Month: November 2009

A MOTHER and son have pleaded guilty to drug-related charges, arising out of a drugs seizure in Corofin.

Fiona Keane (38) and Stephen Keane (19), of Main Street, Corofin, admitted possession of cannabis in Corofin on November 20, 2008.

Stephen Keane was also convicted of possession of drugs for the pur- pose of sale or supply. Ennis District Court heard that neither had any pre- vious convictions.

Defending solicitor John Casey said that Fiona Keane is a mother- of-four who has lived in Corofin for many years.

“This was an unfortunate incident. It has caused her an amount of dis- Keron OomncT= BLO

Referring to Stephen Keane, the solicitor said, “He will say he would gather money and buy drugs from somebody further up the ladder. He would have it and deal it out to his friends. He never made any money out of it.”

He said his client was an apprentice carpenter, but the business he was working with folded. He then went back to school. “Living in a small village, something like that is going to have an impact on him. This is a very serious conviction for this man

to have against him. was fined €100. The case of her son “It was between him and his was adjourned for two months for friends. He was not out on the street preparation of a probation report. corner selling drugs,” he said. Fiona Keane, who told the court she runs a launderette in Corofin,

A MAN has been convicted of pub- lic order in what a court heard was a volatile and hot-tempered atmos- phere during the Matchmaking Fes- tival in Lisdoonvarna.

Fergal Neylon, of Laghtagoona, Corofin, was convicted of engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour on September 27, 2008.

Evidence in the case was heard last month and Judge Joseph Mangan ad- journed ruling. In court last week, he convicted the accused and imposed a two-month jail term. This was sus- pended on condition that he enter a bond to keep the peace.

The court heard that several people

were involved in a row in the early hours of the morning.

Gardai gave evidence of the ac- cused being highly intoxicated, high- ly agitated and acting in a threaten- ing manner to others. However, the defence disputed this.

Detective Superintendent Gabriel O’Gara told the court the situation was “very tense. It was very vola- tile. A large number of males present were all very intoxicated.”

He said from his observations, Mr Neylon’s intention “appeared to be to breach the peace and also to entice others to get involved. . .He remind- ed me of a person you would see out on a Saturday night, highly intox1- cated, shirt off, chest out, blood all

over him. This was the man who was going to solve everyone’s problems.”

The accused told the court that he had not consumed a lot of alcohol that night. He said that after he left the Hydro hotel, he had been struck and knocked to the ground, where he had been kicked and beaten.

“I was obviously agitated and prob- ably concussed from being kicked. I had no top on because it had been pulled off me while I was on the ground being beaten,’ he said.

“I was agitated with the guards for being arrested, because I was the victim of an assault, but I was not ag- gressive, he added. He denied that he was highly intoxicated.

THE contest for the highly sought after Clare vacancy on the GAA’s influential Central Council commit- tee is set to boil down to a two-horse race between two former members of the Munster Counc1l.

TRICK-OR-TREAT. A phrase that aptly summed up Whitegate’s Hal- loween adventure on Saturday as they followed the well worn path of Clooney/Quin, Clonlara and Broad- ford into the latter stages of the pro- visional intermediate championship.

The trick for Whitegate was mani- fold, beginning with the Munster Council’s decision to take the game out of Whitegate to the enclosed con- fines of neighbours Scariff, a venue that has been a veritable graveyard for the club over the past two years. It also refers to the county’s unwel- come tradition of only leaving a week between the county final and the Munster campaign, insufficient time really to prepare for such an im- portant competition.

Add in the fact that Whitegate tend to start slowly and this could have been a a real Halloween horrorshow for the east Clare side. Crucially though, through the ever depend-

able George Waterstone, who again scored all of Whitegate’s four first- half points for the second week in succession, the county champions only found themselves two points in arrears at the break at 0-6 to 0-4.

With the wind at their backs, Tip- perary champions Davins_ should have been cruising by half-time but while they were dominant for long periods through centre-back anchor Lee Mackey and the running of William O’Dwyer and Noel Butler, their inability to turn possession into scores repeatedly frustrated them. As did the dogged performances from Whitegate’s John Bugler, Thomas eC) I EiCe Mr TiOMMWF:lKo nice) etee

The treat duly arrived with a storm- ing second-half display from the home side who, in keeping with the festive day, appeared like a side pos- sessed as they threw off the shackles of a below par opening period.

The Davins two point advantage was wiped out after only four minutes when the impressive John Minogue

and a Waterstone free gained parity for their side and from the puck-out, Thomas Holland put Whitegate into the lead for the first time with an in- spirational score from halfway.

Now brimming with confidence, Whitegate proceeded to haunt the Davins with their half-back line of Thomas Holland, Brendan Bugler and Jason Malone again proving to be Whitegate’s strongest line by cut- ting off the South Tipperary side’s supply to their front six.

It forced the Tipperary champions back and allowed Whitegate to lay siege on the opposition goals as Wa- terstone converted another free be- fore Stephen Malone completed the purple patch with a goal in the 37th minute.

It came out of nothing really as Carrick Davins full-back Richard McGrath beat Malone to the ball in the right corner, only to dig his hur- ley into the heavy surface. Malone did the rest by gathering possession and ghosting past the remaining de-

fenders before hammering the ball past goalkeeper Ed McGrath.

Not having scored in the half while conceding an unanswered 1-6, that goal proved to be the death knell for Carrick Davins, who all too easily dropped their heads after that. Mikey Cronin secured their first point in 16 minutes through a free in the 40th minute but by now, Whitegate were rampant and further points from Wa- terstone and captain Patrick Minogue saw them pull 1-10 to 0-7 clear by the turn of the final quarter.

In an effort to regain a foothold in the game, the Davins brought back Shane Butler as a third midfielder but that tactic only played in White- gate’s hands even further as former county senior Thomas Holland now had a free reign in the half-back line to sweep up any danger that Carrick would pose.

An Jan Fahy lineball and another Waterstone effort cancelled out the Davins mini-revolt of two Cronin frees, with the final nail in the Tip-

perary champions’ coffin coming when Lee Mackey blazed a 20 me- tre free over the bar instead of at the intended target before substitute Michael O’Brien finished the scoring for the home side.

A typically spirited fightback en- Sured there were no real scares for the east Clare side on this occasion but the celebration bonfires are still burning strong as Whitegate march on to another home tie for the sem1- jnbOr-N IS

WITH a little over five minutes to go, this game rested on a knife-edge. It shouldn’t have. Just three points separated the two, Smith O’Brien’s ahead on a scoreline of 1-5 to O-5.

A total of 16 minutes had passed with neither side able to register a score. The opening quarter aside, Smith O’Brien’s — beaten finalists in this competition last year after going down in a replay against Ennisty- mon — were by far the fitter and more creative team. By all reckoning, they should have wrapped up the game before their late onslaught arrived. That they didn’t close the door on St Breckan’s meant the north Clare side would always believe they could get back in the game. With 12 minutes gone in the second-half, they al- most did. Tony Shannon had just put them back to within three of Smith O’Brien’s when he almost levelled things up. He latched onto a low ball 15-yards out from goal, kicking from the ground soccer-style and his shot looked destined for the net. Eugene Cusack, in goal for the Killaloe club, made a fantastic save to keep the ball out. It broke to Sean Neville who aimed for goal but his shot slid left and wide. Ten minutes later, Brian Scanlan produced another goal save for Smith O’Brien’s when he blocked what looked like a certain goal for St Breckan’s and Smith O’Brien’s — though running their luck to the max — remained in control.

If Cusack and Scanlan’s contribu- tions were crucial then so too were the displays from John Cusack, Kevin McCarthy and, in particular, Shane Byrne. The latter produced a quality display, popping up in all

areas of the field but his distribution remained the key component of the game.

While the focus among those dot- ting the inexcusably unlined “‘side- line” may have been on the former Munster and Ireland rugby interna- tional Anthony Foley — who clocked in a muted enough game at full-for-

ward — the work-rate of Byrne and John Cusack, the power of McCarthy and the agility of Eugene Cusack are what really caught the eye.

As early as the 15th minute Mc- Carthy had Smith O’Brien’s in the driving seat. He goaled after eight minutes and pointed on the quarter hour with another score from An-

thony O’Sullivan — a cousin of the Kerry All-Star Declan O’Sullivan — wedged in between. In total, it gave Smith O’Brien’s a four-point lead. John Stack with three and Eric Mur- rihy were the only names on the St Breckan’s scoresheet by the time the break rolled around.

After those goal opportunities for

St Breckan’s slid by, Smith O’Brien’s re-focused once more.

Trevor Howard kicked his side four ahead with five minutes left and 60 seconds later, Stephen McCarthy — who was influential after coming off the bench early in the game — pro- vided an insurance goal.

Into injury-time but there was more to come. Fittingly, Byrne stepped up for the final two scores. Firstly, a point and two minutes into time add- ed on, a beautifully taken goal.

A ten-point win, deservedly so, and yet another football title wintering in the east of the county.

THE Banner Ladies maintained their firm grip on underage ladies football on Sunday morning as they completed a three-in-a-row of Mi1- nor A titles. While the champions were dogged against the conditions, against a battling Newmarket side it was only in the final quarter that they really upped the ante, scoring 3-5 without reply to put the result beyond any doubt.

On the flip side, it was another cruel blow to Newmarket who along with suffering defeat to the Banner for the second year in succession, also had a sizeable pool of players on the under 16 and minor camogie sides that lost finals in recent weeks.

They battled admirably for three quarters of this tie but needed a goal to really kickstart any meaning- ful challenge against the perennial champions, especially in the first-half when backed by the swirling wind.

After an evenly matched start that saw Niamh O’Dea kick four of the Banner’s opening five points with Newmarket’s replies coming from Niki Kaiser, Zelica Brown and Jenny Kelly, there wasn’t a lot to separate the sides in the breezy conditions. However, the game received it’s first major turning point in the 23rd minute when Sinead O’Keefe’s ball over the top was gathered by Naomi

Carroll to score the only goal of the first-half. That score was to prove the difference for the next 20 minutes as Newmarket tried to regain a foothold in the game. By half-time, Niki Kai- ser and Niamh O’Dea had swapped points to leave the scoreline 1-6 to 0- 4 but on the restart, a resurgent Ban- ner side took up the ascendency after Laura McMahon had cut the deficit to four.

Louise Woods was instrumental in stopping the Newmarket supply and with Shonagh Enright, Niamh O’Dea and Katie Cahill all willing to carry the ball forward at every opportunity, Newmarket had to remain resilient to hold them out. Chloe Morey was strong in defence, Roisin McMahon and Carol Kaiser scrapped for every ball but eventually, the Banner’s re- lentless pressure had to pay off and

after five successive wides, Niamh O’Dea finally got them back on track with a point from 30 metres.

In a brief revolt, Ann Marie Hayes grabbed a wonderful point for New- market but once Catherine Dolan scrambled the Banner’s second goal in the 48th minute to increase the lead to eight, Newmarket’s heads be- gan to drop.

An experienced Banner side took

full advantage when Niamh O’Dea soloed through unchallenged before unleashing her effort to the net and the Munster award winner would tack on a further 1-2 to lead her side to another memorable victory.

Not only that but for captain Lorna Higgins, Katie Cahill, Shonagh En- right, Kathleen O’Keefe, Niamh Ca- hill and Sinead O’Keefe, it was the crowning of a Minor A double in camogie and ladies football, a sig- nificant achievement in an already success filled year.

ENNIS Chamber Business School in conjunction with Chambers Ireland and FAS, has announced details of training courses for November to as- sist businesses with managing their credit and getting paid in order to support cash flow.

Rita Mc Inerney, CEO of Ennis Chamber said: “Cash flow is the life- blood of any business, particularly at a time when it can be difficult to ob- tain credit. Therefore Ennis Cham- ber felt a need to address this head

on by providing businesses with an opportunity to up-skill themselves or their staff by providing one and two day intensive training courses.”

The first course “How to Get Paid” is branded as having the potential to turn a businesses fortunes around in the current climate. This course takes place on Wednesday, Novem- ber 11 and will cover topics such as spotting the risks, proper documen- tation, approaches to collections and legal options as well as handouts on forms and layouts, and terms and Fey aTen TBO) e tse

Secondly a two day course on “Managing Credit for Profit” is de- signed to bring the credit manage- ment function into the 21st century. Taking place on Wednesdays, No- vember 11 and 18, this course intro- duces the positive benefit of excellent credit management and how to effec- tively manage credit exposure while also teaching some accountancy skills and prioritisation.

This training is delivered by the Chief Executive of the Irish Insti- tute of Credit Management, Declan Flood, who is a regular contributor

to the national media. He has gained a reputation as a leading visionary in the area by combining the latest thinking with his 20 years of hands on credit management.

Both courses qualify for Continu- ous Professional Development (CDP) hours and run from 9.30am-5pm on each day at the Old Ground Hotel, O’Connell Street, Ennis, County Clare at a cost of €175 per day per participant.

For bookings please contact Marga- ret Neylon at Ennis Chamber on 065 684 2988 or info@ennischamber.ie

AS part of a special commemora- tion, Clare casualties of World War II will be remembered at the Clare Armistice Day multi-denomination- al service at Ennis Cathedral at 8pm next Wednesday, November 11.

The service will honour the memo- ry of Clare service men and women, and civilians who lost their lives in

both the First and Second World AEN ace

At the service, a special address will be given by retired Col. Michael Shannon, from Kilrush, former Chairman of the Irish Peace Institute. Col. Shannon served with UN forces in the Congo, Cyprus and Lebanon Where he was Commanding Officer of the UNIFL force. He also worked with the OSCE and EU monitoring

elections in Boznia- Hertzegovina, South Africa and Russia.

The commemoration committee is currently appealing for names and details of other casualties, as the com- mittee is raising funds to erect a me- morial wall to all casualties. Names may be given to the local libraries, Fr. Hogan, Ennis, Tom Prendivelle, Kilrush, Rev. Bob Hanna, Ennis and Peadar M Namara, Inch.

In total, World War II resulted in the death of 24 million military service personel and over 40 million MANET Oh

The war started on September 3, 1939, and ended on September 2, ee

Over 100,000 Irish served in the British Forces of which 10,000 lost their lives. Over 150,000 Irish worked in Britain during the war — in

factories, building aerodromes, nurs- ing etc.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission record the following Clare dead by name, rank serial number, unit regiment, date of death, age, parents, home address, grave/ memorial, and cemetery location.

The names listed here are not a full record of the Clare World War II casualties.

IT’S as if Barry Duggan didn’t want to leave the field. Long after the ball- game was over he was still out there, Canon Hamilton in one hand, the other working overtime as he shook all comers’ hands. Centre stage after all these years. Young and old sought captain and cup out — wanting to touch the cup, and see it up close. Duggan was hap- py to oblige, the sponge for everyone for those few minutes as he stood there in his own elevated world. Taking it all in. Living it. Nirvana. “County champions,” he says. “It’s brilliant, isn’t it? It’s unbelievable. To think we’ve won a senior champion- ship and the way we won it makes it even more unbelievable. When we went a point down with a couple of minutes to go the heads were down. It looked as if we might have missed our chance.

“But there’s something in this team this year. Going a point down brought us back to the Broadford game when we were a point with a minute to go. We got back to draw that day and today we said to ourselves that there was nothing more going past and we ll get a chance down the other end. We believed that. That’s what happened.”

Belief that manifested itself for a number of reasons, admits the in- spirational captain. Mike O’Gorman and John Gleeson telling them all year about he work they clocked up; Mike Deegan’s unfettered belief in their ability to deliver; the profes- sionalism from the world of rugby that Fiach O’ Loughlin brought to the eles

“Coming together 112 times speaks for itself,’ he says. “It shows we worked savagely hard all year — run- ning in Cratloe Woods in the hail, sleet and rain. That was back in Janu-

ary and back then we didn’t believe we’d be here in November, but once we reached the semi-final we said we were ready for anything that would be thrown at us.

“Tt was one big roll. We never had time to think about the next game that was coming up. One game was over and another game came on top of us. We just kept on thinking about the next game when it came along. Like Clonlara last year we didn’t have time to think about the hype of being in a county final. It was just a matter of going out there and treating it as another game. We did that after getting over a Slow and nervous start WOCO MO ODM OOo Kon ED Ln

Canon Hamilton was beaming up at him. Telling him he was thirsty. The dressing room was calling were the champagne was already uncorked.

BEAMING and panting, Sean Chap- lin is coming to terms with the hour he has just logged and the trophy he has helped secure for Cratloe’s al- ready crowded cabinet.

‘This is beyond my wildest dreams,” he says. “As a young lad myself and the lads would go down and watch the Cratloe seniors. We were about ten or 12 and we would follow those guys every season. To us they were the next big thing when they won the intermediate and things died down for a while after that but it’s great to bring success to the club again.

“We had had so many years of los- ing but when you get that winning feeling it’s very hard to stop it be- cause that feeling 1s unreal.”

Sunday was the club’s 13th game in 14 weeks and the winning percent- age from that butcher’s dozen — in both codes — has been phenomenal.

“We have massive momentum in

this club. We had the football to build on and I’ve heard that some people have said football should be banned in Cratloe. I don’t believe that.

“We’re mad for football, we’re mad for hurling. These fellas are mad for action. I don’t care if we’re playing every week from here until Christ- mas. That’s what we want. We want to play and we want to train. That’s what we get the buzz from. That’s our life.”

From beginning to end, Chaplin was at the core of Cratloe’s win but for the midfielder, the final score of the game proved the sweetest mo- ment.

“The end was unbelievable, it was just a great way to win a county final and I didn’t know how long was left. It seemed like a fast second-half. I thought there would be more left in it because even after the goal it was backs to the wall time for us.

‘When the ball hit the net I was still cautious though because Clonlara

have some fantastic players and they had the ability to come back down and get another goal.”

A familiar refrain surrounded Cratloe both before and during the game.

“We had to work and work and be disciplined. That was the target we set. At half-time we said we had to be patient as well, that the breaks would come and that’s exactly what hap- pened. We were getting tired towards the end of the first-half because there was a lot of hard hitting but we kept going, we wouldn’t back down.

“Inside in the dressing room there were no mad speeches. We just de- cided we would stick with what had got us this far, stick with it. We knew were fit and we believed in ourselves. That counts for something.”