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CLARE County Council was forced to switch off the water supply to areas across north Clare over the weekend, as the impact of the big freeze con- tinued to be felt by local families.

The local authority was forced to temporarily shut off the supply to ar- eas around Lahinch, Liscannor and Ennistymon on Saturday and Sunday last because of low levels of water re- corded at the reservoir.

According to a spokesperson from the Ennistymon Area Office of Clare County Council, they are continuing to closely monitor the situation but levels at the reservoir appear to be returning to normal.

“We have also advertised in the media where people can collect wa- ter from the council yard in Ennisty- mon. A number of individual houses in the north Clare area have frozen stop-cocks and, even though there is water flowing in the mains system, it is not able to get into the house,” said the spokesperson.

“We have had to monitor water Supplies in Ennistymon, Lahinch and Liscannor closely over the last number of days. We have decent water supplies in the reservoir at the moment, but that situation can change quickly.

Meanwhile, the roads connecting Lisdoonvarna with Kilfenora and Ballyvaughan were closed by Clare County Council yesterday at the re- quest of the gardai. According to a council spokesman, the area around the Corkscrew Hill were particularly dangerous.

“We are monitoring the situation as closely as possible and we can say that all the major routes between the major towns are open at the mo- ment,” said the spokesman.

“Once you get onto the smaller, secondary roads then the situation is more difficult. It 1s a constantly changing situation. For example, the road between Lisdoonvarna and Kil- fenora was impassible this morning (Monday) but that situation could change again very quickly.”

2009 presented an exciting new dawn for Clare camogie as they am- bitiously met the double challenge of playing at the top level in both league and championship head on in a bid to establishing the county as a new senior force.

After several attempts during the decade, Clare finally made _ that breakthrough on the back of an un- precedented 2008 in which a Nation- al League Division 2 and All-Ireland AUT eb Ce) MMOL O(c) Rom UITDO A aRcecDuIEsIen

However, the beginning of 2009 also brought great change in Clare camogie. Orla Considine was ush- ered in as county chairperson, Clare subsequently entered two adult teams for league and championship for the first time (one at senior and one at intermediate level) and a new man- agement team of Bertie Sherlock, Catherine O’Loughlin, Kevin Ryan, John Sheedy and Fintan McNamara was introduced to guide both panels into the new unchartered waters.

In hindsight, it was perhaps too demanding to initiate such an ambt- tious two pronged set-up in the first year. The lack of numbers were an constant issue which meant there was a significant doubling up of play- ers and possibly a year at junior level would have served the second team better in their inaugural year.

That said, Clare can feel quite un- fortunate not to have taken more points in both the league and cham- pionship, especially at senior level. Clare entered the league in typical determined fashion but overall, in- experience at the top level was to repeatedly prove their undoing. Des- perately unlucky to be edged out by a point in their opening tie against eventual finalists Tipperary, Clare then led by 0-8 to 0-5 with less than 25 minutes to go against defending champions Kilkenny in Meelick only a week later before conceding nine unanswered points. Unperturbed by such set-backs, Clare finally got their just rewards with a final day 2-7 to

2-6 victory over Dublin in the capital and it was enough to give them re- newed confidence for the champion- ship campaign.

The intermediates on the other hand had a largely fluctuating league debut in Division 2. Going down by seven points in their opening tie against Tipperary in Cashel, the young side actually claimed a major scalp in their next outing by comprehensively beating defending All-Ireland inter- mediate champions Kilkenny by 0-11 to 1-O in Meelick, inspired by Carol Kaiser, Roisin McMahon, Chloe Mo- rey and Danielle Sheedy.

It should have initiated a new level of confidence in the predominantly teenage side but they were soon brought back down to earth by a 3-

14 to 2-04 defeat to Antrim and in fact, were unable to field in their final game against Derry a week later.

The final nail in the second side’s coffin came in their intermediate championship debut against neigh- bours Galway. With a largely experi- mental side, Clare were simply over- ran by a vastly experienced Galway who were ruthless in a 7-13 to 1-03 victory in Athenry. Clare chose to pull out of the competition after that while Galway eventually went on to win the intermediate championship O)binw resale

There was a similar camogie lesson for the senior side that afternoon as Clare supporters were left scratching their heads after totally contrasting halves. Despite being without the

experience of Sharon McMahon, Laura Linnane and Aimee MclIner- ney, Clare more than matched the All-Ireland finalists in the first half, only to undo all that good work with an abject second half display as Gal- way eventually ran out 3-17 to 1-04 victors.

It would have been enough to de- rail most sides but Clare had recog- nised long before the Galway game that their derby tie with Limerick would be the most pivotal game of their championship season. A tense, nail-biting encounter subsequently ensued with both sides craving the points to remain in the race for the semi-finals. In the end, Clare’s resil- ience saw them prevail by the bare minimum after the sides had been

level on three occasions in the final minutes. It was also a significant coming of age performance from Under 16 Chloe Morey who took responsibility for the final, pressu- rised free from 65 metres that sealed victory for the home side. That dis- play would subsequently earn her a national Gala Performance Award and also ensured that Clare’s hopes of advancement hinged on their fi- nal game against league champions Wexford a fortnight later.

Essentially a_ straight play-off in Bodyke, Clare battled hard but were unable to cope with Wexford’s smooth interplay and superior scor- ing ability who eventually ran out 2- 15 to 0-03 winners.

Overall though, Clare will feel sat- isfied that they were extremely com- petitive in their inaugural season at senior level. Wins over Dublin and Limerick, a one point defeat against Tipperary and the fact that they were still in contention for a semi-final place going into the final round of championship games indicates that they were far from daunted by their more experienced opposition. On the flip side however, sizeable champ1- onship defeats against Galway and Wexford mean that Clare still have a bit to learn before they can realis- tically challenge for honours at this Aree

The key to Clare’s future at the top level though could rest with their burgeoning underage system. The county have been consistently knocking at the door of All-Ireland glory at Under 16 and minor level in recent years and much like Kilkenny, that continuous supply to the senior squad, combined with the experi- ence of their more established play- ers means that the future is certainly bright for the county. Consequently it’s simply a matter of when, not if.

A WEST Clare man has become a “soft target for unscrupulous people” and is easily manipulated, his solici- Koym erm Ke) (em meeltiae

The comments, from solicitor Eu- gene O’Kelly, came in the case of Gerard Meade, (20), of Milford, Mil- town Malbay.

He admitted passing as genuine a counterfeit €50 note at Cullinan’s bar, Church Street, Ennistymon, on August 10, 2009. He also admitted entering a barber’s shop in Miltown Malbay as a trespasser and commit- WTercam a etod Am

Ennistymon District Court heard that that the accused went into Cull- inan’s bar and ordered a vodka and blackcurrant. He handed over a €50 note and received change. He drank it and left the premises immediately.

Defending solicitor Eugene O’ Kelly said his client “1s of such disposition that he is easily manipulated.”

“*T believe he was subjected to such manipulation by people unknown to me. I believe he is a soft target for unscrupulous people,” he said. He said the publican was only at the loss of €10.

Meade was also convicted of driv- ing without insurance in Lahinch. Mr O’ Kelly said, “The reality of the situation is it doesn’t appear to sink in with him he was driving while dis- qualified.”

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a one-month detention term and dis- qualified Meade from driving for six years. He fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.

AFTER the 2004 FA Cup final in which Manchester United easily overcame Millwall inspired by 19 year old Portuguese winger Chris- tiano Ronaldo, his tormented marker that day Robbie Ryan famously ad- mitted “I have never played against anybody like that in my life and to be honest I was pleased to be taken off”.

At 66”, with an ease of touch, graceful lithe and pace, not to men- tion a ruthless eye for goal not seen in the county in quite a while, that quote could have easily been attrib- uted to 19 year old Darach Honan in 2009, whose devastating perform- ances against Limerick, Waterford and Galway ensured that Clare were firmly on route to a first ever All-Ire- land Under 21 title.

Of course, while those individual displays deservedly earned the for- ward national recognition, his huge potential has been noted for some time by keen hurling observers. Part of the County minor team that shocked Cork in their own back yard in 2008 and indeed the Under 21 side that were so cruelly denied victory in the Munster final later that summer, Honan did have better luck on the domestic front as Clonlara secured a remarkable treble of a first Under

21A championship as well as a senior league and championship success. It was enough to earn him the Munster Minor player of the year and he car- ried that form into 2009, now a year wiser and therefore infinitely more difficult to stop.

Clonlara’s defence of their Under 21 title fell at the first hurdle but they did retain their Clare Cup crown and just missed out on a historic back-

to-back double when beaten in the county final by Cratloe. However, it was in the county colours that Honan really blossomed. Part of a full-forward line triumvirate along- side county seniors Caimin Morey and Colin Ryan (who had scored 12 points in his full Munster champion- ship debut against Tipperary), Honan and Co. simply tore a ragged Limer- ick apart in Cusack Park in July, ac-

cumulating 4-15 out of Clare’s total of 4-22 to set up a second successive Munster final appearance, this time against Waterford.

After bagging 1-4 in that opening game, Honan was thirsty for more and duly came to Clare’s rescue with a match winning 2-2 to his name. If the first goal was an clever instinctive flick, then the second was a trade- mark Honan major, turning his man

on the wing before arrowing his way towards goal to turn the tie decisively in Clare’s favour.

However, there was a lot more to come from the Clonlara teenager. In what appeared a personal duel with Galway’s Joe Canning in the AIl- Ireland semi-final, the pair traded blows in what proved to be the most absorbing hurling game of the year. Canning may have led the way with 4-7 but Honan’s contribution of 2-4 and his constant threat and supply to others aptly earned him the man-of- the-match award.

Suffering from a hamstring injury and being double if not treble teamed at times in the All-Ireland decider against Kilkenny, he still played his part in a memorable day for Clare hurling and when the dust settled on that championship win, went on to win the Bord Gais Break Through Under 21 Player of the Year along with the Munster GAA Under 21 Player of the Year awards.

It meant that he was a shoe-in for Ger O’Loughlin’s county senior pan- el for 2010 and equally a certainty for The Clare People’s Sports Star of the Year.

A COURT has been told that a man believes monies he received for writing a song for world-renowned band U2 was taken from him by a family in east Clare.

Noel Molloy (40), with an address at Newline, Killaloe, was charged with criminal damage at Killaloe Garda Station on May 26, 2008.

He was also charged with criminal damage at a premises in Killaloe on September 26, 2009.

Inspector John O/’Sullivan told Ennis District Court that a shop window was broken and the accused admitted he had damaged it.

Defending solicitor Ted McCarthy said the accused “has a certain fixa- tion” in relation to the family who own the premises in question.

‘He believes monies he received

from U2 for writing their song was taken from him by the family,” said the solicitor.

He said the accused lives in a mo- bile home in the Killaloe area and there are no windows in it.

‘He benefits from the generosity of the people in the Killaloe area. That’s how he survives,” said the solicitor.

Judge Joseph Mangan remarked, ‘Perhaps in this weather he would be better off with a solid roof over his head.”

The solicitor said the accused has engaged with the mental health serv- ices, which, he said, tended to give up too quickly.

“There is nobody that is unsavable in my view,” he said.

Judge Mangan imposed two one- month jail terms.

A CASE alleging VAT fraud relating to amounts totalling €1.55 million will take three weeks to hear in the circuit court.

Derek Floyd (36), of 21 Lower Main Street, Tulla, is facing 41 charges, on dates between March 2001 and January 2004.

He is facing 14 charges of failing to remit bi-monthly VAT returns; 12 charges of claiming VAT repay-

ments which he was not entitled to; 11 charges of making false tax returns and four charges of mak- ing incorrect VAT returns. At Killa- loe District Court in September, Mr Floyd was returned for trial to the circuit court.

Stephen Coughlan, BL for the State, told Ennis Circuit Court yes- terday (Monday) that the case would take three weeks to hear.

Defence counsel Pat Whyms BL, applied for an adjournment. He said

it was a “very complicated case of alleged VAT fraud.”

He said there were 5,000 docu- ments and 15 volumes in the book of evidence.

Mr Whyms said that a forensic ac- countant has provided reports and the defence was not yet ready for the case to be heard.

He said the case had been in the district court for a year, prior to be- ing sent forward to the circuit court.

Judge Gerald Keyes said the case

should be heard at a special sitting of the court, given that it would take such a length of time.

He adjourned it to the next callo- ver of the circuit court, when a date is expected to be fixed for the trial.

A MAN WHO admitted dealing drugs to his friends has been handed a six-month suspended jail term.

Stephen Keane (19), of Main Street, Corofin, admitted possession of cannabis in Corofin on November 20, 2008.

He was also convicted of posses- sion of drugs for the purpose of sale oy mei bn 8) OAV

When the case was heard in the dis- trict court in November, Mr Keane’s solicitor said, “He will say he would gather money and buy drugs from somebody further up the ladder. He would have it and deal it out to his friends. He never made any money out of it.”

He said his client was an apprentice carpenter, but the business he was working with folded. He then went back to school. “Living in a small village, something like that is going to have an impact on him. This is a very serious conviction for this man

to have against him.”

“It was between him and his friends. He was not out on the street corner selling drugs,” said the solicitor.

The case was adjourned until last week, for preparation of a probation report.

At Ennis District Court on Friday,

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a six- month jail term. He suspended this on condition that the accused enter a bond to be of good behaviour for two years. He imposed a fine of €300.

A MAN in his 20s, arrested in con- nection with a robbery involving a knife in Shannon during Christmas, has been released without charge.

The alarm was raised after a man carrying a kitchen knife demanded money at an off-licence in Shannon on St Stephen’s Day.

The incident happened at the off- licence attached to the Crossroads Pub in Drumgeely at around 5.30pm

that evening. The man, who wore a scarf over his face, demanded mon- ey before making way with around €200 in cash.

A staff member and a customer were on the premises at the time. Although traumatised by the inci- dent, they did not sustain injuries.

Gardai have secured CCTV foot- age of the area and have viewed this as part of the investigation, while a forensic examination has been car- ried out at the scene. A man was ar-

rested in Shannon last Tuesday and was questioned at Shannon Garda Station.

He was later released without charge and a file is being prepared for the DPP, who will decide if charges are to be brought.

“The investigation is ongoing. Statements have been taken. CCTV has been secured and is being ex- amined in order to assist the identi- fication. A forensic examination has been carried out and we are await-

ing the results of that,” said a garda spokesman.

“We are appealing to witnesses who were in the area at the time to come forward,” said the spokes- ner Ob

Shannon Gardai can be contacted on 061 361212.

Meanwhile, gardai in Tulla are in- vestigating an incident in which an elderly woman was robbed of mon- ey over the Christmas.

Two people, posing as workers,

called to her door in Tulla village shortly before 6am last Wednesday, December 30, on the pretence that they were checking for flood-related TSS oh

While one of the two distracted the woman, the other searched the house and made way with what gardai are describing as a small sum of cash. The two people – a man and woman – are described as being in their 20s. Gardai in Tulla are investigating the incident.

THE Burren’s college is launching a new selection of courses this month from it’s base in Gort. Starting in early January, the Burren College of Complementary Therapy, is offering a host of courses on complementary therapies in a number of different skill levels.

The college is being run by Enid McAleenan, who is accredited by International Therapy Examination Council (ITEC) and has been prac- ticing in the field locally and in Dub- lin for a number of years.

“What I am really doing 1s courses in complementary therapy and there are a lot of thing that come in under that banner – from holistic massage,

anatomy, physiology, aromatherapy, hot stone therapy, dietary and nutri- tion,’ said Enid.

“I get a variety of different people coming along to these courses. I get people who are interested in holistic therapies for a number of different reasons – some people are just drawn to it for themselves while others are interested in setting up some practice for themselves from their home, and maybe making some extra money out of it. Most people come for the foundation course and that is really the basics for a number of other com- plementary therapies.”

Complementary therapies have become much more popular in re- cent years with lay people and some mainstream medical practitioners.

“This is complementary therapy and not alternative medicine. I think GPs, doctors and nurses are starting to look at different ways that people can look after their health more and more,’ continued Enid.

“Somebody who is attending the doctor for a wide variety of com- plaints may now be referred to peo- ple like me for therapy. It’s just an- other way of dealing with a problem – about looking at things through not totally medical eyes and thinking about other ways to treat a situation. I think people are looking at ways to take a little more control of their own health.

“People are starting to get more open-minded about it and in the past I have worked side by side with GPs

in treating conditions in different ways. This is about working with more mainstream medical practi- tioners. It’s not alternative, it’s not instead of them, it’s about working with them and enhancing the overall treatment for patients.”

Funding is also available for unem- ployed people to take courses at the college. For more information on all of this contact the Burren College of Complementary Therapy on 091 633878 or check out www.burren- courses.com.

ENNIS’S reputation as one of the cleanest towns in Ireland took a hit yesterday when it tumbled 42 places in the latest Irish Business Against Piro mOlsyaN Relais

Ennis was listed in second place in last June’s survey but has since fallen to 46th position, from a sta- tus of ‘clean to European norms’ to ‘moderately littered’ in IBAL’s final results for 2009. Shannon has leap- frogged Ennis to become Clare’s ti- diest town, according to IBAL.

Shannon rose to 20th place and 1s described in the report as “Clean to European Norms’.

IBAL’s report for Shannon stated: “Half of the sites surveyed in Shan- non were clean to European norms, with the remainder ‘moderately lit- tered’. Some of the top ranking sites included Ballycasey Business Park, Bothar Mor approach and Bothar an Aerphort approach. Newmarket-on -Fergus road approach just missed getting the top litter grade. The town centre was moderately littered and care needs to be taken to ensure it doesn’t deteriorate.

The report looked at ten areas in Ennis and was particularly critical of the town’s approach roads.

The report stated, “There has been a very significant drop in the per- formance at Ennis since our previ- ous survey. Being clean is a 365-day responsibility for the local authority. Five of the sites surveyed in Ennis were clean to European norms but it was let down by two very poor sites – the Department of Social Welfare was a litter blackspot – clearly it has been completely neglected for quite Se) seem BDO tome

The report added, “The link road at

Citroen / Camus Garage to Cahercal- la Road had a serious litter problem – it was the worst of all the approach routes which were surveyed coming into Ennis.”

However, speaking yesterday, May- or of Ennis, Frankie Neylon (Ind) rejected IBAL’s assessment, saying IBAL should look at Ennis’s track record in Tidy Towns competition.

Town Clerk, Eddie Power told yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town

Council that half of the areas sur- veyed in Ennis were found to be clean to European norms.

“It’s hard to accept their comments because they don’t stand up to scru- tiny,” he said.

However, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said Ennis’s fall illustrated a “real credibility” in IBAL’s ratings sys- c0e8

He said the council should look at the survey as constructive criticism.

He told the meeting that approach roads to Ennis are “a mess of rub- bish”’.

“Anybody who walks around Ennis will see that. It’s people who are go- ing around and dumping rubbish. It’s a substantial problem,” he said

Cllr Meaney praised the work done by the council’s environmental war- dens and added that it was “vital we identify the wholesale dumping of rubbish by an underclass’. He said

people who engage in illegal dump- ing should receive jail sentences.