Month: April 2008

ARE we there yet? No, still strug- cling. However, if we realise this it can work to our advantage. Plenty of hard choices for the management. It will be seriously tested in planning for Waterford. Clare exited the league in the same manner as last year. No progress in that area. No knives yet however.

Tony Considine must be smiling. Clare lost their chances of a quarter- final slot in the Limerick game be- cause of sideline inertia in not rest- ing the free-taker when he was off aN ismee-0 8 olen

In addition, when Fergal Lynch was brought in at full-forward in the second half he was persistently given low ball. Lynch doesn’t do low ball

MAN (OR

Earlier there had been a hint of panic when Barrett was red-carded against Galway but in fairness the game against Tipp was a reasonable all-round effort. Yet it proved to be as revealing as I thought it would.

Not even one position, the goalie apart, has been settled in the Clare defence and Gerry O’Grady’s so- journ in his club’s attack doesn’t do him any favours.

He was easily turned by Eoin Kelly and the Mullinahone man scored four points from play. With a dry sod and ball in June or July this tally might well be doubled. Alarm bells surely.

On any given day that I watched there was a patent lack of pace all over the Clare defence. We can ig- nore it at our peril. It was blindingly

obvious when Pat Kerwick the Tipp half forward ran at the Clare backs. Left them going backwards in his slipstream. Imagine the scenario if Eddie Brennan, John Mullane or ei- ther of the O’Connor twins had had his opportunities.

A bit harsh? Not really. Realis- ing one’s limitations is the first step towards improving them. If we were planning for Mullane, Kelly, Molumphy, Flynn and Shanahan in this League it wasn’t much in evi- dence.

Against Tipp the Clare midfield pair hurled their own game, scored a couple of points, and left their oppo- nents to their own devices. The Tipp midfield pairing scored four points between them. Free scoring midfield- ers need marking as much as any for-

ward. Very often it means sacrificing one’s own game to tie them down.

Almost every Clare forward seems to do their own thing nowadays. Ominously, returns such as seven points from play in 70 minutes dem- onstrate forward poverty. Mark Fla- herty did remarkably well from frees but I wonder would he prove more productive from play further out. If Declan O’Rourke could up his work- rate for the entirety of a game he has the strength and hurling to do really well. Gaffney’s return for the cham- pionship will give other free-taking options and lead to badly needed changes up front.

Mike McNamara and his manage- ment team must make some hard choices. Shed the remaining links with the glory days and invest in a

new generation to back those who have some championship experience. Against the Decies we will need pace and hurling all over the field. Pace is the key word. To me it’s seems fool- ish in the extreme for any manage- ment set-up to invest it’s years work on one championship outing.

It is simply providing a rod to beat itself. With all the emphasis on the Waterford game if Clare are beaten, should the sideline fall on its sword? By all means do everything in your power to win in the Gaelic Grounds but don’t back yourself into a corner.

Finally Ger Loughnane is having a good year with the Tribesmen but some players look off the pace and their defensive problems will come back to haunt them before the year Tree) UL

THE first of this year’s 40×20 AII- Ireland handball semi-finals were played over the weekend and while three of the ties had Clare involve- ment, there was Banner success in only one.

Conor Cooney and Cathal Hannon secured their place in the All-Ireland Under 21 Doubles final after an im- pressive semi-final win over Mayo’s Dara Reid and Kieran Burke at Clare- castle on Saturday. After losing the first game 13-21, the O’Callaghans Mills/Tulla pairing fought back to win the next two by a convincing 21- 13 and 21-11.

Cooney will be searching for an Un- der 21 two-in-a-row, having won the

same title last year with his brother John while Hannon is still in the u- 21 singles race, again playing Mayo’s Kieran Burke at Newport this Satur- day in the semi-final.

Cooney and Hannon will play Tyrone’s Padraig McGlinchey and Darragh Daly, after they won their semi-final against Kilkenny over the weekend and the date and venue for this encounter has yet to be con- firmed.

Also in Clarecastle on Saturday, Shannon’s John Cawley was defeat- ed by JJ Farragher of Galway in the All-Ireland Silver Masters B Singles semi-final.

Despite wining the first game 21-8, Cawley could not keep up the pres- sure and Farragher took the next two,

21-12 and 21-9.

In Minor Singles, Diarmaid Nash was defeated by Stephen Cooney of Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final at Ballaghadereen on Saturday.

After pushing Cooney all the way in the first (17-21), the Tuamgraney man was comfortably beaten 21-11 in the second. Nash, also part of the Clare minor hurling panel, had been widely tipped for All-Ireland hon- ours but on the day could not cope with Cooney.

On Tuesday, Jimmy Walsh and PJ Counihan brought another Munster title back to Clare when they defeat- ed Cork’s Michael Jordan and Jim Kennedy in the Diamond Masters ‘A’ final at Galbally (21-7, 21-10).

The coming week sees more of

Clare’s Munster champions attempt to reach All-Ireland finals.

At Newport this Saturday at 5pm Cathal Hannon will play Mayo’s K1- eran Burke in the Under 21 Singles semi-final having already beaten Burke and his partner in the Dou- bles semi-final, while in Roscom- mon town, also this Saturday at 5pm, Sarah Loughnane (Clooney) and Sarah O’Donnell (Tuamgraney) play Roscommon’s Lydia Connolly and Laura Mannion in the Ladies Junior B Doubles semi-final.

Jimmy Walsh and PJ Counihan were due to play their Diamond Mas- ters ‘A’ Doubles semi-final this com- ing weekend but the match has been postponed due an injury to one of their Roscommon opposition. Edel

O’Grady and Ashling Fitzgerald, both from Tuamegraney, will play Roscommon’s Leona Doolin and Hillary Rushe in the All-Ireland Mi- nor Doubles semi-final at a Munster venue.

On the local scene, Clarecastle and Shannon will contest the Clare League Division 4A final after two very close semi-finals last week. Clarecastle overcame Tuamgraney 109-99 while the other semi was even closer, Shannon scraping past O’C. Mills by 108 to 101. In Division 2, Tuamgraney reached the final after a comfortable win over O’Callaghan’s Mills.

The second semi-final between Clooney and Kilkishen was _ post- poned.

TWO of the brightest young talents in Clare ladies amateur golf, Sarah Cunningham and Ciara Pender were in action for Munster in Girls Inter- provincial at Bangor last week.

Over the three days, Cunningham played in six games, in both four- somes and singles. She took three points out of a possible six from matches against Ulster, Connacht and Leinster opposition. Pender palyed in four matches, takes two points out of a possible four.

However, Munster’s hope of win- ning the title really perished on the first day when they went down by 7-1 to defending champions Ulster. Indeed, Ulster were in imperious form all week, claiming the title for the fourth year in a row on the back of further victories over Leinster and Connacht.

Ulster beat Leinster on day two by

6 1/2 to 1 1/2, while they finished off the competition in style on their home ground by whitewashing Con- nacht on a scoreline of 8-0.

Meanwhile, Cunningham, who is a scholarship student in St Patrick’s College in Maynooth played solidly all week. On day two she teamed up with Laura McCarthy in the four- somes to beat Connacht’s Hannah O’Connor and Sarah Helly by 4 & 3. Then in the afternoon singles she beat Carmel O’Connor by 5 & 4. Pender beat Leah Kerr by 7 & 6.

In the final day, Munster scored a 7-1 win over Leinster, with Cun- ningham playing her part when her- self and Laura McCarthy beat Carla Reynolds and Patrice Delaney 2 &l, while in the afternoon singles Pender scoreda one hole victory over Rebec- cas Mulholland.

Both Cunningham and Pender were on the Ennis team that won the All- Ireland senior cup last year.

HEATHER Nolan’s accident couldn’t have come at a worse time. As one of Ireland’s most promising golfers, the Shannon native was gearing up for a summer of European Tour dates until a unfortunate accident caused her to shatter her elbow into ten pieces.

“I was running to my car to go golf- ing but I slipped and fell on a speed

bump and landed directly on my left elbow.” explained the 24 year old Shannon golf Club member.

“It just shattered the bone. The specialist said it was left in about 10 pieces. I’d never injured it before and the pain was incredible.”

It was particularly disappointing for Nolan as she had just been called up to the Team Ireland Trust in March and had received a €7,000 grant in

preparation for the European ‘Tour. This setback now means that she will have a several week lay-off in a bid to heal the elbow and will have to endure a tedious reabilitation pro- gramme before resuming her career.

“I was down in the dumps for the last few days but now I’m focusing on getting well as soon as possible and getting back playing golf. It’s going to be a long, hard process. My target

is the summer but the physios prob- ably think differently.”

The only upside of such an unfor- tunate incident is that she still has the backing of the Team Ireland Golf Trust who have reinforced their com- mitment to the Clare native despite her serious injury and have offered the services of the Irish Sports Coun- cil’s extensive team of physiothera- pists and doctors to aid her recovery.

CLARE’S ladies football season be- gins in earnest this Sunday when the county team face their first acid test against Down in the Suzuki National league semi-final.

Clare’s performance in this game will be a good barometer as to whether or not further progress has been achieved this year in the devel- opment of the county panel. Should Clare win on Sunday not only will the team gain a place in the Division 2 final against either Waterford or Donegal (which will be televised live on TG4) but they will also be guar- anteed a place in Division | of the Suzuki league for the 2009 season as both finalists are automatically pro- moted.

Manager Deirdre Murphy has brought Clare a long way since she took over the reins in January 2006.

In 2005 Clare had failed to fulfil some fixtures but upon her appoint- ment Deirdre and her management team set about reversing the fortunes of the Clare county team and had success in winning the Munster Jun- ior championship and the 2006 Su- Zuki Division 3 league in her maiden year.

The aim for 2007 was to be com- petitive in Division 2 of the national league and to make every effort to secure the newly created Intermedi- ate championship or at least a final place. While they succeeded in their league ambitions they again came up agonisingly short of reaching Croke Park with again a single point semi final loss to another eventual winner ateatee

The All Ireland Intermediate championship title is the obvious fo- cus of Clare’s ambition in 2008 but Sunday’s game will be an important stepping stone in the development of the squad. Down operate as a senior county for championship purposes and have been mixing it with the best of Ulster teams at this level for a

number of years. While they will be favourites to progress against their intermediate rated rivals, Down will still enter this game with caution as they will realise that Clare are a team with ambition this year.

In their four games to date in the 2008 series Down have had good wins over Fermanagh, Tipperary and Longford while they drew away to Donegal. They’ve also scored a massive 12-54 in their four games to date in the current league so clearly they are ateam on form. Defensively Down have conceded 7-23 and Clare will hope to exploit their tendency to concede goals even when dominat- ing games.

Clare should have their strongest panel for selection on Sunday and it will be interesting to see the first fif- teen. Clare’s defence has been shaky at times but the return to the squad of Sinéad Eustace of Coolmeen and also the Banner’s Sarah Hoey mak- ing herself available for selection should help matters in this depart- ment as the season progresses. Vital to Clare’s success however will be a

fully fit Tammy Hehir and ex-Gal- way star Michelle Delaney is another player who could have a major influ- ence in determining Sunday’s out- come. She’s easily playing her best football in years and is really making an impression in the county scene this year.

Sunday’s encounter has all the in- eredients of a thriller with a big prize at stake for the winners and if Clare play to their full potential they have every chance of overcoming their northern opponents

FIANNA Fail TD Timmy Dooley has welcomed the sanctioning of some €10 million in funding sup- ports for schools and pre-schools in disadvantaged areas.

The funding comes under the Dor- mant Accounts Fund and the Rapid Leverage Fund and will enable up to 100 schools designated under the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme to

achieve Digital School Status, the upgrading of facilities in up to 200 feeder pre-schools for DEIS schools, and the continuation of the library enhancement programme in up to 130 DEIS schools.

A proportion of the funding will also be directly sanctioned to 20 DEIS Limerick schools, to enable them to remain open after hours, at weekends and during holidays.

“This funding will support three main measures in DEIS schools in

Clare and all over the country. All DEIS schools will soon be informed how they can apply for funding un- der these schemes.”

With regard to the Library En- hancement Scheme, schools who have already applied for funding under the first round of funding last year will now have their application reviewed, the Deputy was told.

“There were so many applications first time around that there are a number of outstanding applications.”

has learned that Clare County Council has contracted the CM International group to pub- lish a Clare County Enterprise Strat- egy detailing a new way forward for business and enterprise in the county.

This strategy, which will be pub- lished next month, includes at its core a co-operative approach to de- velopment involving both the Uni- versity of Limerick and the National University of Ireland in Galway.

The report came before the Strate- gic Initiatives and External Affairs Committee of NUI, Galway last ete

“The report came before my sub- committee detailing information from Clare County Council recom- mending enterprise strategies for County Clare. Basically what is pro- posed is that Clare County Council co-ordinate all the major organisa- tion in the area including the County Development Board, RRD, NUI Gal- way, UL and anyone with the inter- ested in enterprise,” said Cllr Martin Lafferty (IND), who is a member of

the governing body of NUI, Galway.

“The idea is to form a committee to develop enterprise in the county. They are looking specifically at in- creasing the quality and quantity of research and development, increas- ing innovation and the quality and adaptability of the labour force.

“Clare County Council wouldn’t have the expertise for this kind of project but they are looking to co- ordinate the expertise that is avail- able in the area. They are lucky that we are sitting here between the two universities, one in Limerick and one in Galway. Galway university have a close relationship in Clare County Council and will be carrying out this initiative on their behalf.

“We have a number of organisa- tions already in Clare like Shannon Development, Enterprise Ireland and the County Development Board it- self.

In the minutes recorded for last week’s meeting of NUI, Galway’s Strategic Initiatives and External Af- fairs Committee commitments were given for the university to take a “leadership” role in the process.

A commitment was also given, in principle, to share intelligence with their client base in the county and to “define and elaborate the scope, role of an R&D transfer facility in the area of bio-medical engineering” in the county.

EUROPE must allow for Irish fish producers a freer hand for the pro- duction of farmed fish and shell fish or the industry faces a troubled future. Addressing the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee in Brussels on Thursday, the IFA’s Aquaculture Executive Secretary, Richie Flynn, said that the EU strat- egy to support a sustainable fish and shellfish farming sector was vital to redress the balance of seafood im- ports into the community.

Mr Flynn was speaking at a special hearing of the Parliament on the Sit- uation and Perspectives of the Aqua- culture Sector.

“We are all aware of the growing importance of food production and food security. We see growing num- bers of health professionals urging consumers to eat more seafood as a matter of priority to promote the development of mind and body and prevent modern diseases,’ he said.

“We see a rise in interest in food that is sustainable, organic, eco- friendly and convenient. All of these factors have contributed to an ever- erowing demand from European consumers for more and more qual- ity seafood.

“We know how to grow fish and Shellfish in Europe. We have dec- ades of European experience, avail- able waters, the right climate and the

world’s most advanced technology.

“EU Aquaculture produces 1.5 mil- lion tonnes of seafood and supports 80,000 jobs. Yet the community to- day still imports almost 50 per cent of its seafood needs. Aquaculture worldwide – in Asia, South America and elsewhere – is the fastest grow- ing food sector in the world.

“But here in Europe we are in dan- ger of starving in a land of plenty. Our Aquaculture sector is stagnant. Production in some sections of the industry is actually falling. Small and medium enterprises are facing CHUM Ee UN Laon

Mr Flynn said that MEPs visiting fish farms in the west of Ireland over Easter had seen first hand the value

and potential of farming salmon, mussels, oysters, trout and cod and the future opportunities to farm dif- ferent kinds of fish in the deep, clean waters of the Atlantic ocean on the EU’s western extremities.

“The Parliament has a hugely im- portant role in ensuring that the de- velopment of aquaculture in Europe is led by common-sense legislation, practical research and development and a recognition that our valuable sea and freshwater resources must be used efficiently for food production,” he continued.

“The EU Strategy being developed by the commission must release the potential of the aquaculture sector, not restrict it.”

has learned that the taxi used in the shooting was found abandoned in Shannon that evening.

At least 15 shots were fired at six houses on St Ita’s Street in the St Mary’s Park estate in Limerick, at around teatime last Tuesday.

The gunman opened fire with a high powered machine gun.

The car, which had earlier been sto- len in Dublin, was found in the Cro- nan estate in Shannon, a short time after the incident in Limerick.

‘The car was subsequently techni-

cally examined and nothing of a sub- Stantial nature was found on it,” said a garda source. Gardai are trying to establish why the car was abandoned homey er beueleyee

The multiple attacks prompted widespread concern that the incident would lead to further tensions be- tween rival gangs in Limerick city.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the garda commissioner an- nounced that members of the Emer- gency Response Unit would be de- ployed to the city.

“IT am asking a unit of the Emer- gency Response Unit to come here to Limerick in the next few days to take up duty here to augment the armed patrols that are already in place,” said Commissioner Fachtna Murphy.

He said the ERU would be deployed in known trouble spots in the city.

ADDICTION is being glamourised, the head of the mid-west’s new coun- selling institute has warned.

The Minister for State at the De- partment of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Pat Carey offi- cially launched the National Coun- selling Institute of Ireland, which is now based in the mid-west.

The launch ceremony at the insti- tute’s new premises at the National Technological Park in Limerick also marked the announcement of the start of four new professional degree courses which will get underway in the autumn.

These include a BA in Counselling Studies and Psychometric Testing, BA in Youth and Counselling stud- ies, BA in Counselling Skills and Addiction Studies, and a BA in Adult Guidance Studies.

“There is a red alert warning sign across all classes in our community regarding addictions which needs to be addressed,” said the President of the NCIT, Maria Carmody

‘In today’s celebrity society, addic- tions are being glamorised in the me- dia through pop stars, fashion idols, film and television stars, creating the very dangerous impression particu- larly among young people that this is fashionable, trendy or acceptable.”