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A RESEARCH and development di- vision of the Intel computer corpo- ration based in Shannon more than doubled its operating profit to $1 million to the end of 2007.

But according to accounts recently returned to the Companies Office, Intel Shannon Ltd incurred a pre-tax loss of $10.6 million after writing off a capital contribution to a subsidiary costed at $12 million.

The Shannon site is the European research and development arm of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group (DEG).

According to the figures, the com- pany increased its turnover by 16% from $24 million to $28 million while cost of sales increased by 19% from $20.7 million to $24.8 million.

The company’s pre-tax loss of $10.6 million followed a pre-tax profit of $611,843 for the previous year.

The accounts show that the com- pany had accumulated funds of $11.1 million. This followed a non-refund- able capital contribution from Intel Ireland Ltd of $12 million. No divi- dend was paid during the year.

The site in Shannon hosts a number of divisions focusing on_ server chipset, security and communication silicon and software design and pro- vides business, technical and market- ing support for European customers and field sales.

Intel Shannon employs 103 of its 142 employees in R&D with the re- mainder engaged in management and administration

Its parent company, Intel Corpora- tion, is the world’s leading semicon- ductor chip maker, employing over 80,000 people worldwide, and sup- plying the computing and communi- cations industries with chips, boards, systems and software building blocks that are integral to computers, serv- ers, networking and communications products.

The company’s Shannon and Leix- lip plants work in close association and together launched the first com- munications processor to be fully de- signed developed and manufactured in Ireland.

The design and development of the [XP425 processor was carried out by ICE in Shannon before being manu- factured in Leixlip.

Intel Ireland employs over 5,000 employees at its Leixlip campus and the corporation’s overall investment in its Irish operation is in the region of €5 billion

Shannon is the European base for the embedded businesses of DEG and home to the technical marketing and business development teams.

In relation to risks facing the com- pany, the directors state that legal action by third parties and loss of, or damage to the company’s fixed as- sets are the principal risk factors that could materially and adversely affect the company’s future operating protf- its or financial position.

A TENANT who stole electrical goods from his landlord committed a “particularly mean crime,’ accord- ing to a judge.

Bartosz Szutta (25), of Lios Rua, Ballycasey, Shannon, admitted stealing a plasma screen television, laptop computer and dvd player, at Ballycasey Court, Shannon, on Sep- tember 28 last. Ennis District Court was told the value of the stolen goods amounted to more than €3,000.

Sergeant Annette Ryan told the court the owner of the house re- turned after a weekend away to find his tenant, the accused, sitting in a van along with the contents of the SJLMBUNTcapKeLONeeF

‘He asked what he was doing with the contents and he told him he was stealing them and he was about to drive off,’ she said.

She said that €500 in cash had been taken from a drawer in the owner’s bedroom. “The defendant left the scene. Before doing so he put

the €500 cash into the letter box of the house. All of the property was recovered,’ said Sgt Ryan.

Defending solicitor Jenny Fitzgib- bon said her client was having dif- ficulty with work at the time and had gone through a “dark period.”

‘His performance at work was not up to scratch. He was suspended and ultimately he was let go. He was be- ginning to panic. He has a loan for €8,000. He wishes he could turn back the clock,” said the solicitor.

Judge Timothy Lucey said it was a “particularly mean crime.”

‘He was in a position of trust. He was a tenant in part of the house. He used that to steal substantial amounts from his landlord. It was fortuitous the landlord came back. He was caught red-handed,” he said.

He imposed a six-month jail term, suspended for 12 months on con- dition he enter a bond to keep the joerleen

IT’S days like this that Bunratty real- ly earn their badge as league leaders. A tricky away tie to newly promoted Bridge United, torrential rain, a driv- ing wind and treacherous underfoot conditions combined to thwart the form side of the division but through Sheer obstinance and determination, Bunratty dug in to complete their sixth successive league victory.

The key to the victory was strik- ing early and catching the home side cold. Bridge Utd have struggled to adjust to the top division this season but with a plethora of games in hand and coming into some decent form recently, they would have felt confi- dent in taking on the league leaders at home. Undoubtedly, their team talk would have consisted of keep- ing things tight in the early stages in order to frustrate Bunratty but that plan went out the window as early as the third minute when Con Collins stooped at the back post to guide a curling David Hogan free kick into the left corner of the net.

With Bunratty backed by a strong breeze, it was a sucker-punch for the home side who had to resort to long balls to their lively front pair- ing of Trevor Maxwell and Derek Fahy. Instead, Bunratty used the lead and wind advantage to control the midfield with Shane O’Connor pre- dominantly foraging alone up front as Peter Ballough dropped deep to make a midfield five. It worked well

as Ballough found space in the hole between United’s defence and mid- field but despite a 12th minute effort that went straight at goalkeeper Tuo- hy, the Oscar Traynor player often preferred to become provider rather than striker.

It took the home side 25 minutes to produce their first clearcut oppor- tunity but after a neat build up that saw playmaker Greg Deegan set up Tadgh Keogh at the edge of the box, the midfielder blazed his shot over deem KOlis10y- 0

As the half wore on though, Bun- ratty began to up the tempo and it had to take some brave defending to keep them at bay. In the 34th minute, a Noel Collins inswinging corner had to be clawed away by goalkeeper Paul Tuohy and the subsequent shots were repelled by the Bridge defence. Then in the space of a minute, Bun- ratty had two efforts deflected to safety, first from Con Collins which ended up in Tuohy’s arms while the second from Shane O’Connor just squirmed wide of the right hand post Kou mee) ute

Bridge Utd meanwhile had to de- pend on counter-attacks and right before half-time, the ball fell nicely to winger Geoffrey Flynn but his shot held up in the mud, much to the delight of Bunratty keeper Gary Mc- Gettrick.

The second half was a complete transformation as it was the home side who now had the advantage of the gale that blew towards the vil-

lage. They were also helped by the fact that Bunratty goalscorer Con Collins was substituted at the break and right winger Ryan Kelly soon followed after picking up a knock PNM RABE O MU eComOr-N Ee

In fact, Bridge Utd could have equalised as early as the first minute when Greg Deegan’s free kick was spilled by McGettrick but neither Trevor Maxwell or Tadgh Keogh could reach the ball in time. It did give the home side confidence how- ever, and even though Bunratty did have a goal ruled off for offside, it was a rare attack in a sea of United pressure

For all their endeavour though, the Sixmulebridge side’s final ball was repeatedly disappointing and Max- well and Fahy seemed to receive the ball in non-threatening areas and had to feed off scraps. There were several goalmouth scrambles but McGettrick was rather untroubled in goal and it led to increasing frustration for the home side.

In fact, for all Bridge Utd’s pressure, it was Bunratty who arguably creat- ed the best chances of the half, with Ballough the main threat. In the 63rd minute, his effort from distance went straight at Tuohy and twenty minutes later, he produced the best out of the Bridge goalkeeper with two succes- sive shots, the first from a free kick that was tipped over the bar and the second a stinging attempt from that set piece that made Tuohy scramble through the mud to save at the front

post. Substitue Christy Griffin also had a late effort saved but there was still time for one final opportunity for Bridge Utd when Derek Fahy re- ceived the ball at the edge of the area but his curling effort just evaded the top of the crossbar.

Bunratty’s relief was compounded by the news that Bridge Celtic had beaten second placed Lifford, thus Open up a seven point gap for the leaders at the summit. It’s still early days yet and their other rivals still have games in hand but if Bunratty can keep churning out results lke this, it will be difficult to stop them.

More travelled to Heathrow from Shannon than Belfast

LAST week the county A doubles juvenile champonships took place at various venues in the county and culminated with the finals on Satur- day and Sunday in Clarecastle and Clooney.

On Saturday in Clarecastle, it was extra busy as the under 11 league commenced. Three teams took part in a round robin fixture namely Clarecastle A & B and Tuamgraney. All the youngsters who participated on the day showed great potential for the game which is an advantage and encouraging for Clare handball. Clarecastle A bt Clarecastle B by 72- 59 and then they beat Tuamgraney OAL

At the same venue two county dou- bles finals were contested, namely the under 12 A and under 14 A. First up was the under 12 competition in which Fergal and Natasha Coughlan of Clooney took on Padraig McNa- mara and Sean Cotter of O’Callaghan Mills. This contest went down to the wire before the O’Callaghan’s Mills pair won the decisive third game by 15-12.

The under 14 A final was more clearcut with Barry Nash and Patrick Fitzgerald of Tuamgraney beating Colin Crehan and Pat McMahon of O’Callaghan’s Mills on a 15-13, 15-8 scoreline.

The under 13 final was an all

O’Callaghan’s Mills affair, with Sean Donnellan and Ciaran Cooney scor- ing a 15-13 and 15-6 win over Jacob Loughnane and Pat O’Brien.

Second up on the card was the un- der 15 A Doubles final which was contested between Evan Corbett and Niall Bolton of Tulla and Keith Hog- an and Orlaith Duggan of Clooney. It went the Tulla pair’s way on a 21-16, 21-10 scoreline.

The final contest of the day saw the big guns of Newmarket-on-Fergus, Chris Ryan and Liam Clancy take on home favourites Ryan O’Neill and Joe Clune.

The Clooney pair held the early advantage until the scales tipped in Newmarket’s favour when Chris Ryan stepped up a gear to clinch the first game on a 21-17 scoreline.

They then added the second on a 21-15 scoreline to clinch the title. The under 16 doubles final was post- poned due to illness of one of the fey anh olein Key Ece

On the adult scene, Shane and Ciaran Walsh of Tuamgraney pro- gressed in the Junior B provincial championships with a well deserved win over Tipperary.

Clare’s John Nihill of Clooney re- ceived a walkover aganist his oppo- nent and proceeds to the next round in the Masters B singles champion- ships when he takes on John Mc- Donagh from Cork in his semi-final Coe

FIGURES released yesterday show that the numbers travelling on the Aer Lingus Belfast-Heathrow route last year fell 22 per cent short of the numbers that travelled on the Heath- row route from Shannon in 2007.

Provisional statistics released by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) show that 257,953 passengers travelled on the Heathrow-Belfast route from January 18 to the end of December.

This compares to the 331,882 pas- sengers on the Shannon-Heathrow route in 2007, which was a 10,594 increase on the 2006 figures.

Last month, Aer Lingus announced the restoration of the Shannon-Hea- throw route from mid-March with a AWA CoROL BIANCO Mis (CSe

Responding to the figures, local county councillor Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said she was not surprised by the figures but the damage Aer Lin- gus did to the region in withdrawing the route was unquantifiable.

“Aer Lingus put a lot of effort into

marketing the Belfast-Heathrow route and the airline was selling tick- ets for £5 which never happened on the Shannon-Heathrow route,’ she SP HLG

The figures indicate that Cork airport was the greatest benefici- ary from the Aer Lingus decision to withdraw the Shannon-Heathrow service with 517,110 travelling on the

Cork-Heathrow route last year com- pared to 470,643 in 2007.

The Belfast-Heathrow _ statistics show that the numbers have been steadily declining since the summer when seasonal factors and the eco- nomic downturn are taken into ac- ore) uh elm

24,817 passengers used the service in September; 24,528 in October; 20,347 in November and 18,967 in December.

Speaking after the restoration of the Shannon-Heathrow service last month, Aer Lingus worker, Brian Slattery said that the company deci- sion to transfer the slots to Belfast “was misguided. It was a bad com- mercial decision. Common _ sense had to prevail and we now need the public support to make these routes AIO Oe ie

He said the restoration of the route was “never mentioned by Aer Lingus management” in the negotiations to achieve cost cutting at Shannon.

2008 will go down in the annals of the club as the year of the breakthrough at senior level — the culmination of a long road travelled since the club had its maiden voyage in 1994.

Under manager Joe Reidy, trainer Gerry Keane and selection commit- tee JJ O’Dea, Patricia Ryan, Dr. Paul McKenna and Pat Crotty the senior team laid down a marker very early on that they meant business.

Undefeated in the senior league the team progressed to a final victory over West Clare Gaels and team cap- tain Michelle Delaney became the first Banner Ladies player to lift a Clare senior trophy.

More was to come however with the club remaining undefeated through- out the Eleven-A-Side Championship which culminated with a Banner La- dies victory over Fergus Rovers on a 4-5 to 2-2 score line.

The Banner Ladies then entered the All Ireland Intermediate Sevens Championship and despite not hav- ing the services of their Clare county panellists the team went all the way to the All Ireland Shield final and were decidedly unlucky to lose to

Cork divisional side Beara on a 4-4 to 4-6 score line.

But best was served last with the crowning glory of the senior county final win over West Clare Gaels. In the group stages victories were

Secured over Miltown, West Clare Gaels and Cooraclare to earn a sem1- final spot. Crusheen were the semi- final opponents and the Banner la- dies emerged victorious on a 4-15 to 3-4 score line.

The club had reached only its sec- ond senior final ever and this time there was to be no regrets as the Banner Ladies overcame final op- ponents West Clare Gaels by 2-10 to Q-8. It was a magnificent sight to see

Michelle Delaney raise the county championship trophy in the spiritual home of Clare ladies football in Co- Oe A elu

TWO Miltown Malbay couples have called for a doctor’s surgery to be closed down as soon as possible.

James and Pauline McMahon and Brendan and Doreen Hughes of Ballard Road made the call as part of their appeal against a decision to grant a two-year planning permis- sion to Dr Maura O’Meara.

Dr O’Meara secured planning re- tention for the surgery from Clare County Council in the face of local Opposition.

In their appeal, the objectors state that the decision to grant a permis- sion “seems to have been made, not on good planning practice but on the grounds that a medical centre was in Operation and was necessary.

“We are of the opinion that if this medical centre is allowed to operate for a further two years, then it will be almost impossible to close down. A commercial enterprise of this nature is not suitable for a wholly residen- tial area. We strongly object to this development even on a temporary basis.”

They also claim that the develop- ment has already interfered with

their quality of life and ask that it be closed as soon as possible.

“This objection is not of a personal nature. We have no desire to harm the practice of either doctor nor to interfere with the medical care of the patients. We feel that the medi- cal centre is located in the wrong place and will devalue properties to the point where they will become un- saleable. The estate is not designed nor laid out to cater for the volume of traffic that would be generated by such an operation.”

The planner’s report noted a sub- mission from Maura O’Meara stat- ing “that this was the only building suitable to her needs as a doctor’s surgery, which was bought after much searching in the area”.

The planner stated, “While I do have some concerns in relation to the location of the surgery this far from the village, I note that such facilities are needed to serve both the village and the rural hinterland.”

The council granted planning per- mission on the basis that the proposed development would not seriously in- jure the amenities of the area.

A decision is due on the appeal later this year.

The Banner raised once more in 2008

A CLAREMAN who is to be hon- oured as part of the Muintir an Chlair celebrations of 50 years in business has said he was “stunned’ to be nominated.

Martin Corry a native of Cree, now living in Lucan in Dublin has been working with the association for all of those 50 years, as well as be- ing involved in promoting the Irish language, scouting groups, active re- tirement groups, the pastoral council and fund-raising for good causes.

Now retired, Martin has been stud- ying for a degree in Celtic and Irish studies and enjoys walking, having trekked in Peru two years ago and having walked the 144 miles of the Mid Clare Way to raise cash for a fel- low Clare citizen, Sr Ethel Normoyle, who runs the Missionvale Centre in South Africa.

‘IT was stunned and honoured to be nominated, considering the calibre of people who have been given the award before me. I’ve been involved in a lot of things but as a member of a team,’ said Martin.

The presentation will take place on January 28 at Muintir an Chlair’s an- nual dinner in the Red Cow.

Also being honoured on the night 1s musician, Frank Custy, who will be given a Hall of Fame award.

Attending the 50th birthday cel- ebrations will be more than 200 members of the association as well as patron, Bishop Willie Walshe and

the Deputy Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Se one

An invitation has also been sent to all surviving former Clare Person of the Year award winners.

During the year, the association has been involved in a number of ac- tivities including the raising €4,000 for the palliative care section at En- nistymon Hospital and €1,400 for Sr Normoyle – also a former recipient of the Clare Person of the Year award

– through a table quiz.

The association meets on the sec- ond Thursday of every month in the Garda Club in Harrington Street and new members are always welcome.