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CONOR Earley has been appointed to the position of Branch Develop- ment Manager of the First Active Ennis Branch.

A native of Tubber, Conor joins First Active having spent five years as a Portfolio Insurance and Invest- ment manager with Bank of Ireland in Shannon and Limerick before

joining First Active last July. Commenting on his new position, Conor said he was delighted to be joming the First Active team. “First Active has been at the forefront in de- livering real competition in the mar- ket for some time now by offering innovative products across all areas from mortgages to current accounts. Myself and my team are looking forward to bringing the benefits of

these products such as our esavings Plus Account* to our customers in Ennis”, he added.

Conor is a keen sportsman having played hurling at all levels with Clare and University of Limerick. He cur- rently plays for the Tubber club.

MEMBERS of the Traveller com- munity voiced their opinions on the issue of accommodation at a meeting with local politicians last week.

The meeting, facilitated by the Ennis Community Development Project, involved discussions be- tween members of the Accommoda- tion Implementation Group (AIG), the Mayor of Ennis Cllr Peter Con- sidine (FF) and Fine Gael TD, Joe OFA

The group was represented by Anne Marie Mongans, Kathleen Mc- Donagh, John McDonagh and Frank McDonagh. The primary focus of the discussion centered on issues re- lating to Travellers accommodation btm Oot: buse

Other topics raised included the

Shannon Horse Project, the closure of the Quin Road halting site and Clare County Council’s Traveller Accommodation Plan 2009-2013.

The aim of the meeting was to create a forum that would allow for wider discussion between Travellers and policy makers.

It is also the first in a planned se- ries of steps aimed at providing a structured format for Travellers rep- resentatives to raise issues and in- terface with the local authority and other agencies.

Adrian Healy, Development worker with Ennis CDP said there had been a lot of positive outcomes from the meeting, which took place in the of- fices of the Ennis CDP last Monday. He also thanked Cllr Considine and Deputy Carey for their involvement.

“The meeting was great. It was

very positive. It was great that Joe and Peter were able to come. They listened and gave advice. There was a very positive exchange of views and that was very helpful.”

Adrian added, “The whole point was to provide an opportunity for the group to be heard and for their voices to be listened to. Their voices were heard. Its not often that you get an opportunity as a group to sit down members of the council and the Dail, so in that sense, it was very beneficial to both sides. The lads got the chance to voice their opinions and they were considered and there was a good bit of consultation between both parties. Again, it was great to have Joe and Peter’s input at the meeting. They were there in a listening capacity but they also were also very helpful giv- ing advice.”

The Accommodation Implemen- tation Group was formed under the umbrella of the Traveller Strategy. The strategy, with input from Clare County Council and the Ennis CDP, is aimed at co-ordinating public services for Travellers. The group represents Travellers mainly on ac- commodation, but also advocates on other issues.

“What we are trying to do is to en- hance relations on the ground and develop communications. We want to strengthen links between commu- nities. That’s the big picture,” added Adrian.

OPPONENTS of plans to construct a €10 million explosives plant on the Shannon Estuary have served papers seeking a High Court injunction pre- venting An Bord Pleanala from tak- ing any further steps in determining the appeal on the plan.

Last Thursday in Ennis, the appeals board three-day oral hearing into the proposal concluded with counsel for Shannon Explosives Ltd, Esmonde

Keane SC stating that the board’s reason for refusing planning permis- sion to a previous plan by the com- pany has been fully dealt with in the new proposal.

However, Mr Keane’s closing state- ment took place in the absence of Opponents to the plan, An Taisce, Cairde Chill an Disirt Teo (CCDT) and three individual appellants who all withdrew from the hearing on Tuesday after the board refused to state as to whether the hearing was

being held under Irish law or a re- view under an EU Directive.

Acting solicitor for CCDT, Michael Nolan confirmed that the High Court case being brought by his clients has been adjourned from last Friday, Oc- tober 24 to November 21 to allow the other sides lodge responding affida- Wali

Mr Nolan said that An Bord Pleana- la gave an undertaking in court that if they were to make a decision on the appeal, they would give CCDT

notice if they wished to seek a court order preventing the board from de- termining the appeal.

Mr Nolan confirmed that CCDT are seeking an injunction preventing An Bord Pleanala from taking any steps in determining the appeal and an order requiring the reconvening of the oral hearing.

The application for judicial review is also demanding that the appeals board determine whether the appeal before is a review under EU legisla-

tion or an appeal under Irish law. Terance Corry of CDDT told

TWO homeless men who sought Shelter broke into a house in Ennis, drank a bottle of gin and then went to sleep in two of the bedrooms – in the mistaken belief that the house was vacant!

Both non-nationals Josef Pavelka (47), Lakeville, Gort Road, Ennis, and Aruydos Voronius (40), Riverd- ale, Tulla Road, Ennis, admitted en- tering a home in Highfield Park, En- nis, as a trespasser and committing theft, last Wednesday, October 22.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told Ennis District Court that a man returned to his home at 9pm and discovered an empty bottle of gin on the table.

“It had been taken and consumed in the house. The accused men were asleep in bedrooms,” he said.

Gardai were called to the house and the two men were awakened from their sleep and arrested.

Defending solicitor Daragh Has- sett said the case gave a “whole new meaning to falling asleep on the

job.”

He said both of his clients were

homeless and took refuge in the house.

Pavelka, a native of the Czech Re- public, had worked in construction, but lost his job and has been living rough. His co-accused, a native of Lithuania, has also lost his job.

Mr Hassett said it was a bad night and the accused thought the house was vacant.

“[‘m not trying to minimise it but on the level of breaking and entry, it’s on the lower scale. They did not ransack the house,” he said.

He said the two had been living

with other homeless people from Poland, Lithuania and the Czech Republic. ““Both men are homeless, without benefits, living from hand to mouth at the moment,’ he added.

Judge Joseph Mangan, asked, “They sought shelter?”

The solicitor said this was the case. The judge continued, “On a wet night? They didn’t do much to make Le ata

“Tf it was November, I’d be refer- ring to the Star of Bethlehem,” re- plied the solicitor. The judge add- ed, “If there was a third one in the

company, you might be referring to something else.”

He asked did the men have the money for the gin in court and was told they did not.

Both were remanded on continuing bail to re-appear in court next month and the judge said they must pay €15 compensation each.

“We won’t ask them to make the beds. If that is done (compensation paid) on that date, I’ll take a certain view in the matter. If it’s not, I’ll take quite a different view,’ said the judge.

THE inquest into the death of a man who was shot seven times in Ard- nacrusha has been adjourned, as the Garda investigation into the death is ongoing.

The inquest into the death of Aidan Kelly (21), College Avenue, Moy- ross, Limerick, opened at the Ennis Coroner’s Court last Wednesday.

The body of the young mechanic

was discovered at Blackwater, Ard- nacrusha on May 10, 2006. State Pa- thologist, Dr Marie Cassidy said the cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head, with gunshot wounds to the trunk a contributory factor.

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea ad- journed the inquest for a year and said she was conscious that a Garda investigation into the death was on- going.

She said that evidence given at the

inquest confirmed that Mr Kelly died at Blackwater, Ardnacrusha. Garda Bernard Casey said he had been called to a shooting incident at Blackwater. At the scene, Garda Ca- sey observed medics attempting to resuscitate a young male.

“I could see it was Aidan Kelly, who was known to me,” he said.

A full-length rifle and Mr Kelly’s car, a Silver Astra, were also noted at the scene by the garda.

The deceased’s father, Liam Kelly Snr identified the body of his son at the scene.

Dr Cassidy said a post mortem had revealed seven gunshot wounds to the head and body of Mr Kelly.

Ms O’Dea extended her sympa- thy to the family and friends of Mr Kah

‘“T hope that in the fullness of time, the gardai will be able to complete their investigation,” she said.

CUSACK Park will remain the headquarters of Clare GAA for the forseeable future after a proposal to rezone land there was blocked by Ennis Town Council.

Meeting last Wednesday to discuss the draft Ennis and Environs De- velopment Plan, councillors voted unanimously against rezoning the town centre site for commercial pur- OO sene

The Aisling Chiosoig Partnership had sought to purchase the ground from the Clare County Board and re- develop it as a commercial centre in return for the construction of a new stadium and adjoining facilities.

The way was left open, however, for future rezoning on the condition that an alternative site be found for

the proposed stadium.

An original site identified on the Quin Road was not considered vi- able because the land hes on a flood enue

The decision came after two days of lengthy discussions between coun- cillors and planners.

Councillors met first on Tuesday evening at a private workshop session to wade through the 124 submissions received on the draft version of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

The most high profile of which concerned the proposal to rezone Cusack Park.

Later on Tuesday night, at a special meeting of Ennis Town Council or- ganised to formally pass the Draft Plan, Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) said, that, following a vote taken at

the workshop, the decision had been taken not to rezone Cusack Park.

Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Peter Consi- dine (FF), proposed adjourning the meeting, until Wednesday, so equal consideration could be given to other submissions contained in the manag- er’s report.

Councillors were warned _ that agreement on the plan had to be reached before Thursday so notices could appear in local media the fol- lowing week. Cllr Neylon, supported by Cllr Donal O’Bearra (GP) op- posed the adjournment. Cllr Neylon said the process was being rushed because the original timetable had not been adhered to.

A vote of 3-2 prevailed in favour of adjourning the meeting until Wednesday night.

The next night, Wednesday and

following another private workshop, Cllr Neylon proposed that Cusack Park’s status “remain as 1s” until de- velopers identified a suitable site for a new stadium.

Cllr Considine put forward the pro- posal that the draft plan be accepted by the council. It was passed on a unanimous vote.

The decision to halt the process will be seen as a blow by members of the local business community. Ennis Chamber of Commerce had supported the proposal, saying that the development would have signifi- cantly increased commercial activity in Ennis.

According to the Aisling Chiosdig partnership, 1,000 new jobs would have been created on completion of the project and another 500 in con- struction.

PRIMARY schools in Ennis will lose 12 teachers if proposed Budget cuts go ahead as planned, according to provisional figures from Ennis Education Forum.

The forum, which represents pri- mary schools in the Ennis parish, met last week to discuss the cutbacks in education announced in the Budg- A

The most controversial proposal put forward by the Department of Education involves increasing class sizes from 27 pupils per class to 28 pupils per class.

Initial figures from the Education Forum say as many 12 teaching posts could be at risk, if the proposals are enforced.

Margaret Cooney, Principal of the Holy Family Senior School and Forum member, said the cutbacks would have very serious implications for schools.

“It is very serious, because I think maybe people don’t generally under- stand how much of an impact this is going to have. If you’re short a

teacher, then it’s going to be a case of having to divide three classes into two and it’s the children will suffer as a result.”

Ms Cooney said other issues such as the loss of substitution cover would have major knock on effects.

“If you don’t have a situation where substitute teachers are available to provide cover, what you’re going to find is that classes are being broken up and children are sent in groups of four or five to other classrooms. It’s a very, very Serious situation.”

She added, “I think this figure of 200 teaching posts being lost that the department has provided is a very conservative figure. It’s likely to be much higher. I was totally gob- smacked when I heard that they were going to introduce these cutbacks.”

“There is no evidence to suggest that they will go back on them but I hope that sanity will prevail.

“We had the second highest teach- ers pupil ratio in Europe and now we re on our way to having the high- est. That’s extremely serious and shoud be of great concern,” said Ms Cooney.

A TODDLER died from bronchial pneumonia on board a flight that was forced to make an emergency landing at Shannon Airport earlier this year, an inquest in Ennis has heard. Two-year-old Lemuna Armadan Osman, from Eritrea, fell ill on a

Lufthansa flight between Frankfurt and New York, on April 22 last. She was travelling with her family to be- gin a new life in the US under a re- patriation programme, when she be- came gravely ill and passed away. The inquest into her death was opened at the time and adjourned un- til last week, when details of the post

mortem examination into her death were revealed.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Mar- garet Bolster told Ennis Coroner’s Court that the cause of death was bronchial pneumonia involving most of one of her lungs. She said the tod- dler had height and weight below nor- mal. She noted that the girl had been

in hospital with a cough, four days before she took the flight to the US. Dr Bolster also said there was evi- dence of female circumcision on the child’s body.

She paid tribute to the “amazing amount” of people who had assisted Lemuna’s family, on arrival at Shan- non in April.

A WIDE-RANGING programme of events will form the central focus of the Coole Park winter programme in Gort this year.

The programme was launched last week and will present an exciting calendar of events for adults and chil- dren alike. Coole Park is an impres- sive educational facility and manage- ment have capitalised on this, in the jeyueseaucheaventse

The programme aims to provide a series of high quality arts and herit- age events to as wide and inclusive local audience as possible, on an internationally renowned site. The events also endeavour to showcase

local-based artists and lectures on local topics.

The Gort Walking Trail is expected to attract much interest on Saturday next. It will consist of a presentation at Coole Park, followed by a walk in Gort, in partnership with Galway East Tourism.

Those keen to trace their origins will have an interest in the series on ‘Tracing your ancestors’ lectures, which will take place at Coole Park every Monday evening in November, between 8pm and 9pm.

A series of storytelling will take place every Thursday evening, start- ing on November 6. A children’s dance workshop will take place on November 9, between 12 noon and

4.30pm, while the Galway Early Music Ensemble will present a lively concert of tunes on Thursday, No- vember 13. The music will be played on Renaissance instruments.

Classical guitarist Rose Maria Robinson will play at Coole Park on Saturday, November 15. Her special guest will be Redmond O’ Toole, who has played at the venue previously.

Electric Bridget will present the drama ‘Waiting for Elvis’ on Thurs- day, November 20. The following day, Friday 21, will present a treat from the local schools as their en- tries in the ‘Beo’ project will be on display.

‘There is a variety of events. There is a good mix of talks, drama and

music,” said Hilda MacLochlainn, who is a supervisor guide for na- tional parks and wildlife services at Coole Park.

“There are a lot of events for chil- dren. We have always tried to include a variety of events, for adults and children and also focus on our educa- tion programme for schools in Clare and Galway,’ she added.

The education programme is par- ticularly popular and gives primary school students the opportunity to pursue indoor and outdoor activities. Through the project, the pupils can appreciate the beauty of Coole Park and its surroundings, while at the same time appreciate the history be- hind the site.

EVERY second level school in Clare will lose at least one teacher, with one school in Ennis losing five, due to Budget 2009 cutbacks.

According to the ASTI every sec- ondary school will be down one teacher come September, resulting in schools losing out in subject variety and choice, and special education needs.

Students’ extra curricular activities and field projects will also be greatly

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Ger O’Donoghue of the ASTI standing committee for Clare, Lim- erick and Nenagh said that the full extent of the loss of teachers is not yet known. All schools will lose and the cuts will “affect some schools more than others”.

Schools with an open _ policy will suffer most according to Mr O’Donoghue, as English language support teachers will be capped at two per school, irrespective of how many pupils in the school need as-

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“We have these newcomer students coming to our schools and we pride ourselves in welcoming them to the school,” he said.

“These students are in _ classes where teachers are going to have problems integrating them with the other pupils.”

Initially an English language sup- port teacher was provided for every 14 students in a school. This allowed for a certain amount of withdrawal from class for extra tuition for stu-

dents whose first language is not English.

In the Budget the Government de- cided to cap the number of English language support teachers at two per school.

Mr O’Donoghue also maintains that the broad base of education will be affected by the cuts.

“There are some subjects that a smaller number of pupils opt for. Schools will now be forced to decide whether or not to keep these classes. It may not be possible to separate

pass and honours classes come Sep- tember,” he said.

“Tt will also have a huge affect of extra curricular activities. These form the basis of a rounded educa- WO )s Maen OLomncT-n LOR

Under the terms of the Budget sub- stitute teachers will no longer be available to cover teachers who are involved in school sports or field we 1Oe

‘How are schools going to manage in cases like that?” asked the ASTI rep.