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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 HSE have remained steadfast that an independent investigation is not necessary into the case of a woman who was diagnosed with ter- minal cancer, just days after she was discharged from Ennis General Hos- pital for the second time her cancer having gone undiagnosed.

Ann Moriarty, who died in April, was misdiagnosed at least twice at the county Clare hospital and was not informed of blood test results that indicated tumours in her system.

Within two months the mother of

one had two chests x-rays at the hos- pital, both of which were declared to be free from cancer.

Last week the HSE issued a state- ment stating that it had “carefully considered the issue of a retrospec- tive review of the wider radiology service in light of the concerns that have been raised in this case.

‘Based on the review process and the wide range of expert opinion, in- cluding the Faculty of Radiology, the HSE has concluded that a retrospec- tive review is not warranted in this instance.”

Management at Ennis General Hos-

pital and the HSE confirmed that the hospital carried out a review of the care provided to Ms Moriarty at the hospital during the period April to August 2007.

‘When the issues were first brought to the attention of the Hospital Man- ager, he commissioned a review of the patient’s care at the hospital. A preliminary review was completed in December 2007 and following this a full Systems Analysis Review was conducted.

“These reviews made recommen- dations concerning patient care and organisational issues. All of the rec-

ommendations have now been im- plemented with the exception of the provision of a dedicated local CT scanning service.

“Accommodation for CT scanning facility 1s currently under construc- tion on the site of the Hospital and is due to be completed by the end of PAU eree

“The implementation of the rec- ommendations will be audited on a regular basis,’ said a spokesperson for the HSE.

“The HSE has apologised to the husband and family of this patient for the distress caused to them. Hospital

management and the HSE’s Head of Consumer Affairs have met with the family on a number of occasions and support services have been offered to the family,” a spokesperson for the HSE said.

“The hospital and the HSE are committed to providing the family with all of the information relating to this review and to maintaining com- munication with them.

“A further invitation to meet with the clinical and management team has been offered and the hospital and the HSE once again wish to apolo- gise to Mr Henry and his family.”

THE Going Strong club in Newmar- ket-on-Fergus 1s appealing to the lo- cal community to get on board and help with its efforts to build a garden for senior citizens.

To coincide with its 10th anniversa- ry, the club has decided to assemble a seniors’ garden beside the family centre in the village.

Volunteers will donate a variety of items, such as plants and shrubbery,

to be positioned 1n the garden and the committee is appealing for people to donate 12 railway sleepers. According to the chairperson of the eroup, Kay Murphy, the committee decided to open the garden as part of its plans for the 10th birthday cele- brations of the formation of the club. “When the garden is built, the sen- ior citizens will decide what goes into it. We will try to accommodate whatever they suggest. It will be therapeutic for them,’ said Ms Mur-

ya

“We are hoping that it will all be donated, especially the sleepers for the garden. We only need 12. If we were to buy them, they would cost €600,” she added.

The 40 members meet every week and engage in activities such as bowling and day trips, while they also host talks on fire safety, legal, health and financial advice.

A committee of eight people over- sees the work of the group which has

grown significantly in size since it was established in 1998.

During its initial stages, there were just four senior citizens in the club, but as word of mouth spread throughout the village, that quickly increased over the years.

The group is resuming its activities for the autumn, having taken a well- CFeWw OLex6 MB) Kore HGR DOMMLUN WiAr- Dele MPaNUESAU Kye

All senior citizens in the Newmar- ket-on-Fergus area are invited to at- tend its meetings every week.

WercLammau rea ote potential export compa- nies are doing well, de- spite the recession.

He was commenting on reports that there have been 617 redundancies in Clare since the begin- ning of the year and that unemployment figures have risen in the county month on month.

He said that applications for assist- ance with start-up funding are still rolling in from all over Clare and ex- pansion and building plans are going ahead in many areas.

Enterprise Ireland is supporting 123 enterprises in the region, em- ploying 1,843 jobs, a net growth of 87 on this time last year (as can be seen in the table on the right).

In indigenous companies involved in manufacturing and internationally traded service, there has been a net gain of 395 jobs. Enterprise Ireland supported 20 companies in Clare to the tune of €3 million in 2008 , ind1- cating a healthy potential for invest- ment and growth, he said.

“We support community enterprise also and we have applications in from Ennistymon, who are looking

to employ a business development manager and from Kilrush for a new community enterprise building, to the tune of €2 million. There is still a healthy interest in start-up busi- ness, particularly in the international services sector,’ Mr Moloney added.

Another sector doing well is high-

potential start-ups which

look to international

trade from the outset.

These have the potential

to grow sales in excess of

€1 million and create 10

jobs in three years. The

enterprise agency 1S cur-

rently supporting 27 such

oyenhey-bavCow pom melomucscele)E

“The slump in the con-

struction sector has ac-

counted for a large number of jobs

losses but companies which have

found a niche market and companies

which are dealing internationally are still doing well,” he said.

‘People who have the best potential to do well from a start-up are those coming from a multi-national back- eround. We’re currently talking to people from companies like Avocent and Sykes who are interested in their own start-ups.”

Mr Moloney pointed out that ex- ports have risen nationally from €10 billion in 2003 to €13.18 billion in 2007. “This year’s figures will prob- ably be relatively static because of the strength of the dollar and for companies to hold their position would be a good result. But it’s not all gloom and doom,” he said.

that she had made

up her mind to “call it a day” some time ago.

Her career with the PAUL Partner-

ship in Limerick has become even

more demanding and she has also decided to study for a Master’s de- gree in Partnership Studies.

“IT had put off study at different times due to council commitments,” she added.

At the time of the next local election Cllr Lambert will have dedicated 24 years to the council.

She believes that it is now time to “move on and let new fresh blood into the council”.

od Bobet lam se(oKcme-DiomR (om Mme OT DE (ote ing times ahead for Shannon. There have always been challenges but new ones are coming and I think that new blood may be able to meet them with fresh ideas and enthusiasm.

“The council has changed over the years and there is a lot more de- mands. I feel I can’t adequately meet those demands and keep the day job,’ said the woman who served as chair- person of Shannon Town Council a record breaking four times.

Cllr Lambert said that although she will miss life as an elected rep- resentative she would remain active in politics and continue to support Fianna Fail.

“It has been a privilege and honour to represent Fianna Fail and Shannon for 23 years to date,” she said.

“I would hope that I have contrib- uted and represented the people of Shannon to the best of my ability.”

The Sean Lemass Cumann met last night to discuss its nominations for the town council and county council elections.

Meanwhile, Sixmilebridge Cu- mann has already nominated former council candidate PJ Ryan and new candidate Pascal Lenihan to contest the newly expanded Shannon Elec- toral area.

Sitting Fianna Fail County Coun- cillor Pat McMahon and Robert Frost have been nominated by New- market-on-Fergus.

Former County Councillor Pat O’Gorman has been nominated by the Cratloe Cumann to contest the Shannon area.

MAJOR population growth in New- market-on-Fergus and Sixmilebridge should put the possibility of building a secondary school for the area on the agenda.

That’s according to Newmarket-on- Fergus based Councillor Pat McMa- hon (Fianna Fail), who said the pos- sibility should be explored.

Several new housing estates have been built in both villages over the past few years and there is a belief that educational facilities should increase, to cater for the increasing numbers of residents.

Speaking at a meeting of Shannon area councillors last week, Cllr Mc-

Mahon said he accepted, even if con- firmation was given, it would take more than a decade for the project to be completed.

“They are two areas of growth. They should be now looking for a secondary school for that area for the future. Some person may wake up in the department and investigate it and send down a team,” he said.

His calls were supported by Sixmi- lebridge Councillor John Crowe (FG), who pointed out that the pri- mary school in Sixmilebridge has become heavily populated in recent years.

“Within three years, there will be 600 pupils in Sixmilebridge Na- tional School. That’s bigger than a

lot of schools in the country. There are at least three buses a day going from our area alone to the schools in Shannon,” he said.

‘These children have been born in Sixmulebridge. There are an extra three prefabs in Sixmilebridge this year,” he added.

Shannon-based Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independent) pointed out that some schools in Shannon had closed their books as they were full.

“It’s down to the proliferation of houses. Houses do not make commu- nities. Infrastructure and community facilities do. The problem in Limer- ick is that community facilities were not put in. That’s what it’s all about, a bit of joined-up thinking,” he said.

Fine Gael Councillor Tony Mulc- ahy said that thousands of new hous- es have been built over the past few years, adding, “where the schools are going to come from is beyond me.”

Saying he would support the mo- tion, he said, “I wish ye well, but re- alistically it is hard to see where it is going to come from.”

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (In- dependent) suggested that a feasibil- ity study should be carried out and this would ascertain the needs in those areas, given that some Shan- non schools were full and the in- creased population in Sixmilebridge and Newmarket-on-Fergus. “Maybe the VEC should be involved,’ she SHOE