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ALMOST 100 new jobs have been announced in Shannon with two new companies coming into the Free Zone.

Minister for Labour Affairs, Mr Tony Killeen TD, will today announce the establishment of two new companies at Shannon Free Zone which between them will create 97 new jobs over the next five years.

Supported by Shannon Development, the new companies are White Horse Insurance Ireland Ltd who are bring- ing 52 new jobs and PC Tools Software who will hire 45 new staff.

Making the announcement, Minister Killeen said, “It is a wonderful vote of confidence in Shannon Free Zone that two world class companies have decid- ed to establish bases here. White Horse Insurance Ireland Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the global MyTravel Group plc, a major player in some of the most active markets for package holidays and other leisure travel serv-

ices, and PC Tools Software, a global leader in innovative software products designed for securing, protecting and maintaining Windows operating sys- oats

Welcoming the two new companies to the Shannon Free Zone, Mr Kevin Thompstone, Chief Executive, Shan- non Development, said: “The two in- vestments announced today represent the further development of two key

Strategic sectors for Shannon Free Zone – Insurance and E-Commerce. We are delighted to welcome White Horse Insurance Ireland Ltd to the Free Zone. They join the growing clus- ter of insurance operations at Shannon, now employing almost 700 people. PC Tools Software will also be a strong addition to the emerging e-commerce sector at Shannon.”

The two new companies were attract- ed to the Shannon Free Zone through the co-operative work of Shannon Development and IDA Ireland. More than 7,200 people are employed in 110 companies there, generating over €3.3 billion in annual sales. Shannon Development is currently preparing a comprehensive master plan for a major regeneration programme at the Free Zone to guarantee its continued com- petitive edge into the future.

A MAN found with two bags of heroin and a number of syringes in a brown envelope told a court that he didn’t know what was in the envelope when it was given to him.

And the man found holding the drugs had been previously convicted of dan- gerous driving in an accident in which his girlfriend was killed, the court

heard.

Brian Green of Corrovorrin Avenue, Ennis, pleaded guilty to possession of the drug before Ennis District Court.

Judge Joseph Mangan heard that the heroin had a street value of about €50.

The defendant’s solicitor, Tara God- frey, said her client “was given the en- velope by another person. He wasn’t aware of what was in it when it was handed over. He was pulled by the

Gardai five minutes later.”

The solicitor told Judge Mangan that the 31-year old had “‘never had any op- portunity to train at anything before, Now he has an opportunity to train as a scaffolder”’.

Godfrey said that of seven previous convictions which her client had, one was for dangerous driving.

“It caused the death of his girlfriend and he has never fully got over it. He’s

attended Narcotics Anonymous,” she ree

Judge Mangan adjourned sentencing until July 13 to allow a probation report be prepared but he told the probation officer that he wanted more than a re- port.

“Unless he is willing to undergo a thorough course, including assessment and treatment, he’s looking at a custo- dial sentence,’ the judge said.

A BUSKER who got arrested after his bodhran was stolen in Ennis told a judge he was “sorry for enjoying Pad- dy’s Day”’.

Ralph Perkins of Rinbow Cottage, Cadamstown, Birr, was before En- nis District Court on a Public Order Charge after being arrested during the

festivities in the town on March 17.

He told the court, “All I was doing was playing and busking and because I didn’t move on immediately the garda told me to, he shackled me and I was arrested.”

Perkins told Judge Joseph Mangan that he believed the guard was “out of order. I wasn’t doing any harm. I was just enjoying Paddy’s Day.”

The defendant added that he “missed a session” because of being locked in a cell after being arrested.

Perkins said that he had earlier had his bodhran stolen while playing on the streets of Ennis.

“All I said to him (the garda) was, why don’t you do your job and find my bodhran?”

Judge Mangan said that “what con-

cerns me, is how you plan to celebrate NM Cle gener: hae

The garda due to prosecute the case against Perkins was not in court.

Asked by Judge Mangan whether he would like to apply to the court for a direction, Inspector Michael Gal- lagher said he would. Judge Mangan struck out the charge against Perkins, who bowed and thanked the court.

THE Catholic Church is set to be- come one of the main local players in property development and specu- lation in the county if its ambitious rezoning plans are realised.

As part of the review of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan, the Killaloe Diocesan Trust has made submissions in relation to six sepa- rate properties it owns in Ennis.

If the diocese is successful in its plans, it will add millions of euro onto the value of its various land

holdings.

The most ambitious proposal re- lates to the site of the Ennis resi- dence of the Bishop of Killaloe.

The trust is seeking to have the eight-acre site rezoned from ‘other Settlement land’, which allows lm- ited development, to ‘mixed use — residential, commercial and retail’ and retain the ‘open space’ section.

In the planner’s response, it points out that the site is an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) and the dwelling, Westbourne House, is a protected structure.

With the proposed relocation of Ennis National School and the con- sequent rezoning last year of 85 acres of diocesan-owned land, the diocese stands to realise €30 mil- lion.

In its submission, the Diocesan Trust has requested the council to retain the rezoning of the site at Ashline.

The trust has also requested the council to rezone lands at Station Road, containing the Old Burren cinema, the Maria Assumpta Hall, the Scout Hall and some open space

in the vicinity of the Cathedral to one of the council’s strategic *Pro- posal Sites’. The land is already Zoned community and town centre and the Diocesan Trust is seeking that the ‘Proposal Site’ be zoned to include community, office and com- mercial uses.

The trust is also seeking that the site at Cloughleigh Primary School be rezoned from community to another ‘Proposal Site’ to include community, office and commercial tone

In response to the rezoning re-

quests, the council states that the land at Station Road, including the Scout Hall and the Maria Assumpta Hall, is within the town centre boundary and the proposed uses are appropriate to town centre zoning.

In relation to the Cloughleigh Pri- mary School site, the council’s plan- ners state that “although land in the Western Residential Development Area is earmarked for a new school, in reviewing the plan, it may be ap- propriate to consider whether the community use of the site should be KoA eB UOLore Mae

TWO shotguns, jewellery and a variety of electrical items which were stolen in a bur- glary in Ballyvaughan 16 months ago have been recovered, abandoned on land.

The discovery by gardai was made close to Ballyvaughan, on Saturday morning.

According to gardai, the guns were found in the same state they were taken, from a home in Ballyvaughan in December 2005.

The other items recovered were two televi- sions, radios, a computer, printer, scanner, flatscreen monitor and a significant array of jewellery, which is of sentimental value.

A substantial sum of cash, which was also taken in the burglary, has not been recov- Ksrn

The discovery was made a short distance from the house which was burgled.

Gardai believe the items have been ex- posed to the weather for several months.

Ennistymon Superintendent Noel Clarke said the items will be technically exam- ined.

“The find was made as a result of Garda investigations. They will be examined.

“Most of the items are of limited value, because they have been left out on the land,” said Supt Clarke.

DOORA-BAREFIELD native, Martina Molo- ney, is to become the first female County Manager in the history of Galway, it was an- nounced last week.

The 47-year-old mother-of-two began her county council career as a clerical officer in Ennis and was, most recently, county manager in Louth for the last three and half years.

She is also a former director of services with Galway City Council and has some 20 years of experience working for local Government.

Although the appointment was announced last week, Ms Moloney is unlikely to begin work in Galway until later this summer.

She must also be ratified by the elected members of Galway County Council at their meeting later this month and will not be of- ficially appointed in her position until May.

Ms Moloney’s late husband, Jimmy Hick- ey, 1S also originally from the Ennis area. The pair met while they both worked for the county council in Ennis. Jimmy passed away in 1991.

“IT am excited about the challenge of being back in Galway and one of my main aims will be to do my best to help improve the county’s capacity to attract and accommodate new in- dustry,” she said.

“There is new main route through east Gal- way to Dublin, the many issues regarding the N17 and N18 and of course I am familiar with the Claregalway situation.”

While her career working with local authori- ties started out in Ennis, she has since got a lot of experience around the country.

She worked with councils in Limerick City, Donegal and North Tipperary before moving to Galway City and then to Louth.

AS the summer sunshine has been making itself feel very much at home in recent weeks, businesses 1n north Clare have been dusting them- selves off in preparation for the tour- ist deluge that the next few months will surely bring.

One business’ which probably doesn’t need too much of a spring clean however is Kennedy’s Centra on Church Street in Lahinch.

The shop has just been awarded an Excellence Ireland National Hygiene Award for it’s ongoing commitment to hygiene and food safety.

The award, which was presented by Minister of State at the Depart- ment of Agriculture and Food, Mary Wallace, is the highest independent verification of hygiene standards and food safety in Ireland.

“It is very important that such achievements are acknowledged and applauded and so become an incen- tive for others to strive to reach the same high standards,’ said Minister AWE TEE Teron

“These awards acknowledge the ongoing year-round daily commit- ment throughout the Centra stores. The Musgrave SuperValu-Centra eroup has a well-deserved reputation

for high standards as well as being a huge supporter of the Irish food in- dustry with over 75 per cent of goods sourced from Irish suppliers.”

Throughout Ireland the Cen- tra group invests in the region of €350,000 annually in its hygiene programme.

“The Hygiene Mark indicates that a business has the highest standards of hygiene and safety in Irish industry and complies with all Irish and Euro- pean legislation,’ said Martin Roper, Technical Director, Excellence Ire- land Quality Association.

‘The retail market currently leads the field in compliance in the Irish

food sector, so consumers can be re- assured whenever they see the EIQA Hygiene and Food Safety Certificate displayed.”

Centra have a total of 400 stores in the Republic of Ireland, employing 12,000 people, with stores independ- ently run by local owners.

“Being awarded the highest ever number of National Hygiene Certifi- cate awards highlights the fact that the Centra retailer is consistently achieving the highest retail standards in the country. Hygiene is number one when it comes to customer care,” said Donal Horgan, Centra’s Manag- ing Director.

THE massive increase in the local population has paved the way for the establishment of a new creche which is due to open in Corofin in the com- TP OTSMR ets) Oe

The Butterfly Kisses Childcare Centre, which will cater for up to 20 children as-well-as offering an after school care service, will host an open day next Saturday, April 21.

The purpose built facility, which is located in the Laghtagoona Es- tate, will then open for business on Monday, April 30. The créche is owned and operated by Ken and

Olga O’Malley, who are a long es- tablished provider of childcare in County Clare.

“Corofin’s landscape has changed in recent years with many couples opting for a less hectic way of life in this idyllic country setting,” said Olga.

“We believe that the childcare cen- tre will be a valuable asset to the community in supporting its contin- ued development. Great work is been done as we have seen with the recent opening of a public playground.

“We look forward to offering the very best in childcare into the future and supporting the development of

that all important foundation to the future of this community, its chil- elo

The créche itself is 250 square me- ters in size and includes two main rooms, Little Treasures which caters for children up to 18 months and fea- tures a remote viewing sleep room and the Adventure Room which ca- ters for children up to school age.

The project was made possible through the support of a number of agencies including the Clare County Childcare Committee, the Clare En- terprise Board and the Health Serv- ice Executive.

“We are very excited to be involved

with this venture in Corofin, having family in the area. The clear need for such a centre in the community makes it all the more exciting. We are very proud of the way the build- ing has evolved from a blank canvas to what we see now,” said Ken.

“We would especially like to thank local Minister Tony Killeen for his support of this project in his com- munity. We would also like to thank Cronin Nagle Construction for work- ing with us to build such a centre to this exceptionally high standard.”

For more info contact 6831834, 087 6780253 or omalleyken@hotmail. ore) on

GORT is gearing up for a major addi- tion to the regional festival calendar with the inaugural Changing Colours Festival. The festival, which will take on May 27, has been designed to reflect the changing nature of the town, to celebrate the new alongside the old.

The central focus of the festival will be a large carnival parade through the streets of Gort but it will also in- clude an arts exhibition, original CD launch and a farmers market.

“The festival is designed to cel- ebrate the new multi-cultural Gort and the changing landscape around the area as well. There is an awful lot of building going on so the landscape

here is changing and the inhabitants of that landscape are changing as well,’ said Niamh Clune of Grace, who are organisation the festival.

“We want to try and develop some performance art and street theatre so we have gotten all the local schools involved, and they will perform three minute loops along the streets enact- ing the history of Gort from King Guaire extending his hand to the stranger right up to the arrival of the Brazilians.

“That 1s carnival time, we have dancers, drummers and all kinds of performers. We have some capoeira, which is a form of martial art and we have a really authentic Brazilian samba band. I will be very colourful and a lot of fun.

Another important part of the fes- tival is the Changing Colours Music Project.

“The music project consists of a number of special pieces of music that we are writing. We are trying to include as many local musicians as we can,’ said Niamh.

“We have some wonderful Irish musician playing with Brazilian drummers and we have sampled dig- ital sounds and hip-hop rhythms. It’s all mixed in and it’s all coming out so well. It’s about mixing rhythms and mixing styles. We hope that this will be the beginning of a community record label and we will be releasing music on Coole Records. We hope to help develop talent in the area and we would be looking for locals mu-

SICGAE-UOLSME- NOLO MN Oy- NOLO MUO KO)OO MEADE MESXo)IDKSI ILO help develop their work.”

Local artist Frank McCann will be one of the main focus points for the artistic element of the festival which will take place in the court house and in the streets of Gort themselves.

‘He is a very special local artist and he will be co-ordinating the art exhibition along with the Sharon Kelly and three other arts. We have asked all the shops to allow us to use their shop windows as exhibi- tions space for local people to exhibit their works. Anyone can get involved from new artists to professional art- ists,” continued Niamh.

For more information on the festi- val contact GRACE at 091 – 631203.

FURIOUS business people in east Clare have slated the lack of fa- cilities for boaters and visitors to Mountshannon Harbour.

As the first Bank Holiday weekend of the season was blessed with sun- Shine last week, visitors flocked to the lake-shore village in boats and or NaS

But members of the East Clare Tourism Group were “appalled” to discover that all the bins intended for boat users have been removed and piles of smelly, unsightly rubbish were left piled up beside the recy- oA Tb aheam ey bake

The group says that the special pump-out stations, used by hire-boat tourists and boat-owners, haven’t worked in years.

‘This was the first busy week this year and there were hundreds of peo- ple in Mountshannon,” said Theresa Browne of the tourism group.

“It’s a disgrace that there were no disposal facilities for people. And the pump-out stations still aren’t working so people are going out into the lake and emptying the septic tanks from their boats. The harbour has mooring for 150 boats, which 1s a major asset to Mountshannon. It’s beyond belief that the county council can’t provide such basic facilities,”

said Theresa.

As the tourism group met last week in the wake of the sunny Bank Holi- day weekend, they learned that “the situation was no better at Two Mile Gate. There are no litter bins there either’, said Theresa.

“Lough Derg is the jewel in the crown of natural assets in this part of Clare. If we can’t provide the most basic of facilities for people, they won’t come here,” she said.

Local councillor, Colm Wiley, who is a member of the Tourism Board, said that he has met with officials of the local authority to discuss the matter.

“They are going out to inspect the

facilities and see what can be done,” said Cllr Wiley.

The local councillor said he spoke to the councils’ Director of Services, Ger Dollard, about the problems with the pump-out facilities.

“The engineers say they are work- ing. The system is that people on boats have to buy cards for the pumps from local shops, It does seem that this system is not work- ing successfully and it will have to be looked at again,” the Clare county councillor said.