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A SECOND home defeat and Tony Considine slipped back to default mode after the game. He was look- ing ahead, referencing May 27 as the date on which his Clare team will be judged. Cork loom once more then, a red beacon in the distance amid championship days and the white heat of summer.

The league is tucked away now, a building block Clare must hope to what’s to come this summer. Sunday was a little taster. Sun belting down and spring almost done with. Little beads of sweat forming on the punt- ers who gathered behind either goal. Clare will hope for more change from Cork when they meet them next time ‘round.

The visitors came to Ennis, gave Clare a head start and slowly, with- out fuss, lifted things a notch. Just when Clare ducked back into the game, Cork pulled away again.

The Clare boss drew a luminous highlighter across Clare’s wasted Oit-b leone

“We went out and gave it every- thing but when you have 16 wides you don’t deserve to win a game. I thought we played well – the two teams went at it. There’ll probably be a lot of other things on the 27th [of May] that wasn’t there today. Maybe we lacked a bit of sharpness around the goals. You can’t be disappointed with the performance, they gave it everything. As I say 16 wides, you’ll always suffer when you have those kind of wides.”

At the other end, Gerald McCarthy cast his glance across the hard sod of Cusack Park and wondered with a half smile how Cork managed to get out of the group.

“I’m kind of surprised we’re in the semi final but we worked hard for it,’ he said. “We got off to a particu- larly bad start. Didn’t get our game together for quite a long period in the first half but eventually we got a cou-

ple of good snappy balls in. We got 1- 2 off of some very good ball and that turned the game for us. Up to that we looked very vulnerable really. They fought hard, even when Clare came back at us in the second half.”

It’s Cork who wander on, but all throughout this campaign, Consid- ine has spoken like a manager who doesn’t put too much stock in the national league. It’s eight weeks now before Clare play another competi- tive game, but the boss isn’t worried.

“Clare have got playoff games be- fore and they didn’t do us any good. There’s no beating matches and at the end of the day we wanted to win the match and make progress. But the height of real hurling is starting now. We’ve a lot of physical training and we’re getting the great evenings like today. I suppose we’ll look at to- day and learn from it. I think it was a fairly good competitive game. We’re without a game for seven or eight weeks but we’ll try to do something. We’ll have fellows a lot sharper on the 27th and so will Cork. It’ll make for a great game on the 27th.”

Get that marker out. Circle the date. Eight weeks and counting.

The 20-year-old woman was work- ing outside a florists at The Square, Sixmilebridge at around 10.45am on Saturday when a masked man tried to force her into a van.

A man wearing a balaclava tried to pull her into a green van in which he was travelling. A struggle ensued and the young woman managed to escape, before the van was driven at

speed in the direction of Kilkishen.

It is understood that two other men were travelling in the van.

The same woman, a third-level Student in Limerick, was robbed at knifepoint in Limerick on March 15. Her purse was stolen. Gardai set up an identity parade, but she didn’t identify anyone.

Gardai say they are not ruling out the possibility that both incidents are linked but are also investigating the possibility that Saturday’s incident may have been sexually motivated or could have been an attempted rob- Ae

Gardai are keen to establish if the

victim was specifically targeted, or if it was a random abduction attempt on the young woman who had re- ceived a lift to Sixmilebridge earlier derlmpeslevwennntcs

She was said to be deeply trauma- tised following the incidents, but did not sustain any serious injuries.

Gardai have spoken to a number of people who were in the Sixmilebri- dge area early on Saturday, includ- ing one person who saw a green van. However, they believe others may have vital information, or descrip- tions of the three men.

Inspector Tom Kennedy is appeal- ing for anyone who may have seen

a green van in the area on Saturday morning to come forward.

“We are appealing for anyone who may have seen a green Citroen or Peugeot van at The Square, Sixmi- lebridge at around 10.30am to come forward. We believe it was parked outside The Old House pub and was driven across the road when this girl emerged,” he said.

“The van left in the direction of Kil- kishen, but could have turned right for Broadford or Tulla,” he said.

Gardai are also appealing for a woman, who comforted the victim at the time of her ordeal, to come for- ward.

IT’S been the Information Age town, it’s recently been named Ireland’s largest tidiest town — but can Ennis become an Olympic village’?

The prospect of the world’s top athletes coming to Ennis to fine- tune their preparations for the 2012 London Olympics is a proposal cur- rently being explored by Ennis Town Council.

The council is being urged to put forward the Lees Road sports facility as a possible training venue for Ol- ympians training ahead of the sum- jas ueee-B bal ea

Town Manager Tom Coughlan

confirmed the proposal 1s under con- sideration and that any application would be carried out in conjunction with the University of Limerick. “We have given it our considera- tion. Athletes coming over are more than likely to use UL as a base and, if were doing anything, it would probably be to feed off that. Before putting ourselves forward, we would have to have specifications for what would be available in Lees Road, I’m thinking about the running track in particular. It would certainly be a huge boost to the town to be recog- nised on the international stage.” Councillor Frankie Neylon (Ind) requested the council explore the

possibility, given the proximity of Ennis to Shannon Airport.

“There will be great interest in coun- tries looking to use facilities. There is a great drive to provide facilities and, with Shannon on our doorstep, we could offer a huge package.”

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) agreed any Olympic link-up would bring mas- sive international recognition to the OD eer

“It is great to see Lees Road contin- ue to be so popular but if we were to get the Olympics involved, I wouldn’t like to see locals being pushed out as a result. I do know there is terrific interest in Lees Road from sporting eroups, from Galway to Tipperary.”

THE state of Ennis’ unsightly lane- ways has led to calls for Ennis Town Council to raise the matter with En- nis Chamber of Commerce.

Thursday’s monthly meeting of the council heard renewed condemna- tion of the litter problems that exist in the town’s laneways.

Independent Councillor Tommy Brennan urged the council to write to Ennis Chamber of Commerce in an attempt to solve the problem.

“Some of the laneways in the town are a scandal. Maybe it’s about time we wrote a letter to the President of the Chamber of Commerce to get

him to raise the issue with his mem- bers. It is very unsightly.”

Cllr Mary Coote Ryan (FG) was also critical of the laneways and re- peated calls for the removal of the bottlebank outside Tesco.

“The laneways are a disgrace. Tes- co 1s especially bad. I would love to see that bottlebank removed. There is a little path coming from the Clon- road and there is so much dumping going on there that people can’t use Lar Te Na ssle) kone

Town Engineer Tom Tiernan said the bottlebank would be removed from its current position.

“We might be able to move it into the Francis Street pumping station. There

would be holes coming out of the wall where people could put glass in”.

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) called for ereater enforcement of litter pollution laws. “If they won’t stop it, we should get cameras in. Up in the Turnpike, there were six or seven plastic bags of cans dumped on the green. They were removed and a week later they were back again. That wasn’t done by kids.”

Mayor of Ennis Joe Reidy (FF) welcomed the findings of the report of the council’s activities for 2006.

“I’d like to compliment the work carried out by staff in the environ- mental section. And the work done by resident’s associations.”

FIANNA Fail Oireachtas members in Clare have refuted claims that the weekend Ard Fheis is merely a talk- ing shop.

Senator Brendan Daly admitted, however, that a lot of the work is done on the sidelines.

“It is a useful opportunity for peo- ple to meet the ministers first-hand so they hear the issues.” ;

He said that he felt the 7Ist Ard Fheis was particularly successful as

a number of people from Clare met with different ministers to discuss 1s- sues from the hospital to the Doolin Coast Guard.

The west Clare politician said that as many of the motions have been submitted long in advance they are often dated, so highlighting the is- sues and meeting the policy-makers is where a lot of the work is done.

Fellow senator Timmy Dooley be- lieves there has been “progressive change” at the Ard Fheiseanna.

‘The whole media presentation has

changed so there is a much greater fo- cus on communicating with the peo- ple that don’t attend the Ard Fheis.

“The Ard Fheis one time was very much focused on the delegates and the people who attended and 1s still very much that, but now there is a much greater effort to communicate with the people who don’t attend and maybe the people who are not neces- sarily Fianna Fail members around the country.

“I think there is a great opportu- nity for the cumann members around

County Clare to come and meet ministers, go to the work shops, put forward motions initially and have them debated in an open and frank way in front of the senior politicians, the ministers and the Taoiseach. That gives them a sense of satisfaction,’ he said.

He added that having the issues de- livered directly to the minister from the people is very effective.

Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen has been going to the Ard Fheis for 30 years and is equally positive about the process.

He believes there is a lot of business done during the weekend.

“A good few ministers have an ear for a policy idea. I found some of the suggestions to be very helpful. Sometimes when you hear something it has been raised previously, and it has either been put on the long finger or it has been dismissed as an idea for whatever reason. When circum- stances change, then ideas can have reached their time,” he said.

The workshop is better for distilling an idea that the usual motions put by delegates according to the minister.

A lot of the motions are by their nature topical, and as a result have often been dealt with before the elec- tion, he told

NOMINATED members of Clare County Council will meet with plan- ners to discuss lifting restrictions in the County Development Plan.

Members agreed to delay adoption of a motion tabled by three Fianna Fail councillors, at the adjourned March meeting of Clare County Soiree

Councillors Bernard Hanrahan, Pe- ter Considine and Pat Daly proposed a variation to the County Develop- ment Plan to include a provision that any person that owned a site for 10 years or over would automatically

qualify as a local.

Cllr Daly said current guidelines laid out in the plan were too restric- tive. “I know of many people that bought sites 10 years ago, at a time when they weren’t in a position to build, but they are now.”

Cllr Considine said the motion had been put forward because of the frus- trating situations that people were JUUNCOUDOTSamO eles pane) AVonws DOR

“Td certainly suggest that each case be taken on its merits. There are cer- tainly a lot of people who have found themselves in this situation and they haven’t a notion what to do.”

Cllr Hanrahan said, “It is impera-

tive we do something for people who have bought sites and couldn’t afford to build and were not deemed a lo- cal person. I can see reading the re- ply that it’s all negative. All we are looking for is that variation be put in place.”

Responding, senior planner Liam Conneally, said the proposal contra- vened existing Government policy.

“Ownership of land, albeit over a period of time, does not indicate any attachment to the land, local residen- cy, employment or involvement with a rural community, and is clearly contrary to the Ministerial Guide- lines on Rural Settlement policy”.

Green Party councillor Brian Meaney said, “The reply makes it clear that the motion “would be in contra- vention with the act’. If it’s challenged it would fail at An Bord Pleanala. We should be talking to the minister to amend the guidelines instead of tak- ing up our time with this.”

Cllr Colm Wiley (FF) said the move might restrict new buyers entering the market. Cllr Martin Lafferty (Ind) called for an inventory system to determine suitable applicants to avoid sparking rampant property speculation.

SIPTU representatives at Shannon Aerospace Ltd have reacted angrily to suggestions in a national news- paper that they have resisted efforts aimed at bringing about efficiencies in the company.

In a statement, union representa- tives said that the union and it’s mem- bers in SAL “accept we are in a com- petitive business. With this in mind those members have always worked for greater efficiency in the past and

towards the future through the pres- ently sought LEAN manufacturing structure in the organisation. This LEAN structure has been highlight- ed by management as the future of SAL and is in no way being resisted by SIPTU. On the contrary, union representatives have participated at the highest levels that the company permitted, in the design and model- ling of the proposed system.”

In a published interview last week, SAL’s managing director, Martin Kaiser, 1s quoted as saying that the

future of the company could be at risk, putting a question mark over the jobs of 700 people employed there.

In a statement on behalf of the company, a spokeswoman said that it recognised that SAL was “facing a most difficult situation in Shan- non and this can only be resolved by management and employees working together. We are keen to do that and are actively involved with SIPTU in this process.”

The SIPTU statement said that union representatives had engaged

with management over pay and costs since October 2006. It continued that, “Martin Kaiser MD is quoted as stating that agreements currently in place ‘may have been right 15 years ago…’ The agreement present- ly in existence was negotiated by the present management team headed by Mr Kaiser in SAL, as recently as Oc- tober 2002.”

Union members at the Shannon air- line servicing company voted for in- dustrial action in Aug 2006 in pursu- ance of the final two phases of the SP

National Wage Agreement, due since May 2005. These phases were paid when the members accepted changes to rostering guidelines. “While the pay increase thus achieved by agree- ment and brokered by LRC, applied to all staff at Shannon Aerospace, only the SIPTU members gave up anything in return,’ the statement said.

Councillor Madeleine Taylor-Quinn has urged all parties to engage “in meaningful negotiations which will preserve the jobs at Shannon.”

SHANNON airport worker’s lobby eroup, SIGNAL has called on the Minister For Transport to immedi- ately sign over the €53 million in funding promised in the wake of agreement on Open Skies.

The money is to support a five-year action plan to sustain transatlantic air services at Shannon following the end of the stop-over.

The money would be split between a tourism promotional fund of €44 million and a route support fund of €9 million.

A spokesman for SIGNAL said that it is “critical that Minister Cul- len sanction the €53 million plan. He must act as quickly as possible to demonstrate confidence in the re- gion.”

Fine Gael TD Pat Breen has claimed that Aer Lingus Heathrow landing slots serving Shannon were in danger of being sold off, following weekend speculation that the airline’s 23 pairs of slots were now worth up to €700 million.

Deputy Breen said that with Heath- row being “the most important trans- atlantic gateway in Europe, with 40 per cent of European-US traffic, it is vital that Shannon receives an as- surance from Aer Lingus chief ex- ecutive Dermot Mannion that the existing slots serving Shannon will be retained.”

Deputy Breen said that while Man- nion recently re-stated his previous verbal commitment that 400,000 passengers would be put through Shannon annually “there has been no mention of new services, expan- sion of existing services or the mar- keting of existing routes through seat Sales. Indeed, direct services have been cut back since yesterday with the rescheduling of the daily Boston direct service through Dublin”

Independent Deputy, James Breen, warned that the agreement will lead to “cherry picking” by airlines.

“In the immediate aftermath of the announcement of Open Skies Aer Lingus announced new routes to San Francisco, Orlando and Washington. Significantly all of those new routes

will operate from Dublin Airport. Dublin Airport is to be the subject of a €2 billion investment while Shan- non struggles to receive even a few million to overhaul the existing ter- minal’, he said.

And Fine Gael election candidate, Madelaine Taylor-Quinn said that “it is critically important that Shan- non airport gets control of its own destiny and is not dictated to from Dublin, and I am calling on the Taoi- seach and the Minister for Transport to make a clear and unequivocal commitment that Shannon will be handed over debt free immediately.”

Indenpendent MEP Marian Harkin said that the transitional arrange- ments in the Open Skies Agreement are “virtually worthless for Shannon Airport

THE Ennis based Mangan’s Whole- sale group marked 75 years in busi- ness with a business breakfast at the spectacular Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre on Monday when many of the company’s long standing customers, business friends and community rep- resentatives attended the event.

Mangans Wholesale is a major play- er in both the retail and foodservice sectors and pioneered the growth of symbol store development as far back as 1967 with the launch of the Mace brand. In the intervening years, the Clare company introduced the high- ly successful Xpress Stop and Vivo brands. More than 250 staff are em- ployed throughout the country with over 80 of them based in Ennis.

The Ennis Cash & Carry on the Kilrush Road, managed by ‘Tom Downes, is the hub for operations throughout Clare and the surround- ing counties with deliveries to a wide variety of independent retailers and the fast growing foodservice sector.

Managing Director, Terence Man- gan outlined the history of the busi- ness which was founded by his father and uncle in Kilmihil in 1932 and evolved from a local food distributor to a nationwide outfit that includes 8 cash and carries and delivers to all parts of the country. He highlighted

some indicative examples of the com- pany’s ongoing progress including the recent opening of a convenience store at a Luas station in the Dublin commuter belt and the acquisition of a foodservice distribution business in Galway.

Guest speaker at the event was Mick O’Dwyer who spoke about his approach to management, cur- rent trends in sports science and the similarities between managing a top class sports team and running a small business.

Chief Executive Peter Foley out- lined the special promotions that would be available to customers. Further events planned for the year include a charity cycle and a pro- motional offer for regular cash and CVU MONO) No ie

He acknowledged the long service of the extraordinary loyal and cus- tomer focused sales team including Charles Smyth, Malcolm Reeves and Michael Breen.

The event was rounded off by com- pany Chairman, Gabriel Mangan who noted the substantial changes in customer needs since 1932 and the key decisions that were made at the ruta alm Ob elem

He thanked the company’s custom- ers many of whom had seen their businesses develop over the same WE Seles

PROVISIONAL agreement from the unions on the Shannon Airport cost restructuring agreement has been welcomed by management at Shan- non Airport and by the Dublin Air- port Authority (DAA).

“On the basis that this agreement delivers the €10m in annual cost sav- ings required, and that it has the full support of the LRC, the trade unions and management, we welcome it as a significant first step towards ensuring Shannon Airport’s financial viability and safeguarding its role as a key economic generator for the west of Ireland,” said Pat Shanahan, Execu- tive Chairman of Shannon Airport.

“Shannon Airport faces many busi- ness challenges including the advent of Open Skies and growing competi-

tion from other airports.

“But if this agreement is approved by staff, we can establish the cost base and flexibility that will enable Shannon to compete successfully and secure a vibrant future for the airport, its customers and staff,’ he added.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Labour Affairs and Clare TD Tony Killeen said that the provisional agreement had “enabled management and work- ers to develop and market the facility in partnership.”

The minister said he was hopeful that the deal would shortly lead to full services, including fully opera- tional bars, shops and restaurants.

According to Minister Killeen, “The reaching of a provisional agree- ment between managers and unions at Shannon Airport on a revised cost-

cutting plan is amajor breakthrough for everyone involved, as well as the passengers using the airport.”

He called on all the union members who would be balloted on the issue to “carefully consider the deal that has been presented to them and I look forward to a favourable outcome for all parties involved.”

Minister Killeen said that accept- ance of the deal by workers would result in Shannon moving one step closer to becoming an independent airport.

“I believe that a strong independ- ent Shannon Airport will be well placed to win a significant share of new passengers and services that will become available when up to 20 additional U.S. gateways are open to business to Shannon,” he said.