Month: July 2009

THE attempted abduction of three young girls in two separate incidents has prompted gardai to issue a warn- ing to parents across Clare.

Efforts are being made to trace a bearded man, aged around 40, in a black jeep, after young children were approached by a man offering marshmallows, in two different loca- tions last week. The startled young girls were approached in Droma- drehid and Kilnamona.

Two reported incidents are the sub- ject of a garda investigation. Gardai say they are keeping an open mind on whether the incidents are con- nected and have appealed to the public to report any similar sightings immediately.

CLARE County Council has re- neged on a near quarter century old promise to provide a home for Clare Camogie at Doora. The local author- ity gave a commitment in 1985 that the Clare Camogie Board would be given stewardship of a pitch in Doora once all remedial work on the former landfill had been completed.

However, at Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council it was revealed that any pitches developed at the site would be open to a number of sports and managed in a similar way to the development at Lees Road.

A motion on the issue was put forward by Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) and Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) at Monday night’s meeting.

‘The Camogie Board does not have call on any pitch in the county. They have fundraised for different clubs at different times but once it comes to organising a fixture it’s a different Situation,” said Cllr Arkins.

“My understanding was that they would have their own pitch and it was our hope that the Clare Camogie Board would have a home to call their own. They can’t keep playing second fiddle to clubs like this for- ever.”

Speaking on the motion Cllr Hayes called on the local authority to hon- our “the commitment that was given to the Camogie Board”’.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (IND) who was present for the 1985 decision called on the local authority to re- consider their options.

“What is outlined here in not what was agreed by the council on the day. Lees road was never mentioned at the time — it didn’t even exist at the time. The agreement was made was for a ground for their exclusive use in Doora,” she said.

The council proposal involves the development of two pitches on Zone 1 of the old dump in Doora. A pro- posal to include ladies football as part of any compromise deal was also shelved on Monday.

WHEN the dust had settled and the rain had dried up, Mike McNamara felt he knew where Clare fell down in their quest to get past the challenge of Galway.

Openly, McNamara cited a higher work-rate from the eventual winners as the main difference between the two sides.

“We thought the big difference was that their work-rate was probably higher than ours. But then as you have seen with this Galway team, they have moved towards a strong work ethic. It’s probably paying divi- dends and it remains to be seen will it pay the final dividend.”

According to McNamara, Clare had put in enough foundation over the past few weeks to merit a strong- er showing on Saturday.

“We had looked good for the last couple of weeks. Training was really, really superb and they were playing really, really well. Because of that I would have thought that a big per- formance was on the cards today. But we seemed to struggle in key areas and we seemed to get the match plan wrong. We tried to adjust as we did against Tipperary and the adjustment

went well against Tipp but today it didn’t go quite as well.

“When I looked at the scoreboard with five minutes to go, I think it said 1-15 for Galway and 1f somebody had told me that this morning I would have thought we would have been on the right side of a win.”

Given the conditions, McNamara felt the wind changed directions dur- ing the game which didn’t exactly help Clare.

“The breeze went the other way for the second half for some strange reason. I don’t know, the breeze actu- ally changed at half-time which can happen in this type of weather. We actually had a very happy dressing room at half-time. Maybe we were not playing as well as we would like but yet we were well in the game. They [Galway] were poorish in the first half as well – they had a lot of bad wides and so had we. So I don’t know really.”

Speaking in broader terms, McNa- mara pointed out that Clare must now look at the structures in place with a view to ensuring the county remains competitive in the future.

“We will have to look at the whole structures and why our level of con- sistency 1S so poor. We have loads

of fellas who drop their heads when they shouldn’t. We need players who should be able to contest with the best and aren’t contesting with the best so we will have to look at the whole area really.”

He was also critical of the fact that Clare must now face into a relegation battle this weekend.

“T don’t know what they [GAA hi- erarchy| are doing really. When you are out of the championship, you are out of the championship so what the hell are they doing? I know all those lads want to do 1s go away from their hurleys for a week or two. They are more disappointed than anybody else and most of them are disappointed in the way they played. And then someone comes in and makes the big announcement that we are up again 1 Cop.4 Mets), eae

Hopefully, for Clare, the Wexford game will produce the one competi- tive win that the county has been seeking for the entire season.

AN award winning film by the Coen Brothers a couple of years back was titled “No Country For Old Men’.

It purported to demonstrate a ruth- less, consuming determination to achieve a goal. I was reminded of it at Cusack Park on Saturday evening. We had too many old and tired Jae NaLeisy

Old ideas, old hurling, and old fail- ings. Both on the field and off it. No ruthless determination to change them. Once again the management stood idly by whilst the game slipped away. After a quarter of an hour it was in Gort and well on the way to Galway. Almost a replica of the Gaelic Grounds against Tipp.

After the events of this year all faith has evaporated. Of course there was never much justification for having any faith in the first instance. No evi- dence that when the going got tough and real knowledge and understand- ing of how games should be won was required.

No inspiration was forthcoming and it is now past the time for genu- ine Clare GAA people to realise that at senior inter-county level Clare hurling is a bit of a joke.

The approach to the NHL was full of arrogance, ignorance, and nonsense. Every league game must be taken seriously. Teams are built and honed there. When did you last hear Brian Cody say that the league, or any game, was unimportant and that Kilkenny’s focus was just on the championship?

Instead we had talk about present- ing ourselves well and restoring pride in the jersey. Clare hurling does not

deserve this kind of nonsense that has nothing to do with winning games.

All year we had failure in man- management and selection and a failure to compromise and sacrifice the managerial ego for the common good. The Quinn and O’Connell epi- sodes demonstrated this. At the 12th hour Nicky O’Connell was brought into the panel. On Saturday evening he was listed at No 30 and neither played or introduced.

Back to 2007 for a moment. Then the manager, who had led the team to a win over the Tribesmen at Cusack Park, and on to the All-Ireland quar- ter-final against the eventual finalists Limerick, was shamefully shafted.

It’s a long road that hasn’t a turning. We await with interest what will be done now after the most disastrous year ever in Clare senior hurling. It was a year in which the team was rel- egated to Division 2 and taking part in the Relegation Championship.

We can now prepare to wear the jersey with pride and present our- selves well in this hell-hole. Should Clare hurling followers continue to live with a system that has brought this situation about? Isn’t it time that this Clare managerial setup took a look at itself and do the decent and honourable thing?

A brief look at the game.

Clare had so many positional switches that instead of confusing Galway they seemed to be confused themselves. Midfield was so crowded that neither Griffin or Vaughan could function to real effect.

If the intention is to make space for players who can hurl then it is surely counter productive to crowd that space yourself. Though he was

no great shakes in the first half it was astonishing to see Griffin planted at centre forward after half time and dispatched to the line after a couple of minutes. It smacked of complete panic.

At the end of the League I warned here that most of the Clare defend- ers that I had seen were off the pace for championship hurling. James McInerney and Pat Donnellan apart, the Clare defence was outran all evening.

Cyril Donnellan ran Brendan Bu- gler ragged and put away a hatful of scores. Bugler must learn that deny- ing his opponent scores is the key to defensive play. Philip Brennan, who saved the Banner from an even big- ger thrashing, can hit long ball and it was pathetic to see a plethora of short puck-outs in the first half. Where were all those supposed giants in the Clare attack who should be able to field the ball in the clouds? Another myth of Clare hurling.

Ollie Canning mopped up the Ban- ner attack at his ease. In the time that they were on the field Barry Nugent and John Conlon scored three points. Surely they should have been in from Wetomce-v ames

Several clear facts emerged from Saturday evening’s debacle. The first is that Clare hurling, apart from the obvious sideline failings, 1s very un- derskilled.

Until we remedy this we won’t compete at the highest level.

FRANK Doherty stepped down as Clare manager in the immediate af- termath of his side’s defeat to Done- gal in Ballybofey on Saturday night.

The Galway man, who led Caltra to an All Ireland club title in 2004, an- nounced his decision to the players in the dressing room, thus ending his two-year tenure as manager of The Banner.

“I had a good chat with the lads, thanked them all for the effort and the 100 per cent they’ve given me for the last two years,” he said, as play- ers silently filed by, heads bowed reflecting on another championship consigned to the history books.

“We did our best and introduced a lot of young lads to the squad and I think it will be onwards and up- wards for Clare. I will never have a bad word to say about Clare. I will be watching results from here and be hoping they get out of Division Four. It’s not going to get easier, if anything it will get tougher.

“The fact of the matter is that eve- ryone in Clare should be putting their shoulder to the wheel and making themselves available to be involved with the county. That new manage- ment team will have a great opportu- nity going forward if that happens.”

Clare were the raging underdog on Saturday night against a Donegal side that was expected to win handsome- ly, despite just stuttering through the last couple of weeks.

However, Clare can feel aggrieved not to have forced extra-time. David Tubridy found the back of the Don- egal net for a second-time (having netted a penalty in the first-half) late on, but he was somewhat harshly pulled back for picking the ball di- rect from the floor.

“I thought David Tubridy was un- lucky,” said a despondent Doherty after the game. “I asked him (referee, Martin Higgins) beforehand what he was going to be strict on and he said

that he really wanted the foot beside the ball.

“David Tubridy picked the ball off the ground with his foot, stuck the ball in the back of the net and he pulled him back. Little things like that didn’t happen today.

“That was a bit of a shock to the system. From where I was I thought it was a legitimate goal and where everyone else was, but there you go.

“We needed the rub of the green. We needed a ball to bounce at the right time at the right stage during the game and that was critical. We needed to be a bit cuter when we got possession on the ball, not to be turned over as much. Donegal, in their own backyard, are a serious team for anyone.”

Clare were down five players from their Munster semi-final defeat to Limerick, but despite this and the long journey they put on a commend- able showing.

“We lost by three points after a long journey with a weakened side. Treo mA (oa as cOlU(C MO) mnelemE-leKm- nw told them,’ Doherty continued.

‘At the end of the day, it’s not about being proud and losing, it’s about be- ing proud and winning. It was there and it was in the melting pot.

“T wouldn’t say that we could have taken the game, but we put up a good show against Donegal, a Division One team. We had a couple of good chances in the game. Frank (O’Dea) had a good chance in the first-half when the ‘keeper kicked it out and it lashed over his hand, otherwise it was an open goal.

“I’m not being disrespectful to any- one here, because we were five points down, threw a couple of points over the bar to get it back to three. We had a couple of opportunities at the end, but in the end it was probably wee bit of quality that we lacked.”

LIKE the drawn game a week pre- vious, this was another game where the conditions had a big bearing on the outcome. A strong gale blew for most of the hour of football and play- ing with the wind, St Joseph’s took the initiative in the opening half.

From early on, Colm Mullen buzzed about and he struck over the first score of the game after four minutes. He followed this up with his sec- ond score of the game and wedged between these two scores was a fine point by Paul Dullaghan.

Ballyvaughan did manage to rally and a point from James Hynes looked like it would keep them in touch. Still, though, St Joseph’s continued to take the game to their opponents. Once more, they had a solid display at midfield from Mark Hallinan and Mark Rafferty and slowly, as the half edged on, they took control of the game.

By now, Enda Lyons had also set- tled into the rhythm of the game and was putting in a solid performance while John Heavey — playing his sec-

ond game of the day — was also con- tributing well and picking up plenty of possession.

When Paul Dullaghan added St Joseph’s fourth point of the game — to be followed quickly by a free from Enda Lyons — a decent gap had be- gun to emerge and St Joseph’s went in well ahead at the break on a score- line of 0-6 to O-1.

With the wind, though, it wasn’t as if Ballyvaughan were out of things and they looked like rallying as the second half got underway but never really looked like clawing back the deficit.

When Keith Whelan picked up his second yellow card of the afternoon Ballyvaughan had the wind and nu- merical advantage but they began to waste an amount of possession and shots began to drift past the post.

Substitute Jason Walsh knocked over his side’s fourth point of the game on 48 minutes and if Bal- lyvaughan were going to make the final, they needed to press ahead in the last ten minutes. They failed to do so and finished those 12 minutes without a score.

The game was put beyond doubt a minute from time when St Joseph’s substitute and Clare minor Cathal Nolan came on and crashed home the only goal of the game.

THE Clare Under 18s booked their place in the All-Ireland semi finals with a great win over Galway in Ard- rahan on Wednesday evening.

This was a very tough and physical game but Clare looked sharper from the start and their first touch was ex- Aes

Clare opened the scoring with a fine point from Ogonnelloe’s Roisin O’Brien in the second minute and Aishling Hannon added to this with another point a minute later.

The sixth minute saw Galway’s Laura Mitchell send a dropping ball into the Clare square which was saved by goalkeeper Ailish Consid- Tne

Roisin O’Brien was causing a lot of problems at the edge of the Galway square and was fouled in the Galway square for the games first penalty in the 10th minute.

Chloe Morey stood up to the park and sent the ball in low and hard which the Galway goalie Helen Campbell saved and put out for a “45. Shonagh Enright’s “45 just went left of the post and wide.

The 17th minute saw Galway get their first score of the game when Ni- amh McGrath pointed.

This was cancelled out when Roisin O’Brien was on target again with a pointed free a minute later. Galway’s Christina Brennan sent a dropping ball into the Clare square which was

caught by Chloe Morey who sent the ball up the field to Katie Cahill whose shot just went left of the post in the 19th minute.

The last seven minutes saw Galway coming into the game and the Clare backline under a lot of pressure.

A clearance from Niamh Martin which came to Niamh McGrath saw Galway get their second point of the game in the 23rd minute.

Rebecca Hennelly added to this with another point with 5 minutes to go. Roisin O’Brien was on target again from a pointed free after she was fouled.

Clare went in at the break a point ahead and the second half saw Gal-

way edge ahead with Niamh Mc- Grath pointing from a free and Fi- nola Keely pointing from play in the first three minutes.

Clare got a free after a foul on Lou- ise Woods, which Roisin McMahon took. She sent the ball into the Gal- way square and after a scramble, the ball came to Roisin O’Brien who sent it across the Galway square to Aish- ling Hannon who goaled in the 34th eOBUSLUL en

Roisin McMahon added to this when she pointed from a free after she was fouled in the seventh minute of the second half.

A Roisin O’Brien shot on goal was saved by Helen Cambell who put

it out for a “45 in the 42nd minute which Clare’s captain Roisin McMa- hon converted to a point.

Rebecca Hennelly had her second score of the game when she pointed in the 44th minute to leave a goal be- tween the teams. Roisin McMahon added to her scoring tally when she pointed from a free after Katie Ca- hill was fouled in the 46th minute.

Galway got their final score of the game when Amanda Lynch pointed after a pass from Rebecca Hennelly in the 49th minute.

Clare’s Katie Cahill put the game out of Galway’s reach when she go- aled in the 50th minute after a great run up the centre.

Louise Woods had the final score of the game when she pointed in the 59th minute after a great run up the centre.

Galway weren’t finished yet and Finola Keely sent a great shot in on Clare’s goal which was caught by Ailish Considine and cleared.

Injury time saw Galway get the second penalty of the game but Ail- ish Considine was up to the task and brought off a great save for the final action of the match.

THIS Thursday, over 30 cyclists from Clare will take on the Malin to Mizen challenge for the Clare Cru- saders charity. The group will depart Ennis on Wednesday evening to be- gin the cycle at 10am in Donegal on Thursday morning.

On Friday, they cycle from Sligo to Kinvara and Saturday sees the group wheel into Clare. From there, they continue to Tralee on Saturday evening before taking off on Sunday morning for the final leg of the trip to Mizen Head in Cork.

In total, the group will cover in ex- cess of 400 miles over the course of the four days.

“We’re hoping that everybody will come out and support the cyclists as they pass through Clare on Satur-

day,” said Ann Norton of the Clare Crusaders.

The Clare route and times for The Malin to Mizen Cycle have also been confirmed this week. The group Wheel out of Kinvara at 9.30am on Saturday morning before arriving into Ballyvaughan at 10.15am. They continue to Doolin and are expected to arrive there at 11.30 before stop- ping in Liscannor for 45 minutes at 12.15. From there, they reach Lahi- nch at 1.15pm before arriving at Mil- town (2.15pm), Quilty (2.45pm) and Kilrush (3.45pm).

They then continue the trip by the Killimer Ferry before cycling to Tralee that evening.

“The Clare Crusaders was formed in 2005 by Howard Flannery to help parents and families of children with special needs achieve a better qual-

ity of life,’ explains Ann Norton. “In 2007 we opened our first clinic where we provide a variety of serv- ices to over 120 children with special needs in the areas of Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down Syndrome and a vari- ety of other conditions. All children are welcome and the services pro- vided include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physi- otherapy and special education. Due to the increasing demand for our services, this year we opened a larger clinic in Barefield.”

Next week, you can follow the progress of the Crusaders cyclists when four of those taking part will document their experience for The Clare People.

To keep up to date with the cycle, log onto the Clare Crusaders website and to sponsor the charity.

THEY provide much _ entertain- ment when they hit the town, but the funfairs also have their negative aspects!

The noise emanating from a fun- fair in Shannon caused headaches for staff at the local gaelscoil, Gaelscoil Donncha Rua, according to newly-elected councillor Mike ja (oresbeerom@ GaP

Mr Fleming told councillors at a meeting last week that a teacher at the school complained to him about the noise from machinery at the aUbeve-soe

“It has been brought to my atten- tion by a member of staff at the school that they found it very hard to teach, with the amount of noise that was generated,” he said.

He said that given the plans to lo- cate a skateboard area in the local- ity, there are fears that the funfair may be located closer to the school

and this would create more prob- aeky

His party colleague, Cllr Tony Mulcahy said this issue had been “a huge bone of contention for a long Wb salons

Labour councillor Greg Duff said every town has a place where fun- fairs and circuses locate. “There is no reason why we wouldn’t have it. The council should support a place. It will be a challenge to get another place,” he said.

CuUlr Tony McMahon (Labour) pointed out that he is the chairman of the board of management at the school and in principle there was no problem with the funfair. He suggested that the root of the noise could be located further away from the school, to ensure there were no problems.

“IT want to make it clear that the board of management of the gaels- coil does not object in principle,” he SPATE

The mayor of Shannon, Cllr Sean McLoughlin said the funfair was important for the town, in terms of income. “There’s a bit of revenue from the funfair. It’s important we use it fairly wisely,” he said.

Independent councillor Gerry Flynn said, “The circus and funfair was a neighbour of mine for years and we came to accept it. It’s very important that we have a site that is permanent for that facility.”

Independent councillor Patricia McCarthy said most of the noise from carnivals would be after school hours and the issue of limiting times could be explored. “The difficulty 1s location, location, location. We did search extensively (for a site) but there is no harm looking again, but someone is going to have to point us in the right direction,” she said.

It was agreed that town manager Bernadette Kinsella would report back to councillors on the issue at a later stage.

TENANTS moving into town coun- cil houses in Ennis are forced to wait several weeks before they are given the keys.

That’ according to Councillor Michael Guilfoyle (Independent), who asked for reasons for the de- lay. He said it was unfair for people to have to wait, after being told that they had been allocated houses.

Ennis town clerk Eddie Power told Mr Guilfoyle that the delay was due to works being carried out on the CoN bbe tease

‘In some cases houses have to be

brought up to standard and repair work has to be done. We feel it is important to let people know as soon as possible that they are getting a house,” he said.

However, Cllr Guilfoyle said he was aware of a lady in the Turn- pike area of Ennis who was forced to contend with a significant delay. “The girl was told eight weeks ago. No-one from the council has been up doing any work. If we haven’t got the money, I’ll settle for that, but I won’t settle for five months. A girl is waiting for five months for a house in Roslevan. Why is it taking so long?” | Ntemra¥s) .Co16 8