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THE Health Service Executive’s fail- ure to replace retired surgeons at En- nis General Hospital has raised fresh concerns over the downgrading of the hospital. ;

Mr Gerry Byrnes and Mr Denis O Ceallaigh, two of the longest serving consultants at the hospital, recently retired from their senior positions at

the Ennis Hospital.

Asked if the HSE plan to replace them with two full-time surgeons or with locum surgeons who will be shared with other hospitals, a spokes- woman said they had been replaced by locum consultants who “work ex- clusively at Ennis General”.

One of the locums is understood to be on a long-term contract and Green Party county councillor Brian

Meaney has expressed unease with the situation given that the HSE has initiated a review of surgical serv- ices.

“It seems we won’t just be battling for A and E but also for surgery. If the hospital cannot retain surgery, it will effectively kill off the A and E, because you won’t have access to all acute facilities,’ he said

Ennis Hospital Development

Committee chairman Ciaran O’Dea said the refusal of the HSE to replace retiring consultants with permanent appointments was further evidence, if any was needed, that the HSE will continue to undermine the future op- erational feasibility of Ennis Hospi- ee

‘Mary Harney’s stated strategy for the hospital is to remove 24-hour A and E status. One would have to wonder if there is a level of suffering or “acceptable losses” which the HSE will tolerate in the apparent drive to reduce services in Ennis to minor in- jury and day care treatment.

“The continuing delays in upgrad- ing the hospital, the recent “Ennis bypass” ambulance protocol, staffing embargos and the failure to replace consultants or provide staff for a CT scanner are all issues that lead one to wonder how many more will suf- fer before the HSE decide that Clare people deserve a properly resourced hospital and health service.

“It is increasingly obvious that a new approach is needed to combat the pressures to centralise services and population.

“It 1s unacceptable to the people of this county that our lives and the lives of our loved ones will be sac- rificed for an ineffective, inefficient unaccountable national body and political system, which seems to dis- regard councillors and TDs alike, as has happened with other issues such as Shannon Airport,’ Mr O’Dea con- cluded.

A MAN who put off-licence staff in fear by his antics when he was drink- ing 1s “a nice, polite man” when so- ber a judge heard yesterday.

The Ennis District Court heard that Michael Maughan (34) with address- es at 18 Beechwood, Clarecastle, and 20 Stone Court, Ennis, had 33 previ- ous convictions mostly for theft.

When he appeared before Judge Leo Malone last week, the judge or- dered that he be remanded in custody after hearing he had assualted one member of staff at Dunnes Stores and intimidated another.

He appeared before the court in- toxicated and his solicitor, Tara God- frey, said yesterday that he wished to “sincerely apologise for that”.

Maughan pleaded guilty to charges of stealing drink, cigarettes and gro- ceries on various dates from Dunnes Stores in Ennis.

He also pleaded guilty to assault on a member of Dunnes staff and to public order charges.

Judge Malone heard that some of the items had been recovered but there was €160 worth of vodka and cigarettes not returned to their right-

ful owners.

Ms Godfrey said that her client has a bad problem with drink, which he is hoping to tackle after being ass- esed for a course of detox treatment in Bushy Park.

She said that the tragic death of his brother and the grieving process had not helped the problem.

‘He is seperated and does not have access to his children as his wife now lives in the UK and one of those chil- dren is now in hospital.

“Drink has taken over his life and he has no compunction about steal- ing when he is drinking, even if he knows he will be caught,” she said.

Inspector Michael Gallagher said that the accused “frightened staff at Dunnes when he was drinking. He just walks in behind the counter and takes drink. But when he is sober, he is anice, polite man.”

After Maughan’s brother produced €160 compensation for stolen goods in court, Judge Malone imposed fines totalling €365 on the theft charges and a three month jail sentence for the assault. But he ordered that the jail term not be invoked, provided Maughan commits no offence in the next two years.

CARRON was the venue last week for the launch of a new scheme which it’s hoped will bring walking in the Burren to a whole new level.

North Clare is a beautiful place when the sun shines, and it was in one of those rare patches of sunshine last week that newly appointed Rural Recreation Officer, Eimer McCarthy, met with two local landowners to fi- nalise the new walking scheme in the area.

The scheme, which has been intro- duced in 12 counties by the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon O Cuiv, will see a new partnership approach to rural walks, with farmers being compen- sated for the use and uptake of their

land.

“The real significance of today is that we initiating this new walk scheme payment which means that the government are now paying land owners on national way marked ways for access through their land,” said Eimer.

“We have been walking with the National Trails Office who have sup- plied me with six inch maps on which I can identify farm boundaries. This morning I met with two farmers on the Carron Loop, which is part of the Burren Way, and I met them so that we can agree their work plans so that they can be part of this new walks scheme.

“The thing that is great about the Carron Loop 1s that it is off-road. It starts from Cassidy’s Pub and goes

off road for a nine kilometre loop which is a wonderful walk, very sce- nic and rustic but safe and well sign- posted.”

It is hoped that the new scheme will see farmers and walking organisa- tions working in partnership to pre- serve the country’s tradition walks.

‘This scheme is an important step in enhancing the quality of the four National Way Marked Ways in Clare, while also benefiting local farmers, and of course walkers themselves,” Gerard Kennedy, Rural Resource Development and The Burren Way Ltd.

“It should increase County Clare’s position as a leading walking desti- nation, and with suitable promotion could attract increased numbers of walkers to the county, benefiting lo-

cal businesses and service providers alike.”

Once the scheme is up and running in the Burren Way, plans are in place to extend it to the Mid-Clare, East Clare and Lough Derg Ways.

Meanwhile a number of events have been organised to mark National Trails Day which takes place on Sep- tember 28. To learn more about these check out www.nationaltrailsday.ie.

AS THE amateur musical and drama season prepares to take hold all over the county, the Shannon Musical So- ciety 1S preparing for a first with this year’s production.

This year the society will become the first amateur society in Ireland to perform Joe DiPietro’s ‘All Shook Up’. The musical, which was a huge success on Broadway, is based loose- ly on Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night’ and inspired by the music of Elvis USA

The society will be having a launch night on Wednesday, September 3, 1n the Oak Wood Arms Hotel at 8pm.

“Each year we host a night to en-

courage new people to come and join the musical society. It’s really more of an informative night, I think a lot of people think that it’s all about music and if you don’t have loads of talent you can’t join,” said Mary O’Loughlin of the Shannon Musical Society.

“It’s much more than that. Every- thing involved in the musical, except for the orchestra, 1s produced by lo- cal people. We have the costumes, the stage crew – the whole set is made from scratch, the front of house team and the booking office. So there is a great amount for people to be doing beside the work on the stage itself.

“It’s a great social outlet for people, especially if you have just moved to

Shannon. The society can be a great way for getting to know people and getting involved. It’s a great team effort and right across the board in terms of ages.”

This years production will be di- rected and choreographed by Oliver Hurley while Carmel Griffin will the musical director.

The musical society are hoping for a good turn out at the up coming launch night.

“Tt can be difficult enough some- times to get new male members but once they join up they stay with us for years and years. They might be that bit shy at the beginning but once they get involved in it they love it,’ she continued.

“It’s going to be afun show this year. The show will use a lot of the Elvis songs to help tell the story. There is a great story running through it, the music is really secondary – it helps to tell the story.”

Anyone interested in joining the So- ciety can take a browse through the website on Www.shannonmusical. com or call Siobhan on 086 2142554 for details on membership.

A KILRUSH man who claimed that he had been dismissed by a Kilmihil construction company was instead made redundant, an Employment Appeals Tribunal found.

Tony Killeen, Shragh, Kilrush, took a case against LM Keating, Kilmihil, after he was let go from the company in April 2007. He gave evidence that he began working for the respond- ent as a teleporter driver in August 2003. His first construction site was in Kilmihil, but he also worked on other sites as a general labourer. He drove a dumper and did a lot of snag- ging on other sites, he said.

Construction work continued to be carried out on other sites after he was dismissed and he was not offered employment on these sites. The tel- eporter that he operated continued to be operated by other employees after

he was dismissed, he claimed.

A construction director with the re- spondent company told the tribunal it has a total workforce of approxi- mately 90 employees of which 30 are employed in construction.

The witness gave evidence that the claimant was employed as a teleport- er driver and it is the policy of the company to assign teleporter drivers to a specific teleporter, to develop expertise and to foster good practice TparcNDel Red at-b Aeon

Construction work finished in Kilmihil in April 2007 and the claimant was made redundant as no vacancies existed on that site or any other site for a teleporter driver.

The tribunal made a majority deci- sion that the claimant was dismissed by reason of redundancy and said it was “satisfied that a genuine redun- dancy situation existed and he was fairly selected for redundancy”.

THE Gort Family Resource Centre will this week celebrate 5 years of community work in the area with the announcement of a number of new opportunities for local people.

The centre, which is based in the town’s square, is about to extend its premises and and also expand on the number of community facilities and courses on offer.

“The resource centre is driven by a group of volunteers who represent the different people and needs of the community. It’s open to all and anyone interested or curious should come in,” said Sandra Farrell, Centre Administrator.

“We have now expanded our offices by taking on the second floor of our premises here in the square. That will allow us to increase what we can do with and for the local people.”

The group provides a range of serv- ices including citizen information days, migrant information, employ- ment and career guidance, money advice and budgeting and work with the gay and lesbian community.

“We have a lot going on at the mo- ment. We were lucky enough to get funding for six computers and have been running programmes for older people to get some basic computer skills. That is very popular and we are about to start a new eight week course from the beginning of Sep-

tember,’ said centre co-ordinator Ann Rozario.

“We are also about to start parent- ing classes for single parents. There are still places in that so anyone in- terested should give us a buzz. We have new programmmes starting all the time and are always looking for people interested in volunteering.”

Indeed, the actions at the centre are driven almost exclusively by volun- teers.

‘“T have been helping out a lot with the directory which is a book of useful local number in English and Portuguese,’ said volunteer Helen Scribens.

“It’s nice to do something for the local community – to give something

back. You get to meet a lot of differ- ent new people from the area. It’s a lot of fun.”

The centre has recently taken on a development officer who will look at different ways to grow the service over the next number of years.

Frank Murray, who was one of the founding members of the Gort Bra- Zilian Association, will look after the development of facilities for the Bra- Zilian community, the elderly, lone parenting youth and isolated men.

New events and programmes are being announced in the resource cen- tre on a regular basis.

To keep in touch with goings-on contact 091 6309021 or call into the centre.

CLARE V.E.C. students had plenty to smile about after the announce- ment of last week’s Leaving Cert results.

Overall eight students taking part in the Back to Education Initiative sat the leaving cert maths and their results were of the highest standard, with six Als an A2 and a B2.

The group studied part-time for the Leaving Cert since last September with the Back To Education Initia- tive (BTEI). The Back To Initiative provides part-time further education

programmes for young people and adults, with the aim of giving people the opportunity to combine a return to learning with family, work and other responsibilities.

The BTEI is operated by County Clare VEC as part of the National Development Plan and is funded by the Department of Education and Sci- ence and the European Social Fund. It operates throughout the county and has over 900 adults studying various subjects ranging from FETAC Lev- els 3,4 and 5, up to Leaving Cert.

The BTEI, through a preparatory course, also introduces prospective

students to the requirements of stud- ying for the Leaving Certificate

Mike Ryan BTEI co-ordinator, congratulated the students and their tutor Vinnie Normoyle.

“We are delighted with the results, they were excellent. It was down to the hard done by the students them- selves and also the work done with them by Vinnie. I know the students appreciate everything that Vinnie SERCO ComoUNe Mm Nelss 00 Me

Mr Ryan added that further support and guidance would be offered to students on an ongoing basis

TiO rome ilouomr- DuomelluKone a aenelele

learners availing of adult basic edu- cation and a further 700 engaging in community education.

The recent re-development of the Adult Education Centre in Ennis has led to the provision of more services through the BTEI.

The centre provides learning op- portunities in reading and writing, language support, youthreach pro- gression, the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) and family learning.

Services include a créche, night classes, e-learning and adult learners guidance.

THE people of Clare have been in- vited to get their hands dirty and take part in areal life Time Team style ex- cavation in north Clare next week.

The Caherconnell Stone Fort in Carron will be the venue for an open week long excavation, with members of the public being given the oppor- tunity to work side by side with ex- perts.

The excavation will be co-ordinat- ed by Dr Michelle Comber of NUI, Galway and archaeologist Graham Hull of Crusheen company TUAS.

This is the second in a series of open excavations at the Caherconnell fort, which is widely believed to be one of the most archeological signifi- cant findings in the area.

Last year excavation revealed the stone fort in Caherconnell was in- habited for centuries later than it had been previously thought, meaning that the traditional Gaelic way of life existed in the Burren for hundreds of years after the Anglo-Norman inva- sion.

This year’s excavation will focus on a souterrain or underground passage which has been recently discovered at the fort. It is believed that the pas- sageway may have been used as a means of escape or even as a primi- tive refrigerator by the locals, but there is no way of knowing for sure without excavation.

“Tt’s actually very exciting. There is something there, some form of Souterrain, but until we excavate we won’t be able to find out exactly

what,” said Graham Hull of TUAS Ireland Ltd.

“There are a number of different things that the souterrain could have been used for. We don’t know all the answers and digging helps us to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

“Volunteers are very welcome. We will give all the basic training need- ed on site. As well as that people can come up and look at the work and someone will be there to speak with them and explain what is going on.”

The fort, which is owned and oper- ated by the Davoren family, has been

described in academic studies as “a perfect fort” as it is twice the size of the standard cashels and is possibly Ireland’s best preserved stone forts.

The dig will take place from August 24 to 31 and anyone interested in tak- ing part should call 087 9693189.

FANCY getting your hands on a Sunderland jersey signed by the great Roy Keane himself? Well that and much more is on offer at a char- ity auction in aid of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind to be held in Lis- doonvarna later this month.

The auction, which will take place in the newly redeveloped Lisdoon- varna Town Hall Pavilion, has been organised by local man John Stack. This October, John will travel to Spain in to tackle a gruelling six day cycling odyssey to raise much need- ed funds for the charity.

“T was in Cuba last year for a_ six-

day charity cycle and this year I’m off to Majorca. It’s organised each year by the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and they look for volunteers to come onboard, raise the money and do the cycle.

“Each person has to raise €3,300 to go on the trip and the most of that goes straight to the charity. At the moment we have 12 people from all over the country taking part but we have room for a few more if anyone is interested.”

The cycling trip will see John tackle high temperatures and rough terrain on his journey around the Spanish island.

“Tt’s going to be a tough challenge.

We have six days of cycling and be- tween 40 and 80 miles of cycling each day. A lot of the route is up decent hills and mountains so we will be tired afterwards,’ continued John.

“I’ve been doing some good train- ing, sure I’m cycling for years, but it will be tough going.”

The auction will take place on Sat- urday August 23 and John is asking anyone with good to donate to get in one lae

“Tl take absolutely anything for the auction. Anything from farm produce to silage bales to new po- tatoes, furniture and concrete,’ he continued.

“T’ll take anything that is saleable, I don’t mind if it costs a euro or a hun- dred euro so long as it’s saleable. If people just get in contact with me I will sort it out. If people down have anything for the auction but still want to donate they can give cash and people can also still get involved with going on the cycle itself. There is plenty of time still.”

Anyone who would liek to learn more or donate products should con- tact John on 086 2552709.

STUDENTS at Ennis Community College have been rewarded for an- other term of academic achievement

Leaving Certificate student Ruth Ni Chathair was named Roche Ireland Student of the Year at Ennis Com- munity College, at a presentation last week.

The award is based on a number of criteria including academic success achievement and takes into account achievements in external activities such as music and sport. This is the fifth year the award has been pre- sented.

Ruth who has recently completed her Leaving Certificate, receives the

honour for her outstanding personal and academic achievement.

Victor Akujobi, a gold medal win- ner at 2006 Damovo Junior Science Olympiad, was named as runner up alongside fellow Ennis Community College Student, Katelyn Ni Sceir- eR

The presentation was attended by Michael Ledwith and Helen Minihan of Roche Ireland and Matt Power, Principal, Ennis Community Col- lege. The award marks another term where the school achieved success in a national competition.

Earlier this year students Rebecca Murphy, Victor Akujobi, Shona Ni Meachair and James Philips repre- sented Ennis Community College at

the 2008 National Electronic Quiz in Galway. Despite winning the re- gional rounds, the Ennis team had to settle for second place over all after loosing out to a Cork school in the overall standings. The annual quiz took place simultaneously in UCC, DUPRE AMM Tem U

The award also continues Roche Ireland’s strong association with lo- cal schools. Roche participates in the Junior Achievement programme, which is designed to build bridges between classrooms and workplaces. Roche has built strong links with lo- cal national schools, where children have benefited from Roche person- nel teaching JA programmes in their schools. Each year employees of Ro-

che Ireland volunteer to teach classes from local schools. The employee meets their class once a week for six to nine weeks. Junior Achievement outlines the topics to be covered, which are determined by the age of the class concerned.