Month: October 2007

IT goes to show you – you just can’t keep a good thing down. No sooner has the Stella Maris Day Care Centre reopened for two days in September 2005, than a message went out; we eNO LM ON KsLee

Now, almost two years to the day since Mary Harney reopened the centre, they have achieved just that. Last Wednesday a group of older people from Bell Harbour, Carron, New Quay, Kilfenora and Kilnaboy visited Stella Maris, taking a well deserved day out to socialise and re- lax.

Their weekly day out has been made possible by funding from the Department of Health and a new

bus, bought with money donated by a group of local businesses.

“When we started off we had two days and our long term goal is to have four or five days. The latest group are coming from the most remote places, so to cover these places we needed a bigger bus,” said Nuala Dillon of the Stella Maris Centre.

“So out of the blue, a group of local businessman came forward with the funding. Eugene Garrihy organised it, his father Jack used to come in and spend some time with us.

“Jack loved coming here, he was very enthusiastic about the place. So Eugene gathered together a group of local business people, people who have become very successful at their different types of businesses, they

contributed and now we have a brand new bus.

“We would also really like to thank John Curtin, who was our bus driver here. He was very involved in the committee and very involved in us getting the new bus. He unfortunate- ly passed away a couple of months x On

Alongside this, student from Mary Immaculate School raised €5,500 for the Stella Maris.

“We’re going to use that money to start a brand new project, we are going to compile a personal history for all the people who use the facil- ity here. It is something that a lot of older people don’t know about and will be really interesting. It will be about their own lives, how they grew

up, old sayings that they might have,” Leys lepeLeCre MN LUE DEB

“Each person will get a bound per- sonal history of their own life.

The committee in Stella Maris have now set their sites at getting funding to open the centre for a fourth and then a fifth day. In the future, they also plan to devote one day each week to people from the area who suffer from Alzheimer’s.

A FAMILY friendly approach, cul- tivated through their own love of eating out as a family, has seen the Stonecutters Kitchen in Doolin carve out a special niche for itself in the north Clare restaurant market.

Proprietors Karen Courtney and Myles Duffy were in Dublin’s Shel- bourne Hotel last week to collect a Gold Medal Award in the Cafés and Coffee Shop section of the Irish Ho- tel and Catering Review awards.

The award, which was sponsored by Kenco Coffee, recognises and re- wards excellence within the Irish ho- tel and catering industry in 2007.

The Stonecutter was joined in the list of finalist by Lahinch’s Moy House who narrowly lost out to the Rathsallagh House Hotel and Golf Club in Wicklow in the country house category of the awards.

“We decided right from the start that we wanted a spot in the market that wasn’t being looked after at the time. We had a small child so we were aware how hard it was to find somewhere which was family friend- ly,” said Karen.

“We were amazed and blown away by winning it. It’s our very first award, it was a long time coming but well worth the wait.

“It’s really great to get the recog-

nition. You can get very subjective about your own work. You believe that you are doing a good job but I think you do sometimes need some- one from outside to come in and say it as well. It’s great for yourself but it’s even better for the staff, and there’s no way we could have done this without the staff.

More than 200 hotels, country hous- es and restaurants entered this year’s awards with some 120 businesses making the shortlist. The short-listed businesses were visited incognito by the nine members of the Gold Medal Jury throughout the summer and as- sessed for their quality.

The judges are all highly respected

experts in hospitality with proven track records and can proudly stand over the exemplary impartiality and fairness of these awards.

“We moved down from Dublin in 1992 with my husbands redundancy. We decided that we would get a hell of a lot more going down the country that we would up in Dublin. My sis- ter is the potter down here, she has been down here more than 30 years, so we knew the area.

“We came down here and bought a site, a mobile home and a hot-dog wagon. Myles worked the hot-dog wagon for about eight years. We bought the restaurant in 2000 and it open then in 2001.”

CLARE county council has ex- pressed reservations over plans by developers to build 77 homes in Doonbeg because of traffic safety, density, waste water, archaeology and design.

Brian McGoey and Niall Cun- ningham have lodged plans with the council for the homes and a separate application for a restaurant.

The council has told them that the density of 19 houses per hectare is too excessive in terms of the zon- ing for Doonbeg and they have been asked to reduce the density from 19 to 15 units.

The council has also raised con- cerns over the demolition of two ex- isting houses and the construction of two town houses at the entrance to the development.

The council considers that the cot- tages may be vernacular, 19th or 20th century dwellings and may form part of the historic fabric of the village and make a contribution to the streetscape. The developers have been asked to submit a photographic survey of the cottages both internally and externally in order to allow the council to assess their importance.

The most prominent community- based organisation in Doonbeg has also expressed its opposition to the

proposal.

The Doonbeg Community Devel- opment Co Ltd state that the pro- posed development by virtue of its scale and density and the proposed neighbourhood concept does not ‘respect the existing character of the surrounding area’ and that it ‘harms the amenity of adjoining properties and the surrounding area’.

Their submission goes on to state that “The additional traffic generated by the proposal will have an adverse effect on the amenity and character of the surrounding area. You simply cannot lift an urban design model and implant it on to a rural village especially at such a sensitive river-

bank location.”

“To create a new, competing neigh- bourhood within the context of Doonbeg village conflicts with the sustainable development of the vil- lage and we contend, with the set- tlement strategy of the Clare County Development plan 2005.

“These houses will dominate the skyline and approach from the south along this route. We also suggest that they may impact on, by overlooking, the streetscape of the village.

The community development group is also concerned about the scale and density of development proposed for this elevated site located in such close proximity to the riverbank.

THE newly formed Miltown Malbay Resource Company Ltd, a voluntary organisation set up to look after the running of the West Clare Resources Centre has applied to the Govern- ment for staffing finance.

The centre was refused the fund- ing last year, as the application did not go through the required red tape. The applicants applied to Pobal for the finance, but it was told it should have gone through a local partner- ship body before arriving there.

On Thursday last the resource com- pany sent an application to Rural Re- source Development Limited.

Co-founder of the resource centre Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) said the centre requires one full time staff member and one part time.

“We are on a wing and a payer to maintain the management of this centre and it 1s running due to the good will of the companies and or- ganisations involved,” he said.

“I think the centre is ideally suited to the scheme.”

The building opened in 1939 as a

school before closing in 1985. After a brief history as a secondary school woodwork room the building closed and went into decline.

In the 1990s Michael Mahoney and Cllr Curtain saw the need for a building for the library and a dental clinic in the west Clare town, so the 27 windows were repaired and the building refurbished and opened.

Today the West Clare Recourse Centre in Miltown Malbay served an estimated 3,000 people through- out the year, including 1,000 who are subscribed readers at the library.

A total of 14 primary schools are To) AYLo16 MOAN DOL oMOlooOL EAD Ol DDAB(On

Among its many services provid- ed is the library; youth reach pro- gramme, art classes, dental clinic and child health clinic, and the wel- fare office and advice bureaus.

More than 70 people visit the elderly care centre three times a week, while 200 people aged between 18 and 90 took part in the ECDL course.

Cllr Curtain also highlighted the need for the services to be expanded to include speech therapy and physi- Oo) i ates: 1 One

WITH fruit and vegetables being flown halfway around the world to get to the table, east Clare people were pleasantly surprised last week- end to discover that some of the tasti- est produce is still grown just down the road.

In celebration of the home-grown apple, the Seed Savers organisation just outside Scariff played host to nu- merous activities for its Apple Day.

Visitors enjoyed guided tours of their heritage orchards contain- ing more than 200 distinct varieties

of apple. Staff also held tastings throughout the day, juicing some varieties and sharing tips growing apples and creating an orchard or- ganically.

Beekeeper Aoife Ni Giollacoda was also on hand to talk about our native black bee and she provided tastings of her delicious honey.

“Apples have been a feature of Irish life for at least the last three thousand years,’ a spokeswoman for Seedsavers said. “Apple orchards were a feature of most gardens in the past but with the development of commercial orchards, the tradition

of growing many varieties of apples has been lost. Realising the loss of many agricultural plants and fruit trees, the Seed Savers was set up by Anita Hayes in 1991 and with many volunteers they travelled the length and breath of the country locating old orchards to create the native Irish apple collection”.

Now the conservation organisation can offer varieties of apple which were thought to be extinct and peo- ple can buy and plant them in their ee NLC Oe

“Although climate in Ireland is per- fect for growing apples, many of the

apples for sale in your local super- market are the usual granny smiths or New Zealand Braeburns imported at atime of year when Irish apples are in season,” the Seedsavers spokes- woman said. “Locally produced foods provide a number of benefits both for the local community and for the environment as a whole. By mas- sively reducing “food miles’ between producer and consumer, green house gases and other emissions from transport are minimised. Locally produced food also benefits the local economy, providing employment and supporting family farms.”

FLOODS which drove Clonlara resi- dents out of their homes last winter threaten to engulf their homes again this year – because work on plans to solve the issue will not begin until next February.

Last year, gardens were flooded, residents had to sandbag their homes and an elderly woman had to be tak- en out of her house as floodwaters crept up.

Clonlara residents couldn’t use their own bathrooms as septic tanks and drains were submerged by flood-

water.

The problems started when the SJ aT-NebeLO)OM LeU nl Ms cM Oy-VON qc BEKoI MAY (c1o) es of heavy rains and the ESB control- led sluice gates being opened to let water down the system.

Local councillors were told recent- ly that a solution is being worked on between the Office of Public Works (OPW), the ESB and Clare and Lim- erick County Councils.

But in a statement, TJ Sherlock of the OPW said that the area has been designated as “an area of special conservation so any works must be capable of being demonstrated to be

essential, not causing avoidable dam- age to the habitat and to minimise any damage that is unavoidable. This has made the process of devising a scheme of works extremely difficult and slow,” he said.

Nor does the OPW have the powers to take on a drainage scheme on the Shannon alone and it needs to carry out that work as an agent of the local authorities and the ESB.

Sherlock added that the works may also require planning permission and this would be dealt with through the local authorities.

“We will also be dependant on any

landowners affected by the proposed works either to allow us to gain ac- cess or deposit materials on their lands but since these works have been locally requested, we don’t an- ticipate that that will be a problem.”

He added that every effort will be made to advance the works as quick- ly as possible.

But local councillor Pascal Fitzger- ald, said that residents “are annoyed. We thought this work would start in September. Now we hear it’s going to be next February at least. If we get severe rain this winter, the same thing could happen again.”

THE loss of almost 200 jobs in Shan- non has been described as a “devas- tating blow” to the manufacturing sector in the Midwest region.

Tyco Electronics is the fourth com- pany from the Midwest to announce job losses in the last number of weeks.

Last month, a total of 260 jobs were lost in Analog Devices in Limerick, Rothenberger Ireland and Mohawk Europa in Shannon.

On Thursday Tyco announced that it was to shed 178 jobs in its plastic

products manufacturing plant to fac- tories in India, China and Mexico.

A statement from the company said, “the transfer is expected to be completed by September 30, 2009.”

It is believed, however, that the first redundancies will take place early next year.

Mayor of Clare Cllr Patricia Mc- Carthy (Ind) said that business, com- munity and political leaders across the region feared that the recent manufacturing job losses could mark the beginning of a haemorrhaging of jobs in the mid-west.

“The massive uncertainty created

by the potential loss of direct access from Shannon Airport to the interna- tional hub in London-Heathrow has heightened fears that other multina- tionals could follow suit by announc- ing job cuts or plans to relocate else- where,’ she said.

Shannon Mayor Cllr Sean McLoughlin (FG) expressed con- cern that some of those who have lost their jobs will find it difficult to se- cure new employment.

“Many of these workers who have been employed in the manufactur- ing sector for many years will find it difficult to up skill themselves.

Therefore, it is going to be extremely difficult for them to secure new em- ployment in present day high-tech knowledge-based companies.”

He said that the series of recent job losses required immediate Govern- ment intervention.

Tyco Electronics makes products for the motor, aerospace, defence, telecommunications and computer industries.

The company has owned the plant in Shannon since 1999. It was previ- ously known as Raychem which was established in the mid-west in 1978. Tyco said the “transfer of jobs” was

“a result of a strategic analysis to better align our manufacturing re- sources to streamline and improve operating efficiencies.”

A Shannon Development spokes- man described the announcement as a major disappointment and a severe blow for the employees and their families.

“While disappointed with the Tyco decision, which follows a global re- view of their manufacturing facilities worldwide, Shannon Development notes that 20 jobs will be retained by Tyco at Shannon in Research and Development activities.”

MEMBERS of Clare’s large Nige- rian community gathered in Ennis over the weekend to celebrate Niger- 1a’s day of independence.

A parade around the town and a full programme of song and dance reflecting the African country’s rich cultural heritage and history were held to mark 47 years of Nigerian independence.

The events were organised by the

Association of Nigerian Community in Clare and supported by the recent- ly formed Clare Immigrant Support Service (CISC).

Formerly the Irish Refugee Coun- cil, the CISC is steered by vari- ous agencies in Clare who have an interest and duty to support services for the immigrant community to facilitate and support integration in the area.

Ennis has one of the largest Nige- rian communities in Ireland, with an

estimated 600 ex-pats living around the area.

JSF-VU CMON KM or Dum O SoM EOUr DOME DOOE bassador to Ireland, Her Excellency Mandu Ekpo Ekong-Omaghomi, visited Ennis and highlighted the role played by Nigerians living in the town. She reserved particular praise for Taiwo Matthew, who in 2005 made history when he was elected to Ennis Town Council.

At the time, Mrs Ekong-Omaghomi said that the example of Ennis, as a

model of cultural integration, should be copied by other towns around the country.

Located on the west coast of Af- rica, Nigeria has a population of more than 140 million people, which includes 250 different ethnic groups.

In 1992 it began the transition to c1- vilian government folowing 23 years under a military regime. The transi- tion has not been an easy one, with ethnic rivalries and sectarian con- flicts continuing to flare.

ENNIS St Johns Community Games have gone online with the launch of the organisation’s new website.

The website will provide up to date information on competitions and a comprehensive results services. It will also serve as a valuable resource tool and photographic archive, de- tailing the long history of Ennis St John.

The website was launched recently by Mayor of Ennis, Tommy Brennan at the Clare Museum. In his speech Mr Brennan congratulated the work of the committee and highlighted for praise the immense work done by volunteers to benefit the children in sport and other activities associated

with the community games.

Other speakers on the night includ- ed Eddie Power, Town Clerk, Coun- cillor Pat Daly, Councillor Mary Coote Ryan, Graham Meekins, Na- tional Officer Community Games and Joe Lynch, Chairman of Ennis St Johns Community Games, Fianna Fail TD, Timmy Dooley, Fine Gael TD, Joe Carey, Rev Bob Hanna and Rose Meekins, Mary Lenihan and Ann Chaplain representing the Com- munity Games county executive.

Local schools and sports clubs also attended the launch as did members of the Ennis St Johns under 10 mixed relay team and Tony Odubote, who won gold at the National finals in Mosney.

Most interest on the night centered

on results and sport star awards, which date from 1976 to 2006 and were compiled by John and Cecilia O’Sullivan, founder members of En- nis Community Games.

The first Clare Community Games were held in August 1971 when the county athletics finals were held in Cusack Park Ennis.

In that opening year, the new com- munity at Shannon made its mark by sweeping the majority of the titles.

Community Games in Clare has flourished in the interim thanks to expanded activity, which now in- volves 40 different areas, and the investment of time, energy and or- ganizational resources by committed voluntary groups.

The concerted community effort

behind Community Games in Clare has yielded rich rewards and contin- ues to add to its reputation with new initiatives, which are setting new standards for the rest of the country.

In 1971, Clare’s first Community Games team had a total of 71 ath- ei roh

Now almost 37 years later, Com- munity Games in the county involves some 12,000 people taking part in over 40 different activities and, with up to 1000 volunteers organizing events. Clare sends an average of 250 qualifiers to the National Finals annually.

The new website was sponsored and designed by Fanore Software and can be found at www.enniscom- munitygames.org.

THE establishment of a school bus run would ensure all young people in Shannon can get easy access to school.

That’s according to local Fianna Fail councillor Geraldine Lambert, who is calling on the Department of Education to set up a school bus Service, in the town.

She said it would be a cost effective means of addressing over-capacity and under-capacity in the schools.

Currently, St Aidan’s and St Co- naire’s Primary Schools are full to

capacity, while spaces exist in St Senan’s and St Tola’s.

St Aidan’s and St Conaire’s are lo- cated in the Tullyvarraga and Bally- casey areas, where there have been significant developments in house constructions over the years.

As a result, some children in those areas cannot gain access to those schools, due to over-capacity, while other schools in other parts of the town have spaces available.

The problem lies in the fact that some families do not have access to transport to bring their children across the town, to other schools.

Cllr Lambert said a simple solution to the problem could be found, if a bus route was set up.

“There are calls to build new schools and extensions. Some par- ents at the Ballycasey end bring their children to St Tola’s and St Senan’s, but some don’t have access. A bus should be provided to bring the chil- dren to the schools which are not full,” said Clr Lambert.

She said that a similar situation exists at second-level, where St Caimin’s is full, while there are spaces available in St Patrick’s Com- prehensive School.

“There 1s capacity at St Patrick’s, which is a mile from St Caimin’s.

‘There is pressure at one end of the town and capacity at the other end. It is too far for the children to walk. There is probably a need to look for a new school at a later stage. For now, why not take a cost effective method and put on a school bus from one end of the town to the other,” she said.

“The Department of Education should look at innovative ways, in- stead of sticking to a rigid rule. You would put on a bus for ten years for what you would pay for an exten- sion,’ she said.