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Gerry even put the loo on a raised

platform to try to solve the difficulty, but nothing has worked.

“T contacted the council but I was told that they can put pipes in for me but until they get a new treatment plant, it will be no good to me. And God knows when that plant will hap- pen.”

Gerry maintains he needs the ground-level loo as the other toilets in his home are upstairs “and you don’t want to drag muck through the whole house if you’re working in the garden’.

Senior Executive Council Engineer, Sean Lenihan, said that the problem lies with the fact that the old main drain is shallow near Mr McNama- ra’s home “and the flow is quite slow. When the new pipes are in they will be buried considerably deeper and steeper and the flow away will be faster.”

The engineer said he would inves- tigate prioritising Mr McNamara’s pipe-work, but warned that it might be some time before he can be con- nected.

“We are waiting for approval for the tenders to upgrade the sewerage treatment plant but if we can make his connection live immediately then we will do that as soon as the neces- sary pipe work is done,’ Mr Lenihan said.

RESIDENTS in Miltown Malbay have supported calls for a law to be introduced that would provide com- munities with information on con- victed sex offenders in their area. They have also called for greater li- aison between gardai and rural local communities.

The support group One in Four is calling for the Government to con- sider an Irish version of ‘Megan’s re

This proposal is of considerable interest in Miltown Malbay. More than two years ago, locals there were shocked to learn that a 61-year-old man from the UK had been living in rented accommodation in the town, while an international manhunt was UNO Me NA

They were horrified to discover that the man, who was suspected of committing sex crimes, was living in the community for more than two months.

Local councillor Christy Curtin (Independent) said he would support debate on the introduction of the pro- posed legislation.

“Any law that would give people more information on their communi- ties has to be welcomed and at least needs to be considered,’ he said.

“Tf it relates to public safety, it has

to be considered. At the same time, you have to respect privacy. There has to be a balance, but in terms of reassurance, in terms of the commu- nity, everything needs to be consid- ered,” he said.

He said that Garda management must inject resources into increas- ing personnel in rural parts of the county.

“There should be greater liaison between gardai and the community. Gardai should be more accessible to people. Resources are limited. There is an emphasis on urban. I think there needs to be more emphasis on rural policing needs,” he said.

IT’S a dog’s life this Sunday in Crat- loe, when man’s best friends from mutts to blue-bloods will be on pa- 116 lon

The annual Cratloe Fun Doggie Show will be held at the Cratloe GAA pitch.

This years show features 20 differ- ent dog classes including Best 6 legs — Dog & Owner, Best Waggiest Tail, Most Handsome Dog, Dog the Judge would most like to take Home, Sad- dest Eyes, Best Fancy Dress, Prettiest Bitch, Best Pair of Dogs, Best Biscuit Catcher and many more.

Organised by Michael Prior from the Munster Dog Training and Be-

haviour School the show starts at 2 pm. More than 600 dogs entered in 2007 and an even bigger entry is ex- pected this year.

The Robert Manning Perpetual Trophy, sponsored by the Munster Dog School, will be presented to the Overall Best Show Dog.

For those who don’t have four legs, there’s other fun to be had.

Tractor balancing is not for the faint of heart, nor is mini digger golf, though sliothar through the hole, long puck, golf putting, football through the tyre and soccer penalties might suit those more delicate dispositions with dextrous skills.

Other attractions include the pony rides and the organisers said they

wanted to thank Linda Gleeson, Cratloe for supplying and walking the ponies.

A covered giant bouncing castle and slide from Wizards, Shannon will also supply great fun.

Guess the number of items in a jar and win the lot, face painting with Mary Hayes, Butterfly Play School, Cratloe, and a well stocked book stall will complete the other attractions on Si kep

For the hungry, a BBQ will be serv- ing burgers, hot dogs and minerals while tea, coffee and snacks will also be available.

“In advance we would also like to sincerely thank our sponsors for their continued support”, a spokesman for

the organisers said.

Sponsors include, Paws and Claws, Limerick, Precious Pets, Ennis, En- nis Pet Care, Franco Pet Care, Limer- ick and Cecil St Pet Shop, Limerick. Cratloe Meat Market, Abbey Tavern, Quin, Setrights Tavern Cratloe, Café on the Row, Bedford Row, Limerick, Loughrask Kennels, Cratloe, Ais- ling’s Supermarket, Cratloe, Taaffe Construction, Tubber and an anony- mous benefactor.

All funds raised will go to the De- velopment Fund to support the com- pletion of the Community Sports Hall in memory of young club mem- ber Michael Murphy who died play- ing hurling with his Club on April 7 2001.

She added that the wealth of choice is “something which is highlighted through Ennis Fashion Week. In Ennis, we have plenty of quality boutiques and specialist shops and the choice here is complemented by Limerick, who have the British high street stores. We’re realistic and we work hand-in-hand with Limerick and Shannon to offer people choice. The important thing is that people Support business in the mid-west,” the CEO said.

The Ennis chamber spokeswoman made her remarks in the wake of Limerick Chamber President Sean Lally putting out a strong message to businesses and consumers in the region to play their part.

“We are clearly experiencing a slowdown in the economy and in these more challenging times the tendency can be to focus entirely on your immediate business and lose sight of the greater issue for us all, which is securing the future econom-

ic prosperity of the region. This can be done by supporting local busi- nesses wherever we can and focusing on the positives our region has to of- fer,’ Lally said.

“Our city and region has a huge amount to offer and we hope people will look local first before going else- Where. We have world class busi- nesses located here, excellent leisure facilities and our retail offering has improved immensely in the past few years.”

He added that anyone involved in conference organising need look no further than the mid-west.

“We have all the major hotel brands, and fantastic new facilities that will be on offer at Thomond Park. We have a dedicated conference and sports bureau, Meet Limerick Shan- non, which will facilitate any confer- ences or sporting events that want to come to the region.”

THE Clare branch of the Cystic Fi- brosis Ireland has warned the public not to be duped into giving money to a woman claiming to be fundraising for the branch.

Branch secretary Kenneth Flana- gan said a woman was observed in the early hours of Sunday morning in Ennis town centre collecting money for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.

He confirmed that no branch fun- draiser had been organized for that anealee

Mr Flanagan said “It has come to our attention that a female individ-

ual has been witnessed fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis approximately around 2am on the morning of Sun- day September 21st on Abbey Street, Ennis”.

‘The Clare Branch wish to clarify, that no representative of the Branch were involved with this individual and are unaware of any fundraiser scheduled for that day or hour of the morning’, he added.

The Clare Branch members organ- ise many fundraisers throughout the year, all of which are highlighted within the media.

Mr Flanagan continued “We are aware that many individuals out-

side of the Clare Branch take it upon themselves to organised structured fundraisers for Cystic Fibrosis, most of which are also well promoted”’.

‘The Branch is concerned that due to the irregular hours of this collec- tion that the public be aware that this may or may not be a legitimate col- lection”.

Mr Flanagan also advised that anyone interested in fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis in the Clare area, can contact the Clare Branch Secretary: Kenneth Flanagan @ (086) 2222290 or CF House, 24 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6. Lo Call: 1890 311 211.

AFTER months of training and plan- ning, the determined peddlers of the East Clare Chernobyl Cycle Project have taken off again for a testing 300 km cycle in Belarus.

The cycle has taken place each Sep- tember since 1999 and this year, 10 cyclists are travelling including vet- eran trail-blazers, Pat O’Connor and Fran Rice from Parteen.

The cycle is over two and a half days from Minsk to Malech, but Pat says that “no-one was put off by that

— it’s afun cycle”.

The whole idea of the trip is to raise much needed funds to assist in carrying out improvements in special needs schools and orphanages which look after children affected by the Chernobyl disaster.

Each participant had to raise 2,600 to take part in the trip.

This year, there will be more that €25,000 raised for projects in Geantsvichi, Antopol and Malech institutions and more donations are coming in all the time.

“There were a lot of donations after

RTE screened a programme on con- ditions there and one item showed an horrific operation in which a young child was operated on without aes- thetic.

‘“We’ve put special collection boxes in shops around Scariff, Killaloe and Ennis, so people can donate anytime. There are on-going projects that al- ways need funding,” said Pat.

After the cycle, the team will visit the institutions to see what progress is being made and to see what is needed next.

‘The money raised last year went to

complete a laundry in Anotopol and a dining area in Geantsvichi, so we’ll be going to have a look at them,” said Pat.

“The 2007 cycle enabled us to forward €40,000 towards projects in the three different schools which we are working with at the moment and these projects will be completed J sole om Kol RUD UO AOD B ODO ome

The ten are currently on day two of the cycle, having flown out through Shannon on Sunday and they will be returning after their adventure next week.

A DRINK driving case against an Ennis man has been dismissed after a solicitor claimed a “material flaw” existed in the State’s case against his etal m

Patrick Barrington (26), of Cloni- na, Cree, Kilrush, was charged with drink driving at Kilrush Road, En- nis, on February 17 last.

Mr Barrington contested the charge at Ennis District court last Thurs- day.

Garda Seamus Gleeson told the court he stopped the accused’s car, a black Lexus, because he noticed a large exhaust on the car.

After he stopped the car, Garda Gleeson said he noticed “strong smell of alcohol” from the accused’s breath. Garda Glesson said he first asked Mr Barrington to produce proof of the vehicle’s insurance.

Garda Gleeson said he also no- ticed that Mr Barrington’s eyes were glazed.

The court was told that analysis of a sample of breath produced by the defendant showed a concentration of 57 mgms of alcohol per 100 mls of lyesrlaee

Defending solicitor Daragh Hassett said that contrary to Garda Gleeson’s evidence, his client had insisted that

he had never been asked to pro- duce any documents when he was stopped.

Pointing to his client in the court- room, Mr Hassett said that Mr Bar- rington worked as a welder and as such his eyes often appeared glazed over.

“His red eyes are a result of his pro- fession. He looks like someone who is hungover in here, doesn’t he?” added Mr Hassett.

Mr Hassett said that the fact that Garda Francis Brennan, who was the member in charge at Ennis Garda Station on the night in question was unable to appear in court, amounted to a defect in the State’s case. “I re- serve the right to cross-examine him,” said the solicitor.

Judge Joseph Mangan dismissed the charge against Mr Barrington.

THE demise of the Progressive Dem- ocrats may not be a foregone conclu- sion according to party members in OE

West Clare’s Murt Collins, who stood for the party at last year’s lo- cal election, claims that the party could still be saved should there be a groundswell of support among the party’s estimated 4,000 grass-root members.

A meeting of the entire party will be scheduled in the coming weeks when the members will be asked to accept the recommendation of the four par- limentary party membersparty and wind up the party.

“Tt hasn’t been decided for sure that the party will be wound up at all, it’s not a foregone conclusion. The 4,000 members of the party have to be called together and we will have the final say. The leadership have pro- posed that party should be wound up

but there is nothing to say that that will be accepted,” said Mr Collins.

‘“T would love to see it kept going but I do think at this stage that the writing is on the wall. If there is any doubt go- ing into that meeting then we should wind things up and go with dignity.”

Mr Collins, who may prove to be the last person ever to stand for the PDs in Clare, believes that the party’s role in the economy will be it’s biggest efx. Teas

“It’s a sad occasion, I am very disap-

pointed. I was reared in Fianna Fail and I left it because I couldn’t stand the corruption that was going on,” he continued.

‘The PDs had some great ideas over the years – they changed the whole Fi- anna Fail thinking about the economy, in terms of lowering tax and creating employment. I think that will be the biggest legacy.

“People say that all this has come very suddenly, but in the last election all the small parties did badly. So this

wasn’t such a big surprise to me.”

Even if the party does keep going, Mr Collins says his association with politics is at an end. “If I got all the money in the country I wouldn’t stand again. Over the years I gave a huge service to the people of Kilrush and west Clare,” he said.

“When you give that commitment to an area, and then you put yourself for election and don’t get elected, you wouldn’t be in a big hurry to stand again I can tell you.”

KILALOE businessman and popular comedian, Brendan Grace, currently has his hands full with plans for a fundraiser for his favourite charity and for the opening of a restaurant in his bar.

Brendan will be joined by some other comedic and sporting friends when he hosts the inaugural Brendan Grace Golf Classic this Friday Sep- tember 26, at the East Clare Golf Sitley

The event will raising funds for the Bubble Gum Club, the children’s

charity of which he is a patron, and First Tee Ireland, a World Golf Foun- dation initiative that provides young people of all backgrounds the oppor- tunity to develop, through the game of golf, life enhancing qualities such as sportsmanship, honesty and integ- ulate

The Bubble Gum Club was set up in 1994 to look after children with life threatening illnesses and chil- dren in crisis. Since it’s inception 14 years ago, the Bubble Gum Club has looked after over 15,000 chil- dren. According to these children’s consultants, the trips and events or-

ganised by the Bubble Gum Club can add months and even years to the TE Cele NMEA LoKe

More than 150 golfers from around the country have entered and the winning team will be invited to join the Brendan Grace Classic in Florida in March 2009.

Starting with breakfast at the golf club, the event includes a full day of activity culminating in a ‘Bottler’ style banquet at Brendan Grace’s Bar in Killaloe. After the auction, which will include a VIP Tickets to Top Gear, a Four Ball at Tiger Wood’s home club, Isleworth Golf Club and a

round of golf with Christy O’Connor Jnr, the evening’s entertainment will oyelabaLetsE

To take part in the event, con- tact John Coyle at 086 8548787 / worldofgolf@ eircom.net

Meanwhile, the county council has granted planning permission for the conversion of a theatre in Brendan’s pub in Main Street to a restaurant.

But conditions attached to the per- mission include restricting the oper- ating hours of the restaurant to the hours of 6pm to lOpm Monday to Saturday and noon to 10pm on Sun- day.

AN ENNIS man who was caught drink driving while he was banned from the road has been disqualified from driving for six years.

Eddie Kirby (57) of Glenoir, St Senan’s Road, pleaded guilty to two counts of drink driving.

Ennis District Court heard last Thursday that Kirby was banned from driving in a Galway court on January 23, 2007. He was disquali- fied during one of the offences be- fore last week’s court.

Defending solicitor William Cahir told the court that his client under- stood that the Galway case was un- der appeal at the time.

“He accepts now the case wasn’t under appeal, but his belief (at the time) was the cases were under ap- peal,” said the solicitor.

He said he accepted that people who drove while disqualified had prison sentences imposed on occa- sions, but said the circumstances in this case were “unique”’.

‘He is somebody of a delicate men- tal disposition. He has made consid- erable strides and improvements,’ he Sr nLGe

“Mr Kirby’s traditional habit has always been that he would go to town and have two pints and return home. He had consumed alcohol earlier in the day,” he said.

Judge Joseph Mangan said, “That story about him not being aware about being disqualified is a cock- and-bull story.”

He imposed a three-month jail term and banned him from driving for Six years.

He fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.