Month: August 2007

IN a glum summer for estate agents across the county, Sherry FitzGerald McMahon Kilrush, has bucked the trend by achieving €1,000,000 for Chif Cottage, Kilkee, which was auctioned on August 16.

This success needs to be appreci- ated in the context that the property carried a guide price of €/00,000,

so exceed its value by €300,000.

The old-fashioned detached stone- built cottage enjoys a wonderful location, directly on the cliff top, accessed from George’s Head drive and within a stone’s throw of the cen- tre of Kilkee.

While the house is in need of con- siderable moderisation and _ refur- bishment — its selling point was un- doubtedly its enviable location.

O’DOLAN & Partners, Ennis have taken on what they describe as “a fan- tastic opportunity to acquire a thriv- ing business, in a prime location, in the heart of Ruan village”. The prop- erty 1s guiding at €900,000.

The property in question is “Dal- cassain Shopping Centre’, which comprises a bar, supermarket, filling station, post office and residential ac- commodation.

“This attractive and productive business is ideally located in the heart of the community, next door to all local amenities including the

church, school, and sports facilities,” said Diane Kelly of O’Dolan & Part- ners.

“Ruan village continues to show positive growth and this business handles a thriving daily trade. The traditional style pub is well estab- lished and draws a loyal local cli- entele and the whole complex com- mands a prominent trading position in the expanding village. This is a turn key business, well managed with potential for further develop- ment,” she said.

“Turnover figures as well as health and safety and fire certificates are all available upon written request.”

The accommodation comprises a public bar (6,130 sq ft), sub divided into three separate areas. There’s also a cold room, keg room and la- dies and gents toilets. The ground floor accommodation is completed with a kitchen. Upstairs there are four bedrooms at first floor level and two further converted attic rooms on the second floor. To the rear of the bar is a yard, which includes a smok- ing area.

The main supermarket also in- cludes a post office. The grocery business encompasses a cold meat Section, frozen food section and an off licence section, together with a

news agency.

Also included in the sale is a filling station to the side of the supermar- ket. There are two petrol pumps and a diesel pump with overhead canopy. The fuel yard to the rear of the fore- court has an enclosed high block wall and industrial gate for added se- curity. The business is an appointed agency for Calor Kogas, as well as being solid fuel merchants, and the vendors supply many farming goods to the surrounding farming commu- UIA

For full details on this property contact 065 6844395.

THE people of Clare have rallied be- hind the campaign to save Shannon Airport’s Heathrow slots with almost 12,000 people signing up to an on- line petition in just six days.

As of 6pm last night, Monday, Au- gust 20, 11,463 people had signed the petition to save the Heathrow slots on Www.petitiononline.com. This equates to one official signature eve-

ry 45 seconds since the petition was started last Tuesday, August 14.

The online petition, which is ad- dressed to the board of Aer Lingus, also allows signatories to post a comment on the site, with a number of people calling for a boycott of Aer Lingus should the slot be transferred to Belfast.

“The decision to pull out of Shan- non is an absolute disgrace. I have used the convenient Shannon to Hea-

throw route more times than I can remember and will not put myself to the bother of going to Dublin or Cork to fly to London, but will use another carrier instead. I will give serious consideration as to whether I will ever use Aer Lingus again for any travel if this proceeds,’ said one respondent.

Signatories have also been very critical of the role played by the Gov- ernment in the dispute.

“This is an absolute disgrace that our Government can say nothing, do nothing and allow the whole mid- west to collapse in one fell swoop,’ said another respondent.

‘The management in Aer Lingus are mono-visioned and bereft of sound ideas, similar to the management style of the HSE. I will not be flying Aer Lingus for some time to come, even if they overturn their decision.

“Amazingly, they didn’t cut flights out of Dublin or Cork but they knew that the Government would have act- ed sooner if that happened.”

The site also includes a number of testimonials from local business people who illustrated the damage that the loss of the slots will have on the local economy.

‘As a telecoms consultant based in Ennis, I use the Shannon-Heathrow route regularly to allow me to travel to international destinations. If this link is to go, I will never fly Aer Lin- gus again,’ said one respondent.

One signatory, who claimed to be a coach operator, commented that, “The decision will have very nega- tive effects on our business with overseas clients”.

To sign the petition to retain Shan- non’s Heathrow slots, log onto www. petitiononline.com/EISNNLHR/pe- tition. html

BUSINESS representatives meeting with Aer Lingus chief executive Der- mot Mannion last Friday remained bullish despite Mr Mannion’s insist- ence that the decision to transfer to Belfast would not be reversed.

Mr Mannion met with Government ministers, local TDs, councillors, members of the Shannon Airport Au- thority, representatives of IBEC and the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance. He was adamant that while he under- stood the concerns of people in the mid-west, Aer Lingus would be press-

ing ahead with the move to Belfast.

“We have gone into a tremendous amount of detail internally about how we Slice up the Heathrow slots. A considerable amount of time has been spent before we came to this difficult decision.”

Mr Mannion added, “The Govern- ment has said what the Government has said. It’s expressed its disappoint- ment to the decision.”

Solicitor and Atlantic Connectivity Alliance member, Michael Houlihan said the body presented a very strong case to Aer Lingus bosses.

He said, “They will have to reflect

on what they heard. They are under no illusions whatsoever that there will be challenges down the line, not only here but in the EU. The slots issue 1s something that will be seri- ously looked at by the EU, in relation to the manner in which they are dealt it. They are very seriously wrong and contrary to competition law.”

The Executive Chairman of Shan- non Airport, Pat Shanahan said he had a full and frank exchange of views with Mr Mannion.

‘We have been trying to engage Aer Lingus for some time on the econom- ics of their overall operations in Shan-

non. Assurances were, however, also given by Mr Mannion in relation to the continuation of Aer Lingus’ trans- atlantic services and we intend to find whatever means possible to make them profitable and sustainable in the Koyateai tou se eae

Following his own meeting with Dermot Mannion and John Sharman, the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance Chairman John Brassil said, ““The bat- tle to reverse the Aer Lingus decision to abandon their Shannon-Heathrow service is only beginning. We men- tioned to them that this commercial decision is fraught with mistakes.”

COMMERCIAL organic farmers will now be able to benefit from funding outside of the main REPS portfolio following the launch of a new scheme by former Green Party leader and Minister of State with responsibility for Food and Horticul- ture, Trevor Sargent, last week.

The new scheme will be co-funded by the EU and the Irish taxpayer and is part of Ireland’s Rural Develop- ment Programme 2007-2013.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Sargent, said that the objective of the

new scheme is to deliver enhanced environmental and animal welfare benefits and to encourage producers to respond to the market demand for organically produced food.

Organic farmers can participate in REPS as well this scheme, but for the first time they have a choice.

“I see this as an important change. Up to now, organic farmers had to be in REPS to get support payments. Some farmers might have consid- ered the organic option, but didn’t find that joining REPS as well would have suited their particular situa- tion,” he said.

‘These would include producers of foods for which consumer demand is greatly in excess of what the Irish organic sector can supply at present. These would be small-scale horti- cultural producers, for example, or large-scale conventional tillage pro- ducers who might be interested in converting part of their land to or- ganic cereal production to meet the big demand for organic feed.

“The majority of producers will continue to participate in both REPS and the Organic Farming Scheme and we will be encouraging them to do so in order that they avail of the

maximum level of payments.”

In line with the latest round of so- cial partnership, the payment rates will be increased by 17 per cent com- pared to the previous programme. This means that between REPS 4 and the new Organic Farming Scheme an organic farmer will now be able to qualify for up to €21,650 during the conversion period and €15,860 a year with full organic status.

An organic producer who chooses not to join REPS will still qualify for up to €11,660 during the conversion period and €5,830 a year once he or she has full organic status.

AS BRITISH authorities downgrad- ed the chance of any further spread of foot and mouth to ‘very low’ over the weekend, the Irish Farmers As- sociation (IFA) has attacked the Irish Army for it’s use of Brazilian beef. Many in the farming community believe that contaminated Brazilian beef was to blame for the foot and mouth outbreak in the UK and have called for an outright EU wide ban on imported beef from South America. The IFA’s National Livestock Chairman, John Bryan, described as ‘a disgrace’ that the Irish Army pro- vide imported Brazilian beef to Irish soldiers on duty. “Livestock farmers

will be appalled that this is happen- ing and that Brazilian beef is being brought in the back door by the State to feed our troops. It 1s incredible to think that a British trading company is allowed supply the Irish Army with Brazilian beef.”

“T have to seriously question the Army’s purchasing policies. From IFA’s investigations in Brazil, we know their production standards do not meet EU requirements.

‘“T am therefore calling on the Min- ister for Defence, Willie O’Dea, to order an immediate investigation of this embarrassing revelation. The Department of Defence must ur- gently review the specifications for Army food procurement contracts to

ensure proper standards and quality assurance, and that Irish suppliers are well placed to fill contracts with meat of Irish origin.”

The use of Brazilian beef by the Irish Army was discover by IFA Livestock Vice-Chairman, Michael Doran, who joined in calls for an in- vestigation. “As a livestock farmer, I was disgusted to find out that the State was involved in purchasing Brazilian beef,” he said.

Meanwhile, across the water tests on three location where foot and mouth had been suspected all re- turned negative last week.

Chessington World of Adventures and Zoo in Surrey, a farm in Romney Marsh, Kent, and a meat processing

plant in Merthry, south Wales, were given the all-clear by British Gov- ernment scientists on Thursday

Temporary control zones restrict- ing the movement of livestock in the areas have been lifted.

One Scottish man is claiming to have already lost thousands because his famous ‘dancing sheep’ have been unable to perform as a result of restricted movement.

Stuart Barnes was on tour in Scot- land wide with ‘the Sheep Show’ when the outbreak happened.

The show, described as ‘an educa- tional 30-minute show which fea- tures dancing sheep doing The Hus- tle’, has been grounded as a result of the foot and mouth outbreak.

A NEW exhibition of Irish paintings spanning almost a century of Irish art opens at the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon from September 4.

Curated by Fiona Woods of the Clare Arts Office, the selection of exhibited works will represent a broad survey of painting practice in Ireland.

Beginning chronologically with a work by Paul Henry, ‘Irish painting 1919 – 2007’ features works from the likes of Gerard Dillon, Jack B Yeats, Mainie Jellet, Mary Swanzy and No- rah McGuinness.

“Many of the featured works have been sourced from the Collection of the Arts Council of Ireland and Lim-

erick City Gallery of Art’s perma- nent collection,” said Fiona.

‘The work reaches right up to con- temporary times, incorporating a number of genres such as Landscape, Interior/Still-life, Portraiture, Ab- stract and Narrative approaches.”

To coincide with the exhibition, the arts office is also organising a Series of guided gallery tours, public talks and workshops for artists.

Catherine Marshall, Chief Cura- tor with The Irish Museum of Mod- ern Art, currently on secondment as Visual Arts Touring and Collections Advisor with the Arts Council, will provide the opening talk on irish painting.

On Saturday September 15, Ennis- born artist Mick O’Dea RHA will

give a talk about his work, followed by aclosed workshop for artists.

On September 22 Irish artist and member of Aosdana, Micky Donnel- ly, a leading contemporary will give a talk about his work, followed by a closed workshop for artists.

Donnelly has exhibited in many countries around the world, includ- ing solo exhibitions in Germany, Ita- ly, Scotland, England, and New Zea- land, and major group exhibitions in USA, Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, Greece, Norway, Australia, and Japan.

Every Wednesday, Marie Con- nole MFA, will give tours for school groups, complete with educational material at 1.30 pm. A guided tour for the public will be available at

3pm each Wednesday, or at another time by appointment.

The Fine Art Graduate of The Bur- ren College of Art received the Spire- sart Outstanding Student in Art, an accommodation and studio residency award in 2005 and tuition fees bur- sary in 2006/07 from The Clare Arts Office, and recently The Burren Col- lege of Arts Presidents Award.

The exhibition will formally be launched by Clare FM _ presenter, Marian Egan, at 7 pm on Tuesday September 4, and runs until Septem- ber 23.

NORTH Clare acting starlets Fionn Burke and Caolann O’Dwyer took centre stage last week as shooting be- gan on a new film based in Ennisty- mon, Lahinch and Liscannor.

The pair star in Seaside Stories, a new project by acclaimed local film- maker, Fergus Tigue.

Both Fionn and Caolann came to the attention of Fergus when they took part in a series of open work- shops hosted by the Ennistymon based writer/director earlier this year.

“This is my first time ever do- ing anything like this. I went to a workshop and Fergus picked me and Caolainn to be in the film. It’s good

fun, sometimes the days are pretty long and I get tired,” said nine-year- old Fionn from Ennistymon.

He added, “It might be the kind of thing that I would like to do when I get older. I have definitely got better at it since I have been practising.

“T play Locky in the film. Locky is different from how I would normally act, he supports a different team, he acts differently, he’s totally differ- ent. It is kind of hard to pretend to be someone so different from how I normally am.

It can be a bit embarrassing some- times, when we are asked to act something that we don’t want to do. Like when there are loads of people watching.”

Locky’s best friend in the film is

played by 11-year-old Lahinch ac- tor, Caolann O’Dwyer. “We play best friends in the film and we are friends in real life so that 1s easy,” said Caolann.. “One of my favour- ite bits is the chase scene. There is a bit where we steal a man’s hat and he chases us all around the place. It is definitely something I’d like to do when I get older. I like all of it.”

Written by Fergus, the story has evolved through these workshops as well as through improvised rehears- als held with the actors and could now develop into a three film series.

Seaside Stories is set in a coastal Irish town and tells the entwined sto- ries of a number of the local inhabit- an OLNE

Alongside Fionn and Caolann,

talented local youngsters Aileen Murphy and Maura Garrihy join local professionals Gerry Howard, Michael Canavan and Bernard Dowd alongside a number of Dublin based actors in the production.

Fergus is based at the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon where he shares studio space with a number of other artists.

One of these artists, Sara Faust, is producing Seaside Stories.

AS THE summer begins to slowly wind down, Coole Park will be a hive of activity over the next few weeks with a range of free events for all shapes and sizes.

Events kick off in ghoulish fashion tonight, when the Galway Bat Group will host a Bat Walk in the park, meeting up at 8pm weather permit- ting.

A range of events to mark National Heritage Week, starting this week- end, will follow tonight’s talk.

“We have about eight of the nine species of bats in Ireland living here in Coole. The Galway Bat Group

will be coming along on the night with bat detectors which can detect the different sounds that the bats make,” said Hilda Mac Lochlainn, Head Guide with Nation Parks and Wildlife Service at Coole Park. ‘They will tell us what the species are that we are listening to and see- ing and in what direction they can be found. It’s a really great event for children and all the family. They get to see the bats and they also get to hear the bats through the detector.” The centrepiece of this year’s Her- itage Week Programme at Coole will be a pair of multi-media exhibition. The first, a film of Lady Gregory and Coole Park and a multi-media exhi-

bition on Coole ‘through the eyes of Me and Nu’ — the granddaughters of Lady Gregory – will take place all day Sunday August 26 and Septem- ber 2. On Saturday September 1, an award winning short-film by the stu- dents of Tubber National School will also be shown.

“We try to have a mix of events for all age groups and tastes. We try to focus on the history of Coole as well as focusing on the natural beauty and uniqueness of the area,’ continued Hilda.

“It was a project where national schools are asked to make a short- film on their area and Tubber decided to look at school and education in the

past. Part of it was recorded in Tub- ber and some of it was also recorded here in Coole.

‘The entered the Clare competition which they won so we are delighted to have a special screening of the film on Saturday, September 1. We are hoping to have some of the peo- ple who were involved in making it, here so they can talk a bit about it and answer questions.”

All of these activities are free of charge and are organised by the Na- tional Parks and Wildlife Service with help from the Friends of Coole and the Heritage Office of Galway County Council. For more contact O91 631804.

A NEW farming initiative, aimed at saving the ancient Burren goats from extinction, was launch in Carron last week. The BurrenLIFE Project (BLP) has established a trial scheme, where they will transform one Bur- ren farm into a sanctuary for the goats.

The long-term survival of the rare indigenous Irish goats has been put in jeopardy in recent years due to interbreeding with local abandoned goats and culling.

The goats can cause problems for Burren farmers by spoiling grass- lands and knocking walls, caus-

ing penalties for the farmers under REPS.

Large herds of goats roam and graze in the Burren but only a frac- tion of these are ancient Irish goats.

In recent years the explosive growth in the population of feral goats in the Burren has resulted in the culling of large numbers of goats by local farmers and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, who are concerned about the impact of goat browsing on tree species.

While there is general agreement on the need for managed culls of fe- ral goats to sustainable population levels, there are concerns that ran- dom culling could spell the end for

the few remaining individuals of the old Irish breed of goat.

The objective of the BLP 1s to de- velop a new model for sustainable agriculture in the Burren in order to conserve the sensitive Burren habi- tat.

As part of its work with 20 local Life-farmers, the BLP is working with one local farmer to erect a se- cure 22 acre enclosure within which itis hoped that a breeding population of old irish goats may be kept.

This pilot project will not only sup- port the conservation of the goats, but will also allow the BLP to moni- tor the impact of these feral goats on scrub and grasslands, and look at

their use as a ‘conservation grazing’ tool. ;

According to Ruairi O Conchuir of the BLP, the project is being under- taken on the farm of LIFE farmer, Patrick McCormack, with support from the project going to erect suit- able fencing and to supply water fa- cilities for the goats.

Goats have a long association with the Burren. Excavations at Poulnab- rone Dolman uncovered goat bones, indicating that these were an impor- tant part of the mixed farm systems of the Stone Age, over 5,000 years ago. For more information on this and other BLP work check out www. ebeMuCOUENCoMCCe)eeF