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AN ENNIS worker who, it was claimed, tried to under cut the com- pany which employed him has been awarded a total of €4,600 for unfair dismissal by the Employment Ap- peals Tribunal.

Thomas Moroney, of 75 Inis Ealga, Shannon took a case against I-Homes Limited, Quin Road, Business Park, Ennis after they fired him, claiming he was dong nixers for their custom- ers, undercutting them to get the business in the process

Moroney denied the claims and

said that he had never been given a chance to properly defend himself against the allegations before being dismissed on October 9 2007.

The tribunal heard evidence from the company, which carries out in- Stallation of home automation, that they had trained Moroney.

The company became aware that Moroney was carrying out private work in what they said was direct competition.

He was given two verbal warnings and in October 2007 as a result of a tracking system which was installed on all company vehicles, Moroney’s

jeep was tracked to a number of lo- cations which placed him in areas where he should not have been dur- ing the course of his work. He was dismissed for gross misconduct on October 9, 2007.

Moroney said in evidence that he had never been made aware of the seriousness of the accusations and had variously been told he should not have the company vehicle in sight if he was doing work outside his com- pany business and that is was not ac- ceptable to use the jeep while work- ing on Sundays.

He denied ever working in competi-

tion with his employers and said that he was not informed of his right to have representation at the final meet- ing at which he was dismissed.

The tribunal found that Moroney had not been made aware of the grav- ity of the accusations and given a fair chance to explain himself and that a witness who claimed he had heard him underprice jobs had never raised this with the company until two days before the hearing.

The tribunal made an award of €3,000 for unfair dismissal and €1,600, two weeks wages under minimum notice regulations.

THE reputation of Ennis Hospital lies in tatters this morning, after it emerged that a second cancer patient was misdiagnosed at the hospital. The family of Edel Kelly (26) from Kilrush have called on Health Min- ister Mary Harney to resign. The call comes after mother-of-two Edel died from cancer in June, having been misdiagnosed at Ennis General in

December 2006. She suffered from cancer in her breast, liver and bones.

Edel’s parents John and Una said questions must be answered by those responsible for the misdiagnosis at Ennis General.

The Kellys took the decision to air their grievances after learning of the misdiagnosis of Ennis resident Ann Moriarty. She died from breast can- ten N Oe UMM NTR Det mmole MESA os MEALS all-clear at Ennis General. Her hus-

band Karl Henry went public a fort- night ago and last night reiterated his calls for a full independent enquiry into practices at Ennis General.

He strongly fears that further mis- diagnosis cases will emerge.

“IT wasn’t expecting another situa- tion quite as appalling as that of Edel Kelly appears to be,’ he said.

The HSE said his wife’s case was an isolated one, but the Edel Kelly case proved otherwise. He said this

left him feeling “angry and bitter”. ‘The claim that my wife’s case was an isolated one has a particularly hollow ring to it,” he added. But he said he would not support calls for Minister Harney to resign.

THE Fianna Fail party in Shannon is struggling to find nominees to contest the next county council elections.

With most areas around the coun- try having returned their nominees to Fianna Fail head office by the September 5 deadline, sources close to the party said Shannon town is struggling to find a candidate to con- test the expanded Shannon electoral area.

The party met in Shannon on Sun- day night however to propose nomi- nees to run for the town council, just a week after its two sitting council- lors announced that they would not

be running again.

Among the three nominated is a Polish national, a director of elec- tions and a well known community “oO Mane

Director of elections for Fianna Fail in Shannon during the last gen- eral election Noel McNamara will be hoping to get the nod from head of- fice to run as a candidate in the next election.

Polish native Woyceich Wieviewski is anew name and face to politics in Shannon, and those nominating him will be hoping he appeals to the non- national vote.

The third nominee is Ollie Allen who is hoping to capture the local

community vote.

Shannon town councillors Sean Hillary and Geraldine Lambert told the Sean Lemass Cumann last week that they would not be contesting the next local elections, leaving the town council, like the county coun- cil without any returning Fianna Fail councillor from Shannon.

The current Shannon area has fa- voured Independent candidates for the county council with former may- or of Clare Patricia McCarthy and Cllr Gerry Flynn both from Shan- non sitting on the town and county council.

Fine Gael Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) is the other county councillor from

the town.

While the Sean Lemass Cumann may be struggling to find candidates for the county council elections, oth- er cumann preparing to contest the expanded Shannon Electoral Area have no such problems.

In Sixmilebridge they have already nominated former council candidate PJ Ryan and new candidate Pascal avis

Sitting Fianna Fail county council- lor Pat McMahon and Robert Frost have been nominated by Newmar- ket-on-Fergus, while former county councillor Pat O’Gorman has been nominated by the Cratloe Cumann to contest the Shannon area.

CLARE Youth Service are to under- take a comprehensive survey aimed at establishing literacy levels among students and staff.

The survey is being orgainsed as part of events for National Adult Literacy Awareness (NALA) Week, which runs until Friday, September 26.

All staff and students working in Clare Youth Service are being asked to take part in the survey, along with members of the public availing of in- ternet services at the Youth Centre, Carmody Street, Ennis.

Volunteers will record answers us- ing audio equipment, with a prize

also available for the most imagina- tive method used to record respond- ents answers.

The theme of this year’s NALA Week has been broadened to “the benefits of learning in the communi- ty’, chosen to highlight the benefits of improving literacy and numeracy levels among different communities in Ireland.

Theresa Larkin of the Adult Litera- cy Programme with the Clare Youth Service, explained the project is be- ing undertaken to help broaden the understanding of literacy problems.

“We want to raise awareness, first and foremost. There are a lot of peo- ple out there who experience difficul- ty reading and writing. There is such

a stigma attached to illiteracy and it is our job to get the best of people.”

She added, “We are always aware too that some of the people taking OL Na MONO MM OOCoMmCLED A VoavMB OCU TcAlMmOT-A/oMOODUUCS culty filling out forms, so the people asking the questions will have audio equipment with them. The prize will be for the most novel form of answer- ing, be it singing dancing, anything.”

Meanwhile eight students of Com- munity Employment Project with Clare Youth Service received their certificates for completion of FETAC level four training at a ceremony in the Old Ground Hotel on Friday supra al

The students completed their train- ing on the FAS supported scheme at

the Hospitality Academy in Doon- beg.

Tina Byrt of Clare Youth Service said the students had worked ex- tremely hard over the course of the project and were delighted to have received their certificates.

SHARON Shannon is only one of the many musicians who credit retired Toonagh schoolteacher Frank Custy for inspiring her passion for music.

“It’s thanks to Frank Custy that we got a great love of music. We used to be just mad for music” she comments in the first of a six part TG4 series featuring some of Ireland’s finest tra- Cia CeyereUmeNlUKT(ervIhe

The September 28 ‘Sé mo Laoch programme celebrates Frank Custy’s many musical achievements, and his invaluable contribution to the future of Clare’s traditional music.

Featuring contributions from musi- cians Sharon Shannon, Ian O Cathain, Siobhan Peoples, members of the Di- seart Ceili Band, as well as Frank’s son, Tola Custy and his daughter,

Mary Custy, the programme looks at the huge influence banjo player and teacher Frank has had on genera- tions of young Clare musicians and how, through his work as a teacher, he generated and passed on a love of music to hundreds of young players.

Fiddle player Siobhan Peoples re- calls: “He taught us how to be con- fident individuals, to be able to go places, and take our music or singing or sport with us and to have no fear of being good at something.”

Next week’s programme features Dubliner Mick O’Connor. Other mu- sicians featured in the new series of ‘Se mo Laoch include Connemara box-player Johnny Connolly, Brian ETCMe OS LUCT IC UUW meme ceeemmauaentcrsate Cork singer Sean O Sé, and Tommy Peoples, who spent much of his life in Clare before moving to Donegal.

IT may not make it to the Guinness Book of Records, but here in Clare it is probably the longest running gar- den fete in the county.

The Friends of Clare Mental Health Services will hold their Annual Gar- den Fete on the grounds of Our La- dy’s Hospital, Ennis on Sunday next, September 28. This is the fifteenth year in a row that the fete has taken

place in the grounds of the former hospital.

Our Lady’s Hospital closed in 2002, yet staff and friends of Clare Mental Health Service still continue the tradition of the fete. The money raised is used for client-based activi- ties both in the community and resi- dential units. Proceeds are also used to provide clients with essentials or comforts, which are not covered by healthcare or social welfare funding.

WORKERS at Aer Lingus in Shan- non may have to wait another two weeks before knowing their fate in the company’s cost-slashing plan.

It’s feared that up to 300 jobs could be under threat at the airport as Aer Lingus trys to find ways to cut costs by €100 million in the wake of huge company losses in the last year.

But a meeting of the airline’s board of management last week failed to reach a decision on a review of the company’s operations.

The board will not meet again for two weeks and in the meantime, Aer Lingus boss, Dermot Mannion has written to SIPTU, warning that he

“cannot rule out any eventuality”.

SIPTU had written to the chief executive seeking assurances that speculation about out-sourcing jobs is not correct.

Mannion replied that he “can not give the assurances you seek”.

He said that “given the level of me- dia speculation and the concerns this causes for staff, I fully appreciate the need to expedite the completion of our review as soon as possible.”

He added that a senior manage- ment team are working around the clock to have proposals ready for the next board meeting.

It has been speculated that the air- line will seek to outsource 1,500 jobs nationally, mainly in ground

handling, cargo and catering.

It is also thought that they may want to replace transatlantic cabin crew staff with agency staff from the US.

The airline is also reportedly chas- ing a deal with Shannon Airport management to cut passenger charg- es on the transatlantic routes.

A planned announcement on the nature of the cuts had been expected after a lenghty board meeting last week, but the announcement was cancelled at the eleventh hour.

It was thought that the board would make the announcement to the stock exchange before meeting with staff.

Senior management representa- tives had travelled to Shannon and

Cork for the announcement but re- turned to base after the board meet- ing, which was scheduled to end at 1.30pm, went on for eight hours, fuelling speculation that the mem- bers could not agree on the cost-sav- Three

Staff and unions have just come through a heated dispute about the airline’s Programme for Continuous Improvement cost-cutting package.

Unions have sounded a scepti- cal note on claims concerning the boards agreement.

It is believed in union circles that had the board got unanimous agree- ment on the cuts then they would have immediately engaged in nego- tiations.

MAPPING the future economic de- velopment of Ennis, forms the main focus of a meeting of the local busi- ness community next week.

Ennis Chamber has launched details of the upcoming Planning and De- velopment Forum entitled ‘Business in a By-Passed Ennis – Sustainable Economic Development for Ennis’, sponsored by Ryan Brothers (Ennis) Ltd located at Toonagh Quarry.

SU stem CedeeeeMM, sul meUn eK MMa(omeLbNB KSDI! issues for the development of Ennis over the next five years from a busi- ness perspective and will take place from 5pm to 8.30pm on Tuesday September 30 in the Old Ground Ho- tel, O’Connell Street, Ennis.

Speaking on the forum, Ennis Chamber President Niall Garvey said, “The objective of the forum is to formulate the opinions of the busi- ness community, which will form the basis of submissions to relevant bodies.

‘This includes the Draft Ennis and Environs Development Plan 2008, which 1s a vital document in the shap- ing of the future economic growth of the town and surrounding area.”

Speakers to the forum will include private sector interests as well as Clare County Council senior person- nel who will display the maps relat- ing to the Draft Ennis & Environs Development Plan 2008.

The topics for discussion include: ‘A Vision for the Infrastructure of

the Mid West Region and Ennis as a Hub Town’; “Tourism Branding of the Mid-West Region and the Ennis Area Sustainable Development as a Driver for Future Growth’; ‘The Fu- ture Retail Experience of Ennis’ and ‘Ennis as an Employment Genera- Koue

Those attending will then be in- vited to participate in two workshops relating to these topics in order to garner key points from the business community which will form the ba- sis of a submission to the Draft En- nis and Environs Development Plan 2008 and other bodies as appropriate going forward.

Attendees will also be equipped with the knowledge and assistance to prepare their own individual submis-

sions to the Draft Ennis and Environs Development Plan 2008.

Ryan Brothers (Ennis) Ltd. op- erating from Toonagh Quarry on the Corofin Road outside Ennis are sponsors of the event.

The quarry is a key local enterprise, employing 20 people as well as indi- rect employment to hauliers among others.

General Manager, Martin Tierney, stressed their support for the forum and for the future development of business in the town.

“We are delighted to be involved with the Ennis Chamber Planning and Development Forum as _ the growth and enhancement of the area of Clare’s capital town is a vital part of our business’, said Mr Tierney.

HARVEST traditions from over 100 years ago will be brought to life by farm workers at Bunratty Folk Park which hosts a 19th century Harvest Day next Sunday afternoon, Septem- er aPzLe

According to Shannon Heritage chief executive John Ruddle, the event will recreate a cameo from the past and give visitors, especially younger visitors, a chance to enjoy Tere KO aA

In olden days, harvest time cre- ated a sense of urgency, especially before the arrival of the harvesting machinery. At other times of the year, everyone had their own work, the men in the fields, the women in the house and the children at school. Only at harvest time were they all to- gether engaged in the same work.

Visitors to the Folk Park on Sunday next will be given a flavour of rural Irish life over 100 years ago. Vin- tage threshing machines will be used to demonstrate the art of threshing. The Bean a Ti’s will demonstrate bread baking and butter making. The village school master will be greet-

ing children who will hand over the customary sod of turf for the tiny school room fire. Visitors will also be able to experience live horse shoe demonstrations at the forge and a sheaf throwing competition.

Younger visitors to the Folk Park will be encouraged to leave their par- ents in school while they enjoy the atmosphere created by the musicians and strawboys who will be perform- ing around the Folk Park during the afternoon.

All are welcome to enjoy tradition- al storytelling by the resident Sean- achai, and the village policeman in his 19th century uniform will be on site to create an ‘arresting experi- ence’ if the harvest celebrations get out of hand.

A special family ticket will be available for © 34.25 covering ad- mission for two adults and up to four children. Adult admission 1s €15 and the rate for children is €9. Admis- sion for senior citizens is ©9 and the student rate is £10.

THE feature race on the card at Galway on Friday night was the fi- nal of the Playing For Life A2 525. The prize crossed the border into Clare, with the appropriately named Drimeen Border taking the honours.

On the run to the opening bend Drimeen Border trained in Tubber by John Burke just held the call from Killuran Gorm (T2) who moved off the rail rounding the bend allow- ing Ms Fireparker (T1) slip through along the inside to take over in front entering the back straight.

Racing down the back Ms Firepark- er led by three lengths from Drimeen Border who began to close between the final two bends though. Turning for home the leader was searching for the line as Drimmen Border put in a turbo charged finish to gain the day by a neck in 29.20.

The seventh was an A3 grade 525 and as the traps rose the striped jack- eted

Unique Pose (T6) came away very smartly and despite heading straight for the inside rail the daughter of

Droopys Kewell and Reknay led by two lengths

from Free Toll (T5) rounding the opening two bends. Racing past the halfway mark the Ciara Malone of Liscannor owned Unique Pose held a three length advantage over her ri- vals and although she looked vuner- able for a stride or two turning in she defeated Birr Chris (T4) by three and quarter lengths in 29.21.

The semi finals of the Galway Hurl- ing Board A5 Stake were also down for

decision and in the opening semi final the Kevin Callinan of Kilmihil owned Shyan

Digital (T1) headed the market and the son of Digital and Shyan Anna- belle also headed his five rivals on the run to the opening bend where although he ran a little off the rail he led by two lengths from Forever Black (T2) entering the back straight. Approaching the home turn Forever Black closed to within a length on the inner but Shyan Digital kept on for a half length win in 29.57.

The fifth was an SO graded sprint over the 350 yard extended sprint trip

and after Battlefield(T1) had broken best to lead early on the inside the black jacketed Gowerhass Hope(T4) swept by on the run to the opening corner to lead from the improving Cushcallow Rebel(T5) on the out- side.

Racing around the crown of the bend Cushcallow Rebel moved quite wide allowing Gowerhass Hope to slightly extend his lead and the son of Top Honcho and Conies Kate just had a neck to spare at the line in a slick 19.05.

The fourth contest was an S2 grad- ed 350 in which trap two was vacant and as the traps rose West Clare Gael (T3) came away like the win and led by three lengths racing to- wards the opening bend from Crafty Cebato(T6) and Mysterious Molly (T1). As the leader swung for home Mysterious Molly switched to the outside to deliver her challenge up the straight but the Fiona and Kevin Troy of Kilkee owned West Clare Gael(Tucks Mein-Querrin Razor) just lasted it out in front to the line for a neck success in 19.27 .

Thursday night’s Galway card fea-

tured the semi finals of the Croi New York Marathon A3 575 In the second semi final the trap four runner Sars- field Lass showed the best pace on the run to the opening bend from Kid Mullins (T6) on her outside.

Turning down the back the pair were locked in combat as Cool Re- minder (T5) tried to close in third place.Approaching the penultimate corner Kid Mullins took a slight lead but as they turned for home the Michael Browne of Kilrush owned Sarsfield Lass(Droopys Vieri-Meg- ans Friend) was back in front as she won by a length in 31.99.

In the A4 graded eighth contest the Noel Moroney of Mullagh owned Tiermana Fly (T2) led at the second bend before holding the determined challenge of Garraun Maldini(T5) by 1/2 a length in 29.64.The win- ner got a dream un on the rail at the opening bend as early leader Scat- tery Vieri left a gap on the rail. Rac- ing down the back Tiermana Fly held the call as the challengers loomed on all sides but Tiermana Fly held them all at bay up the straight.

The third contest was an S6 graded

350 yarder and as the traps rose Kil- luran Vieri (T5) was very smartly into his stride and he led by three lengths from Bofin Squire(T3) racing to the opening bend. Rounding the bend the Donal Cooney of Broadford owned son of Droopys Vieri extend- ed his advantage to six lengths over his rivals as he stormed to an eight length success in 19.43.

In the A2 graded fourth contest over 550 yards on Saturday night the Master Christioan and Rian Cum- mins of Ennis owned Buddhas Babe overcame two bouts of interfearence as he came home three and three quarter lengths clear of Mi Sonic Gee rimsltk te

The winner was in second place rounding the opening bend when he was knocked sideways and back to fifth spot as Killuran Blue (T5) led the field by two lengths passing halfway. Approaching the third bend the win- ner was once again hampered when the leader suddenly checked leaving Mi Sonic in front but Buddhas Babe swept past early in the straight on his way to a deserved success.