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ROCK Rovers advanced to the quar- ter finals of the Clare Cup after a penalty shoot out victory over Bridge United A on Sunday.

After defeating clubmates Bridge B on penalities in the previous round, it looked for a while on Sunday that Bridge A would prevail yet again.

Bridge goalie Paul Tuohy produced two good saves to keep out penalties from Barry Woods and Brian Fitz- patrick.

But Bridge were having troubles of their from the spot with Greg Deegan and Gary Kelly missing their efforts.

After Francis Daniels converted Rock’s seventh penalty, goalkeeper Leonard Keane saved from John Ke- ogh to ensure a sudden death victory for Rock

Premier league Bridge got of to a quicker start but it was their first di- vision opponents who made the best of the early chances.

Niall McNiven did well to hold possession on the left before a firing a dangerous cross to the back post where Roan Eade smashed a half volley against a Bridge defender.

At the other end for Bridge Derek Fahy and Trevor Maxwell linked well and provided a useful outlet on the flanks.

Rock’s spluttering first half display owed more to a lack of composure at critical moments rather than a lack of effort. With half time approach- ing, the visitors started to find some oy oTeeN ba teace

Glynn glided past two players in midfield and drilled a low shot that

Tuohy did well to hold.

Bridge came out after half time playing with renewed effort and de- termination and dominated the early

Stages.

Despite pushing Rock back inside their half, Bridge lacked the killer in- stinct near goal. Barry Downes came

closest when he drove through the

middle but had his shot blocked. With Luke Coote mopping up at

the back momentum gradually shift-

ed back in Rock’s favour. Fullbacks Greg Howard and Barry Woods ex- celled during this period.

Howard linked well with McNiven in the 72nd minute but saw his low centre cleared.

Referee Julian Stanford blew the final whistle with the sides level at 0-0. Rock had the best chance to win it in extra time when McNiven teed up Glynn who had his shot from four yards well saved by Tuohy.

It was time for penalties. Howard, Stephen Hickey, Dean Gardiner, Daniels and McNiven converted for Rock. Fahy, Gavin Downes and Billy Maxwell were equally composed for Bridge. Keane denied Kelly to keep Rock’s cup bid on track.

FIANNA Fail has announced the selection of a third candidate for the Ennis West electoral area.

Tom McNamara (56) from Kil- maley has joined Councillor Peter Considine and Garrett Greene in the line-up for the county council elec- tion.

Tom is a first time candidate who is a retired assistant director of nursing

with Clare Mental Health Services. He has been extremely active in the community in Kilmaley, helping to form the Kilmaley Development As- sociation ‘Meitheal’ in 1995, a body which he chaired for 12 years.

Tom believed it was necessary to form the association to provide a voice for the people of Kilmaley as they had no local representation on Clare County Council at the time. The purpose of Meitheal was to pro-

vide an outlet for the people of the parish to take control of their lives and make improvements for the local community. Over the years Meitheal and Tom have been very successful in achieving this goal, building 12 houses for the elderly of the parish along with a day centre that acco- modates 25 people a day, four days a week. They have also set up a FAS scheme which has helped to tidy the area, mending walls and footpaths,

as well as organising CPR training for 35 people and installing two defi- brillators in the parish.

Tom has also co-ordinated the in- stallation of a radio communication to help broadcast Mass to the elderly of the parish. He also chairs the field development committee for Kilma- ley GAA which is looking to secure two hurling fields for the centre of Kilmaley and has successfully raised €200,000 for this purpose to date.

COROFIN had a look of resignation about them as they trooped towards the sideline after 110 minutes of ac- tion in which they pummeled Her- mitage, but failed to close out the game in regulation time.

The “Tage knew they’d got out of jail, when the combination of a stout defence and the brilliance of David Phillips in goal kept the Corofin tidal wave at bay.

And, it was as if getting to a penalty shoot-out was such a relief that they were unburdened by the prospect of the Russian roulette-style end to pro- oreTere nba eace

It certainly showed in the shoot-out that followed – all four of the “Tage’s takers who stepped up to the plate drove the ball home with conviction, while Corofin could only muster one goal from three attempts.

It left the “Tage celebrating and Corofin regretting once more where it all went wrong in normal time. De- spite going behind to a Paul Dulla- ghan goal after 30 minutes, Corofin were the dominant team over the 90 minutes, pepparing shots at David Phillips’ goal from start to finish.

On another day they could have got six, but on a day that effectively signalled the end of their season the two-time champions from 2005 and ‘(06 were left to rue what could and should have been.

Credit the “Tage though – they played an enterprising game and with Gerry Dullaghan influential from the word go they weren’t afraid to take the game to their Premier Division Opponents.

Indeed it was Dullaghan who near- ly produced the opening goal in the 20th minute when his sweetly struck left-footed drive was tipped over the bar by Fergal Neylon.

However, Neylon could do little to prevent the other Dullaghan in the *Tage’s ranks, Paul, from break- ing the deadlock. Latching on to a through ball from Sean McGee, he

rounded Neylon and thumped the ball into the empty net.

It’s not that the “Tage tried to lock the shop for the remaining 60 min- utes, but such was the dominance of Corofin the visitors camped in defen- sive mode thereafter.

Jonathon Clohessy’s thundering half-volley from outside the area on 35 minutes was brilliantly touched

on to the crossbar by Phillips.

Then the real siege began in the second half. Eleven minutes in Clohessy’s free whistled over the top, while five minutes later John Keane forced another fine save out of Philips.

The equaliser came in the /7Ist minute when David O’Brien drove the ball home from eight yards after Paul Linnane’s corner. The Harps should have closed it out before full- time, but spurned half a dozen decent chances – Noel Mullane’s glancing header that just went wide in the 85th minute was the pick of them.

Then after an uneventful extra-time came penalties. Gerry Dullaghan, Thomas Leahy, Paul Dullaghan and Donal Harnett scored for the “Tage; John Keane was the Harps’ only scorer while David O’Brien and Ja- son Tierney missed.

A MAN whoarrived into court drunk and repeatedly interrupted the judge has been sent to prison for a week. Daniel Higgins (50), of Woodgrove, Cloughleigh, Ennis, was before En-

nis District Court on Friday, where he faced motoring charges.

After speaking loudly from the back of the courtroom while anoth- er case was being dealt with, Judge Joseph Mangan asked was Higgins intoxicated and was told by a garda

that he was.

The judge warned Higgins not to disrupt the court again and said he would find him in contempt if he did not desist.

A few minutes later, Higgins again interrupted, asking the judge, “Are

you going to deal with my case now’? All ‘m up for is driving the car. I was insured.”

Judge Mangan said, “I find you’re in contempt of court, the reason be- ing arriving in court intoxicated and persistently interrupting the court.”

He asked him did he want an op- portunity to purge his contempt and Higgins then apologised and was told to “sit down quietly”’.

However, moments later, he again interrupted, and was jailed for seven CRASS

BEFORE the game, Clare manager Bertie Sherlock probably would have gladly taken a six point reversal. Af- ter all, Kilkenny were the defending league champions and have captured three successive Minor A titles so the Toomevara native would have feared what a sizeable defeat could do to his fledging senior side.

In hindsight though, when pick- ing through the bones of the game, Clare will feel disappointed that they weren’t closer at the final whistle. For almost forty minutes, Clare more than matched the favourites and in- deed were 0-8 to O-5 ahead by the 36th minute, a healthy position that few could have predicted before the game.

However, Kilkenny’s experience fi- nally told and stretching their wings, they hit nine unanswered points in thirteen minutes to kill off any hint of an upset and although Clare brave- ly fought on, a 52nd minute Deirdre Delaney goal from distance finally put the final nail in Clare’s coffin.

It’s a shame really as for the second Successive week, Clare made their massive leap from junior to senior look relatively seamless. And also similar to the Tipperary game, they were level at O-5 to O-5 at the break and in fact, started the better with Deridre Murphy and Roisin McMa- hon putting Clare two points clear. McMahon’s unerring freetaking was the most pleasing aspect of this latest

Clare display, hitting nine points in total in an impressive performance.

Ann Dalton was equally as efficient from placed balls for Kilkenny and the two traded scores four times in the opening half to send the sides in level at the break.

Just as in the intermediate game, Clare used a third midfielder to pack up the centre and allow space inside for their two player full-forward line of Carina Roseingrave and Sharon O’Loughlin but that tactic only par- tially worked as Clare naively hit clearances straight down the centre to the unmarked Kelly Ann Cotterill at full-back. In fact, that tactic was actually to come back to haunt Clare

in the second half after Roising Mc- Mahon (2) and Ruth Kaiser had put Clare 0-8 to Q-5 in front.

Kilkenny copied Clare by bring- ing out Katie Power to the centre and with Clare unable to get the ball past half-way for the next fifteen minutes, Kilkenny overran Clare with nine consecutive scores, five from the stick of Dalton. At 0-14 to 0-8, Clare now needed a goal if they were to mount any sort of a fightback but similar to Sharon O’Loughlin’s first half ef- fort, a Deidre Muphy aerial double was not enough to beat the inspired Catriona Ryan in the Kilkenny goal. Instead it was Kilkenny who got the vital goal and it was a soft one re-

ally as Deirdre Delaney’s shot from distance was miscontrolled by goal- keeper Lynch. Roisin McMahon did reply with three frees but they were only consolation scores really and Kilkenny swiftly moved to the top of the group table with their second successive victory. Two encouraging displays for Clare but ultimately no points so far. Their game against the Dubs on the 29th will tell a lot more of what Clare have learned so far in their senior adventure.

PLEAS are being made in the Dail to extend time for tourism projects ap- plying for financial aid because the investors are being frozen out in the credit crunch.

Up to 30 schemes seeking tax breaks under the Mid-Shannon Tour- ism Investment Scheme were to have their applications completed by June 1 of this year.

But the credit squeeze means that most of those schemes cannot guar- antee their end of the funding, rul- ing them out of applying for the tax relief which has been built into their

oF Nerv E-haloyetcy

The Dail heard from Fine Gael TDs and senators in the mid-west that in- vestors are being hit in relation to their applications by the paralysis in the lending system.

The financial support announced in the 2007 budget was to provide tax breaks spread over seven years for new and refurbished tourism facili- ties other than accommodation.

It has been delayed for most of a year, going through the vetting proc- ess necessary with the EU.

Deputy Pat Breen (FG) said it was ‘‘a major blow for those caught in the situation. It is lunacy to jeopardise

projects like these which have the potential to create jobs in an eco- nomic crisis.”

The threat to the tourism projects 1s the second to emerge in recent times in relation to tourism earnings from Lough Derg.

East Clare’s most important source of income – tourism – could be seri- ously compromised if plans go ahead to take millions of litres of water out of the Shannon and Lough Derg to feed Dublin’s needs.

A presentation by Dublin City Council’s consultants on the pro- posed project did nothing to calm fears in the mid-west about plans to

drain 340 million litres of water a day out of the Shannon system.

The extra water is needed to meet the projected demand from Dublin up to 2031 and beyond.

Local representatives, ecologists, fisheries groups and the ESB have all added their voices to the concerns being expressed about the project.

“We don’t have anything like enough information about the im- pact which this could have on our water-ways,” said Killaloe council- lor, Tony O’Brien.

BEATING Kilkenny at any level is a memorable feat. Beating the cur- rent All-Ireland intermediate cham- pions Kilkenny in only their second game therefore has to go down as a momentous achievement and finally gives the management, players and even the county board justification for their forward planning of enter- ing a second team.

This was as good and surprisingly comfortable as it 1s every going to get for Clare’s second string. Last time out, they perhaps lacked some leadership as Tipperary eased to a seven point victory but that fraility was rectified on Sunday with the in- troduction of six new starters. Carol O’Leary, Aiveen O’Shea, Niamh Corry, Louise Hayes, Aine O’Brien, Chloe Morey and Roisin O’Brien were all brought in to add more ex- perience and balance to the side and it certainly had the desired effect as Clare were far superior and sharp- er than their Leinster opponents throughout.

Chloe Morey, who was playing her second game in as many days, was utilised as a third midfielder and along with partners Louise Hayes

and Niamh Corry, Clare really con- trolled this tie. Another highlight was the performance of Carol Kaiser who really began to come into her own when switched to centre-back to curtail Kilkenny’s playmaker Eileen Fitzpatrick, who had got Kilkenny’s only score of the game in the 34th minute.

Aside from that scare, it was a straightforward stroll to victory as Kilkenny’s expected fightback never really materialised. Clare can only beat what’s put in front of them though and really that fear of a Kil- kenny recovery benfitted Clare who remained focused right up to the fi- nal whistle.

Clare were 0-6 to 0-0 ahead at the break, taking advantage of a slight breeze that blew towards Limerick. Danielle Sheedy opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a free and inadvertently turned provider for the second, sending in another long free that was batted by goalkeeper Siob- han Murphy to Roisin O’Brien who continued her impressive scoring run with a point. In all, the Ogonnelloe player hit four points of Clare’s to- tal, making her Clare’s only scorer from play in the league so far with Six points.

Danielle Sheedy almost secured a goal for her side in the 10th minute when she caught a Niamh Corry pass over the top of the Kilkenny defence and took on her marker before un- leashing a shot but it was saved by Murphy for a *45 that Chloe Morey converted.

Kilkenny did have their fair share of possession but a lack of a reliable freetaker and some aimless shooting frustrated them in their endeavours. Instead, Clare kept plugging away and frees from Morey, Sheedy and an injury time point from O’Brien eased Clare to a six point half-time lead.

The only real tension for Clare came four minutes after half-time when a revitalised Kilkenny attempted to grab a lifeline. Three early wides were eventually made up for when Niamh Byrne’s shot was saved by Denise Lynch and Eileen Fitzpatrick was on hand to hit the rebound to the am

Fitzpatrick was by now starting to pull the strings for the Leinster side and had another shot on goal in the 38th minute but this time Lynch was equal to the effort. It caused Clare to switch Carol Kaiser to centre-back and it proved to be the turning point

of the game as the Newmarket player nullified her threat for the remain- der.

From that point on, Clare gradually regained their confidence and the trio of Chloe Morey (2), Roisin O’Brien (2) and Danielle Sheedy were again on target as Clare eased up to victo- ry. A significant result that will give Clare great confidence for the rest of the campaign.

THE winter vomiting bug has closed a third-level facility in the mid-west for almost a week.

Last week, a number of students presented themselves to the Med1i- cal Centre at Mary Immaculate Col- lege with gastric flu-like symptoms including diarrhoea and vomiting. The college immediately contacted the HSE who, following their inves- tigations, have confirmed seven in- dividual cases of norovirus (winter vomiting bug) amongst the students.

The college, in consultation with the HSE, moved to control the out- break last Wednesday, suspending all college activities in order to facilitate the intensive cleaning and sanitisa- tion of the campus to prevent a sec- ondary introduction of the virus.

The college expressed their grati- tude to the HSE for the “swift and professional manner in which they dealt with this matter and thanked them for their advice and _ assist- _N Nome

The college will re-open today but student activities, including lectures and tutorials, are postponed until 9am on Wednesday, March 18.

The HSE said that “preliminary results of their investigations sug-

gested that the outbreak of gastroen- teritis at Mary Immaculate College was caused by norovirus, the source of which has not been identified. Precautionary measures are being implemented by Mary Immaculate College to minimise the risk of fur- ther transmission.”

Norovirus is often known as ‘win- ter vomiting disease’. Outbreaks af- fecting hundreds of people have been reported. Cases occur in all seasons although it is true that there is an in- crease in winter.

The illness characteristically starts with the sudden onset of severe and dramatic vomiting. This can occur with such force that it is termed “pro- jectile”. The virus is so small that there are millions of them in parti- cles of vomit which can be widely dispersed in an area.

“Tt is vitally important to clean a very wide area when cleaning up after a person who has vomited,’ a spokes- woman for the HSE said. Some peo- ple also develop diarrhoea.”

In general, the symptoms usually last for about 24 to 36 hours after which the person feels washed out for a day or so. There are no long- term effects of norovirus infection and, even in the frail or elderly, eve- ryone makes a full recovery.

TAKING the medical card office out of Ennis will destroy the flexibility of the service and could leave many people who are entitled to medi- cal cards without them, it has been warned.

The Health Service Executive has announced that it is to close the medical cards office in the Sandfield Centre in Ennis, where 11 staff are currently employed.

The service will be centralised in Dublin as part of the HSE’s plan to Am eKe ys ASF

But Ennis councillor Joe Arkins, has warned that centralising the

service in Ennis will take away vital flexibility.

‘‘A person may be over the earnings limit for a medical card but they may still qualify. If someone lives in Mul- lagh and drives to Ennis to work, that is the kind of thing that can be taken into consideration and that takes lo- cal knowledge. We now have to try to translate that information to some- one in an office in Dublin. It won’t work,” the councillor said.

STAs Cima sc bunce mm sit mmenomm Els. ibility of the service will be seriously WOK oee

‘At present you can go to the office in Ennis, outline your circumstances and have an emergency medical card

in a matter of hours. That will be gone. This is a totally retrograde step and flies in the face of the Govern- ment’s decentralisation policy.”

The decision comes following a stark warning from the head of the HSE, Professor Brendan Drumm, that required cost-cutting measures will soon begin to impact on front- line health services.

11 staff are employed in medical card and drug payment services at the Sandfield centre which is one of 32 offices across the country.

The jobs in Ennis and other centres are now under threat following con- firmation from the HSE that it plans to centralise primary care re-im-

bursement services to Dublin to save €10 million a year with temporary staff to be made redundant and other staff redeployed to other jobs.

Staff in Ennis say they are also concerned about the loss of personal contact with members of the public and IMPACT union spokeswoman for Clare Sinead Wynne said there is more than administration services being lost.

Ennis staff are now looking to their union to open negotiations with the HSE in a bid to reverse the plans and IMPACT has called on the public to support it’s members “before the people of Clare lose another impor- tant service”.

EVEN the weather was kind for the launch last week of the first currach to be made in Quilty in 32 years.

After day of rain and high winds, the skies cleared for enough time for the craft to take to the waters.

Ten members of Quilty Currach Club built the boat from scratch.

It was built under the supervision of boat-builder James Madigan and erant-aided by the Clare VEC.

It was launched at Seafield pier and

blessed by Fr Pat Larkin.

“Thirty-two years ago, the late Austin Boyle – better known as Au- tie – built the last currach, which was later shipped to Chicago and today hangs on display in Fado’s Irish pub, which is owned by a Limerick man,” explained currach club member, Ter- esa Egan.

The only woman to work on the building of the boat, Teresa traced the last currach built to Chicago.

‘“Autie’s son, also called Austin, worked on building this currach, so

the skill has gone to the second gen- eration now,” she said.

The Quilty area was once a strong- hold of the currach. In the 1940s, the boats were used for drift-net fishing for mackerel and herring.

The sea gave work of other kinds as well. In the 1960s there was a sea- weed factory in Kilrush and Galway and the walls at Seafield were always covered in seaweed drying in the Oeone-te

“In the mid ‘20s there were 50 cur- rachs in the area of Quilty and each

currach was named after a saint,” said Teresa. ““We don’t have a name for our currach yet. We still have to decide,’ she added.

Now the club are in training to row in the upcoming regattas.

The currach’s first venture out to sea will be in a charity row from Kilrush to Carrigaholt on Saturday, March 14.