Month: September 2008

KILALOE businessman and popular comedian, Brendan Grace, currently has his hands full with plans for a fundraiser for his favourite charity and for the opening of a restaurant in his bar.

Brendan will be joined by some other comedic and sporting friends when he hosts the inaugural Brendan Grace Golf Classic this Friday Sep- tember 26, at the East Clare Golf Sitley

The event will raising funds for the Bubble Gum Club, the children’s

charity of which he is a patron, and First Tee Ireland, a World Golf Foun- dation initiative that provides young people of all backgrounds the oppor- tunity to develop, through the game of golf, life enhancing qualities such as sportsmanship, honesty and integ- ulate

The Bubble Gum Club was set up in 1994 to look after children with life threatening illnesses and chil- dren in crisis. Since it’s inception 14 years ago, the Bubble Gum Club has looked after over 15,000 chil- dren. According to these children’s consultants, the trips and events or-

ganised by the Bubble Gum Club can add months and even years to the TE Cele NMEA LoKe

More than 150 golfers from around the country have entered and the winning team will be invited to join the Brendan Grace Classic in Florida in March 2009.

Starting with breakfast at the golf club, the event includes a full day of activity culminating in a ‘Bottler’ style banquet at Brendan Grace’s Bar in Killaloe. After the auction, which will include a VIP Tickets to Top Gear, a Four Ball at Tiger Wood’s home club, Isleworth Golf Club and a

round of golf with Christy O’Connor Jnr, the evening’s entertainment will oyelabaLetsE

To take part in the event, con- tact John Coyle at 086 8548787 / worldofgolf@ eircom.net

Meanwhile, the county council has granted planning permission for the conversion of a theatre in Brendan’s pub in Main Street to a restaurant.

But conditions attached to the per- mission include restricting the oper- ating hours of the restaurant to the hours of 6pm to lOpm Monday to Saturday and noon to 10pm on Sun- day.

AFTER months of training and plan- ning, the determined peddlers of the East Clare Chernobyl Cycle Project have taken off again for a testing 300 km cycle in Belarus.

The cycle has taken place each Sep- tember since 1999 and this year, 10 cyclists are travelling including vet- eran trail-blazers, Pat O’Connor and Fran Rice from Parteen.

The cycle is over two and a half days from Minsk to Malech, but Pat says that “no-one was put off by that

— it’s afun cycle”.

The whole idea of the trip is to raise much needed funds to assist in carrying out improvements in special needs schools and orphanages which look after children affected by the Chernobyl disaster.

Each participant had to raise 2,600 to take part in the trip.

This year, there will be more that €25,000 raised for projects in Geantsvichi, Antopol and Malech institutions and more donations are coming in all the time.

“There were a lot of donations after

RTE screened a programme on con- ditions there and one item showed an horrific operation in which a young child was operated on without aes- thetic.

‘“We’ve put special collection boxes in shops around Scariff, Killaloe and Ennis, so people can donate anytime. There are on-going projects that al- ways need funding,” said Pat.

After the cycle, the team will visit the institutions to see what progress is being made and to see what is needed next.

‘The money raised last year went to

complete a laundry in Anotopol and a dining area in Geantsvichi, so we’ll be going to have a look at them,” said Pat.

“The 2007 cycle enabled us to forward €40,000 towards projects in the three different schools which we are working with at the moment and these projects will be completed J sole om Kol RUD UO AOD B ODO ome

The ten are currently on day two of the cycle, having flown out through Shannon on Sunday and they will be returning after their adventure next week.

IT’S a dog’s life this Sunday in Crat- loe, when man’s best friends from mutts to blue-bloods will be on pa- 116 lon

The annual Cratloe Fun Doggie Show will be held at the Cratloe GAA pitch.

This years show features 20 differ- ent dog classes including Best 6 legs — Dog & Owner, Best Waggiest Tail, Most Handsome Dog, Dog the Judge would most like to take Home, Sad- dest Eyes, Best Fancy Dress, Prettiest Bitch, Best Pair of Dogs, Best Biscuit Catcher and many more.

Organised by Michael Prior from the Munster Dog Training and Be-

haviour School the show starts at 2 pm. More than 600 dogs entered in 2007 and an even bigger entry is ex- pected this year.

The Robert Manning Perpetual Trophy, sponsored by the Munster Dog School, will be presented to the Overall Best Show Dog.

For those who don’t have four legs, there’s other fun to be had.

Tractor balancing is not for the faint of heart, nor is mini digger golf, though sliothar through the hole, long puck, golf putting, football through the tyre and soccer penalties might suit those more delicate dispositions with dextrous skills.

Other attractions include the pony rides and the organisers said they

wanted to thank Linda Gleeson, Cratloe for supplying and walking the ponies.

A covered giant bouncing castle and slide from Wizards, Shannon will also supply great fun.

Guess the number of items in a jar and win the lot, face painting with Mary Hayes, Butterfly Play School, Cratloe, and a well stocked book stall will complete the other attractions on Si kep

For the hungry, a BBQ will be serv- ing burgers, hot dogs and minerals while tea, coffee and snacks will also be available.

“In advance we would also like to sincerely thank our sponsors for their continued support”, a spokesman for

the organisers said.

Sponsors include, Paws and Claws, Limerick, Precious Pets, Ennis, En- nis Pet Care, Franco Pet Care, Limer- ick and Cecil St Pet Shop, Limerick. Cratloe Meat Market, Abbey Tavern, Quin, Setrights Tavern Cratloe, Café on the Row, Bedford Row, Limerick, Loughrask Kennels, Cratloe, Ais- ling’s Supermarket, Cratloe, Taaffe Construction, Tubber and an anony- mous benefactor.

All funds raised will go to the De- velopment Fund to support the com- pletion of the Community Sports Hall in memory of young club mem- ber Michael Murphy who died play- ing hurling with his Club on April 7 2001.

KILKEE is today coming to term with the tragic loss of one of the town’s elder statesmen. The body of pension- er Eddie Sweeney (75) was recovered on Sunday afternoon following one of the largest coordinated rescue at- tempts in recent local history.

A retired fisherman, Mr Sweeney has been missing since getting into difficulty while lobster fishing with his friend, Philip Browne, last Thurs- day afternoon.

Mr Browne, who lives in Sixmilebri- dge, survived the accident by remain- ing in a pocket of trapped air under the overturned boat for more than an hour, before being discovered by the rescue services.

The 55-year-old Limerick native had heroically tried to save Mr Sweeney’s life by holding onto him after the boat capsized, however rough waters forced the two men apart. The alarm was raised shortly after 3.30pm when it was reported that a boat had over- turned near the Diamond Rocks in

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Kilkee Marine Rescue Service and the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter went to the scene and be- gan a search of the area where they discovered a small fishing vessel.

Mr Brown was located under the vessel shortly before 5pm and was airlifted to hospital in Tralee.

More than 200 people took part in the rescue of Mr Sweeney who’s body was discovered by divers from Kilkee Sub-Aqua Club just before lpm on Sunday afternoon. It was discovered

at a depth of 38 metres in an area of Kilkee Bay knows as the Pinnacle. The body was recovered and brought to Ennis General Hospital for a post mortem examination.

The rescue efforts were ham- pered by poor weather condi- tions on Thursday and _ Friday. The search, which was coordinated by Valentia Coast Guard, involved mem- bers from the Kilrush RNLI Lifeboat, the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard, the Naval Service, Garda Wa- ter Unit, Kilkee Marine Rescue Serv-

ice, the Irish Coast Guard helicopter and members of the Civil Defence. Members of diving clubs from as far away as Athlone also took part in the search.

Meanwhile, two wind-surfers had a lucky escape when they got into dif- ficulty in water off Spanish Point on Saturday. The pair were pulled out to sea by strong currents where one man was separated from his board.

The two managed to swim to shore together and are said to be unharmed after the incident.

It is important for you to make a will because if you don’t, the law on intestacy decides what happens to your property. A will can ensure that proper arrangements are made for your depend- ants and that your property is distributed in the way you wish after you die, subject to certain rights of spouses and children.

A person who dies having made a valid will is said to have died ‘testate’. If you die testate, then all your possessions will be distributed in the way you set out in your will. It 1s the job of the executor or executors you named in your will to make sure this happens. There are legal limits as to how much of your property goes to which person, as set out in law in the Succes- sion Act, 1965. An executor can be a benefici- ary under the will. In other words, the executor can also inherit under the will.

After you die, somebody has to deal with your estate, by gathering together all your money and possessions, paying any debts you owe and then distributing what is left to the people who are entitled to it. If you leave a will before you die, one or more of the executors you named in your will usually has to get legal permission from the Probate Office or the District Probate Registry for the area in which you lived at the time of death to do this. Permission comes in the form of a document called a Grant of Rep- resentation.

If you did not name any executors in your will or if the executors are unable or unwilling to apply for a Grant of Representation, documents called Letters of Administration (With Will) are issued. When your estate 1s distributed, the legal rights of your spouse and children, if any, will be fulfilled first after any debts are paid before any other gifts are considered.

A person who dies without a will is said to have died ‘intestate’. If you die intestate, this means your estate, or everything that you own,

is distributed in accordance with the law by an administrator. To do this, the administrator needs permission in the form of a Grant of Rep- resentation. When a person dies without a will or when their will is invalid, this Grant is issued as Letters of Administration by the Probate Of- fice or the District Probate Registry for the area in which the person lived at the time of death. The legal rules governing the distribution of your property apply: e When you have not made a will e When the will has been denied probate be- cause it has not been made properly or a chal- lenge to it has been successful ¢ When the will does not completely deal with all your possessions. In these cases, after debts and expenses have been deducted, the estate is distributed in the following way. UMAOlt-Veomel mish {ore Moye e A spouse but no children (or grandchildren): your spouse gets the entire estate. e A spouse and children: your spouse gets two-thirds of your estate and the remaining one-third is divided equally among your chil- dren. If one of your children has died, that share goes to his/her children. e Children, but no spouse: your estate is di- vided equally among your children (or their children). e Parents, but no spouse or children: your estate 1s divided equally between your parents or given entirely to one parent if only one sur- a Aone e Brothers and sisters only: your estate is shared equally among them, with the children of a deceased brother or sister taking his/her Satur e Nieces and nephews only: your estate is di- vided equally among those surviving. e Other relatives only: your estate is divided equally between the nearest equal relationship. e No relatives: your estate goes to the state.

MAKING a will won’t kill you, but not making it will cause a lot of un- ecessary trouble and possible finan- cial loss for your successors.

And yet, it is estimated that half of all adults have not made a will and only 20 per cent of business owners have decided who will inherit their businesses when they die.

This leads to more family disputes over inheritance and succession with the sale and division of estates re- sulting in a significant share of the proceeds being consumed by legal

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You don’t have to make a will but it makes good sense to leave your affiars in good order for those who Survive you. It is a sad, but inevi- table fact of life that many people die under the age of 30 – yet a very small number of them may even have thought about making a will.

If you make a will, you decide who gets what after your death. You can also decide who doesn’t benefit as you can minimise the impact of capi- tal acquisitions tax on your benefici- Ne loy

If you don’t make a will, your next

of kin will inherit your estate. If you are not married, have outlived your parents and have no children, the Government could be the ultimate BUID ELSI

In many cases, the people who benefit from your life’s work may be people you may not have wished to benefit from your death. If you don’t make a will, it’s possible the wrong people may be your legal successors.

You get to choose, but only if you take the right action at the right time. The right action is to seek advice from a solicitor and the right time is now.

CANCER patients who may have been misdiagnosed at Ennis Gen- eral Hospital were last night urged to come forward. The call was made by Karl Henry, the husband of Ann Moriarty, whose cancer was misdi- agnosed at the hospital. Mr Henry reiterated his calls for a full inde- pendent enquiry. Ms Moriarty died from cancer last April, at the age of 53. She had been given the all- clear at Ennis General Hospital, just months earlier.

He made the comment in the wake of another misdiagnosis case emerg- ing over the weekend. 26-year-old Edel Kelly lost her battle with cancer in June, having also been misdiag- nosed previously.

“My concern from day one was there may be others. I wasn’t expect- ing there would be another situation quite as appalling as that of Edel Kelly appears to be,” he said.

“The Department of Health seems to think the people of Ennis and Clare are entitled to a sub-standard health system,” he added.

In the wake of Mr Henry going pub- lic with details of his wife’s misdiag- nosis, the HSE said it was an isolated case. The revelations about the Edel

Kelly case angered him, but he said he is trying to leave those feelings to one side and continue the fight on be- half of his wife.

“That my wife’s case was an isolat- ed one has a particularly hollow ring to it,” he said.

Mr Henry met with the Health Minister Mary Harney last week. Although he did not receive a com- mitment that an independent enquiry would be carried out, he feels that his case was listened to.

“I was reasonably happy. She is now very familiar with the full facts of my wife’s case,” he said.

He will continue to fight for an in- dependent enquiry. “All we have is Ennis investigating Ennis. That is not acceptable,” he said.

The Kellys yesterday called for Minister Harney to resign. However, Mr Henry said he would not support Wee

“IT wouldn’t support calls for the re- moval of the minister that this time. We do need to know what is going on. There are serious failings,” he said.

Both the Kellys and Mr Henry have expressed an interest in meeting up, to discuss their cases.

‘I know the difficulties they are en- countering,” he said.

has learned that Cliffs of Moher safety rangers have been questioned by members of the public, who later return when the pa- trol is off duty to commit suicide.

SU ioor-NKeRe HURON MD Or- Tonnes tte ployed at the Cliffs of Moher, with three on duty at any one time. There is aranger presence at the cliffs until 9pm each day.

“We have stopped people and they have come back again later. We would be here until 9pm each evening but people would come back

after that. People might come up and ask us what time we are finishing up for the evening and you don’t know are they just curious or are they planning to come back when we are not around,” said Cliffs ranger Tom Die) aa

“A million people come to the cliffs each year. Eventhough there are lots of signs, a lot of people will move away from the designated walking area.

“We can’t patrol all along the cliffs, and we can’t force someone not to go into certain areas. All we can do is talk to them and usually people are very good about it.”

Mr Doherty, who is also a member of the Doolin Coast Guard, believes that it may not be possible to patrol

the entire cliffs area 24 hours a day.

“I spoke to a girl one day and she just said in passing what a lovely place the cliffs would be to die. She said there was something romantic about it. People would often say that there is a draw to it. I don’t know myself but it there does seem to be something that brings people here.”

“To patrol from all the way from Liscannor to Doolin would take a massive amount of manpower. I mean we would sometimes get a call at 2 in the morning from someone at the cliffs who wanted to say good- bye or leave a message for his fam- UMA

“T don’t know would it work, or even if it would be possible to patrol the whole thing.”

WORKERS at Aer Lingus in Shan- non may have to wait another two weeks before knowing their fate in the company’s cost-slashing plan.

It’s feared that up to 300 jobs could be under threat at the airport as Aer Lingus trys to find ways to cut costs by €100 million in the wake of huge company losses in the last year.

But a meeting of the airline’s board of management last week failed to reach a decision on a review of the company’s operations.

The board will not meet again for two weeks and in the meantime, Aer Lingus boss, Dermot Mannion has written to SIPTU, warning that he

“cannot rule out any eventuality”.

SIPTU had written to the chief executive seeking assurances that speculation about out-sourcing jobs is not correct.

Mannion replied that he “can not give the assurances you seek”.

He said that “given the level of me- dia speculation and the concerns this causes for staff, I fully appreciate the need to expedite the completion of our review as soon as possible.”

He added that a senior manage- ment team are working around the clock to have proposals ready for the next board meeting.

It has been speculated that the air- line will seek to outsource 1,500 jobs nationally, mainly in ground

handling, cargo and catering.

It is also thought that they may want to replace transatlantic cabin crew staff with agency staff from the US.

The airline is also reportedly chas- ing a deal with Shannon Airport management to cut passenger charg- es on the transatlantic routes.

A planned announcement on the nature of the cuts had been expected after a lenghty board meeting last week, but the announcement was cancelled at the eleventh hour.

It was thought that the board would make the announcement to the stock exchange before meeting with staff.

Senior management representa- tives had travelled to Shannon and

Cork for the announcement but re- turned to base after the board meet- ing, which was scheduled to end at 1.30pm, went on for eight hours, fuelling speculation that the mem- bers could not agree on the cost-sav- Three

Staff and unions have just come through a heated dispute about the airline’s Programme for Continuous Improvement cost-cutting package.

Unions have sounded a scepti- cal note on claims concerning the boards agreement.

It is believed in union circles that had the board got unanimous agree- ment on the cuts then they would have immediately engaged in nego- tiations.

THE Fianna Fail party in Shannon is struggling to find nominees to contest the next county council elections.

With most areas around the coun- try having returned their nominees to Fianna Fail head office by the September 5 deadline, sources close to the party said Shannon town is struggling to find a candidate to con- test the expanded Shannon electoral area.

The party met in Shannon on Sun- day night however to propose nomi- nees to run for the town council, just a week after its two sitting council- lors announced that they would not

be running again.

Among the three nominated is a Polish national, a director of elec- tions and a well known community “oO Mane

Director of elections for Fianna Fail in Shannon during the last gen- eral election Noel McNamara will be hoping to get the nod from head of- fice to run as a candidate in the next election.

Polish native Woyceich Wieviewski is anew name and face to politics in Shannon, and those nominating him will be hoping he appeals to the non- national vote.

The third nominee is Ollie Allen who is hoping to capture the local

community vote.

Shannon town councillors Sean Hillary and Geraldine Lambert told the Sean Lemass Cumann last week that they would not be contesting the next local elections, leaving the town council, like the county coun- cil without any returning Fianna Fail councillor from Shannon.

The current Shannon area has fa- voured Independent candidates for the county council with former may- or of Clare Patricia McCarthy and Cllr Gerry Flynn both from Shan- non sitting on the town and county council.

Fine Gael Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) is the other county councillor from

the town.

While the Sean Lemass Cumann may be struggling to find candidates for the county council elections, oth- er cumann preparing to contest the expanded Shannon Electoral Area have no such problems.

In Sixmilebridge they have already nominated former council candidate PJ Ryan and new candidate Pascal avis

Sitting Fianna Fail county council- lor Pat McMahon and Robert Frost have been nominated by Newmar- ket-on-Fergus, while former county councillor Pat O’Gorman has been nominated by the Cratloe Cumann to contest the Shannon area.