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CLUBS from across Clare’s soccer community are coming together to support an end of year fundraiser for the Clare Hospice, Cahercalla.

‘Soccer for Cahercalla’ – a super soccer blitz for boys and girls aged between six and 11 – takes place at the Lees Road sports complex, Ennis on Saturday, December 19.

All monies received from the blitz and supporting activities will go towards the Clare Hospice, Caher- calla.

The event is being organised by Robert McCarthy and his family with the help of many volounteers. Ennis- native Robert has been involved with underage soccer for many years and is currently manager of Avenue Unit- ed’s under 13 A team. His mother,

Kathleen, died on October 5 in the Hospice in Cahercalla.

Robert explained that the care Kathleen received and the support given to her family by the nursing team, doctors and support staff will never be forgotten.

“Tt is likely that almost every fam- ily in Clare at one time or another has or will need the facilities the Clare Hospice provides. To survive however the hospice needs our finan- cial help and this fundraiser from the Clare schoolboy/girl soccer commu- nity will help a great deal.”

Robert has set a fundraising tar- get of €5,000, but given the strong level of support the tournament has already received from the Clare schoolboys/girls soccer league, clubs, parents and staff at Lees Road, he is optimistic that the target can be

surpassed.

‘A lot of businesses have come on board, so we’re very optimistic that we’ll surpass the €5,000 target. I’ve been seriously taken aback by the amount of ordinary Joe-soaps who’ ve given €5 or €10. All the referees are giving their time on the day. It’s a huge community effort,” he said.

The focus of the event is fun for all the family but with some keen com- petitive action. Clubs are invited to bring along as many children as they wish. Games will be in 15 minutes in total and all children will have equal Oe-Nauercan ape nten

In addition to the soccer action, there will be lots of other activities for the family to enjoy and rumour has it that there may even be a visit from Santa and friends.

Registration takes place on the

morning of December 19. Clubs are asked to make a small donation to the Clare Hospice and each child is asked to bring €5 donation or what- ever they can afford.

The donation is not a requirement of participation and every child is welcome.

Robert hopes that the tournament can become an annual event. “We’d be looking to expand it next year. There is a lot of organisation with doing it the first year, but after that it should be easier the next year. We’ve built up a lot of links with clubs. Next year we’d be looking to invite teams from Limerick, Kerry, Galway.”

A CAUTIONARY budget for the county that outlines serious concerns about companies and _ businesses closing, and predicts a further drop in council income sources was un- (JOM) I ECOL AYA

At a special meeting the council members unanimously approved the 2010 budget which is five per cent less than last year with a gross ex- penditure of €112.6 million.

In drawing up and passing the budget the council had to use a cer- tain amount of guess work as the Minister for the Environment, Her- itage and Local Government John Gormley (GP) still had not advised the council of its Local Government Fund allocation for 2010.

The budget was framed therefore on the assumption that the fund would be 7.5 per cent less than last year or €1.1 million.

County Manager Tom Coughlan told the members of the council that the reduction in any public sector pay, predicted in the national budg- et, and the addition of additional sources funding such as the charge introduced on non-principal private residents, would be off set by this 7.5 OX ee MR LU(eLBLO IE

The budget has also been prepared on the presumption that a €400,000 allocation for water services will be forthcoming, an accepted additional risk to the income for budget 2010.

The council agreed to maintain the commercial rates at its current level in a bid to support the business com- munity.

According to the budget estimates “the effective valuation of Clare

County Council has increased over that provided for in 2009 generating additional income of €62,000”

“While this valuation listing in- crease 1S positive, an indepth review of our commercial valuation base identifies an increased number of va- cant premises,’ reported Mr Cough- Tee

“In addition the increase in the number of companies closing down, going into liquidation, examinership

and receivership in 2009 to date is a cause of serious concern.

The budget therefore provides for an increased level or rates refunds and irrecoverable rates of €500,000 over 2009 levels.

This represents an overall cost of approximately eight per cent on the eI Kem oyster

The council remains in the dark re- garding its exact funding for roads, as this Government Allocation is not

usually announced until early in the New Year.

The budget passed on Friday is therefore based on the presumption that the road grant for 2010 will re- main the same as 2009.

Roads own recourses are the only expenditure area that has been in- creased over 2009 levels.

WHAT to do when recession bites and bites hard?

You could always take the emi- grant’s boat and become another one of the farflung Clare diaspora in some nook or cranny of the globe, but do that and you’d probably find that it’s biting wherever you go to.

Why not go to school on the re- cession instead? Look around the county and beyond and see if there’s a niche business opportunity there, something with recession in mind, but at the same time something that could under the radar of the reces- sion at the same time.

It’s what one enterprising law graduate is about to do this week — it’s not a case of undercutting the bevy of solictors in town by offering legal aid at knockdown prices.

“Knockdown prices yes,’ says Fiona Allen, “but nothing to do with law,” she adds setting out on a ca- reer path totally divergent from the EM

‘I hope and intend to go back into the law,” she says, “but for the time being I think there’s a real niche market out there for vintage design- er clothes in Ennis.

“I know there are other shops out there that you’d call second hand shops, but this is different,” she stresses. “It’s hard to get work in the law at present and I looked at a dif- ferent avenue to explore and came up with this. I always had a huge interest in fashion and felt there was a huge opening in Ennis for a shop that catered for young people interested in vintage and designer clothes at a fraction of what you’d pay on the high street.

“The shop is mixture of vintage used clothes for both men and wom-

en and designer clothes from recent fashion graduates. There are also accessories like shoes, hats and jew- ellery. And all the items are hand- picked, but going around to shops in places like London, Leeds, Bel- fast and Amsterdam — nothing was bought on the internet or from cata- logues,’ she adds.

And, Babylon that’s located in the basement of number two Bank Place also offers something different in

what could be described as a throw- back to different retail times.

“It’s not just clothes on rails,” says Allen, “but it’s like a shop/house with antique furniture, Victorian china and a burning fire going, etc. It’s a little bit different to your or- dinary retail experience. It’s off the beaten track and what people will be able to buy are distintive one-off pieces that you wouldn’t see any- Where else and I’m really looking

forward to the opening this Saturday where there’ll be plenty wine, the burning hot fire and those clothes at knockdown prices.”

A MID-AFTERNOON head-on col- lision between two cars close to the townland of Darragh resulted in both drivers being killed, an inquest into their deaths has heard.

Peter Beckley, a 40-year-old man who lived in Tullycrine, Cooraclare, and Raymond Stack, aged 61, from Limerick, lost their lives in the ac- cident at Bansha, Darragh — on the main Ennis/Kilrush road — on the afternoon of July 16 last.

Teresa Lyons, a paramedic, had at- tended an inquest in Kilrush that af-

ternoon.

She was on her way back to En- nis and was travelling behind a Ford Mondeo car. She noticed the Mondeo overtaking a number of vehicles when it was safe to do so.

A short distance before she reached Darragh, she noticed the Mondeo pulling out again “in what appeared to be an overtaking manoeuvre.”

She saw a Silver vehicle approach- ing. “My immediate thought was that these two vehicles were going to col- lide,” she said.

She said that the Mondeo then ap- peared to spin around in mid-air and

the other vehicle, a silver Volvo, spun to her right-hand side and ended up near a fence.

She stopped her car and contacted the emergency services.

She went over to the cars and saw that a child was crying in the Mondeo. The child was thrown across the back seat of the car, but was still in the child’s seat. Ms Lyons said she tried to find a pulse in the man in the Mondeo but was unable to do so.

She said she believed the Mondeo was travelling at a speed of between 50 and 60 miles per hour at the time.

Mr Stack’s wife Ann recalled trav- elling in the car with her husband and their grandson, Donnacha. They had left Kilkee at around 3.25pm, having been in Doonbeg earlier.

She remembered her husband driv- ing along and all of a sudden there was an accident. She was taken to hospital, where she was treated for injuries.

The inquest heard that both men were pronounced dead by a doctor at the scene of the accident, shortly before 6.30pm.

Garda Niall Doody explained that he received a call to attend the scene

of an accident at 3.55pm that after- noon. He said it was a dry, clear, sun- ny day. He said that Mr Beckley had been driving a Volvo, while Mr Stack had been driving a Mondeo.

There was no response from either driver when he checked for pulses. He said that the bodies were removed from the scene shortly before 7pm.

Post mortem examinations con- cluded that both men died due to multiple traumatic injuries including Skull fractures, consistent with hav- ing been involved in a road accident. Verdicts of accidental death were re- turned in both cases.

A GROUP of students in Ennis have been learning about all aspects of German culture as part of their lat- est project.

12 young people, currently en- rolled in the Clare Youth Service’s Leaving Cert Applied Programme (LCA), will take part in a Ger- man cake sell in Ennis tomorrow (Wednesday, December 9).

Students from the LCA (1) group will be in the market area of town from 10am to 3pm selling cakes.

Money raised at the event will go

towards funding projects with Clare Youth Service.

Since starting the programme in September, the students have been learning about German language PN IOMeUUI ADDER

‘“They’re studying German so we thought it would be a good idea to do a German cake sale. They’ve been learning about German cul- ture, German music, German books, the country, all sorts of things, so this ties into it,” explained teacher, Laura Griffin.

“This LCA programme will finish in 2011, they’re just a new group at

this stage. They are a good group, but we’ll find out good they are next week,” joked Laura.

She hopes that the event will be boosted by the high presence of Christmas shoppers in Ennis.

“We’re hoping people will come along a buy the cakes. I think the bigger ones will cost around €5. All the money will go back to the Clare Youth Service to run projects. They’ll be down in the market and we ve got a little stall set up.”

She continued, “The LCA (2) group have produced a number of calendars and they will be selling

them around town. They are setting up three little stalls and again all the money will go towards the Clare Youth Service.

The LCA is a recognised Leaving Certificate from the Department of Education. It encourages students to apply their knowledge, skills and experiences acquired on the pro- gramme, in preparation for future work, and/or further education.

The programme is a full-time two- year course and is divided into four sessions over the two-year period. These sessions are sub-divided into periods of study known as modules.

A HIGH COURT challenge to the DPP’s decision to retry former Kil- laloe-based GP Paschal Carmody is due to open at the High Court today Gh er oF

Mr Carmody (60), of Ballycugga- ran, Killaloe, is accused of defraud- ing terminally ill cancer patients and WeCHUMBE-DOODUB (oe

However, he was granted leave to seek a judicial review of a DPP de- cision to proceed with a trial on 11 charges and that case is currently be- fore the High Court.

In July 2008, Mr Carmody went on trial at Ennis Circuit Court, ac- cused of 25 charges in total. At the end of a five-week trial, he was found not guilty by a jury of six charges. The trial judge, Judge Rory McCabe, directed the jury to return not guilty verdicts in relation to eight other Ont Nexone

However, the jury did not reach a decision on 11 other charges.

The judge and jury heard from 64 witnesses during the lengthy trial – 49 for the prosecution and 15 for the defence.

The outstanding 11 charges relate to more than €30,000 obtained from three terminally ill patients and their JEVOOVE BLE

The patients received photodynam- ic treatment at the East Clinic in Kil- laloe in 2001 and 2002.

He is facing seven deception charg- es relating to €9,610 obtained from

the family of a 14-year-old boy from Wexford, Conor O’Sullivan, who died in November 2002. There are two charges in relation to JJ Gallagh- er from Westmeath, who died in Sep- tember 2002 (relating to €14,300). There are two other charges relating to John Sheridan, of Kells, Kilkenny, who died in November 2002 (relat- ing to £6,944).

Following the trial, the DPP decid- ed that Mr Carmody be retried on the

11 charges. However, Mr Carmody’s legal team then applied for a judicial review of the DPP’s decision.

In September, the case was ad- journed at Ennis Circuit Court, pend- ing the outcome of the High Court challenge.

AN EERIE silence descended upon Ennis Coroner’s Court as the horrif- ic details of a car crash that claimed two lives were recalled.

Members of two heartbroken fam- ilies sat in the courtroom at Ennis courthouse as the exact descriptions of the multiple injuries sustained by the two men were outlined. The de- tail was almost unbearable.

Just 20 weeks earlier, Peter Beck- ley and Raymond Stack had sat behind the wheels of their cars for what tragically would be their last ever journeys.

Those trips had began with de- termination, but ended in tears and devastation.

On that fateful July afternoon, Mr Beckley, a native of the UK, was alone in his Volvo car driving towards his home at Tullycrine, while Mr Stack was driving a Ford Mondeo towards his home in Lim- erick city.

His wife Ann and their four-year- old grandson Donnacha were in the or Tua aisemeuneee

The Stacks had been on holidays in Doonbeg and were en route home when they were involved in the ac- cident which occurred on a straight Stretch of road, but close to a hill- crest.

Those who were quickly on the

scene that afternoon tried to find a pulse on both men but there were none.

At the inquest into the men’s

deaths last Wednesday, County Coroner Isobel O’Dea commended the “bravery” of a young paramedic who arrived on the scene shortly

after the accident and did what she could.

The scene in the immediate af- termath of the crash that afternoon

was dreadful. Members of the vari- ous emergency services entered and exited the sealed-off stretch of road for several hours after the accident.

Several gardai walked away from the scene pale-faced. They were traumatised by what they saw. Gardai took a sensitive approach and covered the badly damaged cars as they were taken from the scene.

The mangled state of both cars would have painted a very grim pic- ture. After all, both families would have to try to come to terms with deeply upsetting news that evening.

Mr Beckley’s wife Bridget would answer her door at around 7pm that evening to see two gardai standing outside. They were there to deliver the message that her husband had been killed in a road accident just a few hours earlier.

Mrs Beckley then went to Limer- ick Regional Hospital, where she identified her husband’s body.

It’s the knock on the door that no- body wants to have to answer and the haunting words of those deliver- ing the devastating news are never likely to be banished from memory.

REMEDIAL works need to be car- ried out on culverts in Shannon but will be expensive and a source of funding will have to be identified for oO US

That was the message delivered from Clare County Council last week, after Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independent) called for a _ pro- gramme to be set up to tackle flood- ing in some parts of Shannon.

‘As it stands, some parts of Shan- non are between four and six inches under water. There is a deficiency in our system,” he said, at a meet- ing of Shannon Town Council, last ‘Tuesday.

He said that in the past, the Office of Public Works patrolled the river banks every week, but that has been reduced to fortnightly checks.

“The Government has failed the community. We need to be more vigilant than most in Shannon. We have flash flooding,” he said.

He was told that remedial works

will be undertaken, in conjunction with road resurfacing, in relation to slit channels.

“Given the extent of works re- quired, however, the costs are likely to be significant and will take years to complete unless funding sepa- rate from that provided in the Road Works Programme is made avail- able,’ stated senior executive engi- neer Eugene O’Shea, in a written response.

Fine Gael Councillor Tony Mulc- ahy said the people of Shannon are very thankful that they were not forced to contend with the same del- uge that Ennis was subjected to. He said that the recent flooding crisis in the county was “absolutely and ut- terly well managed”.

Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy said it is important that the storm drains are cleaned out on a regular basis.

“We escaped relatively unscathed and we would like that to continue. Prevention is always the best rem- edy,’ she said.

Labour Councillor Tony McMahon said, “We are in a very vulnerable position in Shannon. We could have a very serious situation in Shannon. That has to be remembered. There is a very definite need to be alert and to be aware.”

The mayor of Shannon, Council- lor Sean McLoughlin (Fine Gael) said, ““We don’t know how lucky we were in Shannon in that we were not flooded.”

County Manager Tom Coughlan, who attended the town council meet- ing, said he was happy that Shannon escaped the flooding crisis. He said he is in the process of preparing re- ports on the flooding in the county. One of those will address “where we go from here and that will contain reference to Shannon”.

He said that an increase in roads grants, to deal with flooding preven- tion, will be sought.

CLARE All-Ireland Under 21 win- ning heroes have been challenged to move on to the next level with the county by stepping up to the senior plate and trying to bring the Munster and Liam McCarthy cups back to the reel ANe

It was a challenge thrown down by All-Ireland Under 21 winning man- ager John Minogue when addressing players and Clare County Board offi- cials at Friday night’s medal presen- tation in the West County Hotel.

“The players have been magnifi- cent,” said Minogue. “The effort and the commitment they have shown has been wonderful. They have all had hectic years being involved with their clubs while some were involved with the senior team. In addition to this many are working or else study- ing and it was very hard to travel from colleges and far away but they did and that’s why were here today with a title in our hands.”

For Minogue, however, this A\ll- Ireland cannot be the final stop on Clare’s journey to even greater suc-

cesses. He put the question to his players, where do we go from here? The simple answer, he volunteered, is that more hard work, and plenty of it, can yield even greater harvests.

“Have you the commitment to go forward?” he asked. “You have to,” he added defiantly.

“People of Clare need you to, the county team needs you, the county board as well, we all want you to progress and grow and to try and make us even happier than 2009.”

Minogue then turned to his back- room team. “I have to thank them for

their efforts,’ he said, “and for their commitment, their mentoring and every positive thing they carried out. We had a big panel of players and there was a lot to be done and con- trolled. The four of us worked well with one another and thankfully it all gelled together”.

Now to see if things can be gelled back together at senior inter-county level. Minogue has publicly stated that he doesn’t covet the job — he let that be known in the hours after Clare’s epic triumph over Kilkenny in September.

Who knows. That no could very well become a yes over the next few weeks. We’ll just have to wait and see.

A MAN lost his life in tragic circum- stances when a tractor jumped for- ward and knocked him to the ground, Ennis Coroner’s Court has heard.

An inquest into the death of Michael Conroy (81), of Tubber, heard that he was showing a tractor to a man when tragedy struck, on July 12 last.

Tim Walsh was home from the US on holiday when he visited Mr Con- roy.

In a statement, Mr Walsh said that Mr Conroy turned the key in the tractor and it jumped. As a result, the

rear wheel ran over Mr Conroy, who was a retired mechanic.

Garda Marius Stones said he re- ceived a call shortly before 6pm that evening to go to Tubber.

He said he was told that Mr Conroy had wanted to show his vintage trac- tor to Mr Walsh, who was home from the US on holidays and was staying AU Mrs im ole) Fd poe) b0

He said that Mr Conroy reached in from a standing position to turn on the tractor. However, the tractor was in gear and it moved forward, knock- ing him to the ground.

The inquest heard that an autopsy

was carried out on Mr Conroy’s body at Limerick Regional Hospital. This concluded that death was due to trau- matic chest injuries, consistent with pecleneerae

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea said it was “abundantly clear from the statement of Mr Walsh that an unfor- tunate accident occurred.”

The jury returned a verdict of ac- cidental death.