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THE determined youngsters in the under 10s Mountshannon Celtic Soc- cer Team are back on track, having got themselves a mentor.

The club were delighted with the team, but were concerned that the mentor of another team was looking after the youngsters as well as his

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“We had a great bunch of lads playing at under 10 last season. Ow- ing to the dedication of Gary Dear, we managed to enter them in a few blitzes last season, but this was not entirely satisfactory as Gary has his own team to look after,’ a spokes- man for the club said.

But with the new season just start-

ed, the club sent out an appeal for help in the Scariff Newsletter and got a good response.

Now they are concentrating on the club’s ethos of player development above results, and are kicking off with a new season.

The under 11s and under 13s train on Tuesday while the under 15s take to the field on Wednesday, all ses-

sions at 6pm at the Scariff show- grounds.

The club is “delighted to have won the Fair Play Award for the behav- iour of our players and for the first time now we have four teams in the schoolboy soccer league,’ the spokesman said.

Last season, the club got to the fi- nals of the under 13s and under 14s

cup and came in as runners-up in the under 14 league.

They also now have several players with county teams.

Anyone who would like to know more or who thinks they might fan- cy a shot at ‘the beautiful game’ is welcome to come along and speak to mentors at the club training ses- sions.

PLANS by the Health Services Ex- ecutive to downgrade services at Ennis General Hospital will cut pa- tient safety “to the bone and perhaps cut safety beyond”, according to the Chairman of the Clare branch of the Irish College of General Practition- use

Dr Michael Harty was speaking in Ennis last Saturday at a protest against the planned removal of serv- ices from Ennis General Hospital.

Dr Harty told an estimated crowd of 3000 people that the argument for the provision of medical services in TRAE MICRO oKcemO IM stom IEC m ie ices should be centralised or whether most acute services should be pro- vided in “peripheral hospitals like Ennis and Nenagh”.

Dr Harty said, “This tiered system has worked very well in the past. But over the years Ennis and Nenagh have been systematically downgraded and undermined by a failure to develop the hospital in terms of staff and equipment, while at the same time concentrating development services in Limerick almost exclusively.”

“To minimise errors and mistakes, one has to practice safe and sensible medicine. And systems would be in place where there is sufficient safety to allow as complete safe and sensible care as possible. What is being pro- posed, by the transformation team, 1s to cut safety to the bone and perhaps cut safety beyond”, he said.

Consultant geriatrician at Nenagh General Hospital Dr Christine O’Malley said the HSE was going to “lock” Ennis General Hospital at night, after 24 accident and emer- gency services are withdrawn.

She said the HSE had deliberately deceived the public on the issue of patient numbers. Dr O’Malley told the crowd that the real night time attendance of patients at Ennis Gen- eral Hospital is 5,500 and at Nenagh General Hospital is 4000.

She said, “I know it is not going

to work, it can’t work. They haven’t got the ambulances they don’t have the beds in Limerick. They are go- ing to take your doctors away and leave nothing behind here and they don’t want you in Limerick. I’m sor- ry; I don’t know what to say to you. It can’t work, its not going to work, they are going to do it anyway”. Gerry Byrnes, a retired surgeon who worked at Ennis General Hos- pital for 27 years also doubted the capacity of the Midwestern Regional Hospital, Limerick to cope with in-

creased numbers of patients.

He told the crowd “If this planned change of the A&E in Ennis goes through, followed in July by taking acute surgery out of the hospital, I’m not sure that the infrastructure is there for Limerick to cope.”

STUDENTS from Clare Youth Serv- ices are hoping to clean up in more ways than one at a car wash in Ennis this Saturday.

The event is being organised by a group of students taking part in the service’s Leaving Cert Applied (LCA) programme.

All money raised from the car wash, which will be held in the erounds of Ennis National School, will go towards increasing the range of activities provided through the LCA programme.

Teacher Laura Griffin explained that the service is looking to expand

the programme throughout the sum- mer months.

“The LCA is a very activity based programme and this summer we are hoping to do a lot of different activi- ties like sailing and horse-riding. We actually had two reasons for doing this. Obviously we wanted to raise money for the LCA and also by do- ing this, the students are fulfilling the enterprise test of the programme. So, we’re looking to kill two birds with the one stone,” said Laura.

Local schools and businesses are also supporting the event. “Ennis National School are providing the car-park on the day and Jimmy’s Discount Store are giving us some

materials. They have been very help- ful,’ said Laura.

She continued, “We had looked at doing a few different things. We were going to do an Easter themed treasure hunt around the town or we had this idea for an Ebay shop, but the carwash was the cheapest op- tion. And we’re hoping, with it be- ing Easter Saturday, we’ll get a good crowd around town.”

There are currently 11 students enrolled in the LCA programe. The LCA is a recognised Leaving Certifi- cate from the Department of Educa- tion. It encourages students to apply their knowledge, skills and experi- ences acquired on the programme, in

preparation for future work, and/or further education. The programme is a full-time two-year course and is divided into four sessions over the two-year period. These sessions are sub-divided into periods of study known as modules.

“It involves the usual subjects like Maths and English but a lot of the work is project-based,” added Laura.

A NEW centre offering affordable office, meeting and training spaces has been established at the centrally located Clon Road Business Park in J Spay AvESe

Since it was set up in January, the Clare Training Resource Centre (CTRC) has attracted a wide range of user groups from across County OK

Currently running at the multi-pur- pose facility are employee training sessions, preparation for interview classes, a series of workshops fo- cusing on women and the economy and various local and national or- ganisation’s meetings. Users can also participate in classes in yoga, pilates, meditation, floral art, and a

range of other personal development programmes. Up-coming courses include exam revision for secondary students and interior design.

“Tightening budgets brought on by the economic recession have left many community organisations and businesses with little scope to invest in training space or meeting rooms,’ explained Lorraine Tracey, Training Centre Coordinator.

She continued, “We are offering an affordable and accessible, high qual- ity, multi-functional space. Our aim is to combine community values with a professional delivery. Rooms are set-up with equipment such as pro- jectors, flipcharts and whiteboards as needed and catering services can be arranged.”

Ms Tracey added that the new fa-

cility offered organisations and ind1- viduals the flexibility and opportu- nity to reserve space on a once-off or on a regular basis.

The CTRC is also currently pro- viding the space for the delivery of a range of courses on behalf of its parent company the Clare Family Resource Centre (CFRC).

The CFRC runs a FAS scheme with 21 Community Employment partici- pants providing a wide range of staff training including Basic Childcare Training, Highscope Training, Spe- cial Needs Training, Equal Oppor- tunities, First Aid, Arts and Crafts, Music and Drama, Manual Lifting and Handling and Health and Safety. Among the other courses delivered by the CTRC are Fire Prevention, Stay Safe Child Protection Pro-

gramme, HACCP food safety, and Personal and Social Development.

According to Maureen Keane, Manager of the Clare Family Re- source, “Staff training is a key ele- ment to the success and development of our staff and créche service.”

“We encourage and empower our Community Employment _partici- pants by providing these opportuni- ties leading to Certified Childcare Training Skills, personal develop- ment and employment. Providing a suitable training environment for staff is of utmost importance to us,” stated Ms Keane.

Trainers or groups interested in using the facilities may contact Lor- raine Tracey; Training Centre Coor- dinator; Tel: 065-6895458; Email: info @ctrc.ie.

Ener Connolly and Bernie English

A RACE night will be held in Morty’s Pub, Ruan, next month as part of the effort by local parents and the school board to fund the school extension which is nearing completion.

The new wing of the school is ex- pected to be ready for use at the end of May. It contains a modern new classroom, a Learning Support Room and a sports hall. This will provide for the growth of the school for many years to come as well as allowing for indoor physical exercise, drama and other activities.

Most of the funding has been pro- vided by the Department of Educa- tion and Science but a shortfall must be met by local fundraising.

School principal Cyril Lyons says “This is a most exciting time for the school with the putting in place of much-needed new facilities. The school board is very mindful of the expenses faced by local parents in these times. For this reason, the project has been deliberately struc- tured to require only one single fun- draising event as well as to ensure that the school does not carry debt forward in the current environment.

“We are therefore urging individu- als in the parish and businesses serv- ing the community to get behind this event — buy a horse or a dog for €20 or sponsor a race for €100. We are urging people to assist in whatever way they can but most especially to come out on May 2 and have a great

night out at the races in Morty Kel- acne

Horses and race sponsorship can be secured by contacting Joe Saunders

(087 2502550), Liza O’ Connor (086 8033810), Joe Arkins (087 2902552) Ol ME TON OMEN elem) NaN eONIAetoe

FOUR petrol bombs and quantities of drugs have been seized by gardai, as part of a major investigation into a vicious feud between two Traveller families in Ennis.

The recovery of the items follows an ugly brawl in the Cloughleigh area of Ennis, in which a woman sustained a broken arm, while a man had his jaw broken.

Gardai fear that the feud – which is the latest in a number of Traveller rows to hit the town in recent years – will escalate further.

They are appealing to those in- volved to stop fighting and are con- cerned about the latest sinister twist in the feud.

Peace talks were due to take place in recent days, but gardai are con- tinuing to patrol the area, amid fears that further violence will break out.

WHATEVER the north Clare elec- torate has in store in 2009, it’s doubt- ful if it will be anything on to the dogfight in the constituency the last time around.

And, it was a dogfight that served up plenty of shocks and no little con- troversy in the scrap for the six avail- able seats.

The shock came by way of Fianna Fail councillor of 19 years and former chairman of the council, Michael Hillery, losing his seat.

Of course, it didn’t end there for the Hillery clan, another former chair- man Sean Hillery also lost his seat in the Shannon electoral area, mean- ing that there was no Hillery repre- sentation on Clare’s premier decision making body for the 2004-09 term of office.

Michael Hillery’s defeat wasn’t the only reverse for Fianna Fail in the ul- tra-competitive constituency — Tom Burke also lost his seat, meaning that two outgoing Fianna Fail councillors were the big losers as the party’s representation slipped from three to AYfOP

It wasn’t all bad for Fianna Fail though – Michael Kelly’s exhaustive canvass of the length and breadth of the constituency over a number of years saw the then 60-year-old win back the seat he lost in the 1999 elec- tion with a poll topping performance that made him one of the real Fianna Fail stars of the 2004 poll.

Fine Gael were also toasting a fa- mous victory – the party organisa- tion rolled back the years when win- ning two seats in north Clare for the first time since Bill Murphy TD and Jimmy O’Brien were returned in the 1967 election.

‘Our success was due to a hard and quality canvass of the total area and to having several committed and well motivated young people on our can- vassing teams. There’s no doubt that we were dealt a helping hand by the present government,’ Cllr Joe Arkins said after Fine Gael’s success.

“The Fine Gael organisation in north Clare have proved that it is possible to win two council seats by dedication and hard work and this certainly will be mirrored in the next General Election when Fine Gael will take two seats,’ added Cllr Arkins prophetically.

Fine Gael have been loath to make predictions about how they might fare this time around, but presum- ably they’re of the view that once more they’ll be “dealt a helping hand by the present government”.

“It was a dogfight for sure,” said Cllr Richard Nagle after being elected in 2004 without reaching the quota. The fifth and sixth seats were filled by Nagle and Martin Conway of Fine Gael.

This time around the seven de- clared candidates have only five seats to play for, something that could yet turn the constituency into another dogfight, even if it falls well short of the drama provided five years ago at the Colaiste Muire count centre in J Syayevise

CLARE’S Kieren Fallon has pledged to become champion jockey in Brit- ain once he returns from his 18- month suspension for testing positive for a banned substance after a race at Deauville in August 2007.

‘People can look at me whatever way they like, it won’t bother me,” a bullish Fallon said as he continued with track work at Newmarket for his former training boss Sir Michael Stoute.

“Tl re-establish myself when I get on the track by riding winners and if you ride winners, trainers want to use you. I’ve always liked a challenge and I set my targets high. I would love to get back riding 200 winners. I’ve done it three or four times on the trot and I found it easy. If I can get back riding that many winners in a season, I am going to be there with a shot of winning another champion- ship, which I think I’m capable of.

‘I’m relaxed, the cloud is gone and I’m just really looking forward to getting back. I’ve got a few months to go, but I think it will do me the world of good. I know I’II be a lot fit- ter when I get back riding than I ever was. It’s just a matter of time now before I can get back on and see if I can prove myself again, get the sup- port of trainers and their confidence back and kick on from there,’ Fallon added.

Fallon is recognised as the greatest flat jockey of his generation, having won six British championships, three Derbys and two Prix de |’Arc de Tri- omphes in a glittering career.

SEAMOUNT College in Kinvara is at the centre of a row which threat- ens to cause a Serious split in the Fine Gael party.

According to insider reports at the party national Ard Fheis in Dublin this weekend, an argument relating to promises made by party leader Enda Kenny in relation to the school, as well as the surprise announcement that former Progressive Democrat leader Ciaran Cannon would be join- ing the party, are at the centre of the spat.

The argument is reported to have started during a parliamentary party meeting which took place in Dublin last Tuesday, March 1. During the meeting, party leader Enda Kenny is reported to have exchanged heated words with south Galway TD Ulick Burke.

According to party insiders, Burke was unhappy with Cannon – who is currently a senator – being effective- ly announced as his running mate in the constituency for the next elec- tion without him being warned in BYORI DaGor

According to reports, the party leader is said to have become very angry when confronted by Deputy Burke and said he had “gone out on a {***ing limb for you” in the past.

The limb that the party leader was referring to was his personal backing for a campaign for the construction of a new school in Kinvara to replace

Seamount College, ahead of the last general election.

The party’s backing for the group to save Seamount College was one of the main issues in the south Gal- way area ahead of the last election and is credited with helping Burke, as well as party colleague Paul Con- naughton, get elected.

With the future of Seamount Col- lege still in doubt, the argument is likely to re-surface over the coming weeks and months.

Following an announcement in Jan- uary that the proposed new school in

Kinvara would be delayed as a result of the slowdown in the economy, the Sisters of Mercy, who own the land on which the school is built, threat- ened to pull the plug on their current deal with the Department of Agricul- Ub Ken

However, the religious Order has agreed to lease the land to the gov- ernment and is currently in discus- sions with the Department of Edu- cation on a number of outstanding conditions.

Meanwhile, Clare is now the most represented county on the National

Executive of the Fine Gael party, fol- lowing the successful election of Cllr Martin Conway and Leonora Carey, sister of Clare TD Joe Carey, to the national forum at the weekend’s Fine Gael Ard Fheis.