The Clare People Archive

A MAN who admitted possession of stolen lead has been handed a six- month jail term.

However, he will not serve time if he behaves himself for two years.

Bernie Mongan (19) of Clancy Park, Ennis, pleaded guilty to han- dling stolen property between June 29 and July 2 last.

Garda Michelle Holian told Ennis District Court on Friday that a build- ing site in Ennis was broken into and

lead, valued at €2,000, was taken. Mongan was arrested and ques- tioned at Ennis Garda Station. He admitted being in possession of some of the goods. All of the prop- erty was recovered. Defending so- licitor Daragh Hassett said his client

had purchased the rolls of lead on the side of the road in Ballyalla and told gardai what he had paid for it.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy imposed a six-month jail term, suspended on condition that Mongan be of good behaviour for two years.

A POLISH man who was attacked in a Shovel row in Ennis two months ago was “beaten to an inch of his life’ a court has been told.

Piotr Baran (30) was one of two Polish nationals attacked during a fracas on Parnell Street, in October. He sustained serious head injuries in the incident.

Baran, of no fixed abode, appeared before Ennis District Court on Friday charged with public order offences arising from a different incident.

Defending solicitor Daragh Hassett CP NCGM ODISMOMBLoJ SIMTK UAYcLOMNDOM DRolE-DOLOmCO)n the past two-and-a-half years and has very little English.

He noted that his client has an al- cohol problem but is currently not drinking.

“Up to recently you’d walk down town and he’d be begging. He now has accommodation with a friend and a job in Dublin,” said Mr Has- sett.

The court heard Baran had a number of previous convictions.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy said, “I don’t think probation is appropriate. He’s an alcoholic.”

Mr Hassett replied, “He’s doing something about his drinking. This man was viciously assaulted on the street to an inch of his life two months ago.

“It’s a matter for the DPP. He has given up drink.”

A probation officer told the court that residential treatment was not an option because of the language dif- ECON Lone

Judge McCarthy replied, “Resi- dence in prison 1s an option.”

“T will place him on probation for six months.

“If he starts drinking again, he will be brought back before the court,” he added.

He asked what steps the accused has taken to learn English and was told he has enrolled in English class- oe

THE search is continuing today for a Whitegate man who went missing after a night out with pals in Killa- loe.

James Burke has been missing since Sunday, December 9 when he failed to get into either of two taxis which were taken by the group of friends to get home.

The 23 year-old was last seen walking near the bridge on Sunday evening. Gardai have appealed to people with holiday homes in the Killaloe area to check them in case the missing man may be in one of the elt one

Meanwhile, almost 100 locals have joined the Killaloe coastguard unit, the Irish Coastguard helicopter, the Mountshannon search and rescue unit and gardai in the shore and lake search for the missing man.

It is feared that the Ballinruan man may have slipped into the water as he

headed home from Killaloe.

The alarm was raised when he failed to return home, contact his parents or arrive for work on Mon- day morning.

A spokesperson for the coastguard said the search started in the area around the bridge where he was last seen and spread out along the shore- bb aten

“We are hopeful that he didn’t fall into the river but we have to suspect that he did until we know otherwise. It is possible that he is safe and sound and staying somewhere. If that’s the case then we would appeal to him to make contact and let us know he is all right,” the spokesman said.

The search, which continued through the weekend, had to be called off as darkness fell last night and was resumed at first light today.

Meanwhile, a man who died after falling into the River Fergus last week has been laid to rest.

The body of 21-year-old Dermot

Molloy, was recovered last Wednes- day by divers at a section of the river to the rear of Aldi.

The search was initiated in the early hours of the previous Sunday morn- ing after a body was seen moving in the river behind the Abbey Street car park in the town.

An initial rescue attempt, made shortly after Mr Molloy entered the water, had to be aborted because of the treacherous water conditions at the time.

Ennis gardai co-ordinated the huge search operation, which involved members of the Garda Water Unit, Doolin Coastguard, Ennis Sub Aqua Club, Burren Sub Aqua Club, Kilkee Sub Aqua Club, Clare Civil Defence and the Coastguard helicopter.

A PSYCHIC has been helping gardai with their investigation into the death of a teenager whose remains were re- covered from a lake in east Clare two weeks ago.

Denis McKenzie came within a breath of locating the body of Rich- ard “Happy” Kelly but became con- fused because he did not know the geography of east Clare.

Denis – who lives in Cambridge – has helped police in numerous high profile cases, including the Soham murders and the tracking down of the victims of an American serial enitare

He travelled to Killaloe to help Happy’s family try to locate him, carrying some of his possessions.

“T felt I was close and I saw a wom- an who said she was his grandmoth- er and I got the name Bridget. Mary said his grandmother was named Bridget so I presumed she was giv-

ing her name. And I kept hearing the word ‘dyke’ I believed it was telling me he was in a dyke somewhere in the area. But when he was found, the ‘dyke’ turned out to be Bodyke and Bridget referred to the lake where he was found, not the name,’ said Denis.

Denis said he was also given some significant information which may help the gardai in their investigation and he has passed this on to them.

Last night, Happy’s mother, Mary, said she will “not grieve for my son until the people who did this to him have been brought to justice. I will fight until they are caught and con- victed”’.

The heartbroken Limerick mother said that she is “so thankful to Denis – he has been here so many times and he 1s like one of the family now but he won’t take a penny from us for all he has done. I’m also very grateful to the fishermen who found him – one of them is a friend of the family. With

what they did to my Happy, weigh- ing him down with concrete blocks, he was never meant to be found”. Mary said that she wants to see jus- tice for her son who “never deserved what happened to him”. While he had convictions for taking cars “he never hurt anyone 1n his life’, she told

VOLUNTEERISM within coaching and management structures operated by Bord na nOg Iomaint could be at an end, because key men involved with county teams are being in dan- ger of being enticed “more lucrative” opportunities at club level.

Chairman Sean O’ Halloran praised the outstanding contributions made by those involved with the various underage teams, but warned that it can no longer be expected to give of their time for nothing.

“Development Squads and associ- ated County teams continue to be an integral part of the

Board’s rea ata La Coreae noted O’Halloran in his address to Con- vention. “A huge amount of time and effort 1s put in by the respective men- tors and even though we didn’t have the same success as in 2006, there are reasons for optimism.

“East Clare U-l6s were defeated in the Munster Divisional Final af- ter a replay, while the U-15s won the Shield in the Carrigdoun Tourna- ment. The U-14s didn’t qualify for the knockout states of the Tony For- ristal Tournament. Credit for these squads must go to Gerry O’Connor, Donal Moloney, P. J. Kelliher, Ea- mon Fennessy, Alan Cunningham, Brendan McNamara, Pat ‘Taaffe, Sean Sheehan, Sean Chaplin, Tomas Kelly, Pat McNamara, Donal Mc- Grath and Eoin Ruane.

“It is important to note these men-

tors do this work in a totally voluntary capacity and this has to be acknowl- edged. However, the time has come when these volunteers will have to receive some form of remuneration to cover out of pocket expenses.

“It has become increasingly diffi- cult to acquire the services of those people as many of them have drifted into the club scene which is more lucrative. Surely a percentage of the monies acquired by coaching and games should be specifically directed towards squads,’ added O’ Halloran.

The chairman also highlight- ed the need for further coaching initiatives.’ The whole area of coach- ing needs to be looked as the number of Games Promotion Officer (GPQOs) in the county who, despite doing Tro- jan work, is not sufficient to cover the demands of primary and post prima- ry schools.

‘Furthermore, many clubs could benefit from the services of those GPOs on a temporary basis in con- junction with the own coaching of- ficer to put proper coaching struc- tures in place.

“A clearly defined coaching policy for respective age groups would be of enormous benefit to clubs as it would bring equality and uniformity. The county’s allocation of funding accrued from use of Croke Park by rugby and soccer could be utilised in the whole area of games promotion and development,” he added.

THE keynote address to the Bord na nOg Convention in the Auburn Lodge Hotel on Thursday night by chairman Sean O’Halloran carried with it a veiled attack on high profile county managers who have criticised underage hurling in the county.

And, it could be that Ger Loughnane was the main target in the line of O’Halloran’s fire, given that earlier this year the former Clare manager lowered his blade on underage struc- tures in Clare.

“When you see a coach with an under 14 team and he’s putting fellas over hurdles and he’s running long laps,’ said Loughnane in a broadside before Galway’s All-Ireland qualifier against Clare in Cusack Park.

‘“There’s no staged development here in Clare. When young lads go from under 14, the next thing they’re

doing senior training. Next thing they’re totally pissed off with this kind of stuff.

“IT see a coach in north Clare and I saw a team he’d been coaching for three years and a least half of them were holding the hurley with the wrong hand on top. This is madness. There is no supervision whatsoever so how are you going to have devel- opment,” added Loughnane.

It wasn’t his first time to launch a scathing attack on underage struc- tures in the county, as he famously told The Clare People in 2005 that “they’re running off games. I think it’s absolutely scandalous that an un- der 14 club team beaten in the cham- pionship in May will not be playing again until next year. It’s a complete joke.

“The worst thing is this — the hurl- ing officer, who is elected in Clare, can be totally incompetent and has

been for the past 10 or 15 years and yet this officer is elected year after year just because he wants a position on the executive.” ;

Two years on, the Bord na nOg Con- vention was when Sean O’Halloran hit back. “It is regrettable in the high- est echelons of team management see fit to castigate underage hurling in this county on a regular basis,” he said in his annual report.

‘Their undoubted ability and exper- tise would be much better served by adopting a more proactive approach to the promotion and development of our games at this tender age.

O’ Halloran the evoked an old Irish proverb when saying “Mar a deir- eann an sean-fhocail ‘Is are scath a

ye]

chéile a mhaireann na daoine’.

WITH the older age categories of the Clare Juvenile Handball League now under way, last Thursday evening saw the start of the Under 11 age groups.

In action on the night were three Clooney teams held at the handball complex in Clooney. With action commencing at 6.00pm, Clooney | got off to a flying start when they overcame a very formidable Clooney 3 team on a 55 to 31 score line.

Next saw a real battle between Clooney 2 & 3 respectively with the former coming out on top to claim the win on a 52 to 45 scoreline.

Last but not least, Clooney 1, con- sisting of Fergal & Natasha Cough- lan, Barry Loughnane, Tadgh Shana- han, Emily Moloney and Luke Keane claimed full honours on the night by

claiming victory over Clooney 2 on a 57 to 45 scoreline.

In the under 13 A section, Tulla overcame Kilkishen on a scoreline of 60 to 45, while in the B Category Clooney | were victorious in their two matches, while Tuamgraney de- feated Tulla in their match on a win- ning score of 60 to 40.

Kilkishen 1 came out on top in an all club affair by defeating both Kil- kishen2 and Kilkishen 3 teams. Tua- mgraney also got the better of Kilk- ishen 2 team and ran off winners on a 60 to 19 scoreline.

Finally, but not least there was great news in The Munster Clare Schools Competion which was held at Tulla last Sunday, when Clare retained the A & B titles respectively. This is great news for Juvenile Handball in Clare and proves that handball is still strong at this level.

THE top event at Galway Track on Thursday night was race number ten for A2 graded runners and when the traps rose the trap four runner Every Ones Fancy was first to emerge. As expected he went in search of the rail berth but was held off on the run to the bend by the white jacketed Crag- brien Magic who led by a length from Flintstone Man with Guaire Motion a close third along the rail as they entered the back straight.

Down the back the order remained unchanged until Guaire Motion went for a daring run along the rail at the third bend but he was cut off by Cragbrien Magic forcing home to check and lose valuable ground as

the Martin Cronin/Jack Markham of Ennis owned Cragbrien Magic went clear for a three length success in a time of 29.58

The the Hennellys Bar And Off Li- cence A5 525 First Round Heats were also big on the eleven race card.

The concluding heat developed into a match from halfway with the Claire Donoughue owned Larchill Lite staying on tenaciously to keep out the dogged Millymay by a neck in 30.08.

In race number two the first of the night’s contests over the minimum trip saw the John Clune of Ballan- ruan owned Burren Magic (Micks Magic-Cable Sal) open his account at the first time of asking as he de- feated Attykitt Rainbow (T6) by a

length in 18.18.

The Geraldine Ryan of Kilrush owned Ferryside Miss (Droopys Vieri-Cranky Criss) ran out a deter- mined winner of the fourth contest for A4 graders over the standard 525 yard journey as she held of all chal- lengers to record a half length vic- tory over Clonreddan Lark with the fast finishing Bodyshop Direct just a further length adrift in third place in a time of 29.63.

The third contest for S6 graded sprinters was run in an absolute downpour that seemed to commence in tandem with the traps opening. But it failed to stop the Master Colm/ Oran Fitzgerald of Kilrush owned Ler Thisinthat finally record his maiden success as he defeated the

trap one runner Miss The Story by 1&1/2 lengths in 18.57.

The winner a son of Bucks Honcho and Moveen Dream was winning for the first time in ten attempts and he was away in second place as Miss The Story broke in her usual smart style but the winner readily went past at the opening corner and was always in control from that point to the line.

The concluding sprint of the night was named in honour of Mrs Eileen Gallery who was celebrating her eightieth birthday at the stadium with a wide circle of relatives and friends and the S3 graded contest was a cracker. The Michael Purtill owned Tarbrook Henry showed superb pace to the bend into the teeth of a gale as he came clear to defeat Presixty-

three by 2 lengths in 18.03. The son of Larkhill Jo and Tarbrook Kerry was away smartly and led by two lengths racing to the opening corner and once he grabbed the rail berth as he swung out of the back straight the only question was how far as he gal- loped to success.

The bumper was a graded contest over the 525 yard journey and racing down the back Got Derailed led by a length from Woodgift Supreme as the red jacketed Welton Sue began to close along the inside rail. As the rounded the penultimate corner the Eugene McNamara trained Welton Sue slipped through on the rail and the son of Roanokee and Glassford Dawn went clear for a 4é&1/4 length success over Got Derailed in 30.17.

LAST Sunday saw the Ennis Kick- boxing send its biggest ever contin- gent of fighters to the Irish Kickbox- ing Federation (IKF) tournament in Oranmore in Galway.

This is the most prestigious Junior tournament on the IKF calender and saw over 150 entrants under the age of 16 competing in four different cat- egories decided on the basis of Gen- der Age Height and Weight.

The Ennis Kickboxing Club under Chief Instructor Tony O’Donnell and junior Instructor Sarah Jane Ryan had 10 fighters competing across the 4 categories. These 10 fighters pro- duced an outstanding result of seven overall winners one joint winner and three runners up.

Overall winners for the Ennis club were Nikiata Doherty (7) who fought

in two different categories on the day winning both, Bonny Doherty, To- mas Mulpeter, Dan Sherlock, Darly Sherlock and Dean Cauley.

14 year old Robert Clair from Kil- rush was declared a joint winner and was unlucky not to get the decision of overall winner.

Jennifer Coote, Sean Ryan and Ju- lie Sherlock finished runners up in their respective categories..

This was a fantastic result for the Ennis club and it bodes well for the future of the club with Tony O’Donnell hoping to turn these tal- ented juniors into Senior all Ireland champions as they progress in their martial arts training.

Ennis Kickboxing Club will reopen after Christmas on Monday the 7th of January all are welcome please contact Tony O Donnell with any queries on 087 2796401.

THE Clare County Handball Board appointed a new manager, Matthew McMahon, to the post after their board AGM at the weekend.

At a lively meeting at the Clooney club, the game received a full as- sessment of its development in the county and it was agreed that despite competitive success and high num- bers playing handball, it would take more effort, particularly in terms of finance, to ensure handball had a safe standing in Clare.

Outgoing Chairman John Cawley delivered a detailed address, high- lighting the enormous success of the year just gone and informed the meeting that he was stepping down from the Chair after five years at the to bone

He received great thanks and praise from everyone at all levels of hand- ball in Clare and following his res- ignation, nominations were taken for the vacant position and the only name put forward was that of Matthew Mc-

Mahon from the O’Callaghan’s Mills club.

McMahon was then proposed and seconded as the new Chairman and brings plenty of experience to the position, having been involved in the sport in many areas and successfully helping to secure sponsorship for county players.

The position of secretary was next for discussion and after initailly de- claring his wish to step aside, Tom- my Hegarty of Clarecastle agreed to hold the position for a fourth year.

Willie Roche of Newmarket was then returned unopposed as Treas- urer and also as Munster and Central Council representative. Newmarket’s Mike Kelly stepped down as PRO and Shane Walsh from Tuamgraney was ratified as his successor.

The financial state of the board was one of the major talking points, with concerns raised that handball in Clare is being run on a ‘shoestring budget’ and delegates spoke of the need for serious fundraising in the oy nebeNTSaA orb

A number of delegates also ques- tioned the role of the Clare County GAA Board in this and insisted that the GAA board should take a more active role in providing financial as- sistance.

It was agreed that the handball board would again try to sit down with the new GAA Chairman and full-time secretary when those posi- tions are filled to discuss the matter.

Michael Slattery later addressed the meeting and spoke about the Clare- castle sports complex, informing the meeting that the two alleys in Clare- castle will be closed to handball un- less there is a serious cash injection.

County Juvenile Board was also put in place as a sub-committee of the County Board. Tom Loughnane was elected Chairman of the Juvenile Committee with Fergal Coughlan of Sele a ENO Koel as

Meanwhile, the County Juvenile Leagues are also underway, with huge entry numbers highlighting the current strength of underage hand- ball locally.