Category: News

SURFING could soon become Clare’s most valuable tourism product as a study on the impact of the sport in the Lahinch area has put its annual local payout at a whooping € 33 million. The study, which was completed by professional town planner Neil Cooney, records the financial impact of surfing on the coastal towns from Doolin down as far as Doonbeg. As well as the direct impact on surf towns such as Lahinch, the report also looks at the impact on satellite towns close to surfing areas like Miltown Malbay and Liscannor. The reports is based on similar monitory analysis of surfing in Spain and includes extensive interviews of Ireland’s estimated 60,000 surfers. It tracks the direct employment of businesses such as surf schools as well as many indirect effects such as accommodation. “Surfing has brought international attention to Lahinch as a surf location and to Clare as a place for activity-based tourism. It has had a massive impact but really the possibilities of where it could go are endless; the Burren is brilliant place and adventure tourism is a major contributor to the Irish economy,” said Neil. Despite financial benefits of surfing, Neil is of the opinion that not enough is being done by the powers that be to promote and develop surfing. “I like surfing in Australia now and the difference between there and here is massive. The infrastructure there is better, there are grants to encourage new businesses to start up, there are lots of supports and I just don’t see that happening in Clare. “Some simple things could go a long long way. Things like changing room, warm public showers in surfing areas, how difficult would that be? Some simple things would really boost the product and that benefit the businesses in the area. “In addition to infrastructure, the sponsorship and promotion of the surfing clubs and events would be a great benefit which would be enjoyed by not only the surf community but also the many businesses in the area that thrive on the activity.”

TRADITIONAL Irish music could have a marked benefit for the children and adults who have been institutionalised as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Ennistymon based charity, the Burren Chernobyl Projects (BCP) is looking for traditional musicians, singers and dancers to travel to Belarus later this year. The musicians will firstly play alongside some local musicians before visiting the organisations orphanages and playing for people in the children and adults.

“We are looking for a group to travel to Belarus for a week in the middle or the end of November. Firstly there will be a series of workshops with Belorussian musicians and then the most important element is to get them in the orphanages to play,” said Brian O’Sullivan of the Burren Chernobyl Project.

“Music is something that we feel is important to our work with in the orphanages. There is always music on in the background and we are hoping that getting the musicians in the orphanages, engaging with the residents, would be very beneficial for the residents.

“The Burren Chernobyl Project is involved in a lot of settings at the moment and the hope would be to get the group to visit as many of these places as is possible.”

The BCP is hoping to put together a group including traditional musicians, singers and dancers to travel to Belarus.

“We are keen to keep it as varied as possible, we would prefer it wasn’t all musicians or all dancers. Of course, being from Clare, we would be very keen to have some Clare musicians travelling with us,” continued Brian.

“The musicians would be brought over on the same terms as any of our normal volunteers – the only difference is that they would have a slightly different focus during their week in Belarus. I think this is definitely something that we could come back to again and again and maybe this could develop into an ongoing musical volunteer trip to Belarus.”

Anyone musicians, dancers or singers who would like to volunteer can email medical@burrenchernobyl.ie or call 087 7874609.

THE voice behind one of the most memorable songs of Clare hurling’s glory years is now calling on fans to ‘Stand for the Banner’.

Kieran McDermott, who famously sang ‘The Banner Roar’ in Clare’s Munster and All-Ireland winning year of 1995, has released a new song to celebrate the Banner County’s latest march on Croke Park.

‘Stand for the Banner’ sees Kieran team up with sound technician Matt Purcell, world famous fiddle player Martin Hayes and Ennis chamber choir Cantare.

Kieran’s son Tiernan and Matt Purcell’s father also contribute to the song which had it’s first airing on Clare FM on Thursday.

“It’s a kind of an anthem rather than a ‘Banner Roar’ type song,” explains Kieran, “It’s a Clare anthem we’re angling at rather than a hurling song. It’ll either take off or it won’t. It’s not as jumpy as the ‘Banner Roar’ but it’s more of a rallying march. That’s the idea anyway!”

The song, along with other wellknown Clare hurling hits, will be available to download on iTunes. Proceeds raised will go towards the Clare Hurling Supporters’ Club.

Kieran explains, “‘The Banner Roar’ is now defunct, you can’t buy it anywhere and the one from 1997, ‘You’ll never beat the Banner’, you can’t get that anywhere either. In ‘95, I flew around the county trying to get all the songs into one place. We brought out an album of all the songs that were out at the time called the ‘Banner Rises And Sings’. Things like ‘How’s it Goin’ Lohan?’, Aaron Esley’s song, a mix-up of Matthew McMahon’s commentaries called ‘Weird on the Wireless’. You can’t get that stuff anymore. The idea now is that we’ll put the new song, ‘The Banner Roar’ and ‘You’ll Never Beat the Banner’ on iTunes and people can download it. But all the money from that will go the Clare Supporters’ Club.”

If ‘Stand for the Banner’ can replicate the success of the ‘Banner Roar’, the coffers of the Clare Supporters’ Club could soon be overflowing.

Kieran says, “Back in 1995, I was running around the county to places with tapes. We had tapes in Anthony Daly sports, Feakle, Kilkishen, Maxol Stations, everywhere. It was nightmare of a fortnight before [the AllIreland] trying to keep them stocked but things have moved on from that with technology. It would be nice as an alternative fundraiser for the lads. Hopefully it might build up.”

TWO Meelick lads reckon the Liam McCarthy trophy is Banner Bound in the latest song to celebrate Clare’s appearance in the All-Ireland hurling final.

Eanna Mulvihill and Oisín Hickey have teamed up for their acoustic anthem, ‘Banner Bound’.

The song’s lyrics reference some of the Banner’s summer heroes such as David McInerney and Darach Honan. “ ’Cos you’ll never bea t the Ba nner Boys in saffron a nd blue”, sing Oisín and Eanna, “ So sing along with us from Ennis to Killaloe. When Da vy Ma c a nd the Duck a tta ck, the rest will follow suit, ‘Cos you’ll never bea t the Ba nner boys on sa ffron a nd blue”. The lads look back at Clare’s victories so far this summer. They sing, “ We’ve hea r d it a ll, hea r d it a ll before – The Ba nner won’t be hea rd a nymore. But we showed the Déise, We showed the Tr ibes, We showed the Trea t y up on Liffeyside.

“ So ga ther a round, let’s hea r you roa r – Lia m McCa r thy’s Ba nner Bound once more.” Eanna and Oisín also predict that Clare captain Patrick Donnellan will have one final journey to make come the final whistle on Sunday. “ In Croke Pa rk, we’ll hea r the roa r. Hill 16 ha sn’t seen the likes of us before. When the fina l whistle blows – up the Hoga n Pa ddy Donnella n he will go.” Meanwhile the band behind ‘The Banner’s Back Again’ are working on a statue of Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald.

MC Banner, the singer with MC Banner and Killaloolas plans to erect the statue on his lawn in time for Sunday’s All-Ireland final.

The singer said, “I think it’s going to look a lot like Davy but my wife doesn’t think so.

“She’s not mad about the idea at all at all but she understands my devotion to the Clare team. I checked with all the neighbours and they have no problem with it.

“One of them is knitting a jumper for it for the winter.”

MC will rig an MP 3 player to the statue and when a person touches Davy’s hand it will play ‘The Banner’s back Again’.

MC continued, “We will unveil it on Friday, September 6, at dawn and I am hoping to have a Clare legend to do the unveiling.

“I hope Davy will visit it after the All Ireland. I think it’s the image of him, my wife says it looks more like Marty Morrissey.

“If I had time I would make a statue of Marty too, I am a huge fan of Marty’s.”

MC Banner and the Killaloolas are heading out on their tractor pulled stage. They plan to perform ‘The Banner’s Back Again’, in every Clare town this week.

THERE have been calls for the Government to assist families with the cost of transporting children to the new Ennis National School.

The new school at Ashline opened its doors for the first time to pupils last week. The school was previously located at a site on the Kilrush Road closer to the town centre.

In a motion due to be discussed at yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle urged the council to contact the Minister for Education and the Minister for Finance to allocate a grant to assist families, that are being asked to pay to transport children to the new school.

Cllr Guilfoyle said, “A lot of families now have an extra journey to make and I think the Departments should make some contribution to the cost of travelling to the school.”

The future of the former site of Ennis National School is unknown though it has been earmarked as a potential site for a major town centre retail development in the future.

In a submission to Clare County Council, Ennis Parish, the owners of the site, say it would be an ideal location for the future development of a commercial retail centre. Prepared by engineering firm Paddy Coleman and Associates, the sub- mission states, “It is their opinion that Proposal Site PS1 is ideal and should be promoted by the council through the Ennis and Environs Development Plan to cater for the identified retail deficiency. It is stated that they own part of the said site (the land associated with the Boys National School) and that the land will be available in the short term when it is vacated for the new school currently under construction at Ashline.” Supermarket giant Aldi have also emerged as potential purchasers of the site after signalling their intent to develop a second store in Ennis. However Cllr Guilfoyle says residents on the Kilrush Road would have concerns about any potential development in the area. He explained, “It seems it has been earmarked for a shopping centre. That may be a good bit down the line, if it happens, but I would have concerns. And there are people living there in peace for a long time that would have concerns about it.”

A LOCAL shop-owner has expressed concern that proposed traffic calming works at the entrance to Corrovorrin could lead to reduced business and a loss of jobs.

Councillors in Ennis have called for improvements to the Corrovorrin junction on the R352 Tulla Road to alleviate access problems in the area.

A report on the proposed € 50,000 project was presented to members at yesterday’s monthly meeting of En nis Town Council.

In a report to councillors, town engineer Eamon O’Dea stated that funding for the project had been se- cured from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Mr O’Dea explained, “The proposed layout has been confirmed with the Department of Transport Tourism and Sport road safety engineer during each stage of the design process. It was not possible to make significant amendments to the proposed layout to take account of the submissions received, however some minor adjustment to the parking opposite Tierney’s Shop on Kevin Barry Avenue were made.”

Mr O’Dea recommended that councillors approve the scheme at Corrovorrin Junction.

The proposed low cost safety scheme at Corrovorrin junction would involve a reduced carriageway width to give a “greater sense of enclosure” and the “reduce the crossing length for pedestrians”.

The council are also proposing courtesy pedestrian and combined crossing points along with an off road combined pedestrian and cycle lane

A preliminary deign report on the scheme states that traffic volume on the R352 ranges from 14,000 to 16,00 vehicles per day and 1,400 to 2,000 vehicles per day on Kevin Barry Avenue.

Alan Morrissey, Executive Engineer, stated, “Based on traffic flow levels the appropriate junction type is a priority junction.”

The report also states that analysis indicates, “There does not seem to be a speeding problem on the R352 east of Corrovorrin junction.

“An additional benefit of this design will be a reduction in crossing distances for pedestrians and cyclists thereby promoting sustainable travel modes” adds the report.

The council received three submissions on the proposed works.

Local shopkeeper John Tierney objected to the scheme at Corrovorrin junction. In his submission to the council, Mr Tierney stated that he is being penalised for complying with previous planning application. He stated insufficient background information was provided while adequate consultation procedures did not take place.

Mr Tierney referred to a brief re- port from the Chief Supt of the Clare Garda Division, John Kerin, which stated that according to Garda records, no accidents have taken place at the Corrovorrin junction in the past five years.

Mr Tierney also expressed concern that the proposed works would result in reduced business and loss of jobs.

Philip Coll, a resident of the nearby Kevin Barry Avenue, stated that he could not recall any accidents at the junction.

In his submission, Mr Coll told the council that he considered that filter lanes were required on both Kevin Barry Avenue and the Tulla Road. It was his view that a yellow box was required at the exit from Kevin Barry Avenue.

MEMBERS of Ennis Tidy Town’s Committee were upset yesterday (Monday) by Irish Business Against Litter’s (IBAL) finding that the town was one of three in the country it deemed littered.

The anti-litter league’s Dr Tom Cavanagh said however that IBAL was not worried about Ennis being third from the bottom of the league as it had been a good town in the past and he was confident it would be good in the future.

“I am not worried about them,” he said of the three towns deemed lit- ter.

The people of Ennis, and especially those who have dedicated their lives to the tidy town’s organisation, can take some solace in recent history.

In 2005, just a week before the county town won the national Tidy Town’s competition, it also received a damming report from IBAL.

For now however, there is a lot of disappointment at the news the town had dropped 13 places since last year on the litter league.

Ennis town councillor Mary Howard (FG), who is a volunteer with the local Tidy Towns, said members were very upset as they called each other following the news.

“One woman who goes out six nights a week [to pick up litter] was particularly upset. People are putting in a huge effort like this,” she said.

“A huge effort has been put into painting railings and other work this year,” she added.

As part of the litter inspection carried out by IBAL, litter inspectors surveyed recycling facilities, hotels and sports facilities in the towns and cities concerned.

IBAL expressed ‘disappointment’ that seven in 10 recycling centres nationwide were littered, and a number were litter black spots, including those in Ennis.

“These are typically managed by local authorities so it is disappointing that so many of them are unclean, especially as their importance is rising. We recognise the potential for these facilities to attract litter, a threat which some authorities have fended off effectively by installing CCTV,” explained Dr Cavanagh. Inspectors praised the facility in Dundalk as being ‘in a league of its own’.”

Over three-quarters of hotel grounds surveyed were free of litter, but a small number, including Treacy’s West County in Ennis were judged to be seriously littered, due to litter in the areas surrounding them.

THEY may be married just a month but newly weds Cathal Crowe and Maeve Fehilly admits they will be pulling in different directions on Sunday.

Cathal is a well-known member of Clare County Council living in Meelick, a border town with Limerick.

Maeve is a native of another town that borders Limerick, but this time it is on the other side of that county – Charleville in County Cork.

“There is a very heightened sense of identity when you are that near the border,” explained Cathal, and each of them are loyal to their own county.

“There will be two different jerseys going off in the car that morning,” he added, knowing there will only be one happy newly wed arriving home on Sunday evening – bar a draw of course.

This will be the second game the couple has attended as man and wife.

The first was the less controversial semi final Clare against Limerick.

“We arrived back from honeymoon that morning to Shannon Airport and drove straight to Dublin. Maeve drove home afterwards,” said Cathal who was that day celebrating victory.

The big question now is who will be driving home on Sunday evening and will they still be travelling together?

THE Clare jersey is the fashion accessory of the season, with hundreds of names on the waiting list for the en-trend clothing item and reports of some shops selling as many as six jerseys a minute.

Last evening (Monday) Elvery’s Sport, Ennis, reported that there were at least 200 names on the list for the stock of jerseys due in later today (Tuesday).

“There has been a huge impact on sales in the last three to four weeks,” said assistant manager Trisha Howard.

While there are some Clare tee shirts, jackets and hoodies still available it is the jersey, both saffron and blue and the new pink ones that are selling out in their droves.

More pink jerseys are due in later in the week, but those hoping to have number one on their back will be without a goalkeeper’s jersey until after the match as they are not going into production again until after Sunday.

“We are completely sold out,” said Bernie Chapman of Lifestyle Sports in Ennis, who is expecting a delivery by special courier on Wednesday.

“They will be gone before they even hit the floor,” she said explaining that with the waiting list well over 40 they have stopped taking names so to avoid disappointment.

“Every second customer is looking for a jersey. We counted the number of people looking for the jersey today and in one minute six people asked for a jersey,” she said.

Ramona Gleeson of All Stars Sports on the Quin Road, Ennis, had just returned from Dublin last evening (Monday) with a van full of jerseys and tee shirts when The Clare People called.

“I went four times in the last two weeks because I couldn’t wait for them to be delivered. I would have a load sold by the time they would be delivered.

“I have to go again on Friday,” said the woman who also has “pages and pages of waiting lists”.

She also brought some goalkeeper jerseys to Clare yesterday, as there will be no more available until after the All Ireland.

Tommy O’Donnell in Ennis has been providing sportswear and equipment to the people of Clare for decades, and he is also reporting a busy few weeks.

“We are tipping along,” he said not giving too much away.

He explained that while they shop sells out of the prized jersey every few days, the stock is usually back the following day.

Asked to compare the build up to 1995 he explained it was difficult “as there are less people in Ireland now and less people in Clare, but exciting nonetheless!”

A LARGE crowd turned out in Shannon yesterday to mark the 50th anniversary of EI Electronics. EI, which is the largest indigenous company in the region, celebrates 50 years in business by hosting an open day in its facility inside the Shannon Free Zone.

The Open Day attracted a large crowd of current and former employees and their families, as well as members of the local community and anyone who has been associated with the factory over the past five decades.

An ever-present on the industrial landscape of the Shannon Free Zone, EI Electronics, has been an Irish- owned company since 1988, as is one of the leading employers in the county.

A world leader in the field of fire safety in the home, EI employs 430 people in its Shannon headquarters and an additional 50 in the UK, Germany and France. It plans to swell its workforce by a further 20 staff members before the end of the year to bring its total employee numbers over 500.

Its annual contribution to the local and Irish economies is estimated to be € 30 million.

“As a major employer for 50 years, many thousands of people have worked at EI, covering three generations. This EI diaspora is spread over the counties of Clare, Limerick, Kerry, Cork, Tipperary, Galway and Mayo. The Open Day gives these past employees the opportunity to come back to their alma mater, see the factory and possibly meet up with old colleagues,” said managing director Michael Guinee.

The focal point of the day was a tour of the factory, where a representative sample of the manufacturing will be operational. Visitors saw first hand the world-class manufacturing cell production, the highly automated electronics assembly, and one of the largest injection moulding operations in Ireland.

They will see the wide range of smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms, and learn about the sensor technology behind these products. They will see how the products have evolved over the 50 years.