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CLARE cattle and sheep farmers were this week warned of a potential outbreak in liver fluke over the winter months. The warning was announced by the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food John Browne after a study into the years weather patterns.

A liver fluke forecasting model, based on rain- fall during spring, summer and early autumn, predicts that the disease will be a big problem this year in cattle and sheep in Clare as-well-as other parts of the west, midwest, northwest and southwest of the country during the winter.

This is due to high rainfall during late summer and early autumn creating suitable conditions for the propagation of the snail intermediate host

and infective stages of the liver fluke.

The study was carried out by the Liver Fluke Advisory Group which is made up of members of the Central Veterinary Laboratory, the De- partment of Agriculture and Rural Development (Northern Ireland), Teagasc, Met Eireann, Phar- maceutical industry and the College of Life Sci- ences, University College Dublin.

The group has advised that farmers in high risk areas, such as Clare, should treat sheep im- mediately. They also advised that young cattle should be dosed right away and again after hous- ing while older cattle need only receive treatment after housing.

The timing of treatment after housing depends on the flukicide product being used. Cattle being kept on pasture for the winter should be treated

immediately and this treatment should be repeat- ed at regular intervals according to veterinary advice.

Minister Browne said that the treatment of dairy cows for liver fluke should be carried out at drying off and not during lactation, and also advised that all bought-in cattle and sheep should be kept isolated and treated for liver fluke before joining the main herd or flock.

The Central Veterinary Laboratory and the Regional Veterinary Laboratories can help vet- erinary practitioners and farmers by testing dung and blood samples for evidence of liver fluke eggs, antibodies and associated liver damage as well as monitoring the efficacy of anthelmintic treatment.

Kit carried a golf club to the altar, to symbolise the dead man’s love of the game, and his brother, Mark presented a fishing rod “to remind us of the days Mick went in search of the ‘big haul’ which never came home,” said Fr Carey.

A friend and former apprentice brought a hammer to symbolise Mike’s trade as a master carpenter.

‘Mike was a man who took pride in his work, his friendships and his love. He took three months off at the end of last year to get the house which he and Kit were building off

the ground,” said Fr Carey.

He added that Mike’s sister Anne- Marie had revealed that her brother had gone back to studying Irish.

The 31-year-old’s brother, Mark told a packed church that his family wanted to “thank the coastguard, the gardai and everyone who took part in the search for their profes- sionalism and sensitivity.”

There was another huge gather- ing on Sunday at St Peter and Paul’s church, for the funeral Mass of Joe

O’Callaghan from Tulla. He was the final victim of the Bank Holiday ac- cident in which the three men were drowned after the jeep in which they were travelling went over the cliffs at Doolin.

The 34-year-old Tulla man is survived by his parents, Sean and Phyllis, his sister, Arda McMahon, brothers, Denis and Michael and his girlfriend, Louise as well as ex- KoILeereME-DOODU Aa DELeMsRUCOILO KD

Celebrating the Mass, Fr Martin

O’Brien, said that from “the first shock, despair and feelings of help- lessness at the news of this unthink- able accident, it is quite extraordi- nary, the tidal wave of love, support prayer and sheer goodness that has been called forth from this commu- nity and beyond.”

Among those he paid tribute to were “the truly people on the Doo- lin search and Rescue teams, the gardai for their professionalism and the volunteers,” who helped search or support those involved in the ere DKO OF

Fr O’Brien said that Joe had “a happy-go-lucky attitude that led him to New York, Holland, to Eng- land and home again.

‘He was equally at home on the farm, in the mart, serving behind the bar, in Windsor Castle or Bar- retstown Castle or mixing with friends in downtown Tulla.”

MORE than 3,500 Clare school children are struggling for attention in classes of up to 34 pupils.

Hard-pressed teachers are also strug- gling to cater for a further 3,000 pupils in classes of up to 29 pupils according to INTO Executive Representative for Clare, Declan Kelleher.

Teachers, parents and management groups are now to take part in one of the biggest school demonstrations in the county on Monday next at 8 pm in the West County Hotel to highlight con- cerns over class sizes.

As well as over crowding the educa- tion partners are also concerned about “multi classes” in small schools. Ban- She National School, near Kilkee is a two teacher with 52 pupils and eight classes. Under current Department of Education legislation they will have to wait until next year for the third teacher, as legislation says they require.

There are many other small schools in the county in a similar situation, said Mr Kelleher.

Last March the INTO and a number of schools from the county met with local politicians in Ballyea National School to highlight their concerns with over crowded class rooms.

This time round hundreds of parents and teachers from affected schools are expected at the meeting. Elected rep- resentative from Clare have also been UO Aloe b

“The meeting will highlight the unac- ceptable number of pupils per primary school class as well as the failure of the government to make any moves to implement the promised reductions in class size contained in their programme for Government. Inputs to the meeting will be made by the national Parent’s Council Primary, Primary School Man- agement and the INTO,” said Mr Kel- leher.

Clare County Council is set to become a major player in the pro- motion of tourism in Clare, as part of a shake-up of regional tourism SB uC R EN KeNE

The Government overhaul of the current structures is aimed at ad- dressing the growing imbalance between visitors to Dublin and the west of Ireland.

Under the changes, the coun- cil will, for the first time, have a strong voice on issues such as product development. The council will become an integral part of the tourism planning of the region by way of participation on the Re- gional Tourism Partnerships and strong links at executive level.

The plan also states that council will be in a position to assist in the funding of particular initiatives led by the regional tourism centre.

OU stomata mecca Oye VeeMbCe RUD RoKIRYa08| pose a threat to Shannon Devel-

opment’s future role in promoting tourism.

The report commissioned by Failte Ireland and carried out by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, contains a dedicated section on the Shannon region.

‘The Shannon Development eco- nomic development role has influ- enced the tourism activity under- taken by the agency in the region, with a strong emphasis on product development as a response to mar- ket failure.

“In line with overall thrust of the recommendations, which favour the integration of national and re- gional tourism policy, considera- tion should be given to the integra- tion of the Shannon tourism region into the proposed revised regional Structure.

“It would be important, however, to ensure that the strategic tourism capability built within the Shan- non Development over-time is not lost to the region.

“As a potential future ‘gateway’ to the west of Ireland, this knowl- edge and know-how should be har- nessed to manage the flow of visi- tors to and through the region.”

This week, Tourism Minister, John O’Donoghue told the Dail: “At the end of July, I indicated to Failte Ireland that I was satisfied it should proceed with the proposed revision of regional tourism struc- tures on the basis of the PWC and ‘Travers reports.

“An implementation group is being established to assist Failte Ireland in implementing the rec- ommendations. Mr. Finbarr Flood has agreed to chair this group and has already begun his work. Failte Ireland expect that changes will be seen in the regions by the middle of next year.

“At a time of overall national tourism growth, I remain con- cerned that the issue of regional spread should be proactively and energetically addressed.

A LONE Clare fisherman, reported missing late last Wednesday night in Galway Bay, was found safe and well, stranded on an island, in the early hours of Thursday morning. The 43-year-old from New Quay in North Clare went fishing at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon and was due home at around nightfall. When

there was no sign, his wife raised the alarm and reported him overdue at around Ilpm. A major sea and air search was launched soon after- wards.

The Aran Islands and Galway Bay lifeboats, along with volunteers from the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard, rushed to the scene and began a water-based search in the area of New Quay. Shortly af-

terwards, the Shannon-based Irish Coastguard helicopter, which is equipped with specialist search and rescue thermal imaging technology, joined the search.

The man was located a short time later by the chopper crew as they carried out a low level sweep over Deer Island in Galway Bay, about two miles north of New Quay.

According to a Coastguard

spokesperson, “The helicopter crew spotted the man on Deer Island waving his hands in the air but for safety reasons did not immediately attempt to airlift him. It appears he got caught in some bad weather and sought shelter on the island”’.

The presence of large colonies of birds on the island prevented the chopper crew from immediately airlifting the man to safety. It was

feared that if disturbed, birds could fly into the chopper’s engines and scupper any rescue bid.

The pilot decided instead to await the arrival of a lifeboat which used spotlights to illuminate the area so that an airlift could safely take place.

The man was taken to safety short- ly before 2 am and was reported to be safe and well after his ordeal.

WHEN Gerry Sweeney left the pier in New Quay early JETS MA WV(crebslonree-himmaeleu sper reamm el tle did he know that he was about to face into the ordeal of his life.

Gerry had spent the early hours of Wednesday morning laying keep tanks and, as the weather began to worsen, he moved his boat to the Flaggy Shore. As he laid his final tank he lost his footing and plunged into the freezing water. Fail- ing to get back on deck, he had no choice but to hold on as the tide swept the boat out to sea.

“T had no choice but to hold on to the boat, take shelter from the weather and hope that it would drift out towards Deer Island,” he said.

As the boat drifted farther out to sea it became clear to Gerry that the boat would not reach Deer Island. He had no choice, he had to swim.

‘The hardest part was hold- ing on for the last 20 minutes. Leaving the boat I was fairly weak, I just decided to give it one last push.”

After making it to Deer Is- land, Gerry knew he had to find some shelter before the

storm worsened. Too weak to stand, he crawled to the top of Neo EDITOR

“When I got on to the island it was blowing force seven. I knew there was a mound of rocks on the top of the island. I had to get some shelter,’ he said.

Returning home after 10 pm, Gerry’s wife Martina knew that something was wrong.

COMA ACCU MANE KBE 0 MEO) the hob and that was unusual. I drove down to the pier and raised the alarm,” she said.

“It was a ferocious night,” said Gerry. “I knew that there were people out looking for me. They were risking every- thing by going out there.”

In force nine winds the Aran Galway Life Boat joined the search but it was the Shannon coast guard helicopter which finally spotted the stranded and weak fisherman.

“The first two times they flew over me,’ he said. “I put my life jacket back on so that they might see that.”

Visibility was so poor that the rescue teams could not even see the island and used the light of his life jacket to navigate. Just after 2 am, Ger-

ry was winched into the heli- copter and flown to safety. As he winged his way to Shan- non, the rescue teams joined

his family to celebrate.

“T would like to thank the Valentia coast guard, life boats from Galway and Aran,

the Doolin Coast Guard, the Shannon Helicopter crew and eround staff and all the locals who lent their support,” he

said. “They all came regard- less of the weather.”

ONE of Ennis’ oldest institutions will close its doors for the last time tomorrow.

The ESB Store in Carmody Street closes on Wednesday after over 40 years in business. Since the mid six- ties the store operated as a retail out- let for electrical goods and provided a bill paying service for customers.

Speaking on Monday in an empty store, staff were sad to be saying farewell to the shop.

“I feel sad really as it is the end of an era. It was a good place to work. There was camaraderie among the staff,’ said Marian Barry, who has worked there for over 30 years.

Last March ESB announced that it had sold the retail division of the company to the Bank of Scotland

(Ireland) (BSOI) for €120 million, resulting in the closure of all its out- lets nationwide.

A shrinking market share and in- creased competition from national and international retailers were the reasons given by management.

BSOT have also acquired the ESB’S retail loan book, which means that customers who had deferred pay- ments on electrical appliances can

make their repayments to BSOI while customers can now pay their electrical bills at An Post branches. Under the deal, ESB staff were given the option of working with BSOI.

The store currently employs five people and while some staff mem- bers have decided to avail of the opportunity others will continue to carry on working with the ESB at their offices in Station Road.

A 24-YEAR-old Cooraclare man has been charged with the murder of Ann Walsh, whose body was discovered in the grounds of a church in Kilrush in August. Raymond Donovan, of New Houses, Cooraclare, was charged with murder last Friday.

Gda Michael Ryan told Ennis District Court that he formally arrested and charged Dono- van with the murder of Ms Walsh, contrary to common law, at Toler Street, Kilrush, on Au- gust 24.

In reply to the charge, the accused said, “I didn’t mean to do it”. He agreed that he under- stood the charge and caution.

Donovan had previously been charged with intentionally or recklessly causing harm to the

23-year-old woman, on the same date. Judge Leo Malone withdrew that charge on the re- quest of Inspector Kevin Moynihan.

Donovan, who was making his seventh court appearance in connection with the death of Ms Walsh, a native of Pella Road in Kilrush, was remanded in custody.

He will reappear again in court tomorrow (Wednesday).

But his trial will not go ahead until late next year at the earliest. There is currently a ten- month waiting list for murder trials at the Cen- tral Criminal Court in Dublin, although this is significantly shorter than had been the case in the past.

A spokesman for the Courts Service told

CLEAN drinking water must be supplied to the residents of En- nis in the event of another boil notice being issued.

That was the call being made last night by members of Ennis Town Council who are seeking a guarantee from the County Man- ager that more will be done for the residents in the event of an- other boil notice being imposed on the water supply for Ennis and its surrounding environs.

“It is so serious at this stage that a guarantee should be sought” said Mayor Frankie Neylon at Monday’s meeting. Cllr Neylon went on to add that providing a suitable solution can be arrived at, a temporary water filtration system should be installed while the town waits for a new €13 million water treatment facil- ity due to be constructed in two years time.

The Council was debating the issue following a motion tabled by Councilors Donal O’Beara (GP) and Johnny Flynn (FG),

calling for the continuing un- acceptable quality of Ennis drinking water be declared an emergency and that the County Manager use his available pow- ers. “The supply is unsuitable for the weakest in our society, that is children and the elderly, while others can take their chances if they want, is the approach sug- gested by the Council. This is totally unacceptable” said Cllr O’Beara.

Also present at Monday’s meet- ing were members of the newly- formed Campaign Committee who were protesting outside En- nis Town Council about the poor quality of the water supply. The committee was formed after a public meeting was held in En- nis on November 2 to discuss the contamination of the Ennis wa- ter supply. It is composed of lo- cal political representatives and members of the public.

Town Engineer Tom Tiernan said that the council was cur- rently reviewing a number of proposals concerning temporary water filtration systems for the town’s water supply. He said that the Council is treating the prob- lem very urgently but that any solution must be appropriate for the Ennis supply.

Mr. Tiernan stated that the er- ratic nature of supply in Ennis imposes extra complications on any solution and that there very few examples of successful 1m- plementation of temporary wa- ter filtration systems around the world. He revealed one of the proposals before the Council is a Russian system that has yet to be used outside the country and that any proposed project would cost between €600,000 and €1m.

PROPERTY owners across the county are being pursued under leg- islation to curb derelict buildings. Shannon Town Manager Ger Dol- lard has confirmed that owners of 15 such properties in Shannon – mostly houses – are currently being pur-

sued, as are owners in other parts of the county.

According to Mr Dollard the council’s main aim is to bring these properties out of dereliction.

This could be partly achieved by applying a levy of three per cent of the market value, payable by the owner, onto such properties.

“It was never meant to be a rev- enue generating thing,” he said.

Mr Dollard added that it was par- ticularly important to deal with the issue if better results were to be achieved in Tidy Towns competi- tions.

“IT wouldn’t say it 1s a crisis, but there are examples. We are serving

notices, which give people an op- portunity to do something about it.

“They will have plenty of oppor- tunity to sort it out,’ said Mr Dol- lard.

A number of Shannon ‘Town Councillors spoke out on the issue Clerks NM N else NN OTSe

Councillor Geraldine Lambert

(FF) said that, in some instances, the landlords were only interested in collecting rent and not maintaining the property.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said, ‘People should be aware of how se- rious it is.

“Until such time as the council takes action, it will carry on.”