Author: admin

MANY horses in Clare are being left to starve – because the recession has left their owners with no money to feed them.

The voluntary body Clare Animal Welfare has said in its annual report that the last year “has been an ap- palling year for equine cruelty and we have witnessed large numbers of horses abandoned in unsuitable conditions because their owners are unable to afford to feed and manage dete e0 a

Horse owners have been pleading with the group to help them care for animals. “While individuals do not wish to perpetuate cruelty, they are unable to sustain adequate feed and shelter for these animals any longer,” the report states.

CAW provided farrier assistance to five horses, one donkey and two po- nies and nursed two foals and mares. They have also sent several donkeys to the donkey sanctuary warden in ETc

CAW provided fodder for at least 32 neglected and abandoned horses and ponies in several areas, including Ennis, north Clare, Shannon, Tubber and Gort, County Galway.

“This proved costly and time-con- suming for our volunteers. Outdoor rugs were provided to all animals and veterinary attention continued while rehabilitation and relocation was underway.

“All the neglected equines have

been logged and the Clare SPCA of- ficer notified,” the report says.

“The increase in equine cruelty and neglect has reflected the current state of the Irish economy and CAW is unable to address all calls for as- sistance. It is our view that this is a national problem that will continue to escalate, and measures to address the provisions for equines is urgently needed. We are liaising with other welfare organisations and providing shelter for horses through network- ing with local riding establishments, pony clubs and breeders,” a spokes- woman for the organisation said.

In the last year, CAW has helped re-home 75 dogs who were in their care as well as working to re-home dozens more who remained with the owners until that was possible.

They have assisted 27 cats and

kittens directly through neutering worming and vaccinating and CAW is also carrying out a programme of helping with the cost of neutering and treating pets for people on lower incomes.

CAW is a totally voluntary organi- sation and depends on contributions from the public and the Department of Agriculture to carry on with it’s work. For futher information or in- formation on how to donate, contact 087 7954351 or 087 1315904 or 086 1031662

Log on to _ http://www.clar- eanimalwelfare.net or eer ne info @clareanimalwelfare.net.

MUHAMMAD Ali crossed the At- lantic on Tuesday, 25 August — went to Old Trafford, visited Ricky Hat- ton’s gym, did charity gigs in Man- chester and Dublin and much more.

All, however, were just cameos and Supporting bouts before the main event on the card — that event was in Ennis where his heart wanted to be. “That’s why he left best for last,” said Dr Pearse Lyons of Alltech, the man responsible for bringing Ali to

J SyevevEse

“Ennis is the place he really want to come to, because this is where his ancestors come from. It dawned on him in many respects that he was coming home. He has been emotion- Yi leye) olan |

‘When he arrived we saw The Clare People and he’s inside the back going through it page-by-page. If there’s one thing that Muhammad loves it’s that he likes to read about himself.

‘““We’ve had packed houses wher- ever we went over the past week

— and in those houses only one man touched everyone, yet that one man said nothing. He was able to touch all those people by his presence alone,’ he added.

And, Dr Lyons also pointed out that it was Ennis that Muhammad Ali wanted to reach out to the most. “We are here in Ennis, because it is from Ennis that this great voyage started,” he said. “It’s from Ennis that Mu- hammad Ali’s Irish roots started. He is an icon from Ennis, probably the greatest inspiration in the world, the champ, a proud Irish man.

“It’s impossible to put into words — there’s such a warmth in the man, there’s such a radiation coming from the man. He’s a man that you want to follow and that’s why the people have come out in Ennis today. Mu- hammad is not Irish, he’s global, but today he has realised that he is part Irish and he’s proud of that, very proud of that.

‘“There’s nothing that saps you en- ergy more than emotion — today’s he’s little tired, but that’s because he’s so emotional about it. When we showed him the local paper, the shop windows, the American flags and the Irish flags, his sister-in-law kept say- ing Muhammad, you’re Irish, you’re home.

“Muhammad Ali himself realises that and that’s why this visit to En- nis has been so important to him. It has touched him deeply, just as it has touched the people who came out to see him today,” added Dr Lyons.

TUESDAY last was one of the best, if not the best day, of Patrick Dono- van’s life.

The Ennisman shook the hand of Muhammad Ali and presented him with a book.

A huge fan of ‘The Greatest’, Patrick left his home in Clancy Park three hours later on a mission to see and meet him lifetime hero.

He had dreamed of brining his son Thomas to see an Ali fight but it was never to be, but when Ali came to Ennis, Patrick said all his dreams came true.

Dressed in a t-shirt with the man they once called Cassius Clay on the front and armed with a book he had for ten years – “Ali the King”, Patrick waved to Ali as he made his way back from the photographers

towards the monument that had just been unveiled in his honour.

Patrick called to him, like hundreds more that made up the excited crowd. Ali looked up, and dismissing any protest from publicists and security guards made his way over. He spent a few moments with Patrick looking at the book and pictures that captured Ali in his prime. For a few moments a glint of the old Ali returned to his eye and as much of a smile as his ill- ness would allow.

Then he took the book and left, but Patrick didn’t mind.

“Of course it was worth it, why wouldn’t it be worth it, sure there will never be a man here like him again,’ he said.

His dream had just come true.

OF course Muhammad Ali was the star turn, charming everyone with- out opening his mouth — his mere presence being enough to bring the county capital to a standstill for a few hours.

However, he wasn’t the only Ali to charm his Ennis public — Lonnie Ali also did her part to steal the show when addressing the Ennis Town Council Civic Reception in Water- park House.

“Are there any relatives of Mu- hammad here?” she asked. With that up stepped Imelda O’Grady,

Mary O’Grady-Gormley and Mary O’Donovan with gifts for “The Greatest’ — an O’Grady family crest, a ‘céad mile failte’ plaque and an al- bum of photographs from the Turn- pike.

“It’s a rare opportunity that we get to come to Ireland and especially to Ennis,” said Lonnie. “The people of Ennis, you have been so overwhelm- ing in your outpouring of love to this ynarenee

“We are sincerely appreciative and thankful to everyone of you and now that we know that Muhammad is an ‘Innisman’, we will be back.”

It was the way she said it — adopt-

ing Ennis-speak and the vernacular of a true Townie. It’s something that wasn’t lost on ‘Townies in the Town Council audience, or those in the crowd watching the telecast that was beamed onto a big screen at Abbey Street carpark.

And there was more from Lonnie.

“IT have never seen anything like this before and neither has Muham- mad. He was overwhelmed by it, re- UMAR Laon

“It was better than any medicine you could give him. He was excited and surprised by the outpouring of people, even the children who were out on the street.

“It’s interesting that when you look at Muhammad and his _ pugilistic skills and his loquacious ways, that if his great grand father were alive he’d swear that it came from him. And if he were alive today he’d be in every pub talking about it.”

The O’Gradys doing the talking on Tuesday were Muhammad Ali’s relatives — you could say they were reeling with the welcome given them by both Muhammad and Lonnie. “I can’t believe that I got to meet Mu- hammad,” said Mary O’ Donovan. “It was a dream come true for me and I was crying. We had lovely photo- graphs taken with after the recep-

nena

“I’m very emotional over it,’ said Imelda O’Grady. “It’s been a real roller coaster over the past few weeks, looking forward to the visit and now that it has happened and I got to meet Muhammad Ali is unbelievable,’ she added.

Meanwhile, Mary O’Grady-Gorm- ley was lost for words. “I don’t know what to say,” she said. “To meet him, to hold his hand and be photographed with him. It must be the highlight of TUOh Yas become

Muhammad Ali and Lonnie Ali had just made their day. Everyone’s CPAs KOvMmner-limeet lito) m

MICHAEL Corley took his seat in Waterpark House and waited. He’d waited for seven years and so 30 or sO minutes more didn’t matter. Muhammad Ali was in one of the anterooms of the Ennis Town Coun- cil headquarters — he would be out in his own good time, meantime Michael Corley could reflect on the

significance of this Civic Reception for Ennis Town Council and greater J Spay AbESe

“It means the realisation of a dream that we had back in 2002,” he says. ‘To me and to nearly everyone, Ali was an icon. I grew up with him and to have him now in Ennis is really incredible.

“Back seven years ago when I put a motion to the council calling for

him to be made a Freeman of Ennis, I thought that Ali would come — the enthusiasm that was there with the initial proposal, made me believe it would happen, but as the time passed I realised the difficulty of organising SUONE- Hace le

“It did take the Alltech Group to bring him and I’m delighted that the council did the next thing and reached out and honoured him in this

way. The significance of Ali getting this award is huge — it’s great to think that there are genes in Ali that origi- nated in Ennis 150 years ago. It is indeed a welcome home for Muham- mad Ali and I would hope that Ali looks on it like that, because part of him originated in Ennis.

“Ennis people are fantastic for meeting an occasion — whether it’s the great occasions of the hurling

teams in the ‘90s or whether it’s St Patrick’s Day parades organised by the council, people are great to come out. They’ve come out today.”

The day was only beginning and Michael Corley was soon on his feet as Muhammad Ali finally came into view, Stood motionless for a few sec- onds, sat down and took the applause. It was sustained.

The Greatest had landed.

IT’S debatable whether or not a crowd of such size – estimated to have been in excess of 10,000 – would have shown up in such large numbers had there not existed a focal point for the CRs

Throughout ‘Tuesday morning, pockets of people made their way to Abbey Street Car Park. Most leaned back to gaze at the Godzilla-like structure that greeted them, that huge screen that dominated the land- scape and served as a fulcrum for the event.

The Abbey Street element provided a festival feel to the visit of Ali and for hours, people lingered in front of

the stage and in front of the screen in anticipation of a glimpse of Ali.

The weather, too, was a major plus. Generally, it remained favourable. At one stage, singer Tommy Flem- ing noticed that for once, the sun remained behind the clouds and as the only sprinkle of rain danced on the heads of those in attendance, Fleming noted, while performing on stage, that if the crowd were going to get wet, then so too was he.

Later, the crowd got what they had come to see. Ali in the council of- fices being made the first Freeman of Ennis.

The image was beamed all over the Abbey Street Car Park as Sha- ron Shannon and her band took a

breather.

“That was the pinnacle of the day from my point of view,” said ‘Tomas Madigan, CEO of Sports Academy International, the Clare company that organised and co-ordinated the Abbey Street element of the day. ‘To see the smile on the faces of the thousands who came to Abbey Street as Ali received his Freeman status was extremely special.”

Speaking after the event on Tues- day afternoon, Madigan added that the success of last week’s event paves the way to maintain links with Mu- hammad Ali in years to come.

‘People turned out from every cor- ner of Ireland to celebrate Ali’s Irish and Clare links and the fact that we

had such a massive occasion goes to show that there’s great admiration and respect for the boxer. That her- itage can certainly be fostered down the line.”

He added that the inclusion of the big screen ensured the general public had the chance to witness first hand the official and historic moment of Ali’s welcome to Ennis.

“That was a major achievement for Sports Academy International. Not only did the screen allow the crowd to see the performers on stage, it also gave exclusive footage of what was going on in the Town Council offices in Drumbiggle.

“That wouldn’t have been possible without the goodwill of the people of

Ennis and Clare and the help of our sponsors.”

On Monday, Madigan added that in the six days since Alli’s visit, the pub- lic feedback on the whole experience has been incredibly positive.

“We couldn’t have wished for a bet- ter day, in all aspects.”

AS training begins, Clare is again well represented on the FAI Emerg- ing Talent North Munster squad. In all, 18 of the county’s brightest soccer talents are part of an overall panel of 60.

This programme sees players aged 14 to 17 from Clare, Limerick City and County, and north Tipperary, take part in 28 training sessions and five matches from September 14, 2009, to March 31, 2010, under the direction of qualified FAI coaches.

The Lees Road sports facility in Ennis is the base for the North Mun- ster squad.

There are two groups in each cen- tre, junior group players (born in 1995) and senior group players (born Riera e

There are 12 regional centres in Ireland, split into North and South.

The North Munster squad will compete in the South group against Blarney, Bunclody, Peamount, Tralee and Waterford.

The FAI Emerging Talent Pro- gramme is now the recognised play- er development pathway for school- boys/girl players across the country , players with suitable abilities get se- lected for underage development and international squads, and eventually emerge ready to compete at League of Ireland level and beyond.

The Ennis based Centre programme is administrated and delivered by the FAI, with the assistance of seven oth- er Clare based coaches, physios and support staff.

Four Clare players, Alan Kelly (Newmarket Celtic), Stephen Mc-

Gann (Avenue Utd), Cian Burke (Avenue Utd), Joe Collins (Ennis Town), were part of the FAI Ennis Regional Centre Squad Ul16s that played Wolverhampton Wanderers Ul6s in the University of Limerick on August 17.

CLARE returned from the Europe- an junior lifesaving championships last weekend with two bronze med- als, two fourth places and two fifth places.

As part of Team Ireland that won six medals altogether, Bernard Ca- hill, Dylan Barrett, and Siobhan Mc- Grath acquitted themselves well at the championships in Holland.

The efforts of Ireland’s fittest jun- ior Lifeguards (Under 19) ensured a place in the top ten Internation- ally for Team Ireland, coming eighth overall in a competition that saw 140 competitors from fourteen countries compete in the premier Lifesaving event in Europe.

Clare’s two bronze medallists were Bernard Cahill and Dylan Barrett in the board rescue. Cahill and Cormac O’Sullivan finished in fourth in res- cue tube, while Siobhan McGrath and Barrett had a fifth place finish cree

Jim Lawlor, Chairman of Irish

Water Safety’s Sports Commission expressed his pride in their achieve- ments.

‘The Championships simulate real life rescue situations that these Jun- ior Lifesavers can expect to encoun- ter as Lifeguards. To secure six In- ternational medals at European level is testimony to how hard they trained and how well they prepared as indi- viduals and as a Team.”

Commenting on the importance of Irish Water Safety’s programme of Lifesaving Sport, Mr Lawlor added, “Lifesaving sportis primarily intend- ed to encourage lifesavers to develop, maintain and improve the essential physical and mental skills needed to save lives in the aquatic environment. Lifesaving competitions consist of a variety of competitions to further develop and demonstrate lifesaving Skills, fitness and motivation.

“Children around Ireland as young as eight can get involved in a Series of progressive Lifesaving classes taught by Irish Water Safety, through the www.iws.ie website.”

THIS was a repeat of last year’s coun- ty final that was played in Cooraclare — conditions were much more benign on that occasion, but the result was the same as the standardbearers of senior football in the county record- ed a nine-point win.

However, the margin of victory flat- ters them somewhat — a brilliant dis- play by Aoife Davoren between the sticks and a forward line that availed of their chances much better than the Gaels was the difference between the sides.

The Gaels had the edge in the first half, but only managed to build up a Q-7 to 1-3 interval lead when playing with the gale. County intermediate star Majella Griffin was their main scoring threat in the half and landed three points, but it was Sonya Ma- her’s goal that gave the champions a real tonic when playing against the strong breeze.

And once Niamh O’ Dea (2) and N1- amh Keane chipped in with points, they were well on the way to frank- ing last year’s county final form against their very keen rivals from Kilkee and the peninsula beyond.

West Clare Gaels adopted a sweep- er policy when playing against the wind in the second half — to coun- teract this The Banner Ladies started shooting from distance, with county

intermediate captain Louise Henchy first to profit when landing two long range points early in the half to edge The Banner 1-5 to O-7 ahead.

When Naomi Carroll added two

points and Louise Henchy followed up with a goal in the 40th minute from a free kick it was The Banner’s day — they had maximised their scor- ing chances while West Clare Gaels

jkeKobaam

A Katie Geoghegan goal from a penalty gave them renewed hope of getting back into the game put once Niamh Keane goal effort was de-

flected to the net for The Banner’s for their third goal they were in cruise control.

Their storming second half display was crowned when Sonya Maher soc- cer a brilliant individual effort near the end, while Katie Cahill rounded off and industrious display with a couple of points, with Naomi Carroll also on the mark before the end.

AFTER a very impressive perform- ance in this semi-final, Sixmilebri- dge progress to yet another Minor A hurling final. From the throw-in the men in yellow and blue always seemed to be the likely winners of this entertaining encounter.

It was Conor O’Gorman of Clare- castle who opened the scoring with

a well taken point. However, it did not take long for the “Bridge to re- spond. In the following five minutes two wonderful points from the excel- lent Alan Mulready, an effort from Timmy Crowe and a cracking goal by corner-forward Jamie Shanahan stole the lead from the Magpies and left the score at 1-3 to 0-1.

They never really looked back from this lightning start, even though with

eight minutes on the clock Clarecas- tle were given some hope when cen- tre forward Niall Quinn picked out Aaron Considine with a well judged pass. He then bypassed a number of Sixmulebridge defenders and blasted the ball into the net. Clarecastle cer- tainly were not preparing to give up without a fight.

For the next 20 minutes or so the ‘Bridge restored their dominance on

the scoreboard with four of their for- wards contributing to a seven point haul. Clarecastle managed to grab another three points and this left Sixmilebridge leading 1-10 to 1-4 at ne Vee abe tlon

Only for a number of missed frees and some poor long-range shooting this margin could have been far big- ger. The second-half continued as the first with Clarecastle unable to con-

tain the fast and tricky forwards of their opponents.

Between the 37th and 47th minute they secured another five scores and confirmed their hold on the game. Even though they did not score again until injury-time from a °65 taken by Jamie O’Gorman the end result was never really in question.

The final chance for Clarecastle came when they were awarded a 20m free. The crowd’s excitement increased as the Magpies’ netmind- er Jamie Coughlan ran up the field almost Davy Fitz-like, hoping that he could turn this placed ball into a much needed goal.

Unfortunately for him the ‘Bridge were never going to let the sliotar cross their line again and with this failed attempt Clarecastle’s partici- pation in the Minor A hurling Cham- pionship ended for 2009. Sixmileb- ridge march on after this eight-point victory and now only Kilmaley stand in their way of adding another title to their trophy cabinet.