Month: February 2008

LEARNER drivers who want to take their test in Ennis will have to wait three times longer than drivers in other parts of the country.

The wait for a test in Ennis is cur- rently an average of thirty weeks, in comparison to centres in neighbour- ing Limerick where the wait is just

11 weeks.

Other centres in Donegal, Ath- lone, Cavan, Carrick-on-Shannon, Letterkenny, Monaghan, Mulingar, Sligo and Nenagh have waiting lists of just nine and eleven weeks to sit a test.

But Shannon, once one of the worst centres in the country for waiting lists, has now reduced its list to 22

weeks.

Ennis is in fifth place in the coun- try for L-Plate drivers getting into the test car.

The worst 1s Clifden where would- be full license holders have to wait 40 weeks for a test. In Birr, there is a 36 week queue, in Dublin’s Raheny the wait 1s 35 weeks while Roscommon and Wicklow learners have 31 weeks

to practice their driving skills. Heavy goods vehicle license ap- plicants fare better. They can get a test in Ennis in just 14 weeks and in 19 weeks in Shannon. The amount of time that learner drivers have to practice their hill-stars and three point turns may well be reflected in the pass rate in the Ennis centre. Some 63.7 per cent of drivers who

sit the test there can lay claim to a full driving licence. The only place in the country where test drivers do better is Buncrana, where 64.7 per- cent of drivers pass. Shannon boasts a similarly high pass rate, with more than six in ten drivers who sit the test there walking away with a full h- cence, according to figures from the Road Safety Authority.

THE Government has been warned that it must examine the workings of the Labour Court and Joint Labour Committees (JLC) or face another legal battle with the Irish Hotels Fed- eel wemDe

The warning, from Lahinch hotel- ier and Chairman of IHF’s Shannon Branch, Michael Vaughan, comes days after his organisation success- fully challenged a JLC ruling requir- ing hoteliers in certain parts of the country, including Clare, to pay 2.5 per cent more than the national mini- mum wage.

Hotels in Dublin, Cork and Dun Laoghaire are exempt from JLC rulings. Had the High Court ruled against the federation some 25,000 employees outside of these areas would have been entitled to higher rates of basic pay.

“We have concerns over the con- stitutionality of the Joint Labour Committees and the Government would want to act quickly to review its position on the Labour Court and the Joint Labour Committees,’ Mr Vaughan said yesterday.

“This was never about the mini- mum wage directly. The Govern- ment brought in the minimum wage

but they never considered what effect that would have on the operations of the Joint Labour Committees.

“There were a lot of problems with the system. If you negotiate in the Joint Labour Committees there is no place for appeals and challenges. The system itself is flawed. I know that a number of sectors, such as the build- ing sector, which are also subject to Joint Labour Committees were look- ing very closely at what was going on last week and we could well see a number of other challenges in the near future,” he said.

It is estimated that some 250,000 workers in other sectors could be af- fected if further legal challenges to JLC rulings occur. In the immediate term, however, the outcome of last week’s High Court case means that the IHF will return to negotiations with the JLC on a proposed 22 cent per hour pay increase last Novem- ber.

“Essentially what this means is that we will be going back to negotia- tions,’ continued Mr Vaughan.

“In terms of hotel workers in Clare, we will be re-entering negotiations over the next couple of weeks and we will be expecting the Government to enter into discussions on the work- ings of the Labour Court. There is a constitutional question to answer but we chose not to go into it on this par- ticular occasion,” he said.

THE Mayor of Clare, Patricia McCa- rthy, has criticised air traffic control- lers at Shannon Airport for taking further unofficial industrial action at the weekend. Operations there were brought to a standstill for three hours on Saturday night, hours before it was confirmed that 99 per cent of the country’s 300 controllers had voted to take official action.

Controllers at Shannon, employ- ees of the Irish Aviation Authority, refused to volunteer for overtime against the advice of their union. All flights in and out of the airport were either cancelled or delayed for three hours on Saturday resulting in 12 flights being affected.

Wednesday night’s action when staff refused to work overtime to fill a two hour gap in the roster affected 11 flights.

Councillor McCarthy asked why Shannon was targeted twice in less than a week when Dublin was only affected on one occasion, on January 25, for about 45 minutes.

“I have to ask what is really going on here. This is the second time in a few days that Shannon Airport was closed because of this dispute while Dublin Airport only suffered for a mere 45 minutes. Shannon has been out of service twice for a total of

five hours with disruption caused to flights and passengers. This is a dis- grace and flies in the face of union advice,’ the mayor said.

Air traffic control staff are in dis- pute with the authority on the issues of overtime and recruitment. They have previously indicated to the [AA that demands on staff to work over- time are unsustainable.

‘“T am very surprised that this can be allowed to happen at a time when Shannon is recovering from bad news and every effort is being made by everyone at the airport and in the business and tourism industry to pro- mote an develop the airport,’ an an- ery Councillor McCarthy said.

IMPACT has confirmed that the ac- tion took place despite advice from the union to “work whatever overtime is required” while talks between the union and the Irish Aviation Author- ity were ongoing.

‘Our advice to members has been to work whatever overtime is required to facilitate the ongoing talks,’ the spokesman said.

Ryanair has accused ‘Taoiseach Bertie Ahern of failing to put in place contingency plans to prevent passengers “being hijacked by wild- cat” strikes.

Both sides are due to return to LRC for further talks on February 19. The nature of the action is to be decided.

THE demise of Clare’s rural pubs 1s a major contributing factor to suicides levels in the county, according to an Ennis mental health expert.

Home consumption of alcohol has been singled out by retired commu- nity nurse and Secretary of the En-

nis Mental Health Association, Tom McGrath, as one of the biggest con- tributing factors in many suicides. He believes that excess alcohol con- sumption can be the trigger for many people suffering from depression to attempt to take their own life. “Alcohol is a big problem and it’s going to get bigger. People are drink-

ing at home now and there is no con- trol over how much they have”’.

“It’s a big factor in many cases. It would be better for people to be in the pubs where at the very least there are some regulations on how much WOTeaVAr-DM CMON UDOT Ope ycaua

According to Aware’s Depression Awareness week, as many as 14,000

Clare people will suffer from depres- sion at some stage during their life.

“People can be suffering but are generally okay. They then take too much alcohol and that can push them over the edge. It can be very sudden,” explained Mr McGrath.

CONTRASTING results from last year but Carlow won’t complain. An early set-back by Clare who travelled to Dr Cullen Park saw go under by five points and spiral into relegation Kouser

They then went on to only win one league game in a dismal campaign and looked on the Clare game as the beginning of the slide. But twelve months since that game, Carlow are a completely different side under new manager Paul Bealin.

The former Dublin All-Ireland win- ner has transformed the flagging side into a more determined outfit, epito- mised by a victory over his former side, Wexford, in the O’Byrne Cup before a inspirational performance to draw against Dublin in the sem1- final.

A change of venue – Cusack Park fell foul of the weather – and trech- erous conditions couldn’t halt their progress on Sunday as they turned what looked like a perilous situation into a memorable victory.

After the game, Bealin gave his players a warm down in the centre of the field before relaying his thoughts on the league opener.

“They showed a great bit of spirit and character and I think there’s a

little bit of pride back in the jersey,” he said.

“It’s going in the right direction and they showed that more and more, especially team spirit and team mo- ee NCon

“We are not going to get carried away because we have only won one match, the equivlalent to what we won last year in the league – so we will have to build on that.”

It all looked grim for Bealin’s side seven minutes into the second half when substitute Brian Farrell was sent off for a high tackle on Stephen Hickey. At that stage, Carlow were already two points down and Bealin concedes that if Clare had kept their discipline, it might have been a dif- KROES ON LE

“Don’t forget Clare had the breeze behind them in the scond half, but in those conditions, it certainly would have been an uphill battle. But we tried to keep our discipline. I would be diappointed that any of our play- ers were sent off. I didn’t see the in- cident and I know that’s a cliché that most managers use but I actually didn’t see it.

“Look, we are just happy that we came back at them and this time last year Clare beat us by four or five at home and so it’s a revenge game and that’s what it was.”

Bealin admits that he initially con- sidered the change of venue as a Clare tactic to unsettle his side but whatever the venue, he was also con- scious of his side’s need to consist- ently perform in the league after an impressive O’ Byrne Cup run.

“This year, Carlow competed in the O’Byrne Cup, they beat Wexford, they matched Dublin and Dublin beat them well the second day but it wasn’t about the O’ Byrne Cup today. It was about team spirit, perform- ances, discipline, tackling properly, workrate, intensity and they showed all those aspects of the game today.

‘And they needed to show it in the conditions out there because travel- ling to Cusack Park thinking it was there and then having to come here, we probably used it and said ‘look, they are bringing us down here for a reason’ and I suppose we thought that Cusack Park was alright but we did learn that the conditions were atrocious.

“All things considered, we’re de- lighted to get the game out of the way and to have won it and got off to a great start was a bonus.”

SSE See UbbetcamevenUCe ome: Mech tlm oO! tremors through Miltown on Sun- day. The understandable elation of the McGrath Cup campaign brought back a certain confidence in the team, demonstrated by the large sup- port in Hennessy Park and for 40 minutes, the players responded with an accomplished performance.

An old trait then made an unwel- come reappearance. The self destruct button was a feature of past sides but the new regime seemed to have elim- inated that element in January.

However, in an incredulous ten minute period, Clare went from two points up and a one man advantage to a five point and two man deficit. The referee has to take a large por- tion of the blame due to his card hap- py manner but as Clare slowly lost their initiative, their gameplan and composure also disintegrated before the new managemnent’s eyes.

Clare manager Frank Doherty was one of the last to leave the dressing rooms at Hennessy Park and it was easy to sense from his demeanour he was still trying to get to grips with

what happened on the field.

“Personally, I’m totally disappoint- ed. Now is not the time or place to analyse the game and we will leave that until Tuesday night and address it then. I’m not one for roaring or shouting but the cracks are still there SO We ve got iron out that situation.”

This was Doherty’s first competi- tive defeat as Clare manager and having equalled last year’s com- petitve record of four victories in January alone, everything looked to be in place for a home victory. The dismissals were top of Doherty’s list of ailments, severe refereeing deci- sions which he felt ultimately cost his side all two points.

“The first sending off was harsh enough. It was Conor Whelan that actually fouled inside and Gordon Kelly didn’t lay a finger on the Car- low man. So Gordon got sent off in the wrong I felt, very much so. Maybe the referee got it wrong. He went in and consulted with the umpires and they said it was number six but the second [sending off] was harsh as well. At the same time, I have been a stickler on discipline so to a degree, we shot ourselves in the foot.

‘From being five minutes into the second half and in control we let it slip. Unfortunately David Tubridy missed that free but there are days like that.

“We probably should have gone on to win the game | felt. Not being dis- respectful to Carlow or anything but I felt we were in control. They had a man down and they had to push on and would have left gaps at the back but there you go.

“That’s the harsh reality of football and maybe it’s a learning lesson for our lads and we will just try and sort it out next Tuesday night.”

With a trip to Tipperary on the cards in six days time, lessons will have to be learned fast.

It’s best to write this game off as a one-off blip. Next Saturday should tell a lot more about Clare’s position in 2008.

FOR years, a Clare tradition has swept through St Munchin’s College, one of Limerick’s main rugby nurs- eries. Keith Wood, Anthony Foley and most recently, Clonlara’s current Irish international Marcus Horan have all graced the rugby fields for the school.

It continues to grow and develop and this week, ten Clare players will line out for the school in the quarter- final of the Avonmore Mile Munster Senior Schools Cup quarter-final.

They take on strong Cork opposi- tion in the form of Pres but according to Clare’s Donal Madden, part of the backroom team, they’ll hope to re- turn with their cup hopes still alive.

“It’s never easy going to Cork and taking on Pres in their own back yard and we’ll have our work cut-out, but we re confident of coming away with a result.”

There’s further influence seeping through the college as all bar two of the Junior side, who are taking ad- vantage of the backdoor system, are from Clare.

The side went down to PBC at Clif- ford Park last Friday, but it’s not the end of their involvement in the com-

petition. That game threw up one of the most entertaining games in schools rugby all year in what was a forward-dominated contest — one they eventually lost by three points, eee

It wasn’t until mid-way in the sec- ond half that PCB pulled away, when the pack set-up a scoring opportunity that they took full advantage of.

That game was also noted for the impressive play by the Ryan triplets. Evan and Gavin both play in the sec- ond row while Darren operates as scrum half with all three doubling up on their sporting interests and play- ing football and hurling for Meelick.

The three form part of the 13 Clare players who started that game.

Their father, Ray, 1s yet one more Clare link in the Munchins chain and he lined out for the school, playing for the senior side in the early 80s.

And there are further Clare links to this year’s sides with a strong rep- resentation from the county on the backroom teams of both the senior and junior sides.

THE College championship season began in earnest last week when the Fitzgibbon and Ryan Cups got un- derway. Top of the bill was undoubt- edly the clash of WIT and UL in the so-called Group of Death which also includes last year’s winners LIT.

Despite being a dour affair played in less than favourable conditions, 2006 champions WIT came away with all the points with Kilkenny senior panelist TJ Reid the hero scor- ing O-7 in their O-11 to O-6 victory.

Clare were well respresented in the game with Conor Cooney (O’Callaghan’s Mills), Patrick Kel- ly (Clarecastle) and Ger Griffey (Clarecastle) all starting for the win- ners while Peter O’Brien (Ogonnel- loe) was introduced for UL midway through the second half. The Lim- erick side also had to do without the services of the injured Brendan Bu- gler (Whitegate).

In Group B, CIT were four point winners over last year’s finalists NUIG but the Cork side were far more impressive than the 1-16 to 1-12 scoreline suggests. Newtownshan- drum duo Ryan Clifford and Cathal Naughton did most of the damage se- curing I-13 between them and NUIG had no answer to the forward power, especially after losing their captain and centre-back Martin Ryan after only 15 minutes.

Five Clare players were on show for the Galway side with the O’ Donovan twins Domhnall and Cormac return- ing to action after Clonlara’s narrow defeat to Tommy Larkins and the NUIG side also included Cian Dillon (Crusheen), Colin Ryan (Newmar- ket-on-Fergus) who scored five frees and his clubmate David Barrett who managed an impressive tally of four points from play.

In Group C, UCC secured a com- fortable 0-16 to O-8 victory over the Garda College with Sixmilebridge’s

Aidan Quilligan heavily prominent from centre-back. The Garda college depended largely on Eoin McGrath’s (Waterford) frees but the Banner were also represented in the side by Brendan McMahon (Crusheen), Kevin Dilleen (St Josephs Doora/ Barefield) and Eire Og’s Barry Nu- gent who grabbed two points.

In Group D, UCD easily accounted for UUJ in their 3-18 to 0-10 point win with Kilkenny’s Maurice Nolan amassing 1-10 of that total.

This week’s fixtures sees poten- tiallty the game of the group stages when WIT host 2007 winners LIT on Wednesday. Between them, these sides have dominated the prestigious colleges Cup in recent years with WIT winning three and LIT win- ning two out of the last five Fitzgib- bon titles and a cracking game is expected.

Holders LIT who knocked out Clare

in the Waterford Crystal Competi- tion a few weeks back have a host of inter-county stars with Joe Canning (Galway), Niall Healy (Galway), Willie Hyland (Laois) and Shane Maher (Tipperary) in their ranks. Davy Fitzgerald’s side is also well represented by Clare players includ- ing Enda Collins (Killanena), Gary O’Connell (Wolfe Tones), Jonathan Clancy (Clarecastle), James MclIn- erney (Newmarket-on Fergus) and Bernard Gaffney (Newmarket-on- Fergus) who are all expected to fea- Ub Ken

Clare midfielder Jonathan Clancy is one of the most experienced in the LIT side having won two Fitzgib- bon medals in three years. Winner of a Higher Education All-Star last year in their run to the title, Clancy feels that despite the loss of several key players this year, the potential of the Freshers coming through this

year makes them a strong candidate to complete a successful defence of their title.

“We lost Jackie Tyrell, Kieran Murphy, Shane McGrath and Conor O’Mahony. These lads were starting even on their county teams so there was a gap there all right but I think we have enough young players com- ing through to fill the gap.

“I think the squad is good enough to win it again. We have a lot of strong players still there, a shell of a panel of seven or eight that were there last year and a lot of new lads coming in and we seem to be bonding well to- gether.”

With the benefit of a game last week, WIT have the chance to se- cure top spot with a win on home turf on Wednesday but they will be up against it against a well marshalled LIT who made a clean sweep of the HIgher Education honours last year.

In Group B NUIG have to beat DIT to stay in this year’s competition and because they retained the majority of last year’s team, they should have too much for the Dublin side. In Groups C and D , the Garda College and UUJ are in a similar predicament when they take on Connaught Hurl- ing League finalists GMIT and St Pats respectively, both needing wins to survive.

This week also sees the commence- ment of the Sigerson Cup, third level football’s premier competition. The full results and fixtures are as fol- O45

IT WAS the biggest celebration in Lissycasey GAA club history – the night they honoured the storied year that was 2007 when they swept away the major honours in Clare senior football.

Of course the high came when they annexed the senior football title for the first time, a success over Eire Og that was followed two weeks later a maiden victory in the Cusack Cup when they beat Doonbeg in a tem- pestuous encounter.

And there was more – 2007 also saw Lissycasey win the Minor B championship and Division 5 league, the medals for which were also pre- sented on the night by guest of hon- our, double All-Ireland winner with

Galway and Tuam Star, Jarlath Fal- lon. The 2006 O’Gorman Cup med- als were also presented.

Master of ceremonies on the night was former club secretary, Seamus Hayes, while each medal presenta- tion to members of the senior team took place to a backdrop of footage from Lissycasey’s march to the Jack Daly Cup.

Over 400 people attended the func- tion in The West County Hotel, with the county board represented by chairman Michael O’Neill, vice- chairman Johnny Hill and secretary Pat Fitzgearld.

A special presentation was made to former county board chairman, Michael McDonagh, while county final referee Michael Talty from Kil- murry Ibrickane was also honoured

with a presentation.

THE 14th annual Clare Community and Sports awards were held in the West County Hotel on Friday night with a large crowd of over 300 peo- ple in attendence. Organised by the Clare Vocational Education Com- mittee, the ceremony rewarded vari- ous people from all aspects of Clare society who excelled in their particu- lar fields in 2007.

The biggest winner on the night was Clooney’s William Loughnane who along with his award for his Special Olympic achievements was also presented with the Overall Per- sonality of the Year award. William won six gold medals and a bronze in six different disciplines for Gymnas- tics in last year’s Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai and has deservingly received many accolades and awards since for his momentus accomplishments.

In all, 17 awards were presented during the night. Tulla hurler Brian Quinn won the hurling award for his part in Tulla’s first county champion- ship win in 74 years and the subse-

quent run to the Munster final. Cathal Hill picked up the football award for his impressive displays in Lissyca- sey’s double winning season. Claire Commane’s player of the match dis- play in the All-Ireland junior final as well as being Clare’s top scorer in the championship saw her win the cam- ogie award while West Clare Gaels captain Marie Kelly was presented with the Ladies Football award after leading her side to the All-Ireland Junior Club Final.

Other sporting winners were the Ennis Ladies ‘Team for their National Senior Cup win, Avenue Utd School- boys for their domination of the local Soccer scene, Veronica Colleran for her victories in cross country, Derek O’Connor for his record breaking point to point season, Christopher Ryan for his achievements in swim- ming, Marie O’Connor for her five medals at the World ‘Transplant Games and Louise Woods who picked up the Young Sports Person- ality award for her talents in a multi- tude of sports.

The community awards went to Fr Donagh O’ Meara for his involvement

in Kilkee, Seamus Spaight for his contribution to Meelick GAA, Joe Garrihy for his work in Lisdoonvar- na and John and Emma Hanrahan for their tireless work in Labasheeda.