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MINISTER Sile De Valera met with protest at the monument of her grandfather on Satur- day, as the Fianna Fail ODUM UE DIOOUMUD Mme lM ales Rere| in Ennis, to commemo- rate the party’s found- ing father, Eamonn De Valera.

After the ‘Taoiseach Bertie Ahern laid a wreath at the monu- ment outside the court- house, to mark the 30th anniversary of De Valera’s death, a group of parents and pupils from a Limerick school demanded a meeting with the junior minister responsible for school transport.

The parents are seeking a school bus to take their children to the Salesian Col- lege, Pallaskenry. They were told there was no room for them in city

schools.

The minister told re- porters that the protest had nothing to do with the school safety bus issue, a point echoed by the Taoiseach. Mr Ahern said between now and the end of his year, all second level school buses would have a seat and a belt for each student and by the end of next year every junior school bus would have the same.

The Taoiseach was invited to Ennis by Clare Ogra Fianna Fail to mark the 30th anni- versary of De Valera’s olor hdee

“Three decades on from the passing of this giant of modern Irish history, it is not only appropriate, but also important, that we re- flect on his great serv- ice to our nation and draw inspiration from it,” he said.

AN INTERNATIONAL drug baron, described as _ having played a crucial role in the big- gest-ever seizure of cannabis resin in Clare nine years ago, has been jailed for 25 years for another drugs offence in the UK.

William Colin Lees was one of the main bosses of a narcot- ics gang, broken up after gardai seized a record £16 million haul from a luxury motor cruiser in OTe

Their drugs boat, the Plongeur Whisky, was forced to sail to the West Clare harbour after devel- oping engine trouble, in Novem-

ber 1996.

A massive 1.7 million tonnes of high-quality North African cannabis was found stashed in the hold, by a team led by armed ele rerel aa oe

The drugs were to have been landed at Malin Head in Don- egal by the boat’s three-man crew.

Lees was arrested in 1997, after a joint probe involving Garda and RUC drugs officers. He claimed he had been unwit- tingly used by others to help smuggle the drugs into Ireland. But, when sentenced at Belfast Crown Court, Mr Justice Gillen described him as having played a “pivotal role” in the incident.

Lees, now aged 53, of Ard- moneen Court, Maherafelt, Der- ry, was only released from jail in 2003. He had been sentenced to 12 years, but was released early.

Last Wednesday, Lees was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court, of plotting to supply ec- stacy and amphetamines with a street value of more than £33 million, in August 2004.

He was found guilty of two drugs conspiracy charges, fol- lowing 20-hour deliberations by CLUE

The court heard the drugs were hidden in seven pallets of denim jeans shipped from Holland to a business unit in Lancashire.

Toler: Ie (Our MmOyoLoecIN COTM slNMENals

PSNI, officers from Merseyside police were watching the busi- ness premises, which was trad- ing as “Shaun’s Orient” and pur- ported to be a legitimate courier and haulage company. Lees was not present at the time of the raid, but was arrested some time Flow

Jailing Lees, Judge John Rob- erts said while he accepted there may well have been somebody higher up the hierarchy, Lees was very near the top. He said he had no doubt Lees organised the delivery of the drugs to the vuebA

The court heard that Lees, a father-of-two, was an experi- enced drug dealer.

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A BAND contracted to pro- vide musical entertainment in a Kilkishen pub, were so loud that the customers took to drinking outside to get away from the noise.

The publican told a judge that he would never hire the particular group, or any- thing of their ilk again.

Judge Joseph Mangan heard of the exodus after being given a sound engi- neer’s report on noise levels at Gleeson’s pub.

In an earlier hearing, Theresa Holahan (78) of Main Street, Kilkishen told the district court that she was afraid to go to bed and couldn’t cope with the noise coming from the pub, which adjoined her home.

She had lived next door to Gleeson’s public house for the past 50 years and never had a problem with the OEUODICNMEUDNLAU Kee TlONE

In objecting to its intoxi- cating liquor licence, she

said she had suffered noise and disruption to her daily Tate

‘The level of noise is un- acceptable to me. I cannot use my garden. I cannot go to bed,” she said.

She told Judge Mangan that loudspeakers were po- sitioned over the back door of the pub, a very short dis- tance from her garden.

She said that at one stage, the level of noise was so bad at 4pm, she had to ring the gardai.

“T need my privacy. I need to be able to sleep. I cannot do anything. I cannot go to bed,’ she said, adding that her eardrums were “burst- ing’ on occasions, due to the noise.

Judge Mangan heard from the publican’s solicitor that undertakings were given at the last court hearing.

These were deliberately breached on one occasion to facilitate the engineer’s report and _ accidentally breached on another “be-

cause the band was so loud the customers all went out the back.

The publican did _ not know they would be so loud and he’s willing to give an undertaking that he will not hire this band or any band that loud again.”

The publican would also be willing to encourage customers to use the front of the premises for smoking and to raise the eaves on the smoking shed at the back, to help drown out noise.

Judge Mangan said that he wanted time to study the

report and make recommen- dations, “one of which will be installing a switch, which kills the music if it goes over a certain level.”

The case was adjourned to Ennis District Court on October 7.

SO near and yet so far for the lady golfers of Ennis as competition specialists Royal Portrush denied them glory in the final of the All-Ireland Ladies Senior Cup on Saturday.

It was a heartbreaking defeat for Ennis —a final hurdle defeat in front of a home crowd on a Woodstock course that took its place among the elite championship courses in the country.

And, it was an outrageous save from Naoimh Quigg on the 17th that won the day for Portrush. She stroked in a treach- erous 30 feet putt from off the back of the 16th green to win the hole, before closing out her match with Munster golfer Pamela Murphy on the 17th.

Earlier Irish champion and the Europe- an number nine, Tricia Mangan, got En- nis off to the best possible start by beating Helen Jones on the 14th green.

Gemma Hegarty got Portrush’s first point with a 4/3 win over former Munster player Maura McNicholas. Then came Naoimh Quigg’s heroics that gave Por- trush a 2-1 lead.

Hopes of an Ennis comeback rested with veteran Valerie Hassett and rookie Sarah Cunningham. Hassett, who will represent Ireland in the European Senior Team Championship this week, put up a brave showing against Maura Diamond before succumbing on the 16th.

It was the crucial rubber for Portrush and secured them a third successive All- Ireland Senior Cup crown. It meant the final match on the course between 15- year-old Sarah Cunningham and Steph- anie Meadow was called in. They were all square after 14.

Munster champions Ennis had reached the final in fine style, beating the Cur- ragh in the morning semi-final thanks to sterling displays from Tricia Mangan, Sarah Cunningham and Valerie Hassett. However, the final was just one match too far for a team that has done Clare golf so

proud in 2005.

let in Ennis. Phone Martin 087-2772721

CLARE County Council has refused planning permission on a further attempt to rejuve- nate Liscannor Bay Hotel.

Now, the promoters of the enterprise has appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanala, in order to make the hotel more attractive.

They are seeking to develop additional 20 suites aimed at accommodating families.

The Council refused plan- ning permission, stating that the proposed design, by rea- son of its scale, mass, bulk and overbearing impact, would be injurious to the vis-

ual amenities of the area and therefore be contrary to the proper planning and sustain- able development.

The developers state: “The proposed development con- stitutes the provision of an extension to existing hotel fa- cilities in Liscannor. The fam- ily accommodation units pro- posed, will provide a boost to the tourism sector at this loca- tion and will help the village and region compete for what is becoming an increasingly discerning market.

“The tourist numbers have been falling in recent years and, in order to allow the area to compete effectively, addi-

tional facilities and diversifi- cation must be encouraged.

“The further development and consolidation of the ex- isting hotel will also be a ben- efit to the local community in terms of trickle down eco- nomic gains and the fact that the hotel facility will be avail- able as a local centre”.

The appeal states that the proposed development does not remit refusal for the rea- sons stated, but complies with the principles of proper plan- ning and sustainable develop- ment.

A decision is due on the ap- plication in December.

WEST Clare cyclist Vincent Glesson fin- ished ninth in this years All-Ireland Time Trial Championships.

The Kilrush man finished eight in the same race last year and had been hoping to improve on that result. Gleeson cov- ered the 25 mile course 1n 55.33 minutes, almost two minutes better than his pre-

vious personal best for the distance. The race took place in Carlow on the main Carlow to Kilkenny road.

The time trial was won by David Mc- Cann from Belfast, riding for the Giant Asia team. He clocked a time of 50.13 minutes.

McCann will go on to represent Ireland in the World Championships in Madrid on September 22.

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THERE was a time, up to about four years ago when Shannon property prices lagged behind other towns in the county, but this is no longer the case. The airport town has played serious ‘catch-up’ and starter homes are now on a price par with those in Ennis.

According to Fachtna O’Donovan of Sherry FitzGerald McMahon, “the price of property was artificially low, because Shannon Devel- opment housing stock was sold off cheaply throughout the town, keeping the price of town houses down. This in turn affected the price of property in the higher price brackets”.

He added, “town houses are now reaching their true value and this has had a knock-on af- fect, having increased the value of property in the higher brackets too. Shannon prices used to be, on average, 30% lower than Ennis, this has now narrowed to zero in some brackets, although in the more expensive detached cat- egory, similar properties will make more in Ennis”.

Rory Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick Auctioneers, Shannon, agrees that Shannon property prices have come of age. “In the second hand mar- ket, good quality semi-detached properties, in fairly new developments are on a price par with their counterparts in Ennis. Prices for the older terraced style housing are around €150,000 plus. We recently sold a mid-terrace house in good order in Aidan Park for €163,000. The detached property market is small in Shannon and you can expect to spend €260,000 upwards

for this type of property.”

As a yardstick for prices achieved on modern apartments, Fitzpatrick said, “we recently sold 800 sq ft two-bedroom apartments in Ballyca- sey for €168,000”.

Fitzpatrick continued, “We have a develop- ment called Cluain Alainn, in Hurler’s Cross, on our books. Phase One sold out really quick- ly. It’s a mixed development of 57 houses built by Martin Fitzgibbon. The semi-detached

houses appealed to first time buyers and inves- tors, while the detached houses attracted buyers trading up, from Shannon. The semi-detached properties started in price from €185,000 and the detached houses from €230,000. All of the houses in Phase One were sold off plans about 6—9months ago”.

With a very buoyant rental market, investors remain interested in property in the airporttown. A new ‘tax designated’ development called Bru

na Sionna, currently under construction is sure to appeal to investors and professionals alike, working in the airport town. Apartments in the visually striking, up-market development have been released for sale by Sherry FitzGer- ald McMahon. The scheme consists of 119 two and three bedroom apartments, penthouses and three bedroom townhouses. The units are laid out in five blocks ranging in height from two to six storeys. Each block differs in style and shape, with some having gardens around them and others have balconies and terraces.

All of the properties are tax designated un- der the Urban Renewal Scheme and qualify for Section 23-type relief of up to 92 per cent. The two bedroom apartments cost from €228,000, town houses are priced from €262,000, while prices for the penthouses have yet to be final- ised.

Fachtna O’Donovan believes that the rental market will continue to remain strong in Shan- non. Commenting on current trends, he said, “Shannon is proving very popular with work- ers from overseas and workers from other parts of Ireland, due to the jobs availability in the towns’ industrial estates and the airport”.

O’Donovan concluded, “having been in Shannon since the mid sixties, I can see the town finally maturing into what was envisaged by the planners back in the fifties. In fact many people who have moved to Shannon in recent years have said to me that they would prefer to live in Shannon rather than Ennis or Limerick due to the facilities, the safe feeling they get in the town and the sense of community”’.