Month: July 2007

YOUNG people from Every Moment Counts (EMC) Youth Group in Scar- riff and the Killaloe/Ballina Youth Initiative put their heads together at the weekend to raise some much needed funds to meet the transport costs of their youth groups.

Last year the transport costs for EMC Youth Group were a massive € 2,600, which they met by constant JaUUeTebR-BEcyDEnoe

The youngsters, parents and vol- unteers came together on Saturday

to push a purpose built bed from Youthreach in Scariff the 11 miles to the Family Resource Centre in Kul- laloe.

“In Scariff we have developed very strong cross county links with Coun- ty Kilkenny and County Laois and we have developed and run projects between us but we are finding it very difficult to cover transport costs to maintain these links,” said Tracey Doyle, EMC youth leader.

“We asked people to please be generous to this worthy cause.” The ‘bed’ was made by two Scariff men

who scoured the area for recycled stuff for the project.

“Little wheels would never have lasted the pace, so they went looking for bicycle wheels,” said Tracy.

Part of the high cost of transport 1s having to hire a bus and although the local bus hire company gives EMC a very good rate, Tracy said “there is still money being paid out.”

“What we were hoping was that if there is any politician out there that used a minibus when campaigning for the elections that would like to donate it to us we would be thrilled

to take it off their hands. Or indeed anyone who has a bus that would be willing to part with it – you never know. Other community groups could use it as well and we could maybe split the cost of insurance,’ said Tracey.

Once they have recovered from the exertions of the bed push, EMC members are planning another ses- sion of workshops, following on the recent successful “Drums not Drugs’, sessions and they are plan- ning a musical show which they hope to take on the road.

WIMBLEDON may be done and dusted this year but tennis is playing centre stage in Killaloe with the ad- dition of a fourth court to an already impressive set up at the New Street venue.

The Killaloe/Ballina Tennis Club was founded in 1984 and has been at the current site since 1988. The tennis club is popular not only in the

Killaloe/Ballina area but also the surrounding parish with members coming from Parteen, Portroe, Scar- iff and Tuamgraney.

There are 150 family memberships along with 30 adult single member- Jabh eke

According to vice chairman of the club Pat Grace the development of the new court is much needed in the area.

‘The main reason behind the new

court is to help clear the backlog of 40 people waiting to join. You don’t want to stop people from joining but unfortunatly that has been the case.”

The court will be 60 x 120 ft in size and will have the same all-weather sandbased surface as its three sister courts. The development is expected to be ready by the end of Septem- ber and will cost €85,000, thirty of which is to be funded by the Nation- al Lottery.

Now the club is watching out for a young Roger Federer or Venus Williams waiting to burst onto the scene? The facilities are open to the schools of the area are according to Pat Grace are “being put to good use by the convent girls school, which 1s great to see’. On the club front the juniors are performing very well with a representative in almost all of the finals of a recent tournament which was held in Nenagh.

and who suffered the gruesome fate of

being hanged drawn and quartered for his patriotism.

“My father was William Wallace from Edinburgh,” he pointed out.

He was brought up within hailing distance of White Hart Lane the home ground of Tottenham, Hotspur Football Club. “I’m a lifelong Spurs fan,” he said.

He has had paintings exhibited in the Hunt Museum in Limerick and local venues in south east Clare.

“IT also had paintings on show in Philadelphia in the US when I worked there,’ he said.

He won a free scholarship to the Hornsey School of Arts and Crafts in London when he was 12 years of age eventhough the exam was for 15 year-olds. “I was the only child of that age to ever achieve that at the time,” he said.

He pointed out that there are peo- ple who like to have their portraits hanging on the wall and others get paintings done as presents for rela- LU Aorcer-HOLe BU Lo AXC Ke

‘They can also be very acceptable wedding presents for young couples to adorn their new house with a sce- nic view or even a Surprise portrait of themselves which they didn’t know was being painted for them.

“Portraits are also very acceptable to give to people on their retirement. I was commissioned to do a portrait of a Roadstone employee in Bunratty to be presented to him on his retire- ment. They gave me a photograph of him in his work gear complete with helmet. It turned out very well,’ he ene

Among the scenic views he was requested to paint again from pho-

tographs were The Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, King John’s Castle and Sarsfield Bridge in Limerick.

“T also do dogs in pastel and horses in oils and of course your favourite cat.”

John worked with money during his working life – not his own money but making it.

He was employed with the Royal Mint in London for 21 years and had Stints in countries such as the US, Japan, Argentina, Canada and Indo- nesia as a sales director in the same business.

So if you want to be hung over the fireplace or for that matter hang your dog, cat or horse or your favourite view, artist John can be contacted at 061-340592.

WHILE pop and rock music enthu- siasts may be looking forward to the three day September music fes- tival in Kilkee, opera enthusiasts are also being catered for at the seaside Keer

Opera by the Sea will take place this Saturday, August 4, in Kilkee Parish Church.

Presented by Kilkee Civic Trust in association with Opera Works, this cultural event promises to be an evening of the world’s most popular arias.

Those attending can expect duets

and ensembles from La Travietta, Carmen, The Magic Flute, La Bo- hme and many more operatic favour- ites.

Kilrush woman Edel O’Brien will make a welcome return to west Clare as part of the talented line up of art- ists performing.

Edel graduated with an honour masters degree in music and per- formance from NUI Maynooth. At the age of 19, she won the Mar- garet Burke-Sheridan Cup at the Dublin Féis Cheol. In London, she was awarded a scholarship to study singing at Trinity College of Music Where she won ‘distinction’ in her

postgraduate diploma in vocal stud- ies. In addition, she won the Vocal Faculty Award and the College Gold Medal.

In 2002 Edel was one of seven singers out of 200 applicants world- wide to be accepted onto the Young Artists’ Programme at the Centre de Formation Lyrique at the Opera Bastille, Opera National de Paris.

While there, she won the Prix Lyr- ique, which is awarded, annually to one male and one female singer at the CFL.

Edel has much experience in opera, oratorio and recital, having worked around Ireland, Britain and France.

Her future plans include the mezzo- soprano solo in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the National Symphony Or- chestra at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, and Maurya in Vaughan- Williams’ Riders to the Sea in Dub- lin’s Anna Livia Festival.

Joining Edel on the night will be Sandra Oman, soprano; Edel O’Brien, mezzo, Niall Morris, tenor; Martin Higgins, baritone and Maire- ad Hurley, piano.

Tickets on the night are €20 and are available from John William chemist, Nolan’s delicatessen or at id etomeColeye

THE upcoming August bank holiday weekend is renowned for its festivi- ties and fun in west Clare.

The two west Clare villages of Kilmihil and Kildysart are already putting the last minute preparations together for two of the most popular festivals of the summer.

In Kildysart, as always all proceeds will go towards the playground. Af- ter five years of fundraising the play- ground was opened this year but the committee say that there is still a lot

more work to do.

Funds raised this year will go to- wards landscaping the play area, a perimeter fence for the safety of the children and a car park to make the playground accessible to all.

The newly opened playground is already attracting families from all over west Clare.

Plans are also in place to add an all- weather pitch to the grounds, dress- ing rooms and toilet facilities.

Meanwhile in Kilmihil the Festival of Fun will begin on Saturday and run until the Monday.

In its seventh year it promises to be bigger and better than ever.

Among the highlights on Saturday are the set-dancing workshop in the community centre; the soccer tour- nament for over 16’s; the treasure hunts; the Under-12 football blitz and open-air Irish music and danc- ing on the street from 8.30pm with the Four Courts Céili Band.

Sunday it’s down to Knockalough Lake for an afternoon of events in- cluding the ever popular raft racing; the Knockalough knockout and a new bath racing event for the Tommy

Murray Memorial Trophy. Sunday evening it’s the now legendary Bon- ham racing at 8.30pm in the GAA field followed by a spectacular fire- works display.

The festival concludes on Monday with a parade at lpm and a monster field day, which includes the fifth An- nual Vintage Rally. New this year is the Clare Craft Fair in the commu- nity centre from 12pm-6pm.

EXACTLY 160 years after he ar- rived in Kilrush dedicating his life to saving the poor of west Clare, Cap- tain Arthur Edward Kennedy was honoured by the local people.

At a ceremony on Sunday a bust of the late poor law inspector was un- veiled in the Vandeleur Garden, the home place of the family believed to have him removed from the town in Keel 0p

Fr John O’Shea donated the bust to Kilrush Town Council from Western aUUee tere

Captain Kennedy is regarded as a hero of the famine years in Kilrush.

Born in Down in 1809 he studied at Trinity College, Dublin, and after- wards, his military career saw him posted to Corfu and Canada as a

captain in the 68th Regiment. He re- turned to Ireland and took up an ap- pointment with the Poor Law Com- mission, arriving in Kilrush in 1847.

When he arrived in the west Clare capital he was made aware of 6,000 notices to quit served and is quoted as saying the “whole district seemed swept of food” and he believed “a third of the population would be without food at Christmas, two thirds starving before February and by May 1848, there would be a total starvation.”

His first task was to deal with the overcrowding in the workhouse. There was room for 800 inmates in the workhouse but demand had swelled as evictions continued dur- ing the summer and autumn of 1847.

By November, 1,100 people were inmates at the workhouse, many of

these weakened by disease. Kennedy set about providing additional houses to deal with the influx and for a fin- ish he had opened six extra units.

Paying tribute to the local hero mayor of Kilrush Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind) said, “Kennedy was a profes- sional, a government official carry- ing out his instruction to the letter of the law. But he did not conform to the non-caring officialdom of the era. He was deeply upset by the events he witnessed every day, and he involved himself in all aspects of the fight to combat the hunger, disease, and (CFA Mm A ercLemWe: om ec Dee lor-UiLMmOLONM ENTS NA le eVee bss one

“Kennedy loathed the landlords in the area, and made some power- ful enemies, most notably Colonel Crofton Moore Vandeleur. He was involved in an incident with Vande-

leur in which he challenged him to duel.”

It is thought that Kennedy’s ene- mies in Kilrush may have influences his transfer from Kilrush to Kilken- ny in September 1850.

In a last gesture of humanitarian- ism he and his family donated clothes and other items to the local clergy for distribution to the poor.

After he left Kilrush, he had a long and international diplomatic career serving as governor of Gambia, Si- erra Leone, Western Australia, Van- couver Island, West Africa and Hong Kong. Kennedy returned to Aus- tralia in 1877 as governor of Queens- land. He never forgot his time in west Clare and is known to have sent money from Western Australia to Fr Moran CC for the poor of Kilrush in Keeley

ENNIS based estate agency O’ Do- lan & Partners is lending its support to anew campaign for better services for children with Down’s syndrome. The firm, which has offices in Gal- way and Ennis, has joined the Mak- ing Galway Proud Initiative’s 2007 campaign for speech and occupa- tional therapy for Voices For Galway (Down Syndrome Galway Branch). O’Dolan & Partners will host a fund-

raising walk and swim called *Cario- sa’s Walk and Swim’, in an effort to raise awareness and much needed funds to help shorten the four and a half year waiting list for speech and occupational therapy in Galway. Cariosa Williams, who gives her name to this fundraising event, is a four month-old girl with Down’s Syndrome. O’Dolan & Partners in- spired by the little girl and her family are also using this walk to celebrate Cariosa. As Barry Kelly of O’ Dolan

& Partners explained “for the past four years O’ Dolan & Partners have watched the great work that Making Galway Proud has done for the local community. The concept for the in1- tiative is quite unique in that it con- centrates on low profile causes each year in Galway, and yet again they have chosen a cause that has other- wise been totally ignored. We are delighted to be able to do something for speech and occupational therapy in Galway.” Voices For Galway is

an inspirational group of parents who have come together to do some- thing themselves about the wait- ing list for speech and occupational therapy. The Making Galway Proud Initiative, now in its fourth year, is currently preparing for the Making Galway Proud Ball, which will take place on Saturday, October 6. To reg- ister for Cariosa’s Walk or for further information, contact O’Dolan and Partners in Ennis on 065 6864957 or Galway 091 865000.

THE first phase of the recently launched ‘Ennis Environmental Challenge’got underway at the week- end, when residents’ associations in the town took part in clean up days organised by Ennis Town Council. One of the main objectives of the Challenge is to generate a commu- nity wide responsibility and owner- ship for the appearance and tidiness of Ennis by raising awareness of the negative impact of litter.

Cllr. Tommy Brennan, Mayor of Ennis said, “Ennis Environmental Challenge is an opportunity to pro- mote the attractiveness of Ennis as a place to live, work, visit and invest. The initiative taken by the Coun- cil is more than an environmental campaign. With the co-operation of the entire community the image and profile of Ennis can be enhanced lo- cally, nationally and internationally.” Eddie Power, Acting Director of Services said, “Particular attention has been focused on Abbey Street, O’Connell Street, O’Connell Square, High Street and Parnell Street. The Council Litter Wardens have been patrolling these areas and commu- nicating the litter awareness message to the general public. Enforcement of the Litter Pollution laws is ongo- ing through the issue of on the spot JUDE

He added, “Council staff have been deployed to these town centre streets and have had a visible presence in re- cent weeks. The business premises in this core area of the town are pro- moting this environmental initiative by displaying the Ennis Environ-

mental Challenge logo and slogan – Your Town, Your Environment, Your Responsibility.

Street surveys undertaken indicate that cigarette ends continue to be a matter for attention.

The Council has acquired a vacuum/ blower that facilitates the removal of cigarette ends and small pieces of lit- ter. However, the challenge remains for the public to act responsibly in the disposal of such litter and this is particularly important in the run up to the adjudication of the National

Tidy Towns Competition 2007”.

The ‘Ennis Environmental Chal- lenge’ will feature a range of waste prevention initiatives including the introduction of litter free zones, the employment of extra resources and the use of mobile CCTV cameras in designated areas, such as housing es- tates and public areas, as an enforce- ment measure to combat littering and indiscriminate dumping.

Other measures being introduced by Ennis Town Council include the operation of a revised cleaning

schedule, the provision of colourful floral displays and hanging baskets throughout the town, hosting of an awareness campaign in national and secondary schools, and the produc- tion of a promotional/educational video on the ‘Ennis Environmental Challenge’.

Members of the public are also re- minded that Minister for the Envi- ronment and Local Government, Mr. John Gormley, has just announced an increase in litter fines from €125.00 to €150.00.

AMBITIOUS plans to demolish a number of buildings and construct a three-storey commercial develop- ment in Ennis’s Market Place area have come under fire.

Ennis Town Council is due to make a decision next month on the plan by Atlantic Enterprises for the develop- ment at the junction of Market Place and Garraunakilla Lane.

The development comprises a res- taurant on three floors. However, in a strident objection against the pro- posal, local resident, Pauline Killeen states, “The proposal to provide what is in effect a four-storey tower build- ing on a very prominent corner site

and gateway to Ennis town centre 1s not in keeping with the general scale of buildings in the area.

“In both design, scale and material, the design is inappropriate for any part of the Ennis town architectural conservation area and to allow these unique buildings, streetscapes and the late mediaeval townscape to be dominated by concrete tower blocks would serve to detract from the vis- ual amenity and architectural integ- rity of the old town of Ennis.

“I believe that this overbearing development has the potential to do irreparable damage to a very attrac- tive county town, which has evolved in a pleasing manner over eight cen- aU lohe

“The height and scale of the pro- posed development would dominate this part of the townscape for genera- tions into the future.

‘The area around the proposed de- velopment is characterised by two- storey developments of modest scale of residential and mixed-use devel- opment.

“While I accept that it 1s often nec- essary for developers to maximise property they buy to make them via- ble in economic and planning terms, such developments should take due cognizance of the character and in- tegrity of the surrounding building with a relationship between the old ZN ICOM O olom eLoaWas KOU nNts1em

“While allowing for variety, the

development should complement the original surrounding in terms of scale, detail and materials. this pro- posal fails to do this…

“I consider that the applicant has missed the opportunity to create a new building of high quality on the site, whether of contemporary design or otherwise.

“The result is both inappropriate and unacceptable. While the redevel- opment of the site will contribute sig- nificantly to its urban setting, and is being actively sought by the council, I do not consider that this should be at the expense of the visual environ- ment and residential amenities of the area and of future occupants of the development.”

A REVIVAL in the property market to safeguard the jobs of thousands of Clare construction workers after the annual “builders holiday” looks unlikely this week following spec- tacular losses on the Irish stock ex- oh atebetexen

In the last seven days, €8 billion has been wiped off the ISEQ index of Irish shares, with companies en- gaged in the housing market, such as banks and major contractors, the worst hit.

McInerney Construction, which was founded in Clare more that 100

years ago, has lost more than 20 per cent of its share value in the last seven weeks while Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland have lost 19 per cent and 14 per cent respectively in the same period.

Last Thursday, 24 hours before the start of the annual builders’ holiday, was the worst single-day loss in the Irish stock market since America in- vaded Irag in March of 2003.

“Obviously, it would be a concern. The people in the industry such as the banks and the big construction firms have been hit the hardest,’ said a Limerick-based stockbroker. ‘There is a lot happening on a global

scale that is having an effect but the housing market is having an impact.

‘People have been selling out their interests because they think the Celt- ic Tiger is finished. There is a lot of nervousness out there.”

Industry insiders have predicted 35,000 job losses in the construction industry this year, with as many as 3,000 in Clare alone.

“I know that people are being laid off right across the sector. We will have no idea exactly how many have been let go until the end of the build- ers’ holiday on Monday, August 13,” said Paddy Kenneally, President of the Clare Plasterers Union.

‘When they are let go, builders will try and get work from other compa- nies but everyone is in the same boat. It’s inevitable that a lot of jobs will be lost.

“All you have to do is look at the towns around the county. There was building going on everywhere this time last year but now there is noth- ing.

“Builders are not due any redun- dancy unless they have been with a company for seven or eight years. It’s the nature of the business that work- ers move around all the time so most will only be getting two weeks of holiday pay.”