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that St Michael’s Community Col- lege in Kilmihil is the only second- ary school in the county that does not have traffic calming measures.

“Flashing lights need to be put d1- rectly in front of the school and on the approach,” he said.

He said it was a health and safety concern to have a school of approxi- mately 300 students and no measures to reduce the speed of on coming meena blen

Cllr Curtain was a teacher in the school for 29 years, before he retired. The mixed school is close to a junc- tion and on a local road with the ac- quired speed limit.

Cllr Curtain said that he has raised the issue on a number of occasions at County Council area meetings and would be doing so again next week.

He had been told that there was no funding as yet assigned to the project but funding would be sought.

Cllr Curtain believes that the issue is urgent, however, and must be ad- dressed immediately and certainly before the students return to school in September. “It is an immediate concern relating to road safety,’ he said. The area meeting will take place in Kilrush on Monday next.

A GROUP which offers support to polio survivors and which 1s spear- headed by a voluntary board of 11 people, including Whitegate man, Hugh Weir, is the most recent char- ity to avail of a special telephone net- working service which makes com- munication easier.

The Post Polio Support Group, a national organisation with almost 750 members around the country is using the Commmunity Network system to keep in touch and for tel- econferencing.

Community Network Ireland is a unique service specifically for the voluntary sector, linking groups by phone so that people can be part of a support group regardless of their mo- bility or geographic location.

Supported financially and techni- cally by BT, the service also allows colleagues in the voluntary sector to stay in touch and attend meetings by providing them with an operator-led conference call service.

The Post Polio group has a number of members in Clare including Hugh in Whitegate and some in Killaloe.

Hugh said, “Many of our members

have decreased mobility and are get- ting on in years.

“They find it difficult to get out to our support group meetings, especial- ly during the winter months which can be very isolating for them.”

The Whitgate man added that the, ‘“PhoneChat, the name we gave to the service, allows polio survivors chat together on a regular basis and is a good example of peer support in ac- none

“The group can share information, exchange ideas or even just listen to each other.

“Working with Community Net-

work Ireland allows BT to offer its unique professional expertise to help build these communities through bet- ter communications,’ a BT spokes- man said.

Carmel O’Connor, Corporate and Social Responsibility Manager, BT added, “Not only is this service the first of its kind in Ireland, it’s a sim- ple and straightforward service that helps create opportunities for social inclusion and positive community engagement so that no matter where you live, what age you are or how mobile you are, you should not feel isolated or alone.”

PEOPLE involved in the tourism business in east Clare have been celebrating, having — successfully completed a rural tourism course. The participants in the course were drawn from various sectors and were presented with their certificates at a special ceremony.

Meanwhile, the east Clare tourism organisation has welcomed the de- cision to extend the boundary of a tourism tax incentive scheme to take in the Lough Derg area as far as Kil- EW eyon

‘Tourism is an important part of our rural economy and we need eve- ry support we can get, particularly in the current challenging climate so

we were very pleased that this part of Clare is now included and quali- fies under the scheme,’ said Teresa Browne of the East Clare Tourism.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has just launched a new tax relief scheme for certain tourism facilities in the mid-Shannon area which includes areas in counties Clare, Tipperary, Offaly, Galway, Roscommon and Westmeath.

The scheme is being managed by Failte Ireland and Shannon De- velopment. Projects eligible under the new scheme include; education tourism facilities, visitor attractions, cultural facilities, wellness and self development facilities and amenities, facilities for water-sports activities, outdoor activity centres, equestrian

facilities, certain restaurants and cafés, boat rental and inland cruising facilities, training facilities for ad- venture centres and registered holi- day camps. They can be new projects or refurbishment to existing ones.

Relief is available by way of capital allowances over seven years for qual- ifying construction and refurbish- ment expenditure. Capital allowance will be granted at a rate of I5 per cent per year for the first six years and 10 per cent for the seventh year. The qualifying period of the scheme is three years, but applications must be made within one year of the start of the scheme.

During the launch event the Taoi- seach announced a new board to assess projects submitted under the

new scheme. The board includes John King and Joan Reynolds, both of Shannon Development.

Full details on the new scheme can be found in guidelines issued by the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tour- ism in consultation with the Muinis- ter for Finance which can be viewed and downloaded at www.arts-sports- tourism.gov.ie, www.shannondevel- opment.ie; and www.failteireland.ie.

IF EVER Guinness goes out of busi- ness, barman Joe Sciascia will be worth a fortune.

Joe would be the first to tell you he’s more of a collector than a bar- man, and he has what must be one of the largest collections of original Guinness and old advertising signs in the country.

He’s lost count, but there are up- wards of 5,000 pieces of advertising memorabilia, between signs, ciga- rette cartons, tobacco tins and other items passed over bar counters in years gone by.

So vast is his collection, that Joe quips that the Old Mill Bar in

O’Briensbridge, which he runs with his wife Kathleen and step-daugh- ter Clodagh “was bought so I would have somewhere to put it”.

The Old Mull recently won the Licensing World magazine’s, Bar Awards, in the Best Country Bar cat- OMe

Joe claims no glory for the win, “It’s the hard work that Kathleen and Clodagh put in – I’m no great shakes this side of the bar.”

Whatever about his bar skills, as a collector you wouldn’t doubt Joe. He started 25 years ago and has been scouring car-boot sales, markets and second-hand shops ever since.

“I find stuff everywhere and cus- tomers bring things in as well. I have

my own little museum here.”

Joe’s imagination was caught by the old advertising and he particu- larly loves his collection of “original – not reproductions” of the John Gil- roy Guiness ads, featuring the “See What One or Toucan Do” and “Guin- ness is good for you” themes.

Some of his signs are now almost a century old.

“Advertising and packaging was far more decorative before TV. It had to make a visual impression. It’s not like that anymore. You wouldn’t col- lect most of the packaging they use Old

Joe and Kathleen took over the pub ten years ago and since have invested €300,000 to bring it back to it’s old

(ey ule meso ate

“The old pubs are dying out. We wanted to keep the old character here and the old ads and signs fit in with that,’ said Joe.

The family is delighted with the AEN KOR

“It’s not one of these that you can go online and buy – there are a lot of those out there. The judges liked the place, though I’m surprised they saw anything, there were so many peo- ple here at the time. They arrived on Sunday when we were doing lunch.”

THE line up for this year’s Scariff Harbour Festival is promising to be one of the most exciting and varied Woe

Music, drama, comedy, family fun day, stalls and festival atmosphere is promised over the festival weekend, August | to 3 and in the run up to it.

In one fun event, The Floating The- atre Company, who operate from a restored barge are running week-long workshops in theatre, music technol- ogy, and art and costume design in the week before the festival.

The workshops, for children aged 10 up will be conducted by trained professionals and will culminate in a theatre performance incorporating the work of all the participants at the official opening ceremony on Friday, August 1, at 6pm in Scariff Harbour.

The theme of the voyage is an ex- ploration of the myths and legends of the Scariff and Shannon waterways, specifically the legend of “The Sons of Tuireann”’.

A nominal fee will be charged for each participant for the full week.

There are still some places remain- ing for the workshops so anyone 1n-

interested should call in to O’Meara’s Pharmacy to pick up a leaflet.

In another unique event, volunteer of the Niall Mellon Township In1- tiative, Gerry McNamara will recon- struct a typical township dwelling at his home on the Dock Road for visi- tors of the Scariff Harbour Festival to view.

Gerry is one of seven volunteers who have given their time and labour every year since the project started.

He has worked as a carpenter, constructing sustainable houses for shack dwellers in the Capetown area of South Africa at Imizamo Yethu,

Mfuleni and Freedom Park town- Sethe

The 2008 Building Blitz will take place in the township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town and Gerry intends to travel again this year and needs to raise at least €5,000 to pay for the trip and to contribute to the cost of building materials.

There will be a sale on the day to raise cash for the cause and the or- ganisers are calling on all cake, bread and jam makers, green-fingered gar- deners and nursery owners to sup- port him by donating their produce for sale on the day.

TWO Shannon men who are endeav- oring to run 12 marathons in as many months have reached the half-way mark and will take on their seventh challenge this weekend.

Darren O’Connell (32) and Alan Mullin (30) from Tullyglass, Shan- non, will run the Swiss Alpine marathon on Saturday. It is part of a challenge aimed at raising money for Cystic Fibrosis.

A friend of theirs died from the condition several years ago and they are hoping that the people of Shan- non will recognise their huge efforts in this challenge.

Over the past six months, the two have run in Zurich, Rome, Valencia

and Norway, along with a couple of runs in Ireland. After Switzerland, WEA SUUENiom alu IOM e(KIl ene stounbre Dublin, New York and Lisbon.

Their last run was on flat ground in Norway. Alan finished in four hours and three minutes, while Dar- ren came home in four hours and 12 minutes.

‘The marathon itself was fine. Get- ting there and home was a bit of a nightmare. We had to travel to two airports and it was tough going,” said PETE

Both have managed to come through the mammoth challenge relatively unscathed and despite nig- gling injuries, have both been lucky enough to stay in good health. This is important, given the high level of

intensity involved.

“The Swiss Alps this weekend will be pretty tough. It is the highest alti- tude marathon in Europe. It will be either very hot or very cold,” added Darren. The rest of the runs will be city marathons,’ he said.

While Alan trains in Dublin, where he is based, Darren does most of his training in Shannon and Cratloe. He also took part in the 10k run in Bun- ratty two weeks ago, in aid of Our Lady’s Hospital for sick children in Sate

Allied to the running, the two have also been raising money for Cystic Fibrosis. They have collected up to €7,000 so far and hope to increase this substantially, as the final runs Zhe) Keene

“We had two days of bag packing last week in Dunnes Stores (Shan- non) and collected €3,500. We were delighted with that. All of the money is going directly to Cystic Fibrosis. We are playing all of our expenses out of our own pockets,’ he added.

The duo will approach businesses in the Shannon area later this year, with a view to encouraging them to help out with funds. They will also hold a number of fundraisers, in- cluding a table quiz in the Oakwood Arms Hotel, Shannon, in October.

RESIDENTS in several housing estates in Shannon do not have ad- equate parking spaces, while oth- ers have a lack of vehicular access to the rear of their homes. That was the message delivered last week by county councillors in the Shannon area, who called for measures to be

taken to address the issue.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (In- dependent) said there was “chaos” in O’Brien Park on occasions.

Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independ- ent) said that a similar situation exists in De Lacey Park and said that that estate, along with Purcell Park, Col- lins Park and O’Brien Park should be looked at.

“Every house now has at least two cars,’ he said.

Cllr Flynn said that some house- holders in Cill Cais were “crying out for an entrance to the back of their houses. These older parts of Shannon are isolated and for a lot of older peo- ple, they can’t get in the front or the back,” he said.

Clare County Council Senior Ex-

ecutive Engineer Donal Hogan said that communal parking is the way to go in future, in high density develop- Ne

“It would take an awful lot of funding to retrofit those particular situations. I can’t see myself getting money to put rear access roads to houses and there is a lot more than Cill Cais,” he said.

A SEVERE shortage of burial spaces in Shannon and surrounding areas is leading to huge concerns among lo- cals, who are finding it increasingly difficult to acquire graves for their JEVOOBE BLE

Three cemeteries in the area may not be extended, due to the presence of archaeological remains.

That was the view expressed last week by Fine Gael Councillor John Crowe, who raised the issue at a Shannon electoral area meeting.

He asked were extensions to Bal- lysheen, Clonlohan and Bunratty graveyards held up due to archaeo- logical issues.

In response to his query, Acting Senior Executive Officer with Clare County Council’s water services Myles Carey clarified the issue.

In a written response, the council offical said that the Clonlohan cem- etery was deemed unsuitable for extension, due to the presence of ar- chaeological remains in the area of WRK Ae

He said that an archaeological as- sessment had been carried out at Ballysheen and had been forwarded to the National Monuments Section AW OCG M RoLON LMAO) KOM AUDIKO

He pointed out that an archaeologi- cal assessment is to be carried out at Bunratty burial ground and suitable firms are currently being sourced for this work.

“We have a major problem with burial grounds. I believe it is all over the county. Bunratty is completely full, Ballysheen is full and I think Oi CoyelCo)sk: tem iwaeel mrerer

“It is being held up by the National Monuments Section. We will just

have to break down these barriers,’ said Councillor Crowe.

He said that a site was available for the extension of the cemetery in Bunratty for a number of years, but the plans did not proceed.

“The one thing communities have is their graveyard. It’s very, very wrong,” he said.

“In the last 10 to 15 years, these ar- eas have grown so much. They have no place to bury their loved ones. Some people have had to moved out of the area to get a graveyard,” he added.

Councillor Pat McMahon (FF) agreed with Councillor Crowe.

“It’s absolutely crazy where you have voluntary groups putting in a lot of work and obstacles are being put in place. These are voluntary groups. They are doing magnificent work and are being hindered by depart-

ment rules. People get so frustrated,” he said.

SCR VCCMO erm asses DO MONT M Or velIOR Newmarket-on-Fergus, has found it difficult to get a grave, despite living there for 20 years.

Councillor Gerry Flynn added that IIlaunamanagh graveyard was al- eee aUOUE

“Tt is at a critical stage now. I don’t know hoe many spaces are left. It is pretty limited. They are putting the onus on community groups. If we can’t provide for people who have died, we are going down a very bad road,” he added.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (In- dependent) pointed out that the areas in question were fortunate to have archaeology and this must be pre- served. However the importance of balancing this with people’s needs was critical.

A GROUP of talented young musi- cians have been presented with bur- saries, through the Shannon Music Project.

Clare County Council’s Arts Of- fice provided the bursaries for the 13 musicians to attend the Ennis Guitar and Rock School workshops in Shan- non last week. The recipients were Simon O’Donnell, Frank Goggin, Natasha Miller, David Park, Andrew Park, Garry Mc Kee, Patrick Collins,

Barry Shannon, Lindsay Carroll, Pa- draig Bambury, Steven Rainsford, Chris Quigley and Elsa Mann.

The Shannon Music Project (SMP) is a Clare Youth Service project based in Shannon. It provides young people aged between 15 and 25 with opportunities to get involved in musi- cal events and avail of practice space and high quality musical equipment.

The project is run by a committee of young people who are supported by the Shannon youth workers.

The SMP has been running for over

10 years and this year received fund- ing from Clare VEC and Shannon Community Grant Scheme to help with equipment purchases.

The project has organised bands nights, acoustic performances and competitions in Shannon and also liaises with Ennis Music Project for similar events and workshops.

‘This is a great opportunity to work with community groups in Shan- non. We have worked previously with Clare Youth Service Ennis and now we hope to further develop the

partnership between the Arts Office and the Clare Youth Service here in Shannon,” said Tara Connaghan, Traditional Arts Co-ordinator based bom) ercbeyeCeyee

“T am delighted to see Clare Arts Office come on board with the work the music project is doing in Shan- non. The funding provided for these workshops is of great benefit to the young people involved and no doubt will help them further their own in- dividual skills,’ said Shannon Youth Worker, Cathal Dillon.

ST JOSEPH’S Secured their division one status with this remarkable win that condemns Eire Og to relegation.

This was must win for both teams with both hovering dangerously close to the bottom of the table be- fore throw in.

Level at half time, Joseph’s pulled away in spectacular fashion. Goals from Paul Dullghan and Sean Mc- Mahon put Barefield seven points clear by the 39th minute. Dullaghan pounced again for Barefield’s fourth goal in the 44th minute, by which time the Eire Og challenge had well and truly expired.

The end was slow and painful for the townies. Joseph’s took full ad- vantage of their collapse, hitting their opponents for seven points in the final quarter.

Barefield impressed in midfield where Kevin Dilleen and Conor Has- sett covered a lot of ground and con- tributed ten points. Ken Kennedy was

again the lynchpin at centre back and McMahon is adjusting well to life at full forward. Strong enough to cause a bit of bother under the high ball, McMahon exhibited a sure touch when the ball came in hard and low.

Manager Kevin Kennedy can be pleased too that his side never eased up despite the blatantly one-sided nature of the contest in the closing NE TLoe

The second half was the stuff of nightmares for Eire Og. They con- ceded and 3-12 and scored just two points. The townies drop down a lev- el, but of more pressing concern will be the psychological damage inflict- ed ahead of the club’s make or break championship clash with Kilmaley.

It started promisingly for Eire Og. Danny Russell’s struck two points from placed balls either side of a free from Hassett. Russell was then involved as his swift handpass set up Cathal Whelan for a goal in the 6th eepeeleikon

Hassett (2) and Russell traded points

before McMahon forced an opening for Michael Cullinan to strike a goal on the 15th minute.

Dullaghan’s point put Joseph’s 1-4 1-3 ahead. Tadgh McNamara’s point levelled it and points from Hassett and Adrian Flaherty ensured a half time score of 1-5 1-5. Barefield were soon in charge after the re-start. Kennedy hit over a point before Dullaghan poked a goal in the 37th minute as the Eire Og full back line dithered over Marty O’Regan’s clear- ance. Still, it was nothing compared to the destruction about to be visited upon Eire Og.

McMahon turned Whelan and fired a goal in the 39th minute. Even at this stage, and Barefield ahead by seven points, Eire Og looked shot of one

Hassett, Dilleen and McMahon added three points before Dullaghan rifled in his second goal, to leave 4-9 1-6 ahead.

The townies were done for. Damien Kennedy picked of four late points.

Hassett and Dilleen added a couple more. Eire Og’s sole response came from Ronan Cooney who scored two late points.