Month: July 2008

AN increase in tourists looking for a more intimate experience of their time in Clare has led one north Clare businessman to launch a new, regular tourist walking service in the south Burren.

Having operated by appointment only for the last five year, the Kil- fenora based Heart of Burren Walks has this month launched two regu- lar weekly walks. The walks have proved so successful that guide, Tony Kirby, plans to run them on a daily basis in 2009.

‘There seems to a growing demand

for authentic guided walking tours in the area. I’ve been operating as a walking tour guide in the Burren for five years now or so but up until now it’s been by appointment only. But I have decided to open a new angle on it and open regular scheduled walks during the high season,” he said.

“So each Wednesday and Saturday afternoon throughout July and Au- gust we have a scheduled walk and the response has been so good that I will probably expand it a good bit next year.”

The walking tours leave from out- side the Burren Centre in Kilfenora each Wednesday and Saturday at

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The walks explore a variety of routes in the south of the Burren and take about two hours to complete.

“I have a few different routes and place but they are all roughly two hours in duration, the walking is always quite leisurely and there is always regular stops for some com- mentary on the highlights of the Burren which would be the nice wild flowers and things like that. The in- tention is to keep the group between 15 and at the very most 20 people. Children under the age of 16 come free of charge so that is a real incen- tive for families to come along,’ con-

tinued Mr Kirby.

“I do think that people are looking for holidays that are activity based and have contact with local people. The meeting point for all the walks is at the Burren centre in Kilfenora and I would like to think that there is a benefit for the local community and the Burren Centre.”

The Heart of Burren Walks leaves from outside the Burren Cen- tre in Kilfenora each Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm. For more info contact 065 6827707, email info@heartofburrenwalks.com — or check out www.heartofburrenwalks. one

BOYS and girls from north Clare are being offered the chance to hone the soccer skills this summer thank to a new Summer Camp.

The camp, which is being organised by newly formed local club Sporting Ennistymon FC, if aimed at young people from 6 to 14 years and will run for five days from August 11 to 15. The camp will take place from 10am to 3pm each day at the Lahinch Community Sportsfield.

“Each day we will start with a warm-up and some soccer drill to get

ourselves going. Then we will have things like passing games, passing competitions, shooting competition and most days the last hour and half will be spent in mini-leagues,” said camp co-ordinator Vinny Leigh.

‘Fun is really the main focus of the camps. They key for kids of that age first of all is for them to enjoy them- to hone

It’s great fro them to learn a pit and pick up some new skills and exercise out in the open air is always good – but first and foremost the focus is on enjoying themselves and having a good time.

“They will be learning the basics of the game such as passing, shooting and heading but it will all be done in a fun way which will incorporate all sorts of fun drills.

At the end of the week we will have a few mini-competitions just for a bit of fun. All the kids will come out at the end of the week with a goodie bag and a certificate of participation. So everyone will walk away a winner.

“We will have a crew of qualified FAI coaches with us and we will map out a programme for the camp. A lot of the camp will be based on the FAI recommended programme for this

age group.”

This years camp will also see the return of former Irish International Mick Kennedy to assist with the weeks coaching activities. The coach to kid ratio is kept to 1:14 ensuring plenty of individual attention for each child over the week.

The camp is open to boys and girls aged 6 to 14 years and will run each day from 10am to 3pm.

Application forms are available throughout local businesses and all details can be obtained by contacting Vinny at 086 0886015. Early book- ing 1s advisable.

DOZENS OF gardai from across the Clare division will get on their bikes and cycle 130 kilometres across the county later this year – all in the name of charity.

The 20th annual garda charity cycle which will take place on September 13 this year is in aid of the seven wa- ter-based emergency services across the county.

The gardai will cycle the 130 kilo-

metres trek from Doolin to Two Mile Gate, outside Killaloe.

Doolin Coastguard, Lahinch Sea and Rescue, Kilkee Marine Rescue, Kilrush Lifeboat, Bunratty Search and Rescue, Killaloe/Ballina Res- cue and St Caimin’s in Mountshan- non will receive equal shares of the money raised through the cycle.

Ennis Sergeant Joe Downey, who is PRO for the event, said the excellent work put in by the emergency serv- ices should be recognised.

“The importance of the role they play in rescuing people and some- times the grim task of recovering bodies should be highlighted,” said Sgt Downey.

“They are fantastic organisations who give their time _ voluntarily and who need money on an ongo- ing basis. While they all get a little bit of money from the Government, their ongoing yearly running costs are pretty high. We recognise that and we decided to donate money to

them,’ added Sgt Downey.

Kilkee Marine Rescue will use the money for upgrading equipment at its rescue centre. The equipment is updated on an annual basis and funds are always welcomed.

Killaloe/Ballina Rescue will buy a trailer and mobile communications centre, while Doolin Coastguard intends to use the money raised to- wards the purchase of an automated telephone paging system, which indi- cates the position of its units at sea, through global satellite.

Lahinch Sea and Rescue will put the money towards replacing its boat, while St Caimin’s in Mountshannon will purchase new suits for its mem- bers. Kilrush Lifeboat will use the money to train its volunteers and buy new crew kits, while Bunratty Search and Rescue intends to put the money towards maintaining its newly refur- bished centre.

All of those due to take part in the cycle are members of the gardai. Some have cycled for this event for several years and have raised thou- sands of euro each year.

“We are hoping that 40 cyclists will take part this year,’ said Sgt Downey.

The participants will all have spon- sorship cards, while several volun- teers will travel the route on the day, collecting money and members of the public are being urged to contrib- ute towards a good cause.

THE Irish Petrol Retailers Associa- tion (IPRA) and retail representative body, RGDATA have come together to oppose plans by TESCO for a pet- rol filling station in the west Clare town of Kilrush.

Earlier this year, the retail giant lodged plans for a four island petrol station outside its new TESCO store.

However, the move has provoked an angry reaction from local petrol owners.

Now, in a new submission from the IPRA state, “The proposed scheme,

in particular the retailing and petrol filling uses, would directly impact upon the planning polices and ob- jectives for this local community as set out in the statutory development eae

They state, “The effect of creat- ing an unregulated — in policy terms — petrol filling station on the site would duplicate needlessly land uses already provided for in this local community and more importantly already acknowledged to be located at a more appropriate position by the adopted development plan.

“The applicant has provided no

evidence as to why the subject lands Should now take on the effective role, of an additional petrol filling station, when neither the land use zoning, nor the established land use here, would support such a change

“The current proposal conflicts with a number of policies as set out in the Kilrush Town Council includ- ing the need to maintain the vital- ity and viability of existing centres, the location of such activities and in terms of minimising the demand for AoE

“This instant application would re- sult in the direct opposite.

In its submission, RGDATA states that it “believes that building a four island petrol filling station at the ex- isting station Tesco supermarket de- velopment which is an edge of centre site would have an adverse impact on the vitality and viability of Kilrush town centre”.

In summary, RGDATA respect- fully submits that this application Should be refused, because it is not consistent with the proper planning and sustainable development of Kil- rush Town centre.

A decision is expected on the appli- cation later this year.

FIVE new community travel services are to open up in the north Clare this month, making it the largest single expansion to date of the Clare Ac- cessible Transport network.

This expansion, which will bring to eight the total amount of routes oper- ated in the north of the county, will be completed and fully online from ord MAW Leis) ©

The new routes will serve Bally- vaughan, Lisdoonvarna, Ennistymon and Kilfenora on Tuesday, Liscannor,

Ennistymon and Ennis on Thursday as well as Tubber to Gort and Carron to Gort on Friday.

“We are there to transport anyone and everyone. It is really designed SO anyone can use it. We conducted a number of surveys in the north Clare area and have developed our new services to match the people who need this transport the most – but once they are up and going they are available for anyone to use,’ said Laura Ward of Clare Accessible ‘Transport.

‘The service is for every part of the

community and we have developed a fair structure which makes it even more accessible for everyone to use. We like to think of it as an access- able service in every way.”

Clare Accessible Transport now operates six buses full-time through- out the county.

The not-for-profit organisation op- erated 10 services in east Clare, eight in north Clare, and three each in west and south Clare.

‘We are always open to consultation and if anyone wants to get in touch at any point about future routes, they

are more than welcome.

‘The certain consideration here is that we do not open routes that we feel we cannot sustain. We consider our routes very carefully before we Sree

‘Because we are a not-for-profit or- ganisation we cannot collect money on the buses so people need to ring in and register or register on their first journey which is free.”

For more information or to register for the new service telephone 061 924375 or 1890 687287 or check out www.catconnects.ie.

AS the World Trade Organisation talks continue to struggle on this week, the Irish farming organisa- tions have been united in their call for European farmers not to bear the brunt of forcing through a deal.

Speaking over the weekend Irish Farming Association President, Pad- raig Walshe said that the deal should never have even been attempted.

“I think that the conditions never really existed for an agreement in the first place and I think that it is ridicu- lous that this meeting was even held. The approach from the very begin-

ning was wrong,’ he said.

“It looks like it’s on the verge of col- lapse, I believe that it is on the verge of collapse because the condition just don’t exist for an agreement.

These comments were echoes by Macra na Feirme national president Catherine Buckley who said that said young Irish farmers will face extinc- tion under a bad WTO.

‘Mandelson is determined to pur- sue a cavalier strategy to maximise market access for European compa- nies involved in industry and servic- es, while at the same time selling out the EU agricultural sector,” she said.

ICSA president Malcolm Thomp-

son last week said that the EU’s disastrous negotiating tactics at the WTO talks were forcing farmers to give everything and get nothing.

“We need much tougher talk from the Irish government, as part of the Gl4 grouping, to set the record straight,” he said.

“While behind-the-scenes diplo- macy is important, it is vital that the key message is not lost, namely that we are looking at a totally unbal- anced and unacceptable deal.

“So far, Commissioners Mandelson and Fischer Boel have interpreted the lack of a unified, unequivocal and uncompromising statement from the

G14 as giving them a carte-blanche to carry on unhindered with the process of selling out the Irish and EU livestock sectors.”

The ICSA President said that he was absolutely flabbergasted at fail- ure of the General Affairs Council to put the breaks on Peter Mandelson.

“The tentative support offered to the Commission by the Council is in effect giving the go ahead to the WTO sell-out.,’ he said.

“In the current economic circum- stances, any WTO deal will be ca- lamitous not just for farmers but for the country as a whole. At all costs it must be stopped.”

CLARE TD, Joe Carey (FG), last week questioned the status of the F1- anna Fail Government’s pre-Lisbon Treaty Referendum commitment to using Ireland’s veto in the case of WTO proposals that would sell out Irish farming.

“The WTO talks are entering a critical phase and recent days have seen EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson express optimism about a deal. While the Commissioner said yesterday that Europe can’t and won’t accept a deal it cannot defend at home, this will not inspire confi- dence in farmers who are well aware of Mandelson’s long-time stance,’ he

HOR

“Meanwhile, the Minister for Agri- culture has been complaining about the proposals but is failing to put his money where his mouth 1s. If the Minister is as concerned and worried as he says he is about the latest WTO negotiating document on agriculture, then he must unequivocally state that the deal on the table is unacceptable and will be vetoed.

“That was the commitment given by the Taoiseach Brian Cowen in the dying days of the Lisbon Treaty cam- paign and Minister Brendan Smith must confirm it is what he is prepar- ing to do.”

Meanwhile, speaking from Geneva last Thursday, the Tanaiste and Min-

ister for Enterprise, Trade and Em- ployment, Mary Coughlan, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith and the Minister for Trade and Commerce, John McGuin- ness, called for a comprehensive, ambitious and balanced outcome to the current negotiations.

The Ministers confirmed that they have been engaged in robust nego- tiations with key players defending and promoting Irish interests in what are proving to be very difficult trade rec

All three Ministers have been at- tending daily meetings of the EU General Affairs Council (GAERC) as well as a series of bilateral meet- ings with other countries, including

the French EU Presidency, and the EU Commission.

On a joint statement the Ministers said that the had “very real concerns on Agriculture while working for positive outcomes on manutfactur- ing industry and services which will deliver opportunities for Irish manu- facturing and services companies through better access to world mar- kets and in so doing will secure Irish jobs for years to come.”

Speaking earlier in the week Min- ister Smith said that the WTO ne- gotiations in Geneva were very ac- tive, with a large number of intense meetings and informal contacts, but that there was no guarantee as to the outcome.

PLANS by An Garda Siochana to re- align the make-up of garda divisions to county boundaries could have critical implications for policing in parts of east Clare if the changes are implemented as expected next Janu- ae

There are also concerns for the fu- ture of the recently established traf- fic corps in Killaloe which covers a large section of the N7 national pri- mary route.

At present, garda divisions are not restricted to county boundaries

and in many cases comprise areas of more than one county. Under the plan, areas of Clare covered by Lim- erick City will return to the Clare division while parts of Tipperary, currently part of the Clare garda di- vision, will be part of the Tipperary CU AsrSS ete

East Clare Labour Councillor Pas- cal Fitzgerald says any plan to re- draw divisional borders would not be satisfactory unless adequate garda resources are provided in his area.

“At present, there is a large part of east Clare covered from Henry Street station in Limerick. As it 1s,

with over 12,000 people living in the Westbury and Shannon Banks area, we often have to wait 20 minutes for a squad car to travel less than four kilometres from the city.

“If the boundaries are redrawn, we could have to wait half and hour or more for gardai to come from Kil- laloe, 20 kilometres away”.

“If this plan is enforced, I want to see our local station at Ardnacru- sha properly resourced and open 24 hours a day and I will also be de- manding that a sub station of that be opened in the Westbury estate. I have already met with a businessman who

is willing to provide premises for a station in Westbury”, he said.

If the Garda Commissioner’s plan is implemented, it will also mean that Ballina in County Tipperary will be served by Nenagh 20 kilome- tres away even though Killaloe sta- tion 1s located just across the bridge less than a kilometre away.

Killaloe councillor Tony O’Brien (FF) said he would have very serious concerns if any changes would result in a downgrading of the Killaloe sta- tion as any downgrading would seri- ously impact on the level of services being provided.

AS Ennis mother of two Sharon Col- lins faces the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence following her con- viction for conspiring to kill her mil- lionaire partner and his two sons, friends of her primary target, busi- nessman PJ Howard, have leapt to his defence and have described as scurrilous claims about him made in court.

Mr Howard and his sons Robert and Niall have been trying to rebuild their lives after the six week trial which concluded last month.

Close friends of the businessman, who has been deeply affected by rev- elations in court, rallied around the 59 year old property tycoon saying that what was said about him in court was far from the truth.

During the trial of Sharon Collins and former Las Vegas poker deal Essam Eid for conspiring to kill the Howards in 2006, the details of an email in which Mrs Collins referred to her partner’s fondness for trans- vestite sex and prostitutes were read into evidence.

A former Mayor of Kilkee, local businessman, and a close personal friend of PJ Howard, Manuel DiLu- cia has described those allegations about Mr Howard’s private life as “total fabrication and all lies.”

‘| have known PJ for over 30 years and there has never been any indica- tion to suggest that any of what was said about him in court is even in the slightest way true. I have never seen or heard anything which would sup-

port any of the claims made in court and we have travelled many places together throughout Europe and he was always a total gentleman,’ Mr DiLucia said.

“PJ was always and still is a very generous and thoughtful man but in business he could be a very tough business opponent but you would ex- pect that. People work hard to earn what they have and PJ is no differ- ent.

“When I founded the Kilkee res- cue service in 1982 we were looking for sponsors to help us buy our first boat. In 1983, PJ came forward and offered to buy the boat, which he did, and even paid all the expenses to go to England to look at boats. When it was built and completed, he also paid the expenses to go back and collect it and bring it to Ireland. What’s more, he has made several contributions to local organisation and events since

then,’ Mr DiLucia said.

“I knew his late wife Teresa very well and even though they had sepa- rated, he looked after her very well up until her death. Some years later, it was exactly the same with his part- ner Bernie who also died. He was al- ways and is still a great father to his two sons. This was a vile attempt to tarnish the impeccable reputation of metro mmeet-see

“Nothing which was said in court about PJ’s private life is true and PJ is very upset by the comments. I haven’t spoken to PJ since the trial as I known he is resting and getting over the ordeal but I have been speaking to the family and I know how upset he has been about what was said,” Mr DiLucia added.

Another friend of Mr Howard’s, Limerick based businessman Bob McConkey said, “When I first heard some of the things which came out during the trial I was absolutely as- tonished. I was flabbergasted. In the 20 years I have known PJ Howard, in my experience; I have never seen or known anything of that about him – no way.”

‘I have never seen a side like that to him and it is scurrilous what was said and I know it to be scurrilous. When you know someone that long you know them. If anything like that was true, I would know about it or certainly would have heard. As far as I am concerned, what was said about PJ was a disgrace and absolutely un- founded,’ Mr McConkey added.

THE Department of the Environ- ment has raised serious concerns over plans by the Shannon Airport Authority to construct a major piece of infrastructure in a protected la- goon near the airport.

Earlier this year, the SAA lodged plans to construct a pump station in order to control water levels at the Shannon Airport lagoon. According to a submission lodged on behalf of the SAA, it stated that “the proposal

to construct and operate the pump station represents a continuation of the existing station where pumping is achieved by means of a portable, diesel powered pump”.

The submission states, “The Shan- non Airport lagoon is experiencing a reduction in salinity with some evi- OLS aTerom Mat-1 USNR KSI IOLAD ITO Re sr-Nereers in fauna and flora communities.

However, in a strong worded sub- mission to the council, the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Environment

states, “The application area is locat- ed within and adjacent to the lower River Shannon and includes the en- tire area of the lagoon.

“The lagoon is an example of the EU Habitats Directive priority habi- tat, and the candidate Special Area of Conservation (CSAC) has been listed for the conservation of the habitat.

“Pumping is having a negative ef- fect on the lagoon, including on its area, Structure and function, and on the species it supports. The proposed development will continue these ef-

fects.

‘This department considers that the proposed development will adversely effect the integrity of the SAC.”

An Taisce has also made a sub- mission stating that the “Shannon lagoon was originally developed in the establishing of Shannon Airport — it was in fact man made but over the years the migrating and wild bird population has developed into a very important bird sanctuary and 1s list- ed under the Special Protection Area of the River Shannon.”