Month: September 2007

ST COLMAN’S Church in Gort will be the venue for a_ special charity concert which will bring together the talents of the Gort based Coole Voic- es and the legendary Lismourahaun Singers for the very first time.

The concert, which is in aid of the Tractors for Africa Project, will unite two of the regions most talented vo- cal groups for an evening of heavenly singing

Coole Voices was started in 2002 by Katharina Baker, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and founder of the Coole Music School. The Lismourahaun was founded by Archie Simpson and

has gained national and international renown in recent years because of the quality of their method and per- formances.

All proceeds from the evening will go towards the provision of a tractor, to aid in the construction and mainte- nance of a Christian Brothers school in the Zambian village of Kasama.

“T went to Africa to visit a friend of mine a year ago. Out there I met with the White Fathers and a Christian Brother called Brother Dominic. He was sent out there by the Christian Brother to set up schools. All he had with him was what he was able to carry himself,” said Pat Canavan of the Tractor for Africa Project.

“He had a group of blocklayers

from Waterford who built a shed for him for the school. But he said that if I was able to get him a tractor that it would be a great help to him.

“When I got back in Ireland I came across a guy who was repairing old tractors. He had a small tractor, a Massy Ferguson 135 I think, and he agreed to give me the tractor and I told him I would pay him something KOvms DOO som ab ine I Rone

There are many children orphaned in this area of Africa due to the Aids epidemic and other diseases. These children depend on education as a means of living a happy and full Tate

A friend of Mr Canavan arranged for the tractor to be transported to

Zambia where it will now be used for essential building work and farming.

‘They have no machinery out there whatsoever,’ continued Mr Canavan. “They have to do almost everything by hand. When the tractor arrived in the shipping container they had no way of taking it off the lorry. So they had to tie the container to a big tree and slowly drive away. That was the only way of getting it off the truck.”

The concert takes place on October 6. Tickets, at a cost of €15, are avail- able from the post office in Gort or on the door on the night.

A BUDDING author from north Clare was last week nominated and short-listed for the most prestigious prize in literature in Ireland today. Micheal de Barra, who hails from Kilfenora, is one of just five writers short-listed for this year’s Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge Adult Book of the Year prize for his book An Bothar go SY-eLe Ee rexey

Micheal was born and raised on the outskirts of Kilfenora, an area he considers his ‘spiritual home’ but is currently living in Kildare with his wife Siobhan.

Having spent a number of years as a primary and secondary school teach-

er in both Ireland and Argentina, An Bothar go Santiago is Micheal first prose work.

An Bothar go Santiago tells the story of Micheal’s experiences along the pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, Europe’s most famous pilgrim walk.

The camino or path begins in France and ends in Spain, covers 900 kilometres, and is a real challenge for any walker who attempt it.

Besides An Bothar go Santiago, de Barra is also researching a book on the notable Irish figures who went to Argentina between 1500 and 1900 under the working title “Gaeil 1 dTir na nGauchos’. ;

Micheal will take on Liam O Muirt-

hile (Sanas), Eoin Mac Lochlainn and Ciaran O Coigligh (Aiséiri/Req- uiem), Séamus Ennis (Mise an Fear Ceoil) and Brian O Conchubhair (Gearrscéalta Ar Linne)

Leabhar na Bliana 2007 is a unique literary competition, focusing main- ly on excellent publishing standards, while also acknowledging the sig- nificant role of the authors.

Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge and Oire- achtas na Gaeilge organise this event on an annual basis and this year’s winners will be announced at the O1- reachtas na Gaeilge festival in West- port on November 2.

“In presenting these awards, Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge manages to ad- vance the various aspects of our

mission statement – to sustain Irish- language writing, publishing and reading,’ said Aedin Ni Bhroin, D1- rector, Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge.

‘This is a great opportunity to in- form the general public of the wide range of excellent Irish-language books available, as well as giving well-earned recognition to the dif- ferent publishers and writers.”

Meanwhile, the prize for the young readers Book of the Year will be contested by Biddy Jenkinson (An Bhanrion Bess agus Gusai Gaimbin), Laoise Ni Chomhrai (Ag Taisteal le Tarlach sa tSeapain), Dermot Som- ers (Buaic) and Caitriona Nic Sheain and Andrew Whitson (Gaiscioch na Beilte Uaine)

TRAVELLERS living in Shannon are poised to be allocated space to keep their horses, following an agreement by councillors last week.

Shannon area members of Clare County Council agreed in princi- pal with a proposal that the issue be progressed, in that land should be made available to Travellers for the ZNODUOOTAN ESE

The initiative is part of a plan to improve the quality of life for travel- lers, under the programme ‘Strategy for the co-ordination of public serv- ices to the Traveller community in OE TroA0 Oe 0 OTe

Director of Services at Clare Coun- ty Council (Community and Enter- prise) Tom Coughlan explained the background to the idea.

‘Traditionally, Travellers have kept horses, but traditionally they would have had nowhere to keep them. That has been a point of conflict. We are looking at the possibility of leasing land to Travellers so they can keep their horses on the land,’ said Mr Sree

“We have to identify land owned by the council, which we can lease to Travellers. It has been raised as an issue by the Travellers themselves,” he added.

A number of Travellers live in Bal-

lymurtagh, Shannon, and the council is hopeful that suitable land will be found for the horses, as near to the houses as possible.

“We will try and come up with the most suitable land. We will progress it and see 1f the land is suitable,” said Mr Coughlan.

The decision taken by the council- lors last week gives the council the go-ahead to make efforts to secure the land. The size of the land will depend on the number of horses the travellers hope to keep there and the land will be leased to them.

This proposal regarding land for the horses arose as a consequence of the strategy, which stated that it would

“establish mechanisms to identify rentable land adjacent to Traveller accommodation’. In that, Travellers identified a need to rent land to allow for grazing of horses and for the care of valuable sulkie ponies.

It was suggested that as the request coming from the group was broad- based and could be difficult or take time to effect, the feasibility of run- ning a pilot project in Shannon would be investigated.

In June, a subgroup of the Accom- modation Actions group met with representatives of the Tralee Com- munity Horse Project, to gain an in- sight into how this particular project is organised and managed.

HE moved from Pakistan to Shan- non ten years ago, to study, and has grown to love the town so much that he has remained here.

Jimmy Arbab arrived in Shannon in 19977, to study at the Shannon Col- lege of Hotel Management. Now, a decade later, he has just decided to open his own business, Apache piz- za, in the SkyCourt shopping centre.

“T met my wife Karen O’Callaghan, from Shannon and am settled here

now,’ he explained.

“I love Shannon. It is quiet, away from the city, with lots of young peo- ple and no traffic. That is what has kept me in Shannon for so long,” he ene

Since finishing in college, Jimmy has worked in management in Breaf- fy House Hotel in Castlebar, along with the West County and Clare Inn Hotels, all of which are part of the Lynch Hotel group.

However, he always had a desire to open his own business.

“I always wanted to open my own food business. There is a lot of hard work in the hotel business, so I said I might as well do it for myself,” he Cr HOn

Over the past decade, Jimmy has made several friends in Shannon and he believes this will stand him in good stead with the new business. Two years ago he and his wife moved to Cree, but he still has strong con- nections with Shannon and believes his business will be a huge success.

“Nearly everybody knows us at this

stage,’ he said.

“IT did a lot of research and thought that there was a demand for pizza. There is no other pizzeria as such in Shannon,” he said.

Jimmy’s wife Karen operated a la- dies’ fitness company in Shannon for five years. She closed this when they moved to Cree, where she has set up her own fitness centre.

DOZENS of young people in Shan- non have signed up to one of the newest clubs in the town – the kick- boxing team!

The club has enjoyed a huge suc- cess since it first set up two-and-a- half years ago and is now Seeking a permanent home, which it can call its own!

The club’s members currently trains at Tullyvarraga hall. However those who set it up would dearly love to have a more permanent base.

Since the club was set up, more and

more young people have taken it up and the increased demand should be reflected in the facilities available.

Howie Vincent has been a member of the Shannon Wado – Kai karate club for the past 25 years. Two-and- a-half years ago, he decided to set up the kickboxing club.

He is pleased that Tullyvarraga hall has been made available, but would like the club to have its own home.

“Tullyvarraga hall is very good but at the end of the day, it would be nice to have our own place,” he said.

“We are hopeful that we can get a place,” he said.

“Financially, you get no grants. Whatever money we get from the classes goes back into the club. We usually have a flag day in Shannon once a year. That tides us over. Peo- ple are brilliant and help us out,” he Sr nLG

Up to 40 people – aged between 11 and 60 – who attend the club regular- ly, many of who are young women.

“It has become popular in Shannon. People are looking for self-defence,” |ntemncy-B (0

“The interest has certainly in- creased among young women. A lot of girls come up for the fitness,” said

Howie, who, himself trains five days a week and has fought at internation- al level.

“I get a great buzz out of training them,” he said.

Howie, who was born in the UK and who lives in Shannon, said mar- tial arts has many benefits.

“In martial arts, you get out what you put in. It is a discipline,” he said.

MORE than 2,000 people will move to Shannon over the next few years and they should be made aware of proposed developments in their area.

That’s according to a local coun- cillor, who has suggested that pro- posed developments off the southern primary route will be outlined at a meeting, organised by Clare County Council.

Cllr Tony Mulachy (FG) believes that a variety of groups, including schools, religious groups, the par- ish council and community groups and all relevant bodies, should get involved in this.

“It would allow them plan for the future expansion of their facilities if necessary and, if required, land to be set aside to facilitate this where appropriate, prior to the start of de- velopments in this area,” said Cllr Mulachy.

“We are going to bring another 1,500 to 2,000 people into the town over the next few years. The likes of St Caimin’s, St Aidan’s and St Co- naire’s (schools) are all practically auueR

“If we load another 2,500 people into the area it is reasonable to as- sume some of them will be children.

“Everybody can have an open- minded discussion. We, as a council, should lead the way in this,” said Cllr

WIE ea ys

His colleague on Clare County Council, Gerry Flynn (Ind) agreed with the proposal and said it is vital that there is foresight, regarding fu- MUD como) E-veveun ete

“Tt is well documented that there is a masterplan. It is very wise that we plan properly for the future of Shan- non,’ he said.

In his response, Director of Serv- ices with the council, Ger Dollard said he agreed with “the sentiments of the motion”.

“A detailed masterplan was pre- pared for the land serviced by the Shannon Southern Primary Road. A consultation process was under- taken at the time of preparation of

the plan.

“The masterplan provides an over- all framework for the area and is not considered prescriptive and may be subject to variation in light of de- mands at a particular time.

“The development of the entire landbank is likely to take some con- siderable time and, depending on market demand, could take from ten to twenty years,” said Mr Dollard, in a written response to Cllr Mulcahy’s query.

He said he can arrange for a copy of the masterplan to be sent to any interested parties, while a copy of it can be placed on display at the Shan- non civic offices and the Sean Le- mass library.

OPPONENTS of the Aer Lingus plan to move their four Shannon/Heath- row slots to Belfast are being urged to join a Dail protest being organised in advance of the Government debate on the issue tomorrow.

The Atlantic Connectivity Alliance (ACA) is urging Clare people to go to Dublin and join the protests outside

and in the public gallery of the Dail, wearing county colours if possible.

The debate is due to start around Spm and a spokesman for the ACA said that it is “vital that we have a big, big presence, at least 300-400 people in Dublin that afternoon, so please pass on the word, and use your own ‘sectoral networks’ to get as many people up there as possible”.

He added that the plan is to fill the

public gallery in the Dail to capacity, and to have a strong, visible presence outside Leinster House. “Already the Hotels Federation are running a poster campaign and are planning other elements for the day. We need other sectors to follow suit, so please feel free to get creative around this. It is important that everyone makes the effort to be in Dublin, for what is a critical moment in the campaign.”

After a meeting last week with Em- ployment, Trade and Enterprise Min- ister, Michael Martin in Shannon, the Alliance accused the Government of “failing to show it has the political will to prevent the loss of thousands of jobs across western regions due to the fall-out from Aer Lingus’ deci- sion to abandon the profitable Shan- non-Heathrow service”.

Following what the ACA described as a “frank and engaging” meeting the ACA stated that while it has no doubt about Minister Martin’s bona fide’s on the issue, it seriously ques- tions the political will of the majority of Government on this critical issue.

Said ACA spokesperson Ken Sul- livan, “the soundings from Govern- ment are still very clear; they say they are not for turning in relation to Aer Lingus but that is purely a mat- ter of political will, which they don’t seem to have right now.”

Speaking after a separate meeting of the ACA in the Glenlo Abbey Ho- tel, Galway, Alliance member and Galway Chamber representative Dr Chris Coughlan confirmed that a meeting was held in Shannon late last week with the Inter-Departmen- tal Group “but it merely confirmed suspicion that the group has a pre- determined agenda to substantiate Government claims that it cannot in- tervene in the Aer Lingus decision.”

RYANAIR has confirmed that it is taking legal advice on what can be done in the face of a second refusal by Aer Lingus to hold and EGM to discuss the withdrawal of the Shan- non/Heathrow flights from next Jan- VEDA

The airline has pledged to increase it routes out of Shannon, based on the strong forward bookings it is experi- encing there.

“Ryanair regrets that Aer Lingus is refusing to allow shareholders

an opportunity to discuss the clo- sure of a profitable route at a time When Aer Lingus’s interim profits have collapsed by 58 per cent to just €6m and its share price has fallen to €2.40, well below Ryanair’s of- fer of €2.80 last year,’ said Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary “Since the directors of Aer Lingus are will- ing to repeatedly breach their statu- tory obligations towards their largest shareholder, there clearly isn’t any influence that Ryanair can bring to bear on this profitable route closure. Accordingly, we’re considering what

legal remedies are available to us.”

Speaking after the company AGM, at which O’Leary pledged to double its traffic and its profits to 84 mil- lion passengers and €900 million by 2012, O’Leary laid out plans to expand the Shannon operation. He said that Ryanair’s services will al- most double on Shannon — London from four to seven flights daily with Services from Shannon to Gatwick, Luton and Stanstead, where Shan- non passengers can connect to more destinations than they presently can from Heathrow.

The airline will double its Shan- non-Paris services to a twice daily flight next summer, and Ryanair is now in negotiations with Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to see if a viable cost base can be agreed to allow a low fare Shannon-Amsterdam route to be launched. This winter, Ryanair will operate more than 40 daily flights to and from Shannon, connecting Shan- non to 30 European destinations. If Aer Lingus is determined to abandon Shannon and the west of Ireland then Ryanair will add more flights and more low fares.

THE mayors, chairs and managers of west of Ireland Local Authorities and Regional Assemblies have been invited to attend a briefing today on the removal of the Shannon to Hea- throw link today (Tuesday).

The briefing has been called by Mayor of Clare, Patricia McCarthy, on the eve of the Dail debate on the issue. The meeting will be attended by the mayor of Clare, cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council, mayor of Roscommon, mayor of Galway City,

cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, cathaoirleach of Limerick County Council, mayor of Limerick City, mayor of Kerry, mayor of North Tipperary County Council, cathao- irleach of Tipperary South County Council and cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council.

Also in attendance will be senior representatives of the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly; Mid West Regional Authority; and the Border, Midlands and Western Re- gional Assembly.

The meeting is being held at the

Oakwood Arms Hotel, Shannon.

Today, Mayor McCarthy urged members of the public to express their opposition to the axing of the Shannon to Heathrow service by at- tending the first full Government de- bate on the issue this Wednesday.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy urged peo- ple to join business, tourism and community leaders from the west of Ireland inside and outside the Houses of the Oireachtas when the Dail re- turns from its summer break.

The mayor said she would also be seeking the support of colleagues

from the wider region to make sim1- lar calls at the meeting of Local Au- thority and Regional Assembly rep- resentatives today.

“It is now time for the Government to deliver on the clear guarantees given regarding the Heathrow slots at Dublin, Cork and Shannon,” stated Mayor McCarthy.

She continued, “Minister for Trans- port Noel Dempsey, who professes to be acutely aware of the challenges faced by the region as a result of the Aer Lingus move, must now bring the solution to the Dail Chamber.”

THREE and a half years planning will come to fruition with the start of the Leon XIII Festival in Quilty on Friday next.

As this is the centenary of the Leon XIII “Final Voyage” and the dra- matic rescue of its crew, music and heritage will feature strongly in the schedule of weekend long events.

Starting with the opening cer- emony at 6pm in Quilty village on Friday evening, a new commemora- tive plaque and lectern featuring the Leon XIII story will be unveiled by relatives of the Quilty fishermen of 1907, Mayor of Kilmurry Ibrickane Connie Power and the Science and Technology attaché at the embassy of France in Ireland, Christophe

LeRouge.

Later on that night, a traditional concert featuring many of the coun- ty’s top musicians, singers and set- dancers will keep the village alive to the sound of music! This con- cert will feature the launch of “The Leon” double CD, especially pro- duced at Malbay recording studios for the festival, by Joe Searson and Jack Healy.

Saturday morning, kicks off at 11 pm with the launch of the newly de- veloped “Leon Walking Trail”. Led by Cora O’Grady, this walk will take in an 8km route around Quilty and covers much of the history associ- ated with the area over the last 100 years. Mary Clancy will host an Irish Dancing Workshop in Quilty Tavern for children starting at 11.30pm. The

action then moves to the Kilmurry Ibrikane GAA field where the Leon Open Sports commences at 1.30pm. The full programme of events in- cludes a tea-towel-pegging contest and welly throwing competition for the less serious athletes! The Satur- day schedule continues with the U- 12 football blitz at 4.30pm and the Homecoming Social in Quilty Tav- ern later that night, with music pro- vided by PJ Murrihy and his band.

Sunday sees Quilty’s first Regatta in several decades take place in the afternoon, after visitors and locals have had the opportunity to take part in the commemorative Mass at noon and open-air set dancing in the vil- lage.

During the weekend, the first phase of development in Quilty’s new com-

munity centre aptly named “The Leon Centre” will be on show and will host the festival shop. All events over the weekend are free of charge unless advertised otherwise.

Festival Organisers, The Leon Committee, would like to sincerely thank everyone who has _ helped to make the first Leon XIII Festi- val a reality. For further details of the events taking place during the weekend please contact Agnes 087- 1355738 or Caroline 087-2194541.