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PARENTS and teachers from across the county are planing to march on the Dail tomorrow as Clare’s primary schools face losing up to 50 teachers, and every post primary school likely to lose at least one teacher.

For many of the county’s secondary schools the loss 1s much higher, as primary schools in Ennis report that under the current budget cuts they will loose 12 teachers. The figure was provided by the Ennis Education Forum – a group that represents pri- mary schools in the Ennis parish.

Secondary schools in the county capital are also set to suffer. A pub-

lic meeting in Colaiste Muire, Ennis last Friday heard that the reduction in English language teachers would result in the loss of four teachers at the school.

That meeting also heard from Fi- anna Fail TD, Timmy Dooley. He said the government would attempt to minimize the effect of the cuts, but added, “Neither do I want to give you false hope and say that I can change or redress the budget provisions that are there. We have to work to the best of our ability to minimize the impact. I do not see that the provisions will not be overturned as announced”.

Angered parents from Tulla Pri- mary School, who face losing one

teacher next year despite an increase in pupil numbers, have organised a bus to travel to Dublin to join the pro- test. Buses organised by the INTO will also leave Ennis at 1.30pm to- morrow.

Margaret Cooney, principal of Holy Family senior school encouraged parents to voice their concerns on the streets of the Dail. However Ms Cooney said, “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 teachers pupil ratio in Europe and now we’re on our way to having the highest. That’s extremely serious”.

INTO President Declan Kelleher

has this morning welcomed the for- mation of the Alliance for Primary Education, made up of teachers, management bodies and the parent’s etree e

Protest marches against the educa- tion cuts have also been organised for every Saturday until Christmas, starting on November 8 in Galway. The second march will be held in Tullamore and is scheduled to end at the Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s office. This will be followed in by marches in Cork, Donegal and Dublin.

“We picked Saturday as we did not want to sacrifice school hours. What- ever has to be done will be done,” said Mr. Kelleher.

CLONLARA and Jim Gully have shared some great days down the past 12 months, but nothing like Sunday.

The roar at the full time whis- tle. The goodwill pouring from the stands. The fireworks. The sound- track to a remarkable day and a re- markable team. Jim Gully stood on Cusack Park wearing a look of al- most stunned disbelief as his team sang and the world got used to Clon- lara as county champions.

He always knew his team were good and honest and capable of great things. He never doubted their poten- EE

But still, even back in January, in the aftermath of their defeat in the semi-final of the All Ireland inter- mediate championship when Gully said he would swap a day in Croke Park for a County Final in Cusack Park, he surely couldn’t have fore- seen an achievement of such stun- ning magnitude. A first county title in 89 years. A day of history and celebration. Clonlara’s greatest day.

And Jim Gully in the middle of it. Hugged, pulled and congratulated.

The man who gets Clonlara fired up. The man who has become the most engaging character in Clare GAA. And now the man who has delivered a senior county champion- ship to Clonlara.

“Ah sure look, what can I say. Tis only a dream like”, said the Clonlara manager afterwards,

“A team coming from Intermedi- ate that hadn’t won in such a long time, it’s fantastic. They are a fantas- tic group of players. It took a lot of determination and heart, it’s all out there. To go out and play in those conditions, it was going to men to go out there. I knew damn well we had 15 or 16 of them going out there”

He’s asked to sum up the game. “You wouldn’t be able to print it”, says Gully before zeroing on the one characteristic that has defined so much Clonlara’s odyssey to the promised land, “Sure look, it was going to come down to the hungrier team. They came out at the start of the second half with a gale behind

them and banged over three or four points and we fell behind. I said, one more score and we’ll get going again and once we took the lead I knew by Jesus it was going to take some team to stop us. I’ve seen these guys in op- eration. Once we get the scent of vic- tory, its hard to bring us back”’.

It took a while for Clonlara to get their bearings as Newmarket blitzed them early in the second and first half. But Gully wasn’t panicking.

“Tt didn’t look great but all our team needed was one score, that’s all’’, he said, “I knew we’d get going. We hit over the next score into the wind and I said, by Jesus, if Newmarket want it now they’re going have to fight harder than us.

‘There isn’t 15 fellas that will fight harder than us”’.

There isn’t. There hasn’t been ei- ther for the past 12 months. But now its official. The fighters are the champions. The world now knows what Gully long suspected. Clonlara are the best team in Clare. And the future stretches out gloriously ahead Om tetoeee

TULLA schoolgirl, Louise McCagh may seem shy and retiring but she’s a young lady muggers would be wiser not to cross.

The Kilkishen girl has just returned from Italy where she took the World Taekwon-do Cup title in the 15 to 18 black belt category as well as gold and silver medals and the Top Junior Competitor ranking.

The wins were no mean achieve- ment as Louise was just one of 1,200 competitors representing 55 coun- Woe

Louise travelled to Riva del Garda

in Northern Italy as one of fifteen Clare competitors who were part of the Irish team.

Competitors from clubs in Shan- non, Quin and Ballyea were involved in the world class competition which saw the Irish team as a whole ranked erere) NOR

“What Louise did was absolutely amazing,’ said Stephen Ryan, one of the coaching team for the competi- tion.

Stephen was also a competitor and he teaches PE and Geography at Tulla Secondary School as well as running Taekwan-do classes after school.

“We are all so proud of Louise –

she’s incredibly talented and she has worked very hard. We knew she was on form this year, winning gold in all her competitions but to take the world title is something else,’ said Stephen.

Louise has been practising her martial art for the last eight years and has been in intensive training for the world competition since last July. “She was training every day and eve- ry spare minute,” said Stephen.

Shy of her new status in the lime- light, she would say only that she is “delighted” to have won and added that it was an honour to have the op- portunity to represent Ireland on the

world stage.

Louise was given a heroine’s wel- come when she returned to Tulla Secondary School after her win.

CODES Lom Ns UDMMCCODeleKo Nee: IKommO)I mm Nloe studies as a fourth year student and will also be looking to defending her world title in two years time at the next world championships in Las Moree he

INSTITUTIONAL — respite care could be a thing of the past for peo- ple with disabilities as Home Share Clare grows in popularity.

The Brothers of Charity Services initiative encourages friendships that see people with disabilities spend time with new friends and families, giving their own family a break from a full time caring role.

Developed in 2007 by the Broth- ers of Charity Services in Clare, the service offers people the opportunity

to live within a family home, experi- ence the local community and at the same time build new relationships and friendships.

To date nine people have availed of the Home Share service while six more individuals and families are being assessed.

‘The person we place can enjoy a break or a holiday in a homely at- mosphere and their parents and sib- lings will have a break from their full time caring role. In return, families and the person get the opportunity to learn more about disability while

caring and sharing in their own home,’ explained Nicola Garrehy, Children’s Co-ordinator.

The Brothers of Charity main- tain that the new service leads to a more lasting and unique relationship, which can be nurtured for many years to come.

“Tt is more natural for the individ- ual involved. This is evident in the strong bonds and attachments that have been developed over the year,” said Ms Garrehy.

“Tt instils confidence in the indi- vidual. They know it is a friend-

ship because it is not someone from school or someone that’s being paid that they are spending time with,” she said.

Ms Garrehy explained that experi- ence working with disabilities is not necessary to take on the role of home Stee

Personal qualities are more impor- tant than qualifications or experi- ence, she said.

Careful consideration goes into matching individuals, with personal- ities, interests and availability taken into consideration.

Training and support is provided before Home Sharing even starts and throughout the experience.

Those that sign up are asked to commit to five breaks a year. This can range for a day out to a week’s Tey eCer-Nie

Ms Garrehy said that in the experi- ence of the initiative people meet up far more often that the required five times as friendships form.

Those interested in getting involved with Home Share are asked to con- tact Patricia O’Meara by calling 087 6680081.

WHEN Martin Murphy fired in an early goal for Newmarket, Paul Col- lins had a bad feeling it was going to a long day. Just over an hour later he stood on the turf of Cusack Park, the captain of the county champions. The day could go on for as long as it liked. Sree l elem sere imconoilee

“Its great. Who’d have thought it? Jesus its unreal” said Collins, “Who would have thought it this time last year. Its beyond our wildest eee beeline

It was a tough day but in the end

Clonlara’s spirit and sense of to- getherness shone through a chilly October afternoon. The bond estab- lished between the Conlara players was tested over 60 minutes of hard hurling. But the bond never broke. Collins and Clonlara never stopped believing.

“T was kind of worried alright”, said Collins of Newmarket’s fast start, “I thought they were going to be pump- ing balls into us like that all night.

“But they didn’t. I knew we’d settle into it again. We kind of got caught, they were switching over and back and we settled into it again after erie

“The wind kind of picked up. The ball just kept coming our way. They got two or three quick points there. I thought they were going to keep steamrolling but lucky enough, thank God, we got areply and we held them back a bit”.

Collins praised the never say die at- titude of his teammates.

“T think it’s my 12th year playing with the senior team. This team they are never beaten.

“They just keep coming and coming and coming. The confidence within the team is unreal and they are just able to carry it through. They’re bril- bevel Mae

THE VOICES of 200 school chil- dren from six east Clare schools will mark the opening this Friday of a festival aimed at keeping the miseries of winter at bay for a while more.

The Féile Eile festival in Killaloe will be joined by a 25 piece Bavar- ian big band who happened to be staying in the area for Friday’s one off gig.

The fesitival centres on family and childrens’ events over the bank holi-

day weekend and will feature mu- sic, film and art shows as well as a number of interactive workshops. The festival is organised by Music in the Glen – a not-for-profit organi- sation that runs a number of music projects in the local area, including beginner strings lessons, music and drama clubs and a children’s choir. Music in the Glen founder Diane Daly said, “There are hundreds of spring and summer festivals around the area, but in the autumn, when people really need cheering up, there wasn’t anything for children

to get involved in. An Féile Eile will fill this gap and put a smile on local faces as we head into the winter.”

One of the highlights of the week- end will be a full cinematic show- ing of two rare Laurel and Hardy films, accompanied by a quartet of live musicians providing an original soundtrack.

On the fun agenda are a fam- ily friendly gig with six-piece soul sensation Hunka Burning Love, a ghostly shadow puppet theatre show, and an interactive art installation.

The festival will open at 10am on

Friday with a ‘schools song sum- mit’ in which children from Killaloe Boys, Killaloe Girls, Bridgetown, Ballina and Boher schools will come together as a choir.

“We have had a lot of support and we want to gratefully acknowledge support from the Killaloe Family Resource Centre, St Flannan’s Ca- thedral, the Lakeside Hotel, Kincora Hall Hotel, Tipperary Arts Office, Clare Arts Office, Killaloe girls, Killaloe boys, Bridgetown, Ballina and Boher National Schools,’ said Diane.

TEENAGERS with disabilities are losing up to €7,200 a year in funding for subsidising support requirements and helping families with respite.

That’s according to Shannon coun- cillor Tony Mulcahy, whose 16-year- old daughter is one of the many Irish teenagers receiving the disability al- lowance.

The Fine Gael councillor was criti- cal of the Government’s decision to remove the disability allowance from teenagers until they are 18- years-old.

‘Those that have it will keep it, so my daughter will continue to get it. But this is not about one person, it is about all the other teenagers and their families who will now go with- out,” he said.

Until now, children with special needs or a disability received the domiciliary care allowance worth €299.50 a month until the age of 16, at which point they automatically re- ceived the disability allowance.

The Government has extended the first payment to those aged 18 and removed the disability allowance.

Under the 2009 budget, the disabil-

ity allowance will increase to €204 per week, leaving a difference be- tween the two payments of approxi- mately €500 per month.

Councillor Mulcahy said that the travel pass also came into place at 16, as did the medical card, but these will also be lost due to the new OA atetene

The availability of a medical card for 16 to 18 year olds with disabili- ties will now depend on their fami- ly’s income.

The issue was raised in the Dail on Wednesday by Deputy Kathleen Lynch who said there was over a two

year waiting list for occupational therapy, speech and language thera- py and social skills training.

“Families use the allowance to bypass the waiting list and seek the care and intervention necessary for their children. A cut in their allow- ance, €7,000 a year, will result in many children not getting the help they so urgently need.”

Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin said the pre- budget age limit was established in RSP

“It was linked to ability to work at a time when most young people

would have left school by the end of 16 years to enter the workforce,” she ene

“The social welfare system does not, in general, provide benefits which could be viewed as encour- aging early school leaving and, ac- cordingly, 18 is normally used as the minimum age for qualification for means-tested payments in a person’s own right.”

She said the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies said in its budget submission that the payment may al- low a child to fall into the depend- ency trap too early.

THE Canon Hamilton cup was on its way to the Clonlara dressing room as a few ashen-faced Newmarket players made their exit from Cusack Park.

A heavy silence hung around the Blues dressing room. Another final lost, another chance to end the wait for a senior title gone up in smoke. Kieran Devitt stopped for a few words. The goalkeeper and captain had no excuses and little complaint

with the final result.

“We couldn’t have any complaints”, said Devitt, “The better team won on the day. It was just one of those days. We had all the breaks against St Joseph’s. We got no breaks today. I’d have no complaints. I don’t think the boys have either. The better team won on the day”.

Understandably upset and frus- trated, Devitt wasn’t said that while the conditions were far from ideal, they were the same for both teams although he had a few harsh words

for the Clare County Board.

“The conditions were the same for both teams, as I said, the better team VCO) U mOsm Ns eM OER YA

“The conditions were bad alright. It’s a bit of a joke. The County Board is a bit of a joke being honest, playing matches at this time of the year any- way. We’ve all year to play matches in fairness. Like I said we’ve no com- OeNbOL ASE

“The better team won and I hope they enjoy. I hope we’ll be back next year’.

TWO novel new ways of raising cash for the playground in Scariff were announced at a special launch on Friday night.

Most people are happy to support raffles in a good cause without know- ing what they might win but in this case, what the punters don’t know is how much they will have to pay for the raffle ticket.

“What we are asking people to do is to buy an envelope and when they open the envelope, they will get a slip of paper telling them how much their raffle ticket will cost. It can

be anything from one cent to €30,” explained Joan Crotty of the play- ground committee.

There will be 3,000 envelopes sold and the draw will take place on De- cember 28. First prize is €3,000, with ten prizes of €100 and 20 prizes of €50.

The second fund-raiser will start after Christmas and will involve peo- ple buying a virtual brick for €100 a pop.

“We won’t know how many virtual bricks we need to sell until we see how the raffle goes,” said Joan.

So far, the fund to construct a play- eround in the Riverside Park has

been boosted with grants of €60,000 from Clare County Council’s play- ground fund and €27,000 which has been raised locally through events such as the Thousandaire and the fashion show.

“There are 150 children in the na- tional school here and more in the Steiner school and in Tuamgraney, so we’re hoping that the parishes around Scariff will support the draw as well,’ said Joan.

Plans for the fabulous new facility were on show in Ryan’s bar for the fundraiser launch on Friday night.

The playground is being construct- ed by “Go Play” and will include

separate areas for older children and tiny tots, climbing towers, swings, Slides, roundabouts and wheelchair accessible play equipment as well as the super-safe and hard wearing wet- pore surfacing.

The playground will be the latest addition to the facilities in the Riv- erside Park, which has been an on- going project in Scariff to create an amenity by the river for the village.

For a chance to help boost the playground fund, Mystery Raffle envelopes can be bought from any member of the community council and have been available since the (ete Conte w

“we have returned to days we thought we would never see in education again”.

He said the only hope is that when the parents and teachers stood up to Minister for Finance Brian Leni- han’s aunt Mary O’Rourke in 1987 the proposed cuts in education were overturned.

The President of the INTO main- tains that if the current cuts proposed by the Government are not over turned, the Ennis primary school area, which includes the county town and Shannon, will loose a total of 35 Keres ace

In east Clare up to eight teaching posts are under threat, north Clare could lose two teachers, while west Clare is expected to lose up to seven teachers.

“Schools that had enough pupils on its enrolment for another teacher next September now cannot appoint the teacher,” said Mr Kelleher.

In Tulla next year rather than secur- ing an extra teacher to cope with an increase in pupils the school faces the loss of one of its current teaching

staff. The school is facing a 30 pupil to one teacher ratio.

In such cases junior infants are pro- tected with smaller class sizes, which could result in 35 and more pupils per class in senior classes.

Parents in Lahinch have begun a petition in an attempt to prevent the cutbacks negatively affecting the lo- cal school.

Teachers of English to non-national pupils are also facing huge cuts, re- sulting in knock on effects across the

education sector.

“There is a Minister for Integra- tion, and the key to integration is to be able to use the English language. It is a key learning service,’ said Mr Kelleher.

“Many of the parents of these pu- pils haven’t the language to articu- late their view points, so it 1s up to us. This budget is hitting the vulner- able,’ said Mr Kelleher.

“This is the budget from hell,” he added.