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VINCENT Coleman of Fine Gael has been co-opted to Shannon Town Council, replacing Tony Mulcahy, whose election as a Senator created the vacancy.

At a meeting of the town council last week, Clrr Seán McLoughlin (FG) proposed that the 33-year-old be co-opted to the council. This was seconded by his party colleague, Cllr Mary Brennan. Shannon Town Clerk Liam O’Connor told the meeting that the Fine Gael party has nominated Mr Coleman, who works with Servisair in Shannon. The town’s newest council lor was welcomed by all colleagues on the nine-member council.

Cllr McLoughlin said to Mr Coleman, “You have knocked on the doors in Shannon. You have stuffed envelopes. You are well used to the politics of politics as such.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy said to Mr Coleman, “I’m sure that you will do the job and represent the people of Shannon exceptionally well. It is a great honour to represent the people of Shannon.”

Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) said it was a very proud moment for the Coleman family and for Vincent’s parents who were in the public gallery for the memorable occasion. “It’s a shame the public gallery isn’t a bit bigger. I’d like to see a couple of hundred people here to see what happens,” he said.

Mr Coleman has been the branch chairman for Fine Gael in Shannon for the past year.

THE contribution of young people in Cloughleigh to the development of a new youth and community facility was hailed at the official opening of The Junction on Saturday.

A team of volounteers, comprised mainly of young people from the area, played an important role in determining the need for such a facility when it was first proposed in 2006.

Among those present at Saturday’s opening were Clare Youth Service volounteers Victoria Hart, Aishagh Faithfull and Barry McDonagh.

Work on the project started in 2006 with the group conducting surveys and gathering the views of teenagers in Cloughleigh.

Aishagh (21) explained, “We’ve been involved since the start in planning the building and deciding where it was going to be and what is was going to be for. We were trying to get the young people on board to help us out. We knew from the start that there was a need for it.”

According to Barry (22), there was a clear need for more youth and community facilities in the Cloughleigh area. He said, “We knew ourselves because there wasn’t really anything around for us. I’m delighted with the way it turned out. I think it looks lovely. We can’t wait to get everything going; all the programmes up and running. It’s for the whole town and county not just the area around here.” Youth worker Tommy O’Hara has worked with the project’s core group of volounteers, helping them to get young people from the area and around Ennis to participate in programmes run at The Junction. He said, “The next step really is to try and get young people into the building and develop the café. My own specific job is to develop smaller project groups within the actual centre, to go out and physically recruit them [young people] and bring them up through in much the same way as the core groups came up through the youth service. That’s what we always aim and strive for, to bring young people to that level.” Tommy, who is also from the Cloughleigh area, said the building will serve a wider community purpose. He explained, “We definitely are looking at an inter-generational programme as well that would incorporate older people and young people together, such as gardening, computers or whatever that might be.”

A NEWMARKET-ON-Fergus national school hit the national airwaves twice last week – thanks to the good spelling practices of its young pupils.

Scoil na Maighdine Muire took part in the Ryan Tubridy Show Eason’s Spelling Bee, a nationwide compe tition aimed at encouraging young people to focus on their spelling. More than 600 schools participated and the Newmarket school was one of 12 schools selected for the final stages last week.

To mark the achievement, the Tubridy Show on 2FM broadcast the Munster final live from the school last Wednesday, in which one of the school’s pupils 12-year-old Amy O’Halloran competed with students from Cork and Kerry in a spelling competition. Amy won on the day and sealed a place for herself and her school in the national final of the competition. She travelled to Dublin with her parents Des and Bernie, along with classmates, school principal Ann McMahon and Amy’s sixth class teacher Eamon Curley. She took part in the national final on Friday in the RTÉ studios. Although she was not the outright winner, Amy did her family and school proud.

She received a € 200 voucher for Eason’s and a commemorative medal for the school, in honour of her achievement.

As part of the selection process for the prestigious competition, schools were invited to write a 200-word explanation as to why they should be selected. Mark Corbett, a sixth class student, wrote a piece based on the flood in the school on St Stephen’s Day, which destroyed the library, entitled ‘Reading is a good thing especially on a wet day.’

Ann McMahon paid tribute to both Amy and Mark. “In the eight years that Amy has been in the school, she has never missed a spelling in her spelling tests. We are so proud of her and so proud of Mark,” she said.

“It was a wonderful opportunity for the school. What a high to finish the year on. We are absolutely thrilled,” added the principal.

The group, which travelled to the capital by bus, thoroughly enjoyed the day in RTÉ and all students received a special pack from the state broadcaster as a memento of the special occasion.

HE’S the Government’s assistant Chief Whip, thanks to Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s latest round of key appointments to his Fine Gael/Labour coalition, but another honour has come Deputy Joe Carey’s way this week.

All because the assistant chief whip has been voted the sexiest Clare TD in Dáil Éireann, with the Clarecastle deputy topping the poll in the Clare constituency when it comes to sex appeal.

Deputy Carey, who has been a member of Dáil Éireann since 2007, edged out his government party colleagues in the county for the title of Mr Clare Dáil Éireann in an on-line opinion poll that rates the sex appeal of all 166 members of the lower house of the Oireachtas.

The www.sexytd.com rates Deputy Carey, who turns 36 this Saturday, as the 45th sexiest member of Dáil Éireann, a rating that places him ahead of party colleague Pat Breen, who also in the top 50 with a rating of 49.

Hot on Deputy Breen’s heels is Labour’s Michael McNamara – the first time TD, who was in the same St Flannan’s College class as Deputy Carey, coming 52nd in the sexy TD roll of honour, while Fianna Fáil Timmy Dooley, much like that party nationally received a disappointing poll rating, coming at 106 in the online survey.

THE phrase ‘give us this day our daily bread’ will have particular significance at one mass service in Ennis over the coming months.

Renovations to Fahy Hall in Roslevan means that from June 25 onwards, Saturday mass will be held at O’Connors Bakery on the Tulla Road, Ennis.

A note in the Doora Barefield parish newsletter explained that final mass took place in Fahy Hall on Saturday, June 18.

It added, “Fahy Hall will then close until further notice to facilitate major development. From Saturday, June 25, onwards. Mass will take place each Saturday at 6pm at O’Connors Bakery, Tulla Road, Ennis. Ample parking available.”

Speaking yesterday, parish priest Fr Jerry Carey confirmed that Saturday mass would now be said on the grounds of O’Connors.

He explained, “O’Connor’s are facilitating us by welcoming us into a building attached to the main bakery to facilitate 6pm mass on Saturday.”

Work on Fahy Hall is expected to be completed by December. The project will see the complete re-development of Fahy Hall, including the addition of a kitchen, meeting rooms and toilets. Fr Carey explained that a new oratory would essentially provide a “24/7 church” for the local community.

The oratory, which will accommodate 95 people, will be linked with the community hall to facilitate larger crowds for Saturday mass and other, larger church services.

Fr Carey added, “The community centre will then be retained, almost as a separate part of the building, for the rest of the week.”

The project involves renovating and extending the existing community hall for community and ecclesiastical use, constructing a new site entrance, access road and carparking together with all associated site development works and services.