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OH to be in the Corofin dressing room at half-time!

Let’s just say that Seamus Clancy would have had plenty of ammuni- tion to fire a few volleys or more to- wards his players.

They’d just had the advantage of a strong breeze in the first half but 11 lamentable wides had contributed to them kicking away what should have been a very healthy half-time lead.

Instead, Corofin had to contend themselves with a slender I-1 to O-3 advantage after a very forgettable 30 minutes of football.

And, even accounting for all this profligacy Corofin were grateful to be ahead – a Colm Clancy goal which opened their account in the IIth minute and a point from distance by Brendan Keane was all they had to show for 30 minutes.

It scarcely seemed enough against a Kildysart team that motored well enough into the wind. Gerry Kelly followed up where he left off against Clondegad when opening the scoring after eight minutes with a point from play – indeed Kelly was Kildysart’s only scorer in the half.

He chipped over a free in the 14th minute in response to Clancy’s goal, while a good point from play in the 23rd was Kildysart’s positive re- sponse to Brendan Keane’s 16th minute point for Corofin.

However, that’s were all the posi- tivity ended from Kildysart’s point of view, and presumably it’s where Seamus Clancy came into his own in the dressing room when lashing out a few home truths about his side’s first half performance.

They were obviously listening in- tently because they pummelled a dreadful Kildysart side into the sub- mission from the opening seconds of the second-half.

It’s true that the wind seemed to ease up considerably, but still the va-

garies of the weather couldn’t alone count for Corofin’s rejuvenation and Kildysart’s capitulation.

Corofin stormed forward from the throw-in. Twice they could have go- aled in the opening five minutes, but instead had to content themselves with points from a Damian Ryan free and an effort from play by John Keane, whose influence on proceed-

ings grew as the game progressed. The pattern of the early stages con- tinued almost uninterrupted for the rest of the game – Corofin were dom- inating all over the field, from the brilliant Eamonn Malone at full-back through to John Keane and Colm Clancy in the full-forward line. Clancy set up Damian Ryan for an- other point in the 43rd minute to put

Corofin 1-4 to 0-3 clear as Kildysart struggled to get the ball out of their own half.

Further Corofin points from John Keane and Ryan’s third of the hour put them 1-6 to 0-3 ahead entering the last ten minutes and killed off any hope of a Kildysart comeback.

The will wasn’t there among the Kildysart players everywhere – they

were already through to the semi- final stages thanks to earlier wins over Michael Cusack’s and Clonde- gad. This game clearly didn’t mean eel Uhes om Kem satsseeF

It meant everything to Corofin though as they at last found some of the winning form that swept them to this title three years ago.

Kildysart, for all their second half failures, did at least manage to reg- ister a couple of points near the end from Cian Cleary and Christy Clancy, but the fact remains that they’re now going into the semi-final stages on the back of a terrible display.

Corofin, meanwhile, are on the up after a 30 minutes in which they answered all the questions posed by their awful first 30 minutes.

It all meant that Clondegad’s 2-15 to 1-8 win over Michael Cusack’s was academic – they were out of con- tention for 2009.

WHAT a week it has been for O’Callaghan’s Mills. Seven days earlier, they ambushed county cham- pions Clonlara in the senior hurling championship to keep their qualifica- tion hopes alive and they needed all of that fighting spirit here as well to hold off a stubborn Kilmurry Ibrick- ane outfit.

Niall Donovan, Jonathan Lyons, Gerry Cooney, Declan Donovan, Patrick Donnellan, John Cooney, Conor Cooney, Brian Donnellan and Fergus Donovan were all part of that hurling triumph a week previous but in terms of influence and more sig- nificantly scores, it was Brian Don- nellan who stood out from the pack again to inspire the Mills latest vic- rays

In contrast, a luckless Kilmurry Ibrickane had no such leadership and while they have run all their group opponents close, the fact that they have no points on the board doesn’t reflect kindly on their efforts. They deserved better from those three games but not enough firepower and a failure to turn their possession into scores combined to twart them again ie) Ken

Instead, with the game in the bal- ance at 1-6 to 1-6 entering the final minutes, the Mills superior fitness bore fruit and it allowed them to sneak home with late points through Brian Donnellan and James Murphy to earn at least a play-off for their side, depending on the final group game between Cratloe and St Bre- ckan’s.

In saying that, for long periods of

that second-half, it seemed as if the strong breeze that blew towards En- nis was of little benefit to the Mills who found it difficult to pepper the posts. In fact, both sides played better against the conditions, with the Mills taking the game to Kilmurry I[brick- ane’s second string early on. Brian Donnellan picked off 1-1 as early as the eighth minute while Kilmurry Ibrickane misfired at the other end. They did finally settle though, kick- ing four of the next five points, two from Patrick Hogan to get to within deComecubevnecleneee

And what cemented their comeback was a flowing passing move in the 24th minute between Colm Donnel- lan and Paul O’Dwyer that attracted the defence and it allowed him to pop the ball inside to the unmarked Aid- an Moloney to billow the left corner of the net.

Again, however, the west Clare side switched off, giving the Mills re- newed hope and by the break, they were level after two Brian Donnellan frees left the half-time score 1-4 to eae

It should have spurred the east Clare side on for a rousing second period with the wind at their backs but they were surprisingly flat on the restart and it was Kilmurry Ibrick- ane who took up the mantle to take a two point lead once more after Paul O’Dwyer and Aidan Moloney pointed frees. It had to take two of their imports, Paul Lynch and substi- tute Padraig Hickey to get the Mills back on level terms by the turn of the final quarter and set the game up for a tense grandstand finish.

Conor Cooney rattled the post; at

the other end, Paul O’Dwyer should have goaled but found goalkeeper Emmet O’Brien in defiant mood to produce an outstanding point blank block and as the game petered out with a scoreless ten minute period, it seemed neither side wanted to win 1

Then with only three minutes re- maining, Brian Donnellan converted a free and only two minutes later, James Murphy went on the overlap to push the Mills two clear and al- though Kilmurry huffed and puffed in search of a goal, their efforts ulti- mately proved fruitless.

AT the end of this well contested la- dies intermediate football final it was Anna O’Connor with cup in hand and the girls in the maroon and white of Liscannor who were left celebrating.

Some of the spectators at the end of the game may have been forgiven for not recognising any of the 14 other Liscannor players as the programme provided certainly did not act as an aid.

In fact the victorious captain was the only Liscannor player who lined out as selected with most of the other girls on her team in different posi- tions and with different numbers on their backs.

Maybe it was just an extreme ad- ministrative error or else a deliber- ate ploy on the part of the Liscannor management. Whatever the reason it did not affect the Liscannor players who were in control for most of the game.

After five minutes they raced into a four-point lead which was further increased by a Roisin Rouine goal on the eighth minute. There was a quarter of an hour gone on the clock when the girls from Shannon Gaels finally found their scoring boots when corner-forward Mairead Ma- digan scored a cracking goal from a 21-metre free.

The Gaels now looked like they were ready to mount their come- back but this immediate threat was neutralised five minutes later when Liscannor, through centre-forward Olivia Lucas, responded with an- other goal.

Shannon Gaels didn’t lie down as Rachel Ryan stepped up with another goal. Aine Burke’s point in injury- time left the north Clare girls leading 2-6 to 2-1 after a first-half of many twists and turns.

The Gaels needed a good start to the second-half and that is exactly what they got. In the first minute Mairead Madigan scored her second goal of

the game and this was followed up fives minute later with Rachel Ryan‘s second of the game.

Two Liscannor points in the middle

of this goal spree left only two points between the sides. Liscannor had most of the possession and scoring chances but they were letting their

control of the game slip.

The real turning point of this game came on ten minutes when the Gaels were awarded a penalty. This was their big chance to grab the lead but Sarah Bohannon’s effort was saved and the spirit of the Liscannor girls lifted once more.

The Gaels did not score for the rest of the duration of the game while points from Aine Burke, Rebecca O’Regan and Olivia Lucas in the closing moments sealed the victory for Liscannor and ensured their pro- gression into the senior grade for 2010.

CLARE man Stephen Hickey took his first steps towards a potential League of Ireland career with Gal- way United at the weekend.

The Clarecastle native has signed on with the club’s reserve team, Gal- way United A, who ply their trade in the Newstalk A Championship, the third tier of the League of Ireland.

If Hickey (pictured below) im- presses in the A team’s four remain- ing league games, he may get an op- portunity with the club’s first team.

Hickey made his United debut on Saturday, coming on as a half time substitute in the 3-1 defeat to Salthill DAVei wae

The result leaves Galway marooned at the bottom of the table on four points, nine points adrift of second from bottom Dundalk A.

If Hickey does make the jump to Galway’s first team he will become the second Clare man currently on United’s books after goalkeeper Barry Ryan.

Long regarded as one of the best soccer talents in the county, Hickey was in scintillating form last season, scoring 20 league goals to help Rock Rovers claim the Division One title.

He’s also currently part of the Eire Og team looking to qualify for the quarter-finals stage of senior football oA aF-Naatopcoyatsseul oy

FOUR-TIME AIl Star, two-time FANUC ERE Neem Buebe oom NeleMssbuconmDEETS Munster championship winner Jamesie O’Connor has made a surprise return to the St Joseph’s senior hurling team five years af- ter he played his last champion- ship game with the club.

O’Connor, a championship win- ner with St Joseph’s in 1998, °99 and 2001 returned to training last week. His last competitive out- ing for the club at championship level was the 2004 county final against Kilmaley, a year after he took his final bow at inter-county level in the All-Ireland quarter- final replay against Kilkenny in SW sitbe los

O’Connor marked his club re- turn by making a cameo appear- ance in a challenge game against Ballybrown at the weekend.

CLARE’S local authorities are to get a much-needed cash injection, as second homeowners are asked to pay up.

The Government has estimated that the newly introduced Non Principal Private Residences (NPPR) fee will bring in as much as €40 million na- tionally.

It is not clear, however, how much of this second home tax will be col- lected in Clare, as there is no com- prehensive list available as yet.

NPPR fees collected in town coun- cil areas will revert to those towns, however, confirmed Ms Carmel Greene, Senior Executive Officer, Finance Department of Clare Coun- WA Grolennete

The NPPR charge is set at an an- nual rate of €200 for 2009 per resi- dence, and must be paid by October Ue

Late payment will incur a fee of €20 in respect of each month or part of a month during which the charge remains unpaid.

The charge applies mainly to own- ers of private rental property and holiday homes. It also applies to vacant residential property, unless newly built.

Ms Greene said the payment is es- sentially for a non-principal private residence, which is not the owner’s normal home.

She added that any unpaid charges and penalties might adversely af- fect any future sale or transfer of the property.

The council has the authority to view Revenue and ESB records, as well as records of rental accom- modations in a bid to identify such Te bisen

Any person in any doubt about the lability of their property should contact Clare County Council at 065 6821616 or nppr@clarecoco.ie.

SHANNON residents will present Clare County Council with a peti- tion against the closure of a number of walkways around Shannon town as aresult of a new housing develop- ment being undertaken by the local authority.

More than 300 local residents have already signed the petition, which will also be accompanied by dozens of individual protest letters against WeToMOCoaVod Coy oyee torn

The local group claims that the fencing could obstruct the emergen- cy services from reaching the area and was erected without any prior notice from the contractors or Clare County Council.

“We were under the impression that this development was not going to go ahead because of the recession but we woke up one day and work had already started. All the fencing went up overnight and the whole area is penned in. It is very restrictive steel fencing and is around the whole development,’ said local resident Nicole Murphy.

“The fact that this fencing was up for a week and a half before we got any official notification about it is very worrying. Are we going to come home some day and find that our water or electricity has also been cut off without any notice?”

The petition is the result of a mass meeting which was held in the area last Tuesday. Another meeting will take place this weekend to decide the next step in the local groups opposi- tion to the development.

According to the group, the devel- opment will remove one of Shan- non’s few remaining green areas. In addition, they claim that a fully serv- iced site located nearby by would be cheaper and less disruptive for the lo- oF NMe- Luin eLoywinanKomeloa(od le) 0p

The group has also expressed its disappointment with some of their local politicians, who they feel went back on their word by failing to op- pose the development at the planning SR eLon

“This 1s one of the last green areas in all of Shannon and they want to

build all of these houses on it – right on our doorstep,’ continued Ms Mur- phy.

“We were told by some of our local election candidates that they would stand by us on this issue and they haven’t done that. I won’t say who I am talking about but the people know themselves.”

CRIPPLING local authority rates emerged as a key issue causing se- vere hardship for hoteliers at a recent crisis meeting held by the Irish Ho- tels Federation (IHF).

Clare members expressed outrage at the exorbitant rates imposed and de- manded that, due to their inability to pay in the current climate, an emer- gency provision should be brought in to immediately reduce rates by 30 per cent for hotels and guesthouses. This would be in line with the recent result of the revaluation of hotels and guesthouses in the South Dublin

County Council area completed by the Valuation Office.

Hoteliers condemned as outrageous and extortionate the levels of local authority rates paid by hotels. The IHF bases the call for a rates reduc- tion on the fact that the revaluation carried out by the Valuation Office of all commercial premises in the South Dublin County area resulted in a re- duction of approximately 30 per cent in the local authority rates liability of hotels and guesthouse.

Therefore, it maintains that this level of reduction should be applied across all local authority areas until the revaluation process is completed

in each local authority area through- out the country.

According to Michael Vaughan, Chairman, Shannon Branch of the IHF, hotels and guesthouses are dis- proportionately subsidising the rates liability of other business premises. He states that hotels and guesthouses are being penalised by an antiquated taxation system of commercial rates that sees local authorities extract taxes relative to the size of premises without any recourse to the level of turnover or overheads of the business.

“Our members have been paying rate increases year on year without recourse to independent assessments. We have been asking too long for this issue to be addressed, and it hasn’t been addressed. Excessive local au- thority rates are having a devastating effect on hotels which are already struggling to deal with decimated revenues and cost bases that have not yet adjusted to the changed economic reality on the ground.

“Our members are willing to pay a fair and equitable level but simply can no longer bear the current rates that are imposed in this unprecedent- ed environment when a revaluation process should be completed,” says Mr Vaughan.

“We are calling for the introduction emergency provisions to allow for a 30 per cent reduction in local au- thority rates applicable to hotels and guesthouses until such time as these properties have been revalued as pro- vided for in the Valuation Act 2001 Act. Only one local authority area in the entire country has completed this process in seven years — we can no longer wait for the Valuation Office to complete this countrywide proc- ess given the dire circumstances our members are facing.”

Among the other issues discussed at yesterday’s meeting were a need to manage the substantial excess capac- ity that exist in the sector; distortion of the market with unfair competition as aresult of hotels under the control of the banks operating at below cost prices; severe difficulties faced by hotels and guesthouses in obtain ad- equate bank credit to survive through the recession.

They also discussed a need for the cost base of hotels to adjust to the worsened market conditions; exces- sive public sector charges to which hotels are subjected; potential for NAMA operations to introduce mar- ket distortions and unfair competi- none

Clare hotel sector reaches crisis point

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