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MINISTER for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Ea- mon Ryan, joined cycling legend Sean Kelly, and his daughter Stacey for an early morning bike ride to offi- cially launch the 2010 An Post Cycle Series, with Clare one of participat- ing counties in what is a joint initia- tive with the Irish Sports Council.

The series aims to encourage com- munities around the country to get on their bikes. With routes catering for everyone from the serious ama- teur to families, the series has proven to be a great way for family, friends and work colleagues to spend a day of fun together while the serious rider can choose a more challenging KO) b Ken

Clare is one of the five counties (Sligo, Meath, Waterford and Cork being the others) that has been se- lected as regional hosts for the An Post Cycle Series events, which run monthly between May and Septem- ber 2010. Each event is organised by the Irish Sports Council’s Local Sports Partnerships in conjunction with their city, county and cycling club partners. The Tour de Burren will feature a 10k family loop as well as a 60k challenge and the 160k a SIUNSFNDeM > IbuRo) te

This is the second year of the se- ries, which were a huge success in year one, with over 5,500 riders taking part last year. The series is a welcome addition to the cycling cal- endar and this year has the additional support of Cycling Ireland.

“T congratulate all those involved

on the great work they have done so far and I’m positive that the Cycle Series will inspire many more people to ‘get on their bike’. It is an annual event that will undoubtedly go from strength to strength.” Minister Ryan added.

This year’s Cycle Series ambassa- dor is former world number one cy- clist Sean Kelly, who will be taking part in the Clare Tour. “I’m delighted to be an ambassador for this year’s series. The events are unique in that they offer something to every type of cyclist, from beginners and families to the more serious and dedicated enthusiast. On a personal note, I’m really looking forward to getting the series underway in Sligo in May, and

as far as a challenge goes I’m looking no further than the “Burnin Burren’ in Clare.”

The An Post Series gets underway on Sunday, May 9, with the An Post Tour of Sligo. This will be followed by the An Post Tour De Burren in Clare on Saturday, June 19, while the Heritage Cycle Tour of Meath will take place on Sunday, July 25. The already well known Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford event will be on Sun- day, August 29, and finally the Rebel Tour of Cork will be on Saturday, September 11.

MICHAEL O’ Dwyer got the man-of- the-match gong; Noel Downes was top scorer and between them they hit 1-5; Stephen Moloney, meanwhile, didn’t score at all, but was the other stand-out figure in the forwards.

That he turned in such a energetic running performance — his best since the Munster quarter-final against Dromcollogher-Broadford was re- markable, given his injury-hit prepa- ele (eyee

“My fitness ran out for a finish,” he admits, “because I hurt my hip the week after the Tir Chonaill Gaels game and my first night training was last Thursday night, so there wasn’t much in the tank, but there was enough for me to last that long.”

By then Kilmurry were on the highroad — off the N67 that runs by the football field in Quilty and on the N7 that leads all the way to Dublin,

a destination that Moloney says was always going to be theirs.

“Everything was good in the camp; the mood was good and Declan Call- inan’s suspension really fired us up more. He was the last man that spoke in the dressing room and to see a man crying before you in the dress- ing room puts the hair standing on the back of your head.

“Portlaoise felt that at the start of the game. Whatever Portlaoise might do we knew we had to stick to our running game. We’ve been relying on our backs since the first round of the Clare championship last year, but we finally gave them a performance KOO hs

“We knew we could beat them. We looked at their results. They’d put up big scores — scores like 2-12 and 2-10 and we knew they weren’t going to do that against our backs. Our backs are too good for that and weren’t go- ing to concede a big score.

‘And Portlaoise hadn’t been in bat- tles like we had. That game over in England was some battle. It was the toughest match we’ve ever played and we knew that they hadn’t that done and it showed today, that game against Tir Chonaill Gaels and what we got out of it really showed. They hadn’t the bottle. They didn’t want to battle like we did to win the All-Ire- land semi-final.”

It means Moloney is one of half a dozen or so who will be back in OO AGIA KEM mobaa note with a Féile na nOg team. “Back then I never thought I’d be back in Croke Park. It’s a long time coming but it’s great to be back with a lot of those same boys. It’s unbelievable really.”

THE Kilrush Farmers’ Market is back this week after its winter use e

Just like the long evenings, the farmers market has become another indicator of spring in the west Clare Cree

For many locals the return also signals the start of the new year’s foodie calendar.

The highly successful market is widely regarded as a source of lo- cal, high quality, seasonal food and TbOtea Keren (oN

The market will begin again this Thursday at 9am and finish up at 2pm in the town centre.

Many of the regular stallholders are returning to provide the shop- ping experience that promises some- thing for everyone.

Among the produce on sale is a se- lection of fresh vegetables; organic produce; local Clare cheeses; fresh fish and seafood; freshly-baked bread and cakes, savoury lunchtime treats and French-style pancakes; jams, pickles and chutneys; tea, cof- fee and fruit juices; plants and flow- ers; and a variety of locally-made

craft products.

Kilrush Farmers’ Market control- ler Hilary Gleeson has hailed the market a complete success.

“I think the farmers’ market is a great way to buy quality fresh food produced here in Ireland. People can be confident of the origins of the food and are able to get to know their lo- cal supplier – often with a chance to sample before they buy.

“Our market has become more and more a part of people’s weekly shop- ping habits and it’s great to see it thriving,” she said.

The farmers’ market is ever chang-

ing, regularly recruiting new stall- holders who offer quality food and new craft ideas.

Many of the stallholders take or- ders for their goods while others provide a delivery service.

“Buying local also has many ben- efits, including supporting local growers, food producers and arti- sans which creates business locally, promotes a sense of community and also does its bit for the environment by helping to cut down on the dis- tance food and produce travels,” said the PRO for the market Mark Wil- son-Pierce.

THERE was good news on the dou- ble for Gort Community School last week when it was announced that the school has been granted funding to construct three new classrooms and has also been chosen to take part in a new high-tech school programme.

The announcement of the new classrooms was made last week by local TD Noel Treacy (FF) who said the new classrooms and changing rooms will come as a big boost to the staff and students.

Meanwhile, the school has also been chosen to take part in a pilot programme to test the benefits of high-speed broadband and _next-

generation technologies in the class- room.

In the coming weeks the school will be kitted out with new, super high-speed broadband and will also receive 31 laptops and 25 digital pro- jectors.

The pilot project, which has been launched by the Department of Com- munications, Energy and Natural Resources, will see a wireless LAN connection installed in the school, allowing high-speed internet to be received anywhere in the school elena euneres

The new technological investment, which will total around €50,000, will also allow the school to create a mobile computer suite, with the

wireless broadband enabling them to bring the laptops to any room in the school.

The investment will also allow the school to further enhance the use of technology while teaching music. The school’s music students already use the music notation software Fi- nale Print Music which can be used instead of pen and paper to notate music.

This software also allows students to compose and arrange music the way they want it to sound which can then be transposed to any key and for any instrument. Through this technology, students can also play a MIDI keyboard with a metronome and watch their music appear on

screen in real time.

“We are taking online learning out of the confines of the computer room. In classrooms and corridors, students and teachers will poten- tially be able to carry out interactive chemistry experiments and access demonstrations and exhibitions from all over the world,’ said Eamon Ryan (GP), when launching the scheme last week.

“A class learning French could talk in real time with a class in France. A Leaving Certificate physics stu- dent will be able to take part in Ivy League lectures and experiments. With this level of connectivity, the opportunities for interaction and col- laboration are unlimited.”

ORGANISERS of the Clare Burren Marathon Challenge are aiming to top 2,000 participants for this year’s event – which would make it one of the largest adventure marathons ever to take place in Ireland.

Detail of this year’s event, which is organised by the Ballyvaughan/ Fanore Walking Club, were an- nounced last week with May 22 be- ing pencilled in as the date for the third running of the competition.

The event will also see timing chips being offered to everyone who takes part over the age of 16. Every- one who finishes the marathon with a chip will receive an official text telling them their exact finishing time minutes after they complete No OTE KoIOTXeR

“We get a lot of people back year after year and this new chip will al- low these people to get their time texted right to their mobile after the race. It’s the usual thing, people would be trying to better their time from other years,’ said organiser Kevin McCormick.

“We are hoping to get more than 2,000 people to take part this year. It would be great going if that hap- pens but that is our hope and expec- tation. We had almost 1,700 people taking part last year which was al-

most double what we had in the first year.”

Over the last few years, the Clare Burren Marathon Challenge has pro- vided a major early season boost for the tourism industry in north Clare. This year, the challenge will once again run in tandem with the Burren in Bloom Festival, which has itself become a major tourism boost for north Clare.

“We get people from all over tak- ing part. We have a lot coming from England and America and a lot from Germany and Holland as well. A lot of these people just happened to be in the area when the marathon took place in previous years and now they are coming back each year to take part. They bring back more friends each year and it grows then by word of mouth,” continued Kevin.

“It’s a massive tourism boost for the area. And it is well needed, es- pecially the way things are going at id otomsneKeyee ley 0 line

The walk will also take in some of the most dramatic scenery in Europe and includes portions on road, green road and Burren trail. This year’s event is being supported by the Logues Lodge, Clare Spring Water and the Clare Sports Partnership.

For more information check out www.clareburrenmarathonchal- lenge.com.

PEOPLE in north Clare are going back to the future by learning how to use the ancient form of cob building to construct sheds and other struc- ebdeny

Cob building involves mixing clay, straw, sand and water which is then worked into a wall in a proc- ess known as cobbing. The process, which has been used in Clare since pre-historic times, has been regain- ing its popularity in recent times as people look for environmentally- friendly ways of building structures.

This has prompted the Boghill Centre in Kilfenora to begin a new

course on cob building. The course, which begins later this month, will guide people in how to use the tech- nique.

“Cob building is very low-tech, re- quiring only simple tools and a large amount of time. Unlike conventional modern building with heavy cement blocks, cob is a very democratic building material. You can pick up large or small handfuls of the mix- ture meaning that anyone can join in, the elderly, small children, it’s not the exclusive domain of well-mus- cled young men,” said Kim Harrison from the Boghill Centre.

“The really nice thing about this material is that it is easily sculpted,

so you don’t need to have any hard edges and space-wasting corners. Your creativity 1s unleashed as you shape an_ aesthetically pleasing structure, curving and undulating in whatever way you wish.”

Besides being an inexpensive way of building, cob also provides sound insulation, 1S non-toxic and non-al- lergenic.

“Not only does it require little ener- gy to construct compared to modern building methods and materials, but sourcing the materials locally means it has a very low environmental im- pact,” continued Kim.

“The thick walls, usually around 24cm, have a high thermal mass –

this means they have the ability to store heat within the wall and release it very slowly. This makes cob build- ings easy to keep warm in winter and cool in summer. Heat is soaked up by the wall in the daytime, travelling at one inch per hour, then continues its journey through the wall heating the inside air during the night, leaving the walls cool again for the follow- TU NTSaKO Ne

“The combination of cob and pas- sive solar heating as heat from sun- light entering through large south- facing windows can create a house that requires little additional heat- rhea

Visit www.boghill.com for details.

THE recession is stifling Irish third world charity Bothar’s ability to send Irish cattle to some of the world’s poorest rural communities. The char- ity currently has more than 500 fam- ilies awaiting animals in Rwanda, Albania and Kosovo but, because of a downturn in cattle donations, they do not have enough cattle in stock to meet the demand.

The international development agency normally flies between 400 and 600 cattle out of Shannon Air- port each year. The receiving fami- lies have each qualified for the Both-

ar programme by growing enough fodder to feed the animals over the last nine months.

They are also required to build an appropriate cow house and undergo a training course in cow husbandry.

“This drop-off is probably because of the economic recession. We have noticed in recent months that the flow of heifers has been slowing down. We would like to urge farm- ers to consider donating a heifer to a poor family in the developing world as however bad our circum- stances might be, these people are much worse off altogether,” said Al- lison Mc Namara, Marketing and PR

Manager of Bothar.

“One dairy cow would not change the lives and indeed the future of an entire family here in Ireland. Howev- er, in Our project countries, one good dairy cow can be better than winning the Lotto.

“In fact, receiving a dairy cow does a lot more for our recipient families than providing them with food and income. It goes on to give them a great sense of pride in their work and restores their dignity as human be- ings. It gives them great hope for the future as it will enable them to send their children to school and pay for day to day family necessities.”

The next Bothar airlift 1s scheduled to take place at the end of March and the organisation is asking farm- ers to donate an in-calf dairy heifer. The are also asking the non-farming public to donate the cost of an in-calf dairy heifer or to donate what you can towards this airlift.

Anyone who wishes to donate should contact Maria McCormack at maria@bothar.ie or freephone 1800 PA eee

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