The Clare People Archive

published an interview with jockey Stuart Webster in which he claimed that Fallon had assaulted him in the weighing room after a controversial race in Beverely ten years previ- ert

Fallon had been suspended for six months after an altercation with Webster on 14 September, 1994, at the conclusion of the John Mangles Memorial Handicap. In his clash with Webster after the finishing line Fallon pulled Webster from his mount Sailormate.

However, Fallon claimed that in an incident which occurred between the two in the weighing room, he was acting in self-defence. Two years af- ter Webster’s interview 1n the

THURSDAY night’s racing at Gal- way Greyhound Stadium featured the four opening round heats of the Killanena Hurling Club A4 525.

The second heat looked a competi- tive affair and so it proved as the red jacketed Cloone Star led on the in- side approaching the opening bend from Nationwide Jack (T3) with Rathmeehan Jimmy (T6) in the °’cat bird’’ seat entering the back straight.

Passing halfway Cloone Star still held the call but the John Browne of Ballyea owned Rathmeehan Jimmy was now looming large on the out-

side and the son of Top Savings hit the front turning for home on his way to a two length defeat of Cloone Star haere

The top graded contest of the night was the A3 seventh contest in which the reserve Jamella Storm was very smartly away into stride and Sean Hehir of Miltown Malbay owned runner led by two lengths from Men- lo Classic (T4) rounding the opening corner where there was some bunch- ing behind.

Racing down the back Jamella Storm (Jameela Prince-Coraveen Lady) went three lengths clear of Green Lane Tops (T6) and although

he briefly looked in trouble at the third bend, Jamella Storm stayed on well to win by 3&1/4 lengths in pa Pelee

In the A5 graded sixth contest there was plenty of trouble at the opening bend which resulted in the red jack- eted Classical Moment emerging in front turning down the far side. Passing halfway the trap five runner Quilty Class joined issue with Classi- cal Moment but the Frank Browne of Quin owned son of Honcho Classic and Belindas Hill was back in com- mand turning for home as she stayed on to win in 29.75.

The two semi-finals of the Galway

Ladies Football Al were the twin highlights of Saturday night’s ten race card.

In the opening contest victory went to the Michael Downes of Kil- laloe trained Carhugar Bobsie for the Clare Connection Syndicate in Pty

The eighth was an A2 graded 525 and here the Pat Hogan of Ennis owned Seamus Fahy trained Aulton George (Droopys Scholes-Dalcash Dive) led his rivals a merry dance as he made all for a three and a quarter length success in 29.07.

In the A3 graded seventh the Mrs Monica Callinan of Kilmihil owned

Shyan Annie came home to vic- tory by two and a quarter lengths in WIAA

In the A5 graded fifth contest was a procession for Baby Mia owned by Denis Torpey of Clarecastle — win- ning by six and half lengths over Tul- lyglass Model in 29.33.

West Clare Gael, owned by Fiona and Kevin Troy of Kilkee was the winner in the S4 graded sprint over 350 yards in 19.23.

There was also success for the Mar- tin and Loretto Sexton from Miltown Malbay as their runner Jacksies High won the A& graded 525 yard contest by four lengths in 29.87.

OVER 50 events are scheduled to take place around Clare as part of Heritage Week, which takes place from August 24 to 31.

The programme will include a range of talks, field trips and exhibi- tions aimed at encouraging people to take an interest in their local herit- age.

Mayor of Clare Madeleine Taylor- Quinn said that while enjoyment is

essential to the activities of the week it was also reassuring to see the em- phasis on learning that is at the core of Clare Heritage Week.

She paid tribute to the many indi- viduals and community organisa- tions who have decided to partici- pate in and contribute to the week’s activities.

“The council and organisers of the various events are to be commended for encouraging a greater sense of ownership of and respect for Clare’s

unique heritage. Heritage Week has proven to be a wonderful vehicle for raising awareness of the role we all play in conserving and protecting our heritage for future generations,” she said.

Heritage Project Co-ordinator To- mas MacConmara said the event invariably sees an increased engage- ment between the people of Clare and the heritage of their county.

“The strengthening of this connec- tion is imperative to the future health

of our cultural, built and natural her- itage. If it does nothing more, herit- age week performs a very important function in encouraging this relation- ship,’ he added.

This year’s events vary from late night bat walks, a tour of Doolin’s high cliffs and deep caves; a talk on loss of arctic char and changes 1n fish communities in Lickeen Lough; a discussion on the cultural heritage of Miltown Malbay and learning more about Clare’s heritage through the numerous guided walks and lectures taking place around the country and in museums and libraries.

The Clare Biodiversity Group 1s also hosting a series of educational walks outdoors for both adults and ivi elnonmcenony ene

Clare Biodiversity Officer Brigid Barry said that in order to facilitate the needs of families it was decided to hold Heritage Week at the end of August so that parents can participate in the various events with their chil- dren before they return to school.

Heritage week is part of European Heritage Days, a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union. Locally the event is co-ordi- nated by Clare County Council and the Heritage Council with support from the Department of the Environ- ment, Heritage and Local Govern- ment.

VISITOR attractions at Craggauno- wen and Knappogue Castle are to close early this year, with Shannon Heritage pointing to falling tourist numbers and an early start to the sea- son as the reasons for the decision.

Staff at both attractions have been told that they will shut up shop for winter on September 2 this year. Both would normally stay open to daytime visitors until the end of September and some years, until the middle of October.

While many of the staff who work

the summer season at the various attractions are students who would leave to go back to college in Sep- tember, a small number of the sea- sonal staff could normally hope to be employed until October and some would transfer to Bunratty Folk Park and continue into December.

Shannon Heritage Chief Executive Officer, John Ruddle confirmed that the two facilities are closing early. He said that it has “been a difficult season. Tourism numbers are down across the board.

“We have had a drop of eight per cent this year and while that doesn’t

sound like a lot, that’s quite a lot of people in our terms. I would also say that I would hope this is a once-off and that next year will be much bet- ter,’ said Ruddle.

He added that another factor in the decision was that the facilities had opened three weeks early this year to accommodate an early Easter.

Shannon Heritage had been ex- panding it’s programmes this sum- mer, staging Living History events in conjunction with a Clare re-enact- ment group and working on the fa- cilities at the visitor park.

The hugely popular Shannon Herit-

age banquets at Bunratty, Dunguaire and Knappogue are normally booked out throughout the busy summer sea- roe

But this year, the medieval feast- ings, along with other attractions including Bunratty Folk Park, the Irish nights and King John’s Castle, are also down in visitor numbers by eight per cent.

The Shannon Heritage concerns are not the only ones feeling the pinch. According to Barbara Faulkner, of the award-winning Ailwee Caves project, they are down at least one in ten visitors this year.

THE reinstitution of the Western Rail Corridor has moved a step closer with the granting of planning permission for the redevelopment of Gort train station last week.

The corridor, which is currently on schedule to connect Ennis to Galway by early next year, had faced long de- lays if planning permission had not been granted for the Gort railway station.

The old Gort station, which is a listed building, will now be com- pletely overhauled and transformed into one of the largest stations on the

proposed rail corridor.

Galway County Council last week granted permission for Iarnrod Eire- ann to construct two new 90 metre platforms, an 80-bay car park, a pe- destrian bridge, a platform and bicy- cle shelters.

Earlier this year, the rail com- pany got permission to upgrade Craughwell and Ardrahan railway Stations.

Meanwhile, the campaign to secure a rail stop at Crusheen on the West- ern Rail Corridor continued this week with the instigation of a major postcard writing campaign to politi- EE

Hundreds of postcards featuring an image of the old Crusheen rail station have been sent to politicians over the last week.

“The campaign is continuing and we are making progress but it is slow going. We are in contact with larn- rod Eireann on an ongoing basis and we are very hopeful that this situa- tion will be resolved but it will take a concerted effort from all concerned,” said Mike O’Doherty of Crusheen Development.

“We are still very hopeful that a station can be up and running in Crusheen before the rail corridor 1s introduced. We are not going to put

a time limit on the process but we would like to see it happening sooner rather than later.

“It is definitely still possible for us to get this station up and going. We have already received the support of a number of people including Minis- ter Eamon O Cuiv.”

Mr O’Doherty also confirmed that Crusheen Development were cur- rently waiting for a response on a number of new proposals from Iarn- rod Eireann.

He also confirmed that that organi- sation would stage another public meeting before the end of August to discuss the way forward.

IF YOU are a shower-time singer or a office canteen comedian, the time has come to hang up that hairbrush microphone and get your hands on detom usted maenbetce

After organising a number of suc- cessful gigs earlier this year, the Shannon Gigs Club has decided to turn it’s attention to giving amateur local artists their big break.

At present the club is organising a Open Mic nights due to take place in the next couple of weeks.

The night has been organised to give locals artists a forum to play and per- form, and offer first time performers the chance to try their luck 1n front of a small and friendly crowd.

“What we really want to get off the eround is create a forum for local people to get up in front of a stage and give it a go,’ said event organiser Frank Sadlier.

“We are looking for all kinds of entertainers; people who can sing, musicians, comedians, anyone who would like to have a go at entertain- ing a crowd in any way.

“We are going to host them in the Back Bar of the Old Lodge Hotel which will be a nice location for any- one looking to get up on stage in front of an audience for the first time. It’s a nice cozy venue, not too small and not so big that it would make anyone who wants to perform too nervous.

“We’d like to see 1t become a very relaxed event, where people can bring a few friends along to cheer them- selves on and have a good night.”

Anyone interested in taking part should check out www.shannongigs. com for more information.

The Shannon Gigs Club would like to speak to all interested performers before the event and people will not be allowed to perform on the night without first registering.

“What we really want in a non- competitive outlet for local talent. But who knows, maybe someone who plays at the gig might get popu- lar with the locals and go on from there. Anything could happen,’ con- tinued Frank.

“We will be back to gigs later in the Autumn but for now we will be doing the Open Mic and see how it goes.”

NEW JOBS are on the way for Shannon in a welcome good news announcement from a Smithstown even er DENA

Bolgers, a leading supplier of fabri- cated products from has completed a €4.5 million expansion and plans to increase it’s workforce by 25 per cent by the end of 2009.

The firm recently completed the building and commissioning of a second production facility at their base in Smithstown. Capital expend- iture on the investment was €4 mil-

lion which has brought total invest- ment on their Shannon site to €10 million.

Currently, Bolgers employ 75 peo- ple. It is forecasted that this will increase to 85 people by the end of this year and to 100 by the close of paulo?

The firm contributes in excess of €2.5 million per annum to the local economy.

Jan Bolger, the firm’s joint manag- ing director, said the move will allow them to launch a range of new serv- ices, including laser-profiling.

“Our success is a result of anticipat-

ing and responding to our customers’ needs and keeping our organisational capability aligned with the market.”, he said.

Bolgers have a turnover of €10 mil- lion, with approximately 87 per cent made up of export sales. This is up from 60 per cent in 2006. In the last two years, the acclaimed fabrication company has more than doubled in size. At present, they are experienc- ing strong growth in export markets, particularly Northern Ireland and the 1S

In March this year, Bolgers became the first European fabrication com-

pany to receive Silver Certificate for Caterpillar’s Supplier Quality Excel- lence Process (SQEP).

Caterpillar introduced this stand- ard in response to rising warranty costs. As a result, the company in- troduced the SQEP standard for all international suppliers.

Currently, Bolgers is the only Eu- ropean fabrication supplier to be recognised by Caterpillar with its ‘silver’ level certification.

“This 1s a tremendous achievement due to the hard selection criteria in place”, a spokesman for the company said.

that this was the fifth time the sewers in his six-year-old house have been blocked due to rainfall since he moved in there years ago.

On Wednesday last water in the sewers close to his home reached the top, so he was unable to flush his to1- oi

“With all the rain I thought this might happen so I flushed one of the toilets and the water came up to meet me, it had no where to go.”

Two days later just one of the three toilets in the house could be used and then not very often, according to Pe- om

During the torrential rain he had five adult guests from France and two children staying at his home.

“It was very hard to have to tell them that they could not flush the toilets or that they should go to the pub,” he said.

The washing machine and dish- washer were also out of bounds.

Peter said the direct translation of the name of the estate is brown mash and he believed he would be living in

just that if the flooding continued.

Shannon County Councillor Ger- ry Flynn (Ind) believes not just the heavy rainfall caused the flooding in Shannon but an infrastructure defi- ole

“Thousands of homes were built and the people that bought them now can’t flush their toilets. “The writ- ing has been on the wall for years. We knew if we had major floods we were in trouble. The drainage system just cannot cope,’ he added. “If it is a thing that we cannot sustain a few hours of torrential rain without all this damage it is terrible,” he said.

He said that a council policy of in- sisting that houses are built below road level was further exasperating the problem.

Meanwhile a Clare County Coun- cil spokesperson said that Shannon coped well compared to other areas in the country hit by similar rainfall in the past week.

As workers travelled home some roads had to be closed and diversions put in place including at Minister’s Cross. “Land adjoining roads was discharging water so quickly that the drains could not cope,” he said.

From 4.45pm on Wednesday two See Seige Seitalmecanee ees e nis and Shannon fire service worked until midnight relieving flooding, putting up signs and distributing sand bags. The council contractors responsible for the pump houses – Response Engineering – worked all yen rea

HEAVY rains resulted in major flooding in Shannon last week and one local sports facility was among the areas heavily affected by the un- seasonal torrential downpour.

When officials from the Newtown soccer club paid a visit to the club’s erounds in Ballycasey, they were surprised but not too shocked at the sight that greeted them.

Four feet of water covered the play- ing surface at Ballycasey turning it from a soccer pitch to a temporary lake. Club chairman Brendan Wall

was among the first to inspect the damage in Thursday morning.

He explained that flooding had been an ongoing issue in the area for some years.

“I knew that after the heavy rain- fall it was probably going to be bad but when I got down to the pitch I was actually surprised at how bad it was. We’ve had flooding here before but never anything as bad as this”.

Wall, Chairman of the Clare Schoolboy Soccer League and a long time member of the Newtown club, said an adjoining stream which runs near the playing pitches, exacerbated

the flooding problem.

“It has happened three times in the past. One of the problems that makes the situation worse is the fact that there is a stream running near the pitch and when that overflows we al- ways have a problem”.

Ballycasey has been the home of Newtown soccer club since 1977 when the club played on land owned by Shannon Development.

21 years later and on the back of a major fundraising campaign, the club moved to its present site in 1998.

Wall, who last night was honored for his lifelong contribution to soc-

cer in Clare said the time has come for Clare County Council to seri- ously address the drainage system in NJetveveleee

“The pumps can’t cope with this amount of rainfall and everyone in Shannon knows this. This problem has been going on for the past few years and its time something was done about it”.

YOUNG FANS of Artemis Fowl turned out in force in Scariff last week to show what they could con- jure with the help of a camera.

The youngsters came to the library with pictures that they had taken to best represent their favourite charac- ters from the series.

The international best-selling se- ries of books by Eoin Colfer, Ar- temis Fowl, inspired Playstation3 to launch a photographic competition for kids and teens in association with

the Library Council of Ireland and Penguin Books.

The initiative was aimed at eight to 16-year-olds who were asked to get their hands on a digital camera and get snapping and bring the seven million selling series of books to life in a photo.

The results were brought to Scar- iff library – as well as other librar- ies across the county – and uploaded by Playstation3 consoles where they have been stored for the judges to see.

The weird and wonderful photo-

eraphic creations ranged from the abstract to the imaginatively staged and proved that the future of creative photography is secure.

Winners will be announced in Sep- tember with one winner being cho- sen from each participating county council. As well as winning a Play- Station3 console, each of the winners will also receive a once in a lifetime prize of a limited edition copy of an Artemis Fowl book with their own winning image on the cover.

“Playstation and Penguin have linked up to promote the games con-

sole as a device with more than a sole function of playing games. It can also be used to watch movies, upload and listen to music, access the in- ternet and upload, store and browse through photographs,’ a spokesman for the competition organisers said.