Month: November 2008

AN ADDITIONAL charge has been brought in the case of a man charged in connection with an alleged serious attack at a hair salon in Ennis.

Anthony McDonagh (22), of Wa- terpark View, Ennis, was charged last Friday with producing an axe in the course of a dispute, at Brownie’s hair salon in The Market area of En- nis on September 18 last.

Previously, he was charged with assault causing harm to his second cousin David McDonagh (24), on the same date.

Detective Sergeant Michael Molo- ney told Ennis District Court that he charged the accused last Friday morning and in reply, he said, “I re- quire my solicitor.”

He told the court that the charge sheet was contained in the Book of Evidence that was served on the ac- cused that morning.

The accused’s solicitor asked that the case be adjourned for a fortnight and there was no objection from the SEI

Mr McDonagh was remanded in custody to appear again in court next month.

THE department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the search is con- tinuing for a Clare woman who has been missing in Italy for 45 days. 82-year old Mairéad Cleary, a na- tive of Cratloe, went missing on Oc- tober 10 while on a holiday in Italy.

Described by her family as very fit and a regular walker, Mrs Geary was on holiday with her active retirement group in Streasa on Logo Maggiore, close to the Italian Swiss border.

She was last seen when she took a cable-car to the top of Mount Motta- rone, a popular viewing spot. When she got to the top, she set off for a walk on her own and has not been seen since. Her family travelled to Italy to be on hand but returned last week after police and rescue officials advised them to go home as there was little they could do there.

MUNSTER finals may not be a new experience for Danny Chaplin but this is groundbreaking and unchar- tered territory for his young Broad- ICO) KO MILO (oR

After giving almost a quarter of a century of service as a player and mentor for his native Sixmilebri- dge, his move to Broadford saw him take over the reins in the local club in 2005 and he set about remoulding the then recently relegated side into a senior force once more.

Broadford finally realised that aim three weeks ago against his former side in the incessant rain of Clare- castle but having witnessed what a Munster run did for fellow Clare sides in recent years, his side weren’t just content with county honours.

Two years on from their Munster success, Clooney/Quin were within a whisker of the senior quarter-finals this year and subsequently reached a senior B final while Clonlara’s whirl- wind journey to county senior suc- cess this year proved what a boost a Munster intermediate title can be.

Successive battling displays against Templederry Kenyons and Bruff fol- lowed and now Broadford are only

sixty minutes away from emulating their neighbours achievements over the past two years.

“Our aim at the start of the year was just to win Clare but everything has taken off since. We had three weeks in a row of great results and the whole parish is literally gone mental here. There are flags outside every house and there are kids com- ing down watching training. It has done so much and it has given a lift to everyone.

“I think the character of the team really came to the fore last time against Bruff. We were playing up the hill against the wind and they were after pulling back a seven point lead down to a point and I think that is when the boys really stood up and were counted.”

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Broad- ford this year, however. Twice in the group stages, Parteen had the indian sign over the east Clare side to put their championship ambitions in real peril but if anything, it was the jolt they needed to up the ante and be- come a more resiliant outfit.

‘I said a few things in the dressing room after the Parteen game that day that they didn’t like. They didn’t like hearing them and I didn’t like say-

ing them but in fairness to them, the following Tuesday night, there was twenty eight of them down at train- ing out of twenty nine and that other player was away. You can’t ask for any more than that and they realised that they were the ones who had to do it. We could do no more for them on the sideline, it had to come from the players and in fairness to them, the commitment they have given since that day has been phenomenal.

“They are now like one big unit. I mean we tried to bring in a family aspect to the squad where you are playing for the fella alongside you as much as you are playing for the par- ish and yourself.”

Blarney are Broadford’s opponents in Sunday’s decider after receiving a bye in the semi-finals as the Wa- terford championship was not com- pleted in time.

The Cork side accounted for Antho- ny Daly’s Kilmoyley in the quarter- final, a team who were fancied to go far in this year’s provincial race and while Chaplin admits to not knowing too much about Blarney, he acknowl- edges the significance of this unique opportunity for his Broadford side.

‘There are 32 teams in the interme- diate championship in Cork so you

don’t win it easily. The only thing I know about them is that they have been in the semi-final three years in a row so they have been knocking on the door for a while and they are a very good side I believe.

“But we are concentrating on our- selves. Ninety per cent of our players will probably never be in a Munster final again. This is our chance and they don’t come around too often so we are trying to stress that. Not to get too overawed by the occasion but keep their feet on the ground and give their all. We would just like to emu- late Clooney-Quin and Clonlara.

“IT was involved with the ‘Bridge years ago and I remember we won a Munster club in 1995 and different Clare clubs won it in 796, ’97, ’98 and “99 and we were back in it in 2000.

“IT remember before that game, it was the one thing we said that we were not going to be the club that loses it for Clare and in that respect, Broadford don’t want to be the club that loses the Munster intermediate championship for Clare and that is not to put too much pressure on the players as the same time.”

EXPERIENCE told in the end. That added touch of guile and know-how that two previous All-Ireland titles have given Laois champions The Harps. Their inter-play was slick, their movement elusive but some- times it is the smaller things that prove the difference in a tight con- test. For instance over a dozen times throughout this decider, The Harps got themselves out of trouble when surrounded, by dropping the hurley and handpassing to another player. In contrast, when Kilmaley were pre- sented with a similar predicament, nine times out of ten, their players opted to try and strike and invariably they were blocked down.

Those little differences are all part of a learning curve for Kilmaley who were only competing in their first national final and pride was just as evident as disappointment at the final whistle as manager John Carmody shrugged off the rain to reflect on his players’ performance.

“On behalf of Tommy Keane, Pat Lynch and myself, we were abso- lutely proud of the girls. Every time they have taken the field this year, they have fought to the last inch and they did the same today. Going into injury time, we were still only a puck of the ball behind but it just wasn’t to be today. They were just that small bit ahead of us.

“I suppose when you are playing teams like this, that you don’t see every week, it may take ten or fifteen minutes to get to grips with a side. We made moves and they worked and we stormed into the game. We had a tremendous last ten minutes of the first half and we felt that at half- time we were in a great position, not having hurled well, to be going in on level terms. But you have to credit the Harps because we threw every- thing we had at them in the second half but they just seemed to have that bit extra on us.

“We had a few half chances just af- ter half time that just went narrowly wide and you never know, if we had

gone ahead or got that point up, we might have seen a few mistakes in their game. But they got the scores and pushed home.”

Still with County and Munster hon- ours already secured, it has been a real whirlwind adventure for Carmo- dy and his side this year and he en- visages a bright future for his young Kilmaley side.

“Ya it’s been a great year. We are county and Munster champions and we only beaten by a puck of the ball in an All-Ireland final so they are a young team and hopefully they will stay committed and improve as time goes on.”

In a year of firsts that reaped so much, coming back even stronger will be a bigger test of this side in the coming year.

SPEAKING at the Clare County Board meeting on Tuesday, Jim Nash, Chairperson of the Cusack Park Committee said the failure of the proposed sale of the stadium has cost the developers money.

“The Clare County Board expected nothing but it has cost our develop- ment partners money,” he said. “They had taken certain steps with property adjacent to Cusack Park and looking back, 1t was a bad decision.”

He added that Clare GAA will re- main at Cusack Park for the imme- diate future and proposed that the board develop the stadium, particu- larly the playing surface.

He went on to state that the com- mittee had worked hard to ensure the deal went through, but said he felt the situation had now stalled.

“Without re-zoning we don’t have anything to sell and that’s the posi- tion. At this stage, you could say nothing gained but nothing lost. There are no damning contracts out there. There has been no expenditure on the part of the GAA. We’ve only given our time to this project and there has been no financial exposure to Clare GAA.

“Pat Fitzgerald and myself went to every councillor and representa- tive to see if we could get the vote in favour of the re-zoning but it just wasn’t to be.”

He added that he felt the committee had served the board and delegates well and honourably.

“But the long and short of it is that the re-zoning was refused. It was a vote taken by the councillors and we just weren’t successful.”

Speaking on Tuesday, some del-

egates refused to accept defeat. “It’s not completely finished,’ said Clare- castle delegate, Bernard Hanrahan. “If a suitable site 1s found within the town then we can get a material con- travention.”

However, Michael Curtin, a mem- ber of the Cusack Park Committee said that the group had already given it their best shot.

“The reality is we have business leaving the town and we had an op- portunity to get some serious devel- opment in Ennis. Young people are leaving the county and we’re heading back to the ‘80s.

‘“Shopkeepers in Ennis will tell you the red jersey of Munster is the big- gest selling jersey. So this decision defies logic and I can’t understand it. We’re disappointed for the Gaels of Clare and the business people of the oo) tna ae

SUNDAY was a busy day for Kilmi- hil folk – the ladies who have blazed a trail to the All-Ireland final were up with the worm as they trained in Doonbeg; come mid-afternoon the men folk had St Finbarr’s in their sights at St Michael’s Park; in be- tween one of Kilmihil’s great players of the past was hoping to guide Crat- loe to a famous first ever minor title.

Colm Collins did just that as the labour of love that is his promotion of underage football in Cratloe came of age when the club scored the most significant win over their scant foot- ball history.

The manner of the win left Collins, who won minor, under 21 and senior

medals for Kilmihil in their golden period that straddled the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, stuck for words at the NGF

‘IT don’t know what to say,” was his first reaction. “I just want to catch my breath, wait a minute” he added before being spirited away to ex- plain away Cratloe’s ascension to the throne of minor football in Clare.

But before he could be taken away, Collins paused for a few seconds and inhaled everything around him – the sight of players and mentors from other Cratloe teams streaming on to the pitch to offer congratulations to him and his team.

Club chairman and former Mayor of Clare, Patrick O’Gorman; former club chairman Jack Chaplin; Col-

lins’ own son and county senior star Sean; Railway Cup football winner and a legend of the game in Cratloe, Kilmihil and wider county beyond Martin Murphy; Michael Considine and James Murrihy from Kilmurry Ibrickane who were county minor selectors with Collins in °08; parents of the players; many others too.

They all wanted to toast this fa- mous day for football in the parish. And, Collins, his fellow selectors Jerome Deloughrey, Ger Lawlor and Alan Neville deserved it. It was them and their players’ day.

“Tt’s great for the players,” said Col- lins when there was finally a bit of calm around him. “They’ve worked very hard for this and we’ve put in a great effort at underage over the past

few years. It’s a huge thing to win a minor championship and great for football in the club.

“Tt was a tough game and we knew that Ennistymon were going to be very hard to beat. I think the winning of the game for us was when Liam Markham went up in the forwards near the end. I can’t claim credit for the move, but that’s what won it for in

As Collins talked, everyone in blue started to drift towards the dressing rooms and scan upwards to the bal- cony where Bord na nOg Peil officer Joe Kelly had begun the process of handing the championship trophy over to captain and one of the heroes of the hour Liam Markham.

“The fact that Ennistymon won the

title last year means that no one will begrudge us this year,’ added Col- lins before casting his mind forward to the future of football in Cratloe.

‘There are a lot of very good young footballers in Cratloe and I think the basis is there to have a good senior team in a few years.”

In other words, this minor title could be the start of something that could turn out to be special. That’s for other days though – now was for celebrating what they’d achieved al- usreKehe

Meanwhile, for Kilmihil/Cratloe folk like Collins and Martin Murphy there was always the game against the “Barrs over the road to think about.

Another game to win.

ENNIS Town comfortably saw off the challenge of St Brendan’s Park to make the perfect start to their Norton Cup campaign.

The home side dominated through- out, easily over running Park with four goals to spare.

Midfield dynamos Stephen Mc- Gann and Sean Corry grabbed two goals apiece with centre forward Emmanuel Obadeyi completing the scoring with a well-taken effort late in the second half. St Brendan’s Park never really got to grips with their opponents but managed to grab a late consolation goal in the last minute of the second half.

Town had by then well and truly stamped their class on the game. The win sets them up for a second round

clash away to either Bellevue United or Coonagh United.

Its an exciting time all round for Ennis Town. The club hosts its AGM in two weeks time with a wave of new members set to join the club’s management committee.

The coaching staff is set to be ex- panded and new members already include former Kimurry Ibrickane footballer and current selector Mar- tin Keavey who is looking after En- nis Town’s under Ils. Next season the club’s hopes to field teams at un- der 11 (3), under 12 (2), under 15 and under 16.

That would leave Ennis Town on the brink of fielding a team at youths level for the first time 1n the club’s five year history. Plenty of progress then in such a short space of time. And progress was the name of the game

on Saturday as Town were quickly into their stride in Lees Road.

The signs for St Brendan’s were ominous, even from an early stage as Town created a number of early opportunities. The home side didn’t have to wait long to take the lead though. Ten minutes, in fact, had elapsed when Stephen McGann fired Ennis Town in front.

Town doubled their advantage soon after when Sean Corry finished to the net to make it 2-0.

It wasn’t looking good for St Brendan’s. Ennis Town manager Michael Whyte can feel proud of the ruthless edge displayed by his side. There was no letting up from Town. Another Corry strike and a smashing free kick from McGann meant Town went in 4-0 up at the break.

The second half, from a St

Brendan’s perspective, was all about damage limitation.

Town did managed to find the net once more through Obadeyi and the visitors pulled back a late goal through a well taken free kick in the final seconds. It ended 5-1 to Ennis Town who are scheduled to play their second round tie on December 13.

DERBY champion Shelbourne As- ton got his challenge for the 2008 Mardoc Holdings Golden Jacket off to the perfect start when winning his first round heat at the Galway Track on Saturday night in a time of 31.29.

Shelbourne Aston was always up with the pace after a decent start from trap three and hit the front on the fourth bend en route to a three length victory over The Other Sonic, with Slick Spiral two lengths back in third.

Sponsor Denis O’Connell had a first round double while Broadacres Turbo produced the run of the night as he coasted home in 31.10.

Run of the night was produced by the Graham Holland trained Shel-

bourne record holder, Broadacres Turbo in heat eight.

The strong running black was fast into stride from trap two and proved five lengths too strong for the ever- green Tyrur Laurel in a brilliant time of 31.10 – the fastest of the year so far.

Faithful Laura in trap 5 was three- lengths back for third.

The event started in race two with the Gerry O’Donoghue trained She- rie taking the opening heat. She led from the opening bend for a neck verdict over the fast finishing The Other Achill in 31.81, with Doonbeg Selmi meelemALvor.|

half length back in third.

The brilliant veteran Tyrur Lee in trap two was the first winner for PJ Fahy when leading all the way to

win the second heat in a fast 31.23. Tyrur was fast into stride and led all the way for a near six length verdict over trap

6 Riverside Honcho with Elouisa in trap four taking third spot.

Ollie Bray’s 2007 Puppy Derby hero Royal Treason was a decisive winner of Heat 3 from the outside box. Droopys Teabag in trap three led early here but the strong running Bray charge took it up on the third bend and went on to beat Skywalker Dream and Droopys Teabag by two and a quarter lengths and likewise respectively in 31.25.

Sponsor Denis O’Connell had the perfect start to his stake when, along with son Cian, he had a first round double.

First winner for them was Mardocs

Heinze in trap two of heat four. He grabbed an early advantage and led all to beat trap four Ask Amy by two and a half lengths in 31.40, with Shaneboy Sophia a length back in third. Recent Irish Grand National winner Distant Legend proved his versatility with an impressive run in heat five. Julie Power’s dog in trap five broke fast and always led when beating the trap one reserve Skywalkers Angel by a length and three parts in 31.36. It was just over a length back to Swintord Mylo in third spot. Holland was also on the mark with Full Bloom in trap four who got up late to win heat six in 31.46. Shel- bourne Denny in trap two cut out the running but Full Bloom came through fast to snatch victory by

three parts of a length. It was over six lengths back to trap three Mar- docs Nani in third.

Next out for the O’Connell’s, Mar- docs O Shea, won what was billed as the race of the night, heat seven, in 31.50. North West Derby winner Target Kewell in trap two cut out the running but Mardocs O Shea in trap three powered past on the fourth bend and went on to beat the staying Lemon Zamora in trap four and Tar- get Kewell by a length and the same.

Holland was also on the mark with Full Bloom when the son of Late Late Show and Tamna Rose got up late to win heat six in 31.46.

College Causeway did not take his place in heat 10 and in his absence Nawhobberthadda in trap six com- pleted a double for owner P.J. Fahy.

TALKS aimed at saving jobs and averting a strike which could cripple Christmas travel resumed today at the Labour Relations Commission.

Aer Lingus management and SIPTU are meeting following the interven- tion of the National Implementation Body and spent yesterday number crunching. It’s understood that SIP- TU is suggesting alternatives to the job cuts.

Management is seeking to introduce almost 1,500 job cuts through out- sourcing, voluntary redundancy or early retirement. Up to 300 Aer Lin- gus jobs at Shannon are under threat, which the company says is vital to contain spiralling losses.

Last week, a ballot for industrial ac- tion by SIPTU members resulted in an overwhelming endorsement, and strike notice was served. If no solu- tion is found, this would mean that pickets could be placed on Shannon, Dublin and Cork by November 24, threatening Christmas travel.

The NIB became involved in the situation last week, and after meeting with both side recommended that the parties go back to the LRC.

In a statement, the NIB said: “The body believes that solutions need to be urgently found to the current diffi- culties. In this regard, the body notes that the parties are agreed that such

solutions must offer long-term viabil- ity and stability for both the company and its workers. On receipt of the LRC’s assessment, the NIB will ex- plore with the parties what assistance, if any, it can offer in achieving a final resolution of those issues where dif- ferences remain.”

So far, union representatives and management have not got to the stage of re-opening negotiations. It’s believed that both sides have been number crunching under the chair- manship of Kevin Foley, director of Conciliation Procedures.

Union sources confirmed both sides have been “going over the numbers to see which measures will save what. It’s unlikely they will begin any real negotiations until Wednesday or even Thursday. This is a big process and there are a lot of issues to be consid- ered.”

Over the weekend, Aer Lingus man- agement looked at SIPTU cost cutting proposals which the union says would obviate the need for outsourcing to a third-party supplier.The union fears that under the outsourcing plan, air- line staff would have their jobs re- placed with lower paid positions.

While both sides are saying little in light of the risk of industrial action from Monday, it is understood the draft proposals would involve an ef- fective buyout of existing terms and conditions.

CLARE handball scores another red-letter success at the weekend when Jamie Lynch and Christopher Philpott of Tulla Secondary School captured the All-Ireland 60×30 In- termediate Doubles Championship in Crinkle, Offaly.

In the semi-final, the Clare duo came up aganist a fancied Kilkenny pairing but with sheer guts and de- termination pulled off an epic vic- tory on a 21-14, 21-17 scoreline.

In the final, played on the same day, their opponents were Cian Connolly and Mark Kelly of Roscommon CBS. Lynch and Philpott got off to a flying start and emerged victorious in the first game on a 21-14 scoreline.

However, the Roscommon pairing were not about to make up the num- bers in the final and fought back to force a tie-breaker finale thanks to

victory in the second game by 21-14.

All was set for the final showdown and both pairings gave it their all, but it was the Clare pair whose strength and agility proved the strongest as they cruised to an 11-1 win in the tie- Dusen e

In other news, the Clare Adult League got under way last weekend with all clubs in action. The Clare Juvenile A championships will commence the week commencing November 15 and culminate on the following Saturday with finals in all grades taking place.

Notification of draws will be sent to all club juvenile officers in due felt aston