Month: September 2008

THERE are changing times ahead for parish life in rural areas – not least in west Clare.

Where once there was more than two priests assigned to one parish, now a parish is considered fortunate to have a parish priest, and in some cases share a priest. For many par- ishes a retired priest is relied upon to administer the sacraments as a priest in residence.

In west Clare, however, the parish of Killaloe is beginning a process of change within the workings of the church and are appointing a layper-

son to unify a number of parishes into clusters and yet ensure their identities are respected.

The new post of pastoral worker is being created to facilitate pastoral developments among a number of west Clare parishes.

The post will initially be based in Kilkee and Kilrush, and will also cater for the parishes of Carrigaholt, Cross, Killimer, Kilmhil, Coora- clare, Doonbeg and Kilmurry Mc- Mahon.

Parish Priest of Kilkee Fr Donagh O’Meara said that the ideal candi- date for the job would have good community development skills with

a background in theology.

There have been a number of ap- plications for this new post in the Catholic Church in west Clare, but those interested can still apply up to the end of this week.

“We are planning for a future be- cause we have to develop a new mod- el while respecting the identity of the parishes,” said the parish priest.

The appointment of the pastoral worker is part of the Diocesan Pasto- ral Plan derived in 2003.

A director of Pastoral Planning was appointed in June 2003 in order to direct the completion of the plan.

The plan provides a number of sup-

ports for a church in a changing so- ciety including providing guidelines for parish pastoral councils.

In line with the Diocesan Pastoral Plan two Liturgy Groups were also set up in April 2004. These groups represent both sides of the diocese (east and west of the Shannon). They have worked closely together in offering resources and support to parishes. To date they have organised three music workshops for choirs, training for cantors, training for readers, the promotion and resourc- ing of children’s’ liturgies and the provision of Advent, Christmas and Lenten resources.

THE Heineken Cup will be in Kil- rush for the first time ever on Satur- day night.

Rugby fans from all over the west are expected to gather in the Kilrush Golf Club to meet some of their he- roes from the Munster team and see the impressive silverware for the first Wb Oem oe

Not to be out done on the night the local rugby team will also receive medals to mark its achievement last season.

Kilrush RFC last year won the O’Sullivan Cup reviving an interest in the game in the west.

On Saturday night, medals spon-

sored by PRO of the club David Glynn and Joseph Crowley, will mark the end of a successful season for the winning team and hail a competitive year to come.

While west Clare is synonymous with the large round ball of the GAA, it also has a long if somewhat sporadic history with rugby.

Kilrush RFC was founded as far back as 1924. While its popularity may have waned over a period of time it was revived in the 1970s.

Approximately five years ago the club had a further renaissance with the addition of an underage team, and some enthusiastic mentors.

For PRO David Glynn the club has got a new lease of life.

‘A couple of years ago we couldn’t field a team, then Nevin Farrell and Tom Dillon got involved.”

Two years ago the hard work paid off when the fledgling team got to the final of the Web Cup. Last year triumph was not to evade the de- termined players as they won the O’Sullivan Cup.

On September 21, the rugby team will begin the new season with the first game in the league.

“We are in the Munster Junior League for the first time in five years,’ said Mr Glynn with pride.

“And we are not just happy to be taking part, if you listen to the lads we are going out to win.”

On Saturday the sight of the

Heineken Cup and Munster heroes will provide even more motivation for the team, if motivation was need- ed.

The event will begin at 8pm with a barbecue and there is an entrance fee of €10.

In the meantime the club is always welcoming new players and poten- tial players to their grounds in Mon- more.

Underage training for all age groups takes place on Sundays at 11 am under the watchful eye of John Saunders and a dedicated team of We DN NEC

On Friday at 8pm it is the adults turn to train and David said that all new players are welcome to attend.

A REPAIR works scheme for dozens of homes in Ennis has ground to a halt after funding for the programme “dried up”.

Even as Ennis Town Council nears completion of phase one of a reme- dial works scheme on the council’s housing stock, Town Enginneer Tom Tiernan has said that he “wouldn’t hold his breath” in anticipation of the commencement of phase two.

Mr Tiernan was speaking at the September meeting of Ennis Town Soniete

He said the council had success- fully pursued an application of €4.1

million to carry out remedial works in 46 houses in Shalee Drive and Gordon Drive.

“We have submitted an applica- tion for the second phase and we got a response from the department that more or less told us that fund- ing wasn’t available due to the down- turn’, said Mr Tiernan.

He added, “I’m not in a position to be able to tell people when they might be eligible for the scheme. All we can do is try to push our case with the department. But, I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

“All indications from the depart- ment are that funds have dried up SIRS TUBELOr-vOLO NYA

The scheme mainly involves repair- ing broken doors and windows, and dealing with other structural issues. The works do not cover repairs to central heating systems as that is cov- ered under a separate programme.

Raising the issue, Independent councillor Frankie Neylon asked Mr Tiernan for an updated report on the repairs programme.

He said, “Some people are being told they have to pay to have their windows fixed and others say they elena

Over the next month could we get a report on the type of repairs needed? There is a lot of confusion out there especially in the Cloughleigh area.

People see the work being done in Gordon Drive and then it moves somewhere else. They are just won- dering if the council are going to do this for all the houses”.

Mr Tiernan said there was no emer- gency funding available, but that help would be provided to households in “exceptional circumstances”’.

“We are dealing with the replace- ment of windows as best we can. When there is a need we will respond as positively as possible. We will look at exceptional circumstances. We are sympathetic to people in a lot of cases. We are trying to stretch our resources. We will see what we can Coe

THE issue of accessability and the barriers faced by people with dis- abilities will be addressed at a con- KUO NI DION IIS C Molo)

The event, organised by Enable Ire- land as part of Action Week, takes place at the West County hotel on Wednesday, September 17.

The theme of the week is Access All Areas and aims to promote ac- cess for people with disabilities to all areas of life, from social and leisure activities, education and employment to infrastructure and buildings. Dur- ing Action Week supporters can buy a Gold Badge to raise valuable funds to help take action on disability.

The conference in Ennis aims to provide information on a wide range

of topics related to accessibility, from education to leisure activities.

Speakers at the event include repre- sentatives from Clare County Coun- cil and Clare Accessible Transport and James Murrihy, the sports inclu- sion development officer for Clare.

Anne O’Malley from the Ennis branch of Enable Ireland said acces- sibility remains a significant problem in Clare.

“There are huge barriers with re- gards to accessibility whether that relates to transport or education. This is something we want to high- light, but at the same time we also hope to show that these barriers and problems can be overcome.”

Information stands and members of Enable Ireland will be on hand on the day to offer help and advice. People

with disabilities and their families are especially encouraged to attend, to share their experiences.

Anne explained, “We get a lot of en- quiries from people who maybe have children with disabilities, wondering ~VoJOlUL Mm UND CODN Orca: DeLG mu elO\, au KOmecxO mr: 1ele)011 making their homes more accessible. We want service users to come along and avail of the opportunity to share WeToJD MSD. 4 OLS U (oOo IRY ALO UR

A major focus over the past year for Enable Ireland in Clare has been in the area of leisure activities. The or- ganisation implemented a wide pro- gramme of sports and leisure related activities with particular focus on watersports.

Anne explained, “What we have done in Ennis over the past year is try to create a situation where peo-

ple with disabilities could have pretty regular access to wide range of sports. Watersports was one area we focused on. It’s been a lot of fun for everyone involved. We had two wheelchair users going windsurfing. There was a wheelchair soccer tour- nament, trips to the swimming pool, lots of different things.”

The water theme continues next week when Liam Griffin, water safe- ty officer with Clare County Council, will officially open the conference.

Enable Ireland supports 3,500 chil- dren and adults with disabilities and their families and provide services in local communities throughout Ire- land. Covering childhood to adult- hood, expert teams work with the individual and their family on a plan for each life stage.

TEE off time 1s approaching for com- petitors taking part in a golf classic organsied to honour one man’s 1m- portant contribution to sport in En- he

The tournament, organised by Lif- ford AFC, takes place at Ennis golf club on Sepetmber 27. Those tak- ing to the course in two weeks will be competing for the Frank Flaherty Memorial Cup. The late Frank Fla- herty was a member of the Lifford club and a passionate follower of sport. A generous and committed clubman, Mr Flaherty was primarily

involved with the Ennis club’s hugely successful ladies soccer team. He also served as president of the Clare Ladies Soccer League.

But Mr Flaherty’s contribution to sport in Ennis extended beyond his associations with any particular club oy erere oe

Mr Flaherty was one of the found- ing members of the Ennis Sports Development Committee, a group of local people whose work and cam- paigning resulted in the development of the Lees Road sports facility.

Ferdie O’Donoghue, Chairman of Lifford AFC, said Mr Flaherty made a massive contribution to promoting

sport in Ennis and that the club were keen to honour his memory. “Frank was involved with Lifford for a long time, mainly with the ladies teams. He and everyone else on the sports committee did tremendous work get- ting Less Road of the ground. I don’t know where we’d be in Ennis if we didn’t have it”.

“Frank was a great person and a great supporter of all sports. He was a pure gentleman. We are delighted and proud to be able to keep his memory alive. We decided to name the cup in Frank’s honour, to honour everything he did for Lifford and for everything he did for sport in En-

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Tee off times for the Frank Flaher- ty Memorial cup will be decided by timetable on a first some first served basis. Ferdie is advising anyone in- terested in taking part to register early so as to avoid delays. He’s also hoping that his club’s junior team can maintain it’s winning start to the season. “We’ve made a good start alright, buts its early days. There’s a good bunch of lads there at the mo- ment and we have a great pitch in Cassidy Park, so hopefully we can keep it going”.

For further information and enquir- ies contact Ferdie at 086 3289041

ENNIS Players are on the lookout for new members as they prepare to thread the boards once more.

The players are hosting an open night on Old Ground hotel on Thurs- day September 11, 1n a bid to unearth new and exciting talents. The open night provides an ideal opportunity for people to get to know what is in- volved in acting, producing, lighting, sound and all other activities that are required to get a show on stage.

Members are currently immersed in the process of selecting new plays

for its annual Supper Theatre series. Readings will be held at the open night. Away from acting, the Ennis players are also hoping that they can attract new members to assist with production duties and the logistics of taking a production on the road.

The Supper Theatre takes place in the Old Ground Hotel in November. It consists of three one-act plays, staged over three nights. The series has been running at the same venue for 22 years and has proven endur- ingly popular with local crowds.

The past number of years has been a roller-coaster ride for Ennis Play-

ers, having represented Ireland at the International Festival of Drama in Monaco with Geraldine Greene’s production of The Dandy Dolls and represented the Amateur drama movement on the Abbey stage with John Finn’s production of Kathleen Ni Houlihan. The group have en- joyed many successes in these fes- tivals qualifying for the All-Ireland finals in the past three years.

After Christmas the Players will be producing a three-act play, which they will perform in front of local au- diences. There are then plans to tour the show o the festival circuit around

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A tour such as this requires a large number of people to get involved so the group extend and invitation to any persons with a wish to get involved in amateur drama to come along to their open night, where a good time is guaranteed. New members are particularly welcome.

BUSINESSES in Parnell Street are considering a two-point plan aimed at addressing parking problems in the area.

The plan, drawn up at a recent meeting of representatives from the business community, the Office of Public Works and the Taxi Federa- tion involves the OPW purchasing 30 parking passes for the Market Street multi-storey car park for business permit holders in the Parnell Street area.

Businesses say trade in the area has been adversely affected by the loss of parking spaces resulting from work being carried out by the OPW on the Ennis flood relief scheme.

It also proposes, according to town engineer Tom ‘Tiernan, banning parking permit holders from parking in the Parnell Street area, with a view to making as much parking space as possible available for shoppers and customers. Mr Tiernan outlined the proposal at yesterday’s meeting of the Ennis electoral area where he also defended the decision to re-lo- cate the taxi rank from O’Connell Square to Parnell Street.

He said that during the public con- sultation process, Ennis Town Coun- cil received, “60 or 70 significant submissions and practically all of them supported the move. There has

been a significant improvement with 21 taxi spaces. The queuing system is as it should be, in one straight line. There were no objections to re-locat- ing, which is the first time in this type of process that that has happened.”

However, 1n a motion, Fianna Fail councillor and former Parnell Street resident, Pat Daly called for the council to consider re-locating the rank to other areas of the town.

He described re-locating the taxi rank as a “bad decision’, but conced- ed business owners in the area had made a mistake in not voicing their concerns earlier.

He said, “Business in the area is a disaster. Moving the taxi rank was a bad decision in the first place. One of the major causes is the loss of 30 parking spaces. It should have been re-located to another area, like Bank Place. It would make more sense. It can be a long walk up dark alleys from the Queens nightclub down to Parnell Street.”

Independent councillor Tommy Brennan said agreement over the move had been reached with the Taxi Federation. “There are plans to up- grade O’Connell Square. We need it as a centerpiece for the town,’ said the councillor. Mr Tiernan said he would consider reducing the size of the taxi rank, but added that all alter- native ideas and suggestions for sites had been exhausted.

LIMERICK ‘scumbags’ are not wel- come in Shannon – that is the stark warning delivered by local town councillors. Members of Shannon Town Council have opposed plans for a Regional Housing Strategy between Clare and Limerick, amid concerns it would result in undesir- able people from troubled areas such as Moyross and Southill moving to the town.

During a debate on the issue last week, Councillor Mike McKee (Ind) said, “We have had scumbags out from these areas, very nasty scum- bags that come out here because they see this as an open market.”

He said that a member of his fam- ily – and stressed it was not his son – was recently knocked unconscious, having been assaulted by “a member

involved in the feuding gangs”.

Councillors agreed that they would not oppose people moving to the town from Limerick, but would not accept criminal elements moving to SJetveveleee

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said she was shocked and horrified to receive the circular about the strat- egy. Councillor Tony Mulcahy (FG) said that the regional housing policy proposal “struck me as a bit like the Heathrow bank holiday situation” last year.

“They are being housed by the health board and they have rent sub- sidy. I say ‘No, no and no again.’ This is the greatest con job I’ve seen in my life. We cannot accept this and we are not accepting this,” said Cllr YIU er Teh

Labour councillor Tony McMahon said the proposal was an attempt to

“bring in a extension of the Limerick city borders by stealth. These people are going to corrupt where they go and need to be dealt with. We haven’t houses for our own.”

Labour’s Greg Duff said that while Limerick’s problem had to be solved, it was not acceptable that this would be achieved by moving it to Clare. “The people coming in have been creating mayhem. If it continues, it will break down local communities,” he said.

Fianna Fail’s Sean Hillery said it took a long time to solve issues with the travelling community in Shannon and likewise the problem in Limerick would take a considerable period of time to address. “It’s going to take a long number of years to resettle that and the only place that is going to be solved is in Limerick. Any other so- lution is going to fail. Bringing them

out here is not going to solve it,” he Cr HOe

However, the wording of the mo- tion, brought by Cllr Mulcahy – that the council have “no hand, act or part in any regional housing policy that would include the relocation of peo- ple from the Limerick city Regenera- tion project and in particular to Shan- non region – was “discriminatory”, according to Fianna Fail’s Geraldine Lambert. She said the motion should be re-worded to make reference to families causing trouble.

“I have a difficulty with the per- ception going out of here that we wouldn’t want ordinary decent peo- ple moving here,” she said.

The motion was carried after it was supported by six councillors, with three opposing it – Cllrs Duff, Hillery and Lambert – on the grounds of its Oy KON De

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think it’s much better to engage.” After councillors opposed a pro- posal to participate in such a strategy, Mr Fleming, who 1s a director on the Limerick Regeneration Board, said, ‘There are several different strands to it. A lot has to do with upgrading

housing,” he said.

“The issues that are causing con- cern relate to social housing for peo- ple in the various areas of Limerick, specifically the small number of peo- ple associated with criminal activity. That effectively is the big worry,’ said Mr Fleming.

He said that people on the move can avail of houses under three different schemes – through purchasing them, through benefit from the Health Serv- ice Executive (HSE) or through so- cial housing. He confirmed that Lim- erick corporation bought 17 houses in Clare to provide social housing.

He said some houses in Shannon

were allocated through the HSE, which was an alternative scheme.

“T have advised the councillors we should engage in a regional housing strategy so we can have an input. My recommendation will be to engage so that each council will have responsi- bility for social housing in their own areas,” said Mr Fleming.

At last Tuesday’s meeting of Shan- non Town Council, Independent councillor Patricia McCarthy said Mr Fleming was living in “cloud cuckoo land. He has not sold it to me and he has not sold it to the general public.” Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) said the manager wouldn’t have to take

phone calls in the early hours of the morning as he had, over the August bank holiday weekend. “Who will take complaints in the early hours of the morning as I had to at 1.40am on bank holiday weekend about a gouri- er who had moved in? There wasn’t a social worker to be found,’ he said.

However Mr Fleming said he did not take the comments personally. “T don’t take it as personal criticism. People have concerns and I totally understand. A lot of the fears may not come to pass. We should try and see if we can get protocols in place and control as much as possible,” said Mr Fleming.

THE Tourist Information Office at Killaloe has become the latest cas- ualty in the cuts which are seeing tourism attractions and facilities all over Clare shut up shop early.

The office on the bridge would nor- mally continue to provide services and information for visitors until the end of September, but it has been an- nounced that the facility will now close for the winter season much ear- lier than that.

It is the latest in a number of early closures, with Craggaunowen’s “The Living Past Experience’ closing several weeks earlier than normal and Bunratty Folk Park bringing in weekday winter opening times in September.

And this week, Killaloe councillor, Tony O’Brien (FF), called on Clare County Council to negotiate with Shannon Heritage to try to keep the tourism office open.

“This 1s a serious blow to people involved in tourism in east Clare,” he told a meeting of councillors for the Killaloe area.

‘We need the opening of that office extended, not curtailed.’

Smaller visitor numbers and a sea- son which is petering out early are the factors being blamed for the early AON Kee

Shannon Development’s Nandi O’Sullivan said that the move is “just good business sense. It’s a little bit quieter and there isn’t a need to open for an extra half hour. But the attrac-

tion will remain open at the week- end.”

Last month, when it was announced that Craggaunowen was to shut up shop early, a spokesman for Shannon Heritage said that a number of factors had affected the decision. “Easter came almost three weeks early this year so we had in fact opened that bit earlier. It is a challenging year gener- NO AA

To combat dwindling tourism num- bers, Shannon Development, in con- junction with the tourism and travel trade has been involved in a number of strategies to get more visitors into the region.

One plan has already seen 20,000 additional bed nightsbrought to the region. This involved negotiating working partnership arrangements with 15 travel operators in the US, including 13 tour operators sell- ing dedicated Ireland holiday pro- grammes in the US market.

The organisation is also working with Tourism Ireland and other tour- ism authorities on the €3 million Discover Ireland’s Wonderful West campaign.

Included in the campaign are US print, radio and online advertising with carriers.