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Big demand for over-55s to get started

THE flooding disaster in Gort was only prevented from turning into a catastrophe through the actions of a small group of volunteers, who have carted away more than 70 million gallons of water from the town over the last two weeks.

Despite the intensive flooding in parts of Crowe Street, large sections

of Gort remain largely untouched by the disaster. Had it not been for this effort, it 1s believed that more than 100 houses and businesses located on the Galway Road out of Gort would have been destroyed by the rising water.

A number of pumps have been go- ing round the clock in Gort since the flooding started and a small army of volunteers have been carting the wa-

ter away using tractors.

‘The situation on Crowe Street – we didn’t realise what we were doing at the time but we saved half the town. We thought we were saving our own street but by doing that we saved half the town by pumping away all that water,” said Mike Finn.

‘There is more then 70 million gal- lons of water pumped out of Crowe Street in the last 10 days. We thought

we had lost the battle on a few occa- sions but we pulled through.

“The gardai were good and the council workers. The community reaction here has been brilliant. We just can’t let it beat us now, we are nine or 10 days into it now and we will stay going – we will fight it all the way.”

Despite the terrible conditions, lo- cal people have been offering their time and support to the flood relief.

“It’s a huge community effort here. We have so many people working voluntarily here, so many machines working voluntarily. It’s not just in Gort, it’s all over the area,’ said Cllr Gerry Finnerty.

“It’s unbelievable the effort that people have made and only for it south Galway would be gone.”

Despite the flooding, locals have been keen to emphasise that Gort is still open for business.

‘There is a lot of good people here in Gort who have been doing their best to help. We need to emphasise to everyone out there that Gort is not closed, it is still open for business,’ continued Mr Finn.

‘This is a bigger disaster than peo- ple realise – if things don’t change all the shops will be closed by the Christmas.”

Remembering the Mills’ lost children

THE last two weeks will define the life of Mike Finn – for better or for 0) Toe

Like many other people on Gort’s Crowe Street he has lost everything in the flood. The undiscriminating waters took it all, his livelihood and the business that has been in his fam- ily for generations. A life’s work sim- ply washed away.

Like most other people on Crowe Street Mike has no insurance – no insurance company would have him after the floods in 1995 – and he now stands to loose an estimated €1 mil- lion from the latest set back.

‘The business in closed and I have no appetite at the moment to ever open it again. It’s heartbreaking to see it all. Heartbreaking,” he said.

“It’s not getting any better, not for the near future anyway. Long term it is still not good. We have great work done here, everyone is helping out, everyone wants to help get us out of this mess – but it’s frightening.

“We were let down at the start of this. We were let down by our local engineer and the local guards but I don’t think they realised the scale of the problem. Since then though they have come on board.

“T’m tired of giving out, I’m not go- ing to give out anymore, we need to get on with it and do the best that we can. It’s a natural disaster in the area,

it should never have happened and it should never happen again. But there is nothing being done to prevent this happening next year or the year af- oe

“If we can get some sort of drain sorted out between here and Kinvara then that would be a solution. There

are houses marooned under 12 feet of water, cattle gone out of sheds, the fodder is gone and the sheds them- selves are gone.”

For many people affected by repeat- ed flooding there is simply nowhere to turn, as the insurance companies will refuse to re-insure someone who

has previously made a claim.

According to Mike, the €10 mil- lion allocated by the Government to tackle the flooding will be just a frac- tion of the eventual cost.

“It’s bad, I need something from somewhere, I need to sort out myself and I need to sort out my family. I

need funding, and I don’t need it next month, I need it now,” he continued.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any an- Swers out there. Brian Cowen going out around the country in a pair of shoes is not the answer. He doesn’t need to go around the country, all he needs to do is turn on his TV – he needs to go out to Europe and get funding to fix this.

“We are sending out funds to every country in the world and we can’t Support our own people. It’s the peo- ple on the ground who are working very, very hard to sort this out and we are not here to be giving out.

“We are in the middle of a reces- sion and the last thing that we needed was to be hit by this natural disaster.

“We have no flood insurance here since the flooding in 1995 but we still pay high rates. I pay nearly €14,000 a year in rates and what happens? The place is distroyed for a second time. That shouldn’t happen. The council needs to protect the town from some- thing like this.

““T have no insurance, no one would insure me after the last time, I’m to- tally wiped out. I don’t think that a million euro would be enough to sort me out at this stage; the building has to go.”

CHRISTMAS time promises to be rosier than ever this year with two new Christmas markets announced for the Burren area.

Alongside the established and ever popular market in Ballyvaughan, new markets will be held this year in Kinvara and Kilfenora. Indeed, the Ballyvaughan market has agreed to cut its normal season by one week to allow the Kinvara and Kilfenora markets the weekend to themselves.

Established just this year, the Kin- vara Farmers Market will host its first annual Christmas Food and Craft Market on Saturday and Sun-

day, December 5 and 6.

The market, which will take place from llam to 6pm each day in the Kinvara Community Centre, will boast up to 40 stalls selling a huge variety of seasonal produce and gifts with live music and fun stuff for young and old.

The markets will include a selec- tion of handmade Christmas gifts as well as a host of Christmas food to buy or order, including turkey, goose, seafood, shellfish, cheese, deli prod- ucts and vegetables as well as cakes, puddings and baked goods.

As usual, crafts will be many and varied with jewellery, textiles, pot- tery, toys, books, photographs,

Christmas decorations, stained glass, Christmas flower arrangements and paintings all on offer.

Meanwhile, the Burren Centre in Kilfenora will host their first ever Christmas Fair on December 4 and 5 in Kilfenora. The fair will run from llam to 5pm each day and will show- case a Selection of the quality crafts available in the Clare.

Many of the items are handmade and shoppers will have the opportu- nity to pick up many Christmas gifts while avoiding the crowds and con- gested car parks.

Stalls will include Wildes Choco- lates, books, Christmas hampers and wine, jewellery, Christmas gifts,

wreaths and plants, candle arrange- ments and home-baked products.

The Burren Centre Tea Rooms will also be open on both days to allow shoppers to relax and enjoy some Christmas treats.

For more information on the Kil- fenora Christmas Fair, contact the centre on 065 7088030 or email info @theburrencentre.ie.

Organisers of the Ballyvaughan Christmas Market have announced their fair will take place on Decem- ber 12, 13, 19 and 20 this year, with the usual variety of top-quality local producers. For more details on the Ballyvaughan market, check out next week’s Clare People.

A 40-YEAR-OLD woman who had been accused of stealing cash by making several ATM withdrawals has had a string of charges against aes ae UES ea b Ester ms

The woman had denied 10 charges brought as part of a Garda investi- gation which was launched after a family reported that money had been taken from an account over a three- week period last summer.

Initially 10 charges were brought and three of those were struck out in court last Wednesday. After hearing submissions from the defendant’s

solicitor, Judge Joseph Mangan ad- journed ruling and on Friday he dis- missed all charges.

Of the seven charges on which the judge made his decision on Friday, the woman had been accused of making withdrawals – ranging between €50 and €300 – totaling €1,450 from an ATM machine in east Clare.

A 16-year-old girl told Ennis Dis- trict Court that she went to the bank on September 20, 2008 to withdraw money from her account. However, she was dismayed to discover that there was no money in the account. “There should have been over €2,000 in it,’ she said. She said she did not

give anyone permission to withdraw money from the account she held jointly with her mother. She said her mother kept the ATM card either in her purse or in a press at their home. The girl’s mother told Judge Mangan that she did not give the ATM card to anyone and did not give anyone per- mission to use the card. She told the court that she has known the defend- ant for many years.

Under cross-examination from defence solicitor Tara Godfrey, the woman denied that she had ever bor- rowed more than €2,000 from the defendant. “No I didn’t and I never would,” she said.

“You supplied her with the ATM card for repayment of that loan,” said Ms Godfrey. The witness denied Wek

The defendant told the court that she had been friendly with the other woman for many years.

She said she had been involved in an accident a number of years ago, for which she received several thou- sand euro in compensation. From this, she said she loaned €2,200 to the woman (who made the com- ete ee

She said the other woman gave her access to the bank account, which contained €2,300. She said that an

ATM card, PIN number and note was furnished to her at her home ad- dress.

She told the court that she used the ATM card with the woman’s author- ity. She said that she wasn’t happy making the withdrawals, but did it because “it was money that was owed to me’”’.

She said that she was owed €2,200, but “I took out €2,300, which was a mistake on my part”.

Ms Godfrey submitted that the charges should be struck out. “In ef- fect, there isn’t one summons where evidence has been adduced,’ she Said.

BRIDGE United A continue their march up the premier division table after this hard fought victory over Lifford. They now sit comfortably in third and will surely be delighted with their position after six games played. Of course for Lifford it’s very different. After seven games they have only seen one win and their total of three points was not altered after this close encounter.

The opening exchanges of this bat- tle was very competitive with but sides showing little hesitation in try- ing to convey who would control and boss this match. Neither goalkeeper had much to deal with in the opening quarter but the threat of a goal being scored on the counter was always an evident reality.

With 20 minutes this goal came. However it was not a direct result of some jaw dropping swift move up the park. Instead like in most games it was a direct result of a set play. Bridge stole the early advantage when defender Jonathan Downes headed home the game’s opening goal from a well judged corner placed danger- ously into the Lifford box.

Was it going to be another of these days for the Ennis club was the burn- ing question on most of the specta- tors’ minds and probably on a few of the Lifford players as well. Credit must be awarded to the team who are rooted to the bottom of the league ta- ble however as they offer a fight back even though ultimately it was to no ZENO

The equalizer again came about from a corner kick. Fabrice Baptista found the vital touch to send the ball past Derek Fahy in the Bridge goal. We certainly had a game on our hands now.

The rest of the first half slowly

passed with very little incident worth mentioning. Both sides seemed to ac- cept the faith of going in level at the break and this was what unfolded.

The second half started in a very similar fashion, very nip and tuck with neither outfit enforcing any great sense of dominance. This was how the game flowed up to the three quarter’s mark and then suddenly the floodgates appeared to be forced open when three goals struck the net in the final fifteen minutes of the game.

Michael Reddan commenced the spree when he restored his team’s early lead. His cross come shot float- ed into the net to the confusion of both the Lifford keeper and defense. His effort was certainly aided by the gale that was in his team’s possession

for the second half. The conditions were definitely another factor that influenced the final result.

Trevor Maxwell then appeared to have wrapped up the game when he made it three one. He finished expertly as he easily got around the centre halves at the rear guard of the Lifford defense.

It wasn’t all over just yet as Lif- ford pulled another one back with five minutes to go. Scot Hennessey blasted to the net after an excellent cross by Ryan Boyle.

Bridge now had a very nervy con- clusion on their hands. These nerves reached breaking point when with almost the last kick of the game Lif- ford had one final chance. However Fahy did not want to be beaten again and his amazing save ensured no

more goals would be added to the final score.

Bridge probably just deserved this outcome but for Lifford it’s the same unfortunate story. I guess they have to return to the drawing board, Neen Oe

RESIDENTS concerned about late night behaviour on the streets of Ennis have reached agreement with management at a local nightclub, a court has been told.

Ennis District Court heard last month that residents on Francis Street were forced to put up with mayhem due to the actions of people urinating and vomiting on the street in the early hours of the morning.

A member of the local residents association told the court that while an application for a dance licence for the Queen’s Hotel was not being objected to, there were serious con- cerns about the behaviour of some late night revellers.

“We are not objecting to the l1- cence. We have a problem with anti- social behaviour that takes place on

our street between 3 and 4am. The majority of the people have been liv- ing there for 70 or 80 years,” said one resident in court, on that occasion.

The case was adjourned for a month. In court last Friday, solici- tor for the Queen’s Hotel, Marina Keane, said that agreement had been reached between the residents asso- ciation and the hotel and there were no issues arising.

A representative of the residents as- sociation was in court on Friday but was not objecting to the licence.

The manager of the Queen’s Hotel, Barry Lee, told the court that there is CCTV on the premises and this is available for inspection by gardai, if este LUN BKSLe

Judge Joseph Mangan asked Mr Lee how long the CCTV recordings are available for and was told four weeks. The licence was granted.

THE next phase of Clare’s prepara- tions for the hosting of the National File Under 14 hurling competition 1s about to crank into gear with the pro- motion aspect ready to be launched.

With just over six months to the arrival of clubs from all across the country, preparations have stepped up a gear and Clare Féile Secretary Declan Hogan, from Tulla, says the third weekend in June represents a massive occasion for Clare.

“It was great news when we were chosen to host the 2010 competition and we’ve been hard at work since the announcement,’ he said _ this week. “But the real hard work is only starting now.

“From a logistical point of view alone it’s a mammoth task. You’re talking about 2,000 youngsters de- scending on Clare for the weekend so even in terms of accommodation, it

will take a lot of planning, but we’ve been tackling that over the past few months.”

According to Hogan, the competi- tion will provide a great shop win- dow for Clare.

“You have to look at it from two angles,” he says. “First, we have the chance to promote Clare as a county to the thousands of people who will be visiting. And second, and most 1m- portantly of all, we have the chance to promote Gaelic Games to the kids of Clare. It’s an opportunity of a life- time from that point of view.”

He said the Féile committee are also looking for support from, the county board and the Bord na nOgs.

‘Take the first Friday of the compe- tition for example. We’ll have in the region of 50 pitches in use that day, so we’ll need all the facilities and all the referees we can get our hands on. It would be great to have a free week- end fixture wise.”

In the spring, the committee will begin to host a number of Under 14 blitzes in a bid to familiarise Clare clubs with the structure of the Féile competition.

A TELEGRAM sent by Eamon de Valera to his wife following his election as MP for Clare has been restored and put on display at Clare Museum in Ennis.

The document, which confirms the former Taoiseach and President’s 1917 by-election victory over Patrick Lynch of the Irish Party, is being ex- hibited along with the first Minute book of Clare County Council re- corded in April 1899. The exhibits form part of a joint conservation initiative between Clare County Ar- chives and Clare Museum.

Commenting on the newly restored telegram, Museum Curator, John Rattigan said that its simple message belies the importance of deValera’s victory.

“It signifies a move away from constitutional to physical force na- tionalism and the beginning of a political career that would last until de Valera’s retirement as President in 1973. In the months after his elec- tion victory, De Valera was named President of both Sinn Fein and the Irish Volunteers.”

Mr Rattigan said that prior to its res- toration, the telegram was in a state of disintegration and was in an unfit state to be exhibited or handled.

‘The printed carbon copy on wood pulp paper had become brittle, dis- coloured and acidic,’ he added.

The telegram is displayed along-

side a comprehensive account of the councils first meeting, which was held in Ennis on April 22, 1899 when Michael A Scanlon was elected as the council’s first chairman. According to County Archivist, Rene Franklin it is clear from the minute book that those present re- garded the new council as a stepping stone to national independence. “This nationalist fervour was the spirit behind a series of motions re-

corded in the minutes and preserved now in the Clare County Archives,” she explained

At the inagural meeting, Thomas Blackall proposed the following motion: “while accepting the Local Government Act [1898] as a tardy in- stalment of justice, and while we are determined to work for the benefit of all classes in our country, we hereby declare that we will never relax our efforts in the National cause until we

see a native Parliament in College Gnio ee

All of the council’s minute books are preserved and available for public viewing by contacting Clare County Archives at archives@clarecoco.ie or 065 6846414.