Month: November 2007

SOMEWHERE out there could be the next Roddy Doyle or Enda O’Brien and, if you think you have even a spark of that kind of genius, then the Killaloe writers workshop is the place for you.

Just started up again after a sum- mer break and now in a new location at the Family Resource Centre, the free and friendly workshop sessions are open to writers of every experi- ence and none.

On the third Tuesday of each month, the group meets between

Spm and |lOpm to read, exchange views and opinions, offer construc- tive criticism, advice and pool in- formation in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

“People are very welcome to come along and just have a listen and see what’s going on initially but we would hope in the end that every- one would have a go and read their work,” said Mike Durack, one of the founder members of the group since ie

The evenings feature short stories, poetry, works in progress, magazine articles and writings for radio.

“We have people who have been published in magazines or featured on radio and people who are just starting to write but everyone can learn something,’ said Mike.

Numbers in the group vary and there are currently up to eight people attending.

As well as reading and making sug- gestions to improve writing skills, the group shares experiences on the best styles for different disciplines as well as contacts and methods of get- ting published or broadcast.

“We are open to every level of ex- perience and any suggestions made

are made in a friendly way that will encourage people so there’s no need to worry.”

The evenings give fledgling writ- ers a chance to share their work in a sympathetic environment and new- comers to the art blossom under the encouragement and constructive ad- vice given by the more experienced scribes.

Anyone interested in taking part in the workshops should contact Mike at 087 7810577 or Sean O’ Donohue on 061 375384.

Alternatively, just come along on the night.

A ROW is brewing over the post of- fice field after wildlife experts be- came the latest group to express con- cern over plans for the site.

The Clare Regional Game Council has expressed its opposition to plans to build a new state of the art public library in the centre of Ennis. Ac- cording to the Council, any develop- ment at the site would have a negative impact on the abundance of wildlife inhabiting it.

The proposed development in the Ennis Post Office field will incor- porate a new Public Library, Head- quarters, Local Studies Centre, per- formance arena, community meeting

facilities and a range of ancillary exhibition areas for Clare County L1- brary and the Clare Arts Office.

Council secretary, Jimmy Allard said the post office field is an impor- tant breeding ground for birds.

He said, “We are objecting to any building or development on any part of the field. We stopped a builder building a hotel there before. That field is a wildlife sanctuary, from there out to Doora. There are a lot of ducks and geese in the area where they want to build that use it to nest”.

One of Ireland’s most successful fishermen, Mr Allard is a three time All-Ireland fly fishing champion and international gold medal winner.

He was the first person to introduce ducks to the River Fergus at the post office field in 1990 and the popu- lation has thrived since. He fears though that construction work would damage the delicate eco-system that has developed in the field.

“The ducks hatch along the area Where they are proposing to build. There will be hatching boxes going in there in the spring. You couldn’t start building there. There are a lot of people in the town that aren’t happy with it. Everyone would like to see a new library in the town, but we feel that there is plenty of space on the present site that could be re-devel- oped”

Mr Allard said the Council is also

planning to call a public meeting to discuss the issue.

Last week Minster of State Tony Killeen announced the appointment of a project design team to explore the development of a three-story 45,000 sq ft library building and arts centre.

However members of the arts com- munity in Ennis have questioned the merit of the project given Ennis al- ready has two major arts and cultural venues in glor and the recently rede- veloped Cois na hAbhna.

Library and Council officials have said the need exists for a new library in Ennis and that re-development of the existing De Valera library site is unfeasible.

THE clocks turned back in Kilmaley last week when residents of the local day care centre provided a hands on CCeaeyerieeclmCOembeMOlUlAKcsmpeeteD operon

Using an authentic butter churn the residents of Kilmaley Day Care Cen- tre relived an age-old practice much to the delight of students from Kil- maley National School.

The demonstration was organised by Clare Museum as part of its out- reach work in communities across the county.

According to Mr. John Rattigan, Curator, Clare Museum, “I brought a handling collection from the museum

to the daycare centre and tried to en- courage people to bring in artefacts from their own homes. Over the next couple of weeks we found that we had amassed most of the equipment needed to make homemade butter in the traditional way, and we decided to give it a go.”

He continued, “Most of the mater1- al is probably less than 50 years old, and I was told that the glass churn represented the height of fashion in 1950s Ireland.

Somebody else brought in the but- ter pats for shaping the butter and, more importantly, all brought in the knowledge of how to make butter.”

Clare Museum’s outreach pro-

gramme has been well received around the county since its concep- tion in early 2005.

During 2005 ands 2006, the clients of Ennistymon Hospital and Daycare Centre and Raheen Hospital and Daycare Centre were invited to take part in a reminiscence project called Preserving the Past for the Future.

Participants were invited to bring in family heirlooms, or objects that represented the lives or achievements of either themselves or their relatives, and to recall memories associated A Leem Ne ToOen

“None of the children present at the demonstration realised that but- ter was once made at home by their

erandparent’s generation’, explained Mary Ita Griffin, Manager of the Kilmaley Day Care Centre.

Ms. Griffin stated, ““The fascination of watching cream turn to golden but- ter proved to be an enjoyable learning experience for kids and adults alike. I would like to express my gratitude to Clare Museum, the children of Kilmaley National School and, most of all, everyone who attends Kilma- ley Day Care Centre for their enthu- siasm.”’

THE people of Stonehall and sur- rounding areas are being asked to help, financially, with the extension of the local primary school.

An additional classroom, games hall, office, learning support room and cloakroom have been built onto the school, which was constructed in 1901.

There were four classrooms, but

the additional room was needed, so that the increasing pupil numbers could be afforded adequate space. There are currently 106 pupils on the school roll, along with a teaching staff of eight.

In an effort to cover the costs of the project, the school is currently fund- raising with a “Buy a Brick’ project to help put the finishing touches to the extension of the building.

Some government funding was re-

ceived, but local assistance is also required, in order that the project can be completed.

The parents committee has raised some money and are still looking for more funds. The building work started during the summer and it is hoped that the final works will be completed within the next month.

Teacher Helen O’Brien is appealing to past pupils to help out, as the wider community will benefit as a result.

“The government funding is not ad- equate so we are asking for the help of past pupils to buy a brick. If they do, they would be helping with the kitting out of the school,” she said.

The bricks cost €50 each and con- tributions can be made to the account at AIB, Town Centre, Shannon. Ac- count Number: 06585022. Sort Code: ee te yo

Contributions can also be sent to the school.

A YOUNG branch of the national charity, St Vincent de Paul, has been set up in St Caimin’s Community School in Shannon.

The interest in the initiative in the school has been fantastic and its co- ordinators believe the group will be around for a very long time to come.

The key thing about this group, Youth St Vincent de Paul, is that it is the local community that will ben- efit, through the work of enthusiastic youngsters.

School chaplain Cora Guinnane, who is co-ordinating the initiative, said the idea came about after stu-

dents showed an interest in carrying out charity work.

Two senior students, Ashley Mason and Caitriona Lynch, went to Lour- des in June and they wanted to con- tinue with charity work, when they ued AUD U NLerOm aCe) eatss

“I suggested to them about setting up a junior conference with St Vin- cent de Paul. I put it out to the whole school,” said Ms Guinnane.

A number of meetings were set up, with a view to setting up the group and the reaction was phenomenal.

‘There was a huge response. There were 40 people at the first meeting. Out of that, we decided to set up a committee and we elected officers.

We wanted a good mix between jun- ior and senior students,” she said.

Ms Guinnane and another teacher Mary Ryan facilitated the initial meetings and various students were given key roles on the new commit- oren

A number of key initiatives form a central part of the work being under- taken by the group.

Some students visit the sick in Car- rigoran, Newmarket-on-Fergus and St Joseph’s Hospital, Ennis.

A Christmas party, for the senior citizens in the town, will be held in St Caimin’s on December 14. This will be organised by the Leaving Certificate Applied class, who will

organise the food and decorations for the event.

Other students are planning to help out with the annual Christmas col- lection in Shannon, while others are interested in helping assemble ham- pers in the school, for Christmas.

“Every student will be asked to con- tribute at least one food item. That is the plan, in the run-up to Christmas,” said Ms Guinnane.

“The reaction has been fantastic, wi th so many young students keen to get involved. There is good mix between boys and girls. The students have to learn to give something back to so- ciety and it is great to be involved in charity,” said Ms Guinnane.

THE Government is set to miss its own deadline in opening the first phase of the Western Rail Corridor between Ennis and Galway.

That is the view of Fine Gael’s Pat Breen who told the Dail that the link is unlikely to be opened before 2009 and not 2008 as originally envis- aged.

Deputy Breen said that when the new rail link is open, “There will be a railway network linking Limerick, Ennis and Galway, three major ur- ban areas and two large cities. This will facilitate many people, not only

morning commuters but third-level students in both cities.”

The Fine Gael deputy, however, was critical of the Government’s pro- vision of transport infrastructure in jabber) BB uote he

He said, “Unfortunately, this Gov- SIM ONDOLS)OLMN OT-omrsloyeDOLO CO) elerOmncseelO)IT-D INO lor velopment. Very little of the money set aside for Transport 21 will go towards rural Ireland, somewhere around one per cent or two per cent of its budget or €30 million.”

Deputy Breen said, “I commute weekly between Clare and Dublin and one would expect to find a dual carriageway at least from Limerick to

Dublin by now. The National Roads Authority, NRA, is widening the road at the Nenagh bypass to make it a dual carriageway. If this had been a few years ago when the Nenagh by- pass was opened taxpayers’ money would have been saved.

“Poor roads will not encourage people to live in rural areas, they will instead move to urban areas. That is part of the problem we face in County Clare. There is a dual car- riageway from Barefield to Limerick but the Ennis bypass which should have opened in 2004 is not yet com- pletely open.

“T welcome that it is partly open and

has eased gridlock in the town. The dual carriageway was opened last January yet two critical link roads, have not been opened at Clareabbey in Clarecastle and on the Tulla road. A link road should have been built on the Tulla road but it isn’t part of the

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“We should have a broad vision when building roads and look to the future. The transport sector is the fastest growing contributor to our national rate of greenhouse gas emis- sions.

“A few years ago there was only one car per house, now most house- holds have two or three cars. Our

infrastructure has unfortunately not kept pace with that development. We all know how slow travel is now be- tween towns. A few years ago I could travel in ten minutes from my house to Ennis, now it takes 15 to 20 min- utes because of the gridlock.

“If we are to take cars off the road it is important to improve public trans- port. According to the 2002 census 62 per cent of people use the car to get to work compared with 45 per cent in 1986.

“The number of people driving their cars to work has increased by 50 per cent in that period. This is a worrying trend.”

THERE were celebrations in Lis- doonvarna recently as 43 hard- working students received their cer- tificates for the completion of their a) AA Oa Ny s-tKehy

Clare TD Tony Killeen was on hand to present the awards at Mary Immaculate Secondary School. The school offers courses in business studies, childcare and community and health services, with a total of 15 modules on the go within these courses at any one time.

Night classes began in Mary Immaculate Secondary School back in 1995. The interest in these classes

proved so strong that 20 students had enrolled in full post-Leaving Cert courses in the school by September wR

“This is the first year that we will be giving out the full Community and Health Care certs so it’s particularly exciting. The course only started two years ago So this is the first group to pick up full certificates,” said Treasa Conneely of Mary Immaculate.

“This year we had 78 _ students enrolled, which is a fabulous number. It’s been a great 10 years, it would have been very unique back in 1997 to have adults coming into the school.

“The students are drawn from all walks of life, from the ages of 20

years and upwards. They come from all over the Burren area, from New Quay down as far as Corofin, and we even have a few people who travel up from Ennis.”

The school carried out a survey in 2004 on the challenges faced by adult females wishing to return to the education system.

“The survey showed that 85 per cent said that a lack of confidence hindered them from returning to education,’ added Ms Conneely.

“More than 95 per cent said lack of child minding facilities and 76 per cent said that they had lost all contact with the labour market because the technology had changed so much.

“This helped us to choose different modules that would suit the needs of these people.”

More than half of all those who complete courses in Lisdoonvarna go on to further education, with many going to receive university degrees.

“We have one person who went on to become a lecturer in Limerick and another who has just qualified as a teacher and is now working as a teacher in Athenry. So it’s going well,” said Ms Conneely.

“We get a lot of our students from word of mouth so people are giving us a good reference.”

For more information, contact the school at 065-7074266.

A DOOLIN man has just two days left to wait before he finds out if he will be bringing the biggest prize in Irish business franchising back to north Clare.

Derek O’Dwyer, of ActionCoach Business Coaching in Doolin, has been short-listed in the Franchisee of the Year Category at the prestigious Irish Franchise Awards 2007.

The award will be presented at a ceremony at Dublin’s Conrad Hotel this Thursday.

“We work with small and medium- sized business owners in the mid- west, helping them to improve their business through different strategies.

A lot of business owners are doing well, they know they can do even better but they don’t know how,” said Mr O’Dwyer.

“We go in and effectively teach them how to do it and then hold them accountable for the things that they know they should do but don’t do because of a variety of reasons.

“It compares very well with sports. Every sports person in the world has a coach. That coach isn’t better than the sports person but they have a different perspective.

“Ultimately every business _per- son wants to make more profit. But you can’t do that unless your team is working well and there is a good structure to the business which is

sustainable.

‘“That’s what we look at, at creating structures that continue to work when we are no longer there ourselves.”

Other finalists in Derek’s category include Michael O’Hara of Signs Express, John Dawson of Snap Print and Donnchadh McGinn of Chem- Dry.

The awards, which are sponsored by Ulster Bank, recognise excel- lence in franchising, a sector which has grown to an annual turnover to €2.099 billion in Ireland, accounting for more than 25,000 jobs.

“T have been set up here in Doolin for six years. I was the first Action- Coach to set up in Europe and now there are 200 of us all over Europe.

It’s an Australian company but it now has offices all over Europe,’ contin- ued Mr O’ Dwyer.

“It’s great to be nominated for this award. I am delighted. I have been working hard with ActionCoach to try to grow the franchise in the area and it’s working very well.”

ActionCoach Business Coaching operates nationwide with a team of 30 coaches. ActionCoach’s members work one-on-one with business own- ers and managers to help manage and grow their businesses and profit nerevaca Dae

THE countdown is on for underage basketball in north Clare with just three days to go to the throw-in for this year’s Lorcan O’Connor Cup.

In the three short years since the reformation of basketball in Ennistymon, the Clare Cascaders have quickly grown to a club of more than 100 young boys and girls.

‘The numbers have been increasing every year. The season starts in the first week of September and keeps go- ing on to Easter so we are very very busy,’ said Stephen Leigh of the club. “It’s a huge commitment, both from the players and the coaches, but it is going really well. Our under-12s are

undefeated at the moment and our boys teams beat the Limerick Lions in every age group when they came up to Ennistymon earlier this month.”

One of the highlights of the year is the Lorcan O’Connor Memorial Cup, which begins this Friday. This competition, organised in the mem- ory of one of the true greats of En- nistymon basketball, pits under-12s teams from within the club against each other with the final held in late December.

‘That was the highlight of our year last year. The kids are really looking forward to it. It’s a mixed under-12s tournament and is great success,” added Mr Leigh.

“We also have a very good group of

transition-year students. We wanted them to get involved, not just as play- ers, but also as coaches and referees. So five of them went off and did the Basketball Ireland coaching course and have started to coach at under- age level and in the schools.

“It’s about getting a club structure going. These kids are taking on more and more for themselves. They are showing a great interest and this shows their commitment to the club and to basketball.”

“We have six coaches and 10 peo- ple on the committee. We get fan- tastic commitment from all of them. The workload is shared and we get a lot of satisfaction out of it.”

The success of the club has also

seen the re-instigation of mini-bas- ketball for kids under the age of 10 on Saturday mornings. The sport has also spread into the local schools, with the CBS in Ennistymon seeing off a number of established basket- ball schools to win their way through to the Munster level of the Basketball Ireland U-19 league last week.

If anyone is interesting in forming a new basketball club in Clare, contact Michael O’Mahony from Basketball Ireland on 086-8112955.

SHANNON-BASED company, Avo- cent International last year recorded a nine per cent increase in profits, according to its latest returns to the Companies Office.

The US-owned company record- ed an increase in profits from $35 million in 2005 to $38.6 million in PAU erey

This is based on turnover of $187 million, compared to $150 million in 2004, an increase of 24 per cent, while operating profit increased from $33 million in 2005 to $44 mil- lion last year.

Avocent is principally engaged in the manufacture, distribution, sales and marketing and research and de- velopment of IT solution products for the European, Middle/East, African and Asian markets.

In 2005, the company paid a divi- dend of $92 million and in Septem- ber of 2006, a further dividend of Oy Ro ne eateyee

In a statement accompanying the accounts, Avocent states that the eroup’s performance during the year “was very strong compared to the previous year’.

The accounts state, “In 2006 the

eroup further consolidated and ex- tended its R&D function in Shannon. The group’s function continues to concentrate on high growth oppor- tunities, continually investing in new product solutions, product enhance- ment and improving manufacturing IMEC E Lea ohne

In relation to the company’s future developments, the accounts state, ‘The company expects to launch new products in 2007 that will increase the group’s share of this market and reduce risk from its competitors.”

The company, which is led by one of the leading members of Atlantic Connectivity Alliance, Kieran Mc- Sweeney, occupies the flagship Shan- non Free Zone property formerly oc- cupied by Tellabs.

78 people are employed in sales, 58 in manufacturing, 33 to general and administration and 33 in Research and Development (R&D).

The accounts show that $20 million was spent on R&D, an increase of $1 million on the 2004 figure.

The accounts also show _ that $824,000 were paid to directors for management services while the ma- jority of the company’s business was done in the EU where $115 million was generated.