Month: September 2009

THE biggest sports story in Clare this past generation undoubtedly oc- curred a few poc fadas away from Cusack Park last Tuesday – the day the old champ Muhammad Ali land- ed another knockout blow as Ennis and Clare welcomed him home as one of their own.

Hard to beat “The Greatest’, but the Clare Under 21 hurlers could land their own knockout blow to mighty Kilkenny on Sunday by adopting

as their own the mission statement of Muhammad Ali and the Alltech Group that were behind “The Great- est’ decision to raise the banner for his Irish ancestry.

OW atctamenvicKy (Oye Mniecincseeles el mpechercamelecam pe Ennis on more than one occasion last Tuesday as Alltech’s president, Dr Pearse Lyons, plugged the worldwide educational fund being promoted jointly by Ali and his biotechnology company.

“We want young people to be the best they can possibly be at whatever

they do,” said Dr Lyons to nods of approval from Ali.

Apply that theory to the Clare Un- der 21 hurlers and they have a chance of making their own piece of sport- ing history by landing a first ever All-Ireland Under 21 title.

That’s what it could take to win the title – Kilkenny are going for their fourth All-Ireland title in seven years and their 12th in all. Hurling in Kil- kenny has never had it so good.

Save the three outstanding per- formances of the Clare Under 21s

this term, Clare hurling never had it so bad at adult level.

However, being the best they can possibly be would make it Clare’s greatest hurling year since ‘98 when the curse of Jimmy Cooney’s whistle came between the county and anoth- er All-Ireland.

Or could it have been Biddy Early up to her old tricks again – the same day Muhammad Ali was in town, another one of Clare’s finest, Edna O’Brien, was on RTE telling the world how around 100 years ago

one WB Yeats was seen wandering around Feakle looking for Biddy Early and the meaning of it all.

Maybe Yeats had the curse lifted back then that helped Clare land the All-Ireland in ‘14. Maybe by talk- ing about it, the ‘Country Girl’ from Tuamgraney has lifted the modern day curse.

Something that could bring Mu- hammad’s mission statement of Clare being “the best they can pos- sibly be” alive.

It would be a great knockout blow.

Locals mourn loss of tragic teen

A DIFFERENT take on that Modest Mouse album: good news for people who like good news. Yes, the Funk- tion Room — the North Clare disco/ social night that pops it’s head up sporadically, like a meercat on the prairie — is back. Funky tunes and vinyl records are the order of the ab hea al

This time, it brings its nomadic ways to Lahinch, specifically roam- ing to the Claremont Hotel this Thursday, September 10. As has be- come the custom, Tokin White Boy will provide the backbone to the night. Afterall, Tokin is the resident DJ. But there’s also flesh on those

bones, in the form of DJ R Steady, guest for the evening and travelling all the way from Cork.

The designated charitable cause 1s Aware, the national organisation that provides support through depression to individuals affected by the condi- tion, as well as concerned family and friends.

“Over the past few years, we have focused on a number of causes local- ly and throughout Clare,” explains Roisin Ni Ghairbhith, one of the or- ganisers of the event. “Last time, in June, we raised in excess of €1,000 for Friends of Ennistymon Hospital. This time we’re raising funds for a great cause, Aware. The night also coincides with Daisy Day, Aware’s

annual largest fundraiser. That takes place form September 10 to 12 so it all ties in well.”

A night of upbeat tunes and funky music are promised, along with a dance off, which is sure to draw a niche crowd. “The dance off is some- thing we’re all looking forward to,” continued Miss Ni Ghairbhith. “So, in setting the right atmosphere, we want people to dress up and dance their tights and socks off. It’s going to be fun and it’s going to a worthy charity.” Aware offer a number of services in Clare and beyond, includ- ing support groups across the coun- try, a loCall helpline open 365 days a year (1890 303 302), email support service and free information service.

The organisation also works to cre- ate greater public awareness of the nature and impact of depression via its secondary schools awareness pro- gramme, Beat the Blues, and other community awareness programmes.

‘‘Aware relies on public support and fundraising for more than 80 per cent of its funding each year,” added Miss Ni Ghairbhith.

“So come out and support this great cause.” Doors for the Funktion Room open at 11pm this Thursday at the Claremont Hotel, Lahinch. Ad- mission €8.

ARTISTIC licence abounds in En- nistymon where the local gallery is inviting artists to apply to have their work exhibited there in the coming year.

Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery is seeking submissions for the forth- coming year, 2010. The gallery is in- terested in exhibiting a wide range of visual art, including collaborations and multimedia projects for exhibi- tion in its two gallery spaces.

The Courthouse also welcomes proposals that have some aspect of co-operation with the local commu- nity.

“We had such a response with 60

applications last year, that we cre- ated a second exhibition space, the Red Couch Space. This is for artists whose work really deserves to be exhibited, but could not be accom- modated in the existing exhibition area,’ said Daire Skuce of the Court- house Gallery.

Community-led exhibitions are an important part of the gallery’s role, Daire explained. “For instance, we have an exhibition on the stairs at the moment by the FETAC students from Lisdoonvarna.”

The gallery will also be in a posi- tion to rent studio space to artists later this year and the popular life- drawing sessions will start up again on September 24, and continue each

Thursday morning at a charge of €10 a session.

The deadline for submissions to ex- hibit at the gallery is 5pm on Friday, October 2.

Courthouse Gallery curator and co- ordinator, Trudi van der Elsen said, “We wish to focus on exhibiting emerging artists based locally and nationwide. 2009 has been a very exciting year with a lot of variety in the exhibitions. This year there has been a particularly good mix of me- dia including, paintings, installation work, sculpture, drawing, film, and workshops from local and national artists.”

The newly renovated Ennistymon Courthouse building features a main

art gallery, the smaller Red Couch gallery space, five artists’ studios, and a sound recording studio. The Courthouse Gallery seeks to attract local and national audiences by ex- hibiting work of the highest standard by local, national, and international VOSA

Artists interested 1n applying should include with their submissions a bi- ography or CV, an artist statement, a brief description of the proposed show, six to eight images on CD or hard-copy photos.

The gallery charges 25 per cent commission. Submissions should be sent to Trudi van der Elsen, Coordi- nator, Ennistymon Courthouse Gal- lery, Parliament Street, Ennistymon.

THERE will be champagne corks popping in Ennis this week as the town celebrates being awarded the Tidy Town’s national Largest Urban Centre Award for the second year in succession. The announcement was made at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham in Dublin yesterday in front of 500 invited guests.

And the Clare capital took home a goody bag of awards to go along with their second national title and a points score of 304 out of a possible 400.

As well as the Largest Urban Centre Award, Ennis took the Regional and County Awards and a prize of €900, the Notice Nature Biodiversity award of €1,000, the Large Urban Centre Gum Litter Task Force award with a cheque for €1,000 and Gold Medal in its population category with prize money of €900.

“Winning this award is a huge achievement for a town the size of Ennis. We are in a highly com- petitive category and beat off tough competition like Letterkenny and Kilkenny. This accolade is testimony to the hard work and commitment of our committee, town council and our fantastic community. Great credit must be given to all those who work tirelessly to ensure our town is look- ing its best,’ stated Noel Crowley, Chairman of the Ennis Tidy Towns.

The adjudication process involved a number of visits to Ennis and all as- pects of the town were judged under a

total of 10 categories including Over- all Development Approach, The Built Environment, Landscaping, Wildlife and Natural Amenities, Litter Con- trol, Waste Minimization, Tidiness, Residential Areas, Roads, Streets and Back Areas and finally the General Impression section. The competition is organised by the Tidy Towns Unit at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and sponsored by SuperValu.

Judges congratulated Ennis on the

overall presentation of the town and had particular praise for the high quality and co-ordination of the various colours and textures in the numerous floral displays and flower- beds around the town and approach roads. The high level of litter con- trol and presentation of residential areas was also noted and the Ennis Sculpture Trail Initiative received high praise. The judges were particu- larly impressed with the presentation of shop fronts and commended the

businesses on their efforts.

The town also earned particular mention in relation to the new En- nis Tidy Towns Website. www.en- nistidytowns.ie which was recently developed and sponsored by Acton BV website design and is seen as an extension of the Ennis Tidy Towns committee. Visitors to the site will find information on the various ac- tivities and initiatives organised by the committee and will also have a greater opportunity to get involved, a

spokeswoman for Ennis Tidy towns explained. “The website is also seen as a window to Ennis for the many potential visitors to the town as it highlights images of the Ennis Sculpture Trail as well as many sce- nic images of the streetscapes.”

THE Clare Youth Service has an- nounced details of a new programme of events aimed at encouraging young musicians.

The CYS Music Project is offer- ing some fantastic opportunities to young people interested in music over the next two months, including recording, gigging and training op- eLeyaaED OD LOL ene

As well as auditions for a com- pilation CD, there will be a bands competition open to all young bands throughout Clare as well as beat box and rapping workshops.

The bands competition is being held on Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20, with judges announcing the winners on the Sun- day night. The competition 1s open to all young bands under 18 years from

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Bands must perform three songs, at least one of which must be an origi- nal piece.

Entry for the competition is €15 and completed forms must be re- turned to Jean Tierney, CYS by Fri- day, September 11.

Prizes will be awarded for: Best Original Song, Best Band, Runner- up and Best Cover/Adaptation.

On September 26, the Music Project are holding auditions for musicians who would like to be part of a CYS compilation CD.

Auditions are open to all musi- cians, bands, acoustic etc and each act has to perform one original song. The CD will be launched at the end of the year.

Clare Youth Service with Kerryni- ni are running beat box and rapping workshops from Friday, October 9 to

Sunday, October 10.

The workshop will focus on vari- ous aspects of beat box and rapping, including, developing your _ tech- niques, looping and sampling, DJing and scratching, MCing and rhyming. The workshops costs €45 and places

are limited.

Musicians interested in participat- ing in any of the events should con- tact Jean Tierney, Clare Youth Serv- ice, Carmody Street, Ennis on 065 6845356 or 086 1568650 for further information or application forms.

GARDAI are reminding drivers to respect speed limits and road mark- ings after a spate of “replica” acci- dents were observed at the Captain Mac’s cross junction in Ennis.

At least four major collisions have occurred in the area, along with a high number of smaller less serious

accidents, according to one local businessman.

Shop manager David Crimmins said the junction has been the scene of a high number of collisions be- tween cars travelling to and from the town centre.

‘The incidents are always the same. Cars coming past Flannan’s (College) and go to make a right turn down to-

wards the bus station and cars going out the Clare road, from Ennis, crash into them. They’re all replica acci- dents,” explained Mr Crimmins.

He added, “They’re almost identi- cal, all the crashes. It’s spooky how similar they are. They nearly all hap- pen at the exact same spot on the road. They end up in the same spot afterwards. You could nearly take

out a measuring tape and measure out where it happens.”

Mr Crimmins, manager of a Londis shop located at Captain Mac’s cross, said the incidents involved local drivers and tourists passing through the town.

He said that on one occasion in July, a major incident was narrowly averted when a car almost crashed into a petrol pump located in the ga- rage forecourt.

‘There was one where one of the cars actually came into the garage. It came in about 100 yards off the road. I was sitting in the office and I heard this great bang.

He continued, “There have been four major ones in the last 12 months, but they would be the big ones. But there have been a lot of smaller, sim- ilar-type incidents. You would just hope that people would be a bit more aware. You would hate to see some- one get seriously hurt.”

Gardai in Ennis say that while they are unaware of any high incidence of accidents at the junction, they would remind drivers to observe speed lim- its and respect road markings.

‘At very busy junctions, you expect maybe more accidents but other than that, we are not aware of it. We would encourage all motorists to respect speed limits and road markings,” a spokesperson said.

He added that anyone with con- cerns should contact gardai. “If peo- ple want to send in submissions on the matter, that it is something we would welcome and consider.”

Carbon-copy crashes at junction

Physical restraint incidents for patients on the increase

The long wait goes on for Element Six employees