Month: August 2007

FADO, fad6 (well last April to be ex- act) two young boys went to school every day to learn all about maths, Irish, history and geography. They would draw pictures and write sto- ries and do their homework, like all good little boys.

SW elossMeyelomee-hasremvaNeuDamsalosbmmcOleuusn| and fifth class teacher Theresa Red- dan told their class about a competi- tion that would see 26 children from across the country make a television programme by telling old legends and illustrating their stories.

From the 32 children in Ms Red-

dan’s classroom ten were chosen for a screen test by Keg Kartoonz, the company that are producing the 26 four minute documentaries for RTE.

Then the two boys, Liam Fahy and Cian O’Mara, were chosen from 1,000 children nationwide to be part of the series.

The talented storytellers had to write a piece of local focloir or a bet- ter-known popular myth and submit it to the company.

Liam wrote the story of Kilanan Lake but it was too long for the four- minute slot so it was back to the drawing board.

With the help of his teacher and his

Mum he researched the local story of “Fireball McNamara” and on Wednesday last his narration of the StOry.

Fireball is somewhat of a local hero in Quin, who fought in Vinegar Hull.

Cian chose a more traditional myth to tell and illustrate – the Children of Lir. At Fenlo Lake on Wednesday he was filmed telling his story.

Both boys from Scoil na Mainist- reach, Quin, have been described as natural seanachi.

“We are very proud of them,’ said their teacher Ms Reddan.

“It was a great opportunity and the children loved it.”

The boys will be going into fifth class in the 175-pupil school in Sep- tember. The school has been grow- ing during the past number of years and will next year expand from a six teacher to a seven-teacher school.

AS SHANNON prepares for a visit from the judges in the national Tidy Town’s competition, the chairperson of the local committee has asked lo- cals to be more vigilant and report people who indiscriminately dump their refuse in the area.

Tess Barry was speaking ahead of the imminent arrival in Shannon of the competition adjudicators.

“We have worked very hard in the town since the Tidy Town’s Commit- tee was established here in 1973 but

there are still people who drive to Shannon just to dump their rubbish in our town.

“T would ask people to try and get the registration of these cars and re- port the matter to the town hall. Only this week, a car drove into the town and dumped three bags of household waster in a grassy area. The young child who saw this reported the inci- dent but unfortunately wasn’t sure of the number of the car but at least she had the sense to try and remember the number.”

Shannon has won several awards in

recent years and Mrs Barry has asked residents and businesses to make a final effort to ensure that their local area 1s litter free.

“We don’t know when the judges will arrive but we want to be ready. We would ask householders and busi- ness people to just check in the area around their homes and premises to ensure that there is no litter.

“We have a terrific committee and core group of people but we could not do the work with the locals. The Town Manager, Ger Dollard has done sterling work in the town

and we are very grateful for that. Of course our mayor of Clare Patricia McCarthy has been hugely proactive in the area of the environment for many years and she deserves great credit for that,” Mrs Barry said. “The opening of our new recycling centre last week is also a huge boost to the town and I would encour- age people to use the facility which is free of charge. With this facility now available to not just the people in Shannon but also the surrounding areas, there 1s no excuse for people to drop rubbish,’ Tess Barry added.

TOUGH yet gentle, the Connemara Pony is one of Ireland’s true native beauties. Originally raised on the barren lands of west Galway, the ponies have managed to maintain a beauty that belies the toughness of their character.

In recent years, interest in these proud animals has grown greatly.

So-much-so in fact that, according to the Connemara Pony Breeders So- ciety, more than €5 million changed hands during the three main pony marts last year.

Ruan’s IJ Shannon has been breed- ing Connemara’s for more than 40 years. Since the arrival of Connie back in 1965, ponies have had an equal footing with music in the Shan- non household.

“We started off with just a few of them and we would sell off the foals. We started to keep a few then as the family got interested in jumping – Sharon, Mary and Gary. They used to have a rosette coming home from every competition,’ said IJ, who now keeps more than six Connemara’s.

“That went on until they were 16 and they weren’t eligible to take part in the shows with ponies after that,

they would have to get into horses. I suppose the music took over after dake

In the 60s and 70s the Connema- ra’s were working animals, but with names like Ruan Rocket, Banjo, Mandy (short for Mandolin) and Ba- Zookee, they quickly became more like members of the family.

“They are so placid, a child can even go up on them without a bridal or a harness of any description. When we got them first they were working horses. One used to do the ploughing and slinging the hay, you could do anything with them,’ continued IJ.

‘The first pony we had was Connie, she was with us for 20 years. All of the ponies out there are descendants of Connie.

“TI spend a lot of time out there with them. Any spare time I get I would be talking to them. They talk back, try to talk anyway with some kind of language anyway. They get to be like part of the family. The minute I go out in the morning, if I even cough, they’ll all answer.

“There would be more stone in Connemara than there would but here but they are tough enough ani- mals. They are very easily kept in comparison to the other horses. You could take them anywhere and they would thrive.”

The 83rd Connemara Pony Show takes place at the Showgrounds in Clifden from August 13 to 17.

IT was a bright February morning when we left Ennistymon and set out on the road less travelled. It’s a little daunting to leave the certainty of the yearly cycle at school and the secu- rity of family and friends behind but the adventure of life drew us towards Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).

With the process of selection, train- ing and preparation completed we were posted here on Pemba Island, Tanzania where we have a one year contract teaching at a primary teach- er training college where there are about 280 students and 12 staff.

The holiday brochures recommend Zanzibar as the perfect destination for honeymooners with its long white beaches and coral reefs. Its neighbour Pemba, on the other hand, is very re- mote, poor and underdeveloped.

The island is 40 miles long and about 12 miles wide with one main road through the centre which is serviced by cheap local buses called KORE er Nebo

Unfortunately, the island is sur- rounded by mangrove swamps so the beaches are few and difficult to ac- cess. Weekends lying out in the sun

are not an option.

The greatest challenge we face here is that 99.5 per cent of the people are strict Muslims, with religion play- ing a central part in their lives and the daily routine revolves around the calls to prayer.

The people of Wete, the town where we work, have really opened

their hearts to us although they found it difficult to accept a woman riding a bicycle.

There is only one other ‘msungu’ living in the area so everyone knows us and small children cry at the sight of our white skin and ‘funny’ hair.

The most striking feature of life here is the sheer poverty of the peo-

ple, how they struggle to survive and how they value education as a means to a better life.

Over the last seven weeks the stu- dents have been on block teaching practice and this has given us an op- portunity to visit primary schools all over the island.

Polygamy is widely practiced here so there is a huge school going popu- lation with up to a hundred in some classes. The standard of teaching is poor, books are scarce and often there aren’t even desks.

HUNDREDS of angling enthusiast have flocked to north Clare this week to take part in the Annual Interna- tional Angling Competition.

The competition, which has been organised annually by the Lisdoon- varna/Fanore Sea Angling Club ro- tates location between Ballyreen and Blackhead in Fanore.

The week long competition, which attracts competitors from a number of countries, has been ongoing since RY

‘People come from the Isle of Man and from Scotland mostly. We do get

people from other parts of the UK and Germans who live in Doolin, and a lot of locals of course,’ said James Linnane, of the Lisdoonvarna/ Fanore Sea Angling Club.

“We would normally get about 50 anglers each day. We would get dif- ferent groups of anglers, some would come for the first few days and others people would dip in and out through- out the week.

‘There have been some people com- ing here from more than 25 years and never ever miss a year.”

Anglers take a rest day today, but competition will recommence in Ballyreen on Wednesday from 12pm

to 4pm, and in Blackhead on Thurs- Cr MA

After a rest day on Friday the final day of competition will take place on Saturday in Ballyreen from Ipm to Spm.

“There is a great facility for an- gling up the north Clare coast. It’s not being used to it’s potential. Most angling clubs in the country fish off of the beach.

‘The thing about north Clare is that you are fishing off rocks, which is rare, and that means that the water you are fishing in 1s quite deep,” he continued.

‘There is a lot of fish in that water.

Each year we get a lot of numbers and a good weight of fish. The water there is very clean.

While the amount of people who are angling has not grown greatly over the the last few decades, num- bers have held steady at a time where new sports and pastimes are being offered to the public all the time.

“It’s not declining anyway. There are still a lot of people who are an- eling. You tend to get a lot of young- er kids and older people who get into it. People often go away from it in middle-age and come back to it when they get older,’ continued James.

COMPLAINTS against members of the Gardai serving in the Clare juris- diction have increased by almost 42 per cent. A total of 44 incidents of complaints were made to the Garda Siochana Complaints Board about gardai serving in the Clare area in 2006. The previous year, 31 com- plaints were made, 13 less.

An increase in the number of com- plaints nationally was also recorded in the Garda Siochana Complaints Board Annual Report 2006, pub-

lished this week.

The number of complaints nation- ally increased by more than 15 per cent between 2005 and 2006. In 2005, the board received 1,173 incidents of complaints compared to 1,350 last year. The report also showed that of the decisions taken in 2006, a total of 814 complaints were deemed admis- sible, an increase from 650 in 2005.

The Garda Press Officer said that the Commissioner, Noel Conroy, was disappointed with this increase and did not condone discourteous_ be- haviour, abuse of authority or, in any

way, the misuse of powers by mem- bers of An Garda Siochana.

“While the level of complaints are a cause of concern to the com- missioner, this statistic must be put in context. In 2006, members of An Garda Siochana had in excess of one million interactions with members of the public, with less than 0.1 per cent resulting in admissible complaints.

“This compares to approximately 700,000 interactions in 2005, which resulted in approximately the same percentage,” the press officer said.

‘The Garda Commissioner and his

management team, along with all members of An Garda Siochana, are committed to improving the stand- ards adopted by our organisation. There is nobody with a greater vest- ed interest in dealing with wrongdo- ers in An Garda Siochana than the Garda Siochana itself.”

The Garda Siochana Annual Report for 2006, which is separate from the Garda Siochana Complaints Board process, said that seven members of the gardai were dismissed by the commissioner as a result of internal disciplinary investigations and a fur-

ther 94 members were the subject of a disciplinary sanction.

In his introduction to the 2006 re- port, Dr Gordon Holmes, chairman of the board, said that, year after year, the report highlighted the shortcom- ings of the legislation under which the Garda Siochana Complaints Board operated.

“At last some notice has been taken of it and the Garda Siochana Ombuds- man Commission is now a reality. In the first half of the coming year, the Ombudsman Commission will take over the duties of the board,” he said.

ENNIS General Hospital is the sixth dirtiest hospital in the country, ac- cording to a survey of patients and their families. The survey, which was conducted by irishhealth.com, placed Ennis General Hospital in 42nd posi- tion in a list of all 47 hospitals and medical institutions in Ireland.

A total of 8,000 people took part in the online survey, with 111 people contributing a rating for Ennis Gen- eral Hospital.

The hospital received an average

rating of 2.68 out of five from patients and family or 54 per cent.

There was also bad news for the Mid-Western Regional Maternity Hospital in Limerick which was rated in 43rd position, one worse than En- nis General.

Almost half of all Clare’s expectant mothers travel to the Mid-Western Regional Maternity Hospital in Lim- erick to have their babies, with the rest travelling to hospitals in Galway.

Responding to the rating, a spokes- women from the HSE urged patients to go through the official complaints

system if they are not happy with their level of care.

“We do take note of all feedback but we do have an established complains procedure in the hospitals and people should go through that system instead of making anonymous complaints,” said the HSE spokeswoman.

“We cannot take corrective action on complaints if we do not know what the complaint are about. If peo- ple have complaints, they should go through the complaints procedure which exists in each hospital.”

The only hospitals to feature worse

scores than Ennis General and the Limerick Maternity Hospital were Kerry General Hospital, the Coombe Women’s Hospital, Waterford Re- gional and Our Lady of Lourdes Hos- pital in Drogheda.

The Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick finished in 41st position while the University College Hospital in Galway and Merlin Park Regional Hospital in Galway finished in 38th and 29th place respectively.

Mallow General Hospital was rated the cleanest hospital in Ireland, fol- lowed by St John’s Hospital in Limer-

ick and the Rotunda Hospital Dublin.

Meanwhile, the third National Hy- giene Audit is currently being under- taken by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

Each hospital completed self-as- sessments in March of this year and HIQA are currently midway through a process of unannounced visits to hospitals.

The organisation hopes to have completed the process by mid-Sep- tember with a report on its findings due for publication at the beginning of October.

TWO east Clare community organi- zations have been given a financial boost to the tune of €76,000 in to- re

Scariff-based East Clare Com- munity COOP has been allocated €40,000 while, Feakle Muintir Na Tire receives almost €36,000.

The funding was announced by Minister of State and Clare TD, Tony Killeen, who received confirmation from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs that al- most €116,000 has been allocated to County Clare under the Scheme of Grants for Locally Based Commu- nity and Voluntary Organisations.

A third grant of €40,000 has been

allocated to the Carrigaholt Commu- nity Hall and parish centre.

The Clare TD said that three sepa- rate groups would receive funding allowing for the refurbishment of premises and purchase of equip- ment, as well as training, education and research activities.

“These necessary funds important- ly recognise the voluntary effort of local community groups throughout Clare. The programme of grants for these locally-based community and voluntary organisations provides such groups with a valuable source of funding and allows them to under- take important projects in their com- munities,” Minister Killeen said.

He added that he looked forward to seeing the grant money put to good

use to serve needs in the commu- nity.

Welcoming the announcement, councillor Pat Hayes said, “The fund- ing allocated to Feakle Muintir Na Tire enables the community group to proceed with refurbishment and upgrading works at Feakle Commu- nity Hall. This widely used facility accommodates the local community, especially youth, musical and sport- ing organisations. I also welcome the funding allocated to East Clare Community COOP in Scariff.”

Under the Scheme of Grants for Locally Based Community and Voluntary Organisations, once-off grants are made available to help voluntary and community groups working with disadvantaged groups

or in disadvantaged areas.

The grants may be made for the ac- quisition or refurbishment of premis- es, or the purchase of equipment or transport. Grants towards wages or salaries or other running costs are not available under this scheme.

Organisations that qualify under the scheme include voluntary or- ganisations with a focus on disad- vantage, community development organisations and groups working in particularly disadvantaged areas or with disadvantaged groups, mutual support and self-help organisations, such as local personal development and community-based education groups, unemployed groups, Family Resource Centres and Family Sup- port Groups.

THIS year’s Scariff Harbour Festival has been declared a massive success. The programme for the weekend, particularly the family day, proved to be a huge attraction for visitors.

It was also an occasion to celebrate the links between Ireland north and south, via the country’s waterways, as Martin McGuinness arrived to of- ficially open the festival.

Michael Rodgers expressed his de- light that the deputy first minister had accepted the invitation to come to Scariff. “Over the years, the aim of the festival committee has been to develop a special relationship with the people of Northern Ireland at po-

litical, cultural and community lev- els, and each year we are delighted to welcome guests and acts from Northern Ireland. We are especially pleased that the deputy first minister is one of this year’s distinguished cuests,” he said.

Jeanette Ervine has also accepted an invitation by the festival commit- tee to come to Clare following David Ervine’s untimely death in January of this year.

The widow of David Ervine, late leader of the Northern Ireland Pro- gressive Unionist Party, will present a trophy named in his memory to the Young Angler of the Festival. The church concert this year featured multi-platinum singer/composer

Liam Lawton on Friday.

The star of the open air concert on Sunday was Derry folk singer, Cara Dillon who has recorded three successful albums with fellow band member, Sam Lakeman.

Saturday was Family Fun Day in the GAA Park and the younger fam- ily members were particularly happy being entertained with bouncy cas- tles, the Conor Lambert puppet show, a bungee rodeo bull, twister game, kiddies sumo wrestling, costumed characters, an airdancer clown, nov- elty races, nail and face painting.

There was music in the air too and the programme for the weekend fea- tured a mix with everything from jazz and folk to traditional music.

Everyone who turned out agreed that it was wonderful that most of the entertainment was free.

Sam and Pat Hyland, who hail from Athlone, came down the river on a cruiser with their two children to en- joy the fun.

“We came last year and moored up at the harbour,” said Pat. “We had such a good time that we made sure this year to organise our holiday so we could come here. There’s plenty for everyone to do and particularly for the children,’ she said.

THE PEOPLE of Carrigaholt are planning for the future.

The local people will influence the future design of the west Clare vil- lage, as Clare County Council begins drawing up a Village Design State- ment.

Carrigaholt will be just one of two villages in the county to undergo the overhaul.

The local authority’s Planning and Economic Development Department intends to prepare the “statement”, in consultation with the public, over the coming months.

A Village Design Statement pro- vides planning advice directly ap-

plicable to the statutory planning system and is entirely community based.

According to Risteard UaCroinin, Conservation Officer, Clare County Council, “A Village Design State- ment sets out clear and simple guidance for the design of all de- velopment in a village, based on its character. It is an advisory document produced by the village community, not by the planning authority. It will not stop change from happening, but it can help effect how any new build- ing fits in to the village.

‘These statements are intended to influence the operation of the statu- tory planning system, so that new development is in harmony with its

setting and makes a positive con- tribution to the immediate environ- ment.”

Officials of the Planning Policy Unit following a series of public con- sultation workshops and meetings with local interested individuals and eroups will undertake the project. The unit will also be seeking the in- put of local public representatives.

“The main focus of the upcoming public consultations will be to turn the informed wishes of the local com- munity on the future development of both villages into part of develop- ment policy,’ said Mr UaCroinin.

Clare County Council hopes to ad- dress a number of issues during the drafting of the statements, including

the protection and conservation of important buildings, improving der- elict areas and structures, upgrading and enhancement of public spaces and facilities, appropriate develop- ment for infill sites and adjacent sites, and other relevant issues raised by the community.

The process will also attempt to identify the unique character of Car- rigaholt, with particular reference to the character of its landscape, setting and built environment.

Public information, consultation meetings and workshops will be or- ganised during the next two months. They will be held during weekday evenings and will be advertised lo- cally.