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THREE MEN from west Clare will travel to South Africa later this week, where they will help to build new houses for families living on the breadline.

Kevin Burke and Pat McMahon from Cooraclare and Kevin Whelan from Kilkee will join dozens of other volunteers from across the country in the Niall Mellon Township Trust Building Blitz. A total of 1,000 volun- teers will complete 100 new houses in Cape Town, which will replace shacks that the families currently occupy.

Mr Burke and Mr McMahon trav- elled with the Niall Mellon team

last year and were so moved by what they experienced that they both de- cided to undertake the trip again this year. Each of the three men had to raise €5,000 for the trip and they are indebted to the people of west Clare who generously helped them out.

Mr Burke, who currently lives in Killimer, is a part-time farmer and also drives machinery for Clare County Council. He explained how he got involved in this project.

“T was talking to a friend in Feakle and he said his brother was going. I said I’d like to do that some time. That was last year. We were accepted. We went last year and we said we would like to give it another shot,’ he said.

The group spent almost two weeks building houses, in intense heat, but they were pleased to be able to give something to those less well off than WNIT Aone

“It was a complete eye-opener. It was unreal. The living conditions were unreal. You would be crying coming out of it, but it was a great experience and well worth it. I can’t wait to go again,” he said.

Pat McMahon also said the experi- ence was amazing last year. “It was unreal. Those people are living in a totally different world to what we are living in. Most people haven’t got a clue what the recession is here com- pared to what they have out there. A

lot of them have no education,’ he said.

“When everyone is out there to- gether, it is easy to do the work, es- pecially knowing that the families are going to get proper homes out of it,’ said Mr McMahon, who is a wind turbine installation technician.

He paid tribute to those who helped him to raise the funds to take part in the challenge.

‘People have been very good, espe- cially with the recession. They came in their droves with money,’ he said.

The three men organised various fundraisers including a head shave, table quiz, bag pack and céili. All of the events were very well supported.

CHRISTMAS | shoppers will be making their way to Kinvara this December for the annual Christmas Fair, organised by the local farmers market.

After celebrating their first full year in operation last Friday, the Kinvara Farmers Market Committee announced details of their upcoming Christmas Fair which will take place on December 5 and 6 in the Kinvara SroysveleviA monies

The Christmas Fair will be very different from the weekly farmers market, with a much greater focus on crafts for Christmas presents rather than the usual supply of local fresh food.

“This event isn’t really a farmers market as such. There is a much big- ger emphasis on crafts. The farm- ers markets can only have a small amount of crafts where as the main focus of this event will be on the

crafts side of things,” said Rosaleen Tanham, secretary of the Kinvara Farmers Market.

“We are still confirming the stall- holders but already it looks like we will have lots of different crafts on Show and, as with the farmers mar- ket, as much as possible will be sourced from local producers.

“There will be a great atmosphere on the day, with lots of things for children to do and a great festival at- mosphere.”

The Kinvara Farmers Market has gone from strength to strength this year. So much so that they have al- ready confirmed their start date for 2010, with the first market due to take place on Friday, April 2.

“It’s been a fantastic first year. We were very lucky with the weather all summer long and always seemed to have a lovely sunny Friday for the market. The whole market was very well supported by the local people and it very much became a social

occasion for the local people. People come along and have a cup of coffee or tea, listen to the music and then have a look around at what is on offer to buy,” continued Rosaleen.

“At the height of the summer, we had about 25 stall-holders and it was very much a farmers market. What I mean by this is that the vast majority of what was on sale was food which

was produced in a 35-mile radius of the market. We did have a small amount of crafts and a few bits and pieces which we could not source locally but the majority of it was lo- cally-produced foods.

“The whole committee has worked so hard all year and we are all very pleased at how things have gone so ie

MIDFIELD on the stand side of Cusack Park and Fiach O’ Loughlin is locked in an embrace and goes on and on. It’s longer than the couple of minutes injury-time allowed by Rory Hickey at the end of this All Souls Day county final.

Given the day that was in it, he was surely thanking some higher power from the hurling heavens. Whatever, the streams were stream- ing now as the realisation at what Cratloe had achieved shine through the rain clouds.

“Tm stuck for words,’ he says after a few minutes. “I can’t really talk, give me a few more minutes”.

Meanwhile, Barry Duggan’s words flow as he addresses the Grecia elem ntl eCOeMOKeyeoMe)OmmONEAMBNOMENAL™ Ard Comhairle. “There’s a man who came in when we were down,” says Duggan. “He’s played for and captained Ireland, he’s captained Shannon to an All-Ireland League title and he picked us up after being beaten by Newmarket and made us believe what we could do. It’s Fiach O’Loughlin and I salute him.”

It’s the perfect cue for O’ Loughlin to explain his role in this romantic hurling story. The 125th year of the GAA’s founding. The 125th year to the day, to the afternoon. Cratloe. First time champions in their first ever senior hurling final.

“Belief,” he says. “It’s all about be- lief. That’s what this team is about. We had great faith in our guys all season and knew that we could win this title. It came down to belief at half-time. In the dressing room we said to the lads, ‘we believe in ye, we know ye believe in yourselves and it’s a matter of going out and winning it’.

‘They showed the belief they have as a team out there. The one thing I’ve said to the guys, whether it’s at half-time in games, the start of games, or 1n training 1s just “believe in yourselves because you are win- ners’. Anything we asked of them they did. They’re amateurs but they did it like a group of professional athletes. That’s the commitment they gave to the cause this year.

“We were never going to give up, whether we were one, two, three, four points down or whatever. The belief was there in the team that we knew we’d come good and win this championship. Never say die, that’s what did it for Cratloe today. We never said die and that’s why we got there in the end.”

At once you know this means as much as anything O’Loughlin has achieved on the rugby field.

And, why not. He’s Cratloe after all and this was with his own. The parish. The pump. The very rocks on which the GAA was built 125 years ago.

BEAMING and panting, Sean Chap- lin is coming to terms with the hour he has just logged and the trophy he has helped secure for Cratloe’s al- ready crowded cabinet.

‘This is beyond my wildest dreams,” he says. “As a young lad myself and the lads would go down and watch the Cratloe seniors. We were about ten or 12 and we would follow those guys every season. To us they were the next big thing when they won the intermediate and things died down for a while after that but it’s great to bring success to the club again.

“We had had so many years of los- ing but when you get that winning feeling it’s very hard to stop it be- cause that feeling 1s unreal.”

Sunday was the club’s 13th game in 14 weeks and the winning percent- age from that butcher’s dozen — in both codes — has been phenomenal.

“We have massive momentum in

this club. We had the football to build on and I’ve heard that some people have said football should be banned in Cratloe. I don’t believe that.

“We’re mad for football, we’re mad for hurling. These fellas are mad for action. I don’t care if we’re playing every week from here until Christ- mas. That’s what we want. We want to play and we want to train. That’s what we get the buzz from. That’s our life.”

From beginning to end, Chaplin was at the core of Cratloe’s win but for the midfielder, the final score of the game proved the sweetest mo- ment.

“The end was unbelievable, it was just a great way to win a county final and I didn’t know how long was left. It seemed like a fast second-half. I thought there would be more left in it because even after the goal it was backs to the wall time for us.

‘When the ball hit the net I was still cautious though because Clonlara

have some fantastic players and they had the ability to come back down and get another goal.”

A familiar refrain surrounded Cratloe both before and during the game.

“We had to work and work and be disciplined. That was the target we set. At half-time we said we had to be patient as well, that the breaks would come and that’s exactly what hap- pened. We were getting tired towards the end of the first-half because there was a lot of hard hitting but we kept going, we wouldn’t back down.

“Inside in the dressing room there were no mad speeches. We just de- cided we would stick with what had got us this far, stick with it. We knew were fit and we believed in ourselves. That counts for something.”

IT’S as if Barry Duggan didn’t want to leave the field. Long after the ball- game was over he was still out there, Canon Hamilton in one hand, the other working overtime as he shook all comers’ hands. Centre stage after all these years. Young and old sought captain and cup out — wanting to touch the cup, and see it up close. Duggan was hap- py to oblige, the sponge for everyone for those few minutes as he stood there in his own elevated world. Taking it all in. Living it. Nirvana. “County champions,” he says. “It’s brilliant, isn’t it? It’s unbelievable. To think we’ve won a senior champion- ship and the way we won it makes it even more unbelievable. When we went a point down with a couple of minutes to go the heads were down. It looked as if we might have missed our chance.

“But there’s something in this team this year. Going a point down brought us back to the Broadford game when we were a point with a minute to go. We got back to draw that day and today we said to ourselves that there was nothing more going past and we ll get a chance down the other end. We believed that. That’s what happened.”

Belief that manifested itself for a number of reasons, admits the in- spirational captain. Mike O’Gorman and John Gleeson telling them all year about he work they clocked up; Mike Deegan’s unfettered belief in their ability to deliver; the profes- sionalism from the world of rugby that Fiach O’ Loughlin brought to the eles

“Coming together 112 times speaks for itself,’ he says. “It shows we worked savagely hard all year — run- ning in Cratloe Woods in the hail, sleet and rain. That was back in Janu-

ary and back then we didn’t believe we’d be here in November, but once we reached the semi-final we said we were ready for anything that would be thrown at us.

“Tt was one big roll. We never had time to think about the next game that was coming up. One game was over and another game came on top of us. We just kept on thinking about the next game when it came along. Like Clonlara last year we didn’t have time to think about the hype of being in a county final. It was just a matter of going out there and treating it as another game. We did that after getting over a Slow and nervous start WOCO MO ODM OOo Kon ED Ln

Canon Hamilton was beaming up at him. Telling him he was thirsty. The dressing room was calling were the champagne was already uncorked.

AS part of a special commemora- tion, Clare casualties of World War II will be remembered at the Clare Armistice Day multi-denomination- al service at Ennis Cathedral at 8pm next Wednesday, November 11.

The service will honour the memo- ry of Clare service men and women, and civilians who lost their lives in

both the First and Second World AEN ace

At the service, a special address will be given by retired Col. Michael Shannon, from Kilrush, former Chairman of the Irish Peace Institute. Col. Shannon served with UN forces in the Congo, Cyprus and Lebanon Where he was Commanding Officer of the UNIFL force. He also worked with the OSCE and EU monitoring

elections in Boznia- Hertzegovina, South Africa and Russia.

The commemoration committee is currently appealing for names and details of other casualties, as the com- mittee is raising funds to erect a me- morial wall to all casualties. Names may be given to the local libraries, Fr. Hogan, Ennis, Tom Prendivelle, Kilrush, Rev. Bob Hanna, Ennis and Peadar M Namara, Inch.

In total, World War II resulted in the death of 24 million military service personel and over 40 million MANET Oh

The war started on September 3, 1939, and ended on September 2, ee

Over 100,000 Irish served in the British Forces of which 10,000 lost their lives. Over 150,000 Irish worked in Britain during the war — in

factories, building aerodromes, nurs- ing etc.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission record the following Clare dead by name, rank serial number, unit regiment, date of death, age, parents, home address, grave/ memorial, and cemetery location.

The names listed here are not a full record of the Clare World War II casualties.

ENNIS Chamber Business School in conjunction with Chambers Ireland and FAS, has announced details of training courses for November to as- sist businesses with managing their credit and getting paid in order to support cash flow.

Rita Mc Inerney, CEO of Ennis Chamber said: “Cash flow is the life- blood of any business, particularly at a time when it can be difficult to ob- tain credit. Therefore Ennis Cham- ber felt a need to address this head

on by providing businesses with an opportunity to up-skill themselves or their staff by providing one and two day intensive training courses.”

The first course “How to Get Paid” is branded as having the potential to turn a businesses fortunes around in the current climate. This course takes place on Wednesday, Novem- ber 11 and will cover topics such as spotting the risks, proper documen- tation, approaches to collections and legal options as well as handouts on forms and layouts, and terms and Fey aTen TBO) e tse

Secondly a two day course on “Managing Credit for Profit” is de- signed to bring the credit manage- ment function into the 21st century. Taking place on Wednesdays, No- vember 11 and 18, this course intro- duces the positive benefit of excellent credit management and how to effec- tively manage credit exposure while also teaching some accountancy skills and prioritisation.

This training is delivered by the Chief Executive of the Irish Insti- tute of Credit Management, Declan Flood, who is a regular contributor

to the national media. He has gained a reputation as a leading visionary in the area by combining the latest thinking with his 20 years of hands on credit management.

Both courses qualify for Continu- ous Professional Development (CDP) hours and run from 9.30am-5pm on each day at the Old Ground Hotel, O’Connell Street, Ennis, County Clare at a cost of €175 per day per participant.

For bookings please contact Marga- ret Neylon at Ennis Chamber on 065 684 2988 or info@ennischamber.ie

THE Banner Ladies maintained their firm grip on underage ladies football on Sunday morning as they completed a three-in-a-row of Mi1- nor A titles. While the champions were dogged against the conditions, against a battling Newmarket side it was only in the final quarter that they really upped the ante, scoring 3-5 without reply to put the result beyond any doubt.

On the flip side, it was another cruel blow to Newmarket who along with suffering defeat to the Banner for the second year in succession, also had a sizeable pool of players on the under 16 and minor camogie sides that lost finals in recent weeks.

They battled admirably for three quarters of this tie but needed a goal to really kickstart any meaning- ful challenge against the perennial champions, especially in the first-half when backed by the swirling wind.

After an evenly matched start that saw Niamh O’Dea kick four of the Banner’s opening five points with Newmarket’s replies coming from Niki Kaiser, Zelica Brown and Jenny Kelly, there wasn’t a lot to separate the sides in the breezy conditions. However, the game received it’s first major turning point in the 23rd minute when Sinead O’Keefe’s ball over the top was gathered by Naomi

Carroll to score the only goal of the first-half. That score was to prove the difference for the next 20 minutes as Newmarket tried to regain a foothold in the game. By half-time, Niki Kai- ser and Niamh O’Dea had swapped points to leave the scoreline 1-6 to 0- 4 but on the restart, a resurgent Ban- ner side took up the ascendency after Laura McMahon had cut the deficit to four.

Louise Woods was instrumental in stopping the Newmarket supply and with Shonagh Enright, Niamh O’Dea and Katie Cahill all willing to carry the ball forward at every opportunity, Newmarket had to remain resilient to hold them out. Chloe Morey was strong in defence, Roisin McMahon and Carol Kaiser scrapped for every ball but eventually, the Banner’s re- lentless pressure had to pay off and

after five successive wides, Niamh O’Dea finally got them back on track with a point from 30 metres.

In a brief revolt, Ann Marie Hayes grabbed a wonderful point for New- market but once Catherine Dolan scrambled the Banner’s second goal in the 48th minute to increase the lead to eight, Newmarket’s heads be- gan to drop.

An experienced Banner side took

full advantage when Niamh O’Dea soloed through unchallenged before unleashing her effort to the net and the Munster award winner would tack on a further 1-2 to lead her side to another memorable victory.

Not only that but for captain Lorna Higgins, Katie Cahill, Shonagh En- right, Kathleen O’Keefe, Niamh Ca- hill and Sinead O’Keefe, it was the crowning of a Minor A double in camogie and ladies football, a sig- nificant achievement in an already success filled year.

WITH a little over five minutes to go, this game rested on a knife-edge. It shouldn’t have. Just three points separated the two, Smith O’Brien’s ahead on a scoreline of 1-5 to O-5.

A total of 16 minutes had passed with neither side able to register a score. The opening quarter aside, Smith O’Brien’s — beaten finalists in this competition last year after going down in a replay against Ennisty- mon — were by far the fitter and more creative team. By all reckoning, they should have wrapped up the game before their late onslaught arrived. That they didn’t close the door on St Breckan’s meant the north Clare side would always believe they could get back in the game. With 12 minutes gone in the second-half, they al- most did. Tony Shannon had just put them back to within three of Smith O’Brien’s when he almost levelled things up. He latched onto a low ball 15-yards out from goal, kicking from the ground soccer-style and his shot looked destined for the net. Eugene Cusack, in goal for the Killaloe club, made a fantastic save to keep the ball out. It broke to Sean Neville who aimed for goal but his shot slid left and wide. Ten minutes later, Brian Scanlan produced another goal save for Smith O’Brien’s when he blocked what looked like a certain goal for St Breckan’s and Smith O’Brien’s — though running their luck to the max — remained in control.

If Cusack and Scanlan’s contribu- tions were crucial then so too were the displays from John Cusack, Kevin McCarthy and, in particular, Shane Byrne. The latter produced a quality display, popping up in all

areas of the field but his distribution remained the key component of the game.

While the focus among those dot- ting the inexcusably unlined “‘side- line” may have been on the former Munster and Ireland rugby interna- tional Anthony Foley — who clocked in a muted enough game at full-for-

ward — the work-rate of Byrne and John Cusack, the power of McCarthy and the agility of Eugene Cusack are what really caught the eye.

As early as the 15th minute Mc- Carthy had Smith O’Brien’s in the driving seat. He goaled after eight minutes and pointed on the quarter hour with another score from An-

thony O’Sullivan — a cousin of the Kerry All-Star Declan O’Sullivan — wedged in between. In total, it gave Smith O’Brien’s a four-point lead. John Stack with three and Eric Mur- rihy were the only names on the St Breckan’s scoresheet by the time the break rolled around.

After those goal opportunities for

St Breckan’s slid by, Smith O’Brien’s re-focused once more.

Trevor Howard kicked his side four ahead with five minutes left and 60 seconds later, Stephen McCarthy — who was influential after coming off the bench early in the game — pro- vided an insurance goal.

Into injury-time but there was more to come. Fittingly, Byrne stepped up for the final two scores. Firstly, a point and two minutes into time add- ed on, a beautifully taken goal.

A ten-point win, deservedly so, and yet another football title wintering in the east of the county.

TRICK-OR-TREAT. A phrase that aptly summed up Whitegate’s Hal- loween adventure on Saturday as they followed the well worn path of Clooney/Quin, Clonlara and Broad- ford into the latter stages of the pro- visional intermediate championship.

The trick for Whitegate was mani- fold, beginning with the Munster Council’s decision to take the game out of Whitegate to the enclosed con- fines of neighbours Scariff, a venue that has been a veritable graveyard for the club over the past two years. It also refers to the county’s unwel- come tradition of only leaving a week between the county final and the Munster campaign, insufficient time really to prepare for such an im- portant competition.

Add in the fact that Whitegate tend to start slowly and this could have been a a real Halloween horrorshow for the east Clare side. Crucially though, through the ever depend-

able George Waterstone, who again scored all of Whitegate’s four first- half points for the second week in succession, the county champions only found themselves two points in arrears at the break at 0-6 to 0-4.

With the wind at their backs, Tip- perary champions Davins_ should have been cruising by half-time but while they were dominant for long periods through centre-back anchor Lee Mackey and the running of William O’Dwyer and Noel Butler, their inability to turn possession into scores repeatedly frustrated them. As did the dogged performances from Whitegate’s John Bugler, Thomas eC) I EiCe Mr TiOMMWF:lKo nice) etee

The treat duly arrived with a storm- ing second-half display from the home side who, in keeping with the festive day, appeared like a side pos- sessed as they threw off the shackles of a below par opening period.

The Davins two point advantage was wiped out after only four minutes when the impressive John Minogue

and a Waterstone free gained parity for their side and from the puck-out, Thomas Holland put Whitegate into the lead for the first time with an in- spirational score from halfway.

Now brimming with confidence, Whitegate proceeded to haunt the Davins with their half-back line of Thomas Holland, Brendan Bugler and Jason Malone again proving to be Whitegate’s strongest line by cut- ting off the South Tipperary side’s supply to their front six.

It forced the Tipperary champions back and allowed Whitegate to lay siege on the opposition goals as Wa- terstone converted another free be- fore Stephen Malone completed the purple patch with a goal in the 37th minute.

It came out of nothing really as Carrick Davins full-back Richard McGrath beat Malone to the ball in the right corner, only to dig his hur- ley into the heavy surface. Malone did the rest by gathering possession and ghosting past the remaining de-

fenders before hammering the ball past goalkeeper Ed McGrath.

Not having scored in the half while conceding an unanswered 1-6, that goal proved to be the death knell for Carrick Davins, who all too easily dropped their heads after that. Mikey Cronin secured their first point in 16 minutes through a free in the 40th minute but by now, Whitegate were rampant and further points from Wa- terstone and captain Patrick Minogue saw them pull 1-10 to 0-7 clear by the turn of the final quarter.

In an effort to regain a foothold in the game, the Davins brought back Shane Butler as a third midfielder but that tactic only played in White- gate’s hands even further as former county senior Thomas Holland now had a free reign in the half-back line to sweep up any danger that Carrick would pose.

An Jan Fahy lineball and another Waterstone effort cancelled out the Davins mini-revolt of two Cronin frees, with the final nail in the Tip-

perary champions’ coffin coming when Lee Mackey blazed a 20 me- tre free over the bar instead of at the intended target before substitute Michael O’Brien finished the scoring for the home side.

A typically spirited fightback en- Sured there were no real scares for the east Clare side on this occasion but the celebration bonfires are still burning strong as Whitegate march on to another home tie for the sem1- jnbOr-N IS