Month: July 2008

CLARE’S largest hospital was left with dangerously low levels of water as a result of reduced pressure in the water mains in the Ennis area.

Ennis fire brigade had to be mobi- lised to help provide water for En- nis General Hospital yesterday. The fire service is expected to remain on standby over the next few days in case their assistance is again required.

Ennis Town Council had to shut off water in parts of Ennis in an effort to divert water to the hospital so that the fire service could pump water to the high level tanks. Ennis General Hos- pital’s main water tanks are located on the roof of the building. Because of problems with water pressure in the town water was not reaching the tanks in adequate amounts.

The hospital confirmed that pa- tients were not affected by the water problems. A spokesman added that the fire service had to be called in to help ensure that the hospitals water tanks are kept full.

Clare County Council confirmed last night that water use restrictions applying to over 30,000 customers in Ennis and its environs had been lifted.

A council spokesman said that as a result of recent intensive rainfall, the quality of raw water entering the Ennis water supply source at Drum- cliffe deteriorated significantly to a

point where its treatment could not be accommodated in the quantities required to respond to demand from Loy eb Ne Ece

Following consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Health Service Execu- tive (HSE), the council decided to partially bypass the filtration system with a view to increasing the quan- tity of water that could be dispatched to consumers.

The spokesman said that the move was designed to replenish the storage levels in reservoirs, restore supply to all consumers and ensure that criti- cal areas such as hospitals and fire service had an adequate volume of supply.

“In reaching this decision, the Council, EPA and HSE are conscious that some of the water being supplied to consumers is unfiltered at the mo- ment. However, all three parties are satisfied that any risk from a public health point of view can be kept to a minimum by full implementation of the partial boil notice to vulnerable groups, which remains in place,’ said county engineer, Tom Tiernan.

“Although bypassing some water around the water filtration system in- troduces the potential risk of crypt- osporidium to vulnerable groups, the need to maintain a critical volume of water supply for personal hygiene is a higher priority for public health.” he said.

HUNDREDS of Clare farmers are facing a race against time to have works undertaken under the Farm Waste Management Scheme com- pleted by the end of year deadline.

According to a new survey released by the Irish Farmers Association last week more than one in every three farmers will miss the December deadline.

This would amount to more than 10,000 farmers countrywide and hundreds in Clare.

“The end of year deadline is un- realistic given the magnitude of the

investment that is required on Irish farms to meet the requirements of the Nitrates directive,’ said IFA President Padraig Walshe.

“IT am calling on the Government to put in place flexible arrangements to allow any farmer who has started work to be eligible for the 60 per cent grant when work is completed.”

It 1s estimated that around 33,000 farmers are either in the process of doing work or intend to start the work soon. However, for a number of different reasons, up to 10,000 farm- ers will not have completed work by the end of the year.

The main reason identified in the

IFA survey for the expected non- completion of work is a lack of availability of builders, difficulty in raising finance, the timescale for completion of work being too tight and shortage of building materials.

“Securing flexible arrangements for farmers who will be endeav- ouring to complete work under the FWM is a priority issue for IFA in the partnership talks, which have already commenced,” continued the IFA President.

The IFA survey of over 300 farm- ers who have applied for the Farm Waste Management and the Farm Improvement Scheme was conduct-

ed through a telephone survey from the 12 IFA regional offices as well as farmers who were surveyed at the IFA stand at last week’s Farm Fest Teagasc open day in Athenry.

“The survey clearly highlights the need for such a scheme with up to 97 per cent of farmers who have got approval expected to complete work under the scheme,” said IFA Rural Development Chairman Tom Turley.

“In addition, farmers who applied between the 22nd and the 31st Oc- tober 2007 closure date, up to 98 per cent would start work if they got the Department of Agriculture ap- proval.”

THE Irish Farmers Association last week warned Taoiseach Brian Cowen not to think about wavering from his commitment to use the Irish Govern- ment’s veto if a bad World Trade Or- ganisation deal is on the table.

Speaking last Thursday IFA Presi- dent Padraig Walshe said the deci- sion to proceed with this month’s WTO ministerial meeting was proof of Commissioner Peter Mandelson’s determination to “secure a deal at any cost”.

The IFA president said that his or- ganisation would be “maintaining its

constant vigilance” ahead of the July 21 meeting.

Meanwhile, Minister for Agricul- ture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, moved to calm farmers’ fears by speaking out against accepting a bad WTO deal.

Speaking in Luxembourg on Wednesday where he was attending the council of agriculture ministers meeting, he said that the set of WTO proposals on the table in Geneva at present were not balanced and there- fore not an appropriate basis for a o(cr-N Lm dev Rm a bE a Tos

The minister was speaking during discussions at the council, following

an update by Commissioner Fischer Boel on the current state of play of the Geneva negotiations.

‘We should not rush into a bad deal to facilitate the US administration while ignoring the very real chal- lenges ahead of food security and climate change,” he said.

‘We must ensure that we retain an agricultural production base in Eu- rope so that we can meet these new challenges both in the interests of the EU and of the world as a whole. We should not be afraid to say that we will not accept a bad deal and that we need more time to address these major issues.”

Minister Smith added that the world had moved on considerably since the Doha Round started in 2001. In particular, the current negotiations do not take account of the radically altered international landscape in relation to food security and climate change. He said the council should give itself the time required to reflect these important challenges in inter- national trade policy.

He also said that the passage of the farm bill, and the political debate in the United States, raised serious doubts about the capacity of the US administration to deliver and follow through on a deal at this time.

IRISH fishermen were last week praised for their restraint and pa- tience in not reacting to the contin- ued crisis in the industry by instigat- ing a repeated blockade of Irish ports AN ICOM ereDuOOLIbuCe

Speaking at the opening at a ma- jor conference on innovation and sustainability in the seafood sector, Clare TD and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Tony Killeen set a July 15 deadline for the European Commis- sion to deliver on a rescue plan for the industry.

Minister Killeen met with repre-

sentatives of the Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) ahead of opening the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) – BIM/Fish Ireland 2008 Conference on Innovation and Sustainability in the Seafood Industry.

“TI believe that the current very dif- ficult situation the industry 1s fac- ing makes it even more critical to identify the key steps necessary to lift the industry out of its vulnerable position where it 1s dependent on in- flexible commodity prices and thus unable to pass on its full costs.

“Tt is of the utmost importance that we take steps and work together to maximise the value and in particular the prices fishermen get at the quay-

side,’ he said.

“The Cawley strategy sets out the road-map and today’s conference served to both review progress and identify opportunities in the market for both wild and farmed fish.”

The conference also focused on aquaculture development and Min- ister Killeen identified this sector as offering potential for significant growth. He said that he was commit- ted to addressing the current chal- lenges so that the full potential of aquaculture could be realised.

The Clare TD also set out the work he was doing with Commissioner Borg and his colleagues in the Coun- cil of Ministers to get agreement for

an EU funded package of emergency measures for fishermen.

“I wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge the patience and very reasonable attitude of fishermen since our meeting in Athlone on June 13. I fully recognise that fishermen are impatient at delays in finding so- LULaCeysm Cem snomeUluKoNmOeKoKy

‘IT wish to assure fishermen and the FIF that Minister Smith and I under- stand fully their situation and will continue to work with the utmost ur- gency to secure an EU funded pack- age of measures as early as possible.

“We will continue to press the commission to deliver at the fisher- ies council on 15 July.”

SLOW Food Clare will host an evening highlighting the richness of the county’s indigenous food next Monday, July 7, at the Cahercon- nell Stone Fort and Visitor Centre in Carron. The evening, entitled “Tast- ing Irish Heritage’, will combine a exploration of the locality’s rich his- torical and cultural background with some of its rich culinary produce. The evening will include an au- dio-visual display that describes the Burren from prehistoric times and provides interpretation as to how people may have lived in Cahercon- nell ringfort. This will be followed

by a guided tour of the ringfort by Graham Hull, TVAS Ireland, and Dr Michelle Comber from NUI Gal- WENA

Hull and Comber will describe the results of recent excavation at the fort and display a number of prehistoric artifacts doscovered at the site.

This will be followed by a six course meal served family style in the visitor centre cafe featuring pro- duce from local Clare producers. The meal will include a mixed green salad with a homemade dressing and fresh croutons, spinach and citrus soup, a Selection of Clare cheeses, served with homemade breads and scones, jams and chutneys.

For their main course diners will be served fresh vegetables, all from local growers, harvested on the day and prepared simply to allow for true tasting. Featured vegetables will in- clude the potato, beetroot, baby car- rot, cabbage and spinach.

“We feel fortunate to be combining the rich heritage of County Clare, the bounty of its local produce and the arrival of students from the Univer- sity of Gastromonic Sciences who are visiting producers in the Bur- ren as part of their college curricu- lum,’ said Kim O’Shea of Slow Food Orie

‘Tasting Irish Heritage is a very unique event. All the foods served

are locally sourced directly from producers and simply prepared in order to allow the true taste to be the star of the show.”

A complete list of producers will be available on the evening with de- tails of where to find these wonder- ful foods in the future – from local farmers’ markets, home kitchens, erowers’ fields, and artisan food businesses – all in County Clare.

Booking by phone is essential, as Slow Food Clare need confirmed numbers for July 2. The event cost €30 per person or €25 for Slow Food Clare members.

For more information of to book contact Kim O’Shea at 087 9117709.

DETAILS for this year’s Gort Show were Officially announced last week with organisers predicting that this year’s event would be the largest and most popular to date.

The show, which takes place on Au- gust 10, will this year boast one of the largest children’s sections in the country with more than 30 classes on display. Along with the increas- ing number of categories, the prize- money for the winner is also on the Tb NOusreRos

“We are delighted this year to be able to increase the prize money in

every category. We are now able to offer over €10,000 in prize money, including over €2,000 in special prizes,’ said show chairman lan N)Koy ales

‘Due to the high interest in the pho- tographic section at the Gort Show over the last few years we are pleased to introduce the Minihane’s Super- Valu photographic competition.

‘This 1s a competition that is open not only amateurs but also semi-pro- fessional and professional photogra- phers, and has a prize fund of €100 per class.”

The number of categories in the outdoor event is also on the increase

with perennial favourites like the dog show and poultry section being joined by a host of new events. This year’s flower show will be housed in it’s own marquee while the horse, pony and donkey sections will be held in the grounds of the Gort Com- munity School.

Organisers this year have put a spe- cial emphasis on creating a family friendly day out with bouncy castles, face painting, games, prizes, a pup- pet show, candy floss and ice-cream.

There will be a vintage car and mo- torbike rally, an old farm machinery and tractor show, a sale of local arts and crafts and a rescue display by the

local fire brigade.

The full schedule of events will be available from the entry office at the Gort Family Resource Centre from ordered ©

Schedules will also be available from Minihane’s SuperValu and other retail outlets in Gort. Entries will be accepted from Monday, July 7, until Friday, August 1. Opening times for entries will be from 9.30am to lpm and from 2pm to 4pm.

For more information on the show check out www.gortshow.com, e- mail secretary@gortshow.com or phone show secretary Fidelma Lar- kin at 087 6506683.

AS WE speak, a young Clare tra- ditional musician is mixing it with the very best in the world at the Blas Summer School in Limerick. Six- teen-year-old Ballyvaughan student Caoimhe Greene has spent the last 10 days playing with and learning from some of musical idols.

After spending her transition year work experience at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick Caoimhe was hooked. Finding no scholarships easily available, she set about taking matters into her own hands.

“After the work experience [| start-

ed making up a Blas music biogra- phy and sent it out to a few different places, just to see what would hap- pen. One of the organisations that I sent it to was Clare County Council and they got back to me and said that even though they don’t usually spon- sor scholarships, they would make an exception for me,’ said Caoimhe.

“We have a master-class each morn- ing with one of the lecturers. There are so many brilliant teachers down here. Then we have lectures before a lunchtime concert with some of the teachers. Then there are more classes and lesson in the evening.”

This year’s Blas features some of Ireland’s foremost musician includ-

ing Donal Lunny, Mairtin O’Connor, Steve Cooney, Iarla O Lionaird, Mar- tin Hayes and Dennis Cahill.

“Tt’s really amazing. Take today for example. I just had a two hour one- on-one lesson with Steve Cooney. Something like that is just unbeliev- able. A private lesson with Steve Cooney and he’s off to Glastonbury on Friday. You couldn’t dream it up,” continues Caoimhe.

“T love to get into music as a Ca- reer. If you look at the people who are here then it would have to be your aim to try and emulate what they are doing. I like trad and classical but I’d love to get into some jazzy music and different things like that.”

Some 70 students from all over the world are taking part in this years festival. Besides a large Irish con- tingent, students have travelled from Israel, Columbia, Finland, Russia, France, the UK and America to learn from Ireland’s best.

Caoimhe will continue her mu- sic lessons and concerts at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance until the Blas Summer School come to aclose later this week.

FINAL preparations are being made for this year’s Burren Leadership Fo- rum which takes place at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan this weekend.

This year’s forum is entitled Ena- bling Leadership to Flourish Within Organisations and will feature some of the most distinguished minds in the leadership field including Dr Simon Western, Lynne Sedgemore OBE, John Housego, Zoe van Zwanenberg and Dr Ehat Aram.

“This year we are taking an inno- vative approach to leadership for-

mation, which is a new term in the Whole areas of leadership develop- ment,” said organiser Barry Walsh.

“It’s really about creating a cul- ture in an organisation which allows appropriate leaders to develop for the needs of that organisation. The premise of all of this is that leader ship can be formed. It’s about work- ing with people in their own situa- tions and helping to bring about the qualities that are necessary for that person.

“So it’s not about creating leaders at the front, it’s about having differ- ent types of leaders at all levels of an organisation. If you have a business

or organisation that is formed in this way than you are really going to fir- ing on all cylinders.”

The forum itself focuses on devel- oping leadership in many different types of organisations from private businesses to the voluntary organisa- tions and public services.

“It is focused on organisations as well as businesses. Some of the speakers work in the public sector, especially with the health service in the UK. But we also have a lot of speakers from the private sector, so there 1s a good mix,” continued Bru MA

“This year we will cater for a very

small group of about 50 people. We purposely wanted an intimate group. The forum is very action-orientated and there will be a lot of experiential work done. We are going to operate in small groups with lot of workshops for small numbers and then come to- gether for bigger lectures with the whole group.

‘There are still a few places avail- able so if people do want to get in- volved they should get in contact as soon as possible.”

For more information or to book a place contact the Burren Leadership Forum on 065 7083949 or check out www.burrenleadershipforum.ie

THREE decades of laughter, local happenings and community spirit are captured in the latest event to be hosted at the X-PO project in GTi eyey’7

“An Udder View” is an exhibition with a difference – a collection of community photographs spanning 28 years taken by Kilnaboy native Peter Ree. The photos mix the old and the new, people and places, and track the very heart of the small community and how it has evolved since 1980.

‘“T’ve been taking photographs since I was a child. I don’t leave the door in the morning without the camera with me,” said Peter.

“This exhibition is nothing to do

with photography really. It’s about getting people together and com- municating, about getting people to meet and chat the way they used to do in the post office long ago.”

From the vantage point of his truck, Peter has taken more than 50,000 pictures. These were sorted, dated and 1,000 were chosen to be part of the exhibition. Of these photos, 150 were chosen to be in a special slide- show projected in the X-PO.

“There are pictures in there you can’t get back again. Things change – people hair, fashion, their appear- ance – you can’t stage pictures like these again. The beauty of being in the truck is that you get to see a lot of things that people might not oth- erwise see,’ continued Peter.

‘The reaction of the locals has been brilliant. ’’ve seen families coming back three nights in a row to give themselves time to look through the albums properly and slowly. Some people have gotten emotional about it, walked out of the room shaking their head. But the next night then they’re back for more. They are look- ing at their own lives and the lives of their family and friends down the years.”

“An Udder View” is the final exhi- bition in the X-PO project. Project organiser Deirdre O’Mahony is hopeful that the revival of the former post office as community space will continue long after the project itself.

“The local people have reacted so brilliantly to this project,’ said Deir-

dre.

‘The time that people have to talk to each other, just passing time with your neighbours is not the same as it once was. The places where you can do that has diminished. The question is how can we hold on to the won- derful community that we have in Kilnaboy and places like it all over the country.”

An Udder View continues at the X- PO until July 13.

THE Shannon Musical Society has once again achieved national recog- nition, through two Association of Irish Musical Society (AIMS) awards in Killarney last week.

The awards were for their most re- cent production of “Seussical”’.

Aodan Fox won best comedian for his role as “Cat in the Hat’. Aodan 1s no stranger to the AIMS stage, hav-

ing taken this award twice before.

Dave Halliday received runner-up for best house management. Dave has been part of the front of house team for many years and has been front of house manager for the last two.

Shannon Musical Society has re- ceived this award several times in the past.

As the society’s members celebrate the prestigious accolades, prepara- tions are underway for next season’s

production “All Shook up” which will take to the stage next February.

This Broadway musical is written by Joe Di Pietro and is based on the music by Elvis Presley.

For the fourth consecutive year, the society has retained the services of Oliver Hurley as director and chore- Oyaeese

The committee for the coming year has been elected as follows: Dara Gough (chairperson), Kevin He-

hir (vice-chairperson), Maria Kelly (secretary), Richard Stapleton (treas- urer), Deirdre McNelis (patrons and sponsors) Mary O’Loughlin (PRO), Siobhan Linton (membership) and David Halliday.

Anyone interested in joining the Shannon Musical Society should browse through the website on www. shannonmusical.com or telephone Siobhan on 086 2142554 for details on membership.