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IT was a case of third time lucky for Cathy McCafferty. The Sinn Féin member finally achieved her dream as she claimed the seventh seat on Shannon Town Council. The Derry native failed in her attempt to get elected in 1999 and 2004, but her luck changed this time around.

McCafferty — who has lived in Shannon for the past 24 years — lost by just eight votes in 2004, but felt that her more energetic campaign this year was the telling factor in winning her seat. McCafferty picked up 244 first preferences and was elected in the fourth count, having received transfers which brought her to 393 votes.

“Tam absolutely over the moon. I cant believe I’ve done it at last,” she SrnLO

Her success is no surprise as she was expected to pick up the lion’s share of the Sinn Féin vote in Shan- non, after Mike McKee — an In- dependent candidate but a former member of Sinn Féin — decided not to seek re-election.

However, she dismissed suggestions that she benefited from Mr McKee’s decision. “There’s a big Sinn Fein vote in Shannon. I don’t think that interfered with it at all. I only lost by eight votes last time around and I put in a bigger campaign this time. I started last August,” she said.

Another new face on the council will be Fine Gael’s Mary Brennan, who took the fifth seat, having se- cured 252 first preferences. She was elected on the third count, with 384 votes — four above the surplus of 380 — in her first election.

Brennan, a native of Mayo, has lived in Shannon for more than two decades and works in the health cen- tre in the town.

The mother-of-three was shocked to learn that 252 people had voted ome

“T couldn’t even think of 54 who would vote for me. I didn’t under- Stand all the transfers,” said the new- comer to politics.

‘“T have had a ball, from the start to finish. I really didn’t think I had that much of a hope,” she said.

Her decision to run in the election came after her friend Councillor

Tony Mulcahy suggested it to her.

“Tony asked me at a wedding. I thought he was having me on. I’ve al- ways been interested 1n community. I felt a bit of new blood wouldn’t go astray,’ she said.

Although Labour increased their vote from 10 to 15 per cent, it wasn’t enough to gain a seat as their third

candidate Polish native Anna Ku- likowska did poorly, with just 37 first RACES Gee

Sitting councillor Tony McMahon won the fourth seat, while Greg Duff was also returned to the council, tak- ing the sixth seat.

“Labour would have expected to increase this time with the backlash there against Fianna Fail. We got a very good increase so we are quite happy,’ said McMahon.

‘We ran a third person for two rea- sons. The Labour party wanted to run a female candidate and to give the new Irish population the oppor- tunity to vote for a candidate,’ he added.

McMahon had, in the past, threat- ened to quit the Labour party, ex- pressing frustration with the lead- ership. However, he told

Before the count – Tally Timeline

BALLY VAUGHAN residents have told Clare County Council they want to keep the water supply they have and only use the new €5 million scheme currently under construction as a back-up.

The Ballyvaughan Development Committee has been campaigning for two years to have the new scheme abandoned. Less than a month ago, Clare County Council confirmed its commitment to finishing the scheme which will connect the local supply to Lickeen Lake in Ennistymon and decommissioning the indigenous supply at Newtown.

The new scheme is being construct- ed to allow the council to maintain the supply to Ballyvaughan within EU drinking water standards.

But residents of the area don’t want the new scheme and say their exist- ing water is just fine.

A spokesman for the committee said that the Likeen Lake source “measure for measure at many levels falls short of the quality of our own water’.

At a meeting last week, residents unanimously passed a_ resolution which has been sent to Clare County Council, calling for the existing Bal- lyvaughan water supply to “be up- graded to a level of complete accept- ability by Clare County Council, in accordance with EU standards” and that “Clare County Council commit to the upkeep and maintenance of

that supply in accordance with EU standards”.

The group also called for the ex- isting supply be channelled via a separate pipe other than the Lake Lickeen supply and that “this newly upgraded indigenous supply serve as

the primary water supply for the Bal- lyvaughan community” and that “an appropriate interchange valve system be inserted in the respective supply lines so as to facilitate their function as mutually operating auxiliary sup- plies in the event of back-up being

needed for either supply”.

Above: The proposed Ballyvaughan water scheme has come in for criti- cism from residents.

58 The Hawthorns, is a beautifully presented three-bedroom (three bathroom) end property, overlooking a large and well-maintained green area, located just off the Limerick Road, close to the bypass.

On the books with Costelloe Estate Agents, this property is priced to sell at €199,500.

The selling agent said, “It is in walk-in condition and occupies a private site with a lovely south-fac- ing rear garden, with two patio areas which are sun traps in the afternoon and evening.”

This family home offers high standard finishes, including a mix of timber, carpet and tiled flooring,

a quality fitted kitchen, utility and wardrobe units and partially tiled bathrooms.

The spacious accommodation ex- tends to 110.5 sq. metres. (1,090 sq. ft.) and comprises an entrance hall, living room, kitchen/dining room, utility and guest WC – all on the ground floor.

Upstairs, the large master bedroom runs the width of the house and fea- tures extensive built-in wardrobes and a large en-suite, with a further two bedrooms and the family bath- room also on this level.

The property is being sold with in- tegrated electrics, curtains and light fittings and a garden shed.

DNG O’Sullivan Hurley has put the stunning show house at the Gort Na Coulle development at Ballynote, Kilrush, on the market priced at €250,000.

Also available in this very attrac- tive, low-density development of only eight houses is a detached prop- erty priced at €239,000 and a semi- detached, priced at €210,000.

The showhouse offers particularly good value for money as it has been fully finished to a very high standard and is very tastefully decorated.

Built by ANC Construction Devel- opments, Gort Na Coille comprises four detached and four semi detached houses located on the Kilimer Road within easy reach of Kilrush town and all local amenities.

The area is renowned for sport and leisure facilities, including a superb yacht marina in the town, golf cours- es, fishing and the wonderful Vanda- leur Gardens, which are within stroll- ing distance of this development.

The internal accommodation in these houses is particularly spacious, with well-proportioned rooms, mak- ing them ideal family homes. The detached house extends to 1800 sq. ft. of floor space.

Features include a cut roof with Stairs access to the attic space, which

also has a Velux window. The houses are painted externally, while inside the ceilings are painted. There are timber, oak veneered internal doors and architraves, while the stairs is made from red deal.

Other finishes include a tarmac drive, PVC double glazed windows, and the gardens are top soiled and

raked. The developers are also offer- ing generous PC sums for the kitchen and reception room fireplace.

For further information contact DNG O’Sullivan Hurley on: 065 68 40200.

CLARE County Enterprise Board has congratulated St. Anne’s Com- munity College, Killaloe who was the overall Clare winner in the Small Business Game competition designed for secondary schools.

St Anne’s Community College had 10 students ranking in the top 20 highest scores on the national leader board of a new flash-based online ed- ucational game where students learn how to run a sports retail store based on retailing football club merchan- dise. This was a fantastic achieve- ment for the students of St. Anne’s and the endeavours and encourage- ment of Ms. Kathleen Egan, Busi- ness Teacher who encouraged and helped the students, certainly paid dividends

St. Anne’s College won a complete set of sports jerseys and socks spon- sored by Clare County Enterprise Board for their remarkable achieve- ment. John Floyd who is a transition year student in St. Anne’s also won the overall individual prize of a top of the range laptop and printer also sponsored by Clare Co. Enterprise Board.

While John was the top scorer in Clare, he also achieved the honour

of attaining the highest score of the business game nationally, beating off strong competition from hundred of players from numerous second level schools all over Ireland.

In the process of playing the busi- ness game, students experience the start-up and management of a busi- ness, learning both from their mis- takes and from their successes. It can be used in class as a fun, interac- tive way to learn about a variety of

concepts from across the school cur- ueeleueee

For further information log on to www.businessgame.ie or contact Clare Co. Enterprise Board on 065- 6841922.

THE sixth annual Tour de Burren cycle takes place on Saturday June 20 with a large number of cyclists expected to take part. Last year, over 130 cyclists took part in the challenge and it’s expected that even more will take part in this year’s event.

There are three routes planned with a 160km, 60km and 10km trips all lined up. Registration can be done online and the entry fee is €30.

The 160 km Burnin Burren spin starts at the Sea Front in Bally-

vaughan at 9.30am sharp and takes cyclists out of Ballyvaughan on the Galway road, veering left at Bell- harbour, up Ballaghtdine, up Corker Hill, and on through Carron Village. Taking a right turn at Sheisamor Cross, back towards Ballyvaughan, at the cross a left turn and on towards the Corkscrew Hill – a grade 2 King of the Mountains climb on the FBD Ras.

Next comes Lisdoonvarna, where there is a food stop in the new Pa- vilion Theatre. Cyclists then head for Kilfenora, on to Corofin, En-

nistymon, Lahinch, Liscannor, up by Cliffs of Moher, another grade 2 King of the Mountains Hill. There is a descent into Doolin – food stop at Doolin Community Centre – then on to Ballinalacken, and home via Fanore and Black Head to Bally- vaughan.

MANAGING Director of The Pallet Network (TPN), Seamus McGowan, today welcomed Eoin Gavin Trans- port as the Clare member of Ireland’s most innovative transport network. As the newest member of TPN, Eoin Gavin Transport will provide Clare area businesses with access to a high quality, reliable, fast and flexible service with same and next day na- tionwide, UK and European delivery services. The Pallet Network (TPN) is a Wholly owned Irish company and the leading distributor of palletised goods in Ireland. TPN recently an- nounced revenues of €9.2 million for 2008, up from €7.8 million for the previous year.

Mr. McGowan said, “Our vision is to offer local hauliers like Eoin Gavin Transport an opportunity to have a service to rival multinational transport operators. Despite the cur- rent economic situation, TPN’s busi- ness model is relatively recession proof. Eoin Gavin’s addition to our

network will develop and improve freight forwarding options for busi- nesses throughout Clare.”

Eoin Gavin Transport is a family owned business and they have been involved in the haulage industry for over 30 years. Now in 2009, they have a modern fleet of trucks serv- icing sectors such as agriculture, en- vironment, waste, food and the con- struction sector. “I am very pleased to be the latest member of The Pal-

let Network,’ said Mr Gavin. “I am confident that the services I provide to local area businesses in Clare will continue to improve in quality. As a member of the Pallet Network, my customers can now be provided with this additional service, thanks to the infrastructure provided through sere

PARTEEN may have beaten Broad- ford twice in last season’s champion- ship, but they’ll remember Broadford for a very different reason this term — Glenomora Park may well have sounded the death knell of their championship hopes as they were taken apart by a rampant Whitegate team on a balmy Saturday after- noon.

Both sides needed something from this game after first round losses, but it was Whitegate who steamed to victory to finally ignite their cham- pionship challenge after a shock first round exit to Ennistymon.

It was over at half-time really as Whitegate built up a 2-9 to 0-6 lead, having slipped into an early two- point deficit after Colm Quinn and Dara Yelverton found the range for Parteen.

However, Whitegate never really looked back once they settled with points from George Waterstone and Brendan Bugler by the sev- enth minute. Then goals from Pat Minogue and George Waterstone in the ninth and 22nd minutes effective- ly killed Parteen’s challenge.

Minogue profited from clever play by Terence Fahy to score the first, while Waterstone’s was a brilliant individual effort when he slalomed past three Parteen defenders to put Whitegate on the high road.

There was more to come from Wa- terstone and company in the second half, while before the break Terence Fahy, Eric Minogue and Stephen Malone extended their lead to nine points.

By this stage Parteen had lost their most potent forward Dara Yelverton

with a hand injury, while their last point of the first half came from Ivan Conway in the 17th minute.

It got no better for Parteen in the second half as Whitegate piled on the misery, outscoring their opponents by 2-11 to 1-1 over the half hour. The

first goal came five minutes in when Waterstone again sauntered through the Parteen defence and hammered to the net.

Ivan Conway hit back with a goal for Parteen inside 30 seconds, but any hopes that this strike might kickstart

a storming comeback were quickly extinguished inside another 30 sec- onds when Terence Fahy kicked to the net from close range.

From there on it was a canter, while Parteen’s misery was completed when sub Padraig O’Doherty was

red carded.

Whitegate reeled off seven unan- swered points from Terence Fahy, Pat Minogue, Brendan Bugler (2), Michael O’Brien (2) and Raymond CFT TIE

James Long registered Parteen’s last score in the 52nd minute but before the end Whitegate moved through the gears once more to score four more points before the end.

Whitegate’s championship 1s final- ly up and running, even though they now face an 11-week hibernation.

HIGH noon in the intermediate ver- sion of the “Group of Death’ as Kil- lanena began the campaign in positive fashion to take an early lead in the pool. It wasn’t exactly a performance that will send the rest of the cham- pionship into a frenzy but in such a competitive group, securing victory by whatever means necessary is the most important aspect that Killanena will take from this game.

Bogged down for the first 35 min- utes of this tie, Killanena finally came to life to brush aside Sixmilebridge’s challenge, hitting seven points in the remainder as the Bridge faded under the energy sapping sun.

With both centre-backs Enda Col- lins and Stiofan Fitzpatrick domi- nating throughout, it was only when Mark Flaherty was switched from corner-forward to centre-forward that Killanena found that extra gear and that was essentially the differ- ence as the Bridge had no such tar- getman in their front six.

This was a far different Bridge team from the one that had beaten Killanena at the same stage of last year’s championship on their way to contesting the intermediate decider, with only half the side still remain- ing. Instead, the Bridge’s second string had to rely on a new crop of young players to lead the way and along with the experience of Stiofan Fitzpatrick, David O’Meara, Keith Walker, Kevin Phelan, Christy Grif- fin, Declan Murphy, Joe and Mike O’Halloran and Tommy Liddy, they certainly matched Killanena for al- most forty minutes.

The scrapiness of the game suited the Bridge better and while Killanena hit 14 wides over the hour, the Bridge just kept plugging away before their challenge eventually faded.

The opening half went blow for blow, with the sides level on five oc- casions by the 24th minute before Killanena finally found some leeway with a three point unanswered burst through Alan McNamara, Mikey Noone and Liam McNamara to lead

by 0-8 to 0-6 at the break.

Incidentally, that first half was also noted for the surprising lapse in freetaking with Mark Flaherty and Tommy Liddy’s normally unerring accuracy from placed balls suffering under the midday sun.

Killanena almost caught the Bridge napping immediately after the re- start when Ronan Flaherty raided down the left flank before handpass- ing to Liam McNamara but his shot for goal to thunder off the crossbar to frustrate Killanena further. Two more wides followed for the north Clare side and the Bridge took ad- vantage of that lapse to level up the game for the sixth time by the 35th minute through Tommy Liddy and a great score from Ronan Mullane.

That was to be their last real say in the game as they opted to go for goals when picking off points would have been much more beneficial and once Killanena switched county sen- ior Flaherty out to the forty, they be- gan to regain control. Two Flaherty frees and an Alan McNamara point

in a four minute spell began the surge and while Liddy again con- verted a free in the 43rd to put just two between the sides, it was to be their final score of the game.

Instead, Killanena piled on the pressure and while the wides contin- ued to hamper them, their constant shooting eventually yielded further points from Fintan McNamara, Mark Flaherty and a superb long range ef- fort from Enda Collins to give them a five point cushion.

Sixmilebridge should have grabbed a lifeline when Declan Murphy picked out Joe O’ Halloran unmarked at the back post with five minutes remaining but the corner-forward struck his shot into the ground and Killanena cleared the danger, finally cementing the win with a Liam Mc- Namara 64th minute point.

Not only was it a great start to the championship for Killanena but as the sides were due to play in the Clare Cup this weekend, the game also doubled up as a league and championship game, with the victory

putting Killanena on top of both ta- bles.