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CLARE County Council is to take over the Cluain Donn housing de- velopment in Shannon, but does not have plans to take over responsibility for the Cluain Aoibheann estate at the moment.

Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn called on the council to take over responsibility for both estates, which, he said, have been occupied for a number of years. He said that the council needs to assess what works need to be done to have them taken in charge.

In response, he was told that the council proposed to take in charge the Cluain Donn development, once the remedial works to the road sur- face are completed.

“The vesting process is underway and the statutory process will com- mence once the areas requiring at- tention are dealt with,’ stated senior executive officer Monica Meehan, in

response.

However, a different situation ex- ists in relation to the Cluain Aoib- heann estate. Ms Meehan stated that enforcement proceedings were initi- ated against the developer, Mulling- brook Holdings Ltd, in 2008.

A warning letter was served in De- cember 2008 and this was returned. The warning letter was re-served on the site manager in March 2009. An on-site meeting took place between the enforcement officer and the site manager in May 2009.

A submission on the warning letter was received in July 2009. A further site inspection was carried out in August and found that the warning letter was not complied with.

The council says that further dis- cussions were initiated with the site manager with a view to completing the works, but the works were not Ub A (ou RAN. Cone

An enforcement notice issued in September and was returned and was

hand delivered in November.

The council says that this has not yielded a response and it is endeav- ouring to liaise with the site manager with a view to completing the works. The requirements of the enforcement relate to road works, the implemen- tation of a planting schedule and the installation of a name plate for the estate.

“It should be noted that the coun- cil has not received a valid taking in charge application in respect of this development and therefore no assessment of a cctv survey or as- constructed drawings has been un- dertaken.

“It is not proposed to take this de- velopment in charge at this time,” added the council’s response.

THE Kilrush Farmers’ Market is back this week after its winter use e

Just like the long evenings, the farmers market has become another indicator of spring in the west Clare Cree

For many locals the return also signals the start of the new year’s foodie calendar.

The highly successful market is widely regarded as a source of lo- cal, high quality, seasonal food and TbOtea Keren (oN

The market will begin again this Thursday at 9am and finish up at 2pm in the town centre.

Many of the regular stallholders are returning to provide the shop- ping experience that promises some- thing for everyone.

Among the produce on sale is a se- lection of fresh vegetables; organic produce; local Clare cheeses; fresh fish and seafood; freshly-baked bread and cakes, savoury lunchtime treats and French-style pancakes; jams, pickles and chutneys; tea, cof- fee and fruit juices; plants and flow- ers; and a variety of locally-made

craft products.

Kilrush Farmers’ Market control- ler Hilary Gleeson has hailed the market a complete success.

“I think the farmers’ market is a great way to buy quality fresh food produced here in Ireland. People can be confident of the origins of the food and are able to get to know their lo- cal supplier – often with a chance to sample before they buy.

“Our market has become more and more a part of people’s weekly shop- ping habits and it’s great to see it thriving,” she said.

The farmers’ market is ever chang-

ing, regularly recruiting new stall- holders who offer quality food and new craft ideas.

Many of the stallholders take or- ders for their goods while others provide a delivery service.

“Buying local also has many ben- efits, including supporting local growers, food producers and arti- sans which creates business locally, promotes a sense of community and also does its bit for the environment by helping to cut down on the dis- tance food and produce travels,” said the PRO for the market Mark Wil- son-Pierce.

THERE was good news on the dou- ble for Gort Community School last week when it was announced that the school has been granted funding to construct three new classrooms and has also been chosen to take part in a new high-tech school programme.

The announcement of the new classrooms was made last week by local TD Noel Treacy (FF) who said the new classrooms and changing rooms will come as a big boost to the staff and students.

Meanwhile, the school has also been chosen to take part in a pilot programme to test the benefits of high-speed broadband and _next-

generation technologies in the class- room.

In the coming weeks the school will be kitted out with new, super high-speed broadband and will also receive 31 laptops and 25 digital pro- jectors.

The pilot project, which has been launched by the Department of Com- munications, Energy and Natural Resources, will see a wireless LAN connection installed in the school, allowing high-speed internet to be received anywhere in the school elena euneres

The new technological investment, which will total around €50,000, will also allow the school to create a mobile computer suite, with the

wireless broadband enabling them to bring the laptops to any room in the school.

The investment will also allow the school to further enhance the use of technology while teaching music. The school’s music students already use the music notation software Fi- nale Print Music which can be used instead of pen and paper to notate music.

This software also allows students to compose and arrange music the way they want it to sound which can then be transposed to any key and for any instrument. Through this technology, students can also play a MIDI keyboard with a metronome and watch their music appear on

screen in real time.

“We are taking online learning out of the confines of the computer room. In classrooms and corridors, students and teachers will poten- tially be able to carry out interactive chemistry experiments and access demonstrations and exhibitions from all over the world,’ said Eamon Ryan (GP), when launching the scheme last week.

“A class learning French could talk in real time with a class in France. A Leaving Certificate physics stu- dent will be able to take part in Ivy League lectures and experiments. With this level of connectivity, the opportunities for interaction and col- laboration are unlimited.”

ORGANISERS of the Clare Burren Marathon Challenge are aiming to top 2,000 participants for this year’s event – which would make it one of the largest adventure marathons ever to take place in Ireland.

Detail of this year’s event, which is organised by the Ballyvaughan/ Fanore Walking Club, were an- nounced last week with May 22 be- ing pencilled in as the date for the third running of the competition.

The event will also see timing chips being offered to everyone who takes part over the age of 16. Every- one who finishes the marathon with a chip will receive an official text telling them their exact finishing time minutes after they complete No OTE KoIOTXeR

“We get a lot of people back year after year and this new chip will al- low these people to get their time texted right to their mobile after the race. It’s the usual thing, people would be trying to better their time from other years,’ said organiser Kevin McCormick.

“We are hoping to get more than 2,000 people to take part this year. It would be great going if that hap- pens but that is our hope and expec- tation. We had almost 1,700 people taking part last year which was al-

most double what we had in the first year.”

Over the last few years, the Clare Burren Marathon Challenge has pro- vided a major early season boost for the tourism industry in north Clare. This year, the challenge will once again run in tandem with the Burren in Bloom Festival, which has itself become a major tourism boost for north Clare.

“We get people from all over tak- ing part. We have a lot coming from England and America and a lot from Germany and Holland as well. A lot of these people just happened to be in the area when the marathon took place in previous years and now they are coming back each year to take part. They bring back more friends each year and it grows then by word of mouth,” continued Kevin.

“It’s a massive tourism boost for the area. And it is well needed, es- pecially the way things are going at id otomsneKeyee ley 0 line

The walk will also take in some of the most dramatic scenery in Europe and includes portions on road, green road and Burren trail. This year’s event is being supported by the Logues Lodge, Clare Spring Water and the Clare Sports Partnership.

For more information check out www.clareburrenmarathonchal- lenge.com.

PEOPLE in north Clare are going back to the future by learning how to use the ancient form of cob building to construct sheds and other struc- ebdeny

Cob building involves mixing clay, straw, sand and water which is then worked into a wall in a proc- ess known as cobbing. The process, which has been used in Clare since pre-historic times, has been regain- ing its popularity in recent times as people look for environmentally- friendly ways of building structures.

This has prompted the Boghill Centre in Kilfenora to begin a new

course on cob building. The course, which begins later this month, will guide people in how to use the tech- nique.

“Cob building is very low-tech, re- quiring only simple tools and a large amount of time. Unlike conventional modern building with heavy cement blocks, cob is a very democratic building material. You can pick up large or small handfuls of the mix- ture meaning that anyone can join in, the elderly, small children, it’s not the exclusive domain of well-mus- cled young men,” said Kim Harrison from the Boghill Centre.

“The really nice thing about this material is that it is easily sculpted,

so you don’t need to have any hard edges and space-wasting corners. Your creativity 1s unleashed as you shape an_ aesthetically pleasing structure, curving and undulating in whatever way you wish.”

Besides being an inexpensive way of building, cob also provides sound insulation, 1S non-toxic and non-al- lergenic.

“Not only does it require little ener- gy to construct compared to modern building methods and materials, but sourcing the materials locally means it has a very low environmental im- pact,” continued Kim.

“The thick walls, usually around 24cm, have a high thermal mass –

this means they have the ability to store heat within the wall and release it very slowly. This makes cob build- ings easy to keep warm in winter and cool in summer. Heat is soaked up by the wall in the daytime, travelling at one inch per hour, then continues its journey through the wall heating the inside air during the night, leaving the walls cool again for the follow- TU NTSaKO Ne

“The combination of cob and pas- sive solar heating as heat from sun- light entering through large south- facing windows can create a house that requires little additional heat- rhea

Visit www.boghill.com for details.

THE recession is stifling Irish third world charity Bothar’s ability to send Irish cattle to some of the world’s poorest rural communities. The char- ity currently has more than 500 fam- ilies awaiting animals in Rwanda, Albania and Kosovo but, because of a downturn in cattle donations, they do not have enough cattle in stock to meet the demand.

The international development agency normally flies between 400 and 600 cattle out of Shannon Air- port each year. The receiving fami- lies have each qualified for the Both-

ar programme by growing enough fodder to feed the animals over the last nine months.

They are also required to build an appropriate cow house and undergo a training course in cow husbandry.

“This drop-off is probably because of the economic recession. We have noticed in recent months that the flow of heifers has been slowing down. We would like to urge farm- ers to consider donating a heifer to a poor family in the developing world as however bad our circum- stances might be, these people are much worse off altogether,” said Al- lison Mc Namara, Marketing and PR

Manager of Bothar.

“One dairy cow would not change the lives and indeed the future of an entire family here in Ireland. Howev- er, in Our project countries, one good dairy cow can be better than winning the Lotto.

“In fact, receiving a dairy cow does a lot more for our recipient families than providing them with food and income. It goes on to give them a great sense of pride in their work and restores their dignity as human be- ings. It gives them great hope for the future as it will enable them to send their children to school and pay for day to day family necessities.”

The next Bothar airlift 1s scheduled to take place at the end of March and the organisation is asking farm- ers to donate an in-calf dairy heifer. The are also asking the non-farming public to donate the cost of an in-calf dairy heifer or to donate what you can towards this airlift.

Anyone who wishes to donate should contact Maria McCormack at maria@bothar.ie or freephone 1800 PA eee

Councillors get hit in the pocket

Expert warned of major flooding

Ennis Movieplex back in profit

OVER a thousand workers lost their jobs on the Shannon Free Zone last year, according to figures released by Shannon Development yesterday.

At the Shannon agency’s end of year briefing in Limerick, chief ex- ecutive Dr Vincent Cunnane said that net job losses on the Free Zone amounted to 787 after the creation of 260 new jobs was factored in.

The 11 per cent drop reduces the number of people employed on the Free Zone to 6,320 with job losses at Element Six and Molex accounting for much of the decline.

Dr Cunnane defended Shannon De- velopment’s record on the Free Zone, stating that the figures were “on a par with what happened nationally with the IDA last year”.