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SHERRY FitzGerald McMahon, have three superb family homes on their books in sought after residen- tial areas in Ennis, all priced under €210,000. These three properties have been greatly reduced in price, and represent exceptional value for money.

First up is No 36, An tSean Dun, this four bedroom property had been reduced in price by €62,000 and is now on the market at just €208,000.

An tSean Dun is located just off the Tulla Road, less than a few hundred metres from the Roslevan Shopping Centre, it is also very close to the En- nis By-Pass.

No 361s well situated within the de- velopment and is tastefully decorated to a good standard. The property of- fers very spacious, bright, well-pro- portioned family accommodation.

Features in this semi-detached home, include wooden _ floors throughout, red deal doors, skirting and architraves, a secure, walled-in, private rear garden with side access.

The accommodation comprises an entrance hall, living room, kitchen/

dining room, utility room, guest WC, all at ground floor level. Up- Stairs there are four bedrooms, one of which 1s en-suite, and there is also a well-fitted family bathroom.

No 15 Fergus Manor, on the market at €205,000, is a fantastic bargain. Fergus Manor is exceptionally well located just off Clonroad, approxi- mately 200 metres from Ennis Town Centre with generous open green ar- Cre

This low-density development is convenient to shops, schools, church- es and it is just a stone’s throw from Tesco, Dunnes Stores and Aldi. This is a three bedroomed semi-detached house, not overlooked to the rear that offers bright spacious family accom- modation and is in excellent condi- tion throughout.

There is a deck area to the rear, a walled-in garden, with a shed, and there 1s side access.

The house is extremely well main- tained. The bright,and the well-pre- sented accommodation consists of an entrance hall, guest WC, living room, kitchen/dining room, family bathroom and three bedrooms, one of which 1s en-suite.

Finally, located in Cappahard, off the Tulla Road, No 34 Fergus View, is a three-bedroomed (all en-suite) semi-detached property overlooking a large green area which fronts onto the River Fergus. The interior of this house has been finished to a high standard.

This property is presented for sale in excellent condition throughout. The accommodation is bright and well laid-out with modern internal finishes. It has gas fired central heat- ing, wooden flooring in the reception areas, a modern fitted kitchen and an attractive feature fireplace in the liv- ing room.

Within close proximity of the By- Pass, primary and secondary schools, shops and recreational facilities, this would make an ideal starter home or investment property.

Emmy dream will do for Cooke

GONE easier meee

CLARE tourism and development company Atlantis Developments Ltd racked up over €400,000 in losses for the year to the end of April last.

According to abridged accounts lodged with the Companies Office, Atlantis recorded a loss of €411,179 but as the information provided in abridged accounts do not show if this was an operating loss or as a result of an ongoing investment programme.

Managing Director, John Flana- gan declined to respond to emailed queries on the accounts preferring instead to arrange a meeting later this week to discuss the company’s operations. The other director named in the accounts is Gerard Lillis.

The accounts show that the com- pany has tangible assets valed at €2.68 million with net assets valed at £101,400.

There were accumulated profits of €512,577 in the company’s accounts in April 2007 and this dropped by over €400,000 to €101,398 by last April.

Since then, the economy has nose- dived, though it 1s not yet known what impact the onset of the recession has had on the company’s activities.

In recent years, Atlantis Develop- ment Ltd has been to the forefront of new tourism related developments in

north Clare and has run into opposi- tion from local residents for its plans in Liscannor and Doolin.

Next month, Clare County Council is due to rule on the company’s lat- est plan to construct five homes at Doolin along with outline planning permission for a supermarket, créche and medical centre.

A decision is also due shortly by An Bord Pleanala for plans for a park n’ ride facility to serve the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre at Liscannor and Doolin. Clare County Council granted planning permission to the developments last September but lo- cal residents have since lodged an ap-

peal to An Bord Pleanala.

The company is also awaiting a decision from An Bord Pleandala con- cerning the redevelopment of Joseph McHugh’s pub and Egan’s pub on Liscannor’s Main Street, which also ran into local opposition.

Atlantis was refused planning per- mission last August for a retirement home in Doolin, but was granted planning permission for a 20-bed- room extension to the Tirganean ho- oe

Elsewhere in north Clare, the com- pany is awaiting planning permission on a 55 home development in En- nistymon and a decision in relation

to the development of four homes in Doolin.

It is not known how much the ac- counts relate to existing businesses within the Atlantis Holiday Group such as the Smerwick Harbour Hotel in Dingle, County Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher Hotel in Liscannor and Ballyvara House in Doolin.

John Flanagan has also recently secured planning permission for the redevelopment of Ballykilty Manor near Quin to construct a hotel on the site.

THREE Clare-based organisations claimed three of the top prizes at the National Glor na nGael awards in Donegal at the weekend.

The Ennis-based An Clar as Gaeilge was awarded third place at the ceremony in Gaoth Dobhair.

The Shannon-based Club na Sionna Irish language group won the Herit- age Council Award while local sta- tion Clare FM won the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland award for the local commercial radio station that best promoted Irish in its broadcast- ing schedule.

Speaking after the presenta- tion, Breandan MacFhionnghaile, Oifigeach Forbartha An Clar as Gaeilge Teo, which co-ordinates the competition in Ennis, said that the award was a reflection of the work that was being done to promote Irish as part of everyday life.

“The response from so many com- munity groups and statutory organi- sation has been so positive and this reflects in the success we have had in the national competition in recent years” he said. “It 1s a tribute to the hard work of the many groups that are affiliated to and support the En- nis Glor na nGael Committee, this is a true community award,’ he con- LiKe (ere

The award for An Clar as Gaeilge caps a busy month for the organisa- tion and comes two years after it won the overall Glor na nGael national AMEN KOE

Seachtain na Gaeilge, which was launched back on March 2, was ex- tended to the end of the month to take in the Féile na hInse prizewin- ners concert, which was held in Cois na hAbhna on Sunday night last.

Club na Sionna won a Heritage Council Award worth €1,500 in recognition of the committee’s work on place-names and its publication ‘Know Your Place’, which has been so popular that it is now on its third print run.

The awards were presented jointly by Liam O Maolmhichil and Liam O Cuinneagain, Cathaoirligh of Foras na Gaeilge and Udaras na Gaeltachta respectively.

Speaking at the event, Glor na nGael director, Lorcan Mac Gabhann said, “I want to congratulate Club na Sion- na on receiving their award tonight –

a great recognition for the committee and for Shannon.”

Paul Moriarty, Controller of Pro- grammes in Clare FM, said he was proud to accept the BCI Award on behalf of the radio station.

“All the staff, in both management and presentation, worked hard togeth- er to achieve this award and it shows how a co-ordinated approach can be so successful and this is something we will continue to develop within Clare FM,” he said.

CLARE’S impressive start to the year finally reaped the deserved re- wards on Sunday but they had to dig deep before finally claiming their first points of the campaign. Admi- rable displays against Tipperary and Kilkenny yielded only moral victo- ries but this time, their hard work and perseverance paid off with a confidence-boosting win ahead of their senior championship return.

Far from being comfortable though, Clare’s good work in build- ing up a five point advantage by the 49th minute was almost undone in the final moments but a combina- tion of stubborn defending and some inspired goalkeeping from Denise Lynch meant that Clare held on for the narrowest of victories.

With neither side picking up any points in their opening two games, both sides would have fancied their chances of taking all the points here and it was Dublin who started bet- ter with Sarah Ryan having the ball in Clare’s net as early as the second minute.

It took six minutes for Clare to fi- nally get off the mark when the lively Carina Roseingrave palmed a point but it was cancelled out almost im- mediately by Alison Maguire and despite playing into the conditions, Dublin appeared sharper.

Clare though, true to recent form, finally settled and holding their op- ponents scoreless for the next 22 minutes, they hit 1-3 without reply with Claire Commane grabbing the

goal and Shonagh Enright, Carina Roseingrave and Sharon O’Loughlin adding points. It could have been more only for Dublin goalkeeper Eimear Butler, who produced an ex- cellent save to deny Deirdre Murphy in the 16th minute as Clare led by 1-4

to 1-2 at the break.

GENK cicoms re) asrureUhaptiMss(omelu hie ing seat but on the restart, three wides in aS many minutes frustrated them and gave Dublin hope, espe- cially when Joeleen Hoary pointed for in the 32nd minute. In a see-saw

period, a brace of points from Sha- ron McMahon sandwiched another Hoary score and goalkeeper Butler also denied Carina Roseingrave be- fore Shonagh Enright pushed Clare three points clear with a free at the turn of the final quarter.

Debutant Rachel Costelloe did reply with a point but Clare got a signifi- cant shot in the arm when a defensive lapse saw Carina Roseingrave pick up the break and grab a goal and now five clear with only eleven minutes remaining, Clare looked to be head- ing for a comfortable victory.

Instead, Clare failed to register an- other score as Dublin hit them with everything in their armory for the remainder. In the 54th minute, Clare had to twice clear off the line after a Niamh Taylor long free was dropped into the square but the Dubs finally made the breakthrough when Anne Griffin offloaded to Alison Maguire who made no mistake with a shot to the Clare net.

Clare were beginning to creak for the first time and Amy Murphy al- most took full advantage but Den- ise Lynch stood up to the effort to maintain Clare’s slender two point lead. Unperturbed by that set-back, Dublin continued to lay siege on the Clare goal and it almost earned them a full reprieve when Alison Maguire was brought down for an injury time penalty but Ciara Lucey’s effort was saved for a “45. Lucey did point in the 63rd minute but time was against them and a thoroughly relieved Clare held on for the one point victory.

While there were no knock-out

places at stake, it was still a signifi- cant result as a third successive defeat could have been a real set-back for Bertie Sherlock’s side. However, hav- ing ground out a much needed win, Clare can now approach the champi- onship with optimism and won’t be overawed by the tough challenges of last year’s All-Ireland senior finalists Galway, Limerick and Wexford.

KILMALEY are back in the final for the second successive year after finally seeing off the challenge of Whitegate on Saturday. However, in what was a repeat of last year’s semi- final, Kilmaley never had it easy and indeed were four points down mid- way through the second half after Michael Dooley had goaled for the east Clare side.

That Kilmaley finally prevailed was down to the contribution of Daire Keane, who for the second consecutive game, was inspirational for his side and managed to notch up 2-6 over the hour. With White- gate having the aid of the breeze in the first half, it took a spectacular Keane goal to pull his side level at 1- 3 to 0-6 at the break and again when things were looking bleak for Kilma- ley in the second half, he was there

again to flick to the net after getting on the end of a sideline cut into the area. That goal pushed Kilmaley two points ahead and further points from Eoin O’Malley and Michael O’Neill cemented the win and earned them a place in this year’s decider.

SCARIFF is expected to have a 24-hour ambulance service by next Monday. As the county loses its 24- hour A&E services, it is expected to gain a round-the-clock ambulance service for the east of the county.

According to Fianna Fail TD Tim- my Dooley, the long awaited 24-hour service is imminent. “I have consist- ently sought to have the service level upgraded to 24-hour-a-day service thereby eliminating the lack of cover from 7pm to midnight each day.

“Following protracted negotiation with the HSE and the Minister for Health, I am confident the service will be upgraded by April 6 as part of the increased deployment of am- bulance personnel in Clare,’ he said.

The purpose-built, state-of-the- art station in Scariff was opened in 2003, but since then it has opened for just 19 hours a day.

From 7pm to 12 midnight, the sta- tion closes. A series of campaigns lo- cally have been calling for the station to be open all night and all day.

Deputy Dooley said the upgrade of the station to 24 hours a day has come about thanks to the hard work of the HSE, the Minister for Health and the ambulance personnel. “It will take a lot of resources to bring the 24-7 service into place,” he said.

The east Clare deputy said, how- ever, that there will be “an element of on-call facilities” used to keep the service open 24 hours a day.

“This is a result of protracted dis- cussions for some time. A great debt of gratitude is owed to the local cam- paign group that worked so hard, and I would like to compliment Cora Long and her campaign members for their efforts.”

The Scariff ambulance serves a catchment area of 601 square kilo- metres, and a population of 9,220.

CLARE could be one of the first lo- cations penciled in on US president Barack Obama’s itinerary should his much proposed visit to Ireland come to pass next year.

This follows the surprise appoint- ment of Dan Rooney (pictured below with President Obama) as US Ambas- sador to Ireland by President Obama last week. Rooney, a long-time sup- porter of the president, has strong Clare connections and visits the area on a regular basis. Indeed, the ambas- sador’s brother Pat has owned a house on the Liscannor Road in Lahinch for more than a decade and currently rents a property in Ennistymon. So close is the Rooney family’s link to north Clare that they hosted a pre-wedding dinner for the ambassador’s niece in a local restaurant two years ago.

Dan Rooney is the owner and chair- man of the Pittsburgh Steelers foot- ball team in America. He 1s also the co-founder of the Worldwide Ireland Funds, which has raised millions for education programs in Ireland.

A spokesperson from the American Embassy in Dublin would not confirm any details of Mr Rooney’s appoint- ment or a possible visit by President Obama to Clare until after the ambas- sador is officially received by Irish President Mary McAleese.

Cannabis seizures rise in Clare