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BUDDING artists from the John Paul Estate have received much ac- claim for their work on display in the Kilrush Credit Union.

Offers to buy works from the exhi- bition were politely declined by the artists however as the work was very personal and of sentimental value to the creators.

In total eight young people from the local authority estate worked on pieces of MDF board to create the vibrant works of art.

The 13 to 16 year olds got involved in the project through the Kilrush Youth Centre during the summer.

The project was all their own idea. Supporting the young people the Clare Youth Service hired Ennis

based artists Martin and Giordana to help the enthusiastic group.

While the young people guided the project the professional artists helped with technique.

Entitled “MDF Stencil and Free- style Art” the project saw the young people use their names as the main focus of the work.

They then painted pictures around the name to express who they were.

The group also painted a sign for their “chill out house” on the estate Where they meet up a few times a week to do exactly what it said – atte

“T couldn’t believe it when I saw it (the work). They are very talented,” said Karen Casey who just recently took over the role of youth worker in Kilrush from Owen O’Meara Daly.

Mr O’Meara Daly bravely included his work in the exhibition also.

The first exhibition of the group’s work was in the Community Centre in John Paul Estate.

Family and friends of the group along with business people from the west Clare capital were invited to at- tend the first night.

From that showing Eiri Corca Baiscin and the Credit Union sug- gested that the work should be taken to the town centre for exhibiting.

Once on display in the Credit Un- ion, the work received many admir- ing comments and requests to pur- chase some of the pictures.

The pictures were far too personal for parting with however.

One of the pieces of course will be on display continuously – the “Chill

Out House” piece.

The group that meet here take part in soccer and other sports. They also enjoy cooking classes and taking part in the walking trips.

The services provided by the Kil- rush Youth Centre for between 20 and 25 young people is for those aged between 12 and 17 years.

The service is aimed at the target eroup, and helps the young people with their open social development.

Kildysart Community Focus ree been working to provide Elderly Care and Childcare facilities for the

area.

The hardworking team is await- ing the decision of the council on its planning application to extend the community centre for Elderly Day Care facilities later this month.

The new childcare facility is planned as a stand-alone facility be- side the community centre.

The funding will now help with this massive undertaking by the local community to provide much needed community services to the growing town and the neighbouring commu- nities of Labasheeda, Cranny, Lissy- casey, Ballynacally and Coolmeen.

Plans are in place for a half crest

childcare building include a créche for toddlers, a playschool, and an af- ter schools service.

Mr Kelly said that once the facility is up and running parents will be able to leave their child in the centre after maternity leave, with the knowledge that the child can return there every day until they go to school.

To date the group has received €50,000 from the Dormant accounts for the elderly care facility and com- puters from the Department of the Taoiseach.

Furniture has also been bought ready for the new Elderly Care Cen- tre, if and when it gets the green light

from the local planning authority.

“Hopefully things will have started before the end of the year,’ said Mr Ths

Meanwhile Lissycasey has also got the green light from the Minister for Children as he allocated just over €900,000 for childcare facilities there. Welcoming the announcement Senator Brendan Daly (FF) said that childcare facilities were very impor- tant to the area.

“It 1s important to have proper fa- cilities for children in those early formative years. I would be keen to see these projects develop as soon as possible.”

THE artistic endeavors of more than 300 Clare children was celebrated this week at the Pol an Ionain cave in Doolin where the inaugural chil- dren’s Christmas art competition was judged.

After much deliberation, Oscar Healy from Cratloe came out on top in the competition which was crammed with quality work from all entrants.

“We did Santa Clause at the cave this year and as part of that we in- vited all the children who visited to take part in the art competition. We couldn’t get over the response, we

had 300 entrants from children all over Clare, it was really amazing,” said Helen Browne of Pol an Ionain.

“It was really interesting to see all the different things that the children could conjure up just with their 1m- aginations.”

The competition was judged by three arts school graduates who de- cided that Oscar’s drawing was the best of the hundred of entrants in a close competition.

“It was so difficult, they were all very good but there were six or seven pieces that were just excellent,’ con- tinued Helen.

‘He has created a scene which is based inside the cave. The stalac-

tite is in the background and in the foreground is Santa and two or three elves. The whole drawing is really fantastic, very well done.”

Pol an Ionain has been going from strength to strength since it opened less than one year ago.

“The cave has been going very well. We are operating a park and ride service from Bruach na Halla to the cave. This is to keep any disturbance of the natural environment of the area to an absolute minimum. It also means that only groups of 20 visit the cave at a time which makes it both a very intimate and eco-friendly expe- rience,’ continued Helen.

“We are open at weekends at the

moment and we will be opening full time after Paddy’s Day. It’s a great experience and allows people to view a sculpture of nature which has been in the making for millions of years.” The cave, which boasts the world’s largest free-hanging stalactite, was discovered in 1959 and was devel- oped using non-explosive drilling techniques to protect the ecology of the cave and its surrounding area.

GERRY Dunleavy was back in Doo- lin last week to help launch details for this year’s Michael Dunleavy Walk which will take place on April ey

The walk, which is now in its fifth year, 1S dedicated to the memory of Gerry’s young son Michael, who died aged just eight, because of an inoperable brain tumour.

The group, which has raised more than €90,000 for the Irish Cancer Society over the last four years, are hoping that this year’s event will be

the most successful to date.

“We are really hoping to push it this year. This is the fifth anniver- sary of the walk so we want to pull out all the stops. We want to make it the biggest walk ever,” said organiser Mary O’Connor. “It will be the same route as usual. We will start at the Russell Centre and people can have their choice of two routes, one of five miles or one of a shorter distance.

‘All the money raised goes towards the Irish Cancer Society. We try to channel the money towards child- hood cancer and research. We also save a good part of the money raised

to help local children who are suffer- ing from different illnesses.”

The Michael Dunleavy Foundation was established by Gerry and Toni Dunleavy in Boston in 2002. Doo- lin native Gerry and his Dublin-born Toni set up the charity following the death of their son Michael in Amer1- ca on December 28, 2002.

“We hope that our fundraiser will be an important element in the fight against cancer and brain tumours,” continued Mary. “Technology is moving at breakneck speed towards finding the cause of this disease but it requires a big investment that now

one of us could afford. But together we can help to hasten the day that a cure for cancer would be found.”

The money raised will be used pri- marily in the area of research into childhood cancer and in the support of affected families. A portion of this money also goes to help fund special- ists nurses who work on a one-to-one basis with child suffers of cancer.

Anyone interested in taking part in the walk can contact Mary on 087 9080412. A special bank account for all donations has been set up at the Bank of Ireland in Ennistymon, Ac- count number 32884701.

THE dangers of home heaters have been highlighted after a pensioner lost his life in a blaze at an Ennis house over the weekend.

Michael Moloney (67) died from smoke inhalation after an electrical bar heater toppled at his home, in Ashfield Park on the Gort Road in Ennis, on Friday afternoon.

He was a native of Knockanena, Caher, in East Clare, and had lived in Ennis for a number of years.

Mr Moloney, a single man, is un-

derstood to have died as a result of inhaling smoke fumes, after a bar heater toppled and set carpet in his bedroom on fire.

His body was discovered on the floor of his bedroom, near the heater, by another resident of the house, at around 4pm.

The fire is understood to have bro- ken out a short time earlier. Another tenant of the house was in another bedroom at the time, but he did not sustain injuries.

A post-mortem examination of Mr Moloney’s body took place at Limer-

ick Regional Hospital yesterday, the initial results of which indicate he died due to smoke inhalation.

Mr Moloney is survived by his brother and two sisters, who live in East Clare. He is to be laid to rest to- day (Tuesday).

Gardai investigating Mr Moloney’s death are not treating it as suspicious. “We are happy there was no foul play. We are treating this as an accident,” said a garda spokesman.

The county’s fire officers have stressed the importance of assem- bling a plan, in an effort to ensure

fires do not destroy lives. They strongly advocate the use of smoke alarms and to plan an escape drill, in the event of a fire.

Senior Fire Officer in Clare, Denis O’Connell is warning people to be vigilant when using heaters.

He said heaters with a naked flame require high levels of vigilance and clothes should not be placed near Wetoeee

“We recommend people use oil- filled heaters, as there is no naked flame involved. There is a certain level of safety required in any heat-

ing system that has a naked flame,” he said.

He is warning people to be mindful of the potential dangers of heaters.

“People should use smoke detec- tors. Fires should be guarded, elec- tric units should be switched off and chimneys should be swept twice a year,’ he said.

“The people most at risk from fire deaths are elderly people living alone,” he pointed out.

He said when they inspect homes, fire officers in Clare do not recom- mend the use of naked flame heaters.

RETURNING by very popular de- mand, the Corofin Drama Society will stage one final production of the Rape of the Belt this Saturday evening before taking the play on the Festival Circuit.

Such was the reaction to the three successful performances of the Benn W Levy comedy last month that the eroup have decided to allow local audiences one last look before they loyun trees iOemBelomKey-lem

“It is based on the ancient Greek story of Hercules and and his 12 la- bours. His ninth task was to steal the belt of the Amazons,’ said director Marianna Shonemann. The Amazons

are always portrayed as being fierce and harsh women but when he meets them he finds them very charming.

‘This makes it much harder for him to fulfill him tasks and lead to a lot of the comedy in the play.”

Following the Corofin date, the group face a busy schedule of the fes- tival circuit with five performances in the month of March.

First up 1s Doonbeg March 12 be- fore performances in Shercock and Cootehill in Cavan on March 20 and 21.

Next up is a return to Clare to take part in the Scariff Festival on March 23 before rounding off the tour in Charleville, County Cork on March oF

“We try to bring a three act play on the circuit each year,’ continued Marianna. “It’s great to get the play out to a wider audience and to al- low more people to come and see it. There is also a lot that we can learn JUuO)ooMoyUba-an steam LMmO em se low Ker-\em-TICMolor ing how other groups do it.

‘There are a number of people who are getting involved in a play for the first time with this production. Peo- ple like PJ Cox, his sister Sandra and Majella Dooley this is their first production and they have been great. We have also paid special attention to the costumes and set and people have been commenting on how good they are.”

Written in the late 1950’s, The Rape

of the Belt is an entertaining comedy based in Ancient Greece. It tells the tale of Hercules’ ninth labour where he has to take the ceremonial royal belt from the Queen of the Ama- ZONS.

The Amazons have a perfect king- dom, full of peacefully creative women, where the men (only a hand- ful) are kept apart as slaves, and used solely for breeding. All the while the Gods Zeus and Hera watch on which interest.

PREPARATIONS are well underway in Gort for this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade which looks likely to be the biggest most exciting in years. Hundreds of people are expected to take part in the parade with thou- sands more to watch from the streets and square of the town.

The first thing about our parade is that it actually be on St Patrick’s Day, on the Saturday, where lot of other parades will be held on the Sunday,’ said organiser Padraig Giblin.

‘The parade will start from Church Street after 12 o’clock mass on Sat- urday with the dispersal of the sham- rock by the FCA troop. It will be led this year by the Tulla Pipe band

under the direction of Sean Leamy. They have been taking part in our parade for years and we are always delighted to see them taking part.

“From there the parade will go down the lower side of the square, down Bridge Street, George Street, turn at the old vocational school and return to Church Street via the Upper Square.”

This years parade will see a number groups taking part for the first time while many of the old favorites will also be present.

“Francis Linnane from Gort will lead the vintage cars and tractors at the parade. People love looking at the older pieces of machinery and they always prove very popular,’ contin- ued Padraig.

‘This year we will have a display of trashing which will take place in the square which should be very inter- esting. We are encouraging as many people as possible to get involved and especially people from the Bra- Zilian community. We are hoping to have at least one group of Brazilian musicians involved in the parade.

There will be live stationary enter- tainment at the square both before and after the parade. The Bradley- Scanlan School of Dancing will provide a display of step dancing at the square while a group of local set dancer and mummers will be led by Marian Cahill-Collins.

There will also be a craft market and food fair to keep the revelers sus- tained throughout the celebration.

One person from each group taking part in the parade will also be grant- ed access to the viewing stand where they will be able to view the parade from the best possible vantage point.

For more information or to confirm your participation contact secretary Trish Buckley at 091 632754.

WOLFE Tones GAA Club has launched a major fundraising ini- tiative, to pay the cost of installing floodlights at its main pitch.

A special *300 Club’ has been launched, where 300 people are be- ing asked to pay €240, over a two- year period.

The club’s officers say that the pro- vision of the floodlights 1s seen as an important addition to the excellent range of facilities being offered to existing and future members.

Work will shortly commence on the project, for which planning permis- sion has already been secured, and

the lights are to be in place during the summer.

“The floodlighting involves a sig- nificant financial commitment, and Wolfe Tones is launching a special ‘300 Club’, with all the proceeds going towards this project,” said the club’s Outdoor Facilities Officer Pat O’Connell.

He said that the club’s facilities need to be constantly updated and enhanced, in order to compete with other sports and recreational ameni- lene

“In urban areas, in particular, there is intense competition for the atten- tion of young people and we have to ensure that our playing fields and

other facilities are of the highest Standard,” he said.

He stressed, however, that there is still an urgent need for involvement by parents and other community members in the club.

“Facilities alone will not suffice. With the modern lifestyle and wide choice of leisure outlets, a huge ef- fort is required by Wolfe Tones mem- bers, to ensure the success of the club in the future,” he said.

Gerry McIntyre is co-ordinating the °300 Club’ for Wolfe Tones, while a committee is also involved.

Draws will be held monthly, from May 7, for two years, with prizes each month totalling €1,200. For

those who pay for Year | 1n advance, there will be a special draw on May 7 for two bonus prizes of weekend holiday breaks.

Patrons can pay €240 at the start, to cover the 24 draws, or €120 prior to Draws 1 and 13.

Alternatively, they can opt for monthly direct debits of €10 for 24 rneCOyel etsy

‘300 Club’ forms are available from the Wolfe Tones Goalpost Club- house or via email at wolfe-tones- shannon @clare.gaa.ie.

Members of the Wolfe Tones 300 Club Committee will also be in con- tact with all club members in the coming weeks to explain the details.

A SHANNON teacher has received the major honour of being granted a Fellowship to study for her Masters Degree at a US University.

Sarah Burke (25), from Tullyvarra- ga, Shannon, is a teacher at St Tola’s national school in her home town. She graduated with a BA (English and Geography) and Graduate D1- ploma in Education from Mary Im- maculate College in Limerick two years ago. Her outstanding results in the Graduate Diploma caught the at- tention of Frostburg State University in Maryland, who chose her to study

for her Masters in Education there. She is the only Irish person to have been selected by the University to spend a year there.

The University will also pay all of her fees, during her year-long stud- ies. Her studies will commence in August and she will be given the choice between Special Needs Edu- cation or Children’s Literacy, as her specialist area.

“The course is fully recognised by the Department of Education and I was chosen based on rank, order and merit. It is all to do with where you finish in the class and your work throughout the Graduate Diploma in

Education,” she said.

Sarah is hoping to use this oppor- tunity to do a bit of travelling around the States, but admits she will miss her parents Catherine and Albert. However she is hopeful that they will take some time out to visit her during the 12-month spell.

“I was delighted, but shocked to be chosen. I am a little bit nervous. I haven’t travelled for any extensive time before. A year away is daunt- ing, but itis an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. Everyone is delighted for me. I really want to make the most of this,’ she said.

Sarah is currently in her second

year teaching at St Tola’s, where she has secured permanent employment, and has been delighted that she can take a year out from teaching, to travel overseas.

“I teach 28 junior infants and love Tola’s. The job will still be here after the year,’ she said.

She has received fantastic support from the principal at Tola’s, Kevin Hehir, and all the staff at the school, who have supported her.

‘The staff are so proud. They think this is great and are delighted for me. They have been brilliant. This is such a great opportunity to see so many different places,” said Sarah.

THE people of Sixmilebridge and Kilmurry are being encouraged to attend the parish mission which will get underway on Sunday.

The six-day programme will spring into action on Sunday evening and will continue through until Friday. A number of events for young and old people will be part of the programme throughout the week.

According to the organisers, the event is about welcome, renewal and

community in Sixmilebridge and aims to involve everybody. A group of 50 people gathered last week and they were divided into groups, where they travelled to homes in the par- ish and encouraged people to attend some of the events throughout the ete

Organiser David Deighan said there have been huge changes in the parish in recent years and this will be reflected during the mission.

“So many new people have come to live in the parish, while others

have lived in the parish all their lives, or come here over the years. It is all about bonding together, in an annual event. We have a new par- ish priest – Fr Harry Bohan – and the church has been redeveloped in re- cent years. A lot of things have hap- pened,” he said.

The mission will be led by Fr Tony Flannery and teacher Ann O’Toole. Fr Flannery is a Redemptorist priest who is well known for his human- ity and is a man gifted in connect- ing Christian values to real life. Ms

O’Toole is a young person who has taken time away from the classroom to participate in the mission work.

“The Mission guarantees at least a welcome to all to come. Every per- son in the parish is invited to take a little time out and come a along,’ said Mr Deighan.

“Hopefully we will have a full church every night,” he added.

The mission will start on Sunday evening with an opening celebration and welcome. Christ the Healer is the title of Monday’s event, while the

Rite of Reconciliation will take place on Tuesday evening. Young people are being encouraged to attend Youth Night on Wednesday while the par- ish’s deceased will be remembered on Thursday night. There will be a finale and close of mission on Friday night. All of the events will start at 7.30pm, with the final night’s events getting underway at 7pm.

During the Mission Week there will be daily morning Mass in Sixmileb- ridge Church at 7am and 10am and in Kilmurry Church at 8.30am.