Rosemary Carr and water colour expert Charles Harper. Paint- ers will be allowed to enter two painting in either oil and acrylic, pure water colour or mixed media, pastel and gouache.

“It’s for good amateurs. This means if you are a profession and you earn your livelihood through art then you are not eligible. We have decided to use the Government criteria of the artists tax exemption as a way of deciding who is amateur and who is

not. If they are earning their income through art and qualify for the tax exemption then they are not eligi- ble for this competition,’ continued Chris.

“We have had great support from the local community in putting the competition together. Michael Cun- ningham from Gort sponsored the main prize. Jordan’s Supermarket, Marian Petty Solicitors, the Road- side Tavern, Hayse Printers in En- nistymon and Burkes Builders have all offered great support. The whole local business community has been great as have the Lisdoonvarna Com- munity Council who have helped greatly with all the paperwork.”

The Burren Painting Centre was established in 1974 and has been at- tracting budding artist from Ireland, Europe and America to the Burren

for more than three decades. Courses run each year in Lisdoonvarna from May to August, with ‘away’ trip or- ganised all over the world in April and October.

The Outdoor Landscape Paint- ing Competition will take place on September |. For more information contact the Burren Painting Centre in Lisdoonvarna on 7074208.

ONE of Ireland’s most promis- ing young vocal talents, Peter O’Donoghue, will join north Clare’s famed Lismorahaun Singers in a one off concert in Kilkee later this month.

O’Donoghue, who won the Tenor Trophy at the Feis Ceoil in 2006, learned his trade with the Lismoura- haun from a young age and 1s cur- rently studying in Dublin and in- volved in a number of other musical projects.

The summer concert, which is be- ing sponsored by Kilkee Civic Trust, will take place on July 21 in the fit- ting surrounds of Kilkee Parish

Church.

It will feature a wide-ranging col- lection of musical styles and genres, including classical favourites, con- temporary music, music from the movies, spirituals, and choral ar- rangements of Irish song.

Along with this, Peter will join the Lismorahaun Singers in a number of Operatic arias and traditional Irish ey NUE Tence

Originally founded in Fanore in 1999, the Lismorahaun Singers rose to national prominence during their sold-out performances of Mozart’s Requiem in Ennistymon and Dub- lin’s RDS Concert Hall in 2005.

The story behind the choir and its inspirational leader, Archie Simp-

son, was also the subject of a popu- lar documentary, Sing and You Win, which has had several showings on RTE in recent years.

Indeed, the singers completed their first international performance at a venue near Venice in Italy earlier this year.

The Lismorahaun Singers have grown in size from an initial group of twenty, to a current membership of over seventy, ranging in age from 8 to 70. Coming from all walks of life, this broad based choir draws its members from throughout Clare and indeed from Galway, Limerick and Tipperary.

The choir has also been instrumen- tal in promoting young people’s in-

terest in the vocal arts and a number, such as Peter O’Donoghue, have gone to take on singing as a career. Through the choir, the Music Schol- arship Programme was set up to support students as they prepare for third level voice education.

THE beach in Fanore was trans- formed into a scene more normally associated with California, the Mediterranean of Rio de Janeiro this weekend as it Clare played host to a leg of the Irish Beach Volleyball Championships for the very first time.

While the weather didn’t exactly help to set the scene, there was plenty of action on the sand to help warm the hundreds of spectators and par- ticipants and get them into the tropi- cal mood.

While indoor volleyball is a long time favourite among the Irish sport- ing fraternity, the sandier variety of the sport is fast become one of Ire-

land’s quickest growing sports.

“It was founded in Ireland in 1968 so we have been going for a good while. Beach volleyball is a lot new- er and we have only been involved in beach volleyball for the past five years or so and we have been getting very seriously into it over the past year or so,” said Paul McKeever, D1- rector of Development and Coaching at Volley Ball Ireland.

“We have a circuit going this year and Saturday was the first time that this circuit has come to Clare. Be- sides the men’s and women’s main competition there was also a casual court set up for people who have nev- er played before to come along and try out the sport.”

Beach volleyball is one of the

worlds fastest growing sports and the numbers playing in Ireland have more than doubled over the last five years.

‘Professional volleyball is played with just two people – it’s just two verses two, men and women. It’s been an Olympic sport since the 1986 Atlanta Olympics and at the last Ol- ympics it had the highest spectators numbers from any sport,” he said.

“It 1s huge worldwide. In fact we have a major show piece event com- ing up in Bray, County Wicklow later this week, where we build an artifi- cial court, sort of a hundred foot side sand amphitheater.

“Some of the best players from America, Australia and the UK will be over to compete over a couple of

days. There are a couple of guys from Ennis who have qualified for main competition in Bray this week.”

Unlike most of world beach volley- ball, a large amount of the competi- tions which take place in Ireland are played in less than ideal weather.

“If it lashes rain we will still play. The only thing that prevents us from playing is if there is lightning or something dangerous like that.” con- tinued Paul.

“You have to get used to playing in bad conditions in Ireland so yes, we play through the rain.”