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Once more into the breach

I CAN’T speak for you, but for me the last 12 months have passed in a blur. It doesn’t seem like a year since we began to wind up for The Clare 10k 2007, but there you go.

Taking place on June 28, 2008, The Clare 10k is ready for it’s third out- ing. Last year the race attracted over 1200 participants. This year we are

hoping for more.

There are some changes to The Clare 10k this year, the main one be- ing the starting time. For the last two years the gun has gone off at llam, this year the time has been moved forward to 10am.

There are also some new faces on board. Mr Binman have taken on part sponsorship of The Clare 10k and our second nominated charity

will be the Building for Hope – Sr Ethel Normoyle – Project.

Still involved are The Clare People, O’Brien’s sandwich bar and Clare Haven Services and Run Republic.

This we, while we are hoping that more people will take part, we are also hoping that more people will decide to get involved for a worthy oN on

Again, your entry fee will be split

between Clare Haven Services and the Building for Hope Project, but outside of this you can choose the charity you want to raise funds for.

So, dust off your training gear, make the most of the long (hopefully sunny) evenings, and get prepared for The Clare 10k 2008.

Clare’s largest mass participation event. For more details visit www. clarelOk.com.

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Helipad refused for Clonlara developer

A SOUTH-EAST Clare developer has for the fourth time been refused planning permission for a helicopter pad on his land at Clonlara.

Clare County Council rejected the latest application from Peter Stritch with an internal council memo stat- ing that legal action over unauthor- ised helicopter activity at the site was ongoing. Mr Stritch had previously been refused planning permission

for a helipad on two occasions while he was also refused permission to construct a hangar for a helicopter.

In response to the latest applica- tion, the council concluded that the helipad would seriously injure the amenities and depreciate the value of adjacent residential properties and be contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.

The council refused planning per- mission after objections were lodged by a number of local residents.

In his objection, David Beckett stated that the grounds on which the previous applications were refused were still valid and unchanged and the fact that the location of the site on the farm was moved made no dif- eon Gen

“His appeal to An Bord Pleanala was refused and it is possible that this application is being used as a re- placement for the rejected helicopter landing area.

“My family and I were greatly dis-

turbed by the noise. Helicopters are very noisy and the beat of the ro- tor blades is particularly irritating. Even an approaching helicopter can be heard when it is only a dot in the sky. The applicant will argue that the landing site is well away from hous- es, but this ignores the fact that when the helicopter is flying overhead, it 1s less than 100 metres away and can be heard throughout the house.”

Mr Beckett said there were im- portant safety concerns to consider,

including the fact that the proposed site was next to a gallop which was used daily and there was a high risk of an equestrian accident.

‘According to a UK accident data- base, 57 helicopters have crashed so far this year. On March 20, a heli- copter crashed in Meath, while in July 2007, a helicopter crashed near Ballynacally. We live in a quiet, rural and increasingly residential area and it is not suitable for aircraft activity,” Mr Beckett concluded.

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Clare duo hit high notes for Europe

MEZZO-soprano Naomi O’Connell from Ballyvaughan and tenor Dean Power, a native of Clarecastle, will perform at a free lunchtime concert on Friday at European Commission headquarters in Dublin to celebrate Europe Day.

Naomi is completing her final year of a BA in performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, while Dean is in the final year of the Bachelor of Music “Performance Course’ at the Dublin Institute of Technology.

Both Naomi and Dean began their vocal studies with Archie Simpson in Clare and now study in Dublin WA LOM\Z EV aYas BIESONITTEE

Over the last four years, Naomi has won 11 first places in Feis Ceoil and last year won three prizes in the Veronica Dunne international singing competition, including the

Dame Joan Sutherland prize for the most promising young singer as well as overall fourth prize in the com- petition. Next September, she will continue her studies with a Masters Degree at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York.

Dean has also won numerous priz- es at Feis Ceoil and this year was overall winner in the Ballymena Feis as well as coming joint first in the Male Voice Repertoire and Grand Opera competitions. He has travelled widely, singing in the Irish dance show, “Rhthym Of The Dance’ and has sung tenor solo in Handel’s OW SSE

The Dublin concert takes place from | to 2pm on Friday at the EC building in Dawson Street.

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Staff at Doonbeg Golf Club learn new skills

FIVE staff members of The Lodge at Doonbeg Golf Club have skilled up on information technology through a special upskilling course.

They were presented with cer- tificates from FAS, whose Skills for Work computer-based course was facilitated by the Clare Vocational Education Committee.

The staff members – Harry Crowe, Anna Cooney, Dermot Healy, Len

Wilson and Michael Ryan – took the course for 15 weeks at the West Clare Resource Centre in Miltown Malbay where training was provided by Jenny Bostock of Clare VEC.

Doonbeg General Manager, Joe Russell and HR Manager, Patrice Scanlan facilitated their employ- ees in attending training during the LO) 0. GOTO ENA

Commenting on the development, Joe Russell said The Lodge at Doon- beg was committed to its employees

and their professional growth. The programme provided the training necessary for them to enhance their skills, further improving what has always been a wonderfully talented team. ;

Skills for Work, a new FAS Serv- ices to Business programme, is being offered to people in employment at a number of Clare locations.

It is designed to provide easy access to training for employees, improving essential information technology

and communications skills as well as educational levels in the workplace.

Training is fully subsidised by FAS and focuses on _ industry-specific topics, such as health and safety, customer care, familiarisation with computers, personal and interper- sonal skills, etc.

Classes are usually on-site and fully funded. Certification is through the Further Education and Training Awards Council of Ireland but op- wLOyat-N B

With a workplace Skills For Work course, employees can avail of train- ing to start on the one-step-up cycle. In gaining enhanced confidence and skills, participants can go on to ac- cess a broader range of training op- tions.

This in turn assists the employer in taking one-step-up in terms of effec- tiveness.

Several such courses are running successfully in companies around Clare.

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Soy Seve ARaU DUR KOM elon y

THE Lord Mayor of Cork, Donal Counihan, has paid a warm tribute to the late President Hillery, describing the Clare man as “the epitome of all that was statesmanlike”’.

Mr Counihan, who, for three years, lived in Corrovorin, Ennis while working for Clare County Council, said Dr Hillery was characterised by ‘“‘an impeccable integrity”’.

“His innate decency and humil- ity and the qualities of being able to ‘walk with kings’ while at the same time relate so sincerely with ordi- nary people.”

Mr Counihan praised Dr Hillery’s work as minister for education when

he paved the way for the establish- ment of regional technical colleges.

“In his next role, as minister for industry and commerce, he saw the move for greater protection and safe- ty in industry for workers and the then vexed issue of industrial rela- tions. This led to the establishment of a Department of Labour and his appointment as the first minister for labour.”

Mr Counihan said that, while ex- ternal affairs minister, Dr Hillery showed a steely resolve by turning up on the Falls Road in Belfast at the height of the Northern troubles. Thereafter he travelled to the UN in New York, drawing the attention of the world to the plight of Northern

Nationalists.

“This personal mettle was again demonstrated when he faced down at a Fianna Fail Ard-Fheis a group who did not fully share his democratic national instincts on the resolution of the Northern question.”

Mr Counihan went on to praise Dr Hillery’s term as EU Commissioner and his decision, despite personal reservations, to become President of Ireland in 1976.

“He fulfilled this role with dignity and commenced a process whereby the President became much more en- gaged with Irish society and particu- larly with communities throughout the country. His display of profound loyalty to the State and the proprie-

ties regarding the Presidency in par- ticular became manifest when he granted a dissolution to a Taoiseach despite pressure from his political colleagues not to do so.

“On a personal level, I had the great pleasure of meeting him intermit- tently over many years past and have gladly accepted invitations to Aras an Uachtaran. On these occasions, he felt most relaxed when recounting anecdote stories of political and per- sonal events and it was a great pleas- ure to have had the rare opportunity O) Ml oLesuNTcam bem Obmere)esl Oy: DEhVA

“As a presidential couple with his wife, Dr Maeve Hillery, both set an excellent example and were univer- sally admired.”

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€24.5 million for Clare social housing

ALMOST €24.5 million has been allocated to support the 2008 social housing programme in Clare, with €2 million going to Traveller-spe- cific accommodation in the year.

The 2008 allocation represents a €2 million increase on the figure provided to Clare Local Authorities last year.

The biggest share of the funding will go to the local authority hous- ing programme which has been al- located €18 million with a further €4.25 million going to improvement works.

Welcoming the increased alloca- tion, Clare Minister of State, Tony Killeen said the money will enable the local authority to continue with its house-building programmes

which delivered approximately 120 starts and completions in 2007.

“The county also has an ambitious programme of improvement works relating to existing local author- ity estates with extensive works to be undertaken in John Paul Estate, Kilrush and Inis Eagla in Shannon amongst others. The allocation for this work has almost tripled to €4.2 million,” he said.

“An allocation of €150,000 has also been made to Ennis Town Council for the completion of its central heating programme. Under this programme, the Department of the Environment provides co-fund- ing for the installation of modern central heating systems into local authority houses. Priority continues to be given to installations for older people,” the minister concluded.

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Council gets tough on holiday home ban

CLARE County Council’s policy of banning holiday homes across the county has become even more ex- treme with the local authority over- ruling its own planner to prevent any further holiday homes in Bally- vaughan.

Last month, the council granted planning permission to Kevin Tuo- hy to construct 44 homes in Bal- Ivaughan. In the planner’s report, it was recommended that 19 of the

houses be used as holiday homes, with 20 as permanent residences and five to be used as affordable homes. The planner cited an application lodged in 2005 proposing that a pro- portion of homes be used as holiday homes and said it was reasonable to approach the use of the Tuohy devel- opment homes in a similar manner. However, the planner was overruled by the council and all homes must be used for permanent occupancy, though it is unclear if the Clare County Development Plan proposes

that there should be a ban on holiday homes in the county.

The council granted planning per- mission on the basis that the develop- ment should not commence until the water system 1s upgraded.

This decision has been appealed by Pauline Burke of the Ballyvaughan Lodge who described the design of the houses as “a perfect example of the architectural banality that is spreading like a disease across Ire- land”.

“A cursory review of the Bal-

lyvaughan area will show that the houses that were for sale at the time of our original objection in July 2007 are still for sale. There are approxi- mately 300 permanent residents in Ballyvaughan and this development seeks to increase this by at least 50 per cent – an unsustainable figure in reality.

“Given these statistics, it 1s clear that the developers intend to market the development as holiday accommo- dation. We do not feel that this is in keeping with the current Government

policy on development in villages in the west of Ireland and not in keeping with recent high-profile similar cases in Liscannor and Doolin.”

Elsewhere in her appeal, Ms Burke states that employment in Bally- vaughan cannot sustain its popu- lation and thus commuting is the norm. The N67 bears the majority, if not all, of this traffic and is already at breaking point. The road in ques- tion is full to capacity and congested all day every day. A decision is due on the appeal later this year.

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Halifax wins excellent award

SHANNON-based Halifax Insur- ance Ireland was one of the com- panies awarded the prestigious FAS Excellence Through People award by Labour Affairs Minister, Billy OTS om em os.e

A subsidiary of Halifax Bank of Scotland, Halifax Insurance Ireland has 320 employees specialising in creditor repayments insurance for HBOS customers. All business func- tions are located in Shannon, includ- ing underwriting, customer services, direct sales, finance, information technology and human resources.

Paying tribute to the company, Min- ister Kelleher said the Excellence Through People awards scheme was unique in that it is the only standard dedicated to the role of people.

He went on to stress the importance of innovation and emphasised that “people and corporate culture are in- ternationally recognised as the most important drivers of innovation”.

FAS Director General, Rody Mol- loy added that the FAS Excellence Through People Standard provides a step-by-step roadmap for human resource management and helps achieve bottom-line business results “through valuing, involving and de-

veloping employees”.

The 36 organisations who received this national standard comprise a variety of sectors including retail, hospitality and transport and the to- tal number of employers who have received this accolade now stands at more than 600 nationwide.

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Clare investors high on national league table

ASURVEY of lump sum investments made by more than 25,000 custom- ers of Irish Life in 2007 shows that the average amount invested nation- ally amounted to €44,915, while the average sum invested in Clare was €32,636.58.

The figures show significant dif- ferences in the size of investment

between males and females, between the various Irish counties and in the types of investments chosen. The av- erage lump sum invested by male cli- ents in Clare was €40,000 (€52,000 nationally) while for female clients it was just over €21,000 (€33,000 na- tionally).

A breakdown of Clare investments showed that 52 per cent was in capital protected products (49 per cent na-

tionwide); 12 per cent in equity and managed products (20 per cent na- tionwide) and 36 per cent in property products (31 per cent nationwide).

Over €1.2 billion was invested by retail investors in non-pension relat- ed lump sums with Irish Life during 2007.

Irish Life spokesman Karl Symes said the size of the average lump sum invested reflected the growing

prosperity in Ireland in recent years. “The fact that the average investment amongst 20,000 different customers last year was as high as €45,000 highlights the transformation that’s occurred in personal wealth in Ire- land over the past decade,” he said. “Overall, the figures reflect a rea- sonably diverse selection of invest- ment choices. The key to choosing an investment is an individual cus-

tomer’s appetite for risk and what’s clear is that this appetite varies by customer,” he said.

According to the Irish Life survey, Clare – with its €32,636 average in- vestment – came 18th out of the 26 fo) tba alehe

Cavan topped the poll with an aver- age investment of over €71,000, with Monaghan propping up the table on SPA OWL OF

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Glamour Armada

OVER 200 people paid tribute to the memory of a well-known Clare busi- nessman and supported a number of worthy causes at the second annual John Burke Commemorative Ball, hosted by the Armada Hotel in Span- ish Point on Sunday night.

The evening was a glamorous oc- casion with the newly extended hotel taking on a 1940’s style “Casablanca’ theme and transformed into a picture of that glamorous era by Fun Ireland, the well-known Limerick event man- Poses MUU EEE

The evening commenced with a champagne and cocktail reception, followed by a five-course banquet in the ocean-view Atlantic suite, with entertainment by the Irish Rat Pack.

Last year’s event raised €46,000 for local charities and this year’s funds will be divided between the palliative care team at Milford Hos- pice and the Miltown Resource Cen-

tre, which hosts many worthwhile local groups such as senior citizens, Youthreach and library facilities.

One of the highlights of the evening was the auction carried out by well- known local Clare auctioneer, Cor- mac O’Sullivan.

Among the many items donated by generous sponsors was a top-of-the- range gents’ Rolex watch from the sports submarine range donated by Keanes jewellers of Limerick, Kil- larney and Cork.

The auction created quite a stir and excited guests watched in anticipa- tion when Cormac finally struck the hammer at €5,500.

Thanking all the sponsors and guests for their support, commit- tee member John Burke said he was grateful to the event sponsors and to everyone who attended the ball.

“We are delighted to be able to make a sizable donation to local charities and to make a positive dif- ference to their lives,” he said.