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Robin has, in previous years organ- ised fairs in The West County and Buratty, but this was the first time he had something going literally on his doorstep.

The lovely thing about shopping for antiques is that “whether some- one has a tenner to spend or twenty thousand, there’s always something affordable.” said Robin.

And with more than a dozen deal- ers putting out their stalls, there was plenty of fun for bargain hunters and treasure-spotters.

Lovers of contemporary Irish art had a treat at specialist, Louis Walshe of “Treasures’ stall, where there were originals on offer with prices starting at €400. Irish art dealer, Robert De- lahunty was also on hand and with a stall full of “fabulous and fantastical clocks” timepiece dealer, Michael Cunnane kept business ticking over nicely.

For the princely entrance fee of €3.50 bargain hunters were wafted along with steaming mugs of mulled wine and the delights of all things ancient and venerable.

Describing the event as “small but exclusive,’ Robin said it was “nice to have something close to home for people to browse, or buy Christmas presents or add to their collections.”

It was a small event in terms of the Luxury Collection fair in October in the K Club, where the glitteratti gathered to see Boodles diamonds, a €20 million collection of jewels from Sotheby’s or the full range of classic Bentley’s and Harley David- sons.

But good things come in small par- cels and there were plenty of small parcels carried away from the Lake- side that will be treasured as much as any sparkler when they are opened on Christmas morning.

Ronan Judge & Andrew Hamilton

PEDESTRIANISATION of the main shopping streets, Sunday shopping and late night opening are some of the measures being introduced next week in an effort to boost Christmas shopping in Ennis.

The town centre will be traffic free on Saturday 13, Saturday 20, Sunday 21 and Wednesday, December 24 from llam to 6pm.

The main retail outlets will be open for Sunday shopping on December 14, 21 and 28 while there will be late opening on Thursday 18, Friday 19, Monday 22 and Tuesday, December 23. Shops will reopen after Christ- mas on Saturday, December 27.

Ennis Town Council and Ennis Chamber are encouraging custom- ers to park n’shop on the pedestri- anised days by parking in the town

centre public car parks and walking to the car-free areas of Abbey Street, O’Connell Square and O’Connell Nisteem

On pedestrianised days, access can be gained from Francis Street by turning right onto Lower Abbey Street and into Abbey Street car park – making it easy for traffic to circle the town centre to get to any destina- tion.

In addition to the town car parks, the Holy Family School and Ennis National School will be opening their car parks at a cost of €3 per day.

Details of the availability of park- ing and access for traffic on pedes- trianised days are outlined in the at- tached map.

THE significance of next Saturday for Munster increased dramatically this weekend on the back of their 25-19 defeat against Clermont at the Stade Marcel Michelin.

Now, the return game in Thomond Park could prove crucial as Sunday’s result threw the Pool One table wide open with Sale and Claremont now fighting it out with Munster to head the table.

For Clonlara’s Marcus Horan — who scored his side’s only try on Sun- day — Saturday will also be a major personal milestone, as he will have scaled a half-century of Heineken Cup appearances.

And according to Munster captain Paul O’Connell, Munster will need every single player firing on all cyl- inders in Thomond Park if Munster are to overtake Sale on top of the pool table.

“We did get a bonus point on Sun- day and that might be very important for us or it mightn’t count for any- thing if we don’t turn up next week,’ he said.

“But we’re still in with a great chance. It’s going to be a massive game next week, though and it was disappointing to lose on Sunday. Every game in the group is now im- portant because we’re only half way there.”

Speaking of Munster’s poor per- formance in the second half, he said the side failed to make a serious 1m- pression at times.

“If you concede the gain line in rugby you’re going to be chasing your tail. And we did that once or twice and they punished us.”

A FUND of €250,000 is being set aside for members of Clare County Council who fail to get re-elected in next June’s local elections.

A number of long-serving council- lors are in line for a ‘golden hand- shake’ of around €35,000 if they don’t get re-elected next year.

The bumper pay-off is revealed in the council’s draft budget for 2009 where County Manager, Alec Flem- ing has provided the €250,000 fund of ‘retirement gratuities’ for council- Keyace

The fund puts an additional finan- cial burden on the council at a time when it is letting temporary staff go, cutting back on community grants and increasing rates on businesses throughout Clare.

Councilllors such as Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) and Cllr PJ Kelly CFF) with more than 20 years experience could receive around €35,000 each if they are not re-elected in next June’s local elections.

The two — who will be scrapping for one of the six seats in the down- sized Kilrush electoral area — said they have no aspiration to avail of the pay-off next year.

The membership of the council has a high attrition rate and in the 2004 local elections, ten of the 32 council- lors didn’t make a return.

Cllr PJ Kelly said: “The casualty rate has been high each time since I was elected. When I was first elected in 1974, there were 13 casualties. The manager must not be expecting a good number of us back.”

Cllr Curtin said that the fund “‘is

miniscule when set against the coun- cil budget of €118 million”.

Former Clare mayor, Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said the Council 1s obliged to make provision for the payments.

Cllr PJ Kelly said: “I didn’t become a councillor in 1974 for the expenses. The only expense then was £5.22 a month. The gratuity payments have been paid agreed by the minister and I’m sure that no councillor has retire- ment is mind who is going for elec- tion next year.”

Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) said the payments are “recognition for long service from long serving mem- bers. It will be the people in the final analysis who will judge if council- lors are worth it. With the local elec- tions coming up, everything is up for analysis.”

A 93-YEAR-OLD woman died in hospital after she fell and hit her head at a nursing home in Liscannor.

Winifred Agnes Keane had been staying at Dominic Savio Nursing Je Covet eeMNlomUUS lo KcOm-limlees (elon tal fall last December.

The proprietor of the nursing home, Desdemona Smith, told Ennis Coro- ner’s Court that Ms Keane moved in on December 5, 2007 and was trans- ferred to Ennis General Hospital on January 14 last. She was mobile and alert during her stay at the nursing home.

At 7.20pm on the evening of Janu- ary 14, Ms Keane was found lying on the bathroom floor and had sustained a laceration to the left side of her

head. She was seen by a doctor, who arranged for her transfer to Ennis General Hospital for further treat- ment. However, she later died there.

Pathologist Dr Stephen Finn car- ried out a post mortem examination on Ms Keane’s body at Limerick Regional Hospital. He concluded that the cause of death was haemor- rhage as a result of the fracture of the symphsis pubis.

Coroner Isobel O’Dea said it was quite clear that Ms Keane, a widow, had suffered an accidental fall. She said she was extremely impressed with the evidence from the proprie- tor of the nursing home.

“It was very sad for Ms Keane to die so suddenly after the fall when she was waiting for further medical treatment,’ she said.

CLARE petrol retailers have warned that if Tesco is allowed proceed with a new petrol station in Kilrush, a number of their stations will be forced to close with the loss of 43 jobs.

Last month, Kilrush Town Coun- cil granted planning permission to Tesco to construct a four-island pet- rol station on the Ennis Road despite strong opposition from local petrol station owners and independent re- tailers organisation, RGDATA.

Eleven petrol stations have now appealed the decision and they are: Oliver O’Shea and John Crowley, Kilrush; John Daly, Cooraclare; Michael Fitzpatrick, §Kilmihil;

Michael Sheedy, Darragh, O’Sullivan & Hansbury, Ennis; Maxol/Spar, Clarecastle; Padraic Hayes, Doon- beg; David Glynn, Killimer; Tony Nealon, Kilmurry McMahon and Tessie Power, Knockerra.

Lodged by the Irish Petrol Retailer Association (IPRA), the appeal states that a number of these stations will be forced to close along with local shops that provide the only shopping outlet within their local communiti- Woe

The appeal predicts that the planned Tesco station will take 43% of the petrol retail market in west Clare ac- counting for sales of €149,940 per week.

Outlining the impact of the pro- posal, the IPRA state: “This is likely

to result in an increase in unemploy- ment, far beyond that provided by the Tesco petrol station, in areas that are far more economically and socially Cl uAKoreb

The appeal states that the independ- ent petrol stations employ 100 and that the anticipated loss of 43 jobs “‘is unacceptable in a period of economic recession in an area that has already Zim Ovecdomtvatcanele)(@nses(oonlme:iiome

The IPRA claims that the applica- tion “fails to uphold the zoning of a site within the development plan area for a petrol filling station and that the current proposal does not provide the required retailing offer required under the Development Plan and will result in the over-profileration of pet- rol stations along the Ennis Road.

AN open verdict has been returned in the case of a man whose body was recovered from the water at Doolin last April.

The inquest into the death of Ivan Klima heard that he had visited the Cliffs of Moher on April 9, 2008.

Medical evidence provided by As- sistant State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis, concluded that Mr Klima died as a result of multiple injuries consistent with a fall from a cliff.

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea told the court that an absence of evidence made it unclear how Mr Klima en- tered the water.

“The only verdict I can consider appropriate is an open verdict,’ said Mrs O’Dea.

Mr Klima, a Czech national, had been living in Mullingar. His house-

mate Janna Sulkova told Ennis Cor- oner’s Court that she had heard Mr Klima return to the house in the ear- ly hours April 5 2008. She said that Mr Klima had just returned from the Czech Republic. Mrs Sulkova heard the 29-year-old leave the house the following morning.

“The first I heard about Ivan was when his car was found at the Cliffs of Moher,” she said.

Concern for Mr Klima’s safety grew after his car was observed parked overnight at the cliffs on April 9. Local man Tom Doherty re- ported the owner of the car missing to the Gardai on April 10.

The body of a man was seen in the water near the cliffs on April 11, but poor weather meant rescue services were unable to remove it, the court heard.

The body was recovered by mem-

bers of the Doolin coastguard on April 2 and identified as that of Ivan Klima. Garda Alan Dowling who was called to the scene contacted Gardai in Mullingar. Asked by Mrs O’Dea if he could predict the exact time of death, Dr Curtis said it was not scientifically possible to do so.

Mrs O’Dea said Mr Klima had been pronounced dead on April 12. She returned an open verdict. Mrs O’Dea thanked the Doolin coast- guard and extended her sympathy to Mr Klima’s family.

Inspector John Galvin said, “I would like, on behalf of the force, to extend my sympathy to the Klima family on this tragic and untimely death of a young man.”

Solictor Frank Doherty, who rep- resented the Klima family in court, praised the efforts of the rescue serv- eh

JUST like he claims for his planes, Michael O’Leary arrived ahead of schedule in Shannon last week.

He revealed his plans for world domination to waiting journalists be- fore taking the podium for the after- dinner speech to the Shannon Cham- ber of Commerce lunch.

“My plan is to merge Ryanair with Aer Lingus to form one Irish cham- pion – a world beater. We would be one of the big four European airlines and we would be one of the few Irish companies that would actually be a leader in its field.”

This being Shannon, the budget airline boss didn’t flinch at promis- ing that if he gets his hands on Aer Lingus, there’s more than a chance that one of the Heathrow slots would elem uc Rel U Noe

After meeting with Minister Demp- sey the previous day, he learned “the Government were unhappy when Aer Lingus switched the slots to Belfast. That’s something that will be ad- dressed in the offer document.”

Wrorsshaateelaveycmme)e mms elomm ole wKOusetclelee of the slots in Belfast he said that the “load factor in Belfast 1s 57 per cent – the Shannon base, when it was open, had a load factor closer to 80 per cent. We still believe that Aer Lingus could do both.”

O’Leary said that Ryanair’s offer document, which will be revealed this week, would contain “compre- hensive commitments on lower fairs, removing fuel surcharges, doubling

the size of Aer Lingus’ shorthaul fleet, creating a thousand new jobs and transforming Aer Lingus from a declining, loss -making concern into a profitable airline that Ireland can be proud of”.

After lunch, he machine-gunned his way through a presentation on why Ryanair should be allowed merge with Aer Lingus, not just convincing Eskimos to buy ice but talking them into buying whole glaciers of it.

He predicted a marginalised future for Aer Lingus on its own, or a buy- out by one of the other big European ZNDUNN Noe

He painted a picture of all the Hea- throw slots being spirited away.

‘Never mind no connectivity in Shannon – the whole bloody country will be without connectivity if that happens.”

And then he was gone, apologising for leaving because “I borrowed a plane and that plane has to be back making money by four o’clock.”

SNe MOR eirocer Nm ciecoem- Mielke) sete iI welcoming the fact that O’Leary, is for the first rime willing to deal with a trade union. He’ll have to if he takes over Aer Lingus, the union pointed out.

A MAN charged in connection with an alleged axe attack at a salon in Ennis has appealed to the Supreme Court, after bail was refused in the High Court.

Anthony McDonagh (22), of Wa- terpark View, Ennis, is accused of producing an axe at Brownie’s hair salon in The Market area of Ennis on September 18 last. He is also accused of assault causing harm to his second cousin David McDonagh (24), on the

Same date.

Last month, the Book of Evidence was served on the accused and he was returned for trial to Ennis Cir- cuit Court last Friday. He has been in custody since his arrest, just days after the alleged incident.

His solicitor Daragh Hassett told the court that bail had been refused in the High Court, “and there’s a Su- preme Court appeal pending”. Free legal aid was granted for the Cir- cuit Court trial, along with a Junior Soo F