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ENNIS rugby club now have the big guns in their sight. Having travelled to a drenched Newport pitch over the weekend, missing a number of key personnel and having not played since the beginning of January, the odds might have been against an En- nis win, but a disciplined perform- ance saw them overcome Newport.

It sets up a mouth-watering meet- ing with UL Bohemian — one of the favourites to take the Munster Junior Cup — at the beginning of March.

Crucially, the game is to be played at The Showgrounds in Ennis, giv- ing the Clare side a decent chance of causing a significant upset and mak- ing it to the quarter-final stage of the competition.

“IT was anxious enough about the Newport game, simply because play- ers might have been rusty after the few weeks lay off,’ said Ennis coach Richie Murphy

A SERIOUS incident involving an aircraft carrying US military per- sonnel from Shannon Airport to the US has been blamed on improper TPOT-BDOURoAT-N Aeon

It was discovered that three small parts were missing from the jets horizontal stabilizer which malfunc- tioned in flight.

The incident occurred on May 2, 2007 when an Omni Air Internation- al DC10-30 jet experienced the mal-

function of its horizontal stabilizer causing the nose to pitch downwards “ageressively”’.

The jet had commenced its descent in to Atlanta International Airport when the incident occurred.

The flight had left Shannon Airport at 3.30am en route to Atlanta on a non-scheduled passenger flight for the US Government.

The jet was operating under con- tract to the US Air Mobility Com- mand and was carrying 306 people including 294 US military person-

nel.

The captain told investigators that while flying at 13,000 feet and de- celerating to 250 knots, the autopilot out of trim light uluminated and re- mained on for five to six seconds.

The autopilot was then disengaged while the flight controls were guarded in anticipation of a change in pitch.

The official investigation carried out by National Transportation Safe- ty Board (NTSB) in the US and just published, has stated that as a result of the malfunction of the horizontal

stabilizer, the airplane pitched “ag- gressively” nose down and that a “demanding amount of elevator back pressure was required to maintain level flight’.

The captain declared an emergen- os The NTSB investigation concluded, “The omission of the parts resulted in fatigue failure of another pin and shear failure of the single installed pin. This prevented output of the horizontal stabilizer drive assembly being transmitted to acme screws of

the horizontal stabilizer (tail plane),” the report states.

The probe also established that the horizontal stabilizer drive assembly was overhauled on April 30, 1999 and installed in the airplane on April 23 2006.

The airplane had accumulated 2,421 hours and 473 cycles since the overhauled assembly was installed however no write-ups regarding the stabilizer trim had been made by crew members of flights during the ORO erO UNI TARO OE RAE

AN American businesswoman has do- nated money to help fund this year’s Russell Weekend of traditional music in Doolin. Details of the 15th annual festival, which takes place later this month, were announced yesterday, with the best of local music talent al- ready lined up to take part.

The donation came from Boston woman Denise von Mering, whose grandfather Thomas Joseph Shannon was born in Doolin and was a close neighbour of the Russell family.

Denise has made the donation in his memory and to help enhance and promote the traditional musical herit- age of Doolin.

“IT am drawn to Clare, to the place of story, song and dance that my grandfather spoke of so fondly,” said Ms Von Mering.

“T loved my grandfather very much and knew him well, but it wasn’t un- til I went to Doolin and experienced the Micho Festival that I realised who he really was, how the music and the landscape had defined him and kept a part of him wild and free to the end of his days.

“I know that he would be delighted to think that, in some small way, he was still a part of the musical herit- age in Doolin.”

This year’s festival runs from Feb- ruary 20 to 23, with one of the main highlights, the Russell Concert tak- ing place on the afternoon of Satur- day, February 21.

This year, the concert features Liadan as well as an impressive line-up of local musicians, includ- ing The Fiddle Case (Eoin O’ Neill; Quentin Cooper; Eimer Howley and Jon O’Connell); Seoda (lan Keane and friends); Michael Hynes, Den- nis Liddy and Jack Talty; Terry Bingham, Yvonne Casey, Adam and Dave Shapiro; Paddy Neylon; Aidan Vaughan and Pat Costello.

On Sunday, February 22 at lpm the Anniversary Remembrance Mass for the Russells will take place at Doo- lin Church to the accompaniment of hymns and songs from the Doolin

church choir. It will be followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Rus- sell grave, with songs of farewell and tunes in memory of the dead.

Full details of the _ festi- val are available by e-mailing info@michorussellweekend.ie, call- ing 065 7074595 or by logging onto www.michorussellweekend.ie

STRATEGIES for taxi services in Ennis should be designed by Ennis Town Council and not by taxi driv- ers, a meeting has heard.

Councillor Frankie Neylon (Ind) told yesterday’s monthly meeting of Ennis Town Council that the initia- tive for developing new and addition- al taxi ranks had to come from the local authority.

‘I don’t know do we want taxi driv- ers to make decisions on taxi ranks in the town. When we moved the rank we discussed it all extensively with the drivers and traders in Par- nell Street,’ said Cllr Neylon.

He added, “I’d like to see the design

done by the designers and not by the taxi drivers. If it was up to the taxi drivers, they’d probably have a little space set aside for a blanket to lie down on.”

Mayor of Ennis Peter Considine said the council had enjoyed a strong partnership with taxi drivers and their representatives.

Cllr Neylon said that when work in the Parnell Street car park was complete taxi drivers would be “de- lighted”’.

Members were discussing a motion put forward by Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) calling for the council to “ur- gently prepare a taxi rank strategy for Ennis”.

In response, Town Clerk Eddie

Power said an assessment on the pro- vision of part-time/night-time ranks in key locations in Ennis was cur- rently being carried out.

He added, “It 1s not intended to reduce the capacity of the taxi rank in Parnell Street car park, nor it is proposed to revise or alter its payout. You will be aware that the designa- tion and provision of the taxi rank in this location was considered to be the optimum location and was subject to two public consultation processes. The process of adopting byelaws to designate the taxi rank involved pub- lic consultation and furthermore the physical works were also subject to public consultation in accordance with Part VIII of the planning and

development regulations.”

Mr Power said, “Consideration of designating additional permanent full-time ranks will take place at a later stage following completion of the assessment.”

Town Manager Tom Coughlan said that it was his understanding that matters related to taxi services had been dealt with at the council’s an- LUE Melb Cohe

POTENTIAL problems facing the Clare workforce are visible in a new Oireachtais Report.

Contained in the Constituency Pro- file of Clare is the fact that in 2006 the share of people in the county employed in manufacturing and con- struction was higher then the nation- al average.

As both industries come under sev- er pressure, these statistics must be ringing alarm bells for local politi- Ee

The Dail Constituency Profiles

compiled by the Oireachtais Library and Research Service using infor- mation gleaned from the 2006 cen- sus, showed that 13.8 per cent of the Clare work force was in manufac- turing, with a further 9.4 per cent in construction and building. Despite securing the ‘Telecom Eireann information age town in 1997, which included a £15 million investment and a promise that virtu- ally every home and business in the county town would receive a person- al computer with e-mail and internet access, County Clare households are less likely to have broadband Internet access than households nationally.

Households in Clare are close to the national average in terms of PC own- ership and access to the Internet.

However, this Internet access 1s much less likely to be via broadband as just 13.4 per cent of households in Clare had broadband Internet access compared with 20 per cent for the

State as a whole in 2006.

People in Clare are more likely to volunteer than individuals national- ly. Clare men in particular are more likely to volunteer to sport organisa- tions.

In Clare 15,590 people aged 15 years and older volunteer for at least

one activity. Nationally 16.4 per cent of people volunteer in some way, but this figure is 18.8 in the Banner county.

The age profile in Clare is more balanced than nationally with the share of O to 19 year olds and 20 to 39 year olds in the population quite

close together in contrast to the na- tional situation.

The profiles in the report, provide an insight into the social, cultural, and economic differences of the country’s 43 electoral constituencies.

By including data on key metrics such as nationality, education, em-

ployment, housing and demographics the profiles offer a detailed picture of the distinct make-up and traits of each constituency.

CLARE County Council has ap- pointed a new senior planner to its planning department. Tuamgraney man, Gordon Daly takes up the posi- tion this week having come from his post as Senior Planner with Offaly County Council. Js Comce)(e!

DUTCH-born artist Trudi Van der Elsen has taken the position of di- rector of the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon. Trudi, who is based in Kildysert, took over the reins at the gallery from previous director Maria Kerin late last month.

Having worked extensively across Europe and in Canada, Trudi is hop- ing to bring some of this internation- al experience to bear in Ennistymon.

Since its reopening in 2007, the Courthouse has become a_ focal point for art in north Clare. With a number of resident artists working in the second-floor studio, and a full

programme of artistic events in the gallery, the project has brought a new momentum to the artistic life on the area.

‘Maria was the first director here and she did a wonderful job of putting together a programme for the current year, so I will start by following up on this programme,” said Trudi.

“We really try to get a lot of differ- ent types of art in the gallery, from installation and performance, to paintings, photography – everything really. We have also had poetry recit- als, small music recitals and events like that in the past.”

Besides the downstairs gallery space, the courthouse will soon open

a new small exhibition space known as The Red Couches Space. This, combined with the resident artists buzzing in the studios, will continue to bring a new energy to the town.

“It makes it very lively. Artists come and go and there is always something happening. It makes the gallery more open and it brings an energy to the town,’ she said.

‘“Brid Harhen will have one of the first exhibitions in the Red Couches Space. We are hoping that it will be a real community space where the Courthouse Studio artists as well as artists from the community can ex- hibit their work and share ideas to- gether.”

Over the next few months, the gal- lery will host exhibitions from Boz Mugabe, opening on February 1]; an exhibition of drawing from the gallery’s own Life Drawing Group, which also opens on February 11; and an exhibition from Brid Harhen which opens on February 14.

To keep in touch with events at the gallery, phone 065 707163, e-mail ennistymoncourthousegallery@gm ail.com or check out the blog at en- nistymoncourthousegallery.blogs- pot.com.

ENNIS 1s one of the branches of First Active set to close, as part of plans to shed 750 jobs nationwide.

Ulster Bank announced last week that First Active – which is its mort- gage arm – will cease to exist. As a result, 50 branches, including Ennis, are to close by the end of the year and the First Active business will absorb into the parent company.

550 of the jobs will go in the Repub- lic, with the remainder to be shed in branches in the north of the country.

Management says it is confident that staff reductions could be achieved through voluntary redundancies.

The mayor of Ennis, Councillor Peter Considine (FF) said last night that while he was concerned at the announcement, overall, Ennis was not as badly hit as other parts of the country, in terms of the downturn.

“It is a concern, but in the times we are living in, it is to be expected,” said Cllr Considine.

“Hopefully those employed will be subsumed into the Ulster Bank mothership,” he said.

However he said that despite the negativity in the economy, there were many positives, one of which was the announcement of 50 jobs in the Shannon Free Zone yesterday.

“When you compare us to other towns and cities in the country, we are fortunate in Ennis.

‘We are not dependent on one mega employer like Ford or Intel or Wa- terford Crystal, in that our hat isn’t thrown into the one basket,’ added Cllr Considine.

“In the overall context, we are not hit as badly as other areas,” he add-

ed.

Opposition politicians have ex- pressed fears that the job losses at Ulster Bank would be followed by hundreds of other job losses, given the fragile state of the economy.

Labour is concerned that there will be further jobs cut in the banking sector.

In the wake of the Ulster Bank an- nouncement, a statement from Bank of Ireland stated, “All our businesses are under review” while Allied Irish Bank said the bank had no plans for any job cuts.

PEOPLE in north Clare are mourn- ing this week following the news that Annette O’Dea, otherwise known as Sr Ann-Marie, has passed away in California.

Sr Ann-Marie, who hails from Ballygannor just outside Kilfenora, celebrated the golden jubilee of her

vocation, along with her twin sis- ter Philomena O’Dea (Sr Celine) in 2005.

Having spent most of the previous 50 years in separate religious institu- tions, the sisters were together when Sr Ann-Marie passed away in San Diego, a number of weeks ago.

The twins were born in Ballygan- nor in 1936 and went to school in Kil-

fenora National School and then at the Mercy Convent in Gort. In 1955, aged just 19, they joined the nuns in Mallow following the sudden death of their mother, Lilly. They left be- hind in Ballygannor their father John and 11 brothers and sisters, including Kitty, who later gained fame with the Kilfenora Ceili Band.

After spending six months in Cork,

the twins were moved to London where they were officially welcomed into the nuns in separate ceremonies. They qualified as nurses and served in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales before Sr Ann-Marie was di- agnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and both sisters were allowed to move to a warmer climate in America.

In all their years as Nazareth House nuns, they have never been based in the same convent and only see each other on holidays.

Sr Celine first returned to Ireland in the 1960s and gained national prominence when a story of the kindness she showed towards teen- age mother Wanda Machnicha and her son made front page news in

PATIENCE was the key for Newmar- ket Celtic on Sunday as they eventu- ally overcame the stubborn challenge of Division | side Kilrush Rangers to secure a place in the second round.

As with any cup tie against lower league opposition, the key to success for Newmarket was staying loyal to their game plan wear down the op- position and that perseverance even- tually paid dividends as the reigning Premier champions took charge of the second period and hit two goals to prevail.

It was all so different in the first half however. As expected, the home side had the lions share of posses- sion but were repeatedly frustrated

in the last third and instead it was the plucky west Clare side who enjoyed success on the break, taking the lead as early as the 22nd minute and re- ally should have added two more be- fore the interval.

Newmarket, for all their build up play, couldn’t break down a miserly Kilrush defence anchored suberbly by goalkeeper Tony Burke and cen- tre-half Barry Copley. Burke wasn’t overly burdened with shots but his assured aerial handling provided a secure base for Kilrush.

In fact, while Newmarket had plenty of chances, their only shot on target in that opening half came as early as the 4th minute when a brief defensive lapse allowed Eoin Hayes to bear down on goal but his effort

was excellently smothered by Burke.

In contrast, Kilrush, who only lived on scraps, were the more threatening side of the half and had three golden Opportunities to give themselves a significant half-time advantage.

Crucially though, they only took one but what a solo goal it was as winger Sean Downes easily jinked through the Newmarket defence to rifle to the net. That goal sandwiched two glorious chances for striker John Carmody who first failed to connect properly in front of an open goal after a teasing cross from Paddy Clancy in the 11th minute and the second came on the half hour when he rounded goalkeeper Trevor O’Donnell but screwed his left foot shot wide.

The home side sneer v Obs

clicked into gear though and bat- tling an icy breeze that cut through McDonough Park, they began the second half with renewed determi- nation. Unconsciously, despite being aided by the wind, Kilrush sat deep and drew Newmarket upon them. In the 47th minute, Jimmy Houli- han stroked a good chance just left of the post but it was only a warning of what was to come and in the 57th minute, it was the elusive Eoin Hayes who toe-poked home the equaliser after being put through by Mike O’ Malley.

Kilrush were now totally in defence mode, only posing a threat with Tony Burke’s booming clearances to his strike pairing. Instead, Newmarket continued to lay siege and as the shots tally built up, a goal for the home side appeared all too inevitable.

They did leave it late though. Just as supporters were bracing them- selves for another twenty minutes of frostbite, Eoin Hayes again popped up to knock a ball over the top for Jimmy Houlihan, who finished to the net amid appeals from Kilrush for offside.

In typically spirited fashion, Kil- rush did have one last sting in the tail when Trevor Clancy went through one-on-one with O’Donnell but the keeper was equal to it and Newmar- ket held out for a plum all-Premier second round tie with Bridge Celtic.