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THE pressure was solely on New- market to perform. It’s been twelve weeks since they last played a championship game, an intermina- bly lengthly period to sift through the wreckage of their disappointing opening defeat to Wolfe Tones and the abject performance that baffled their supporters in the opening game of the championship.

In the interim, there had been several Clare Cup games but this was the first opportunity to rouse their championship aspirations and stake a claim for a quarter-final place that many took as a given at the start of the season.

Ballyea on the other hand had nothing to lose. Ever since the draw was made, nobody gave them a chance in a group that comprised of last year’s county champions Tulla, 2006 champions Wolfe Tones, 2006 finalists Newmarket and the newly amalgamated force of Inagh/ Kilnamona,

And they had this no-hopers tag affixed, despite possessing two- thirds of the side that reached the 2003 county final.

In the end, it played out as expected. Newmarket eased to a seven point victory despite not having to overly extend themselves but while the two points was all that was important on this occasion, they will need to be much more ruthless if they are to emerge from the group.

As expected, Ballyea threw everything at the Blues and indeed

made life difficult for them for long periods but what essentially separated these sides was the extra sprinkling of guile and experience that Newmarket possessed.

Their distribution was slicker, their hurling that bit faster and although this display won’t have © struck immediate panic into their group rivals who were well represented along the barrier in Clareabbey, it was enough to get them on the road and shake off any rustiness that a prolonged break inevitably brings.

Besides that, there was only one real striking aspect lacking in Newmarket’s armoury — the absence of sufficient clinical forwards.

Enda Kelly and Padraig Kilmartin’s movement and_ strength were important, Shane O’Brien impressed intermittently and Colin Ryan looked threatening when introduced but with Paudie Collin’s unerring accuracy propping them up for the majority, there was a distinct staleness to the forward line.

It appeared to hamper Newmarket’s performance over the hour and prevented them from making a real statement of intent in this demanding group.

Fundamentally, the game turned in first half injury time when Paudie Collin’s long free broke in the square and Enda Kelly was the first to react to pull to the net.

Up to that point, Ballyea had matched the Blues point for point despite playing into a slight breeze and if they had held that momentum until the break, it could have inspired

a real battle in the second period.

However, Ballyea tired late in the half and sandwiched by two superb Paudie Collins points from play, Newmarket also fired a warning shot in the 28th minute when a move involving Jim McInerney and Padraig Kilmartin fell to corner-forward Martin Murphy but although his pull beat goalkeeper Shane O’Neill, full- back Kevin Sheehan was on hand to block the shot.

Ballyea didn’t heed that caution however and three minutes later, Kelly grabbed the goal that gave his

side a five point half-time cushion and essential provided the foundation for victory.

Ballyea were always chasing the game after that and with free-taker Ivan Kilbane their main source for scores, they never really threatened Kieran Devitt’s goalmouth. Kilbane put over the opening score of the second period in the 33rd but settled by that goal before half-time,

Newmarket began to stretch their muscles and four unanswered points through Jim McInerney, Shane O’Brien, Dominic McMahon and a Collins free had them eight clear by the 42nd minute.

Ballyea had to reshuffle the pack and cleverly pushed Tony Griffin to full-forward and the county senior almost changed the game.

Griffin won two consecutive frees in a minute that Kilbane converted to reduce the deficit to six but crucially, Ballyea failed to take advantage of a goal opportunity only a minute later when Donal Chambers handpassed over the defence to the onrushing Griffin.

The pass was just too long and Brian Clancy got back to clear the danger and put the ball out for a ’65 which Kilbane converted.

That was as close as Ballyea would get as Newmarket regained control of the game and tacked over four more points to ease their nerves.

Ballyea did have an opportunity to grab a consolation goal deep into injury time when Brian Chambers was fouled and Shane O’Neill came up to take the resulting 21 yard free. However, the goalkeeper’s effort crashed off the crossbar and rebounded high to safety and Ambrose Heagney blew for full-time amid some obvious frustration from Ballyea who are now realistically out of the running for 2008.

Meanwhile, this result means that Newmarket expectantly throw their hat into the ring for qualification but they will realise that they will have to improve considerably for the mammoth impending challenges of Tulla and Inagh/Kilnamona.

The county champions are up next but the Blues shouldn’t require any extra motivation for that tie as it was Tulla who unceremoniously turfed them out of the championship last year. If that quarter-final clash is anything to go by, carrying passengers cannot be an option for Newmarket from here on in.

WHERE David Fitzgerald and Kil- kenny are concerned, the Sixmile- bridge man has had no luck what- soever this decade. Just look at his track record. The senior All-Ireland final of 2002, the quarter-final replay defeat of 2004 and the semi-final loss in 2006 that was to be his last championship game in the saffron and blue. He did return this year to a heroe’s welcome in his native Sixmi- lebridge in March, again against the Cats but it was the same result as Richie Power (2) and Eddie Brennan grabbed three goals to narrowly sink the Banner.

The ‘Kilkenny factor’ followed Fitzgerald into management as well

as WIT edged out his LIT side after extra, extra-time in the Fitzgibbon Cup Final with Ballyhale Shamrocks forward Eoin Reid grabbing the de- cisive winning goal after twice drag- ging his side level earlier on to send the game into extra-time.

That streak continued on Sunday as Kilkenny claimed their third suc- cessive Minor A camogie title at the expense of Clare and while trainer Fitzgerald admits that Kilkenny deserved the win, he still feels that there is a lot of potential in this Clare side.

“They were the better side alright on the day. I don’t think we played to the potential we can play to and may- be the day got to us or whatever but certainly Kilkenny have won three

All-Irelands and are a fantastic team. There is more in our girls for definite and we showed that in patches there today.

“Listen, the referee wouldn’t have made a difference at the end of the day but she was an absolute disgrace out there. We wouldn’t have won the game but all you want is fair play at the end of the day and she wasn’t acer

“In saying that, I have to hold my hands up and say that I am delight- ed with our girls. They battled well and we came back and probably the second goal killed us. We were ab- solutely just battling back to within five points and we were unlucky not to get a break for a goal but they got one up the far side of the field and

that was it. The game was over after Were

Despite his obvious disappoint- ment, the two time All-Ireland win- ner is adament that these players are destined to lead Clare camogie to the next level.

“Let’s be honest, Kilkenny were winning senior All-Irelands a few years back for fun. Clare are Jun- ior. A lot of these girls are coming onto the Junior team and they will bring Clare up to senior, I’m posi- tive of that. And we will be compet- ing at senior level in a few years if they are handled properly. And that’s very important that they are handled properly and not overtrained or over- worked. These girls deserve to play in their own age group and given a

right chance at that, that’s very im- portant and they will progress then WAC oo mn ee: |e

Fitzgerald has the perfect opportu- nity this weekend to quash his Kil- kenny hex when his Waterford side take on Kilkenny in the All-Ireland senior hurling final. A game that has the Sixmilebridge man buzzing with anticipation.

‘“Let’s see what happens this week. I’m looking forward to it and I’m more motivated than ever. You can’t say what will happen because you are standing on the sideline and you are helpless so let’s see. We are not given a chance but you never know.”

After his luckless past against Kil- kenny, it’s almost become a personal mission.

CLARE manager Fintan McNamara felt this defeat more than most. The Killanena man along with Maura Sheedy and Eamon O’Loughlin have been with this side for four years now and has witnessed their development at first hand as they reached their first ever All-Ireland final.

It wasn’t to be however as Kilkenny, just as they had done two years ago at Under 16 level, proved too strong for the Banner girls but as he consoled each player at the final whistle, he spoke of his immense pride in his players despite defeat.

“Kilkenny were flying it today and they had their homework done on us but the girls gave it everything and

that’s all I could ask and I’m very proud of them for that.

“They got a lead on us and even- tually when we got into the game it rather evened out. I think in the sec- ond half we got the start we wanted and I thought we were getting on top at that stage and things were begin- ning to turn.

“But they got a lucky goal again and

I think that flattened us and pushed them on again.”

From a Clare perspective, the biggest aspect was the use of two Kilkenny backs to mark Clare’s top-scorer Carina Roseingrave, a tactic that McNamara admitted they ToLtIeTs am NeUUbE AYA

“T think Kilkenny had two players on her for nearly the whole game.

They had their homework done on us and fair play to them.

“We thought we had enough to counteract that but you have to credit GU antine

“They weren’t going for three-in- a-row for no reason but as I say I’m proud of the girls to get there and I couldn’t ask for any more. We’re dis- appointed but we’ll be back.”

LAURA O’Donovan from Ardnacru- sha is in the running to be selected as Ireland’s most curvaceous woman.

She qualified to represent Clare in the national final of the Simply Be CiiaAmmceyseelcsiseyrmmUueN(Onmm stl mmole held at the Radisson Royal SAS in Dublin on August 31 after she was picked from thousands of applicants in the Limerick heat of the competi- tion

Simply Be.ie launched their search to find Ireland’s most curvaceous woman ‘Simply Be Curvy’ in April, looking for women size 14 and over who love and celebrate their curves

to enter. After three heats and from the thousands of entries 28 finalists were chosen.

The winner will become an in- stant cover girl, gracing the cover of Simply Be.ie Spring/Summer 2009 catalogue. She will also win €1,000 worth of SimplyBe.ie clothing and accessories, a holiday to the value of €1,000 plus €500 spending money and a modelling contract with one of Ireland’s top modelling agents.

A panel of celebrity judges includ- ing Caroline Morahan, Celia Hol- man Lee and Brenda O’Donoghue will choose the winner from the 28 finalists. As well as one to one inter- views with the judges, the event will

take the finalists to the catwalk to model Simply Be.ie autumn/winter range 2008. Each of the girls will be trained by model agent and former model Celia Holman Lee.

Ireland’s only dedicated on-line home shopping company for curvy women, Simply Be.ie was estab- lished to keep women looking stun- ning with no fuss – no communal changing rooms or unflattering lights and mirrors, just the comfort of their very own home.

CLARE Lifelong Learning Network has created a unique partnership ap- proach that could act as a model not only in the field of further education but wherever two or more groups work together towards a common exer

That was the reaction to the net- work’s award for public service ex- cellence from former Taoiseach Ber- tie Ahern. The Clare network was one of 20 winners from 183 projects put forwards for the awards process.

Clare VEC chief executive George

O’Callaghan described the award as a great honour and reflected great credit on the officials involved in developing the network. They are Aobhan Haverty, head of the Clare adult education service; Ann Knox, community education facilitator and Mike Ryan, Clare co-ordinator of the Back to Education Initiative.

The network, which is sponsored by the County Adult and Commu- nity Education Service, has over 100 members involved in education in the county.

They include the VEC, family re- source centres, community develop-

ment projects, the county council, the county development board, schools, Clare Youth Service Ltd., ADM- funded projects, FAS, ‘Teagasc, Brothers of Charity, Shannon Devel- opment and community groups.

Members are collaborating on improving the quality of adult and community education provision in the county, including joint planning, up-skilling providers and tutors, use of new technologies and provision of progression routes for learners in- cluding provision at third-level.

An essential tool for the network 1s information technology. So the web-

site www.clarelearningnetwork.org includes a notice board of upcoming events and a special learners’ forum for adult learners to communicate with each other.

At least nine elearning centres are now operating in rural communi- ties throughout the county, while a central database is used to register learners and track their progression.

Clare’s management information system gives immediate access to up to date information on the learning of 5,000 learners in the county. It is a powertul information management tool that gives managers and policy

makers access to the most immedi- ate information on which to base de- cisions and policies.

The system is replicated nationally and has been taken up by several vocational education committees around the country. It possesses the potential even to facilitate the De- partment of Education in national decision-making based on real time information.

The system also helps promote equality in the sense that programme co-ordinators can immediately see the gaps in provision or in progres- sion.

A TOTAL of 48 procedures were cancelled at Ennis General Hospital between January and June of this year.

There were no recorded cancella- tions at the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick during the same six-month period or in St John’s Hos- pital Limerick.

Neighbouring hospital, the Univer- sity College Hospital Galway also had a clear record.

Nenagh General Hospital, a hos- pital in the mid-west that shares a similar history to Ennis and many of the same fears regarding a possible downgrading, had 11 cancellations.

The largest cancellations have been in Cork University Hospital with a staggering 945 cancellations.

The Dublin hospitals also recorded a large number of cancellations with the Mater Hospital badly hit with 756 cancellations.

The figures were released by Fine Gael whose spokesperson has claimed that the 15,000 operations cancelled in 2007 could be exceed- ed.

Deputy Damien English (FG) said, “This worryingly high figure indi- cates that the 2007 figures will be re- peated or even exceeded. Cancelled operations have a real impact on patients, postponing important pro- cedures, prolonging pain and delay- ing investigations which may lead to early detection.”

In the first five months of this year, an average of 256 patients were on trolleys in A and E each day accord- ing to INO figures.

THE latest financial results from a Shannon company show that even the sales of women’s lingerie is not immune from the economic down- neheee

US-owned multi-national, Maiden- form describes itself as a producer of women’s ‘intimate apparel’ and re- sults for its Shannon operation show that profits have dropped by over €350,000 in 2007.

Maidenform International Ltd re- corded profits of €2,989,000 last year – down by €352,000 on the €3,341,000 recorded in 2000.

Profits were also hit by the weak- ness of the US dollar with foreign exchange losses increasing from €33,000 in 2006 to €246,000 last year.

Turnover rose from €11.9 million to €12.8 million in 2007 while cost of sales increased from €5.8 million to €6.6 million.

Accumulated profits of €5.4 mil- lion were recorded.

Staff costs of €1.2 million were re- corded for the 33 people employed at the firm’s base on the Shannon Free Zone.

A statement accompanying the ac- counts, states that “both the level of business and year end financial posi- tion were considered satisfactory.

The risk to future business are those inherent to a global intimate apparel company and including cur- rency fluctuations, market volatility and the reliability of product deliv- Clu Loe

“The company is primarily en- gaged in the distribution of intimate

apparel throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

“The directors expect that the present level of business will be sustained for the foreseeable future and it is their intention to continue to develop the current activities of the oe) anh ey: beh ae

The history of Maidenform began at Enid Frocks, a small dress shop in New York City owned and operated by Enid Bissett.

A Russian seamstress at Enid’s shop, Ida Rosenthal decided with Enid that the fit and appearance of their custom-made dresses would be enhanced if improvements were made to the style bras then in vogue. They called their bras “Maidenform”, in contrast to the “Boyish Form” brand then in vogue.

SPIN South West regional radio sta- tion has topped national listnership figures as the most listened to station among 15-34 year olds across Clare.

For the third time running, the of- ficial JNLR figures put SPIN South West number one in the critical “lis- tened yesterday” ratings. The figures show that over the past three months, 112,000 adults listened to the station on a weekly basis and 59,000 on a CPTI MMos IIe

SPIN South West Chief Executive, Clarewoman Aevann Upton said that the figures are tremendous news for everyone who has worked so hard to make the station a success.

‘To have made it to the top of the JNLR listenership charts so soon af- ter launching the station was a huge achievement. We’ve topped that by staying there for the past nine months which clearly shows that we’re keep- ing up the momentum. Our thanks must go to our listeners in Clare for choosing to tune in to SPIN South West and for remaining loyal.

‘“Today’s figures reinforce our be- lief that there is a very significant regional radio market out there,

particularly among 15-34 year olds. They also confirm the quality of our programming which clearly captured the attention of our target audience.

These figures are also important to SPIN South West is the region’s our sponsors and advertisers as they first dedicated youth station and show that we continue to deliver tre- broadcasts on 102-103 FM across mendous value for money.” she said. | Limerick, Kerry and Clare and on

9477 in North Tipperary and South West Laois. Live streaming and a series of podcasts are also available on the station’s website — www.spin- southwest.com.

The regional youth radio station, which employs 43 people, has cap- tured the 15-34 year old audience by delivering a brash and upbeat style of broadcasting. SPIN’s programming consists of urban, dance, rock and pop music, a daily youth oriented current affairs programme called ‘SPIN TALK’ and a heavy focus on sports including GAA, rugby and soccer.

SPIN South West shareholders include former Lions, Ireland and Munster rugby star Keith Wood from Killaloe; Clare Community Radio Holdings; Liam O’Shea, Man- aging Director of Clare FM who is also Chairman of SPIN South West; Setanta Radio Limited; Tralee businessman Jerry Kennelly; John O’Connor, Independent Radio Sales and the Communicorp Group Lim- Krew

NASA and the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in science beckons for Clare man Rory Murphy.

Rory, who hails from Inch, will take part in a FAS led initiative, which will take him to the National Aero- nautics and Space Administration (NASA), the University of Central Florida and the Florida Institute of Technology, next month. Rory is an electrical craftsman working in Ro- che Ireland and his study programme and work placements will include fi- bre optics, advanced process control, instrumentation as well as alternative energy systems.

Rory has taken advantage of sev- eral opportunities to further his edu- cation, skills and knowledge in the past both in Roche and academic institutes like LIT. He described this latest opportunity as “the chance of a lifetime”.

The overall aim is for the partici- pants to transfer and apply the skills

and knowledge they gain to their future careers. This in turn benefits Ireland’s academic institutions, and future employers, and _ ultimately, enables the country to move up the value chain as a knowledge-based society.

Cyril Treanor, Director of Human Resources at Roche Ireland said the company is delighted to be support- ing Rory. “Our company is very in- terested in opportunities to provide

increased training and development to our employees.” He added, “The programme will provide a valuable opportunity for Rory to realise his potential by developing a deeper un- derstanding of technologies, gaining insights to potential opportunities and enhancing his skills.”

In association with participating companies from all over the country FAS founded the Science Challenge. It comprises two distinct programmes – Up skilling and Internship – en- gages young people learning science and engineering and exposes them to new technologies and research op- portunities.

FAS has also forged partnerships with Space Florida, BioLink USA- Ireland, the National Space Biomed1- cal Research Institute (NSBRI) and a multitude of related companies and academic institutions. The overall aim is for the participants to transfer and apply the skills and knowledge they gain to their future careers.

AT only eighteen, Clare minor cap- tain Carina Roseingrave already has a sizeable list of honours and achievements that most veterans of the game would severely envy. Mun- ster inter-county Intermediate and Minor, County and Munster senior club, county and provincial schools titles as well as underage club med- als of every grade.

If that wasn’t enough, there is even a Munster schools soccer and a ladies

football schools county title thrown in for good measure.

Still, for a player of such undoubt- ed talent, an All-Ireland medal still eludes her and the fact that this is her last opportunity to win a medal at this grade, Roseingrave is doubly determined to add it to the list.

“It would mean the world to me, ab- solutely everything to get an All-Ire- land medal with this group of girls, who are all great friends.

“A Munster medal is a fair acheive- ment but if we could go one step fur-

ther and do what no other team in the county has done before, it would be brilliant.

‘I’m very proud to be captain of Clare’s first minor All-Ireland team. It’s a great achievement and now I can’t wait really beacause it’s never happened in Clare that we have been in an All-Ireland final but we are go- ing to give it a go.”

She also has the added experience of playing in last year’s All-Ireland Junior final, a heartbreaking occa- sion for all involved but with another

All-Ireland Junior final appearance to come in the middle of Septem- ber, the future is certainly bright for Clare camogie.

However, Kilkenny are bidding for their third successive title and having played them previously, she realises that Clare are up against it.

“Kilkenny were definitely the side to beat all year. We played them two years ago in an All-Ireland semi-fi- nal and they stopped us in our tracks so they will be very strong and are a very confident side.

“We will have to get at them early and hard and hope for the best. If we can do it, it would be a great boost. I do the summer camps so a lot of kids would be talking about it so if we did bring home the All-Ireland, it would boost the game even further in Clare and more kids would want to play camogie.”

Even for all her stack of medals, winning this one would be her big- gest achievement yet.