Month: September 2009

IT all went according to form in Bodyke on Friday evening as the home side got back to winning ways ahead of their quarter-final clash this weekend whereas winless Meelick are doomed to the relegation fight.

Already qualified for the last eight despite an inconsistent start, Bodyke needed a positive showing here and did so thanks to defensive anchor Sean Doyle who mopped up any breaks as well as their attacking quartet of PJ Kelleher, Johnny Howard, Keith Qui- gley and newly crowned All-Ireland Under 21 champion Colm Madden whose latent understanding allowed them to accumulate 2-16 of Bodyke’s total between them.

In saying that, despite the com- prehenisve scoreline, the Bodyke management still won’t be wholly satisfied approaching this weekend’s knock-out stages. They were totally in control of this tie from start to fin- ish but lapses in concentration that hampered them against both Feakle and Clarecastle again resurfaced here as they never ruthlessly put con- fidence shy Meelick to the sword at any stage. Allied to that was a poor conversion rate of 16 wides over the hour that in the business end of the season against the bigger sides could

prove very costly.

Meelick, for their part, ravaged by emmigration, injuries and suspen- sions, epitomised a side who just wanted to get the game over with and put this season behind them after three opening defeats but with a win here ensuring a play-off with Wolfe Tones to avoid relegation, the carrot was still dangling for them to muster up one last battling display.

For that to happen, they needed a positive start but their gameplan was in the shredder as early as the fourth minute after two soft goals had them firmly on the backfoot. Meelick did get the opening score through Ken- neth Keane but from the puck-out, their defence were immediately diso- rientated by Bodyke’s movement and it allowed Tom McNamara to kick through to the unmarked Colm Mad- den who was clear to rattle James Duffy’s net. From the puck-out, PJ Kelleher fed Keith Quigley for a point and only two minutes later, the writing was on the wall for Meelick as a Sean Doyle free from his own 65 was added to by Patsy O’Donnell to open up a 2-1 to 0-1 lead.

From that juncture on, it was a firefighting exercise for Meelick but with Johnny Howard, Colm Mad- den and Keith Quigley causing ma- jor headaches, Meelick just had too

many fires to put out and not enough manpower to stop the flames.

Eanna Mulvihill’s frees were the only reliable source of comfort for the south east Clare side but down to the bare bones, they hadn’t the firepower to trouble Bodyke who had enough chances to put Meelick away by half-time but only took fifty per cent of them. By half-time, they led by 2-11 to 0-07 and went about finishing the job early in the second period with Quigley and Madden adding points before a 36th minute goal from Johnny Howard had them cruising at 3-13 to 0-08.

However, although the result was now beyond doubt, they never con- vincingly built on that advantage, misfiring with hopeful efforts and it allowed Meelick to stage a mini- revolt.

The introduction of Ger Markham immediately caused Bodyke prob- lems, earning a 20 metre free with his first touch that Alan Markham slammed to the net in the 42nd minute before the substitute got one himself three minutes later when an Eoin Daly ball dropped behind the full-back line for the full-forward to pull to the net.

With the lead now sliced to eight, the loss of midfielder Barry O’Dwyer to injury was now felt by Bodyke but

it was his partner PJ Kelleher who steadied the ship once more with two successive points along with a Qui- aD keer

The brief crisis averted, Bodyke regained control to ease up to vic- tory and provide the perfect launch- ing pad for a concerted drive at the knock-out stages. Some fine tuning is still necessary though if they have a realistic chance of toppling the big boys in the grade.

AN TAOISEACH Brian Cowen will make his first trip to the county town as leader of the country on Monday next.

The Fianna Fail leader was criti- cised during the local election cam- paign for not stopping in Ennis as part of his tour of the county, favour- ing Shannon and Kilmaley instead.

He denied at the time that he avoid- ed the county town as he did not want to engage lobby groups on the closure of 24-accident and emergen- cy services at the hospital.

“The schedule has been fixed and there is no problem meeting people as I go around. And I think it is im- portant to point out, regarding Ennis Hospital, the ward block construc- tion is going to take place (later in the year) we hope. I would be ex- pecting that it would be taking place then,” he said at the time.

More than three months on and Mr Cowen has agreed to a walk around in Ennis.

The Taoiseach will begin his sec- ond official visit to Clare in Shannon, where he has accepted an invitation from Shannon Chamber President, Jan Barrett, to speak at his annual lunch for the business community.

Announcing the event, Chamber President Jan Barrett said, “The chamber is delighted to get an op- portunity to directly represent its members’ interests in these chal- lenging times to An Taoiseach, and

to support the case for the passing of the second referendum on the Lisbon sbi iAee

After lunch, Mr Cowen will begin his visit to Ennis by launching the CCTV (Close Circuit Television) service at Ennis Garda Station. With “big brother” watching over him he will then walk through the winding streets of the town from 2.45pm be- fore meeting the party faithful in a local hotel.

Mr Cowen will then travel west to Lissycasey to the new water plant.

Derma deta oD NNTca CoM AOU Beh ( ome Kirush for the official opening of a community creche.

The childcare facility, Cuan Samh, serves the Adult and Community Learning Centre on Cooraclare Road. The ceremony is timed for 5pm. The purpose-built unit replaces earlier childcare facilities housed in a pre- fabricated building at the centre.

NETWORK Ireland’s National Pres- ident, Una Murphy, will be the VIP guest at the Clare Branch monthly meeting, which will be held at 8pm on Wednesday at The Temple Gate hotel in Ennis.

Una Murphy is the Commercial Lending Manager with AIB Mayo. She has made “Professionalism In Business” a theme for the network in her year as National President and will share her insights on this subject with those attending the Ennis meet- ing.

On the same evening Jill Hincks, Managing Director of Passion for Creative will speak on the subject of ‘How to Succeed in Business — Get Your Ducks All In a Row.” Jill will hand out a free copy of her book to each attendee.

Network Clare President, Pamela Clancy said she is delighted that the National President and Jill Hincks are attending the meeting in Ennis, ‘We are really pleased to have the na- tional president, Una Murphy come to Clare and share her vast experi- ence of professionalism in business and on the same evening to have a second speaker of Jill’s calibre who has over 25 years national brand agency experience in London and Manchester, has created award-win- ning campaigns for such clients as M&S, B&Q, Argos and Homebase and who specialises in retail psy- chology and brand strategy. Many women in business use creativity “to get their ducks in a row’ on a daily basis and we are looking forward to hearing Jill’s input on this topic,” she said.

Network Ireland is a progressive dynamic organisation for women in business, the professions, industry, trades, government departments and the arts. It was formed in Dublin in 1983. The organisation has developed both a quality reputation and a qual- ity distribution system for ideas and information. Today it has branches in Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Laoise, Limerick, Louth, Mayo, Tipperary North, Tipperary South and Waterford. Networking is increasingly important in growing successful companies.

Members in Clare represent a di- verse range of business interests. These include Orla Holland of Inte- rio, Quin Road Business Park, En- nis, Eileen Clair, Therapist, Kilkee, Pamela Clancy of Clancy Solicitors in Ennis, and Alice O’Carroll of Clare supported Employment Serv- ices. Other members include Mary Hanley from BillPost, Kilrush, Re- becca Brew of Crotty’s Pub Kilrush and Ana Marques of Lion Oak Serv- ices. Sarah Malone of Innfluential Marketing has been a Clare Member, as well as Madeline McAleer of Clare Focus, Brid Vaughan of BlathInis and Grainne McCormack of Choco- lat. Lisa Walshe from Houlihan and Co. Solicitors and Mary Corry from Elsevier Ltd. Shannon.

The Clare Network extends a warm welcome to anyone interested in finding out more at the Templegate Hotel in Ennis on Wednesday 23rd September at 8pm.

It is important for you to make a will because if you don’t, the law on in- testacy decides what happens to your property.

A will can ensure that proper ar- rangements are made for your de- pendants and that your property is distributed in the way you wish after you die, subject to certain rights of spouses and children.

A person who dies having made a valid will is said to have died ‘tes- tate’. If you die testate, then all your possessions will be distributed in the way you set out in your will. It is the job of the executor or executors you named in your will to make sure this happens.

There are legal limits as to how much of your property goes to which person, as set out in law in the Suc- cession Act, 1965. An executor can be a beneficiary under the will. In other words, the executor can also inherit under the will.

After you die, somebody has to deal with your estate, by gathering together all your money and posses- sions, paying any debts you owe and then distributing what is left to the people who are entitled to it.

If you leave a will before you die, one or more of the executors you named in your will usually has to get legal permission from the Probate Office or the District Probate Regis- try for the area in which you lived at the time of death to do this. Permis- sion comes in the form of a document called a Grant of Representation.

If you did not name any executors in your will or if the executors are unable or unwilling to apply for a Grant of Representation, documents called Letters of Administration (With Will) are issued.

When your estate is distributed, the legal rights of your spouse and children, if any, will be fulfilled first after any debts are paid before any other gifts are considered.

A person who dies without a will is said to have died ‘intestate’. If you

die intestate, this means your estate, or everything that you own, is dis- tributed in accordance with the law by an administrator. To do this, the administrator needs permission in the form of a Grant of Representa- nlOyee

When a person dies without a will or when their will is invalid, this Grant is issued as Letters of Admin- istration by the Probate Office or the District Probate Registry for the area in which the person lived at the time of death.

The legal rules governing the dis- tribution of your property apply: e When you have not made a will e When the will has been denied probate because it has not been made properly or a challenge to it has been SLECOLeAT AU e When the will does not complete- ly deal with all your possessions. In these cases, after debts and ex- penses have been deducted, the estate is distributed in the following way. If you are survived by: e A spouse but no children (or grandchildren): your spouse gets the entire estate. e A spouse and children: your spouse gets two-thirds of your estate and the remaining one-third is di- vided equally among your children. If one of your children has died, that share goes to his/her children. e Children, but no spouse: your es- tate 1s divided equally among your children (or their children). e Parents, but no spouse or chil- dren: your estate is divided equally between your parents or given entire- ly to one parent if only one survives. e Brothers and sisters only: your estate is shared equally among them, with the children of a deceased broth- er or sister taking his/her share. e Nieces and nephews only: your estate 1s divided equally among those Hae hailes e Other relatives only: your estate is divided equally between the near- est equal relationship. e No relatives: your estate goes to the state.

MAKING a will won’t kill you, but not making it will cause a lot of unec- essary trouble and possible financial loss for your successors.

And yet, it is estimated that half of all adults have not made a will and only 20 per cent of business owners have decided who will inherit their businesses when they die.

This leads to more family disputes over inheritance and succession with the sale and division of estates result- ing in a significant share of the pro-

ceeds being consumed by legal costs.

You don’t have to make a will but it makes good sense to leave your af- fairs in good order for those who sur- vive you. It is a sad, but inevitable fact of life that many people die under the age of 30 – yet a very small number of them may even have thought about making a will.

If you make a will, you decide who gets what after your death. You can also decide who doesn’t benefit as you can minimise the impact of capital ac- quisitions tax on your beneficiaries.

If you don’t make a will, your next

of kin will inherit your estate. If you are not married, have outlived your parents and have no children, the Government could be the ultimate ANON lol a

In many cases, the people who ben- efit from your life’s work may be peo- ple you may not have wished to bene- fit from your death. If you don’t make a will, it’s possible the wrong people may be your legal successors.

You get to choose, but only if you take the right action at the right time. The right action is to seek advice from a solicitor and the right time 1s now.

THE developers of a retail park in Shannon have confirmed that their €60 million proposal will not have a negative economic impact on the town centre.

Earlier this year, the council stated that it would not be favourably dis- posed towards granting planning permission for the park.

In the latest tranche of information lodged with the council in support of the plan, Greenband Investment Ltd and Sean Halpin state that the retail park will generate €33 million a year in turnover.

The project plans to create 600 new jobs between construction and serv- ices when it becomes operational and includes a retail warehouse park for bulky household goods, discount

food store and neighbourhood centre to include a small convenience store, pharmacy, bookmakers and_hair- dressers.

The development will create 250 direct jobs, 200 indirect jobs and a further 180 jobs during the construc- tion phase.

The applicants have now lodged substantial information to allay the fears of the council.

Their application states that, over- all, Shannon is not performing for a town of its size and is not compara- ble to the other two major town cen- tres in the local retail hierachy.

“The shopping centre falls short in terms of the quantity and quality of retail floorspace and of its wider so- cial economic role than other town centres organically build up over time. The proposed development will serve the local need in south Clare for 1m- proved retail facilities and introduce competition into this particular area

“Regionally, it will help to strength- en retailing in Clare. It will provide a new form of retail in Shannon and will not have a negative impact on the town centre because there is suf- ficient growth in expenditure to ac- commodate the proposed retail park

“The proposed development would not have an adverse impact on the town centre and would actually represent a beneficial, quality, modern addition to comparison retailing in the town as a whole, which would support the wider strategy to maintain the town’s status as a regional centre.”

The council had stated that it has serious reservations about the pro- posed development having regard to the safety, nature and mix of retail uses having regard to its location; traffic safety and the provision of Services.

Developers defend retail park

THE Vandeleur Walled Garden has proved to be one of the success sto- ries of Kilrush Town Council and is a project its members are determined to keep alive.

So much so that its members have asked for a report outlining its suc- cess to be drawn up, amid fears funding for the tourist attraction will be cut in the next budget.

Kilrush Councillor Tom Prendev- ille (FF) said Clare County Council has always been benevolent when it came to the garden, but feared fund- ing for next year could suffer in the upcoming budget cuts.

CUlr Liam O’Looney (FF) added that every year there are fears among staff that jobs will be lost, but this year the fears are even stronger.

In a bid to make a strong case for the 2.158-acre garden, the members have now asked for the detailed re- port.

Kilrush Town Council first invested

in the development of the Vandeleur Walled Garden in 1997. The project was developed through the co-op- eration of the tourism industry and FAS.

Through hard work and dedication, a new strategic tourism product and community amenity for Kilrush was formed.

Restoration of the garden is now complete, with facilities in the cen- tre including a gift shop, coffee shop, conference suite and plant sales area.

The stunning garden is completely surrounded by stone walls and con- tains many unusual and tender plants that thrive in the area’s uniquely western latitude sheltered microcli- mate.

It is a valuable resource for the community, providing an ideal venue for exhibitions, book launches, Hal- loween, Christmas, Easter and other seasonal events.

The commencement of plant prop- agation and plant sales has proven to

be very successful. Plant propaga- tion is an ongoing yearly project in the garden.

Approximately 90 different species of plants – including shrubs, peren- nials, bedding plants, herbs and vegetables – have been successfully propagated.

A number of open days were held in 2008 and 2009, which gave the public free admission to the gardens

and reduced prices on plant sales.

A display of old farm machinery was also set up in the courtyard area and exotic plants were purchased for display in the glasshouse, which was fully reconstructed by the workers in the garden.

SOME schools aiming for the Trans- port Green Schools flag take to their feet or make use of pedal power. But youngsters at Flagmount National School have shown they have real bottle and on Friday, launched a working raft, made from empty plas- tic milk cartons.

The pupils at the school made the raft last term under instruction from local couple, Sandra and Stephan Schwitilla who have been involved in similar projects in their native Germany before coming to settle in Currakyle.

The youngsters collected 840 two- litre milk cartons and recycled wood to build the handsome vessel, which can comfortably transport 28 chil- dren.

It was launched last Friday amid a festive atmosphere at Whitesands and, said school principal, Pat Mc- Namara, “It functions very well. It’s an amazing piece of work and we’re so delighted that Sandra and Stephen agreed to show us how to do it.”

Mr McNamara said it was “amaz- ing to see them all hammering, fix- ing and screwing it together. The children collected everything needed for the raft – it’s all recycled material. Bottles, wooden frame, nails – even the screws have been collected up from other things. They’re so totally involved with the work, it’s marvel- olin

The raft was made in four sections and test-runs carried out on each one before it was finally assembled for the launch.

Fully kitted out with life-vests, the young mariners took to the water amid shouts and cheers of encour- agement from teachers and parents gathered on the shore, or in their own

boats on the lake.

And the vessel sailed out on the water powered by youngsters using hurleys to row.

“They even managed to make the most use of those,’ the principal said.

After the rafts’ maiden voyage, there was a barbeque on shore to cel- ebrate the amazing achievement.

Now the next task 1s to find a safe place to store the vessel and the school is holding a competition to name the raft.

Parents themselves, the Schwitillas offered to help the school with their fourth green flag project, which in- volves looking at travel and how the carbon footprint of travel can be re- duced.

The school recently completed it’s third green flag award on the subject of water and water conservation.

CELEBRATING ten years in the saddle, the East Clare Chernobyl Cycle has once again taken off for Belarus to raise money to help chil- CHU PO MONNuom Nucor

The cycle has taken place each Sep- tember and was first undertaken in 1999. This year, the route will take the intrepid riders on a 230 kilome- tre route over two and a half days, during which time they will see what has been done in the schools and orphanages with the money raised

through last year’s cycle.

Of the money raised last year, €20,000 went to provide a launder- ette for the orphanage at Gantsivi- chi and €8,000 was spent to buy 88 doors for a similar institution in An- topol.

In another orphanage, Malech, a lot of work had been done previously and this time they needed just €3,000 to buy gardening equipment.

The institutions, which the cycle helps, had little or nothing in the way of proper facilities before the east Clare riders became involved. In

many cases, there was no hot water or proper sanitary facilities.

Eighteen cyclists took off last week and will be viewing all of the projects which were started last year.

“We go to each project and see what has been done and get to meet the people there, to see how they’re getting on,’ said Pat O’Connor, one of the original cyclists and organis- ers of the trip. Each year, cyclists raise sponsorship to fund whichever projects are needed in the coming twelve months.

As this is the decade anniversary of

the trip, there will be a special cel- ebration and presentation at the Oak- wood Arms when the cyclists return at the end of the month.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years,’ said Pat. “We’re going to be real celebrities this trip. The Belarus- sian Minister for Education is going to meet us this time and there will be a piece about the project on Belarus- sian TV and radio. And we’re going to be bringing a gift for the minis- ter from Clare County Council, so it will be a real international event,’ he told