Month: November 2007

THE kindness of children attending St Senan’s primary school in Shan- non will ensure that others who are less well off than them will have a more enjoyable Christmas.

Between them, the 105 pupils of the school have assembled 115 boxes for the Christmas shoebox appeal.

The project was led by their teacher Eileen Conlon and they were assisted

by their parents, grandparents and childminders.

The shoebox appeal is hugely pop- ular throughout the country and has been a great success at St Senan’s school over the past five years.

School secretary Jackie Dooley said the eager children were encour- aged to get involved after a visit by one of the national organisers of the shoebox appeal.

“Every year we collect more than

100 boxes. A woman came in to talk to us and said they were in need of boxes for children aged between 11 and 14. That got people interested and the young children put their boxes together,’ said Dooley.

“They put them together at home and brought them in. It was a big thing for them to do and they were excited and enthusiastic about it,” she added.

The pupils of St Senan’s are actively

encouraged to raise money for char- ity every year and are now preparing for their Christmas carol singing in SkyCourt, which will raise funds for various charitable organisations.

Their fundraising efforts are con- tinuous. Once the Christmas carol singing is over, the enthusiastic youths will start preparing for their Easter fundraiser.

“It is one thing after the next,” said Dooley.

TWELVE months after it was closed for €2 million of refurbishments, the Texaco filling station in Shannon has been re-opened for business.

Manager Darragh O’Connor closed the garage and convenience store in October 2006 with a view to over- Jer LUObeercap ie

Although a planning issue resulted in the work being put on hold for a number of months, it has been com- pleted and is now open for business.

The premises is part of the Sky- Court complex and Texaco have leased the site from the town centre management company.

The delay came about after Sky-

Court refused consent for the devel- opment. However, it later changed its position, meaning that the work could proceed.

The existing building was knocked to the ground and a totally new building put in its place. A Spar con- venience store has been built which is four times the size of the previ- ous shop. Upstairs there are offices, a canteen, staff toilets and a storage area. The new express shop sells a wide variety of foods, drinks and newspapers.

It incorporates a deli, smoothie bar, hot food counter and wine area, along with a sizeable general grocery section. There is also a car wash and car valeting business on the premis-

es, while coal and briquettes are also available.

The manager is delighted that the expansion has been completed.

“We are trying to create a one- stop shop in Shannon. We will be launching a range of takeaway evening meals and lunchtime menus. Our food goes from 7am to 7.30pm, which isn’t the usual run-of-the-mill deli,” he said.

The opening hours will be from 7am to llpm, seven days a week.

The O’Connor family have been in business in Shannon for 30 years. Darragh took over the running of the filling station from his parents 10 years ago.

“I felt that petrol stations were

closing down everywhere because the margins on petrol have disappeared. You have to make your money in the shop itself. It is all geared around convenience,” said O’Connor.

He is indebted to the people of Shannon, who have been loyal to his business and showed patience during the closure.

“Business has been absolutely fantastic. The goodwill from the lo- cals in Shannon has been wonderful so I say thanks to the people of the town for standing by me during the renovations,’ he said.

The re-opening of the business has seen staff numbers increase from 12 to 20 and Mr O’Connor said he was delighted with this.

THE achievements of — two Newmarket-on-Fergus people in ploughing circles has been recognised by their official organisation.

Sinead Corbett from Stonehall and Louis Quinn from Lemenagh were both recognised at the Clare Plough- ing Association function that was held at Carrygerry House on Friday aphca ale

Sinead gained national headlines

when she won an All-Ireland title in the National Ploughing Champion- ships in Tullamore earlier this year.

Her achievement was _particu- larly significant, given that she won a traditionally male-dominated oyeal oles ielOyee

The expertise in ploughing in the Corbett family goes back several decades. Sinead’s grandfather John Corbett won a similar competition in 1960, while her father Frank also scooped honours in 1997 and 2003.

“The Clare Ploughing Association is delighted with her success. It is a great achievement for a girl from a county like Clare, where tillage wouldn’t be a major farming activ- ity,’ said PRO of the association, PJ Raven

Louis Quinn, who is the cur- rent president of the Ploughing Association in the county, was also delighted to be honoured at the event.

He has been a member of the group

for more than 50 years and has put in Trojan work during that time to ensure the group has stayed together and been progressive in the local community.

Over the five decades of his involve- ment he has won numerous prizes in various competitions.

‘He is a very dedicated man. He spent a number of years in the UK, but has never lost his ties with the Clare Ploughing Association,” said Mr Ryan.

SHANNON Airport and Aer Lingus will undoubtedly be on the lips of those who attend the 19th Annual National Tourism Conference, which takes place in Ennistymon’s Falls Hotel on November 23 and 24.

The Clare Tourist Council in con- junction with Clare County Council, have organised the conference which this year will have media darling and Ryanair Chief, Michael O’Leary, as it’s keynote speaker.

This year’s conference, which is entitled entitled “Tourism for Chang- ing Lifestyles’, will attract delegates from all over the island of Ireland including representatives of Failte Ireland, the Irish Hotels Federation,

Shannon Development, Shannon Heritage and the Clare Tourism Fo- rum.

“Mr O’Leary’s eagerly anticipat- ed keynote speech comes at a time when the west of Ireland faces losing its strategically important link with Heathrow, as a result of Aer Lingus recent decision to remove the service from Shannon,’ said former Mayor of Clare and Conference Chairper- son, Flan Garvey.

“The Ryanair Chief Executive’s decision to address the event shows that he is concerned about the move and the importance of maintaining permanent and quality connectivity with international hubs.

“During his talk, entitled “Options and Opportunities for Changing

Lifestyle’, Mr OLeary will refer to Ryanair’s commitment to develop- ing further business at Shannon. His speech also coincides with the launch of the airline’s new daily Shannon to Dublin service.”

Other major speakers to address the conference include Mary Owens, Failte Ireland’s Manager of Educa- tion Policy, who will discuss the role played by education and training in supporting the future development of Irish tourism, Joe Horan, Coun- ty Manager, South Dublin County Council and Marie Slattery, Sales and Marketing Manager, Shannon elute: txen

The conference sessions will be chaired by Alderman PJ McAvoy of Ballymena Borough Council, Alder-

man Frank Campbell of Balymoney Borough Council and Cllr Michael McCarey of Cavan County Council.

“Along with our co-organisers Clare County Council, we have wit- nessed some dramatic changes with- in the tourism sector over the past 19 years. Now, more than ever before, the industry has to reinvent itself if it is to sustain growth in the tourism sector,’ said Conference Secretary, Kathleen Cahill.

“Since our first conference in 1989 the sector has become more turbulent and increasingly price-conscious. Therefore, it 1s incumbent upon all individuals and organisations in- volved in tourism to get involved in the promotion of the entire sector all over the island of Ireland.”

YOUNG people from north Clare and beyond are being offered the chance to get a taste of what tradi- tional music was like in the days before sessions in pubs became the norm.

The first in a new monthly series of trad sessions for teenagers took place in Kilfenora Community Centre ear- her this month. The sessions, which are ran by Peadar O’Reilly, aim to get the young people learning and playing full sets together in a hall atmosphere.

‘The whole idea is to get them all learning sets of tunes together as a eroup. To make it as relaxed as we

can and have a bit of craic with it. A lot of people can play a tune here or there but what we want to do is to get them playing whole sets together,” said Peadar.

“We are calling it trad for teens but we had a few who were younger and a few who were older. All are wel- come. It’s about getting the music out of the pub scene and into a hall. There was great accoustic in the hall. Anyone is welcome to come in and listen if they want to. So hopefully it will grow.

“It started last week and we didn’t really know what to expect. Just af- ter 12, about seven or eight young people walked in. They aged from around nine to 20 or thereabouts,” he

continued.

“It took a bit to get us all in tune together but once we did, we played a few gorgeous sets. We had two con- certina’s, four fiddles and myself on the flute.

“It was the first time we had given it a go. Those who came enjoyed it, so they are going to come back again and hopefully it will grow from there.”

A Dubliner by birth, Peadar came to traditional music late and learned in the evenings while working as a driver for Dublin Bus. He later moved to north Clare and now teach- es tin whistle and flute.

“I remember when I used to go to classes in Ceolthais when I would be

finished my route. The eldest student in the class at that time would have been about seven or eight, and for them to see this man walking down in a bus drivers uniform to learn with them,” he said. “I spent about two years learning and then moved down here in about 1985.”

Trad for Teens will takes place on the first Sunday of each month be- tween 12 noon and Ipm in the com- munity centre in Kilfenora. For more information, call Dympna on 065 O1erer10 R208

WHILE most students were putting their feet up over the Halloween mid-term, 31 students and 4 teachers from the CBS secondary school in Ennistymon were tasting the atmos- phere and culture of northern Italy.

The tour, which was led my Mr Meehan, Ms Molloy, Mr Galvin and Ms Ahern, look in some of the worlds most famous artistic and cul- tural sites in the Italian cities of Flor- ence, Venice and Milan.

“We started off in Florence. We went to all the Cathedrals and say the Statue of David and a lot artistic stuff

like that. The bus driver then brought us up to a place where we could look out over the whole city and take pic- tures,’ said Leaving Cert student, Enda Slattery from Ennistymon.

The group then paid a visit to the Ferrari museum before relaxing for the rest of the day in a theme park.

“It’s one of the biggest theme parks in Europe. They have rolercoasters, waterrides and all that kind of stuff. That evening we went to Verona and did a treasure hunt,’ said Eamon Flynn from Miltown.

“We were split into teams and given clues to bring us to the famous parts of the city, like the Romeo and Juliet

balcony, and eventually you ended up in the main square. My team won the treasure hunt, we were there about an hour before the rest of them.”

After Verona, the group made their way to Venice before returning to the big city lights of Milan.

“On Monday we went to Venice, we had to go in on a boat. We got gondolas and walked through differ- ent parts of the city. We fed the pi- geons and had a tour guide around the place,’ said Leaving Certificate student, Daniel Mullins, from En- nistymon.

“The first thing we did in Milan was go to the San Siro. We had a

tour of the stadium and went into the dressing rooms. Then we went into the main part of the town and into this open cathedral with all these expensive shops in it,” continued Ca- thal McMahon from Miltown.

The tour proved a great success and learning experience for all who went.

‘‘[ had a great time there and I think I learned a bit. We went to a lot of places that we would have read about in out history,” said second year, Laurance Egan. “There was a few of us who had been to Italy before but for some of the lads this would have been their first time in a plane.”

ENNIS is in line for a timely jobs boost with the news that both the Ma- lin Head and Valentia Marine Res- cue Co-ordination Centres (MRCC) are to be phased out in favour of the creation of a new central station in OE

The move, which could create as many as 50 jobs, is unlikely to take place until late in 2008 at the earli- est, but Ennis has already been ear- marked as the favoured location for the central centre. Cork and Galway have also been muted as possible sites for the new centre but it 1s believed

that Ennis is the most likely location because of its central position along the west coast.

Significant campaigns have been organised against the move in both Malin and Valentia, where the loss of jobs could have a crippling effect for the local economy. The decision represents a u-turn in Government policy as in 2002, the then Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Dermot Ahern, gave commitments to the future of both centres and also funded a mas- sive upgrade of facilities.

“There is no technical reason to move the station from Valentia. It

was put there in 1914 because of the location but technology has come on over the years and the reception there is crystal clear,” said Dick Robinson, former coastguard member in Valen- tia and current member of the RNLI in Clare.

“There is no technical reason why it should be taken off of either place. This decision has been a huge bombshell for the people of Valen- tia. It would take away 17 jobs from a population of just 600 people. It’s a huge slice out of their economy. If they move the system to Clare or an- ywhere else it will work just as well, such is the technology of today. But

the people in Valentia, who are actu- ally looking out at the lifeboats and fishing boats as they are passing in and passing out, they are woven into the fabric of the system as opposed to just passing messages.

“If I was a politician and talking about decentralisation and assisting the far out places I would find it very difficult to talk about taking jobs from Valentia and Malin Head. The previous minister, Dermot Ahern, had decided to beef up the two sta- tions but now Minister Noel Demp- sey has reversed it. So there is still hope that it could be reversed once again.”

A MAJOR hurdle has been over- come in the campaign to construct a day care centre for cancer patients with Clare County Council granting planning permission for a cancer day care centre in Ruan.

The planning authority granted permission for the Clare 250 Can- cer Centre after finding that its plans were in accordance with the proper planning and development of the area at Moymore, Ruan.

Already, fifty acres of forestry have been purchased from Coillte, the na- tional forestry agency, and develop-

ments have been of a piecemeal va- riety since.

More recently, the entrance and a one mile road, meandering through Ballygriffey Wood, to the site ear- marked for The Clare 250 Cancer Centre, was developed.

An army of volunteers, many of whom have supported the project from its embryonic stages, turned up to fell trees, clear the pathway and develop the access road that winds its way through the densely wooded area.

The notion of the Clare 250 Cancer Centre originated with John Dunne and each May, scores of cyclists

embark on a 250 mile cycle around Clare in order to raise funds for the venture.

Initially, the funds were used ex- clusively to finance the annual trip of Clare cancer sufferers to Lourdes.

Mr Dunne declined to comment yesterday on the Council’s decision. However, speaking on the project previously, Mr Dunne said, “With the help of the people of Clare, we’ll build it as we go along and at the rate finances permit. Nothing will be put in place or built until such time as it can be paid for. There will be no such thing as running up a debt.”

He vowed, “I’m totally commit-

ted to this project. I’m in it for the long haul for whatever length of time it takes. John Dunne is not going Eh al

The Clare 250 Cycle first started in 1979 when 18 cyclists pushed off from outside the then Ennis Voca- tional School.

Last night, councillor for the area, Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) said that he is “absolutely delighted” with the deci- sion.

“It 1s great to have it here in our area and great credit must go to John Dunne and all the other people in- volved for bringing the project to this stage,’ he said.

has learned that controversial solicitor Michael Lynn, and his wife, Tulla native Brid Murphy, purchased an apart- ment on Lahinch’s Main Street in 2003 or 2004.

It is understood that the Dublin- based solicitor owes more than €50 million to various banks and lending institutions in respect of the purchase of 78 properties in Ireland and one in the UK.

While many of the properties are registered in Mr Lynn’s own name, a number are registered in the name of Property T Capel Ltd, a company of which he and his wife are sharehold- ers and directors.

Judgement on a claim against Ms Murphy for a loan she took out on the couple’s Howth home was last week adjourned by the Commercial Court until November 14.

Ms Murphy, who is a clinical nurse manager, said in affidavits that she had been unwell earlier this year and had been more concerned with her health than her financial matters at the time.

It is as yet unclear whether the

Lahinch apartment, which is one of eight located above Kenny’s Woollen Mill and Shop on Lahinch’s Main Street, was registered in the name of Mr Lynn, Ms Murphy or Property T Capel Ltd.

The property has an estimated re- tail value of between €320,000 and €350,000 and was developed under NIL FONT EDO PNG NEAL oe

Depending on the conclusion of court proceedings involving Mr Lynn and Ms Murphy, ownership of the apartment could revert back to the banks, who would most likely sell it.

Ms Murphy is the brother of prom- inent Lahinch businessman Paddy Murphy, who manages the Spinnaker bar on the village’s promenade.

It also emerged last week that the Dublin-based solicitor successfully took out three mortgages on the same property during a 20-day period ear- lier this year.

Each of the mortgages was for al- most the full value of the Howth property, which was valued at around €5.5 million.

On Friday last Mr Lynn, whose practice has been shut down by the Law Society of Ireland, was ordered to pay just under €5 million to AIB, National Irish Bank, IIB and Bank of Scotland.

THE experience of an autistic man who made a new life for himself in west Clare was highlighted as an example of how people with intel- lectual disability can live full and independent lives as active members of their local communities.

Larry O’ Bryan, who is supported by Brothers of Charity Services in Clare, was among the contributors to the Brothers of Charity National Advoca- ASO Noo OOM MO BEKMN ino .e

Larry, who has autism, used to live in big institutions in the UK, which he described as ‘sheer hell’, before moving to smaller residential care in the UK. After visiting Ireland on holiday, he decided he wanted to live in west Clare and moved into his house in Kilrush with the support of his former service provider and the Brothers of Charity.

Although he cannot communicate verbally, Larry is now happily liv- ing as part of the local community

in Kilrush and Kilkee, where he is a member of the church choir and the Clare Poets Circle.

As he spelled out on his keyboard to the conference delegates, “There is a light at the end of the tunnel for me when people listen.”

The conference, which had as its theme *Close the Institutions — A Life In The Community For Everyone’, heard from a number of people with intellectual disability who shared their experiences of living both in institutions and communities.

Clinical psychologist Brian Mc- Clean presented John Caslin, who is supported by Brothers of Charity Services in Roscommon, with a film John had made where he revisited the various institutions he lived in throughout his life.

During his introduction, Dr Mc- Clean highlighted the extent of the problem of institutionalising people in Ireland. According to a recent study, 49 per cent of Irish people with intellectual disability who cur-

rently live in residential services are in large residential centres while in England, Scotland, and Norway, all of these institutions have closed.

In England, people with intellectu- al disabilities and their families pre- fer residential care in small houses, as it allows them live within a com- munity and benefit from wider social networks. It was also found that more medication was used in large institu- tions, where the treatment is less per- sonal and more routine.

Advocacy and Evaluation Training Officer Cabrini de Barra said that ending institutional practices, struc- tures and supports in Ireland would create an opportunity for people with disabilities to live ordinary lives where they can contribute to the life of local communities.