Author: admin

THE Mayor of Clare has donated his €1,000 Christmas card allowance to two local voluntary groups that pro- vide services to children and adults with intellectual and physical dis- abilities.

Presenting ©500 cheques to the Clare Crusaders and the Shannon Flyers Special Olympics Club, May- or Tony Mulcahy said the county was fortunate to have a number of groups supporting children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. These organisations require funds to continue operating and that was why he diverted his allowance to their re- spective fundraising efforts.”

Commenting on the work of Clare Crusaders, Mayor Mulcahy said they performed an invaluable service ena- bling parents and families of chil- dren with special needs to achieve a better quality of life.

“This wonderful organisation pro- vides a variety of services to over 120 children with special needs in the ar- eas of cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome and a variety of other con- ditions. I wish to compliment the or-

ganisation, which is headed by Ann Norton, for fundraising in excess of € 230,000 from voluntary contribu- tions each year to sustain these vital services.” He also paid tribute to the work carried out by the Shannon Flyers Special Olympics Club and its volunteers, stating that volunteerism was an integral part of the Special Olympics ethos.

“The movement at local, national and international level would not ex- ist today – and could not have been created – without the time, energy, commitment and enthusiasm of its many volunteers,’ he said.

“Shannon Flyers Special Olym- pics Club is much more than just a sporting organisation. It is about the empowerment of individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and re- spected members of society through sports training and competition.”

The mayor said his contribution would help the club in its prepara- tions for the 2010 Irish Special Ol- ympics at the University of Limerick next June when five athletes from the Shannon club will participate in a range of events.

IN ITS end of year statement, Enter- prise Ireland reported that 2009 was a year of unprecedented challenge for Ireland’s exporters as a result of the significant drop in global de- mand and the sustained pressure of sterling/dollar exchange rates.

While Enterprise Ireland client companies achieved an estimated €500m in new export sales, total exports fell by approximately 10 per cent to €13bn.

In four of the past five months cli- ent companies recorded growth in export orders. While that growth is small, the companies have risen to LM eCoMmeLaY-0U (oJ OToXoMm-D OX MNO OU ISMED Ro) 010 MB Kio Ite couraging when compared with the situation at the start of the year.

Entrepreneurship and investment in R&D were both ahead of target in 2009 indicating improved confidence amongst client companies as they position to address opportunities in early 2010. 73 new innovative high potential start-ups were supported over the course of the year (10 per cent ahead of target) and 115 client companies were approved funding support for significant R&D.

Although 7,400 new jobs were created by Enterprise Ireland client companies over the course of the year, there was an overall net decline of 19,000 jobs.

Noting the outturn for the year, Tanaiste Mary Coughlan T.D. said that the Government made strategic interventions to protect jobs. Around 7,213 jobs were sustained in the 148 companies supported under the En- terprise Stabilisation Fund which was launched in April to support vulnerable but viable manufacturing and internationally traded services companies, with a particular focus on SMEs.

“Over 450 companies, which were approved for funding under the Government’s Employment Subsidy Scheme, committed to maintain- ing approximately 36,000 full-time jobs.”

Over the past 12 months, Enter- prise Ireland prioritised providing access to finance for client compa- nies through new and existing fund- ing vehicles and through enhanced co-operation with the main banks.

Enterprise Ireland provided fi- nancial assistance to approximately 1,600 companies over 2009. €59m was approved under the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund while a further €93.6m was paid to client compa- nies in 2009 through Enterprise Ire- land’s existing supports such as the R&D and Growth funds.

Enterprise Ireland chief executive Frank Ryan said that during 2009, the agency pursued a sustaining en- terprise agenda that prioritised help- ing client companies through the economic crisis and companies dis- played great dedication and determ1- nation in sustaining their businesses over the past year.

“The answer to Ireland’s chal- lenge remains a return to export-led erowth. That is what drove the econ- omy in the foundation stages of the boom and in Ireland, exports equals jobs,” he said.

MORE than 4,000 calves born on farms in Clare die before they reach six weeks of age each year, accord- ing to official figures from the De- or Danese lmelmvatauUUIRUI Ros

The department’s Animal Identifi- cation and Movement (AIM) system report for 2008 reveals that, nation- ally, 70,000 calves died between birth and six weeks. Based on these national figures, a total of 4,100 calves died on the 5,200 suckler and dairy farms in Clare – while a further 2,00 calves were stillborn.

According to veterinary special- ist, Maureen Prendergast, scour ac- counts for well over half of all calf deaths in Clare. Extreme cases of the disease can result in the death of up to 30 per cent of calves in a herd.

“However, on the majority of farms, calf deaths represent only a small proportion of the costs of a scour outbreak. The biggest costs are treat- ment, additional labour and reduced animal performance,’ she said.

Prendergast, who is veterinary ad- viser with Intervet Schering-Plough, explained that scour is the symptom of a disease caused by bacteria and WAUMEN oe

“Bacterial infection can hit the calf within a couple of hours after birth. The high risk period for viral infec- tion is five to 1O days after birth,” she Sr nLGe

“Vaccinating the cow anytime between three and 12 weeks prior to calving is proven to provide the antibodies in the cow’s colostrum, which will protect the new-born calf. Farmers should consult their vet to discuss the best vaccination strategy for their herds.”

Meanwhile, the ICSA Connaught Ulster vice president John Barron has expressed alarm at proposed changes to the TB regime arising from the need to facilitate the slaughter of cattle that are over 12 months since

their last TB test.

“The new proposals to permit the slaughter of animals that are be- tween 12-18 months since their last TB test is something we have been

looking for.

“However, at a meeting with de- partment officials, it has emerged that the proposed change is to be accompanied by a whole raft of new

bureaucracy,’ he said.

“This includes complex assess- ments which categorise herds into those with less than 20 per cent ani- mals out of test and more than 20 per

cent animals out of test.

“There are severe penalties for any animal inadvertently sent for slaughter over 18 months since its last test.”

Addicts opt for community help

A BUDDING east Clare writer has been short listed in the Concern

Cecil Woodham Smith Creative Writing Competition 2009.

Ana Flynn from Mountshannon was short listed for the senior cat-

egory of the prestigious international AMEN EOD

The talented young writer is a past pupil of Raheen Wood Steiner

School, Tuamgraney and the Alfa Project, Active Learning for Adoles- cents in Scarriff.

She is currently studying Televi- sion and Digital Film in Ballyfermot College of Further Education, hav- ing deferred, for a year, her place on the honours media degree course in Queen Margaret’s College, Edin- burgh.

Entrants to the Concern creative writing competition were asked to write a letter to President Obama on one of three critical issues; world hunger, climate change in the devel- oping world or child labour.

Ana wrote a letter highlighting child labour from the point of view of a 15-year-old girl from Kenya.

The competition received more than 800 entries from places far and near including Japan, Niger, Liberia, India, USA, UK and of course Ire- land.

Ana’s letter, along with other prize winning and short listed letters, has been published in a book

AN INNOVATIVE project by Kail- rush Community School was proving the ideal Christmas present for west Clare people at home and abroad, at the Christmas market in Kilrush on Thursday last.

The Kilrush secondary school de- veloped a 2010 calendar ‘Present- ing the Past’ featuring the people and places of Kilrush as part of a new Kilrush Local History Group, founded by teacher Laura Hogan in November 2009.

Principal Rock Kirwin – said, “Schools are the heart of every com- munity, so it seems only natural that we should take on the responsibility of researching and recording the his- tory of Kilrush town. We have great plans for our local history group.”

Ms Hogan said, “We’ve been con- sidering establishing a group like this for quite a while. As a history teacher, I’ve always been conscious of the rich historical heritage of the town itself and I’ve tried to use it in class wherever possible. I’ve worked with several classes completing projects on local history, and this is the obvious next step: involving the students themselves in researching and recording the history of their home place.”

The group’s first endeavour, the calendar, features many fascinating photos, which give a glimpse into the past. Many have not been widely seen before, like photos taken from the steeple of St Senan’s Church in one

Others show how iconic local buildings have changed, an 1888 photo of Patterson’s Stores is paired with a photograph of its demolition,

and an interior view of the Church of Ireland over 100 years ago is com- plemented with recent photos of its present use as Teach Cheoul.

The calendar is priced at €10, and has proved an ideal Christmas present.

“We’ve included lots of group pho- tos in the calendar. For example, Mags Rush gave us a fantastic photo

of a mouth-organ band formed in the CBS in 1949, and Pat Galvin kind- ly donated a picture of the Kilrush Scouts in 1954. I think people will be surprised by the amount of names and faces that they will recognise,’ said Ms Hogan.

The calendar is available at many different outlets in Kilrush and cop- ies can also be ordered through Kilr

ushLocalHistoryGroup @ yahoo.com or by visiting Kilrush Local History Group on Facebook.

FOUNDED in the wake of the first ever Lisdoonvarna Festival, the Celt- ic T-Shirt Shop has become an insti- tution in north Clare.

Later this month, the Lahinch shop will celebrate three full decades of making some of the most unique clothes ever produced in the county.

To mark this anniversary, the shop has been hosting a competition to find the best picture of someone wearing A Ora Cem Koroma OPM MESA SCoMUe)e (Cn

“It was just after the first Lisdoon- varna Festival that we started. My husband Mike did all of the posters for the Lisdoonvarna Festivals and

after the first festival we got the idea of making tee-shirts. It was just an experiment to see would they work, because in those days people didn’t buy tee-shirts the way they do now,’ said Lisa O’Connor of the Celtic T- shirt Shop.

‘We did more the next year and they worked well again and then Mike got the idea of putting a Celtic design on the tee-shirts. There was noth- ing like that happening at the time, I think there was one other company making tee-shirts with Leprechauns and silly slogans, which was just for tourists really. So we made up a few tee-shirts and took them around to the shops at the end of the season an

they liked them.”

As the tee-shirts became more pop- ular, Lisa and Mike obtained their current shop, right on the promenade in Lahinch and soon people from all over the world would be wearing their iconic Celtic designs.

“It’s exciting to think that people from all over the globe have been into the shop. Printing cannot be re- produced automatically and I think that is what has kept us apart from the other artificial printers around. It’s great that customers can come in and see the printing being done in the shop. There has been a lot of big changes in the business over the years.

“At the start it was all wholesale to the shops and then we got the shop ourselves. In the last year, business has really changed in Lahinch. There are fewer people around and it is tougher for everyone, So we will have to see what comes in the future.”

There is still time to enter the 30th anniversary photo competition, more details are available from www.celt- ict-shirtshop.com.

AS THE year draws to a close, the Burren Chernobyl Project can look back at 12 months of help and progress with some of the most needy people on the planet.

Work has continued at the chil- dren’s orphanages, where groups of volunteers have travelled throughout the year – bringing food, nappies and other invaluable resources.

Great work has also been achieved at some of the adult asylums, where teams of builders and painters have made the place a much more com- fortable one to live in.

“Tt been another really busy year,

with volunteers going out to Goro- dishche and Cherven and more vol- unteers going to Tarasiki for the building work and painting. We are particularly thankful this year given the changed economic circumstanc- es that so many people did volunteer for Burren Chernobyl – particularly the builders, who have had a very bad year. But we still have had build- ers going out to finish some of the building works in the Internats or asylums,” said Cormac McCarthy of the project.

‘Belarus never would have had the best economy anyway, but the eco- nomic downturn does effect every- one, SO we are very conscience that

we need to maintain the fundraising and the donations that people are so generous in giving. It’s always the more needy people who suffer most in a downturn.”

The project has currently a number of Christmas fundraising projects on the go and are also hoping to recruit an experienced pediatri- cian to travel to Belarus in the New Year. Any interested doctor should contact Brian O’Sullivan at medical @burrenchernobyl.ie.

“At the moment we are selling the Burren Chernobyl Christmas cards in all the towns and villages around Clare but if anyone can’t find them they can get them from the main

office. People can also go onto our website and get bank details there or they can donate through our site on my.charity.1e where people can do- nate using their Laser or credit card,” continued Cormac.

“If people want to put on their own fundraising event we can create a page for them on my.charity.ie. We are also looking for a doctor with pediatric experience to head out in the New Year in January with the head of our medical team.”

For more information on any of the projects being run by the Burren Chernobyl Project contact the main office on 7071130 or check out www. burrenchernobyl.ie.

Credit Unions to help bail out flood victims

can reveal that a key member of Cratloe’s his- toric senior championship winning management team could be line for the team trainer’s role.

Fiach O’Loughlin, who is credited with turning Cratloe’s season around after linking up with the squad mid- term, is hotly tipped for the team

trainer’s post — the job seen as cru- cial to the re-building process to be undertaken by Ger O’Loughlin, starting with the National League DOB h Baal las

Fiach O’Loughlin’s prowess as a trainer led Cratloe to their famous county final winning day on Novem- ber 1, ironically the same day that Clare senior players met and voted no confidence in 2009 senior man- ager Mike McNamara.

He came to the training role in Cratloe via professional rugby, hav- ing been a key member and captain of Shannon’s All-Ireland League winning team in 2009. Now, his me- teoric rise in hurling could be capped with landing the plumb county senior or bae cM Oe-BUOUDOTSam [Oly

However, Ger O’Loughlin, who was ratified as new senior man- ager for “at least two years” at last

Thursday’s annual Convention in the Auburn Lodge Hotel is remaining tight-lipped on the make-up of his backroom team.

“T’m only in the job since Thursday evening so the situation is that over the next 5 or 6 days, I will hopefully have that put to bed,” he told