Month: June 2008

THE Raheen Wood Steiner School is just one of a number of groups in east Clare that has appealed the decision by Clare County Council to grant planning permission for a waste fa- cility that is aiming to half the capac- ity of the Inagh landfill.

Along with Raheen Wood, the Scariff, Mountshannon and White- gate Angling Club have appealed the decision, as have a large group of 1n- dividuals.

Already, the planning application is in the process two years and Clare Waste and Recycling Ltd was seek- ing to have the capacity to deal with 25,000 tonnes of waste each year.

The council’s own Inagh landfill is licensed to deal with 56,000 tonnes per annum and giving the go-ahead to the plan last month, the council stated that the proposed development would not seriously injure the ameni- ties of the area or of property in the vicinity.

As part of the 40 conditions at- tached to the permission, the coun- cil has ruled that there shall be no increase in production levels, no in- crease in storage volumes on site and the total disposal material to landfill shall not exceed 5,000 tonnes per an- nloueee

The facility is to be located on a 10

acre site near the small east Clare vil- lage of Tuamgraney and in their ap- peal the appellants state, ““We must indicate that the application has been a source of considerable distress to the community. We also submit that in the best interests of the commu- nity, a request for an oral hearing on the matter is not the way forward, as the process is likely to be even more divisive and stressful than the appli- cation process.

“Our submissions could be sum- marised by saying that too many assumptions have been made in the decision to grant permission to this development.

“When the risk of getting caught is low and the punishment for compli- ance is a small fine, or a written rap on the knuckles, the attitude to au- thority weakens and the damage gets worse.

“The waste business is growing and private operators are much less scrupulous than local authorities in the operation of their facilities. The Clare waste facility proposes an in- crease of 184 per cent in through- put capacity, up to a total of 25,000 tonnes per annum

“We submit that a deliberative search for the positive aspects of the application has been made by the council, to provide a new home for this industry.

ENNIS Town Council has raised a number of questions over plans by an Ennis builder to establish a private members club in the centre of Ennis.

Earlier this year, Jack McCarthy lodged plans with Ennis Town Coun- cil for change of use of office on the third floor of the former Central Buildings at the Abbey Street car-

park to a private members club.

A decision was due on the applica- tion last Friday, however, the council has put the plan on hold, requesting further information on the proposal.

In putting the plan on hold, the coun- cil ask ‘what kind of ‘private mem- bers club’ is proposed here? What will it facilitate? During what hours will it function? Will it function as a live music or nightclub venue? Will

it be rented out for parties, functions, gathering? Will sale of alcohol take place? Is it proposed to provide an outdoor smoking facility?’

The council state that under the En- nis and Environs Development Plan, proposals for development involving evening and late night commercial retail and entertainment uses will only be permitted within, or immedi- ately adjacent to Ennis Town Centre

or the local centres and where it can be clearly demonstrated that there will be no detrimental impact on the character and function of the area. The council are also seeking that the proposal will result in no adverse effect on the character of a conser- vation area or other place of special architectural or historic character; will not result in adverse transport or environmental effects; no det-

rimental effect on the amenity en- joyed by neighbouring uses or where the proposal relates to ground floor premises, a shop front or appropriate ols 0F

Mr McCarthy is of McCarthy Bros, which has built hundreds of houses in Ennis and other parts of Clare in re- cent years. Already, a private mem- bers club exists in a building opposite Ennis Community College.

THE GOVERNMENT should do more to drive home the advantages of life outside the big smoke. That was the call from the Mayor of Shan- non after it was revealed that only 60 of some 402 public servants due to decentralise to Shannon had made the move.

Despite having been provided with state-of-the art new offices in West- park, just 60 En- terprise Ireland staff have de- camped the capi- tal for Shannon.

yaUie mmm letomme)ueyeet ised exodus of the Irish Avia- tion Authority to Shannon, a move which was seen as one that would lend support to the status of the airport, hasn’t happened at all.

Not one member of staff has made the move.

DIMOrO MU ENE or of Shannon, Cllr Sean McLaugh- lin said that the Government had not delivered on what it promised would be “the be all and end all”.

“It’s understandable that a lot of people won’t want to move because they have children in secondary school or partners working in Dublin but I can’t believe there aren’t more than 60 people who would be will- ing to come to Shannon if they fully understood the advantages.”

Cllr McLaughlin said that the Government needed to promote the work-life advantages of living and

working outside Dublin.

“Shannon is a beautiful place. The Enterprise Ireland offices have the most amazing facilities – a fabulous view over the river, a restaurant and a gym. And people who are now com- muting from as far out as Kildare and spending three hours a day in the car could be from their house to the office in a fraction of that time with no jams.”

The region was promised 300 En-

terprise Ireland staff and 102 Irish Aviation Authority staff.

The Irish Avia- tion Authority has said that it does not expect to see the full quota of jobs de- camp to Shannon for another three years.

The one Clare success story for decentralisation was in KlIlrush, Where the move of 57 revenue employees was

completed last year.

Mayor of Clare Patricia McCarthy (Ind) described the lack of progress in Shannon as “extremely disap- joreypalansteaae

“Decentralisation has had some success but this isn’t one. It’s hard to understand, given that the same work at the same level is involved. And it’s also hard to understand why the IAA not decentralised as it was supposed to.”

CLARE football is at a crossroads and can go one way or the other. It’s nothing new for the minority GAA sport in the county to be in this state of chassis. It’s always been the way, in all the bad times and very few good times there have been down the generations.

It’s simple really — those charged with promoting the game can commit themselves to the future 1n a positive and proactive way or just carry on the way things have been for most of the 124 years of the GAA in Clare.

People in power don’t like hearing it, much less reading it, but it’s the lack of commitment that’s institu- tionalised at county board level that has kept Clare football down so often and for so long.

County boards have always point- ed to the balance sheet, explaining away its commitment to the game in terms of the amount of money spent on county teams every year. Money never papers over the cracks that are more like the San Andreas faultline.

This is the board’s annual cop-out — the safety net to absolve the top ta- ble from any responsibility for doing something tangible about address- ing Clare’s Third World status as a county football entity.

It was no fault of the Clare senior

team that went down to Killarney on Sunday as ready-made fodder for Kerry’s machine as it very slowly cranked into action for another year.

The Clare team that went down by 1-14 to O-5 were a product of neglect — the blame for which goes to the top and has nothing to do with Frank Doherty and co.

You see, it’s more than county board money that makes the wheels turn — much more important than money is mindset, from the top table down to the clubs. Value, real value, just isn’t placed in a Clare football jersey, from the board or many club WEN Ece

A properly audited system for the development of football in the coun- ty isn’t there — the coaches aren’t there. It’s simple mathematics, but coaches in numbers in every nook and cranny of Clare would help give truth to theory that you speculate to accumulate.

Instead, Clare football has just let good men go. Former manager Do- nie Buckley was a de-facto member of the Limerick backroom team on Sunday, brought in by Mickey ‘Ned’ O’Sullivan to help with the team’s preparations.

Buckley should not have been lost to Clare football — think of the ex- pertise he could give young players in the Development Squad system. Pat

Hanrahan too — a man who helped Clare to win in ’92 and Doonbeg win a Munster club in ’98.

It’s not just the board though, some- thing that came home to roost on Saturday evening in Doonbeg. When Kilmurry Ibrickane brought on Paul O’Connor and Martin McMahon as subs in the O’Gorman Cup, Clare county football was dealt a mortal blow. Both were in action for the Clare junior team the following day.

Who allowed this happen? The club want call on their players — nothing wrong there, but it shouldn’t have come to this. If there was a danger that they’d be played in the O’Gorman Cup final, the fixture should have been pulled by the county board and re-fixed at a later date.

Of course the board will argue that it wasn’t their decision, as the com- petition is run by the Doonbeg club. Doesn’t wash though — the competi- tion has the backing of the board and the board had a duty to intervene and protect the interests of the county team.

This must never happen again, but then again there are a lot of things that shouldn’t happen.

CLARE manager Frank Doherty was left to ponder the usefulness of the Tommy Murphy cup after his side bowed out of the championship with defeat to Kerry.

Clare must now try and get their kicks in Gaelic’s football’s Inter-toto Cup instead of the more exacting theatre of the All-Ireland champion- ship.

Doherty didn’t quite match the lev- els of frustration conveyed by Mick O’Dywer after his Wicklow team were condemned to the Tommy Mur- phy Cup after losing to Laois, but, still, you could tell that it rankled.

‘“That’s something we’ll sit down and talk about. It’s hard when you win a championship game for a min- now county like ourselves,” said Doherty outside the Clare dressing

room in Fitzgerald Stadium.

“It’s a competition and you have to play it. You look at the likes of Wick- low. They beat Kildare in Croker and then they’re thrown into the Tommy Murphy and we beat Waterford and we hadn’t much of a chance coming down here and you’re going into the Tommy Murphy. With the qualifiers, at least if we could have got some- thing at home, we might have been of the same standard and who knows where it might have led us. We’ll have to sit down and talk about it later,’ he added.

Clare, in fairness, made a game of it in the first half, snapping at Kerry and denying them time and space on the ball.

The dismissals of Conor Whelan and John Hayes made a hard task 1m- possible against a side blessed with enormous talent, said Doherty.

“I thought, to a degree, that we could have put up a better show in the second half. We were there or therea- bouts in the first half, playing to the best of our ability I believe. But that’s an awesome Kerry team out there. What came off the bench, it’s scary. And that’s not to mind what’s on the field. I have to give credit to the lads. We probably played for about 45 minutes, something like that. The sending off of Conor Whelan was a big minus to us, but there again, Kerry can kick on when they want and they upped it a gear and we just didn’t have the answers”.

Still, despite the odds, Doherty was disappointed Clare didn’t make a better impression on the scoreboard in the second half and singled out the performance of goalkeeper Joe Hayes.

‘Joe was awesome. There were at

least two goal opportunities where he pulled off great saves. We had two or three other opportunities at least in the second half to make it a bit more respectable. There again, fair play to Joe – that’s what he’s capable of and that’s why he’s number one for Oem

Doherty revealed that he encour- aged his team to play without fear against the best team in the land in one of the finest arenas in the GAA.

‘Ennis for us was a must win game because we had lost the year before and I felt that if we lost to Waterford again it would have put Clare foot- ball back maybe x amount of years and we couldn’t afford that. We were nervous against Waterford, but today, I said look, lets have a go in front of a big crowd against the best team in the country and see what we can do in relation to going forward”.

Doherty didn’t see the incident leading up to Connor Whelan’s red- card and had no complaints over the late dismissal of John Hayes.

“T didn’t see what Connor Whelan was sent off for because it was down the other end of the field and I didn’t see it. Connor told me that he shoul- dered him. So I can’t really comment any more on that. John Hayes, obvi- ously it was late in the game, he was on a yellow card. I suppose he had to go and what can you do. As re- gards the Kerry sending off, I have no comment”’.

And off he went to the dressing room. Encouragement and work to take away from Killarney.

AS KERRY manager Pat O’Shea emerged from the dressing rooms to greet the waiting media, his demean- our was not typical of a manager whose side had just won by twelve points in their opening game of the championship. His acute frown ex- hibited all the signs of a manager who was expecting a barrage of criti- cism for his side’s performance and who could blame him for such obvi- ous disappointment?

His Kerry side are ret hot favour- ites to complete a three-in-a-row of All-Irelands, not seen since the days of Pat Spillane, Jack O’Shea and the ‘Bomber’ Liston. The county expects and it is up to Pat O’Shea and his team to deliver and facing Clare in the first round was simply a distrac- tion he could have done without. A

hammering would have given them little preparation for their annual Munster final outing while if Clare had run them close, the purveyors of doom would have descended on O’Shea and his side.

As it was, this game produced a mixture of both scenarios with Ker- ry unable to get into their normal rhythm in the opening period but flexing their muscles significantly in the second half to brush off Clare’s flagging challenge.

There were also the added dis- turbances of captain Paul Galvin’s sending off and his histrionics in it’s aftermath as well as a serious injury to key forward Declan O’Sullivan. Therefore the frown was understand- able as O’Shea dealt with the per- formance first.

“It was probably not a great per- formance by us to be fair. It’s our first

championship match of the year and obviously there was a little bit of a settling-in period in the first half and it took us time to get into the game.

“It was a stop start first half, there were a lot of stoppages in play, there was a lot of time wasting in certain things and there was no fluency in the game. But you have to play every way and thankfully we were in the lead and thankfully we got off to a good start in the second half and closed out the game. Right now we want to try and progress but we also want to work on our performance and after today, we are going to have a lot to work on.”

Assessing O’Sullivan’s knee injury as a ‘worry’, the questions inevitably switched to the major talking point of the game, the sending off of Paul Galvin and understandably, O’Shea was coy with his opinions on the

subject.

“To be fair, I think from our point of view, we will have to look at the incidents that led up to the sending off. Obviously Paul was very frus- trated and I think he felt himself that maybe he was sinned against in that situation. Obviously, I haven’t seen the video so I’m not sure until we have a look at it. I mean the game of football is all about emotion and Paul probably showed a little bit too much emotion there but he obviously felt that he was sinned against in that incident.”

Evaluating the game as a two fold test, O’Shea went on to explain that what he looked for on Sunday was firstly the result but also the perform- ance and in that regard, his side still have a lot to do before the Munster final. But he is in no doubt that the Clare game will benefit his side go-

ing forward.

““T think when you play a first round game against Clare, people will talk about no win situations. You win the game by too much ‘Was it really a test?’, you win the game by a little bit “Will it really stand to you?’. Look, that was a physical game, that was a championship match, there were a lot of big hits going in there and it was a tough game. I’m sure it will stand to us. It’s our first game in the cham- pionship this year and I hope we will come on from it but you know, we will obviously have to learn from what we did today and there is im- provement to be done.”

Improvement seemed to be the re- sounding theme to emerge from both camps on Sunday but with Clare and Kerry at varying ends of the cham- pionship divide, the degrees of that improvement are still worlds apart.

THE proposed move by Clare County Council to contravene its own Devel- opment Plan and facilitate an Ennis businessman to build a one-off home in the countryside has prompted someone else to seek similar treat- ment.

Last month, the council signalled its intention to grant planning per- mission to Gerry Danagher to build a home at Ballycullinan by disregard- ing its non-local rule and overturning the County Development Plan.

Now, Mark Rutledge of Whitehall, Dublin 9, is seeking that the coun- cil instigate a similar process to al- low him to build a one-off home on the fringes of the Burren at Roxton, Corofin.

In a submission as part of the ma- terial contravention process for Mr Danagher, Mr Roxton has told the council, “I have no connection, either personally or professionally with Mr DEE toe

“T have taken the opportunity to review the planning file and, on the basis of what I saw, I believe this

application deserves consideration for the granting of planning despite materially contravening the County Development Plan.

“I would like to use this opportu- nity to seek similar consideration for my own planning situation with the council. I believe that remedying my planning situation would materially contravene the County Development Plan 2005-11.

“My wife and I purchased a 10-acre site in Roxton, Corofin in May 1999; the land came with outline planning permission. Full planning permis-

sion was received in November 2003, cognisant of the fact that planning expired at the end of 2003.

‘For a variety of reasons, only the basic site clearance and foundation was accomplished at that time. I was working on regularising my situation with respect to the lapsed planning when I was served with an author- ised development.

‘No further works have been under- taken on the site since that notice. I have not applied for planning permis- sion or retention since because under the terms of the County Development

Plan, my application would be reject- ed due to the fact that I would not be deemed a local rural person or living in the area under pressure at least for 10 years. I am seeking consideration material contravention of the County Development Plan due to the fact that my eligibility for planning changed between the previous and the current county development plan.

“IT would appreciate a response to this letter and the possibility of working out a solution that would provide a satisfactory outcome to all parties.”

ENNIS has been named the cleanest town in Ireland in the latest survey by the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) league.

Ennis has traditionally fared poorly in the survey. Last year Ennis fin- ished in 31st position. However, En- nis outperformed 55 other towns and cities surveyed in Ireland to achieve a status of ‘clean to European norms’.

Mayor of Ennis Tommy Brennan said, “We’re obviously delighted with the result, we are the cleanest town in Ireland having been castigated for so long by IBAL in the past.

“It just goes to show the benefits of partnership between Ennis Town Council, the tidy towns committee,

IBAL and other organisations. We’ve got to the top and hopefully we can stay there.”

Mr Brennan also paid tribute to the staff of Ennis Town Council.

“It’s a great boost for the entire town and for tourism in Ennis. A lot of credit must go to the cleaning crews of Ennis Town Council and especial- ly to Brendan Keogh and everyone working in the gardening section of the council. They have done terrific work, this year and every year, with such a small staff.”

In a statement, An Taisce said the result was a very positive develop- ment for Ennis.

“Ennis has seen huge all around improvements on previous IBAL anti-litter surveys and all of the sites

surveyed were ‘clean to European norms’. This is very positive for En- nis at this time of the year, as the tourist season beings to come upon us. Hopefully, the high standard can be sustained throughout the year. It wasn’t just the lack of litter, which set Ennis apart, but the way in which the environments are managed, eg planting, bins, benches. Credit is cer- tainly due to all responsible for this huge effort.

“While Killarney and Ennis can also claim excellent performances, the good news does not extend to all tourist centres,’ said IBAL Chair- man Dr Tom Cavanagh. “The cities of Limerick, Kilkenny and especial- ly Cork have slipped backwards, as has Galway to a lesser extent.”

CLARE on the radar. Two years ago, a sopping, soggy Fitzgerald Stadium housed a little over 6,000 punters for Kerry’s opening game in the 2006 championship. Waterford visited and brought almost as many fans as those that showed up for the home side.

It was late May and one of those days when the mountains behind the stand can only be felt and not seen, when the slate on St Finian’s Hospi- tal beyond the terrace turns black.

Nobody knew it at the time but that wet May afternoon was the begin- ning of Kerry’s shot at what has now become a three-in-a-row possibility.

It was difficult to predict the suc- cess that the two years since then would bring because for parts of that game, Waterford caused problems Kerry and in fact, should have been closer than the eight point winning margin that Kerry recorded. At one stage in the second half, Waterford could have drawn level but Andy Hubbard’s penalty was saved by D1- armuid Murphy and Gary Hurney’s follow-up was brilliantly taken off the line by Seamus Moynihan.

That game is recalled merely as a Starting point for all that has hap- pened for Kerry in 2006 and 2007. Even leaving the All-Ireland of 2004 aside, the current Kerry side has evolved into one of the finest teams to ever play football.

They’re fluid and powerful in at-

tack, composed and dogged in de- fence and since 2006 their approach has again evolutionised the game. Those qualities of power and com- posure were seen several times over the past two seasons but particularly at different stages of the Dublin and Monaghan games last year.

Against Monaghan, the ball was never passed laterally in their own half and against Dublin, only very

rarely. During both games, they dic- tated the pace at key moments as time was running out and they man- aged to score goals at crucial times. It’s unfair to say that the Clare chal- lenge doesn’t register on the Kerry radar this week and that alone, high- lights the approach in the county. Twenty years ago and as recent as ten — even including ’°92 -, Clare was seen as little more than something to

swat away.

Now, there are senior players who genuinely feel as though they’re play- ing for their place on the panel, not to mind the team. Two weeks back, a handful of Kerry players were gath- ered for extra training in Killarney. It was a backflip to Mick O’Dwyer’s days but shows that Kerry are taking the Clare challenge on board, if for no other reason than to nail down places for later in the year.

“There are potential pitfalls out there. I have always maintained that,” sayS Kerry manager Pat O’Shea. “Look at Wicklow beating Kildare in the Leinster championship. Look at Fermanagh beating Monaghan. They are two prime examples of teams getting turned over unexpectedly this season.

“*T have said that to the lads and they know that. Clare will come down here with nothing to lose and they will be full of confidence after their win against Waterford.

“Tt’s a tricky tie for us because we will, obviously, be that bit ring rusty while Clare will have the benefit of their game against Waterford. But the bottom line is this is a match that we are treating very seriously, like we do with all our games. If we don’t perform then there is a good chance that Clare will beat us. We have to be at our best.”

Down the tracks, the prospect of that third title looms, strange as it sounds considering that only two

years ago, the prospects of any coun- ty achieving back-to-back titles was considered slim.

“Being honest, we haven’t spoken about that [the three-in-a-row bid] in training and we don’t have any say in regards to what people write and what people say. All we can do is concentrate on our own game and take it match by match, one step at PIB une lee

‘“That’s what we did last year and we see no reason to change a win- ning formula. The only match on our horizon is Sunday’s against Clare.

“We try to make sure that the panel is stronger every year and I think that the Under-21’s All-Ireland win is a big boost.

“The league was encouraging also with a lot of players making a claim for starting spots so the task for me 1s to now find the best balanced 15 that can Start.”

“There were times in the league when we saw the fight, heart and hunger that a team that wants to be successful needs. It was very heart- ab eehee

“These lads have always proved that they can rise to the occasion, and they will have to do that against Clare. That’s the first step in what we hope will be a long journey.”

“A MOMENT of absolute stupidity” was how a Solicitor referred to an in- cident in which her client punched a garda in the face.

The remark was made in court in the case of Flan Ginnane (26), of Quay Road, Kildysart, who was

charged with assaulting Garda Alan Kelly, at Abbey Street, Ennis, in the early hours of March 3 last.

Defending solicitor Siobhan Mc- Mahon said her client was pleading cuilty.

Garda Kelly told Ennis District Court last Friday that he was dealing with Ginnane’s friends and he got in-

volved.

‘‘He punched me in the face. He ran off. I caught up with him,” said the eee

He said the accused apologised that night and again the following day.

Ms McMahon said that when her chent saw gardai approaching, he tried to intervene to help one of his

friends who was younger than him.

“Tt was a moment of absolute stu- pidity that led to this situation. He is petrified by the whole situation,” said the solicitor.

She said her client is a “genuinely decent person” who was highly thought of in his local community, where he had a deep involvement in

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“Tt is totally out of character,” she said.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a two-month jail term. But he will sub- stitute this with 240 hours commu- nity service if the accused is found suitable. He adjourned the case until next month.