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TUESDAY last was one of the best, if not the best day, of Patrick Dono- van’s life.

The Ennisman shook the hand of Muhammad Ali and presented him with a book.

A huge fan of ‘The Greatest’, Patrick left his home in Clancy Park three hours later on a mission to see and meet him lifetime hero.

He had dreamed of brining his son Thomas to see an Ali fight but it was never to be, but when Ali came to Ennis, Patrick said all his dreams came true.

Dressed in a t-shirt with the man they once called Cassius Clay on the front and armed with a book he had for ten years – “Ali the King”, Patrick waved to Ali as he made his way back from the photographers

towards the monument that had just been unveiled in his honour.

Patrick called to him, like hundreds more that made up the excited crowd. Ali looked up, and dismissing any protest from publicists and security guards made his way over. He spent a few moments with Patrick looking at the book and pictures that captured Ali in his prime. For a few moments a glint of the old Ali returned to his eye and as much of a smile as his ill- ness would allow.

Then he took the book and left, but Patrick didn’t mind.

“Of course it was worth it, why wouldn’t it be worth it, sure there will never be a man here like him again,’ he said.

His dream had just come true.

Carbon-copy crashes at junction

OF course Muhammad Ali was the star turn, charming everyone with- out opening his mouth — his mere presence being enough to bring the county capital to a standstill for a few hours.

However, he wasn’t the only Ali to charm his Ennis public — Lonnie Ali also did her part to steal the show when addressing the Ennis Town Council Civic Reception in Water- park House.

“Are there any relatives of Mu- hammad here?” she asked. With that up stepped Imelda O’Grady,

Mary O’Grady-Gormley and Mary O’Donovan with gifts for “The Greatest’ — an O’Grady family crest, a ‘céad mile failte’ plaque and an al- bum of photographs from the Turn- pike.

“It’s a rare opportunity that we get to come to Ireland and especially to Ennis,” said Lonnie. “The people of Ennis, you have been so overwhelm- ing in your outpouring of love to this ynarenee

“We are sincerely appreciative and thankful to everyone of you and now that we know that Muhammad is an ‘Innisman’, we will be back.”

It was the way she said it — adopt-

ing Ennis-speak and the vernacular of a true Townie. It’s something that wasn’t lost on ‘Townies in the Town Council audience, or those in the crowd watching the telecast that was beamed onto a big screen at Abbey Street carpark.

And there was more from Lonnie.

“IT have never seen anything like this before and neither has Muham- mad. He was overwhelmed by it, re- UMAR Laon

“It was better than any medicine you could give him. He was excited and surprised by the outpouring of people, even the children who were out on the street.

“It’s interesting that when you look at Muhammad and his _ pugilistic skills and his loquacious ways, that if his great grand father were alive he’d swear that it came from him. And if he were alive today he’d be in every pub talking about it.”

The O’Gradys doing the talking on Tuesday were Muhammad Ali’s relatives — you could say they were reeling with the welcome given them by both Muhammad and Lonnie. “I can’t believe that I got to meet Mu- hammad,” said Mary O’ Donovan. “It was a dream come true for me and I was crying. We had lovely photo- graphs taken with after the recep-

nena

“I’m very emotional over it,’ said Imelda O’Grady. “It’s been a real roller coaster over the past few weeks, looking forward to the visit and now that it has happened and I got to meet Muhammad Ali is unbelievable,’ she added.

Meanwhile, Mary O’Grady-Gorm- ley was lost for words. “I don’t know what to say,” she said. “To meet him, to hold his hand and be photographed with him. It must be the highlight of TUOh Yas become

Muhammad Ali and Lonnie Ali had just made their day. Everyone’s CPAs KOvMmner-limeet lito) m

GARDAI are reminding drivers to respect speed limits and road mark- ings after a spate of “replica” acci- dents were observed at the Captain Mac’s cross junction in Ennis.

At least four major collisions have occurred in the area, along with a high number of smaller less serious

accidents, according to one local businessman.

Shop manager David Crimmins said the junction has been the scene of a high number of collisions be- tween cars travelling to and from the town centre.

‘The incidents are always the same. Cars coming past Flannan’s (College) and go to make a right turn down to-

wards the bus station and cars going out the Clare road, from Ennis, crash into them. They’re all replica acci- dents,” explained Mr Crimmins.

He added, “They’re almost identi- cal, all the crashes. It’s spooky how similar they are. They nearly all hap- pen at the exact same spot on the road. They end up in the same spot afterwards. You could nearly take

out a measuring tape and measure out where it happens.”

Mr Crimmins, manager of a Londis shop located at Captain Mac’s cross, said the incidents involved local drivers and tourists passing through the town.

He said that on one occasion in July, a major incident was narrowly averted when a car almost crashed into a petrol pump located in the ga- rage forecourt.

‘There was one where one of the cars actually came into the garage. It came in about 100 yards off the road. I was sitting in the office and I heard this great bang.

He continued, “There have been four major ones in the last 12 months, but they would be the big ones. But there have been a lot of smaller, sim- ilar-type incidents. You would just hope that people would be a bit more aware. You would hate to see some- one get seriously hurt.”

Gardai in Ennis say that while they are unaware of any high incidence of accidents at the junction, they would remind drivers to observe speed lim- its and respect road markings.

‘At very busy junctions, you expect maybe more accidents but other than that, we are not aware of it. We would encourage all motorists to respect speed limits and road markings,” a spokesperson said.

He added that anyone with con- cerns should contact gardai. “If peo- ple want to send in submissions on the matter, that it is something we would welcome and consider.”

MICHAEL Corley took his seat in Waterpark House and waited. He’d waited for seven years and so 30 or sO minutes more didn’t matter. Muhammad Ali was in one of the anterooms of the Ennis Town Coun- cil headquarters — he would be out in his own good time, meantime Michael Corley could reflect on the

significance of this Civic Reception for Ennis Town Council and greater J Spay AbESe

“It means the realisation of a dream that we had back in 2002,” he says. ‘To me and to nearly everyone, Ali was an icon. I grew up with him and to have him now in Ennis is really incredible.

“Back seven years ago when I put a motion to the council calling for

him to be made a Freeman of Ennis, I thought that Ali would come — the enthusiasm that was there with the initial proposal, made me believe it would happen, but as the time passed I realised the difficulty of organising SUONE- Hace le

“It did take the Alltech Group to bring him and I’m delighted that the council did the next thing and reached out and honoured him in this

way. The significance of Ali getting this award is huge — it’s great to think that there are genes in Ali that origi- nated in Ennis 150 years ago. It is indeed a welcome home for Muham- mad Ali and I would hope that Ali looks on it like that, because part of him originated in Ennis.

“Ennis people are fantastic for meeting an occasion — whether it’s the great occasions of the hurling

teams in the ‘90s or whether it’s St Patrick’s Day parades organised by the council, people are great to come out. They’ve come out today.”

The day was only beginning and Michael Corley was soon on his feet as Muhammad Ali finally came into view, Stood motionless for a few sec- onds, sat down and took the applause. It was sustained.

The Greatest had landed.

THE Clare Youth Service has an- nounced details of a new programme of events aimed at encouraging young musicians.

The CYS Music Project is offer- ing some fantastic opportunities to young people interested in music over the next two months, including recording, gigging and training op- eLeyaaED OD LOL ene

As well as auditions for a com- pilation CD, there will be a bands competition open to all young bands throughout Clare as well as beat box and rapping workshops.

The bands competition is being held on Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20, with judges announcing the winners on the Sun- day night. The competition 1s open to all young bands under 18 years from

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Bands must perform three songs, at least one of which must be an origi- nal piece.

Entry for the competition is €15 and completed forms must be re- turned to Jean Tierney, CYS by Fri- day, September 11.

Prizes will be awarded for: Best Original Song, Best Band, Runner- up and Best Cover/Adaptation.

On September 26, the Music Project are holding auditions for musicians who would like to be part of a CYS compilation CD.

Auditions are open to all musi- cians, bands, acoustic etc and each act has to perform one original song. The CD will be launched at the end of the year.

Clare Youth Service with Kerryni- ni are running beat box and rapping workshops from Friday, October 9 to

Sunday, October 10.

The workshop will focus on vari- ous aspects of beat box and rapping, including, developing your _ tech- niques, looping and sampling, DJing and scratching, MCing and rhyming. The workshops costs €45 and places

are limited.

Musicians interested in participat- ing in any of the events should con- tact Jean Tierney, Clare Youth Serv- ice, Carmody Street, Ennis on 065 6845356 or 086 1568650 for further information or application forms.

IT’S debatable whether or not a crowd of such size – estimated to have been in excess of 10,000 – would have shown up in such large numbers had there not existed a focal point for the CRs

Throughout ‘Tuesday morning, pockets of people made their way to Abbey Street Car Park. Most leaned back to gaze at the Godzilla-like structure that greeted them, that huge screen that dominated the land- scape and served as a fulcrum for the event.

The Abbey Street element provided a festival feel to the visit of Ali and for hours, people lingered in front of

the stage and in front of the screen in anticipation of a glimpse of Ali.

The weather, too, was a major plus. Generally, it remained favourable. At one stage, singer Tommy Flem- ing noticed that for once, the sun remained behind the clouds and as the only sprinkle of rain danced on the heads of those in attendance, Fleming noted, while performing on stage, that if the crowd were going to get wet, then so too was he.

Later, the crowd got what they had come to see. Ali in the council of- fices being made the first Freeman of Ennis.

The image was beamed all over the Abbey Street Car Park as Sha- ron Shannon and her band took a

breather.

“That was the pinnacle of the day from my point of view,” said ‘Tomas Madigan, CEO of Sports Academy International, the Clare company that organised and co-ordinated the Abbey Street element of the day. ‘To see the smile on the faces of the thousands who came to Abbey Street as Ali received his Freeman status was extremely special.”

Speaking after the event on Tues- day afternoon, Madigan added that the success of last week’s event paves the way to maintain links with Mu- hammad Ali in years to come.

‘People turned out from every cor- ner of Ireland to celebrate Ali’s Irish and Clare links and the fact that we

had such a massive occasion goes to show that there’s great admiration and respect for the boxer. That her- itage can certainly be fostered down the line.”

He added that the inclusion of the big screen ensured the general public had the chance to witness first hand the official and historic moment of Ali’s welcome to Ennis.

“That was a major achievement for Sports Academy International. Not only did the screen allow the crowd to see the performers on stage, it also gave exclusive footage of what was going on in the Town Council offices in Drumbiggle.

“That wouldn’t have been possible without the goodwill of the people of

Ennis and Clare and the help of our sponsors.”

On Monday, Madigan added that in the six days since Alli’s visit, the pub- lic feedback on the whole experience has been incredibly positive.

“We couldn’t have wished for a bet- ter day, in all aspects.”

THERE will be champagne corks popping in Ennis this week as the town celebrates being awarded the Tidy Town’s national Largest Urban Centre Award for the second year in succession. The announcement was made at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham in Dublin yesterday in front of 500 invited guests.

And the Clare capital took home a goody bag of awards to go along with their second national title and a points score of 304 out of a possible 400.

As well as the Largest Urban Centre Award, Ennis took the Regional and County Awards and a prize of €900, the Notice Nature Biodiversity award of €1,000, the Large Urban Centre Gum Litter Task Force award with a cheque for €1,000 and Gold Medal in its population category with prize money of €900.

“Winning this award is a huge achievement for a town the size of Ennis. We are in a highly com- petitive category and beat off tough competition like Letterkenny and Kilkenny. This accolade is testimony to the hard work and commitment of our committee, town council and our fantastic community. Great credit must be given to all those who work tirelessly to ensure our town is look- ing its best,’ stated Noel Crowley, Chairman of the Ennis Tidy Towns.

The adjudication process involved a number of visits to Ennis and all as- pects of the town were judged under a

total of 10 categories including Over- all Development Approach, The Built Environment, Landscaping, Wildlife and Natural Amenities, Litter Con- trol, Waste Minimization, Tidiness, Residential Areas, Roads, Streets and Back Areas and finally the General Impression section. The competition is organised by the Tidy Towns Unit at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and sponsored by SuperValu.

Judges congratulated Ennis on the

overall presentation of the town and had particular praise for the high quality and co-ordination of the various colours and textures in the numerous floral displays and flower- beds around the town and approach roads. The high level of litter con- trol and presentation of residential areas was also noted and the Ennis Sculpture Trail Initiative received high praise. The judges were particu- larly impressed with the presentation of shop fronts and commended the

businesses on their efforts.

The town also earned particular mention in relation to the new En- nis Tidy Towns Website. www.en- nistidytowns.ie which was recently developed and sponsored by Acton BV website design and is seen as an extension of the Ennis Tidy Towns committee. Visitors to the site will find information on the various ac- tivities and initiatives organised by the committee and will also have a greater opportunity to get involved, a

spokeswoman for Ennis Tidy towns explained. “The website is also seen as a window to Ennis for the many potential visitors to the town as it highlights images of the Ennis Sculpture Trail as well as many sce- nic images of the streetscapes.”

AS training begins, Clare is again well represented on the FAI Emerg- ing Talent North Munster squad. In all, 18 of the county’s brightest soccer talents are part of an overall panel of 60.

This programme sees players aged 14 to 17 from Clare, Limerick City and County, and north Tipperary, take part in 28 training sessions and five matches from September 14, 2009, to March 31, 2010, under the direction of qualified FAI coaches.

The Lees Road sports facility in Ennis is the base for the North Mun- ster squad.

There are two groups in each cen- tre, junior group players (born in 1995) and senior group players (born Riera e

There are 12 regional centres in Ireland, split into North and South.

The North Munster squad will compete in the South group against Blarney, Bunclody, Peamount, Tralee and Waterford.

The FAI Emerging Talent Pro- gramme is now the recognised play- er development pathway for school- boys/girl players across the country , players with suitable abilities get se- lected for underage development and international squads, and eventually emerge ready to compete at League of Ireland level and beyond.

The Ennis based Centre programme is administrated and delivered by the FAI, with the assistance of seven oth- er Clare based coaches, physios and support staff.

Four Clare players, Alan Kelly (Newmarket Celtic), Stephen Mc-

Gann (Avenue Utd), Cian Burke (Avenue Utd), Joe Collins (Ennis Town), were part of the FAI Ennis Regional Centre Squad Ul16s that played Wolverhampton Wanderers Ul6s in the University of Limerick on August 17.

ARTISTIC licence abounds in En- nistymon where the local gallery is inviting artists to apply to have their work exhibited there in the coming year.

Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery is seeking submissions for the forth- coming year, 2010. The gallery is in- terested in exhibiting a wide range of visual art, including collaborations and multimedia projects for exhibi- tion in its two gallery spaces.

The Courthouse also welcomes proposals that have some aspect of co-operation with the local commu- nity.

“We had such a response with 60

applications last year, that we cre- ated a second exhibition space, the Red Couch Space. This is for artists whose work really deserves to be exhibited, but could not be accom- modated in the existing exhibition area,’ said Daire Skuce of the Court- house Gallery.

Community-led exhibitions are an important part of the gallery’s role, Daire explained. “For instance, we have an exhibition on the stairs at the moment by the FETAC students from Lisdoonvarna.”

The gallery will also be in a posi- tion to rent studio space to artists later this year and the popular life- drawing sessions will start up again on September 24, and continue each

Thursday morning at a charge of €10 a session.

The deadline for submissions to ex- hibit at the gallery is 5pm on Friday, October 2.

Courthouse Gallery curator and co- ordinator, Trudi van der Elsen said, “We wish to focus on exhibiting emerging artists based locally and nationwide. 2009 has been a very exciting year with a lot of variety in the exhibitions. This year there has been a particularly good mix of me- dia including, paintings, installation work, sculpture, drawing, film, and workshops from local and national artists.”

The newly renovated Ennistymon Courthouse building features a main

art gallery, the smaller Red Couch gallery space, five artists’ studios, and a sound recording studio. The Courthouse Gallery seeks to attract local and national audiences by ex- hibiting work of the highest standard by local, national, and international VOSA

Artists interested 1n applying should include with their submissions a bi- ography or CV, an artist statement, a brief description of the proposed show, six to eight images on CD or hard-copy photos.

The gallery charges 25 per cent commission. Submissions should be sent to Trudi van der Elsen, Coordi- nator, Ennistymon Courthouse Gal- lery, Parliament Street, Ennistymon.