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TV duty calls for dancer Anthony

A FEW pennies for John Mulligan’s mind 40 seconds into this All-Ire- land semi-final. His team are down a man, but not just any man. It’s his own flesh and blood, his son Brian whose wild lunge at Shane Hickey has made Portlaoise men everywhere see red.

Surely Mulligan’s Snr’s mind turned to mush after what was surely the most controversial and explosive start to an All-Ireland Club game in the competition’s 40-year history.

By half-time Mulligan Snr moves to remonstrate with the Sligo referee, but by full-time he’s nothing to say to him anymore. Happy days say mem- bers of the Fourth Estate — maybe he’ll get his retaliation via the pages of the press, both local and national.

Well John, what about that? Not the result but the sendings off.

We expect him to let rip, he does to an extent, but it’s not the revolution

we re expecting.

“The sendings off had a huge im- pact. The first one, the game was on only a few seconds and it was a real sucker blow. I don’t want to go into it too much more but they were crazy, crazy, crazy decisions.

“It was a joke. If the man has a conscience, he won’t sleep for a long time. If he hasn’t a conscience, there won’t be a bother on him.”

It’s as far as he’s prepared to go be- fore he comes back with some more: “Apart from that sending off, when we were trying to get back into the game in the first-half there were a few big handpasses given against us. But I don’t want to take from Kil- murry’s win, but let us just say that the referee’s performance left a lot to oom ee USLO

“Frustration came into it, but Kil- murry came at us in waves when we were down to 14 men. If the sending off had come maybe ten minutes in when the game had settled, we prob-

ably would have been able to deal with it better, but at the start like that it was a real sucker blow and very hard to recover from it.

“That’s sport. That’s life. You just have to get up and get on with it. That’s what makes sport so marvel- renin

That was it — the rest was all about Kilmurry Ibrickane. How great they were and all that. How he was in their corner now.

‘“Kilmurry Ibrickane fully deserved their win on the day. I know a lot of things went against us but that’s a different matter. I hope that Kilmur- ry Ibrickane go on now and win the All-Ireland for themselves and for their local community.

“The spirit they have, they’ve a great bond with the supporters; they’re what the GAA 1s all about and I’m sure they’ll give Clare a great boost if they go on and win an All-Ireland. I really hope they go on and win it now.”

CLARE farmers are being encour- aged to consider selling their cattle north of the border if competitive prices cannot be found locally.

That was the message from the ICSA beef chairman Peter Fox who urged Clare farmers to get quotes from three different marts before selling cattle and to seriousely con- sider selling cattle in Northern Ire- land.

‘There are also buyers looking for bulls up to 24 months of age and 750kKgs live-weight for the Italian ex- port market. These bulls are making €180/100kgs live weight which is the equivalent to €3.28/kg to €3.33/kg

dead-weight,” he said.

“All of the above factors will put pressure on home factories to in- crease their prices.

“The first factories that will see a scarcity of stock will be the inde- pendent ones so going forward farm- ers should be able to sell their stock with confidence,’ he concluded.

There was good news however for suckler farmers with the news that quality finished suckler cows were currently making €300 plus along with the weight in many marts.

This 1s according to the ICSA suck- ler chairman Brendan McLaughlin who last week said that now is a good time to sell at the marts.

“Farmers with quality cows should

look at selling them in marts rather than bringing them to the factories,” he said.

“It costs a maximum of €10 to sell an animal through the mart where- as factories charge over €50 to kill cows when you take into account BSE testing, vet fees and insurance costs. There are no BSE testing charges in marts and levy charges are a lot less.”

McLaughlin also reminded farm- ers that the EIF levy is voluntary and they can advise mart managers not to deduct these levies from their final cheque.

He also called for supports to be put in place to protect the Suckler Discussion Groups.

“If the minister can give funds to dairy farmers to facilitate dairy discussion groups why are suckler farmers being discriminated against? Suckler farmers sharing their own experiences and best practices for the improvement of the suckler herd can only be positive for the future of the beef industry and the live export trade,” he said.

“The minister has made €18 mil- lion available over three years to the dairy sector to encourage dairy farmers to participate in discussion groups.

“This money has come from un- spent Single Payment funds that are supposed to be available to all farm- are

MICHEAL McDermott is the first to peel away from the biggest rolling maul that the home of rugby has ever seen — it starts underneath the Mick Mackey Stand and moves quickly in the direction of Thomond Park and Seller shee

Mackey wouldn’t have minded — he loved rugby so much he was a mem- ber of the Vigilante Committee so he could go to games. McDermott doesn’t mind either and doesn’t want to break away, but RTE’s cameras are calling, not to mind a posse of hacks who were giving chase — he’s not about to run away on his great- est day.

“Every player ran himself into a stick and that’s what the club is about,’ he says drawing breath. ‘“That’s what our mantra is about. It’s work ethic all the way. There’s tremendous honesty among the play- ers and everyone involved and that’s what wins out at the end of the day.

‘“There’s a hunger about these play- ers to keep winning, winning and

winning. They have such a belief among themselves — they believe that they’re the best in the country. SU cr TMcMmeetomAW: WAN O Olean ecROO PERO OT:IMCME NOLS way they play.

‘This week, the one thing I noticed as against the Munster final was that there was no fear of today. There was no fear or tension that you’d expect coming into an All-Ireland semi-fi- nal. I never saw a team as ready — I said it Tuesday night, I said it Thurs- day night, I said it yesterday. We were confident coming down that we were going to deliver.”

Confidence, adds McDermott, that was nurtured after their quarter-final win over Tir Chonaill Gaels. Yes, Kilmurry won ugly that day in Ruis- lip, but it was the game as much as the win that mattered.

“Nobody realises what an impact that game had on us. We had a fresh- ness coming into today that was vital. Portlaoise had a long lay-off since December 6. We watched the DVD of Kerry v Dublin in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final and looked at what Kerry did to Dublin in the

first 23 minutes.

“We said we were going to try and do the same. Like Kerry, we were the fresher team and we took the game to our opponents like they did and that’s when this game was won.

‘And we won because of our dis- cipline too. Football is a game of discipline. We held our discipline; we held it all year long and in every game since coming out of Clare, our opponents have lost a player, some- times more than one.

“It’s sad to see the scenes at the end there when a referee who did a very good job. He made a call on what was a very very dangerous tackle — when that happens you have to walk Ke) as nd

As McDermott speaks, Declan Callinan passes by — the suspended left-half-back has given up to walk off the field and instead is being swept away shoulder high by the roll- ing maul that’s finally turning away from Cratloe Hill and heading back towards Mick Mackey.

‘He played a huge huge part,” says McDermott raising a fisted salute. “For a guy that was suspended he was around the team all the time this week. He didn’t train on Friday night, but yet he drove all the way down from Belfast, just to be part of it.

“That guy is what this club is all about. His life, his soul is Kilmurry Ibrickane. Every sinew that he gives is for the club. He spoke to the play- ers beforehand and broke down in tears, as did a lot of the players and a lot of the management. That’s what it means. Deep down there’s a tremen- dous bond between everyone of these EN uce

“This day is acredited to Declan Callinan. We won it for him because we want to give him a day out in Croke Park that he richly deserves after a long career.”

He’s just one of many who deserves that day in Croke Park.

IT IS unlikely that Shannon Airport will be the site of a Ryanair aircraft maintenance base, controversially proposed by Michael O’Leary for Hangar six in Dublin.

Last week the Government pro- posed to Ryanair that it could estab- lish the new aircraft maintenance base at Shannon Airport after it said there was no legal mechanism by which the Government or the Dublin Aviation Authority could secure the Hangar 6 facility from Aer Lingus for Ryanair.

Shannon Development offered to accommodate the no frills airline in IMCD GLI NDOTCMO) MBO CoA LAs ee-bavex- be

In correspondence with Ryanair the state company said it could offer the airline “grant support packages” and had a number of substantial green- field landbanks with airside access available, if it would consider basing its maintenance facility at Shannon Airport.

However, Ryanair rejected this pro- posal out of hand.

It said its one condition to create the 300 jobs through a maintenance base had just one condition – that it could secure Hangar six at Dublin Airport.

“Hangar 6 fits Ryanair’s require- ments, is not currently being utilised for the purpose for which it was built, and is in close proximity to a pool of highly skilled aviation engi-

neers who formally worked for SRT. Ryanair will not be considering any other proposals,” Ryanair said.

Last night (Monday) a spokesper- son for Shannon Development said it had no formal refusal yet from Mr O’Leary or Ryanair.

Meanwhile Clare TD Joe Carey (FG) is looking to other possible services at the airport for job crea- moyen

The Fine Gael TD questioned the Government on the issues that were holding up the development of a Lynx

Cargo facility at Shannon Airport.

Deputy Carey said he believed this facility could have enormous added benefit to the mid-west region and help create and sustain jobs.

“The Lynx Cargo Facility has been several years in the pipeline. I came across a press release recently from Shannon Development in 2004 high- lighting the advantages of such a fa- cility for Shannon and the mid-west. So for Government to now suddenly realise that EU competition or other such issues need to be addressed it a

bit rich.

“It goes back to a question of po- litical will. We know that the cargo facility could have enormous benefit for the region. The Mid West Task- force chairman has identified it as a key for the area.

He said the Taoiseach said in reply to his Dail question that the Govern- ment would assess how the current pre-clearance facilities operate and aCe O Coren Oley

that he’s hopeful that some arrangement can be brokered in the coming days so as to give Kilmurry every advantage ahead of the most important day in Clare club football

Keay

“We would hope that something could be done,’ McDermott said on Monday night. “I know there are rules and regulations there and that if a game is called off it has to be played within seven days, but the fact that we’re in an All-Ireland Final we’d hope that there’d be some ma- noeuvre.

“It’s not that we’re looking for spe- cial treatment, but the fact that there’s a six week break in the Cusack Cup after this weekend, there’d be plenty of time to re-fix the Doonbeg game.

“This week is important for us be- cause it’s all about recovery from Sunday before we started building it up again for the final on March 17. If the county board are determined that the fixture goes ahead, we’ ll fulfill it, but we’d have to put out a weakened team.”

After Sunday’s victory, McDermott told

A CONTRACTOR has been ap- pointed to carry out works to improve pedestrian facilities at an “extremely dangerous bridge” on the Quin Road, Syne

The development was confirmed by senior engineer with Clare County Council, Tom Tiernan who also said that long-awaited improvement work at the Quin Road bridge is due to commence in the “coming months”.

In response to a letter from Depu- ty Joe Carey TD (FG), Mr Tiernan States that “significant progress” has been made on the project.

“Significant progress has been made with regards achievement of the de- sired objective in relation to this mat- ter. CIE has agreed in principle to facilitate development of a pedestrian bridge within its property.

“The bridge, complete with access ramps, is to be located in the property associated with the Ennis railway sta- tion and will be adjacent to the south side of the existing traffic bridge on the Quin Road,” states Mr Tiernan.

Mr Tiernan indicates that work on the project may not be completed un- til the latter half of the year.

“A part VIII planning approval has been secured for the development

and at present a contractor is be- ing appointed with a view to having the project proceed over the coming months. Once construction gets un- derway it is envisaged that the project will be completed within a three month timeframe,’ he states.

Commenting on the development, Deputy Carey said, “The absence of pedestrian facilities at the Quin Road railway bridge is a matter of huge concern to residents, people using the Quin Road as a walking route and lo- OPT Mees leshionmae

He added, “It’s an extremely dan- gerous bridge. Pedestrians have lim- ited visibility and little room to ma-

noeuvre. It is an accident waiting to happen. It’s especially dangerous to negotiate the bridge with a buggy or pram.”

Deputy Carey said that along with a housing estate, there are a large number of business and commer- cial enterprises located on the Quin Road.

“IT welcome the fact that contractors are presently being appointed and look forward to the project moving to construction phase in the coming months. The provision of a proper pedestrian facility at Quin Road will dramatically improve road safety on this busy route,” he said.

Wb Ke Coy edhe B NLOks that plans for the new rescue centre have been approved by the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the local coastguard members and will now go forward for planning permis- sion.

OPW officials travelled to Doolin

to present the plans for the centre to coastguard members on January 12 last and it is now believed that a final plan for the centre has been agreed.

Despite this progress it 1s unclear when work may commence on the rescue centre following revelations that money, which had been ring- fenced for the project, no longer ex- TSA

“We have received commitments before in relation to the provision of a permanent home for the coastguard in Doolin and we have been disap- pointed. I hope that this latest news

means that we will finally see the end of years of waiting for the progres- sion of this most necessary project in north Clare,” said Clare TD, Pat SIKU meee

“When fears arose, last month, about the €1.5 million which Minis- ter Dempsey had promised was ring fenced for the project, I raised this matter with him in the Dail and he told me that an application would be lodged shortly for the project.

‘The volunteer coastguards in Doo- lin put their lives on the line every day to save others and the very least

they deserve is to have a permanent facility constructed to cater for their needs. Providing that the application secures the necessary planning per- mission, I hope that no further delays will hold up the construction of his facility.”

Any delay in the progress of the centre could throw plans for the en- tire development into turmoil.

THE latest progressive chapter in the St Joseph’s Education Centre, Gort Road, story has been written with news that a number of new courses have been introduced, in- cluding a third Leaving Certificate group, a cookery programme (in conjunction with the HSE) and a six-month ‘Fresh Start Programme.

There are now three groups of Leaving Certificate students en- rolled in St Joseph’s Education Cen- ken

Two groups are in their second year and will be sitting their exams in June. A new group started this year and are busy with their tasks at present.

According to Mary Fitzgerald of the centre, the cookery programme, which has been offered to the men for the first time at the centre, has gone from strength to strength.

‘There has been great interest in the course, with the men really en- joying being part of it,” she said.

“The ‘Cook it Programme’ is a cookery and nutrition programme taught at the centre in partnership with the local community dieti- cian. In the centre, re-skilling and up-skilling are also seen as the way forward.

“A new six-month pilot program has been developed to help give people an opportunity for new be- ginning,’ she added.

“It gives people the chance to ex- plore vocational opportunities in or- der to progress to further education or employment.”

Modules involved in the pro- gramme include career planning, personal development, computer

skills, healty lifestlyes, CV prepara- tion and job seekers skills.

“There is a change management emphasis being adopted in the course, focusing on life manage- ment skills looking to get people take ownership of their decision making and future possibilities,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

‘The centre is working towards an integration of its services and looks forward to remaining in a position to provide a quality educational

service to the community of Clare into the future.”

St Joseph’s Education Centre is a Centre of Education and Training for Travellers and settled people aged 18 and over in the Clare area. It is based in the Gort Road Busi- ness Park, in Ennis.

The Ennis Traveller’s Training Centre was the first in the country. It started as part of a Combat Poverty Programme in 1974.

At that time, it was located in the

erounds of the Holy Family School, Ennis. In 1982 the centre moved to new building at the Gort road indus- WUD motel Kos

Clare to host speech therapy workshops