Category: Uncategorized

TWO YOUNG Shannon men will rub shoulders with one of the all- time greats in long-distance running in the world, this weekend.

Darren O’Connell and Alan Mullin will travel to Berlin, where they will run their ninth marathon in as many months on Sunday, as part of a 12- marathons challenge.

Along with taking another step to- wards history, the two will line out in a field that includes the prolific Ethiopian marathon runner Haile Gebreselassie.

After Berlin, their task will be completed with runs in Dublin and New York while the feat will come to a dramatic conclusion in Lisbon in December.

The two decided to undertake the

challenge in aid of cystic fibrosis, in memory of their friend Earl Duff who died from the disease in 1996, at the age of just 21.

Both men have overcome pains and aches to run the first eight mara- thons, but the next four races will be particularly tough.

“Our last marathon in Longford went very well. We both finished in three hours 57 minutes which for me was the best time of the year so far. The marathon before that, in the Swiss Alps, was an extremely tough race with the route going over two 2,500 metre mountains. It took me five hours 53 minutes and Alan six hours 13 minutes to complete but it was a great experience and definitely worth the effort,’ said Darren.

“I definitely feel the marathons are taking a bit of a toll on the legs.

Alan and I calculated that between the eight marathons and the train- ing we have probably run somewhere between 1,200 and 1,300 miles this year so far.

‘Alan is training very hard at the moment as he is hoping to run a good time in Berlin and 1s looking to run a personal best there.

‘“T’ve been slacking off a bit on the training lately as I will be playing in a county hurling final in the next cou- ple of weeks so I’m trying to keep the legs fresh. Once the hurling is over I would hope to up the training again and try to run a personal best in one of the remaining marathons,’ added DEE

The fundraising has been going well and a number of quizzes will take place over the coming weeks, both in Shannon and in Dublin

(where Alan is based), along with churchgate collections and bag pack- ing. They are optimistic that they can raise £20,000 by the end of the chal- lenge.

“We are both still optimistic that we will complete the 12 marathons. At this stage most of the hard work is done and barring injuries we should have no problem finishing the 12. At this stage we actually look forward to doing them. We’re both really look- ing forward to Berlin where there will be 40,000 competing including the world record holder Haile Ge- breselassie so that should be a great experience,’ he added.

They are appealing to people to support them in their efforts. Spon- sorship cards are available and people can still donate online at www.12marathons.org.

DR Noel Cawley was last week ap- pointed as the new Chairman of Teagasc by the Minister for Agricul- ture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD. Cawley will take over the reins of the Teagasc from Dr Tom O’Dwyer, who has completed two five year terms as chairman.

Cawley was Chief Executive of the Irish Dairy Board until 2006. He also served as Chairman of the Irish Horse Board, and more recently chaired the Government-established Seafood Strategy Review and Imple-

mentation Group.

A native of Sligo, he also served as chairman of the Farmers’ Charter Monitoring Group set up by the De- partment of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and is a Director of One 51 PLC.

“Dr O’Dwyer leaves Teagasc hav- ing set out a clear structure and mis- sion for the organisation for the years ahead most recently with the initia- tion of the Teagasc Research Vision programme and with the launch of the Teagasc Foresight report which identifies the research, innovation and support priorities for the next

quarter century for Ireland’s agri- food sector,” said Minister Smith.

In addition to the appointment of a new chairman, Minister Smith has appointed two other new members to the Teagasc Authority. Padraig Gibbons from Bullaun, Mayneen in County Mayo has been appointed and will be the ICOS nominee on the Teagasc board and Frank O’ Mahony from Ballyorban, Monkstown in County Cork has also been appoint- ed for a five year term to the Teagasc aUULeNOuIAYs

The appointments were welcomed by Clare TD, Tony Killeen. “Dr

Cawley’s wealth of experience will ensure that the excellent work car- ried out by Dr. O’ Dwyer in develop- ing the organisation will be main- tained,’ he said.

“I have every confidence that Dr Cawley will help to drive the devel- Opment of one our most important sectors during the challenging times ahead.’

The Junior Agriculture Munister paid tribute to the outgoing Chair- man saying that he leaves Teagasc having set out a clear structure and mission for the organisation for the years ahead.

‘STORY Sack’ courses have become a wonderful means of parent-child interaction to help develop the read- ing habit early in life.

Devised by Clare Family Learn- ing Project (CFLP), a new series of courses 1s about to be launched in the county’s six public libraries, with an introductory workshop to which par- ents and their primary school chil- GieNm-DucmUIN AI Koree

Frances O’Gorman of Clare Li- brary Service is supporting CFLP to attract parents to the courses so they

can encourage their children to read more. A week after each workshop, a six-week course begins when each parent gets two free books, a cloth bag and background information.

The deValera Library in Ennis, Kilrush library and the Sean Lemass Library in Shannon will kick off the workshops on Tuesday, September 23. Next day it is the turn of Killa- loe followed on Thursday, September 25 by Ennistymon and Scariff. All workshops get under way at 3.30pm. The succeeding courses are delivered on the corresponding weekdays from 10.30am to noon.

CFLP co-ordinator Mary Flanagan explains, “Participants create their own ‘story sack’ made up of props related to a specific book.

“This is developed week by week as a different part of a book is focussed on and the appropriate items are made and collected together in the sack. The process gives participants an opportunity to think about what elements there are to a book, the val- ue of sharing books with children, all in a fun and creative milieu.”

She describes the aims of the cours- es, firstly, as encouraging parents to improve their confidence and stimu-

late an interest in books and stories. Going on from there, they can identi- fy a good book, choose suitable ones for their children and be aware of use of voice and tone when sharing/read- ing stories.

Next step is to realise that there are opportunities to extend vocabu- lary when sharing books; that books have component parts and come to understand there are different sorts of books.

Creating games that complement the stories is a further aim.

More details are available right now at each of the libraries.

CELEBRATIONS to mark the 40th birthday of the oldest soccer club in Shannon are being planned.

Shannon Town United AFC will celebrated four decades in existence next year and the club has taken the decision to improve the club’s facil1- ties, increase its profile and set up a website, to coincide with the mile- Stone.

The website, Shannontownuni- tedafc.com, has just got up and run- ning and contains useful information on the club, including details of the teams, fixtures and the notes on the club’s lengthy history. An archive section will also be added, as the

website becomes more popular.

There are 14 teams on the club’s books and its members range in age from just five years of age, through to senior level. All teams line out in the Limerick division.

Club PRO Andy Legge – who was instrumental in setting up the web- site – said the club will get a facelift, to mark the 40th anniversary.

“We had been playing catch-up with the rest of the teams in Shan- non. We are taking on board what other clubs have done. The idea is to get the information out there, to give us a mechanism to get kids involved and also to sell merchandise via the website,” said Mr Legge.

“A lot of work has gone into the

website, which was designed by En- nis web design company Ennisoft,” he added.

As part of the 40th celebrations, the club is also eager to increase its TpeKosesloresacieul on

“We are looking for new people to join and we are also looking for sponsors to get on board. We are approaching local businesses,’ he added.

The club holds training every Fri- day at the Wolfe Tones GAA pitches and plays its games at its own pitch in Corrib Drive. However, there are also plans to improve facilities for the club’s players.

“As part of the bigger picture, we plan to develop facilities. We have

planning permission for a clubhouse. Hopefully we can build that next year and we are hopeful of getting grants to help us with this. There is a lot of work to do,” added Mr Legge.

The club has a very active commit- tee at its disposal and hope that the community in Shannon will help out with the plans to improve the club, whilst taking part in the 40th cel- a) e218) IIe

IT MAY not be the all out lifting of restrictions that farms had sought, but the farming organisations have given a measured welcome to the an- nouncement last week that the age limit for BSE testing was being risen once again.

The decision was welcomed by the ICSA, who had earlier last week branded the 30 month threshold for BSE testing a “scandalous rip-off”.

Following the announcement by Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith, that the EU Commission had agreed to raise the minimum age for

BSE testing from 30 months to 48 months, ICSA president Malcolm Thompson pointed out that BSE test- ing was still costing Irish farmers €20 million per annum.

“T welcome the news that the EU Commissioner for Public Health, Androulla Vassiliou has recognised the sense of what ICSA has been say- ing for some time,” he said.

“Over 8 million tests were car- ried out in Europe last year, some $25,000 of which were carried out in Ireland, and the incredibly low number of cases found show that this was a complete and utter waste of farmers’ money. So far in 2008, we

have just 12 cases of BSE, and these cases are easily dealt without having recourse to the compulsory testing of over 800,000 animals.

“Older cows will continue to be checked, and it is our belief that this will become unnecessary over the next few years.”

The decision was welcomed by IFA National Livestock Commit- tee Chairman, Michael Doran, who said that it would remove prime cat- tle from the testing requirement and abolish the unnecessary ۩20 per head costs. The decision was also welcomed by Clare TD and Minister of State at the Department of Agri-

culture, Tony Killeen, who said that an increase of the minimum age for testing to 48 months would deliver significant savings to farmers.

“The current testing requirements are unjustified when one considers the significant progress made in re- ducing the incidence of the disease in Ireland, from a high of 333 cases in 2003 to 25 last year and 12 to date in 2008,” he said.

“Tam confident, based on the reduc- tion in the disease in Ireland and the extensive controls in place, that Ire- land’s application will be approved and that the new testing regime may even be in place from early 2009.”

FUNDING has been provided for the appointment of an addiction coun- selor at the Bushypark Treatment Centre in Ennis.

It was announced last week that €57,000 had been allocated to the centre by the Department of Com- munity, Rural and Galetacht Affairs. One of the main roles that the new counsellor will fill will be the estab- lishment of weekly aftercare groups to assist cocaine users who have completed treatment in one of the four centres in the mid-west region.

Welcoming the announcement, Minster of State Tony Killeen said ‘“Bushypark has provided many years of invaluable service as a resi- dential addiction treatment centre for those addicted to alcohol, drugs and gambling. I hope that the funding allocated to the centre will help in- dividuals and their families recover from cocaine addictions and regain control of their lives.”

Minister Killeen added that tack- ling cocaine use and implementing the recommendations of the Report of the Working Group on Drugs Re- habilitation remained priorities for

Government.

“It is important that we continue to treat the problem of cocaine use. This funding will assist Bushypark Treatment Centre assist in develop- ing vital services for those experi- encing problems,’ he concluded.

Bushypark Treatment Centre is a facility designed to help individu- als and their families by providing a comprehensive addiction treat- ment programme. This programme is based on the Minnesota model of treatment, using 12-Step work as its foundation.

The recovery-oriented activities

offered at the centre include group therapy, addiction education, coun- seling, study, meditation, therapeutic duties, and 12-step meetings.

Family or other concerned persons of the individual in treatment can also participate in an education and Support programme. This is as nec- essary for them as it is for the person in treatment.

Weekly group meetings over a two- year period follow residential treat- ment. These sessions assist ex-resi- dents and family members make the necessary adjustments to living that are part of early recovery.

NEWMARKET-ON-FERGUS scouts have regrouped for the forth- coming season, after a well-deserved break over the summer.

An exciting range of outdoor pro- grammes has been organised for the next few months.

Dozens of young beavers, cubs, scouts and venturers will meet weekly over the coming weeks and

those who organise the meetings are encouraging all young people in the area to join.

The cubs, scouts and venturers have already commenced their meetings, at the local community centre.

The cubs – aged eight to ten-and-a- half – meet every Monday, between 6pm and 7pm. The scouts – aged between ten-and-a-half to 15, get to- gether every Friday evening between 6.30pm and 8pm, while the venturers

– aged 16 to 18 – meet on Tuesdays, from 6pm to 7pm.

The beavers, aged between seven and eight, will hold their first meet- ing on September 30, between 6pm and 7pm.

As usual with all scouting pro- grammes, the emphasis will be on outdoors events.

The beavers will have regular days out, a Halloween party and a slumber yep hca ale

Cubs will have an overnight activ- ity each month while the scouts will have a jamboree.

The venturers will also have a number of exciting days out planned in the coming months, having ran a hugely successful surfing programme during the summer.

The club is advising parents of all scouts that the insurance for the year is €40 and should be paid by De- cember.

THE recent re-emergence of blue- tongue in the UK poses a serious threat to the livestock and sheep in- dustry in this country according to Macra na Feirme.

Chairman of Macra’s Agricultural Affairs committee, Eddie O’ Donnell, also last week called on all imports of animals for breeding or slaughter from the UK to be suspended on a voluntary basis.

“The Department of Agriculture must also be particular vigilant in terms of implementing the necessary

bio security measures to preserve our Bluetongue free status including extra bio security measures for cargo at ports,” he said.

“Protecting our all-Ireland blue- tongue free status is critical, we must take a very stringent approach when it comes to implementing control measures in relation to Bluetongue, otherwise Irish herds would be prone to sickness, infertility, distress and even animal deaths in some cases from the Bluetongue disease as well as the massive economic loss and implications for Irelands export sta- nthe

O’Donnell said results of a recent survey carried out by Macra indi- cated that young farmers believe there’s a lot to be done in reassuring the Agri sector that the government is doing enough to keep Bluetongue out of Ireland.

“In the unfortunate event of an outbreak, vaccination would be re- quired,” continued O’Donnell. “A farmer administered vaccination scheme would be the most effective means of quickly and effectively protecting Ireland’s sheep and live- stock from the disease.

‘“Farmer’s professionally adminis-

ter vaccines to their animals routinely to prevent illness and Mr. O’ Donnell believes that farmers must be given the choice to administer the vaccine themselves or through their veteri- nary surgeon.

“Many EU countries have a vet- erinary administered vaccination scheme; however, their Governments are co-funding the administration of the vaccine.

“In the absence of Irish Govern- ment funding, farmers who are the professionals in animal husbandry must be in a position to administer the vaccine.”

The production itself is already an historic one, as it will be the first Opera commissioned by the DIT

Conservatory of Music and Drama’s in more than a quarter of a century. Indeed, the conservatory has already invested more than €500,000 in the redevelopment the Gleeson Theatre in Dublin, where the opera will be staged.

‘This is an incredibly difficult chal- lenge. The opera last for about two hours and | think I’m physically on

stage for about an hour and a half of that. It’s a huge huge challenge so it will either make me or break me as a performer. We have a VIP night on the first night of the show which will have all the industry insiders as well as people like Mary McAleese,” said Peter.

“It’s a huge physical challenge as well. I have been going to the gym

three times a week, haven’t being go- ing out and have been going to bed early every night.

‘The is the fist time in a long, long time that the conservatory has put on an opera so it a very big deal up ite) Kemet

Peter is currently in the final year of his honours degree at the DIT Con- servatory of Music. After he com- pletes his formal studies in Ireland, Peter will have to go abroad, proba- bly to Italy, to continue his training.

‘Next year I’m going to take a year out, go back to Clare and work on the farm with my dad. I’m also go- ing to do a bit of teaching with Ar- chie Simpson from the Lismorahaun Singers and try to save some money, ” he continued.

“I’d like to do a two year Masters in Performance after that and Ill have to go abroad to do that, as it is not available in Ireland. It is very diffi- cult to find a teacher to take you on for this but I’d love to go to Italy and learn from the masters over there.”

Peter began singing as a young teenager with the Lismorahaun Singers alongside fellow Clare sen- sation Naomi O’Connell from Bal- lyvaughan and Dean Power from Clarecastle.

AN Ennistymon banker has packed in his ledgers and calculator in fa- vour of the artist’s easel and is now starting to make waves in the world ODay ore nenlwetee

After giving up a senior role with the AIB just over a year ago, Michael Hanrahan has quickly forged a repu- tation for himself as a budding artis- Wem E-NCoonl

Michael, who is about to take up a studio at the Courthouse Gallery Stu- dios in Ennistymon, will this month form a central part of the latest Do- lan Art Auction which takes place in the Marriott Hotel in Galway on

September 30.

‘I was always interested in painting and drawing, even from when I was a young man at the Ennistymon CBS, art was my favourite subject,’ said Mr Hanrahan.

“So after 37 years with the bank, I took early retirement back in 2006. Banking is a very high pressure busi- ness and I really wanted to give the painting a try. I felt I had some talent at it and I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to get out there and put in plenty time at it.”

Michael has just completed a sum- mer residence at the Burren Col- lege of Art in Ballyvaughan and has painted extensively around the Clare

countryside.

“Tm a landscape painter really and I’m a realist – I paint what I see. I love the colours, I love the changing moods of Ireland – the sunlight and the shade,’ he said.

“I love painting around Clare. I’ve painted in Ballyvaughan, Lahinch, Liscannor and in Ennistymon. I’ve done a number of painting in En- nistymon actually, I love the shop fronts up there.

“The art auctions are great. The general public is allowed to view all the works for a number of days be- fore the auction, they can just walk into the hotel and see what they like. But then the auction starts and they

just hold up your work and people bid. There is no name given with the paintings so the works really have to stand on their own two feet.

‘The people at Dolans do a fantas- tic job and they give great encour- agement to emerging artists like myself.”

For more information about his work contact Michael on 086 8251550 of e-mail mphanrahan55 @hotmail. com or preview some of the paint- ings on www.dolansart.com.