Month: May 2009

THE GREAT P Joe Hayes was re- membered in the way he would have liked best at the weekend in Feakle, with three days of music, song and dance.

Fight years after his passing, P Joe was remembered by throngs of mu- Sicians and music lovers, who came to the village for a celebration of his hater

On Sunday night, the Tulla Céili

Band, of which P Joe was leader for more than 40 years, played.

There was a musical Mass at which he was remembered in Kilclaren Church and a graveside oration by Paula Carroll.

On Saturday night, there was a lively session in McNamaras, with Eion O’Sullivan, Pat O’Connor and Mary McNamara and, on Sunday, P Joe’s son, Martin, led the session in Pepper’s.

The Tulla Céili Band had another

outing in Pepper’s on Sunday while Andrew McNamara and Brendan Hearty led the session before that.

Vincent Griffin, Seamus Bugler and Mary Corry all took part in the Bank Holiday Monday session in Pepper’s.

P Joe was born in Maghera, in the parish of Killanena, in 1921. He came from a farming background and spent all his life in the Maghera area.

His mother,

Margaret Hogan,

played the concertina.

He began learning the fiddle at the age of 11, taught by Pat Canny of Glendree, a near neighbour and fa- ther of the fiddler Paddy Canny.

There was a gramophone in the Hayes household and they listened to the fiddle-playing of Coleman, Kil- loran and Gillespie.

P Joe and Paddy were to play house dances together in the following years around Killanena, Feakle and Tulla. Both P Joe and Paddy were

also founder members of the Tulla Ceili Band in 1946.

With them in the band then were Theresa Tubridy, Bert McNulty, Ag- gie White, Jack Murphy, Jim and Paddy Donoghue and Joe Cooley.

P Joe took over as leader in the eK

The organisers said that the week- end festival was “very well support- ed” and the “quality of the music was second to none, It was very enjoy- able.”

SHERRY FitzGerald McMahon, En- nis has announced a massive reduc- tion in price on the remaining units at Cul Na Coille, the select, luxuri- ous development of five-bedroom family homes at Cappahard, off the Tulla Road, Ennis.

Prices now start from €399,000, representing a drop on the original asking price price of a staggering €250,000.

Cul na Coille is an eye-catching development of only seven stylish houses, which boast a range of top quality, contemporary finishes, with an exceptional fit-out throughout.

The spacious accommodation ex- tends over three floors and comprises four reception areas, five bedrooms and an extensive open-plan beau- tifully crafted kitchen, fitted by a kitchen specialist.

Each of the two different house types are of high insulation timber frame construction with an excep- tional level of workmanship and specification including natural gas central heating, zoned under floor heating, fully pressurised water sys- tem, maintenance free K-Rend exte- rior with limestone sills, extremely generous PC sums, two en-suite bed- rooms.

Other extras and finishes include wiring for an alarm, internally painted, seeded gardens and capped boundary walls.

The location – close to the En- nis bypass and the shopping centre at Roslevan and just a few minutes from Ennis town centre — is sure to

appeal to families looking for a high quality, bargain priced family home, close to all key amenities.

AS names go, Woodstock certainly conjures up romantic notions — of course that’s all to do with the rock concert that happened 40 years ago this year in a soggy field in upstate New York that defined the 1960s era of counter-culture.

Bro NU C-V ORAM OT cLimee- NO elo) WO NTSMmRUe: 8 about having a bit of fun — maybe that’s why when Christy Guerin opened up the Woodstock in 1993 he talked about the craic, more so than serious stiff upper life stuff that’s sometimes associated with golf.

‘At Woodstock the emphasis will be on fun,’ Christy told a gathering that included GUI suits and Christy O’Connor Snr among others. They had plenty of fun that day, but the se- rious side was the massive undertak- ing it was for Christy and Sheelagh Guerin to build a golf course on their 180-acre property off the Lahinch Road.

It would have been easier not to take the plunge — Christy was a past captain of Ennis Golf Club and could just as easily have pulled back from the brink on embarking on the am- bitious project to turning dry-stock farmland into a championship golf course.

“T knew on my first visit to Wood- stock that we had an outstanding site on our hands, many natural holes on the land certainly encouraged the layout of a golf course. Woodstock will quickly become a magnificent

test of skill and shot making for play- ers of all handicaps,” said Spring of his creation.

“The exciting features of the site in- cluding the gentle rolling landscape, the river, the lakes and the splendid scenery will give pleasure to golfers throughout the twelve months of the year, this been made possible by the

rapidly draining terrain.

“IT have no doubt that Woodstock will be capable of housing champi- onships, both amateur and profes- sional in the not too distant future. The course in its short existence has received many praises from both members and visitors alike,’ Spring added.

The professional events haven’t come yet, but in 2006 the cream of Irish Ladies Amateur golf came to the Shanaway Road for the Irish Sen- ior Cup finals.

From the members point of view the highlight of the club’s short 16-year existence came in 2002 at Galway Golf Club when All-Ireland Pierce Purcell Shield honours were won.

In the semi-final Woodstock were drawn against Connacht champions Loughrea — victory in that contest teed them up for the final against Ul- ster champions Moyola Park.

Friday, September 6, became a red letter day in the history of Woodstock golf when the first green pennant came to the club thanks to a decisive 4-1 over the Ulster champions.

The squad managed by Luke Coote and Brian Dinan was: Brian McNa- mara, Michael O’Brien, Brian Ke- ogh, John Feehan, Darragh Lynch, Martin Nugent, John O/’Connor, Liam McInerney, Robert Dormer, Tony Coote, Mike Kelly, Frank Do- herty, club captain Jimmy Kelly and John Condon.

The final pairing were Darragh Lynch/Mike Kelly, who won 3 and 2, Liam MclInerney/Michael O’Brien who won 6 and 5, John Con- don/Michael Meehan halved, Tony Coote/Robert Dormer halved and Jimmy Kelly/Martin Nugent won 6 and 4.

KILRUSH has always been inviting — whether it’s the friendliness or the value for money you get around the Parkamoney track that’s been part of the sporting fabric of the west Clare for three quarters of a century.

A lot has changed in the 75 years, but at the same time nothing has changed at all. The value for money and friendliness was there in ’34 —the year the Sheedy family who farmed the land throw it open to three golf- ing enthusiasts by the names of Dr Tom Daly, John Francis and William O’Grady.

For the princely sum of £8 a year they had rent of the land and laid out a 9-hole course, with the help of part- time groundsman Paddy Gallagher and a horse that cost £2-10 shillings.

In those earliest days the Cham- bers family from Moore Street had grazing rights on the course for their sheep — and for a few years there were more sheep and lambs on the course that there were golfers in Kilrush.

One stat from the club records re- veal that the 1943 was a particularly bountiful lambing season on the course — 38 lambs from Parkamoney were sold by the Chambers’ to Tom Nolan’s butcher shop in Kilkee. The club records from this time also show that there were no more than 30 club members during this period.

Fast forward seven decades and it’s a very different story — the sheep with their grazing rights are long gone, the 9-hole became a 15-hole and then finally under the golf sur- geon’s knife of Dr Arthur Spring became an 18-hole course in 1994 at the cost of £120,000.

Value for money like there was in °34, value that extends to the present day as the slogan seen recently at the entrance to the course bore witness to. “Join our club for €250,” it boldly

proclaimed.

It’s part of a membership drive in- stigated by the 2009 club commit- tee. “Years ago it was a very brave decision to undertake the project,’ says secretary manager, Denis Na- gle. “Back then some were of the opinion that we should have a good 9 hole and forget about 18 holes, but membership trebled with the advent of 18 holes and we have a potential gem here thanks to the excellent de- sign foundations laid by Dr. Arthur

Spring,” he adds.

“We have steadily improved our facilities in recent years both on and off the course and we want to do a lot more, but we need more members and more funds. The committee has decided on a drive to recruit new members in 2009.

“We realize that we could not be doing it at a worse time, therefore we have had to make the package really attractive.

‘To be able to join a golf club as a full member for €250 plus GUI lev- ies 18 the cheapest in Ireland as far as I know.

“There is also an outlying mem- bership scheme for those who reside more than 100 kms away. They can join for €150, which is less than what some clubs nearby charge for a 1-day green fee. We have quite a few mem- bers from Ennis and Limerick al- ready but we would welcome more.”

It’s a great calling card for the club — a failte isteach from a club recog- nised as one of the most friendliest in Ireland.

It’s what one golf writer called Kil- rush a number of years ago when sampling the hospitality of Parka- money.

IT now looks likely that the Gort Rail Station will be up and running in time for the official opening of the Western Rail Corridor this August.

Fears had been growing locally that the redeveloped station, which had been delayed as a result of a number of planning objections, would not be finished in time for the official launch of the link.

Work on the Gort Station just got underway last month but Iarnrod Eireann has confirmed that they be- lieve it will now be available to cus-

tomers at the same time as the reo- pening of the corridor.

“Work at the station only com- menced recently, following a plan- ning issue, but staff on the ground have pulled out all the stops and will have the work completed in line with the reopening,’ said a spokesperson.

“The works include two new 90- metre platforms, a pedestrian bridge including lifts, an 80-bay car park, platform shelter, bike shelter and as- sociated infrastructure including ac- cess roads and all required services.

‘Pedestrian access to the station will be facilitated by improving the

existing pedestrian footpath from the town.”

Meanwhile, West on ‘Tract has the commitment from Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey that phase two of the Western Rail Corridor will be rolled out following the re- investigation of the Galway to Ennis service later this summer.

Minister Dempsey confirmed that funding had been set aside in the cur- rent year to enable Iarnrod Eireann to conduct the necessary line surveys to Tuam and Claremorris in order to ascertain up-to-date costings for these sections.

However, according to Minister Dempsey, the success or otherwise of the Galway to Ennis phase of the project will have a major bearing on how quickly the rest of the corridor will be completed.

Reacting to Minister Dempsey’s comments, a West on Track spokes- man said that it was a clear and une- quivocal indication that the Govern- ment is intent on pressing ahead with the Western Rail Corridor.

Phase one of the Western Corridor will be officially opened later this summer, with August now the most TiO hvaestenneee

A CAREER spanning more than 30 years will draw to a close later this summer when the principal of St Caimin’s Community School in Shannon will retire.

Mary Hanley has taught at the school since it opened in September 1985, having previously taught in Dublin. She will step back from St Caimin’s, having ensured it earned an excellent reputation over the years, both in terms of academia and in sporting circles. Ms Hanley at- tributes this to a combination of the dedication of her 62 staff, along with the huge interest shown by parents and students alike in education.

“We have past pupils who have done every course in universities all over the world, including medicine, dentistry, teaching, engineering, ac- counting, business or worked in vari- ous trades,” she said.

‘We have a very broad curriculum, which I hope will continue into the future, despite the cutbacks. We are not able to run the transition year this year because of cutbacks. Nor- mally we would have 24 in the class but only eight opted for it this year so we couldn’t afford to do it. Hopefully it will be back again next year,’ said the Shannon native.

St Caimin’s has achieved honours in various sports over the years and given her huge interest in sport, Ms Hanley was thrilled with this. Three achievements in particular stand out

– winning the Senior B Munster hurl- ing tittle in 1999; achieving honours in the under-15A competition in 2007 and reaching the Harty Cup final this year. Those successes were particu- larly sweet as her sons Eoghan and Colm were involved; initially as players and later as mentors. Alan Cunningham also played a key role in training the teams. Much success has also been earned in camogie and

athletics at the school. Academically, St Caimin’s has won several awards over the years and its students have gone on to earn achievements at regional and nation- al levels. One memory stands out, in terms of academic achievements. “On August 15 every year, seeing the Leaving Certificate results coming out and seeing students getting what they want after all the hard work,”

she said.

When St Caimin’s opened, there were just 112 students and she has overseen its expansion over the years. Currently there are 700 students at- tending the school. This in itself presents its own dilemma.

“We can’t take any more than 700 because of the size of the building. For the past six or seven years, there has been a waiting list every year. This could be 50 or 60. It’s the one thing I find very difficult to do, to turn away any child that wants to come to St Caimin’s. We have an ad- mission policy and we stick to that,” she said.

Priority is given to children who have brothers and sisters 1n the school ANNO UMNO SKM: DKCMINDD ERY OF: GonE NE BEE ley lo after that requirement is met, chil- dren who are the first in the family then get priority.

Looking to the future, she plans to involve herself in many challenges.

“T will miss it, but I will keep my- self occupied. I was president of the Association of Principals and Vice- Principals of community and com- prehensive schools (1996 – 7) and I was a founder member of the Na- tional Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) in 2002. Being involved in those organisa- tions kept me on top of all changes in education. I will continue to help with the national association,” she said.

TWO budding west Clare writers did the county proud at last week’s National INTO/EBS Handwriting Competition, winning one category and coming third in another. Caitrio- na O’Gorman and Ciara Quinlivan, both from Kilmihil National School, each collected awards at the national prize giving ceremony which took place on April 25 at the EBS Head Office in Dublin.

Each girl was presented with a certificate and a specially commis- sioned medal to mark their achieve- ment. Caitriona, took the first prize in the category for third and fourth class students while Ciara took third

place in the category for first and second class students.

The competition involved submit- ting a sample of handwriting on the theme of family. Each entrant was allowed to write a piece of prose or a poem about their own family. The children were not judged on the con- tent of the writing but solely on their handwriting skills.

Caitriona and Ciara both had to qualify through the County Clare element of the National INTO/EBS Handwriting Competition before they made it as far as the national finals.

There was an extra surprise for C1- ara at the ceremony when she won a special prize draw which includes a

trip for her whole family to Disney- land.

The National Handwriting Com- petition is organised each years to encourage young children to develop their handwriting by rewarding ex- cellence in penmanship. The Irish National Teachers Organisation or- ganise the national event, which has been growing in size greatly over the last number of years.

Indeed, this year’s competition had one of the largest entries ever with representative from more than 1,200 schools taking part.

The INTO extended their thanks to all the children who took part in the competition and to their teachers for organising the event in their schools.

“We also thank the INTO Hand- writing Co-ordinators for all their hard work in co-ordinating this event,’ said an INTO spokesperson.

“We realise the enormous work- load involved and appreciate your time and dedication to making this competition a great success.”

CLARE County Council has grant- ed planning permission for a visitor centre at the Pol an Jonain cave in Doolin.

Currently, there are no facilities on site and visitors are bussed to view the cave, which contains one of the largest free-hanging stalactites in the world. The plan involves the con- struction of a small visitor centre, along with a car-park for 30 cars and two bus bays.

Helen Browne, who 1s co-owner of the cave, said that the attraction was not viable without a visitor centre and the park ‘n’ ride system was not viable into the future.

“We’re delighted. We deserve the same chance as everyone else. We can’t compete with one hand tied be- hind our back.”

Ms Browne said that there is no reason why the planning permis- sion should be appealed to An Bord Pleanala, adding that she hopes con- struction work will commence in the aIbAebeeeen

The council gave the go-ahead for the scheme in spite of opposition from An Taisce, Ailwee Caves, the Pol an Jonain Action Group and the Speleo- logical Union of Ireland (SUI).

The council gave the plan the green

light after employing a geologist, Dr Maria McNamara of the Burren Ge- opark Project to examine the plan- ning application.

In her report, Dr McNamara said it was difficult to envisage a scenario in which the proposed development works — which include construct of foundations to a depth of only 60cm — would impact negatively upon the physical stability of the great stalac- WIR

The county council planning re- port pointed out that the precedent of visitor centres being developed at tourism sites in the north Clare area included the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre, the Michael Cusack Centre, the Ailwee Caves and the Cahercon- nell Stone Fort.

The report also stated that the pro- posal “would add to the range of tourism attractions in north Clare thus adding significantly to the local economy ’.

The council gave the plan the go- ahead after concluding that it would not seriously injure the visual ameni- ties, landscape character and ecolog- ical and geological value of the area.

A WEST Clare father could have been admitted to Ennis General Hos- pital instead of been taken over 65 miles to the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick the morning he died.

That’s according to the Health Serv- ice Executive, who maintains that Dan McDonnell from Kilkee could have been admitted to Ennis hospital despite the closure of its accident and emergency services at night just 13 days before.

On Sunday, April 19, two weeks ago, the 59-year-old former county

council worker took ill at his home in Kilkee. He was examined by the out-of-hours GP service Shannon- doc, who called an ambulance.

The Kilrush ambulance met with a paramedic en route and the father of three was then transferred to the Limerick hospital.

Just a few miles from the hospi- tal, on the Dock Road in Limerick, Mr McDonnell suffered cardiac ar- rest and was pronounced dead at the Limerick hospital at approximately 6.30am.

The death of the popular Kilkee man was met with anger and concern by hospital lobby groups who main-

tained that had he been admitted to Ennis General Hospital, he may have had a better chance.

The HSE now maintain that Mr McDonnell could have been admit- ted to the Clare hospital, even though A &E was closed for the night.

It claimed that protocols are in place that would have allowed Mr McDonnell to be admitted to the hospital, even though it was after 8pm when the A&E closes.

“Outside of this time, patients can continue to be admitted directly to Ennis General Hospital for both medical and surgical problems if it has been arranged by the patient’s

General Practitioner with the medi- cal or surgical team on call.”

While the HSE maintain that the majority of acute medical conditions can be referred to the hospital by GPS and Shannondoc, GPs say they have not been consulted about the new regime imposed on the county.

At the time of Mr McDonnell’s death, the HSE said it “was satisfied all appropriate care was provided for him by the advanced paramedic team and the ambulance personnel Orme lint

It is continuing with “a clinical re- view of circumstances surrounding his case”.

AN INVESTIGATION into allega- tions of abuse of psychiatric patients at a community residence in Shannon is due to be finalised within weeks.

The investigation was launched by the Health Services Executive (HSE) after a number of written complaints were made, alleging abuse of service users by a staff member at Deilginish Community Residence.