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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.

ST AIDAN’S national school in Shannon is going green – by conserv- ing energy! The school won its first green flag last year and every effort is being made to retain it this year.

Earlier this year the school was honoured when it was praised by the national tidy towns adjudicators, who were impressed by the green flag outside the school.

Now, led by teacher Patrice Hayes and the staff at the school, hopes are high that the green flag can be re- tained.

The school’s focus last year was on litter and waste reduction and this

year the theme is energy.

“Last year we launched our cam- paign to get our first green flag by planting 278 bulbs in our school gar- den, one for each child in the school. This year we launched our campaign in a rather different way,’ said Ms Hayes.

Last Wednesday, the — school stepped back in time, in an effort to save energy. All pupils were encour- aged to walk or cycle to school and if this was not possible, parents and staff were encouraged to pool cars. During a 100-minute period that morning, everybody refrained from turning on lights, kettles, cd players, photocopiers, computers and other

appliances. They also left the heat- ing off for that time and did not use the interactive whiteboards.

“To keep ourselves warm and to use our own energy each class took part in circuit training. A number of fun activity stations were set up in the yard, including hoola hoops and skipping ropes,’ she added.

Later that day, the third class pupils, led by their teachers Ms Clarke and Ms Falvey, demonstrated a number of science experiments, where en- IRAN oer- Fee BUN MO sComOee- BUN MONlo) talon

A series of science experiments were also run on Thursday, where energy was the main theme. These experiments were led by ‘Sue’ of the

Science and Engineering show ‘Steps to engineering’, which was held re- ar hae meson

Last year’s initiative was a major success and surveys carried out at the school produced startling results. They showed that 40 per cent of the rubbish in the bins consisted of pa- per tissues and this was eliminated. Children were also encouraged to bring home their rubbish, as part of plans to reduce rubbish levels. The programme also encouraged pupils to pick up papers around the school before going home each evening. The school is hopeful that last year’s suc- cess in obtaining the green flag can be followed through again this year.

THE key focus of the national Renewable En- ergy Heating conference in Bunratty last Fri- day was the promotion of quality assurance within the renewable energy heating industry.

National and international experts explored the importance and benefits of design, supply and installation of renewable energy heating technologies both in Ireland and abroad.

Dick Whelan of Renewable Energy Skills Skillnet CRESS) explained that the provision of quality products and services was crucial to the continued success of any industry.

“There have been some major developments in the renewable energy sector, including the introduction of installer accreditation and

minimum quality performance standards for products. At present, however, this is only ap- plicable in the case of installations that are grant aided. The phased introduction of build- ing energy ratings for housing and commercial buildings is another positive initiative’.

Fergus Blake of Clare-based Shamrock Solar Energies Ltd, a founding member of the RESS network said the conference offered a unique opportunity to all stakeholders in Ireland’s building energy sector to

exchange ideas on technology trends and what is happening in Europe.

Meanwhile, the Renewable Energy Skills Skillnet confirmed that it has had a record year to date as regards training numbers while its membership base has grown considerably.

IN the end, it came down to fresh- ness. The ability for Kilmurry Ibrickane’s management to be able to look up at their thirty plus panel in the stand and carefully choose the right player to instill some new life into the team’s tired limbs while Lis- cannor only had the bare bones.

But it wasn’t just a wealth of tal- ent in the squad that saw Kilmurry Ibrickane complete the perfect do- mestic year, it was also a freshness of ideas and drive that came from their new manager Micheal McDermott. Kilmurry Ibrickane always had the talent, it was just knitting that ability together that had been noticeably ab- sent in recent years so McDermott’s introduction was certainly a breath of fresh air.

And as the final whistle blew on an- other successful final, he took a sec- ond to reflect on their latest achieve- ment.

“It was extremely hard on the heart, there is no doubt about that. It went really down to the last five minutes to win that game and we said that at half-time. We knew they would come back strongly like they did against Doonbeg and you know, probably what won it for us at the end of the day was the freshness of the panel we had. The ground was a little bit heavy and sticky but the lads gave everything and the last five minutes

is when games have been won and lost, the All-Ireland was won and lost in that five minutes this year and it was no different there today.

‘The most important thing we said before the game was that on a day like today, you do not concede a goal because if we had done in that sec- ond half, I said that the roof would lift off that stand and give them the incentive they needed to go on and win. That’s why guys threw bodies in the way and there are a lot of sore bodies in that dressing room. Small men stood up to be big men today and we couldn’t have asked for a more wholehearted performance. It wasn’t a day for great football but it was a day of effort and heart to win a county title.”

Unbeaten domestically, McDer-

mott’s next challenge is for a provin- cial title but while he admits it has crossed his mind during the year, he won’t be planning anything immed1- ately.

“It definitely won’t be talked about for a few days but in the back of my own mind, I knew that we have a bunch of guys who are extremely talented here and if we won a county title today, we would give them a few days to celebrate but there 1s a mun- ster championship there to be won and we are going to give it every- thing and represent Clare as best we can. And maybe bring home one.”

With his track record so far, you wouldn’t doubt him for a second.

THE success enjoyed by the Wolfe Tones na Sionna GAA club on the pitch over the years has resulted in a huge interest in the club’s merchan- dise being made available.

The club has sold merchandise on occasions over the past few years, but now, for the first time, has decided to open a merchandise shop.

The shop is located in the old bar and opens on Thursdays from 8pm

to 9.30pm and on Sundays from 4pm to 6pm.

Managed by Eoghainn Logan, the shop stocks a full range of O’Neill’s sports gear, including polo shirts, t- shirts, hoodies, tracksuits, shorts and ele) .

ALMOST 200 new jobs are to be announced for Ennis-based firm, Microsemi which produces equip- ment for the US space exploration eyueseaw-baepasten

A further investment of €2.4 mil- lion is to be announced today at

Async Technologies Ltd, enhancing the company’s R&D and internation- al sales capabilities and creating 11 new high skilled jobs.

The multi-national Microsemi’s General Manager, Richard Finn has stated that the company will be in- creasing its Ennis workforce by 185 to 400 over the next two years.

Though the jobs have not been of- ficially announced, Mr Finn has in- formed Clare County Council of the imminent expansion in the course of a submission for additional car-park- ing at the Gort Road Business Park

site.