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AMATEUR artists from all over Ireland will be making their way to Lisdoonvarna later this month for the third annual Outdoor Landscape Painting Competition.

The event, which is organised each years by the Burren Painting Centre, aims to build on the success of the last two years and attract a host of artists from across Ireland and be- yond to take part.

This year’s competing artists will battle it out to win €3,000 worth of prizes at the event.

The Burren Painting Centre has collected a record amount of spon- sorship for this year’s event with the overall winner receiving a top prize of €300 cash, a three-day painting break and framing of the winning ele

This weekend of art will commence on the evening of Friday, May 22 with an oil painting demonstration by well-known Bray artist, Fergal Flanagan from 8.30pm in the studio of the Burren Painting Centre.

The amateur artists will register on the Saturday morning bright and early at the Lisdoonvarna National

School. They will then choose a lo- cation from the three options given them, check on the map and head off and start to paint.

The locations will be kept strictly secret before the beginning of the competition but they will all be lo- cated within a 10-mile radius of Lis- doonvarna. The competing artists will have until 6pm that evening to return with their completed entries.

All the paintings will be judged on the Sunday morning by professional artists, Patricia O’Breartuin and Frank Sanford. Both of these artists have been regular tutors at the Bur-

ren Painting Centre over many years and are enthusiasts of ‘en plein air’ orenonlauetee

Local artist Lorraine Wall, from Ennis, will conduct a drawing work- shop in the studio at the Burren Painting Centre while the judging takes place. The contestants will meet for lunch and the prize giving at The King Thomond Hotel in Lis- doonvarna.

More details and entry forms are available from Chris O’Neill at the Burren Painting Centre, Lisdoonvar- na, info@burrenpaintingcentre.com or phone 065 7074208.

MODERN-DAY warriors will march through the mists of time in Killaloe this summer to contend for NOUN CeN ONO A CO

On August 8, hundreds of tri-ath- letes will contest the title Ard Ri on territory adjacent to the ‘Forth of Brian Bort’ and ‘Greenanlaghna’ the seat of the great Munster Dalcas- sians.

The inaugural Brian Bort Triath- lon Challenge will require different skills to those which sustained the ancient warriors, but endurance and preparation will still be needed.

“The intensity and heat of battle over the course of one day’s racing will produce the worthy heir. There will be a winner and the heir will be bestowed with the crown and title

Ard Ri Cill Da Lua,” a spokeswom- an for the organisers said

Keith Wood and Anthony Foley, International Rugby legends and Killaloe’s modern day warriors were on hand to launch the triathlon at the Kincora Hall Hotel last week.

OW slommbets) ovbeclaCeyemm Cem seUKMmnur-l#el ley! stemmed from a challenging charity cycle, which is currently under way. Thaireland is a charity cycle from Thailand to Ireland by three Killaloe lads who aim to build a holiday vil- lage for sick children and the Share a Dream Foundation.

Brothers Brian and Michael Cul- hane from Killaloe, and Paul Ryan from Ogonnelloe, set out from Bang- kok last December with the goal of cycling 14,000 km back to Ireland. They are currently in Turkey and expect to arrive back in Killaloe in

CRU RAM LeU A

Any proceeds raised from this tri- athlon will go towards the €50,000 target the three cyclists have set themselves. Their adventure can be followed on www.thaireland.1ie.

Triathalon swimmers will take their marks on the lakeshore at the Twomilegate and, on completion of the open water 750 metre swim, competitors will then race over a 22 km cycle course on the most scenic roads overlooking Lough Derg, pass- ing by the Brian Bort oak tree and St Cronan’s 10th century church, loop- ing around the East Clare Memorial Park at Tuamgraney before return- ing through the picturesque village of Ogonnolloe.

The challenge doesn’t end there, on completion of the cycle, a 5km run still awaits any would be Ard Ri.

The run will take place on the steep slopes of the peaceful forest at Bally- cuggeran. Having surmounted these challenges, first over the line will be ceremoniously crowned Ard Ri 2009 on the ancient site of Kincora, the seat of Brian Bort: Killaloe and Ireland’s last high king.

Those who are developing their skills in swimming, cycling or run- ning can enter the relay event with three individual warriors participat- ing and covering the same course.

TWENTY-SIX auditioned and now it is down to 16 finalists in West Clare’s Got Talent.

Last year a group of people set up the competition to raise money for the ISPCC under the umbrella “chil- dren helping children”.

Following on from the success of the 2008 event, the talent show has now become an annual event.

In total 26 acts performed for judg- es Charlie Killeen, Linda O’Gorman, Karen Hogan and Paddy Hohnan,

who had the unenviable job of pick- ing just 16 acts for the grand final.

On May 16 the final acts will battle it out for the title in the Community School Kilrush, from 7pm sharp.

The participants are aged 10 to 18 years old and their acts include, hip hop and Irish dancing, set dancing, singers ranging from sopranos to al- tos and musicians playing the harp and accordion.

The new judges for the night – Anne Marie Doyle, Doonbeg; Mor- gan Roughan, Michael Vardin form the Ennis School of Rock, and Mary

Corry, along with guest adjudicator and last year’s winner Cooraclare girl Lisa Falsey will decide who will win the shield on the night.

Last year’s winner, Lisa will also perform on the night and will be joined by two special guests – Bert and Victor from the All Ireland Tal- ent Show.

The singers’ mother hails from Kilrush and the talented teens will be back in her old school performing again for those who supported them during the talent competition.

Last year West Clare’s Got Talent

raised €2,000, and this year the or- ganisers are hoping to double that sum.

Tickets on the night cost €5 for OAPs and students and €10 for adults.

There will also be a raffle and spot prizes.

Main organiser Kilrush woman Teresa Carrig said that the commu- nity has really got behind the event.

“Tt is very much community driven and it is great to see all the commu- nity involved in something like this,” said Ms Carrig.

, that parts of Drumbiggle had been affected by the feud, Ferdie O’Donoghue of the Drumbiggle Residents Association, said the area had not experienced any problems. “In no way has it affected our area. We had our problems in the

past but the area is settled now. There are some small things, but they are the usual things that happen in any privately run council estates. If it does come to our area we will deal with in an appropriate manner.”

The Drumbiggle area covers over 300 houses in Clancy Park, Water- park Heights, Waterpark View, Wa- terpark Court, McHugh Villas, Rad- hare na hInse, Ard Carrig and Stone Court. Mr O’Donoghue said that the actions of a “small minority” had cre- ated difficulties for residents and had given some housing estates in Ennis,

“a bad name”.

He said, “We do have sympathy with the people living in Cloughleigh and what they have had to go through. It’s terrible what a small minority of people can do to an estate. I’m sure that the residents, the Gardai and En- nis Town Council are doing the best they can to sort out the problem. If there is anything that our residents groups can do to help them, we will be more than willing to help.”

Mr O’Donoghue continued, “It’s a small amount of people that are caus- ing the difficulties. It only takes one

or two people to give an estate a bad name. 99 per cent of the people liv- ing in estates around the town are law-abiding people. It 1s that one per cent that gives a place a bad name and that’s not a fair reflection of what a place is actually like. But that’s the way it is, | suppose. All it takes is one bad apple.

“It’s important that everyone works together, the residents, the council and the Gardai. But you’ll find that as estates get older, things start to settle down. Time is a healer for all these things,” said Mr O’Donoghue.

Fleadh Nua 2009 gets underway

THERE’S a certain symmetry to 1996 that has caught the attention of Wolfe Tones’ Johnny Markham. Back in the mid-90s, when Clare hurling in general was riding the crest of a wave, Wolfe Tones made huge inroads in the domestic game.

In 1995, the year when the sport caught fire in this county, the club from Shannon picked up a Junior A title. It probably passed un-noticed in most hurling communities outside the airport town, which, consider- ing the summer that had just passed, wasn’t surprising.

The thing was, the club used that win not just as a foundation for the following season but used it as a springboard for the big prize.

Half a dozen players from that Jun- ior A winning side made the step up to the senior panel the following year and helped the club to their first ever county title.

This year, with a Junior A success behind them last season, Markham hopes the portents are favourable once more.

“Landing the Junior A last year certainly was a boost to us,” he says.

“Winning a title, no matter what level it’s at, does a couple of things. It gives players valuable experience in the latter stages of a competition and it gives them confidence as well. So we’re looking to bring through a few lads from last year’s Junior A side. We’d be hopeful of three or four making the move to senior and hav- ing a good championship this year.”

The Clare Cup has _ provided Markham with that platform. So far, he’s used a handful of last year’s Jun- ior As in the league and he’s been 1m- pressed with what he’s seen so far.

‘“That’s been our philosophy in the league, to bring those lads in and give them an opportunity, give them a chance to gain some more experi- ence. We didn’t start off too well in the league, but we’ve been steady since the first game. So yeah, I’d say we’ve found two or three guys who can add something to our team come the championship.”

Come this weekend, there will be a couple of notable absentees from the Wolfe Tones outfit. Given the trend towards emigration in Clare these past few months, most clubs have been affected 1n some way or another. Wolfe Tones are no differ-

ent but luckily, they’ve lost only one player to foreign soils, though it’s an influential one in the guise of Der- mot O’ Rourke.

Retirements have come by as well, Denis Riordan and Paul O’Rourke have hung up the boots and this year is the first in what seems like an age that Brian Lohan won’t tog out in the club colours.

“It’s almost impossible to replace a player of Brian’s standing,’ contin- ues Markham. “He’s been an inspi- ration and a leader to the lads on and off the field but it’s up to us to keep those qualities now. We have plenty of other lads who are well capable of being leaders and they’ll stand up and bring the younger lads through re) a

Though the club may have been quiet on the underage scene in recent times, Markham sees good work being done at root level, something which he says is both inspiring for the senior players and crucial to en- sure a conveyor belt of talent emerg- es to feed the senior teams down the line.

“We haven’t competed at some lev- els for a while, but there’s tremen- dous effort being put in, especially at

Under 8 and Under 10 level. And the hope is that this will put us in a posi- tion to get back to the top in terms of underage competition, where we feel we belong.”

As with any club, striking the bal- ance is the key — keeping a focus on the emerging talent and prodding the senior standard bearers forward. This year, a good run in the championship would ensure the younger members of the club will retain a strong focus themselves.

THE likelihood of a Crusheen stop being included in the Western Rail Corridor now looks unlikely in the short term following the omission of a platform from a new planning ap- plication lodged by Iarnrod Eireann.

Late last month the rail company lodged a planning application with Clare County Council for the con- struction of a bridge over the Limer- ick-Galway Railway line at Crusheen along with a new agricultural access road, site clearance, earthworks, bridge and pavement construction.

The omission from this application of platform works now makes it very unlikely that Iarnrod Eireann plan to develop a stop in Crusheen in the near future.

The Crusheen stop on the Western Rail Corridor was mentioned at last month’s West on Track AGM and lo- cals are still hopeful that a stop will be introduced sooner or later.

“As far aS we are concerned the campaign continues. We keep in regular contact with the relevant authorities and ministers and at the moment there is no update on the sit- uation. But we are still hopeful,” said Mike O’Doherty, chairperson of the Crusheen Development Association.

“It was mentioned at the West on Track conference last month and we are committed to continuing the campaign. We do recognise that we are now in very different economic times than we were just a short time ago, but we also recognise that the

need for a stop at Crusheen has not declined.”

Last month the rail company indi- cated that it would be pressing for- ward with the instigation of the Gal- way to Ennis section of the rail line this summer, even if the Gort rail station is not completed on time.

Jarnrod Eireann later confirmed that it did expect the Gort station on time.

Meanwhile, a number of critical factors must be put in place over the coming months to ensure that the maximum number of passengers take-up the Western Rail Corridor.

According to Lisa McAllister, Chief Executive of the Western De- velopment Commission, quality park and ride facilities are essential to the Ube ENE eots

“Schedules and timetables must be devised to meet consumer demand. Quality rolling stock, good park and ride facilities, and creative pricing and effective marketing to promote the new rail services will be the final ingredients in delivering a service that caters for customer demand,” SJ alemcrenten

Ennis schools lose two principals

“EFFECTIVELY all we are being promised is more of the same but Il do it a bit better.”

This 1s how Clare’s only candidate in the Ireland North West European Election appraised the other candi- dates in the field.

Scariff man Michael McNamara, is critical of the lack of ideas and debate surrounding the European elections, the economy and the local elections.

The barrister and farmer, admits he is coming to the European race a little late and has a huge challenge to overcome as an Independent can- didate, but is determined to open up the debate on Europe, Ireland’s place in Europe and the future of Govern- ment in Ireland.

Asked why he has put his name forward in the three-seat constitu- ency, which is made up of counties from every province in Ireland, Mr McNamara said, “Because I have to. I believe there is complete disil- lusionment in Ireland with National politics. A change in Government will not change that but a change in

governance.

‘There is a danger because of disil- lusionment people will reject the Eu- ropean Project as a protest. I believe that is why a lot of people voted No to the Lisbon Treaty.

“The problem with European law is not how it is made in Europe but how it is applied in Ireland.”

He gave the example of the contro- versial water and nitrates directives.

Mr McNamara said that Irish farm- ers are being forced to spread slurry in waterlogged fields before October Ry

In Northern Ireland, the British government secured derogation, so farmers have until January | to com- OC Kom CUM EAL ©

Both sets of farmers are working on the same island and in the same climate, yet the Irish Government failed farmers south of the border in this regard, he maintains.

Mr McNamara also believes in strengthening the local authorities, but maintains we do not need as many councillors or councils as we presently have in Ireland.

The Clare man began his cam- paigning last weekend.

FIANNA Fail added its second can- didate to the Ireland North West ticket at the 11th hour amid much disquiet from the Pascal Mooney camp.

Just hours before the close of nomi- nations, Minister for State and Don- egal South West TD Pat “the Cope” Gallagher (FF) declared as a candi- date after weeks of speculation.

He joined former senator Mooney on the ticket, vacated by sitting MEP Sean O Neachtain.

The Galway-based MEP and Mooney were selected to represent the party, but O Neachtain later withdrew his name citing ill health.

Fianna Fail failed to find a candi- date in the southern half of the vast constituency of Ireland North West,

and yesterday announced former MEP and junior Minister Gallagher as the second candidate.

The news was not welcomed in the Mooney camp, as supporters be- lieved that both men would be look- ing for votes in the north.

Announcing his candidature Min- ister Gallagher said, “We must maximise funding opportunities from Europe which is supporting Irish economic recovery through a number of different positive initia- UAVore

“Now more than ever, Ireland needs to elect people who will be able to work in Europe on a range of different policy issues that will sup- port Irish economic recovery.

“The European Union is to the forefront in helping Ireland to pull out of economic recession.”

The junior minister served in the European Parliament before be- tween 1994 and 2002.

He said that both himself and Mr Mooney must work together to win back the Fianna Fail seat in Ireland oye fenie

The former senator, 1s an award- winning broadcaster and journalist and a native of Drumshanbo, Coun- ty Leitrim.

Mr Mooney said he will fight to protect the farming and fishing in- dustry and push for better job crea- tion and tourism through EU sup- port. He said he will also fight to protect Ireland’s cultural, linguistic and national diversities within the European Union and for increased financial support for Irish small and medium-size enterprises.

The former senator has served on

a number of European bodies in- cluding the Council of Europe and the WEU Parliamentary Assembly. He presented several reports to the Council of Europe including ‘Wom- en’s Participation in Elections’ and ‘Europe’s response to Humanitarian Disasters’ in association with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

He is co-author of “Women in Parliament’, now the benchmark publication acknowledging the role played by Irish women in the politi- cal process since the foundation of Some EI Koe

Mr Mooney was the first Irishman to be elected chairman of the Coun- cil of Europe Human Rights Com- mittee and has also served on the Joint House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Forum on Europe.