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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.

THE wait will go on. The hurt etched into faces of the Newmarket players as they left Cusack Park on Sunday suggested the pain of this defeat will not be easily erased either. There will have been moments, when for Newmarket supporters, too long liv- ing on the ever fading memory of a rich past, that they will have believed that this was the day when the Blues would announce their comeback.

The odds were stacked in their fa- vour. They had the players. They had the panel. They had been there be- fore.

When Martin Murphy crashed to the net, it looked like a rich new chapter of Newmarket hurling was about to unfold before our eyes. But Clonlara stayed cool and stayed in the game. The second half started and Newmarket had the wind. They reeled off three early points. Mo- mentum was building and it looked firmly behind Newmarket. But the power of the wind died a little and

the game entered one of those tense phases when games are won and lost. Newmarket dropped off. Cyclone Clonlara gathered strength. Darach Honan and John Conlon pounded the Blues. Tommy Lynch was eve- rywhere. In midfield, things had gone ominously quiet for Newmar- ket whereas Clonlara were zipping passes hard and fast inside to their dangermen.

Newmarket had no platform to build from. They stopped creating good chances. When they ran at Clonlara, they were ushered down blind allies or knocked off their feet.

Newmarket fans feared the worst. Those nagging doubts about their team’s resolve on the big days re- surfaced. Their fears came to pass. Darach Honan nailed a point in the final seconds. The Blues were cooked. Beaten by a team who want- ed it more.

It was quiet, dead quiet, outside the Newmarket dressing room after- wards. Manager Diarmuid O’Leary was one of the last to leave. He was

gracious in defeat and echoed his Clonlara counterpart, Jim Gully, and the point he made about hunger. “No complaints, the hungrier team won, simple as that, more power to them”, said O’Leary.

“We had the lead but we didn’t drive on. Fair play to them and more power to them. Best of luck to them in the Munster Championship”

O’Leary was forewarned about what to expect from Clonlara. They have impressed him all year.

“IT seen them against Scariff and they were very very impressive. They came through a tough campaign last year. They have a lot of hurling done. They are a good bunch of lads. They have the medals to prove it”.

So the wait goes on for a 23rd sen- ior title goes on for another year at least and the questions about New- market’s nerve continue. Will the Blues be back’?

“There’s no fear of Newmarket, no fear of Newmarket. Ah, with the help of God, they’ll stick at it”, said O’Leary.

THE WOMEN of Killaloe have a boast that would make Brigid Jones envious – they have all the men they F001

In fact what the ladies want is a few more women – to join the men on the catwalk. At the launch last week of the Fashion Extravaganza to raise funds for the Smith-O’ Brien minors, the lads were lining up to be super- models on the night.

“The men quite happily volunteered to model,” said Antoinette Ryan, one of the organising committee.

“The ladies are a bit more shy but we have more ladies boutiques in Killaloe than menswear so we need to persuade a few more ladies.”

The fun fashion event is to raise money to help fund the activities of the busy minors, who have 120 play- ers from under six and who have a team in every age bracket in the county competitions.

The Fashion Extravaganza, which will be held on Friday, November 14 in the Lakeside Hotel in Ballina is the first run by the committee but, they hope, not the last.

‘The boutiques and shoe shops and the businesses in Killaloe and Balli- na have given us fabulous support,” said Antoinette.

Killaloe businesses have rolled in behind the venture, and business con- cerns as far away as Nenagh, Scariff and Limerick have come on board.

“They are supporting us buy show-

ing clothes on the night and every one of them has donated a spot prize – they’ve been fantastic,’ Antoinette said.

The launch last week was spon- sored by Supervalu who provided a cheese and wine reception.

A beautician, hairdresser and two boutiques have offered their service and two €100 clothes vouchers for a make-over for two lucky people on the night.

“There will be boxes around the town in the shops and anyone who would like a makeover has to fill in a form and leave it in the box. We’ll have a draw for two names and they will have things like hair cuts and colouring done in advance with styl- ing, beauty treatments and clothes

picked for them on the night when they will show the “before and afters’ at the show,” said Antoinette. There will be plenty of spot prizes, includ- ing funkiest handbag and wackiest heels.

As well as raising money, the com- mittee are hoping that the show will prove to be a great social night and a Ke) meyas atten

“The main thing is we hope people will come along and support it and have a great time. It should be a fabu- lous night,” said Antoinette.

PLANS to remove settlement enti- tlements from the villages of Cool- meen, Darragh, Leitrim and Lisdeen has met with opposition, with one local politicians describing the pro- posal as “anti rural”.

Amid the pages of the draft West Clare Area Plan 2009-2015, due to go on public display next month, Clare council planners have said in order to address the quantum of overzoned land, four settlements have been pro- posed for removal from the settle-

TPeCoUOLASS BAS

“These settlements have showed little or no planning activity over the last six years and have some serious access difficulties,’ Eilis O’ Nuallain, Executive Planner, told members of the West Clare Area Council, as they saw the draft for the very first time.

“Leitrim is a lovely area, but it is in a structurally weak area. It may work to its advantage; no longer a settlement it would not have those limitations. It wouldn’t stop bailing in Lisdeen,” she said.

“You are hitting the small old core

communities. I won’t accept that. A Statement like that 1s anti-rural,” said Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind).

Fine Gael Cllr Oliver Garry said he did not understand why the settle- ment status should be removed.

According to the draft plan and its maps, 60 per cent of west Clare is de- scribed as structurally weak. Struc- turally weak areas have been rec- ognised as an area where “there is a level of economic decline exacerbat- ed by continued depopulation. These problems must be addressed through levels of growth beyond the housing

requirement of the local population. SUMNER Ceyer Dame) IOC DMmS le e-lKorca ami tee gests that any demand for residential development in such areas should be accommodated.”

This includes most of the central area of the west Clare peninsula, with the exception of a large area around Kilrush town and Kilmurry Ibrickane. According to the draft plan in structurally weak areas there is no “significant advantage for hav- ing in land zoned for housing”.

This policy also seeks “to encour- age the redevelopment of derelict or

vacated sites that present opportu- nities for development in the open countryside as an alternative to new one off housing developments.”

The brief for tourism within the draft has also been altered to encour- age activities with more local reve- nue generating potential than holiday home construction.

“The only reference before was holiday homes. The area is still suit- able for holiday homes, but we are looking at others that would bring economy to the area, for example hostels,” said Ms O’Nuallain.

COLM Honan was lost for words after watching his beloved Clonlara end their 89 year wait for a senior ti- tle on Sunday.

The former club and county star said Clonlara’s fierce work ethic and sheer belief saw them over the finish line.

“Tm stuck for words. It was a fan- tastic game’, said Honan. “It looked at different stages that they were go-

ing to take it away, or took over. They came at us real quicktake But the lads settled and just worked and worked and worked. They have a fantastic work ethic. They went in in twos and threes all the time. The scores were hard earned today. We just edged ahead at crucial stages”.

Clonlara have enriched Clare hurl- ing over the past few months with their remarkable ascent to the top.

Honan, who’s son Darach played a key role on Sunday, said Clonlara’s

ability, particularly in the second half, to deliver fast ball to the for- wards, proved crucial.

“Tt was very hard to hurl. Condi- tions were dire. You couldn’t turn. The ball wasn’t bouncing or rolling for both teams. But in fairness to both teams it was a superb game of hurling. Considering the conditions, the condition of the pitch was dire”.

One of the key moves of the game saw Darach Honan move out to the half forward line and John Conlon

move to corner forward. The switch saw Clonlara win a greater share of possession and the east Clare side, after a poor start, settled into the game. “We got the goal and kept the flow of the ball going back in. Play- ing with the wind as well it was hard to get a nice ball into them. The sec- ond half, our centre field gave them some nice ball”.

Honan was still shaking his head as Paul Collins finished his speech. Unbelievable.

TO MARK its 20th birthday, the Shannon craft fair is set to be a much bigger, bumper event this year.

A wide array of items, such as jew- ellery, pottery, knitwear, home bak- ing and handmade cards will be on sale during this year’s fair, which is scheduled to take place at the Sean Lemass library in Shannon, between

Monday, December 8 and Wednes- day, December 17.

“We hope to have up to 20 stands this year. We are encouraging peo- ple to support it and keep it going. It will be the place to get that special present. The majority of the stands are run by local people,” said one of the organisers Tess Barry.

“We have a lot to offer this year and we expect that it will be supported,”

she added.

Since the craft fair committee was first set up, there have been many changes in personnel over the years. Bridie Halton was a key member of the committee for many years and has handed the reins over, over time.

‘Many people over the years have helped to make the craft fair a suc- cess. We have had a lot of gifted crafters in the town,’ said Ms Barry.

Last year’s fair ran for just one week and the committee has decided to extend it this year, to cater for de- mand. The next meeting of the craft fair committee will take place next Tuesday, November 4, at the library, SITU BUNTcare lig ov eeF

Anyone interested in holding a stand at the craft fair should contact Tess Barry on 061 352241 or Carmel Daly on 061364266.