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BLACK and amber as well as blue and gold colours have been affixed to the Canon Hamilton Cup this week.

All in readiness for the big day out When the senior championship cup will sit on its perch in Cusack Park’s Ard Comhairle, waiting to be taken home by either Newmarket-on-Fer- gus or Clonlara.

The colours will have an extra sig- nificance this year — all because of Canon Michael Hamilton, the col- ourful cleric who in a long, distin- guished and sometimes controversial

GAA career ruled the Clare County Board with an iron fist, commentated on an All-Ireland football final for Radio Eireann and famously brought the 1947 All-Ireland football final to New York.

It’s 39 years since Canon Hamilton fell 11] during a county final between Clarecastle and Newmarket-on-Fer- gus in Cusack Park and later died in Ennis General Hospital, but he’d loved to have lived to see the day when Newmarket-on-Fergus and Clonlara clashed in a county final.

You see, Hamilton was a man of both Clonlara and Newmarket-on-

Fergus. Born and reared in Clonlara; parish priest in Newmarket-on-Fer- gus for many years. He was in Trea- cys Field in O’Callaghan’s Mills when Clonlara beat Scariff in the °19 final; he was there for most of New- market’s triumphs from the ‘20s to the ‘60s; he would have seen the East Clare final between the two in Fr Murphy Park in ’36, but the day he would have yearned for most of all would be Clonlara v Newmarket-on- Fergus for his cup in Cusack Park. On leaving Clare to take up a new clerical post in Nenagh in 1956, Hamilton showed that modesty

wasn’t part of his make-up, by buy- ing acup, naming it after himself and presenting it to the county board for the senior hurling championship.

It was as important to him as the the Polo Grounds All-Ireland — but a contest between Clonlara and Newmarket for his cup would have definitely put Polo Grounds men like John Joe O’Reilly, Joe Keohane, Mick Higgins and Paddy Kennedy in the shade.

Clonlara have never been Canon Hamilton contenders, apart from the contribution from Colm Honan and co to the St Senan’s team beaten by

Newmarket in the 1972 final; the Blues meanwhile filled their former parish priest’s cup 13 times from 1963 to 81.

Sixty minutes on Sunday will see where the Canon Hamilton gets its first fill of drink. Clonlara? Newmar- ket-on-Fergus?

Wherever it is, it’s true to say that the Canon Hamilton will be going home.

TULLA fundraiser extraordinaire, Kitty Leyden, is celebrating having hit the €100,000 fundraising mark by taking off for South Africa to- morrow to walk miles in the blister- ing sun to help sick children.

72 year old Kitty – who has raised the massive amount for charities over the last 25 years – says she is going to hang up her walking shoes after this trip.

But she admits, she’s said that be- fore!

Kitty will walk 60 kilometres in

Capetown to bring in money to fund equipment and research in Crumlin Children’s hospital in Dublin.

‘It’s bad enough to get sick in your 50’s or 60’s – at least you’ve lived and done things. But when you see these poor sick children, who have seen nothing of life yet.

‘The money people give so gener- ously is needed to keep these chil- dren alive’, said Kitty.

Kitty has raised €9,400 for this trip alone but her one regret about the trip is that she “can’t fly from Shannon – I have to go to Dublin’.

In her time, Kitty has raised money

for numerous causes through mara- thon step dancing, walking, organis- ing music sessions and even shavea- thons, one of which is coming up in December.

‘People and businesses have been sO very, very good to me. They’ve given me pennies when that was all they had and they all mount up and they’ve given me huge amounts as well. I remember when I started rais- ing money for Crumlin, a man from Tulla came up to me in the street and handed me €300 – I ran after him, I thought he had made a mistake, but he said no, that was what he was giv-

ing me.”

But even while she says she’s plan- ning to hang up her shoes, the deter- mined Tulla woman is plotting more fun and fund-generators.

She is organising a night in Novem- ber in Cois na hAbhanna in Ennis, where the Kilfenora Ceili Band have offered their services free of charge and the above-mentioned shaveathon will see several hairy sons of the soil have their limbs shaved.

“It’s all good fun and the important thing to remember are the people who need every penny we can raise”, SJ aTomcy BOR

ALARM, chaos and anger. That was the reaction among residents in Shan- non as word filtered through that the components of a bomb were discov- ered at a house in the town last week. The very idea that somebody in the town could consider, and worryingly, get their hands on such deadly equip- ment has caused grave concern.

Gardai have made no secret of the fact that this find was related to crim- inal activity in Limerick and was in- tended for use in the city. This is not the first time that concern in Shan- non in relation to Limerick has been aired in recent weeks.

The people of Shannon, through their elected representatives, have vehemently opposed the relocation of criminal elements from Limerick into Shannon. A debate by Shannon town councillors last month later danced its way into the national me- dia. The message was clear. Shannon would not play host to criminal ele- ments from Limerick.

A priest in Moyross took exception to comments from some councillors and wrote to Shannon Town Coun- cil to voice his concerns. But Shan- non councillors held firm: they will accept non-locals – as the town has regularly done for decades – but only those without criminal connections.

Troublemakers are not welcome.

Fuel was added to the fire when a riot broke out at a birthday party in a licensed premises in Shannon a number of weeks ago. Punches were thrown, glasses were fired at random and regulars at the pub were forced to flee for their own safety as all hell broke loose.

The people of Shannon do not want to see this type of activity in their back yards. People who have lived in the Slaney Park and Fergus Road housing estates for several years were scared when the area became a maze of Garda vans, patrol cars and detec- tive branch cars on Thursday night of last week.

They were initially unaware of what was going on. As the significance of it emerged, locals were horrified. Al- though reservations have been aired about unsavoury elements moving in to the area, nobody could have envis- aged what took hold last week.

As the Garda investigation into the startling discovery continues, lo- cal fears intensify; they are fearful that further incidents will take place in the immediate vicinity of their homes. The safety they have enjoyed in their homes for decades has been transformed to terrifying fear. As Limerick’s problems spread to Clare, it is the people of Shannon who are forced to bear the brunt.

THERE were a few years there when it looked as if the golden generation of Kilmurry Ibrickane footballers that were farmed and nurtured on Pairc Naomh Mhuire in Quilty were letting the best years of their sport- ing lives pass them by.

They were the supposed bluebloods — the most richly talented group of underage players ever produced by a club in the county, but a harvest that had failed to deliver ever since throwing away a glorious opportuni- ty to reach the All-Ireland Club final welt ey

That February day in Pearse Sta- dium, Kilmurry Ibrickane should have beaten Ballina Stephenites in the All-Ireland semi-final, but when they didn’t deliver on their All-Ire- land potential they seemed to stop delivering on their own stage back home in Clare.

Until October 19, 2008 that is.

This was the day that a band of brothers in green and red finally stood up and delivered a county title back to the barony of Ibrickane. It’s true that in the four years since their last championship success they’ve produced some stunning displays of “Total Football’, but as the Dutch found out in ’°74, ‘Total Football’ doesn’t necessarily win silverware.

The “Total Football’ came in the semi-final win over St Senan’s Kil- kee, but that counted for nothing

until the Jack Daly Cup was brought back to Mullagh, Coore and Quilty.

As captain Shane Hickey put it from Cusack Park’s Ard Comhairle when accepting the cup, “the Jack Daly has wandered around from parish to par- ish for the last four years but its back to where it belongs tonight”.

It was hard to argue when you con- sider that Kilmurry Ibrickane have been unbeaten this year. And, they’re not finished yet as the prospect of a Munster Club final appearance opens out before them.

“We’re really looking forward to Munster,” said a jubilant Kilmurry Ibrickane manager Micheal McDer- mott minutes after the final whistle. ‘““Kilmurry have a great tradition in Munster, they were in a final in the early 90 and then they won it the last time they came out of Clare in 2004. That’s the aim for this team. We’ll enjoy the next few days and then start focussing on the next game. That’s what we’ve done with all games this year. It’s been from one game to the next.”

You believe McDermott, except you think that the celebrations back in the barony of Ibrickane might last longer than just a few days.

They’ll last for the week.

SCARIFF native Margaret Hoey, could teach us all a thing or two about recessions, depressions and upswings.

Margaret celebrated her 105th birth- day, and enjoyed cutting her cake to share with family and friends while doling out a dose of common sense about the budget which was an- nounced the same day.

On hand to help her blow out the candles were five children, 15 grand- children and 11 great-grandchildren.

The secret to her long life, she be- lieves is to “forget about yourself and live away”.

The spry pensioner like watching sport on TV, particularly hurling and rugby and she keeps abreast of cur- KS) 01 MEAN BEAD BuCe

Margaret’s take on one the harshest budgets in her lifetime is that there was too much money being flung around anyway.

Margaret has lived through world events that most have only read about in the history books, including the hard times that the State suffered

during the Anglo-Irish economic war of the 1930s. Born in 1903, the year St Patrick’s Day was made a na- tional holiday, she has lived through the sinking of the Titanic, the end of British rule in most of Ireland, the roll-out of electricity, two world wars, the advent of television, eight Irish Presidents and the rise and de- cline of the Celtic Tiger.

The native of Poulnagower, Scar- iff, believes that much of the coun- try’s current woes stem from the fact that “everyone is too well paid..the salaries and wages are too high for a

small country and the borrowing is too much for people these days with their big empty homes. We just can’t afford it. The good days didn’t last long, it wasn’t permanent,” she said.

Sr Christine Murphy of the Carrig- oran nursing home where Margaret is currently resident, described her as “‘a true lady and an inspiration to Oe

COMPONENTS of a pipe bomb, a revolver, a round of ammunition and cannabis resin were seized during a major operation involving 30 gardai in Shannon last Thursday evening.

Gardai believe there were plans to assemble a bomb and it would be launched in Limerick, as part of feud-related activity. The items were found during searches of two rented houses in the Drumgeely area of Shannon – one at Slaney Park and the other at Fergus Road.

The revolver was found concealed in a hedge at the back of one of the houses and was, like all the other items taken, sent for technical exam- ination to garda headquarters. The amount of drugs found at the scene was understood to be small.

A 27-year-old Limerick native was arrested at the scene and was taken to Ennis Garda Station for question- ing. Several other people were in the houses at the time of the operation, but no-one else was arrested. The suspect was later released without charge and a file is being prepared for

the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will decide whether charges will be brought.

The searches were carried out as part of a massive garda operation, 1n- vestigating criminal activity in Lim- erick and Shannon. Thirty gardai – from Ennis, Shannon and the re- gional armed support unit – were in- volved in the operation.

“What we found was component parts so there was no danger to any persons.

“We suspect it would be going in to Limerick, when assembled,” said a

Garda spokesman.

The house at Slaney Park was pre- served overnight and further search- es were carried out there on Friday. However, nothing of evidential nature was recovered the following day.

This operation follows several complaints from members of the public in Shannon about activity in a number of rented houses in the town over the past number of weeks.

Gardai have been monitoring the situation and say their investigations into last Thursday’s operation are continuing.

THESE 16 exclusive and very luxu- rious detached houses in Blackwater are marketed as ‘bespoke’ proper- ties, in other words all of the proper- ties are totally unique and tailored to each individual client.

According to the developer Seamus Danagher “We deliver the highest level of workmanship which is per- sonally supervised from inception to

completion”’.

The exclusive development is situ- ated in a sylvan setting, close to all amenities and within a few minutes drive of Limerick city. It is also with- in easy access of the N7 for those traveling regularly to Dublin.

Selling agent Lisa Kearney of Rooney Auctioneers, Limerick com- mented, “We are confident that this exclusive development will spark the imagination of potential buyers and

demonstrate that a Springhill be- spoke property is the perfect choice for their new home”.

Buyers can choose from a four or five bedroom option, each with sig- nificant, well appointed living ac- commodation.

These houses offer a real sense of presence and substance. The highly impressive exterior of each house is matched by the equally stylish inte- ule)e

“The houses deliver a_ definite “wow factor’, said Lisa, who added, “while the finishing touches differ with each individual property, own- ers can expect Georgian style sliding sash timber windows, external and internal solid wood doors and hard- wood fascia and soffits.

“They come with solar panels and old style slate and ridge tiled roof. A cobble lock driveway, with in-set up- lighters, and paved patio are includ-

ed, plus the lawns are seeded”.

Apart from the super high standard finishes, the houses can then be fitted out to the requirements of the indi- vidual buyer.

The show house has just opened, viewing of which is by appoint- ment only through selling agent Lisa Kearney of Rooney Auctioneers, Limerick. You can contact them by ringing 061 413511 or by email at lkearney@rooneys.eu.

THE MODELS who will be strut- ting their stuff on the catwalk for a fashion fund-raiser next month get out of bed for way less than 5,000 dollars a day.

In fact, the teams, parents and pals of the Smith O’Brien minors would be happy to get €5,000 between them for the efforts on the night.

The fun fashion event is to raise money to help fund the activities of the busy minors, who have 120 play- ers from under-6 up and who have a team in every age bracket in the county competitions.

The fashion extravaganza, which

will be launched tonight and 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 committee member, Antoinette RAVEN

Outside of Killaloe, boutiques in Nenagh and Scariff and a depart- ment store in Limerick have all come on board.

“They are supporting us by show- ing clothes on the night and every one of them has donated a spot prize – they’ve been fantastic’, Antoinette

said.

Supervalu has sponsored a cheese and wine reception to get everyone in the mood on the night and a beau- tician, hairdresser and two boutiques have offered their service and two €100 clothes vouchers for a make- over for two lucky people on the vbr al

“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 lot of fun.

‘Because this is the first time we have done anything like this, we have no idea how much money it might raise. €5,000 would be great but we just don’t know yet. The main thing is we hope people will come along and support it and have a great time. It should be a fabulous night’, said Antoinette.

THERE have been calls for Clare County Council to impose a freeze on commercial rates ahead of its an- nual budget.

The calls come as figures reveal that ratepayers in the Kilrush area are the highest contributors to Coun- cil coffers. Businesses in Kilrush, including the ESB at Moneypoint, contributed just over €11, 668,657 so far in 2008. Shannon was next on the list with ratepayers there cough- ing up just over €11, 324,000.

Ennis contributed €1,405,612, Ennistymon just over ©2 million and Killaloe just over €3 million. The total amount collected so far is €33,672,149.

Cllr Gerry Flynn, who put forward the motion requesting a comprehen- sive rates report for Clare, challenged the county manager Alec Fleming to introduce a rate freeze as a vote of confidence in businesses operating in a turbulent economic climate.

Mr. Fleming said all options would be considered when the Council pre- pared its annual budget.

He also revealed a seven per cent CU KeyoMDeMBAbNOCDUOToaN COvumssloMCCOLEDNCCUME-DUIT ing out of the budget. Mr Fleming said that a two per cent payment due to the Council would not be fully re- ceived until early 2009.

“The seven per cent is going to cause an amount of problems for us. It leaves us with a considerable shortfall.”

Mr Fleming said he recognised the contribution of the commercial sec- co) e

“Tt will be difficult to come up with a balanced budget, but we will do it.

We will bear the commercial sector in mind,’ added Mr Fleming.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said it was important that the effects of the economic downturn on Shannon air- port be considered when taking into account the level of commercial ac- tivity in Clare. She said the issue of job losses was already a serious and daily concern in the area.

Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) said that despite the major contribution of west Clare ratepayers, the region still lagged behind other areas of the County when it came to services, 1n-

frastructure and political representa- wlOne

Speaking later on a motion put forward by Cllr Pat McMahon (FF), calling for the date of the budget to be brought forward, Cllr Tony Mulc- ahy (FG) warned tough budgetary measures would be needed.

Cllr Mulcahy said the Council was facing a Serious shortfall in finances. “It’s not going to come from devel- opment contributions, or rates. So we better come prepared with a package for wage cuts or job losses. You can’t borrow money to pay for wages.”

THEY stood together in Cusack Park and looked on. Kilmurry had it all. Another County title, a night of long celebration and a season that stretch- es into the provincial championships. Everything. Liscannor had tears, re- egret and the rain.

So they stood and watched. A group and a world of emotion away from the tightly packed circle of red and green jerseys, ever expanding on the muddied surface of Cusack Park.

They listened to Shane Hickey, Kil- murry Ibrickane’s winning captain, as he collected Jack Daly. Hickey spoke fiercely about the honesty and integrity of Liscannor football. It was a nice touch but Liscannor looked lost and utterly disconnected from the joy exploding around them.

They will know and reflect in the years to come that this was a game there for the taking. One kick. One lousy kick could have made all the difference as the gap between the teams, in an increasingly tense sec- ond half, narrowed.

Liscannor couldn’t find a way. Kil- murry did. Looking suddenly un- burdened, they rattled off three late points in the closing stages and the margin widened to double scores.

“That’s football’, said Liscannor manager Tommy Curtain at the end of Hickey’s speech and as the teams started to file towards the dressing room.

He added, “The final scoreline is not an indication of how the game went. We were in better scoring position than they were in on a cou- ple of occasions. There was there

when were on the left hand side of the square. So we had the chances. I think at one stage there, we had a wide and we were only two points down. Had we got the point we could have driven on”.

The knee injury suffered by Niall Considine in the 4th minute made tatters of Liscannor’s game plan. Considine had to come off and Cur- tain was forced to deploy one of his team’s most potent attacking threats, Alan Clohessy, to wing back, to cur- tail the influence of Stephen Molo- eae

The loss of Considine was a devas- tating one, according to Curtain.

“We were right in the game we fairly gave it our all. But the loss, I thought of Niall Considine, in the first few minutes was a telling factor. What happened was we had to de- ploy our wing forward to a wing back position and I think that took away a lot of the fire from our bellies. Even at that, we were well in the game. We

had some very good chances in front of goal and didn’t take them. But fair play to Kilmurry. We congratulate them. We were beaten by the better team”.

Curtain said Liscannor were ill equipped to absorb the loss of such an influential player.

“It’s ok for Kilmurry to lose a play- er but for us in Liscannor to lose a county player, especially when it was Niall, it was a huge loss to us. I feel if we had Niall we would have driven on and we’d probably have won the eee

Fireworks thrown from the stand fizzled out on the grass. Smoke drifted and the rain continued to fall. Curtain left with his players as the evening sky grew dark. The wait for Liscannor goes on.