Month: October 2009

BACK-TO-BACK county champions for the first time in their history, but Kilmurry Ibrickane want more — that was the message resounding around Cusack Park on Sunday after their O- 12 to 2-3 win over St Senan’s Kilkee in the county senior final.

“We make no apologies for want- ing more,’ said manager Kilmurry manager Micheal McDermott. “To win a Munster championship would be a massive achievement. It doesn’t bother me what team we have to play

in Munster. We just want to go into battle. Let’s be ambitious. Let’s look at the bigger prizes. Let’s try to win another Munster championship.

“If it’s Drom-Broadford the next day, we really owe them one from last year’s Munster final. It will take very little motivation to get our lads ready for a game against Drom-Broadford. It would be a home fixture in Pairc Naomh Mhuire and for three weeks beforehand we’ll have these lads primed for that game. That’s the one game we’re looking forward to now.

“This club is all about winning.

Any team I’m involved with, I want

to win and there’s a Munster cham-

pionship there for us. There’s a cam-

paign ready to start and we want to

be in there; we want to give it a real

go and try to make up for last year.” Munster be warned!

THE Munster Football Association has rejected an appeal by Ennis soc- cer club Turnpike Rovers over the 12-month suspension of one of their ENO uCe

Club chairman Frank Gormley said yesterday that the appeal had been rejected, as the club had not submit- ted the correct form of payment with the appeal.

The club were appealing a 12- month suspension given to Danny Russell following a game with Av- enue United B last September.

The player was suspended by the Clare District Soccer League for ver- bally abusing match referee David McCarthy.

However it has since emerged that the player and the referee were in- volved in an altercation after the match ended.

In his official report, McCarthy states that he “headbutted”’ the play- er outside the dressing rooms in the Fair Green after being subjected to verbal abuse.

“T asked him had he anything fur- ther to add,’ says McCarthy in in his referee’s report. “He approached me and said ‘you’re still only a fat wk? At that I just lost the plot and head butted him,’ he adds.

The report, seen by the

CLARE soccer’s goal or reeling in the years to their historic national success in the coveted Oscar Traynor Cup reaches base camp on Sunday afternoon as the county’s flagship side open their challenge for hon- our in the 2009/2010 competition with an away tie against the Des- mond League. Dea sretvew eter Kelly (right) was manager of the Clare team that scored a famous Oscar ‘Traynor Cup victory in 2004, when they beat the Dublin Senior League by 2-1 in Ballycasey, and in resum- ing the manage- rial reins has said “anything is pos- sible” in season ahead. “Tm glad to be back and I came back on my own terms,” Kelly told The Clare Peo- ple. “I said I wanted full control of the team and that I’d have control of picking the panel. I got that control and have brought some very good men in with me — John O’Malley, Donie Garrihy and Don McMillan. “We have a very strong panel and

they have shown great commitment over the last number of weeks for training and challenge games we’ve neon “Tt’s a 19-man panel, with seven from Newmarket-on-Fergus, six from Avenue United, three from Bunratty, two each from Bridge United and Rock Rovers and one from Rine- anna Rovers. It’s a strong squad, with the likes of Stephen Hickey who has come back to Clare PNAC ME- IOUT AMY ALOE Galway United, while David Russell is cap- tain,’ he added. The squad has three survivors from the 2004 winning team — Daryl Eade, Mike O’Malley and Michael De- alae “Sunday’s Opener away to the © Desmond League iS a tough game, but I think we can get a result. After that anything is possi- ble and we could go all the way. Last year Clare missed a good chance of getting to the quarter-final when hav- ing a hiccup against the Roscommon League — we don’t want any hiccups this year,” concluded Kelly.

HARDLY a display that will send shivers down the spines of Newmar- ket folk ahead of their semi-final clash but in what was a strange quar- ter-final tie, Clonlara didn’t need to be at top gear to fend off Clooney/ Quin’s challenge. Defending cham- pions Clonlara were perhaps a little ring-rusty, not having played a com- petitve game in five weeks and as a result found it very difficult to shake off Clooney/Quin over the entire telune

In saying that, Clonlara were always going to win this one as Clooney/

Quin tended to shoot themselves in the foot too often to push the cham- pions all the way. It was the goals and more significantly the target of Fergal Lynch that kept Clooney/Quin in this game but when they did hurt Clon- lara, the holders always appeared to be able to lift their game sufficiently to drive on once more.

In truth, the difference between the sides was that added bit of class from the likes of John Conlon, Nicky O’Connell and Donal Madden and with Fergal Lynch the only Clooney/ Quin player seemingly of a similar ilk, once they curtailed that threat by switching Tomas O’Donovan to

full-back, Clooney/Quin simply ran out of ideas.

Clooney/Quin only scored twice in the opening quarter as Madden, Conlon and Darach Honan got into their stride with a brace each but crucially for the challengers, both were goals that provided a huge lift for the side. Inevitably Fergal Lynch was heavily involved in both, earn- ing a fifth minute penalty for Derek Ryan to convert before getting on the scoresheet himself in the 17th minute by using his strength to fend off three defenders before billowing the net from close range.

A minute later, they were level

when Martin Duggan finished off a flowing move and it seemed as if it might just be their day when Donal Madden’s penalty was excellently stopped by Cathal Egan soon af- terwards. They brought out Paudie Ward as a third midfielder to forage for possession but then never used him from their own puck-outs and as a result, that tactic had little effect as Clonlara finished the half strongly with John Conlon leading the way with two points along with a Nicky O’Connell free to lead by 0-13 to 2- 04 at the break.

Clooney/Quin were more purpose- ful on the restart though and with

Lynch proving a constant irritant, they got to within one after only three minutes. It forced Clonlara to bring back Tomas O’ Donovan to curb Lynch in what was to prove a match winning alteration. With the leak plugged at the back, Clonlara sim- ply pulled away again, hitting three unanswered points through Nicky O’Connell (2) and Donal Madden.

Derek Ryan had a goal chance blocked by O’Donovan and Lynch was lucky to stay on the field after a wild pull on the same player before Clonlara finally put the result beyond doubt when Cormac O’ Donovan and Darach Honan combined to set up Cillian Fennessy for their only goal of the game in the 59th to push them nine clear at 1-22 to 2-10.

Clooney/Quin kept up the fight until the end though, with Mike Mc- Namara grabbing a late goal while Lynch had a 20 metre free stopped but it was all too little too late as Clonlara held on to set up a mouth- watering heavyweight clash against Newmarket. Only their best will do if they are to reach their second suc- Ao TUIEDE

THE golden era of Kilmaley domi- nance continued on Saturday as they eventually edged out a spir- ited Sixmilebridge challenge to win back-to-back senior titles. On a spe- cial day for Clare camogie who were celebrating their 75th anniversary, it was probably too much to expect that the showpiece event of the day would live up to expectations, but that won’t bother Kilmaley who cemented their place in history with a second suc- cessive championship.

In truth, it was a turgid stop-start affair, littered with frees, lineballs and scrappy play that ensured it never bettered mediocrity. After two thrilling semi-finals, this his- toric decider was expected to be an Open encounter, pitting the defending champions against the coming force of Sixmulebridge but in a low-scoring affair that only saw one point from play over the hour, it turned out to be a slog that needed all of Kilmaley’s experience to prevail.

That Kilmaley eventually came out on the right side of the result was predominantly down to experience. Having been in this situation before and boasting a vastly experienced spine of Denise Lynch at full-back, the multi-talented Eimear Considine outside her and Helen McMahon, captain Emma O’Driscoll and Claire McMahon further forward, they knew that patience was the key to success and overall they just had the more attacking options and threat.

Sixmilebridge on the other hand, despite being fully determined, never really threatened the Kilmaley goal throughout the hour and only for the unerring accuracy of Chloe Morey from placed balls, it 1s difficult to see how they would have won this tie. The loss of captain and their most experienced forward, Noeleen Ney- lon to injury after only 16 minutes was considerable and while they bat-

tled hard, only Chloe Morey, Bridget O’Halloran, Niamh Corry and oc- casionally Sinead Tuohy offered any purposeful resistence.

For the majority, it was a straight shoot-out between freetakers Claire McMahon and Chloe Morey who traded scores all afternoon. Sixmi- lebridge were quicker off the blocks to open up a two point advantage by the 11th minute but McMahon and Kilmaley soon settled to draw level at 0-3 to O-3 at half-time. There were half chances of goals in the opening period but only half chances as twice

Kilmaley put searching passes over the top in the early stages but were unable to capitalise. Late in the half, Sinead Costelloe had Sixmilebri- dge’s best chance of the match when she got on the end of a dropping free from Chloe Morey but hit her shot straight at Edel Griffey.

Kilmaley were better after the break though, but were almost dealt a huge blow when Claire McMahon sustained an injury to an ankle in the opening minutes. The former county senior recovered though to tack on two further frees by the turn of the

final quarter and give the holders the lead for the first time.

With the game slipping from their grasp, Sixmilebridge switched Sine- ad Tuohy to midfield and they did cut the deficit to only the minimum with only eight minutes remaining when Morey converted another free.

Kilmaley had to dig deep and in the move of the match, finally grabbed a point from play when Siobhan Ma- her soloed down the left wing and out in a teasing delivery that broke off lively substitute Aisling Darcy to Emma O’Driscoll to point over her

shoulder. However, with 16 year old Chloe Morey driving Sixmilebridge on at every opportunity, they didn’t wilt and set up a grandstand finish when Morey herself was fouled out- side the “45 and got up to convert the resulting free in the 57th minute.

The game was finally settled in injury-time when Claire McMahon added her sixth free of the day and al- though they held a dangerous lead for the remainder, Sixmilebridge hadn’t the firepower to take advantage.

Sixmuebridge’s young side will be back though and the experience of reaching a county final should stand to them in the coming years.

However this was Kilmaley’s day and whether they win in style or just win ugly, the main thing is that they are still winning and more signifi- cantly are still the standard bearers in the county for everyone else to aspire to.

Land ho! Clare gets Bounty-ful

THE issue of mental health among male members of the Traveller com- munity is a “critical area” that needs to be discussed more openly, the Mayor of Clare has said.

Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) was speaking in Ennis last Wednesday at the launch of a new primary health- care drop-in centre for members of the Traveller community.

The Health Drop-In Centre will run each Wednesday from 10am _ until 12.30pm and will assist people from the Traveller community with health information and advice, and group

activities on health matters.

The programme employs three qualified Community Health Work- ers who are also members of the Traveller community. All three – Ann Keenan, Catherine McCarthy and Kathleen Sherlock – took part in a four-year training programme run by Clarecare.

Cllr Mulcahy encouraged members of the Traveller community to avail of the service and acknowledged the role of Traveller women in es- tablishing the service. He said that it was now important that the wider Traveller community embraced the scheme.

“We’re all worried about the Mc- Carthy report and cuts and this is exactly the type of scheme that we don’t want cut. It’s close to people on the ground”.

Cllr Mulcahy said the centre repre- sented an opportunity for the Travel- ler community to have their say on health matters.

‘Suicide is one of those issues that we can’t afford not to talk about,” said Cllr Mulcahy.

He added that issue of mental health among men was a “critical area that needs to be focused on’. He said that in general, men were slow to admit to health problems.

Sandra Cox, programme coordina- tor with Ennis Community Develop- ment Project (CDP), told the launch “We all hope that the Traveller com- munity will avail of the service to benefit their community and their own health”.

The need for a primary health care programme was identified in research carried out for the ‘Strategy for the coordination of Public Services to the Traveller community in Clare’.

It found that members of the Trav- eller community typically had a life expectancy of between 11 and 12 years less than people in the settled community.

WHO says that there is no entertain- ment in local soccer? This league cup final would put it up to any Pre- miership game in terms of goals, last gasp tackles and anxiety for on-look- ing fans.

SUUUUE ROD biccceM (once elem. eurvelo nm DE the end after extra-time but this game had so many twists and turns Kilrush will certainly feel that they left this cup behind them.

It was Tulla who got the ball rolling when they grabbed the first goal of the match. After some good build up play, striker Keith Lenihan nodded his team into an early lead.

Kilrush were not in the mood for putting their heads down and they immediatly fought back. After 25 minutes Stephen O’Gorman equal- ised, cooly lobbing Shane Collins in the Tulla goal after some great pass- ing between Brian Harte and Trevor SET Tea

Both sides continued to attack and create chances but another goal was not found before the referee brought the first-half to an end.

A few minutes into the second-half Tulla were back in front. This time it was a Crusheen man Alan Brigdale who restored the advantage for Tulla. His long range effort crept over the line when Kilrush goalkeeper Joe Griffin failed to deal with his at- Koa oelel me

Kilrush’s frustration was clear but once again they must be admired for how they got back into the game again. It only took them ten minutes to find a second equaliser. Sub Eoin Fitzgerald who finished off a good move, again with Clancy and Harte at the centre of the move.

The momentum had now certainly switched over to the west Clare men. They still looked very positive and had completed their mission when they went in the lead for the first-time after 65 minutes. Clancy throughout

had been fantastic in build-up play but this time he switched roles from playmaker to goal scorer. He picked up a loose ball outside the box and hammered his shot into the corner of the net.

Tulla had lost the lead twice and were now trailing while Kilrush had completed a miraculous recovery so a tense final quarter was certainly brewing. Kilrush looked to have held on to claim this title but incredibly there was one more headline maker in the 95th minute. Again the impor- tance of subsitutes was evident when Andy McMahon claimed a dramatic levelling goal. Kilrush with another defensive error had blown it and ex- tra-time was now the only solution.

It was clear after the first-half of ex- tra time that both teams had tired but their was still some clear cut chances being constructed.

Man of the match James O’ Hagan missed a number of header opportu- nites but he certainly made up for this

in the opening minutes of the second period of extra-time. An inswinging corner kick was headed on target and Tulla had restored their lead.

Kilrush spirits had been damaged beyond repair. Brigdale with his sec- ond finished off the game a few min- utes later with another cool finish.

Tulla had the game and the first di- vision league cup in hand.

BUSINESS gurus are this week gath- ering at Westpark Business Centre, Shannon, to discuss doing business in the mid-west as part of Mid-West Regional Business Week 2009.

Minister for Trade and Commerce, Billy Kelleher TD performed the of- ficial opening of the event on Mon- day (yesterday). Following on from this, Vincent Browne will chair a discussion panel on the topic Doing business in the mid-west – the issues facing this region and how these may lorem: (eld Ron sciol6 m

This discussion panel will include Kelleher, Brian O’Connell, MD of Westpark, Shannon Ltd, and mem- ber of the Government-appointed Mid-West Task Force, Dr Maria Hin- felaar, President of Limerick Insti- tute of Technology, Brendan Kenny, CEO of the Limerick Regeneration Project, and Rory O’Connor, former CEO of Hewlett Packard.

With his many years in the media and his confrontational questioning style, Browne will ensure to deliver a very focused and thorough discus- sion with the panel.

Sponsored by Enterprise Ireland the Enterprise Expo has attracted over 40 stands from professional bodies who will offer advice and guidance to business owners and those think- ing of starting a business.

Commenting on the Enterprise Expo Mary Wixted, Senior Regional Development Executive with Enter- prise Ireland, said, “the presence of over 40 support agencies for business development in one location and the wide range of local successful entre- preneurs presenting their businesses all in different sectors highlights the vibrant supportive environment in the region and reinforces the fact that doing business in the mid-west is still a very viable option.

“The region possesses huge strengths. We have a rich diversity in industry with scope for further devel-

opment. In terms of the cost of do- ing business, this part of the country is more competitive than elsewhere. The infrastructure is improving all the time and there are excellent op- portunities in education, training and research. We must believe in the talents of people in this region and harness their potential.”

Companies taking part in the En- terprise Expo include Greenbusiness. ie who offer Irish businesses free 1m- partial advice on improving resource efficiency, utilising a three-pronged approach which focuses on reducing waste, conserving energy and saving water.

Many of the companies taking part in the Enterprise Expo have received funding from Enterprise Ireland or

the Enterprise Boards and are an ex- ample of the local successful entre- preneurship stories in the region.

Mid-West Regional Business Week is the combined initiative the region’s County and City Enterprise Boards in conjunction with Enterprise Ire- land and runs from October 5 to Oc- tober 9.

The week-long programme of events covers all categories, from those who wish to explore the possibilities of launching their own businesses, to the long-established businesses who wish to expand their management development capabilities. The Mid- West Networking Event with Sean Gallagher from The Dragon’s Den (detailed below) will take place in the Radisson Hotel, Limerick, on

Wednesday, October 7, at 5.30pm. Bank of Ireland is the key spon- sor of this year’s event, which in the current climate is a welcome indica- tion of their commitment to the local small and medium enterprise sector. For further details log onto www. regionalbusinessweek.com.

IRISH meat factories have been ac- cused of slashing beef prices in the last week in order to maintain a large price gap over the United Kingdom beef market.

IFA President Padraig Walshe last week accused Irish meat factories of making Irish farmers suffer in order to allow them to maintain a strangle- hold over UK producers.

Bord Bia figures show the meat factories are continuing to operate a price gap of €150 per head with cat- tle prices in our major export market in the UK.

According to IFA president Padraig Walshe, the massive price gap was more than adequate to absorb the sterling change and the latest drop in prices was avoidable.

“The facts are that cattle prices are down over 50c per kg or €175 per head on this time last year. The factories latest grab for more of the price means farmers selling cattle are losing money and _ subsidising production out of their Single Farm Payment,’ he said.

The IFA president said by forcing prices down to the current unviable level, the factories and supermarkets are taking money from the Single

Farm Payment.

“Producing finished cattle for the factories to sell at loss-making prices is unsustainable. The livestock sec- tor must pursue every possible live export market to obtain viable out- lets capable of returning profitable jo eon

Meanwhile, the [FA National Live- stock Chairman Michael Doran said the factories tactics on cattle prices underline the importance of a strong live export trade. He said up to 300,000 head of cattle will be exported live this year, leaving sup- plies to the factories much tighter next year.

“There is a very strong market in the UK for Irish beef, where they have a major market deficit and tight- ening domestic supplies. Despite the change in sterling, UK cattle prices are the equivalent of €3.26 per kg including VAT,” he said.

“Across Continental Europe, beef prices are also strong with Bord Bia reporting Italian prices at the equiva- lent of €3.80 per kg, French prices at €3.17 per kg, German prices at €3.18/kg and Spanish prices at €3.35 per kg.

“In addition Brazilian beef exports into the European Union remain se- verely restricted.”