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CALLS were made last night for more parking spaces for disabled drivers, wider parking berths and bigger fines for able-bodied people who abuse the spaces.

Clir Pascal Fitzgerald (Lab), who asked for a full report on whether additional spaces will be made avail- able, said Clare was “the only county in which there are no markings in bays which allow space for people in wheelchairs to get out of their cars.

“Get a wheelchair and see if you

can get in and out of your car in the space available – you won’t.

“People park right up against cars parked in disabled spaces. We need bigger bays, more spaces and better markings,” he said.

Clir Martin Conway(FG) said he supported Cllr Fitzgerald. Those Spaces which were painted in light blue in Clare “fare easily distinguish- able. They should all be painted in that colour in future and we need to look at increasing fines for people who abuse those spaces”’.

Cllr Joe Arkins(FG) said that he

agreed that the spaces should be painted an obvious colour, but added that he was concerned that there were no penalities for people who abused disabled spaces in hotels and other private locations.

Council Director of Service, Tom Carey, told the meeting that the lo- cal authority was constantly revising the number of spaces which it could make available for parking for driv- ers and passengers with a disability.

The council has completed a coun- ty-wide audit on the whole area of the needs of people with disabilities and

accessibility of council properties and lands. He added that he would expect some funding to be made available of foot of the findings.

“We want to assure the members that everything that can be done will be done to ensure that people with disability can have access,” he said.

In a relation motion, Cllr Pat Mc- Mahon (FF) called on the authority that issues disabled parking permits to ensure “they are issued to people who have a genuine need for same.

“There are able-bodied people us- ing these permits,” he said.

OVERALL crime in Clare has fallen by four per cent so far this year, while there has been a massive increase of 28 per cent in public order offences.

Figures relayed to members of Clare County Council by the head of the Clare Garda Division yesterday also revealed that drug detection had risen by 4.3 per cent.

The number of drink driving de- tections have also risen by 14.5 per cent, to 481, while 14 anti-social be- haviour orders (ASBQOs) have been served by gardai in Clare since the measure came into effect at the be-

ginning of the year.

So far this year, there have been 1,265 detections for public order which is up 28 per cent on the figure for the same period last year. Crime detection rates in Clare are 44 per Cone

Chief Supt Gerry Mahon said that criminals who travel from place to place are being targeted, in particular. ‘They come from Limerick, they come from Dublin, they come from Galway, they come from Eastern Europe. That’s the trend this year,” he said.

He said the spread of drugs is a live issue in Clare and is being closely as- sessed. ““That’s an issue we are look-

ing at closely. Crime and drugs are hand in hand. One causes the other,” he said.

He confirmed that CCTV will be installed on the streets of Ennis in April, while the initiative in Kilrush came into effect last year.

He also told councillors that addi- tional funding has been provided to fight organised crime under Opera- tion Anvil.

Additional resources have been pumped in to deal with road traffic accidents and the traffic corps has in- creased in personnel from 12 to 28.

A number of councillors expressed concern about the levels of Garda re-

sources, while others felt community policing was lacking in rural areas.

The drugs scourge was also men- tioned and Chief Supt Mahon reas- sured councillors that the newly ap- pointed detective inspector would address this issue as one of his first briefs.

Kevin Moynihan is the first garda ever to hold the rank of detective in- spector in Clare.

Responding to concerns raised by Clir Tony O’Brien (FF) about sparse Garda resources in Killaloe, the Garda chief said that an additional detective and five gardai had been appointed in that area.

DEMANDS were made last night that the Taoiseach, the Minister for Transport and Aer Lingus CEO, Der- mot Mannion come to Clare and ex- plain themselves before a full meet- ing of the county council. Councillor Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) made the demand at last night’s meeting of the local authority, in a motion before the council in which

she also urged the council to express its “grave concern relating to Gov- ernment inaction on the proposed withdrawal by Aer Lingus of the Shannon/Heathrow routes next Janu- ary” and to abhor “the Government’s lack of understanding or apprecia- tion of the negative fallout this will have on County Clare and the west of Ireland.

“I’m absolutely confounded by the Government’s inaction – they are act-

ing with total arrogance…members of this council must demand an im- mediate meeting,’ she said.

Cllr Tony Mulcachy (FG) support- ed his party colleague. He said that Clare’s TD’s “should at least have abstained in the Dail vote’, on Aer Lingus.

Cllr Michael Kelly (FF) said there were “so many people fighting to stop Shannon becoming a backwater air- port, and they are getting no help”.

Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald (Lab) praised the mayor and Director of Services, Ger Dollard for their efforts to re- verse the Aer Lingus decision.

‘The Government must know that people are not going to forget this one in four years time because jobs are being lost,” he said.

And Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) ap- pealed to Mayor Patricia McCarthy not to “let the fight peter out. There was atime when the grassroots of F1- anna Fail would be listened to but not any more”’.

Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) said that having met with both the Taoiseach and the minister, “I don’t believe there is a simplistic solution. I think the Public Service Order is the only real alter- native at the moment”.

Mayor McCarthy said that she wanted to assure the councillors “that the fight 1s not going out under any circumstances”.

She told the meeting that the pos- sibility of a legal challenge was still being investigated but “once we go down that road, we will not be able to debate the issue at all”.

The meeting passed both motions.

A second motion on the Shannon/ Heathrow slots loss from Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) and Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) was amended slightly to call on the Government to provide the necessary finances for Shannon to actively press for the acquisition of slots to Heathrow.

THERE was music in the air on Sat- urday night when one of the finest and most passionate musicians ever to grace a session in Clare had hisa cheivements of 80 years recognised.

The Ennis Trad Festival Graddam Award, sponsered by The Clare People, was presented to Stephan ‘Sonny’ Murphy at a gathering of friends, family and fellow musi- Eke

Among the guests at Cois na hAbhna were a whole generation of

Ennis musicians who came to play and to pay tribute to the great con- certina player and the influence he had on their musical development.

Among the now celebrated musi- cians who owe much to Sonny as a mentor were the Hanrahans, Paul Roche — who is married to Sonnny’s daughter, Helen — John and Seamus McMahon, John Rynne and Eamon and Geraldine Cotter.

On the night, the 87-year old was presented with a pewter statuette by John Rynne and The Clare People’s Joe O’Muircheartaigh, while Kieran

Hnrahan of RTE’s Ceili House was the presenter.

The great man himself treated the gathering to a musical performance as did his daughter Helen and his son, Kevin.

Robbie McMahon of Spancill Hill fame was in strong voice on the night.

A native of Kilmihill, Sonny has been playing music sunce he was a small child and has been mentor to countless young musicians over the years, particularly the members of Stockton’s Wing.

ige na- tional school in Ennistymon remains in doubt today following a meeting between representatives of the Stein- er School and Department of Educa- tion officials yesterday afternoon.

The meeting, which included two representatives of the Department of Education, two senior school inspec- tors, three represent of the school’s patron body Life Ways and senior teacher Una Ni Ghairbhith, was de- scribed as “lukewarm” by a school official.

“We were trying to get some clar- ity on a number of issues but no ma- jor progress was made by either side today. Both sides were looking for clarification on a number of issues

relating to our application for official Status,” said Ms Ni Ghairbhith.

“No date has yet been given for a decision but we would obviously be looking for this to be sorted out as soon as possible.”

The Mol an

ENVIRONMENTAL experts will continue to monitor air quality in the area affected by last week’s fire on Station Road.

Clean-up teams have been working at the site of Bredin’s Hardware store since Thursday after it was destroyed by fire in the early hours of Wednes- day morning.

Eleven homes in nearby Ard na

Gréine were evacuated in the after- math of the blaze, after particles of asbestos cement used in the roof of the building were blown into homes and gardens.

Of those evacuated, all have now returned home after being housed in hotels in Ennis at the weekend by Ennis Town Council.

Sean McCusker of McCusker Envi- ronmental, the company overseeing the work at Bredin’s, said extensive

assessment and air monitoring of the area had revealed no traces of asbes- ON

He said, “Most people are back in their homes by this stage. We have been down there for the past three days. We are continuing with the clean-up, but we have not found any trace of asbestos, either outside or i1n- side people’s homes.”

Mr McCusker said clean-up teams will continue to monitor the area.

“All the tests have shown that no fibres are present but the cleaning will continue in houses and the area around them. We are not quite sure for how long.

“The air will be monitored for some time yet purely as a preventa- tive measure.”

The next stage in the clean-up proc- ess is the demolition of the remain- ing sections of the building.

Mr McCusker said, ““The demoli-

tion will take place as a soon as pos- sible. That is something we are keen to start soon. Contractors will be contacted in the next week.”

At a meeting on Friday attended by residents, members of Ennis Town Council and a representative from the Health Services Executive, Chief Fire Officer Adrian Kelly said the building was structurally unsafe and that he would be issuing a closing OKeloe

SELINA Moylan confirmed her rep- utation as one of the brightest talents in American college soccer when she was named Daktronics Inc Women’s Soccer Division Two Northeast Re- gion Player of the Year.

It is just the latest accolade for the Ennis woman who has also won the 2007 East Conference Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Year

aE TKee

In 2006, The University of New Haven midfielder became the only two time all-American in the pro- sramme’s history and also a First Team All-Region and Third Team All-America pick, in the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Asso- ciation of America)/adidas coaches’ olan nts

These are major achievements when you consider the geographical

area involved (nine universities) and the high profile of the women’s game in America.

22-year-old Moylan has made a serious impression on the wom- en’s game since moving to study in America in 2003.

Statistical analysis is a major aspect of American sport and a quick perus- al of Moylan’s 2007 season quickly reveals why she is rated so highly.

The midfielder was second in the

league scoring charts on 17 goals and tied for fourth with eight assists.

She helped lead UNH to 12 wins this season, the fourth year in a row that the team has won 11 or more neTeWke s(erce

In her debut season in 2005, Moy- lan wrote her name into the record books when her winning extra-time goal lifted UNH to its first-ever WiGraVae sarees

She is currently pursuing a major in

Management of Sports Industries. A former captain of the Ireland under 19s, Moylan was the eircom ladies under 18 international player of the year in 2002.

She spurned offers from some of the major colleges in America at the time instead choosing UNH because it was an up and coming college that she hoped to accomplish great things e180 8

IN THE past few years, camogie has become of the fastest growing sports in the county. The successful influence of the county junior side has contributed largely to this re- surgence as has the increasing pro- motion at ground level. In addition, this expanding interest in the sport has commanded greater exposure 1n the national media which in turn has further developed the sport’s profile. Better standards of coaching, facili- ties and personnel has also meant that the county has enjoyed great success at underage levels in recent years.

In order to hone this interest and progress Clare camogie to the next level, an open forum entitled “To- gether, Raising the Banner’ will take place in the Auburn Lodge Hotel this Saturday from llam to 3pm. The brainchild of Clare Junior captain and Munster Camogie Development Co-ordinator Deirdre Murphy, this exclusive forum which is open to all who are interested, is the most am- bitious and far reaching conference ever to be held in the county and boasts a star-studded line-up of GAA and camogie people which is sure to attract a large attendence. Among the speakers on the day are Donal O’Grady, an All-Ireland winning player and manager with Cork; Cyril Farrell who managed both Galway’s

hurlers and camogie players to All- Ireland success; Pat Fitzgerald, Sec- retary of the Clare County Board, Emily Hayden, a current member of the Tipperary senior camogie team and five time All-Ireland winner; Stella Sinnott, manager of this year’s All-Ireland champions Wexford and Mary O’Connor, National director of Camogie.

“The line up is really special” ad- mits All-Star nominee Deirdre Mur- phy, “What I hope will come out of the day really is that from listening to these speakers and being able to

have a questions and answers ses- sion, there should be a lot of valu- able information but also getting all of the people involved in Clare camogie and the people involved in Clare GAA into the one meeting in a proactive and vibrant setting, you would hope for clubs that it would in- crease the numbers of volunteers they would have working within their club structure and that it would develop a much more positive attitude towards camogie throughout the county and a proactive attitude I suppose.”

A qualified secondary school

teacher, Deirdre took the job as Mun- ster Camogie Development Officer at the beginning of the summer and after experiencing the varying levels of camogie in her role as a promoter of the game, she is certainly the best person to assess where Clare cam- ogie lies on the national map.

‘The standard of camogie amongst the strong counties has really, re- ally improved. The likes of Cork and Wexford that were playing in the senior final with the preparation and the work and the stardard that they can produce is just fantastic. But I suppose on the other hand, you have counties like maybe Water- ford, Kerry, Carlow and Wicklow where it’s a real struggle to try and give camogie a foothold once again. I think there has become a very big gap between strong and weak and I think in Clare we are somewhere in the middle of that gap and whether we move forward and close that gap and once again become one of the strong camogie counties or we are happy to remain a competitive jun- ior county which isn’t enough in my opinion. We should be there in a cou- ple of years time strongly challeng- ing for senior honours would be what I would hope that would happen in Clare in the next few years.”

CLARE showjumping received a massive boost at the weekend when teenage rider, David Blake, based at the East Clare Equestrian Centre in Tuamgraney, took the top prize at the Cavan Two Star International Show.

Blake is fast making a name for himself on the national circuit and Sunday’s victory in what was the second most prestigious event in Ire- land, marks him out as a star of the JaUiaUN Ken

The Clare showjumper, on board Fabienne, eclipsed the country’s leading riders in the 40 strong event that saw the top performers over the course of the Cavan show compete for the weekend’s most coveted title.

Cian O’Connor, Shane Breen, Ed- ward Doyle, Francis Connors, as well as a number of top British riders all qualified for the event but it was the Clare kid that stole the headlines.

In the first round, Blake was among eight riders to go clear. First out in the jump-off was Tulla’s Shelia White, sister of Marie Burke. After her round, of eight faults, Blake was next out and he went clear in an im- pressive time of 34.52.

It set a clear marker for the remain-

ing six riders but slowly, it became obvious that Blake’s time couldn’t be surpassed. The quick time forced those who tried to match it into mis- takes.

“It was a nervous enough wait for the other six riders to jump, but we knew that David’s time was fast and it was going to take something special to beat that,” said his father, Michael on Monday.

“It’s easily his biggest win to date and we’re hopeful that he’s going to have a productive time on board Fa- bienne.”

On Monday, he travels to the conti- nent for a three event spell that will see him compete in Holland and Bel- cium. While Sunday’s victory brings some time in the spotlight, there are other headaches to sort out.

“At the moment we’re looking for a main sponsor,” said Michael Blake. “It’s an expensive sport especially when you factor in travel abroad, but we’ve a quality product and we’re confident that we’ll go from strength to strength.”

Sunday’s win, then, will be one stop on the road.

TOURISM in the north west is get- ting an end of year boost as thou- sands of competitors, support teams and fans converge for the first ever Irish round of the world rally cham- pionship.

The event is sponsored by Failte Ireland and the Sports Council of Northern Ireland.

There is a big Clare involvement in Rally Ireland as a total of 110 Clare Motor Club officials will be travel- ling to Sligo for the weekend to help e)bie

Gerry O’Brien from Crusheen was appointed marshall safety co-ordina-

tor for Rally Ireland back in May. The Clare Club will be marshal- ling special stages four and seven (Lough Gill) on Friday. Some of the Clare marshalls will also be helping out on special stage 12 (Ballinamal- lard) which takes place around the

countryside of the late Bertie Fisher. Clare marshalls will also be on duty on Sunday in the Donegal Bay stage.

Meeting point for Clare Marshalls for the Lough Gill Stage is Newtown Manor Community Hall which is lo- cated close to the stage between 2am

and 4am on friday morning. Mar- shall’s have to be in place at Sam and the road will be closed at 6.15am. The first competing car will be on the stage at 9.15am.

Meeting point for the Ballinamal- lard stage on Saturday is 12 midnight at the service station in Trillick, County Tyrone, and the meeting point for Donegal Bay stage is Ball- intra Community Hall at 5am on SLUveleebapenleyusvntes

On Friday morning the restart will be in Sligo with three stages in coun- ties Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo. The cars will then return to the serv- ice park in Sligo town, then repeat the morning stages, and back to the

Service park again. Two different stages in counties Leitrim and Sligo and the final service and overnight halt in Sligo town.

The Saturday restart is from Sligo and takes in three stages in counties Tyrone and Fermanagh. There will be a midday service in Sligo followed by a repeat of the morning stages. The final service and overnight halt is back in Sligo.

After the Sunday Restart from Sli- go the drivers take in two stages in County Tyrone followed by a stage in County Donegal. The final stage 1s at Mullaghmore.