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CLARE’S under 18 game against Galway, which was set for Sunday evening last, was postponed. Clare were all set for this game but it was postponed at the last minute at a meeting of Central Council in Nolan Park on Saturday afternoon.

Galway had looked for a postpone- ment of this game as members of their under 18 panel were also in- volved with their county senior panel who played in the senior semi-final against Wexford which they lost.

With fixture congestion, it was im- possible to fit in the game if it was put off, with the county junior side

in an All-Ireland semi-final this Sun- day and the winners of the Under 18 play-off due to play in a quarter-final on August 25.

However, when Central Council met on Saturday evening, they rear- ranged the play-off for August 25 and put the quarter-final back until September 16.

Tae) ee CoMM WE YACME OOD KMB OSE: hYAN ULE OU E-TKe as they will know their fate in the Junior Championship and the players who were in doubt over the weekend due to recent injuries should be fit for that renewed encounter with Galway and be able to claim their spot in the squad for the quarter-final in Sep- tember.

THE Mayor of Shannon, Cllr Sean McLoughlin, has warned that the battle to retain the Shannon-London link 1s only just beginning.

Shannon’s first citizen is now ask- ing people from across the west and particularly from Clare to join a solidarity walk this Friday evening, from the Drumline roundabout to the Ballymurtagh roundabout, start- ing at 7pm.

The Drumline roundabout is lo- cated on the flyover at the off ramp of the main Limerick to Ennis road,

which leads into Shannon and the airport.

The Ballymurtagh roundabout 1s located at the end of the dual car- riageway at the interchange for Shan- non Town Centre, the airport and the turnoff for the Newmarket-on-Fer- gus road.

‘We are asking anybody who wish- es to show solidarity with the cam- paign to bring the necessary pressure to bear on both our government and the Aer Lingus management team to withdraw plans to cease the air-link between Shannon and London Hea- throw.

“The walk is about one mile in length and we will welcome peo- ple from all over who feel that they would like to do something positive to ensure our vital link with London Heathrow is maintained,’ he said.

“We invite people of all ages, from senior citizens to parents and chil- dren, to demonstrate that the residents of the west of Ireland have the power to gather as one and walk shoulder to shoulder in a dignified and peaceful manner to overturn this commercial decision and hold onto our right of passage to London Heathrow and thus the rest of the world.”

THE decision by Aer Lingus to halt its Shannon-Heathrow service and transfer to Belfast’s Aldergrove Air- port has been described as the “dying kick for the midwest”.

Mayor of Ennis, Tommy Brennan was speaking at a special meeting of Ennis Town Council convened to discuss the implications of Aer Lin- gus’s controversial decision.

He also said that cross-party politi- cal support was critical to securing the future of Shannon as a strong in- CLUE Neon aKSe

Councillors present at the meeting said unless the Heathrow service was retained, there would be dire conse- quences for industry and ancillary Services in the mid-west.

The council will also write to the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey and Aer Lingus to protest the move.

Cllr Brennan said, “None of the Dail can be found. This was made up with Paisley and there is nothing that suggests otherwise. We cannot afford to lose the flight to Heathrow, otherwise we might as well close down the mid-west and west coast

completely.”

Fianna Fail councillor Tom Glynn said, “We have to protect those slots in Heathrow.

“They have an obligation to cus- tomers and businesses who helped set up industry in the region.”

Fine Gael councillor Mary Coote- Ryan said it was a “black day for Shannon”.

Cllr Taiwoo Matthew questioned the decision to terminate the profit- able Shannon-Heathrow route.

“I don’t see the economic benefit for Aer Lingus to go from a position Where they had a monopoly to one

where they will be in competition. It could be devastating for the region,” he said.

Independent councillor Frankie Neylon challenged the Green Party to stand up to Fianna Fail.

“When it comes to birds and by- passes, the Greens are everywhere. But now they don’t seem to want to know about it. They were going to be the watchdogs for Fianna Fail. Now it’s time for them to prove their eyKeyee none

Fianna Fail councillor Peter Con- sidine questioned the legality of the decision to transfer to Belfast.

AS THE county board and the clubs of Clare continue their search for a new football manager at tonight’s board meeting, news that Seamus Clancy has ruled himself out of the race will have strengthened the body of opinion calling for the reinstate- ment of Donie Buckley.

It is thought that over the past few days Clancy made known to the county board his wishes not to be considered for the position.

The former All-Star was widely touted as one of the best options for the county due to his experience both as a player and manager and because of his forthright and honest views of Clare’s dismal season.

His withdrawal means there’s one less option for Clare right now and on the back of this weekend’s club championship showing, the county needs as many options as possible.

It was another weekend of sub- standard club championship football in which the quality was low and the scores were even lower. It took 272 minutes for the first championship goal this year, with a total of four goals altogether in round one.

Goals apart, the points tallies are just as unimpressive and paint a wor- rying picture of the state of Clare football at present.

After two complete rounds of the senior championship, only four sides managed to get into double point fig- ures and kick more than nine points over an hour.

In the first round, Shannon Gaels

managed ten points and Wolfe Tones scored eleven. In the second round, Cooraclare kicked eleven points while Lissycasey notched up ten. It means that out of 32 opportunities over the 16 games so far, the magical figure of ten points was only reached four times.

On Saturday, Liscannor managed to beat one of the favourites for the championship by scoring only five points against a Doonbeg side that managed only three points — all from suueKy

It harks back to the dark days of Clare football when county champi- onships were won on meagre score- lines.

On top of this, the so-called top teams are not exactly leading by ex- ample. Defending champions Eire Og again stuttered and stumbled to victory for the second week running and notched up 14 wides in the proc- ess, while Shannon Gaels went under to an unfancied Ennistymon outfit.

Elsewhere, St Joseph’s Miultown couldn’t even put a point on the board in their second-half against Eire Og and St Breckans went 34 minutes without raising a white flag.

On this showing, perhaps other op- tions may go by the wayside in the quest for a new manager.

CALLS for the resignation of Fianna Fail ministers, the holding of an Aer Lingus EGM and for councillors to protest at the airport with banners came from an emergency meeting of the council last night.

Councillor Madeleine Taylor-Quinn proposed a motion on behalf on the Fine Gael members at the emergency meeting called by Mayor of Clare, Cllr Patricia McCarthy.

She called on the Minister for Fi- nance “to immediately call an EGM of Aer Lingus to discuss the matter and reverse this decision.”

She said that despite having a spa- tial strategy “the Government is about to allow the withdrawl of these critical slots which provide vital con- nectivity”.

Her colleague, Cllr Joe Arkins further proposed that if the slots are withdrawn that the Government lead a legal challenge to the decision.

He described news that a new route may be on the way to Paris as a “smoke and mirrors exercise’,

The Fine Gael members also asked that the council seek an immediate meeting with the Taoiseach on the matter, while Mayor Mccarthy told the meeting that she has made con- tact with all of the mayors in Tipper- ary, Limerick and Galway to seek a

joint meeting with the Fianna Fail leader.

Labour councillor, Pascal Fitzger- ald, called on the “mid-west minis- ters to state publicly that they will resign if these slots are taken from Shannon. People’s livelihoods are at stake and the Government is doing yatelee vb sree

Cllr Colm Wiley (FF) said that “calling does nothing. What I am proposing is that two members of this council go to the airport with placards and protest until we get what we want and rotate the protest so that there are members of this council there at all times until this 1s resolved.”

Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) accused the Government of having “no function- al regional policy” while Fianna Fail councillor, Richard Nagle, said that the “only satisfactory outcome to this is the retention of our slots into Heathrow”.

He said the Fianna Fail councillors have jointly sent letters to the minis- ters for transport, tourism and trade and employment outlining the poten- tial seriousness of the consequences of the decision.

He said that the council “should call on the Taoiseach to recall his minis- ters and set up and interdepartmental eroup to deal with what can only be described as a crisis for this region.”

AFTER three hours of heated discus- sion, Clare County Council adopted two compromise motions on the Shannon crisis following an emer- gency meeting of the local authority last night.

The emergency meeting had threat- ened to boil over into party bicker- ing, as a number of possible motions were discussed by Government and opposition councillors.

A number of motions, including one calling for a vote of no-confi- dence in the Minister for Transport proposed by Joe Arkins (FG) and another calling for a 24-hour, two- person council vigil to be set up at Shannon Airport proposed by Colm Wiley (FF), were rejected in favour of an all-party compromise.

The council adopted a motion stat- ing that Clare County Council would remind the Minister for Transport of his reponsibility to the development to the west of Ireland and the bal- anced development of the country as a whole.

A second motion called on the Minister for Transport, the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach to take immediate action to resolve the situ- ation in Shannon.

County Manager, Alex Fleming, emphasised the negative impact that a loss of business rates due to the Air Lingus pull out would have on the lo-

cal authority.

“Unlike most counties, this county really depends on the commercial rate base.

“Any impact on this will impact seriousely on the rate base in the county,” he said.

‘“T have invested very heavily on the assumption that things are coming together with connectivity. Our ex- pectation is that connectivity would increase, the fact that it might de- crease is a real surprise.”

Fleming also called on the council- lor to continue an approach of soli- darity and progress with a ‘simple and actionable objective’.

All 32 council members are also to spend a half-day in Shannon Airport, to show solidarity with the workers of Shannon and coincide with the visit of Air Lingus Chief Executive, Dermot Mannion later this week.

Meanwhile, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP), confirmed to the council that party leader and Minister for the Environment, John Gormly, would be travelling to Ennis on Thursday to meet with a council delegation on the subject.

North Clare Cllr, Martin Conway (FG), also told the council that he iS organising a meeting of all Fine Gael councillors in Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Tipperary to take place in Shannon later in the week and discuss a joint proposal to be put to party leader, Enda Kenny.

AFTER taking a break over the bank holiday weekends it’s full steam ahead for underage soccer in the county.

There is a full programme of games down for decision with 19 fixtures due to be played.

Tonight the under 11 leagues takes centre stage with Moher Celtic look- ing to continue their solid start to the season when they take on Lifford in JBHIaVEIATanelOvee

Elsewhere in the same division Newmarket take on Moneypoint at McDonough Park.

In division three, leaders Burren United are another North Clare side that have made a winning start to the season.

They face a tough challenge in the form of Fern Celtic. In the under 13 league, Lifford will be hoping to get their second win of the campaign with a home tie at Cassidy Park where Connolly Celtic are the visitors.

Newtown take on Mountshannon at Ballycasey while in division two, St Pats will be hoping they can leapfrog Newmarket at the top of the table with victory over Moher Celtic in Kiulmihil.

It’s already getting tight at the top in

division one of the under 12 league. Moneypoint and Ennis Town are tied on ten points with four games played. Sitting in third are Avenue United on nine points and three games played.

Moneypoint take on Avenue United in Kilrush with Lifford and Bridge United meeting in Lees Road.

It’s a similar situation in the under 16 league where three games are tied on six points. Fern Celtic are among the early pace-setters and they travel to Lees Road next Tuesday night for a meeting with Turnpike Rovers.

NINE months after doing a solo run on the appointment of a Clare foot- ball manager, the county board has come full circle and enlisted the help of the clubs in finding the right man for the job.

When the Clare delegation trav- elled to Paidi O Sé’s pub in Ventry late last November, they did so under the cover of darkness. Only a select group of board members knew of the impending approach, prompting an- ger among certain delegates.

“I think it was very, very under- hand the way it was done,’ said Ber- nard Hanrahan, Clarecastle delegate of O Sé’s appointment at December’s GAA convention.

Hanrahan’s remarks were knocked back by chairman Michael McDon- agh at the time, but this week the chairman confirmed that the board are two weeks away from receiving final correspondence from the Clare clubs, in relation to who the next man in charge should be.

‘“We’ve made contact with the clubs and we’re waiting for them to get back to us,’ he said. “Once that’s done, it’s a case of drawing up a shortlist over the following ten days or so.”

That the clubs of Clare have a say in the process may ensure that an

exhaustive search will have been un- dertaken, but it’s not guaranteed that success will follow.

While O Sé’s tenure as manager ended without many high points, the board were lauded by most in the winter for going after and securing a big name to help propel Clare up the football ladder.

It didn’t happen and as a result, the search is on for a Clareman to lead the county team from bottom-rung football next season.

“We’re anxious to get the right peo- ple in as soon as possible, but we’re not going to rush anything,’ added McDonagh. “The most important thing is we get the right men to do the job.”

Next Tuesday’s meeting of the board promises to be another action filled event. Besides the expected debate on the next man to fill the football manager’s shoes, talk will also turn to the position of hurling manager following Clare’s departure from the championship against Limerick.

It’s an open secret by now that a certain section of the board wished to remove Tony Considine, despite his two-year appointment. If this fac- tion gets it way, the board could be looking at an unprecedented four in- ter-county appointments in less than one year.

THE company constructing the Ennis bypass has been accused of a breach of contract over placing a protected butterfly onto private land outside the bypass zone without the permis- sion of Clare County Council.

The placing of the Marsh Fritil- lary on lands formerly owned by JJ McCabe has sparked a row between consultants acting for Clare County Council on the bypass and GAMA Construction, where GAMA is deny- ing any breach of contract.

The placing or translocation of the rare butterfly has presented planning headaches to purchaser of the JJ Mc- Cabe lands, Stephen Harris in his bid to construct a €50 million retail park at the site.

Clare County Council has told Mr Harris that there remains serious concerns in relation to the presence of the butterfly on his lands.

Now, in correspondence released through the Freedom of Information Act, Bryan Hamilton of consulting firm Jacobs employed by the council wrote to GAMA in March to state, “We are extremely disappointed to read in this report that Gama Stra- bag Construction Ltd (GSCL) has worked outside the lands made avail- able for the works in relation to the original location of the species and the translocation area.”

In response, Project Manager with GAMA, John Cunningham said on March 29, “We note that in your

letter of February 14, you state that ‘there is no record that this location is outside the lands made available by the employer’.

“We consider that this comment is disingenuous as the reference clearly is to a location that was outside the alignment. For avoidance of any confusion, I note that I personally at- tended both meetings referred to.

“We made it clear on July 23, 2004, that we intended to move the marsh fritillary larvae and associated food plant outside the lands made availa- ble. You raised no concerns or sought

any clarification at the time.

“We further confirmed, as minuted on September 24, that we had relo- cated the plants and larvae and iden- tified the location to an adjacent field — JJ McCabe’s land.”

In relation to the claim of breach of contract, Mr Cunningham said, “We again state that we fulfilled our con- tractual obligations with regard to environmental mitigation in respect OM slow oer-vans meu lselt-)mvam

SOME of Clare’s lesser known tour- ist sites and attractions are being tar- geted by Clare tourist organisations who embark on a week-long promo- tional trip to the US next week.

Clare County Council, Shannon Development, the Clare Tourism Fo- rum, the Clare Tourist Council and Shannon Heritage will be promoting some of Clare’s lesser-known attrac- tions at the Milwaukee Irish Fest in Wisconsin.

“The promotional campaigns of national bodies such as Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland Limited are un- doubtedly crucial to the overall suc- cess and development of the industry throughout the island at a very chal- lenging time in the global tourism market,” said Tomas Mac Conmara, Acting Heritage Officer, Clare Coun- ty Council.

“The Clare Tourism Forum and Shannon Development have under- taken a huge amount of promotional work in this area. However, the pro- motion of the lesser-known heritage attractions throughout the country 1s often overlooked even though they hold the key to revitalising rural communities and contributing to the sustained growth of the Irish tourist sector.”

The sites that the organisations hope

to sell to prospective tour organisers include the county’s 5,000-year-old portal tombs, its 23 surviving cran- nogs, 220 holy wells, King Brian Bort’s doorway in Tuamgraney, the Michael Cusack Centre in Carron, over 100 12th-century castles and 224 recorded surviving ringforts.

“Clare boasts some of the world’s most famous heritage sites and tour- ist attractions. However, the county has much more to offer than just the famous tourism landmarks with a vast array of local heritage sites and attractions available to tourists,” he continued. “If promoted at local, na- tional and international level, they are likely to benefit from existing tourism business in the region, as well as attract other visitors.”

Marie Slattery from Shannon Her- itage said we would be doing our- selves an injustice to forget the less- er-known attractions.

“Everyone knows that Knappogue Castle is ideal for weddings and the castle’s medieval banquets, but Knappogue’s walled garden and cas- tle tour as a daytime attraction help to keep the visitor in the area for longer, benefiting everyone including the actual visitor,’ she said.

“Promoting the lesser-known attrac- tions in conjunction with the world- renowned products is the only way to show the true promise of our region.”