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THE FIRST ever Clare Enterprise Week which runs until this Tuesday has helped highlight the wide range of supports available to local enter- eho

Speaking at the launch of the week’s activities, Mayor Madeleine Taylor-Quinn expressed hope that the Enterprise Week would become an annual event.

“In the current economic climate, it is important to promote the advice and support available to assist in set- ting up and developing a business, e1- ther new or established. Every effort must be made to promote entrepre- neurship and protect the future com- petitiveness of the local economy”, she said.

“Clare Enterprise Week has been developed as a mechanism to pro- mote entrepreneurship as an oppor- tunity to all sectors, levels and people in Clare — from schoolchildren to the

retired with a desire to do more; to showcase the supports available; to get entrepreneurs to speak honestly and openly about their experiences; to inspire and encourage potential entrepreneurs and to encourage in-

vestment in the county”.

The majority of the sessions fea- tured during the week included case studies and inputs from people in business.

The event featured training and in- formation sessions as well as work- shops on innovation and leadership, creative industries, internet market- ing, planning and environmental matters. There were also sessions on energy management, opportunities for women, HR and Employment Law, succession planning, technol- ogy transfer and schools’ enterprise programmes.

Participating bodies included the Community and Enterprise Direc- torate of Clare County Council, the County Development Board, En- terprise Ireland, Shannon Develop- ment, the County Enterprise Board, local chambers, Clare VEC as well as the enterprise support agencies.

THEY are putting on their dancing shoes and literly battering the floors in the long village in preparation for this October Bank Holiday weekend.

The sounds of traditional music, song and dance can also be heard in Doonbeg as the village prepares to host the annual Willie Keane Memo- rial Weekend.

In its ninth year, the festival begins on Friday, October 24, with a tradi- tional music and singing session in Comerford’s Pub at 10pm.

The Brian Boru Céili Band will take to the stage in Igoe’s on the same night. Sessions continue throughout the weekend and the Bank Holiday

Monday.

A legendary dancer, Willie Keane had a style of battering that won him acclaim throughout Ireland and abroad. A member of the famed Mullagh Set, which won All-Ireland championships, Willie was featured on many RTE television programmes and toured America with Comhaltas Ceoltoiri. He shared his passion for set dancing by participating in set dances classes and taught battering at the Willie Clancy Summer School.

Willie was killed in a road accident in 1998. To commemorate him and pay tribute to the great gifts he pos- sessed and shared so generously, a committee was formed in Doonbeg and the first Willie Keane Memorial

Weekend was held in 2000.

In addition to the many pub ses- sions, two ceilthe will be held this year. The Abbey Céili Band will play for set dancers on Saturday, 25, at 10pm in Halla an Phobail and the Brian Boru Céili Band will play from 2.30 to 5pm on Sunday, 26 at the same venue. For the first time, a children’s céili will be held on Satur- day evening from 5 to 7pm.

Set dancing classes will also be held all day Saturday by Mary Clancy for adults (1lam to 4pm) and by Geral- dine Greene for children (1lam to Ipm). Suzanne Leahy will also lead a sean-nos dancing workshop on Sat- urday afternoon (2 to 4pm).

For those interested in singing, a

singing workshop will be conducted on Saturday from 4pm to 6pm in Comerford’s pub. The same venue hosts the ever-popular Sunday after- noon singing session.

The Memorial Mass at 10am on Sunday will commemorate Wil- lie through music and dancing. The Mass is followed by a Trad Break- fast, which is served at Tubridy’s with proceeds to benefit the Cherven orphans, Belarus.

The highlight of the weekend is the Traditional Concert on Sunday evening, which this year will feature The Fureys and Davey Arthur. Edel Fox, Cyril O’Donoghue and Jack Tal- ty will open the concert, which will Start at 8pm in Halla an Phobail.

A ROMANIAN woman who stole two dozen bottles of alcohol from a Shannon supermarket – by hiding them under her coat – has been hand- ed a week-long jail term.

Aurelia Sindie took 24 bottles of alcohol on two dates within a week from Dunnes Stores in the SkyCourt shopping centre, Shannon.

Sindie (29), of Emerson Avenue, Salthill, Galway, pleaded guilty to stealing eight bottles of Hennessy brandy on April 24 last. She also admitted stealing 10 bottles of Jame-

son whiskey, two bottles of Hen- nessy brandy and four bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey, one week later, on May 1. The total cost of the bottles amounted to €946.36.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told Shan- non District Court last Thursday that on May | last, the accused went shopping in Dunnes.

She paid for household items, but concealed the alcohol – worth €590.44 – and did not pay for it. Se- curity staff detected her.

It later transpired that she had been in the store exactly a week earlier – at 3pm in the afternoon – when she had

concealed eight bottles of brandy.

“That investigation was only con- ducted because she was detected on May 1,” said Inspector Kennedy.

The court was told that while the accused had no previous convictions in her native Romania, she had been convicted of shoplifting in Roscom- jeaCOyempaMLetelon

Her solicitor Daragh Hassett said she “stole with the hope of selling the bottles on to her friends.”

“She was in doing some shopping and yes, she succumbed to tempta- tion due to financial hardship. . . She now has three strikes on her record.

She has only been here a year,” he Cree

“She was walking into shops, putting bottles under her coat. It beg- gars belief that she would think she would get away with this,’ he said. He added that the accused has now learnt her lesson.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a seven-day jail term and ordered that the Health Service Executive be noti- 1nsreb

He fined her ©200 and ordered that the remaining compensation – €355.92 – be paid. He fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.

KILRUSH Town councillors were thinking votes and revenue as they considered the possibility of extend- ing the town boundary.

At Thursday’s monthly meet- ing of the local authority Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) proposed that the council call on the Minister for En- vironment, Heritage and Local Gov- ernment to establish an independent commission in the adequacy of ex- isting legislation to simplify the pro- cedures for extending town bounda- ries.

“All towns are expanding and in Kilrush we too have experienced a building a boom. New housing es- tates have grown up around the pe-

riphery of the town and we have new communities living there who do not come under the town council remit. If we are to build a sense of belong- ing for people who live in these es- tates, it behoves us to make them feel part of our community,” he said.

“The existing legislation exiles these people within the wider county council framework. We need amend- ed legislation to bring these periph- eral suburban areas under the urban remit. I call on the minister to pro- vide for this eventuality when he is drawing up his proposal on the Re- form of Local Government.”

Cllr Stephen O’Gorman (FF) told the meeting that his daughter who lives in Kilrush is just outside the town boundary.

Come June the young woman will not be able to vote for her father in the local election.

““T remember there was a candidate outside the area who ran in the elec- tion and couldn’t vote for himself,’ said Cllr Collie Sweeney (Ind).

The mayor of Kilrush Liam O’Looney believed that a boundary change would also have a positive af- fect on the revenue of the town.

“Tesco and a lot of these businesses are outside the town boundary and there are a lot of levies from these outside the town,’ he said.

THE application by Clare GAA to rezone Cusack Park to facilitate a €350 million Town Centre Devel- opment is in the best interests of the economic and social development of Ennis, according to Ennis Chamber.

In supporting the project, Chamber President Niall Garvey said the de- cision is a bold but necessary one if Ennis is to create jobs, enhance the retail on offer and compete success- fully with neighbouring towns.

“It is simply unacceptable that an estimated €58 million is draining out of Ennis every year in out of

town shopping.

“The by-pass is a wonderful piece of infrastructure but it has the capac- ity to take people out of Ennis just as easily as to bring them in. We all welcome the opening of the western rail link next year but we must also realise that right now it may be more beneficial to Galway city retailers,” Mr. Garvey added.

With the draft Ennis and Environs Development Plan set to be consid- ered by members of Ennis Town Council, Mr Garvey said Ennis had reached a stage critical to the future development of the town.

“Ultimately, the decision to adopt

the plan, which will be valid for the next six years, will be made by the elected councilors,” Mr. Garvey said. The chamber believes the arguments for a new town centre development are “compelling”, pointing to in- creased competition from Limerick and Galway.

“The chamber must protect the interests of the existing town centre businesses. In particular we don’t want traders on the O’Connell St/ Market side of town to be disadvan- taged. Any new development on the Cusack Park site cannot function in isolation but must be connected and integrated seamlessly with exist-

ing streets and businesses,’ said Mr Garvey.

The Aisling Chiosoig Partnership who are behind the proposed River- Side Quarter for Cusack Park have said that up to 1,000 jobs will be cre- ated when the project is completed and about 500 jobs in construction.

“A pessimist would agree that even if they only achieved 75% of their employment objective, it would be a major achievement in terms of jobs and revenue generation. Should the IDA or any other agency make this kind of commitment to Ennis, we would be dancing with joy,’ said Mr. Garvey.

IT seems the community that plays together stays together, as the com- munity spirit in Ballynacally has all hands on deck to build a new play area in the Fairgreen.

Plans have already been drawn up, planning permission secured and a 66,000 council grant ready to draw upon.

Ballynacally Development now has to fundraise for the play area, and have it completed before the Tidy Towns judging in June.

James Maher from the develop- ment group said work is due to begin

on the project in February. The play area 1s to be built into a portion of the Fairgreen.

“It is architecturally designed to blend in with the natural environ- ment including the trees. It will not be visible from the road,’ said Mr Maher.

“Tt will provide a play area for chil- dren and enhance the presentation of the Fairgreen from a tidy town’s per- spective,’ he said.

Mr Maher explained that one of the goals of this project was to ensure that it could not impact negatively on the character of the Fairgreen.

“We have some nice gentle play

equipment for under the trees, there is no bright garish play equipment,’ he said.

Some of the equipment chosen for the area also has an educational NEVO Cop

Parents and other adults are not forgotten in this project, as some out- door adult exercise equipment will also be included.

While using this equipment parents can keep a watchful eye on their chil- dren playing.

The planned play area is part of an ongoing major project in the village.

It is envisaged that a water area, wooden sculpture and sitting area

will also be provided on the Fair- ato te

“We are also setting up a heritage trail as part of the tidy towns,” said Mr Maher.

Paradise House, which was once owned by the Henn family, will also become part of this trail as will what is considered one of the last working forges in the country.

COUNTY finals are unpredictable beasts of things.

They often go to script with the favourites winning out. Then again scripts are frequently shredded and then thrown over the rusting hulk of Cusack Park’s shed terrace and left to float down river and out of town.

You only have to go back 12 months. The Townies were talking domina- tion before their head-on collision with a Lissycasey team that simply weren’t going to be beaten in county finals two years in a row.

The Townies had beaten bluebloods

Doonbeg and St Senan’s Kilkee to get there – two teams with 11 county titles between them over the previous 20 years. Lissycasey had nothing – the victory could be marked down.

History now tells us that something very different panned out….

And, a different story will unfold between Kilmurry Ibrickane and Liscannor. 2007 is a good starting point though.

All because, Kilmurry mightn’t be talking domination publicly, but their form has been such this year that domination fits them like old cus- tom-made and handcrafted Black- thorn football boots.

Liscannor may have beaten the bluebloods of Lissycasey, Eire Og and Doonbeg, but it’s Kilmurry Ibrickane’s county final. That’s what 90 per cent of the football population will tell you this week.

After all, Liscannor were 8-1 to win the championship before they kicked a ball against Doonbeg in the semi-final.

Word is that Liscannor folk, who are no strangers to big punts thanks to generations of coursing dogs in John Scales’ Field, mowed in with their money before the Doonbeg game. And, they won’t be laying off the bet before Sunday’s final.

No, Liscannor’s script has a fairy- tale ending! It’s why Liscannor and surrounds will be emptied of its pop- ulation on Sunday.

The barony of Ibrickane will be de- populated too.

Both are expecting – Liscannor are ready to welcome Jack back to McHugh’s; Kilmurry are primed to roll the green and red carpet out in the Quilty Tavern.

The county final script on its own will tell us if Jack Daly takes a left turn at Inagh for Quilty or goes straight ahead for Liscannor.

Maybe Liscannor will hit the form they showed in the last six minutes of

the Cusack Cup final in 2006 when they scored five points on the bounce to beat Lissycasey by two.

Maybe they won’t.

Maybe Kilmurry will repeat their county semi-final form against Kil- oro

Maybe they won’t.

The ‘What Ifs’ are the great- est things about county final week countdown.

The countdown begins here.

THE husband of a woman who died from breast cancer after being given the all clear at Ennis General Hospital has appealed for people to speak to the HIQA investigation, as the number of misdiagnosis claims reaches six.

Karl Henry said that those con- cerned about cancer examinations and misdiagnosis at the Clare hosp1- tal should avail of the investigation by the state’s health service watchdog into the quality and safety of patient care at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Ennis.

Mr Henry made the appeal as more cases of misdiagnosis come to light. The latest case is a woman from north Clare who died in June last year.

The 50-year-old mother of two had two scans at Ennis General Hospital.

Last month Mr Henry highlighted the case of his late wife Ann Mor1- arty who died despite repeatedly be- ing told she was not ul.

Despite claims that this was an 1so- lated case, the case of 26-year-old Edel Kelly from Kilrush emerged days later. The young mother of two also died despite been given the all clear following a biopsy.

A third case of an unidentified woman emerged last month, while last week the fourth case involv- ing the late Eva Corry (66) came to light.

Mr Henry said that he is also aware of a Kilkee woman who lost her life in 2001, months after she was given the all clear.

‘There were tears running down her husband’s face as he told me. Seven years later, he is still distraught. It would go a long way with him com- ing to terms with his loss if he knew why his wife died.”

Mr Henry said there is a perception that the investigation is only looking into female cancers and breast can- Coe

Referring to mistakes made with his late wife’s blood tests, he said this was not true, as blood tests can be taken for many cancers.

‘This leaves the investigation open to all sorts of cancers,’ he added.

Meanwhile, a Clare man who was wrongly given the all-clear for breast cancer at Galway’s University Col- lege Hospital a number of years ago has now been told he will require surgery.

Following a review of tests carried out at the hospital the man, who does not wished to be identified, received a letter from the hospital explaining

the mistake.

Although rare, breast cancer also affects men. The man in question will now undergo a bilateral mastec- reyeene

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IMPROVED _ pedestrian _ safety measures need to be carried out as ‘‘a matter of urgency” near the Ennis bus and rail station.

The issued has been raised amid growing concerns from_ residents about the lack of pedestrian cross- ings and footpaths in the area.

The areas highlighted are the roundabout at the crossroads of Sta- tion Road, Clonroad and the Quin JWCey:TeMr: Dele ms aome-DUMyc-h yo) ele lexor

Speaking at last Monday’s meeting of Ennis Town council, Councillor Tommy Brennan (Ind) called for pe- destrian crossings to be installed at the roundabout.

He said, “There are an amount of people using the road there, going over to the station and going out the Quin Road. I think that as a matter of urgency, we have to look at provid- ing pedestrian crossing”’.

“It was ok for people to take the lights out from the roundabout but in doing that it seems that we’ve for- gotten that people still need to cross the road there. It’s imperative we put a pedestrian crossing. It wouldn’t make much of a difference with the four roads. There are ways of doing it. One could be put on each of the Key: (eke

Cllr Brennan also commented that serious improvements were needed at the nearby rail bridge.

“If there are two cattle trucks using the road and a woman is pushing a pram, its deadly dangerous. It would be very easy to get pushed up against the wall. There will be someone killed. It’s scandalous”

Town Engineer Tom Tiernan said agreement had been reached with CIE for a walkway to be developed parallel to the main road bridge.

‘We are hoping to have all the work completed there by late spring 2009, in time for the completion of the first phase of the Western Rail Corridor. I agree, it is deadly there’.

The calls were made as Ennis Town Council prepares a report of the draft Ennis Traffic Management Plan 2008.

According to the council, after the report has been considered by mem- bers, the draft plan will then go on public display and a public consul- tation process will be undertaken. Submissions received by the coun- cil will be considered by the elected members. The formal adoption of the plan with or without amendments will take place after consideration of submissions and following consulta- tion with the gardai.

ClUlr Johnny Flynn (FG) said he was very disappointed that ESB work practices had led to a delay in the completion of pedestrian cross- ings at locations in Ennis.

“They are urgently needed,” he Cr AKOR

A QUARTER of a century of the John Fennel School of Dancing has produced thousands of new dancers, hundreds of medals and 26 shows sold out to national audiences.

All this from a 19-year-old who 25 years ago cycled throughout the west Clare peninsula teaching dancing in small schools.

Now children from all over Clare come to the Cooraclare Community Centre to practice for sell out shows and extra performances to celebrate the school’s silver anniversary, as the west Clare phenomena that is Hell for Leather.

Founder John Fennell maintains the success of the venture is down to hard work, support of parents and the dedication of the children.

The Cooraclare man learned to dance from the couple he credits with bringing step dancing to west Clare – Eugene and Pat Phillips.

“Everything that has branched off since 1s a protégé of them,” he said.

From a family of eight his mother was determined to get half of the family dancing and John hasn’t stopped since.

As he reached the senior classes with the Phillips, John began teach- ing the junior dancers.

From there he began preparing dancers for competition in his own Ce) b iter

At just 19 he was invited to teach step dancing in some small west Clare schools.

“*T often left at half eight in the morn- ing and cycled to Kilbaha to do aclass and then on to Doonaha. I would cy- cle to Doonbeg for an evening class and then on to Cooraclare for an older class. The legs would be nearly gone of me,’ he smiled, and well he should, as it was through dancing he first met his wife.

From these early classes, teaching Irish dancing and step dancing, he

successfully saw his pupils win 38 Munster titles, 35 All-Irelands and six internationals.

Despite this success he believed the future was not in figure dancing and pulled all dancers from competition to concentrate on set dancing.

He was told this would not work but the Cooraclare man thought dif- Keone

“Then I began to think why pick eight dancers and put them into an All-Ireland and leave the others. Pri- mary kids were also leaving dancing when they left school so I thought I’d organise classes for teens.

“Each area then had a class, and I choreographed a piece for each area. For a joke I got them all together in Cooraclare so they could all dance.”

It was at that show that Pat Lineen pointed out to John he had “the mak- ings of a good show”. So with two new pieces added, Hell for Leather was launched in Glor in September Aves

Of the 193 dancers to take to the stage that fateful night, 17 remain with John today.

“They are all teaching with me and passing on the trade to the begin- ners,” he said.

This core group are also instru- mental in getting the new Hell for Leather show to Glor on October 29 and 30, and ready again for a special OS iekientenee es

This time around it is 176 five to 13 year olds that will entertain audi- Neen

“It not only keeps them fit but they also have 170 friends they wouldn’t otherwise have. They have learned how to dress themselves, how to get ready for a show, how to hang up their uniforms, respect for others and punctuality,” said John of his newest stars.