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AS IT prepares to celebrate its 10th birthday next year, a basketball club in Shannon is planning to expand and attract new members.

Phoenix Shannon basketball club was set up in 1999 by local ladies Carmel Howard, Karen O’Callaghan and Bella Boyle and has participat- ed in the Limerick league, over the years.

It was narrowly pipped for over- all league honours last year, but its members are hopeful that silverware will be won this year.

PRO Majella Lillis said the club has enjoyed phenomenal success, but the ultimate aim is league honours.

“We were beaten in the play-offs

the last two years. Mary Immaculate College, Limerick beat us last year and University of Limerick were the victors the previous year. The aim 1s to win this year. We were just pipped last year in the play-offs. It went down to points,” she said.

The first match of the season, two weeks ago, saw Phoenix defeat St Colm’s Saints, also from Shannon. Tonight they will play University of Limerick, away, and are hopeful of Panne

“It will be a massive game for us, as the league has been between Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick and ourselves over the past couple of years,” she said.

A lot has changed since the club was initially set up and hopes are

high that it will continue to make good progress.

“When the club started off origi- nally in 1999, the players were from Shannon. Now, we have players trav- elling from Ennis to Shannon,’ she PALO

To cater for the Ennis players, the training 1s split into two locations – St Flannan’s College, Ennis and St Caimin’’s in Shannon.

“This year, it is the same group of players that have been there for the past few years,” she said.

“Up until recently our club had been the only basketball club representing Clare in the Limerick League. Last year the club played 14 games. We won 12 and only lost two. This is a fantastic record by any standards,”

she added.

There is a close-knit aspect to the club – which is sponsored by Maid- enform – as the girls who play also run the club. Mike Hickey, who trains the girls, is also the chairman; Karen Moclair and Grainne Lynch are the treasurers, while Majella is the PRO.

New members and_ supporters should contact Mike Hickey on (086) 6030250.

ONE of Clare’s leading Construction and Civil Engineering companies is this week launching a development close to its geographically origins.

L and M Keating Ltd was estab- lished in 1987 by Kilmihil couple Louis and Mary Keating, and on Wednesday the company will unveil its Kilrush development to the busi- ness and political community.

Over the years the company’s work has included major Civil Engineer- ing and Building works covering all sectors of the industry, with some of its major projects including the living bridge at the University of Limerick and the River Shannon Crossing En- abling Works.

Many of the company’s previous wok can also be seen around the west Clare capital, including the Shana- kyle Community Housing, the Garda Station, Hector Street apartments and the Moanmore Windfarm.

Tomorrow evening (Wednesday) Jim Power, Chief Economist Friends First will officially open the Busi- ness Quarter of the Landmark Office Development at the Merchant’s Quay Business Quarter.

The development includes two fa- miliar landmarks on Francis Street – Kelly’s Mill and Foley’s Store.

A glazed atrium which will extend the full height of the building links the two buildings and offers excep- tional views over the Shannon Estu- ary and the Marina.

According to Pat Quinlivan, Com- mercial Director of LandM Keating Ltd, the location of these two impos- ing six storey buildings is as relevant today as it was when they were built over 150 years ago.

“By retaining the original 19th cen- tury structure and combining it with State-of-the-art internal fit-out, an ideal working environment has been created,” he said.

“The versatile layout design ena- bles effective subdivision of units to provide quality office accommo- dation of 500 square feet to 20,000 square feet.

‘Anchor occupants will include the Civil Service as well as Medical and Professional businesses.

“These prestigious offices will pro-

vide outstanding modern tax efficient accommodation for existing busi- nesses operating in the Kilrush area and for those seeking to establish a Kilrush base, as well as catering for new start ups” he said.

“Anchor occupants already con- firmed include the Civil Service as well as Medical and Professional businesses,” said Mr Quinlivan.

On Wednesday local business peo- ple, potential business people and members and officials from Clare County Council and Kilrush Town Council can avail of an opportunity to see the building at its best and hear from a well known economist who will review the budget and national and international financial maters for those present.

WOMEN are renowned for their ability to multi-task but the ladies that make up the Kilmihil Football team are taking this skill to a whole new level.

A number of years ago when the club needed a new committee, the team members decided it was time the sisters did it for themselves.

So on Sunday when Fiona O’Neill led her team to victory at the clubs first ever Munster Intermediate Championship Final on Sunday, she was not just the centre back, or the captain, she was also the club’s chair- person. Her fellow Ulster Bank col- league Rosemary Currane was not just a forward for the team, but also

club secretary.

These women like so many of the others who are dedicated to club and team have eaten, drank and slept football since last February.

Training began for the team nine months ago and since then the ladies have met three times a week to train.

Many of the dedicated team travel from Limerick, Cork and Dublin to ensure they are at training.

This year the squad of 26, along with management team Damien De- vine and Thomas McMahon were determined to win the county inter- mediate championship, having come so close in the last two years.

Kilmihil Ladies Football Club was re-established in its current format in Re

It started out as an underage club that grew with its members.

In its first year it won an under 14 B and C final. From there its teams went on to win competitions at all ages including Under 16 B and C finals and Minor As and B titles, as well as numerous national school ti- Coxe

At the turn of the century – just eight years ago – a junior team was formed in the club and in the same year they won the junior title.

In 2000 Kilmihil fielded a senior team with Crusheen, called Kilero- nan and reached the county final.

In 2001 Kilmihil won the All Ire- land seven aside and two years later joined Doonebeg to form the senior team Kildoon Gaels that won the

county final.

Next year Kilmihil will reach the senior grade in their own right.

Despite not fielding a team for three years the Ladies club came back to win a Junior League title in 2006.

Despite winning the Intermediate League title too, the championship evaded the team until this year when it beat Shannon Gaels.

Now the Ladies Team are looking forward to next season at senior lev- el, and even more local support.

“Before people were not that in- terested in Ladies Club, but new we have a lot of support. Local spon- sors played a big part this year as we wouldn’t have a lot and would have been scrapping through,” said Rose- nerve

“Tell them to wait until next year, until I win it,” he told his grandmoth- er Kay.

True to his word the 16-year-old won the competition in Old Trafford WORN ore

This was no mean feat as he beat off stiff competition from all over Europe, including the German teen- ager that piped him at the post last year.

Now the Killimer teenager is pre- paring to take part in the World

Skills Final, as a result of his win.

The international competition will take place on November | in the Cliff Training ground – the Manchester United and England training ground in Manchester.

Ruairi will also play on the Old Trafford pitch before the Manchester United home game against Hull City, and the winners of the world skills finals will be presented to the fans at half time. With his strong determ1- nation and winning attitude Ruairi’s family and team-mates are hoping that he is among the winners.

Living in Kilmihil with his grand- parents Sennan and Kay Honan (nee Gallagher) who are originally from Burton Street Kilrush, Ruairi is ded- icated sports man.

For the past three years he has made the trip to Manchester to take part in the World Skills Final.

The avid Manchester United fan 1s currently playing with the Money- point under 16 team and has been a constant team member with Mon- eypoint AFC from the under 11 age ea celel oy

Ruairi has won Clare league and Cup medals at various age levels over those years with Moneypoint AFC. Ruairi has also been a member of the Clare County Soccer Squad at various age levels.

His proud grandmother Kaye paid tribute to the young soccer star.

‘He is a great kid and very moti- vated,” she said.

Although he is also a keen golfer

and enjoys chess, Ruairi is now dedi- cating most of his spare time to prac- ticing his skills.

The fifth year student from Kilrush Community College can be seen training alone in the “field in Killim- er’ in the evening and at weekends.

A spokesperson from Moneypoint FC also wished the young soccer player well as he prepares to fly to Manchester with his grandparents on October 31.

And who knows if he wins we might just get another picture and interview.

EVER imagine waking up with the beach on your doorstep? How about sleeping in the middle of a deep for- est with the sound of trees rustling in the wind? Or maybe you are more of a city stroller? Well whatever your preference you can do it in the comfort of your own campervan and recently I had the opportunity to ex- perience this in glorious French sur- TKOLebeLe nb ereace

I had the pleasure of travelling not only in good company but in the lat- est Cityvan campervan, the CV57P which is just one of several versions that Cityvan have to offer. If ever there was a campervan made for nar- row roads or city streets then this is the one. And on Irish roads this would be the ideal choice, especially for those of us who are not so com- fortable driving those back roads only known by “the locals”’.

Whether it’s a family holiday or sporting weekend, campervans are becoming more and more popular. In May 2007 Vanderlust camper- vans identified this growing market

and joined forces with the french motorhome giant Pilote. Vanderlust have the exclusive Irish distribu- tion rights to three of their brands namely, Cityvan, Bavaria and Moo- veo. With such an extensive range to choose from, which include over for-

thy five internal designs. Vanderlust offer Coachbuilt, low profile and for those who want it all.. the A Class motorhome.

Vanderlust also offer a conversion service for those wanting a truely individual motorhome and can also

supply accessories such as_ bike racks, reversing cameras, awnings, TV/DVD’s and consumables.

For me though the Cityvan was my desired choice, kind to the driver and even kinder to its occupants. It came with all the essentials that one re-

quires when touring from place to place. A stylish yet comfortable lay- out with a double bed, four dining seats, a table, fully equiped kitchen, shower, toilet and enough cupboard space for your entire trip. If you’re into water sports or cycling they also have all the holding space you’ ll need for the roadtrip of your life.

Our road trip took us from Nantes to La Rochelle and on to Biscarosse, a picturesque seaside resort west of Bordeaux. Here there is believed to be the oldest elm tree in the world planted in 1350! Interesting as that may be, it was the sun, wind, water and french way of life that we were looking for. Unfortunatey the weath- er wasn’t good to us at the beginning of our journey but having total mo- bility made up for it. We could go wherever the van would take us, so finding the sun became our primary objective. Finally after the second day we caught up with the sun or maybe we’d driven away from the clouds? Either way, we now had sun and the perfect conditions to get in the water for some kitesurfing and some lazing about on the beach.

NORTH Tipperary County Council have secured a number of undertak- ings from protesters who had been maintaining a blockade close to a house allocated to a ten member family from the travelling commu- nity, the High Court heard yesterday.

The High Court was told that un- dertakings had been given by a group of residents from the town of Ballina that they would not intimidate or as-

sault Council employees or the fam- ily, nor would they interfere with the access to or trespass on the house.

On Monday Mr Justice Paul Gilli- gan, after being informed of the un- dertakings, agreed to adjourn gener- ally injunction proceedings against a number of residents from Cullenagh, Ballina, County Tipperary, from con- tinuing with a blockade of the house fesse u ieee

The protest began early last month when residents discovered that a

house at Cullenagh had been ac- quired by the Council for the purpose of housing the O’Reilly family.

Last week the Council was granted permission by the High Court to no- tify those individuals involved in the blockade of their intention to seek an injunction aimed at restraining the protesters from interfering and tres- passing on the property.

Mr David Kennedy SC for the Council told the court the situation had become very inflamed. He said

glue had been placed in the house’s locks, the electricity had been cut off and the council employees attending the property were in fear of being in- timidated by those maintaining the blockade.

The O’Reilly family consists of the parents and their eight children, some of whom had special needs and were currently residing in a mobile home on the side of the road with no toilet facilities and no electricity.

The family are from the locality

and have been on the housing list since 2000.

Since the dispute began last Sep- tember a number of residents had en- tered the council’s offices in Nenagh and verbally abused people there resulting in the gardai being called. The residents had been outside the house at Cullenagh since September Rees

The council intends to have the family move into the house as soon as possible.

COMMENTS that the methods used to allocate local authority housing are skewed in favour of immigrants do not necessarily paint a “true pic- ture of things’, according to one En- nis councillor.

Councillor Taiwo Matthew (Ind) claimed yesterday that many of the homes allocated to new families in Ennis had already been refused by others on the waiting list.

He said he had full confidence in the manner in which Ennis Town Council allocated housing.

He said “The executive has criteria they follow when they are giving out houses irrespective of whether they are migrants or not, in accordance with the provisions laid out”.

‘Most of the houses that are allo- cated are give to immigrants who are EU citizens and they are taken

up because they have already been rejected by indigenous people who have said that they don’t want to live WN Kon

“Saying that they are all given to immigrants and that people from Ennis are being rejected 1s not neces- sarily a true picture of things. It’s the same as saying immigrants are com- ing into Ennis and taking all the jobs and that is not true. My take is that I trust the council executive to abide by the procedures set down”’.

Cllr Matthew was commenting on issues raised at last Monday’s meet- ing of Ennis Town Councillor where some councillors expressed concern over issues relating to local authority housing lists.

Cllr Frankie Neylon said that he was aware of cases where people who had been on the housing list for a number of years had been passed over in favour of others who had

been on it a relatively short period OMB bb ater

He called for a review of the pro- cedures used to allocate housing and claimed, that, in some instances, 1m- migrants received preferential treat- ment.

Nigerian born Cllr Matthew said Ennis is now a multicultural com- munity where it was very easy for certain phrases or terminology to be mis-interpreted as meaning some- thing else.

‘Tam on the council and I don’t rep- resent one particular community or group of people. In my work I try to represent all the people of Ennis”… … | would be very careful of being misinterpreted, or miusunderstood, because people can accuse of saying things you didn’t mean,” added Cllr Matthew.

THIS summer’s surprise upturn in tourism levels has had little or no ef- fect on Clare, according to the Irish Hotel federation. Last week the Cen- tral Statistics Office (CSO) released figures showing a one per cent in- crease in overall tourist numbers for the three months leading up to Sep- Kone lolol

The local branch of the Irish Ho- tel Federation has attacked these figures, calling them inaccurate and misleading.

“The overall CSO figures include a huge element of people travelling into the country for things that are nothing really to do with tourism. The amount of pure tourism in these figures is actually very small. These figures don’t tell us anything about the true value of real tourism that is coming into the country,’ said a County Clare spokesperson for the Irish Hotel Federation.

“Tf you look at the figures on hotel stays for example, they say that the American market in the west is down almost 15 per cent year on year. We also know that the British market is down at least seven per cent and the European market is down about three per cent.”

Indeed, according to the latest of- ficial Tourism Industry Barometer Figures, more than 80 per cent of representative in the Shannon region reported a downturn in numbers seeking accommodation this year.

This places the Shannon region as the worst performing geographic area, with only 51 per cent in the North West Region reporting a downturn in numbers.

‘We also know on the latest barom- eter survey that the Shannon region has been the hardest hit in Ireland this year. There is no doubt that this is linked to the Open Skies and the loss of the Heathrow link. There 1s no-one in the west who will be re- lying on the CSO figure to tell them about tourism in the west,’ contin- ued the spokesperson.

‘A tourist, according to this report, is anyone who has left their place of origin for less than a day, for any purpose. It could be business trips, it could even be US troops in Shan- non who stay overnight, people can be counted on this if they are going shopping in Dublin or going to a show. This survey is not a reflection on the tourism numbers at all.”

NINE sports clubs from Clare have submitted applications for this year’s Texaco Sportstars Bursaries. The clubs, whose names are not revealed, are amongst a record 422 clubs from all of the 32 counties to enter the event.

Highest entry came from Dublin

(90) followed by Cork (45) and An- trim (41). Other high entries came from Down (29), Galway (27), Lim- erick (18), Kerry (16), Wicklow (12), Kildare, Wexford and Armagh (10 each). Of the total, 23 percent of ap- plications came from clubs in North- ern Ireland with all of the six coun- ties represented.

Some 51 sporting disciplines were

represented amongst the applica- tions received. Soccer clubs made up the largest number (72) followed by GAA (54), basketball (32), hockey and swimming (29 each), athletics (24), rugby (20), special needs and boxing (13 each), rowing and sailing (12 each) and camogie (10). Of the remainder, American football, ice hockey, diving, volleyball and canoe-

ing were amongst the minority sports represented.

Now in its second year, over €120,000 has been set aside for the scheme from which a total of 25 sports clubs stand to benefit – 20 from the Republic of Ireland and five from Northern Ireland. Open to sports clubs of all kind, bursaries will be distributed to clubs in the Republic

of Ireland in amounts of €5,000 each and to clubs in Northern Ireland in amounts of Stg£3,500 each.

AUG Rsanetsap Rel ba ces td bMRU EAC Co MAU NARUTO der the chairmanship of former RTE sports producer, Michael O’Carroll. Winners will be announced and pre- sented with their awards at a ceremo- ny to be held in Dublin on Wednes- day, October 29.

A MAJOR sports and coaching sem- inar will take place in the new con- ference facilities at Thomond Park on Thursday 23rd October. Kilkenny Hurling Manager, Brian Cody and Munster Rugby coach, Tony McGa- han will be among the high profile line up of speakers for the second an- nual Mid West Coaching and Team Performance Conference.

The seminar 1s aimed at everyone interested in the sports development of young people such as coaches, trainers and parents. The event is organised through the BDO Simp- son Xavier Get BACk Challenge in association with the Mid West Local Sports Partnerships.

The first running of the event was a sell out last year and this year has attracted a very high profile panel of experts to discuss advances in coach- ing, motivation and nutrition.

In addition to Brian Cody and Tony McGahan other speakers will in- clude Professor Niall Moyna, Head of School of Health and Human Per- formance in DCU and Sharon Ma- digan, Performance Nutritionist for the Olympic Council of Ireland. The event will be chaired by the Univer- sity of Limerick’s Director of Sport, David Mahedy. A panel discussion will take place with all speakers following their individual presenta- tions.

Speaking at the launch of the semi- nar, BDO Simpson Xavier Managing Partner, Brian McGann explained “the event is part of BDO Get BACk Challenge programme to raise funds to increase participation in sport among children in addition to our commitment to contributing funds to Hospice cancer care in the Mid West. One of the elements of the BDO Get BACk Challenge is help in the area of coach education across all codes throughout the region. The event is organised based on a one to ten

principle. We felt if we could com- municate to 500 coaches and they passed some nugget of information to ten children then the effect of the seminar would be to benefit SOOO bi Coleone

He added “after three years of run- ning the BDO Get BACk Challenge we will have contributed a total of €500,000 to fund Hospice cancer care throughout the Mid West, in- cluding Cahercalla Hospice, and

various programmes for children in sporting disadvantaged areas. This year we were privileged to be joined by three time Tour de France win- ner Greg LeMond in our fundrais- ing efforts demonstrating the role sport plays in contributing to such Cr Nona

The event will be hosted in the new Thomond Park conference facility which has a capacity of 500 peo- ple. John Sweeney, Coordinator of

Clare Sports Partnership explained ‘Thomond Park will be a fitting ven- ue to host some of the leading coach- ing experts in Ireland for the second hosting of this event. We are delight- ed to welcome the managers of the current Heineken European Cup and All Ireland Hurling champions in ad- dition to the nutritional adviser to the successful Irish boxers at the Olym- pics. Professor Niall Moyna was one of the most talked about speakers at

our event last year with his hugely thought provoking presentation on attitudes to children in sport.

John Sweeney added “we under- took a review of last years event and identified the key information gaps that existed for coaches in the Mid West. With the support of the BDO Get BACk Challenge we are now in a position to provide a sustained programme of coach education and access to the leading thinkers in the areas of coaching, nutrition, sports motivation and team development. The region has never had access to such a high calibre of speakers and anyone with some level of interest in sport or coaching will benefit from AAO NOD N Toa

All proceeds from the event go to the BDO Get BACk Challenge sport- ing disadvantaged fund administered by the Local Sports Partnership. The event is organised in association with a range of event partners that include AIB, Bank of Ireland, Bloxham Stockbrokers, GECAS, Doonbeg Golf Club, Hegarty Metals, Kemmy Business School UL, Leahy & Part- ners Solicitors, Limerick Southside & Northside Regeneration Agency and Sweeney McGann Solicitors.

The event is strictly admission by pre booked ticket only. Bookings can be made through the Thomond Park box office on 061 421100. Tickets are on sale at €20 each or clubs can avail of the special club offer of six tickets for a €100.

Registration starts at 7pm with the first speaker at 7.30pm sharp. Last year’s event was a complete sell out so early booking 1s advisable.