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THE loss of Ronnie Drew is being felt sharply in every corner of the island this morning. There are few who will feel this loss keener than friend and long time collaborator Mike Hanrahan.

The Ennis musician and former member of Stockton’s Wing has be- come almost synonymous with Drew over the last decade.

‘For me there was only one Ronnie Drew and what I learned from him as an entertainer is one thing but to know him as a friend is a totally dif- ferent ball-game,” said Mike.

“When the lights went up you had Ronnie the stage man but when the lights went out the gig was over. I knew him as a person, as a dear loved friend and as a family man. It might sound mad but stardom didn’t sit very well with Ronnie – he didn’t buy into it. He understood that he had to show up at openings and get his picture in the paper but he didn’t let that take over.

“IT knew him as a person, and as an individual he was a simple dignified man, very caring and understanding.

‘For me I can easily separate Ron- nie the entertainer and Ronnie the man, and I’d be proud to know either 0) md oles 00 ae

Hanrahan and Drew’s first offi-

cial collaboration came in the 1997 production of the hugely successful stage show ‘Ronnie I Hardly New Ya’. The pair have worked together on countless other projects over the last decade.

“He was a very dignified man and we all wondered if going public on his illness was the right thing to do. But I think he used the TV to come to terms with his own mortality and his own sickness,’ continued Mike.

“In doing that I think he has touched thousands of people who have been affected by cancer. I will forever hold him in such esteem for that.

“He had great courage to tell the story in the way he did, when the Late Late was hammering down the door to try and get him to tell the Story.

“When he eventually told the story he did it in his own way. He gave people so much hope, the amount of emails that we received after that from sufferers of cancer was unbe- lievable. It was beautiful.

“By dealing with his own illness he was able to help people deal with their own situation. That was Ron- nie’s way all through his life.”

IT was a case of 36st time into the breach for Lahinch man Pat Conway last week as he, along with four other brave swimmers, took on the might of Liscannor Bay.

This year’s annual Lahinch to Lis- cannor Charity Swim was undertak- en in some of the worst weather in recent memory, with high winds and rough seas making the crossing a se- rious challenge for all concerned.

A group of five swimmers, in- cluding Pat’s son Damien, Johnny O’Loughlin, Brian McCarthy and Tom White, took to the rough wa- ters and in the process raised some

€6,000 for the Burren Chernobyl Project (BCP).

‘Pat has been doing this swim now for 36 years and we feel really lucky that in the past number of years he has fundraiser for Burren Cherno- byl,’ said Lisa O’Connor from the Burren Chernobyl Project.

“It’s such an important fundriaser for the organisation. It’s a great day and a lot of people come out to sup- port it both in Lahinch and Liscan- nor but besides that Pat always does a lot of fundraising in the town before the event itself.

“Pat does a wonderful job and the local people and businesses are so generous.”

Funds from this years event will go to a number of worthy projects in the Belarus where the BCP has made great strides in helping vulnerable people effected by the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster.

Indeed, Lisa’s daughter Tessa has just returned from an aid trip to Belarus. “There are so many differ- ent projects going on over there at the moment. We have several group out at the moment in the children’s orphanage Goradishche; we have a group from the Special Olympics who were just out and did a fantastic job out there in children’s summer camps, we have had a physiotherapy group and a group out there doing ar-

tistic work and painting,’ continued Lisa.

“We have just opened a day-care centre in Cherven last week. This facility will allow families to keep their children at home while they can go out and work during the day. It will let a lot of families keep their children at home instead of having to put them in one of the government asylums.

“It was just opened there in the end of July and will be of huge benefit to the locals there and especially the children.”

To learn more about the Burren Chernobyl Project check out www. burrenchernobylproject.ie

TOPICS ranging from the rainfor- est to the preservation of historical documents are among those up for discussion at events to mark Heritage Week in Ennis, next week.

Heritage Week is part of European Heritage Days, a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union, co-ordinated locally by Clare Soi Geniiale

A series of talks looking at the her- itage issues as they relate to will take place in venues across Ennis from August 24-31.

Bridgid Barry, Clare Biodiversity Officer presents “From the Rainfor- est to County Clare’ a talk on global issues of biodiversity in a Clare con-

text, in Glor on August 28.

The following day, Friday, August 29, Catriona Lynch, Clare Database manager will compare marine spe- cies survey work carried out in the coastal rocky habitats of county Clare, and the eastern Aegean is- lands of Greece, in a talk entitled MBE Ubetcameni elm c-liommeKOet Mm Gstaeee to County Clare’.

Audiences can also learn about the work involved in preserving the so- cial history of Clare at “The Care and Conservation of Books’ – a special talk by Rene Franklin, Clare County Archivist, that will take place at the DeValera library, on August 26

Ms Franklin will talk about the challenges of safeguarding rare doc- uments and will outline the methods

used for preserving old books to pho- tographs.

She hopes that by hosting the talk more people will be encouraged to use the archive service and to pre- serve their own personal pieces of KO as

‘People often may not realise the damage that can be caused by certain factors in the home. I’m just trying to highlight in a practical way really, what people can do,” she explains.

“Tl give examples of conservation treatments and of special conserva- tion projects that would have gone through. I’m also going to have some exhibitions of stuff in the archives that people might like to see. They can then have a look through them.”

“We’ll also have a few rare books

and manuscripts. Then if people have any questions I’d be delighted to an- swer them”.

Samples from Clare County Coun- cil’s collection will be on display as well as a rare example of Francisco O’Molloy’s Grammatica Latino- Hibernica (Rome, 1677) which was studied by the monks in the Friary in /SIVeVKMUIMO Nom MAROON AAA

The book is being made available by Michael McCarthy, historian/ tel- evision producer-director and author Oi

A DECISION by An Bord Pleandala not to confer voluntary status on the University of Limerick (UL) has cost the university over £150,000.

This follows the board over-ruling its inspector’s recommendation to exempt UL from paying a €154,000 development contribution to Clare county council for an extention to the university campus.

Earlier this year, UL secured plan- ning permission for its Irish World Academy of Music and Dance build-

ing at Garraun, Clonlara.

As part of the decision, the council ordered UL to pay €304,000 in de- velopment contributions.

The university appealed the deci- sion and argued that the development scheme was not been properly ap- plied; that UL was registered under a charity trust; that the development was not for profit or gain and would be a major contributor to the social and educational life of the campus and area.

The university claimed that its vol- untary body status was accepted by

the Revenue Commissioners and the centre would be used by the people of Clare and Limerick as well as by students.

The university also argued that it was dependent on voluntary dona- tions and the demand for €154,000 would impede the viability of the project and contradict the spirit and letter of the scheme by imposing commercial levies on a non-com- mercial voluntary work.

The council argued that it was not a voluntary development as it would provide courses for which fees would

be paid and was a commercial enter- prise by a private body.

The Council also argued that con- certs and exhibitions would be held at the venue and these would gen- erate revenue through ticket sales. In addition, the development would connect to existing public water and sewerage schemes.

In his report, the Board inspector found that the term “voluntary ogan- isation” was not defined in the Plan- ning and Development Act, 2000, but that UL came within this remit and a full exemption should apply.

The inspector also ruled that UL should be exempt from contributing a further €150,000 in special contri- bution towards the upgrading of the local road network.

The board stated that it did not ac- cept UL came within the scope of the exemptions for voluntary organi- sations and the terms of the scheme had been properly applied.

The board ordered the removal of the demand for the special contribu- tion as UL had already contributed €500,000 to serve a related develop- ment at the UL campus in Clare.

that the town in still in demand.

“It absolutely bodes well that a few developers are prepared to invest in the town. There is not much of a drop in house prices either in the town according to local auctioneers,” he ENG

“There are about 50 houses from small developers in the system look- ing for permission, some of them with three to six houses,” he added.

There are just less than 100 more

houses that have been refused per- mission due to a “resident only” EN Son

Councillors zoned the land at the back of the Church residential with a “resident only” clause so as to en- courage an increase in the year round population of the town, and discour- age holiday homes in that particular area.

The refusal for this development was appealed to An Bord Pleanala.

Meanwhile the three newest plan- ning applications to Clare County Council could see as many as 62 houses built in the coming months.

The newest of the applications is from the planning authority itself. Clare County Council is proposing to build 23 affordable houses with

ancillary road and public lighting at Dough on the Miltown Road.

In its submission to the application the NRA said it would not be making a further submission relying instead on Clare County Council to abide by policy on road frontage.

Helan Kennedy has applied to de- molish existing houses and to con- struct IO houses consisting of six semi-detached and four detached also on the Miltown Road.

This application is awaiting further information following a number of objections from neighbouring land- owners regarding the necessity to knock existing old cottages and ac- cess issues. Submissions also stated that the houses on the road are single storey houses and the development is

for two storey dwellings.

An Taisce suggested that redesign- ing the access road and reducing the number of houses would avoid the necessity to knock the existing cot- tage.

An application by Michael and Gerry Bond to build 29 houses at Dough is also under consideration with a decision due on September 3.

A number of objections also face this development including the close proximity of the effluent holding tank close to a nearby bed and breakfast.

Objections also relate to a sugges- tion that the land for development is lower than the road, the brick road is in bad condition and the density of the houses proposed could devalue other houses in the area.

AN EIGHT month campaign to pro- vide better services for the homeless in Ennis received a major boost last week with the announcement that a CNKeyombOMectscomnysU0mKO)e\o0 TOMO sComcOdyvar| in September.

The Sara Finn centre will operate from premises on Chapel Lane and will be run by the HELP organisa- tion, a local group who provide as- sistance and support to the homeless community in Ennis and others faced with difficult social problems.

The centre is named after the late Sara Finn who died in June. It will be

Open seven days a week from 10am to 12 midday and from 8pm-10pm.

“The centre will cater for anyone with social problems and who feel they need to come in and talk about it,’ said HELP committee member, Josephine O’Brien.

“They can stay as long as they like and we will try and provide them with as much support as possible. It’s a place where people can just come and relax and be themselves, play PlayStation or whatever. We will also be looking to organize other ac- OAs La loee

Itis hoped that the centre will be and running by September 15. O’Brien,

one of the founders of HELP, said the opening of the centre would be a “very special moment” for everyone involved with the organisation.

“We have been working hard for this and its great to finally get it up and running. Its special for me and its very special for everyone who has worked hard for it”.

HELP are also appealing for vo- lounteers to come and work at the centre.

“We are really looking for people to help out and volunteer. The place we have in Chapel Lane needs a bit of painting. There is a bit of work to be done so we’re going to start into

that as soon as possible”.

The announcement comes after a dinner dance organized by HELP and held last week in the Ennis, raised €3000 for the Sara Finn Drop Oo tlbKee

O’Brien thanked all those who at- tended and donated money on the night.

“We had a great night” she said, “We raised a good bit of money and that will come in use for getting the centre up and running. It was bril- liant that we got so many people down there. Sara’s mother Karol was there. It was a great night and a really great turn-out”.

STAFF at Dunnes Stores are “terri- fied” of a man accused of theft and assault, a Garda Inspector said in an application to have the accused re- manded in custody.

Michael Maughan (34) with ad- dresses at 18 Beechwood, Clarecas- tle, and 20 Stone Court, Ennis, was before Ennis District Court yester- day charged with theft from Dunnes Stores and with assualting a member of Dunnes Stores staff.

Inspector Tom Kennedy asked Judge Leo Malone to remand the man in custody as he was not in a po-

sition to go ahead with the charges.

‘“He’s in court today and he’s intox- icated. It’s alleged he assaulted one member of Dunnes Stores staff and confronted another. They are terri- fied of him.”

Maughan asked to take the stand to prove he was not intoxicated, but Garda James Nicholls, who had to re- move him from the court a short time previously, said there was a strong smell of alchohol from the accused.

His solicitor, Tara Godfrey said it was “obvious he has a bad drink problem. There are other matters to come before the court on September 5 and I would ask that he be allowed

to keep an appointment which he has at Bushy Park this week to undergo a residential course of treatment for his problem. At this stage what he is facing are allegations.”

Inspector Kennedy said he was concerned that Maughan had first come before the court on theft charg- es “and this time it has escalated to assault charges.”

Judge Malone remanded Maughan in custody until August 18.

INCOME limits for student main- tenance grants are set to increase in time for the start of the new aca- demic year.

The new limits are being increased in line with movements in the aver- age industrial wage for students in receipt of the standard rates of poarch oe

The top limit for grant eligibility where there are less than four de- pendent children has been increased from €48,335 to €49,690. This will result in over 56,000 students from households with moderate incomes not having to pay the student service charge.

The increase in the income limits recognises wage increases and will increase the numbers of eligible stu- Ola AE

The annual income threshold for maintenance grants has also in- creased from €18,055 to €20,147 to reflect social welfare increases.

This will help to ensure that stu- dents from families with the lowest incomes qualify for maximum rates of grants.

Anyone who thinks they might be eligible should check the ‘Students and Trainees’ section of the Depart- ment website, www.education.ie.

WHEN Avril Brand lived on Robin Island her home was overlooked by the old Irish cross used by exiled Irish Catholics as a place of worship in the 1800s.

The majority of these Irish expatri- ates were banished to Van Diemen’s land by the ruling British in the 19th century, with a pit stop on the South African island to be used as labour- CHa DOM BOLom OND EN ToNe

For others life in the small west Af- rican island had become unbearable due to foreign rule and famine and the boat was the best hope of surviv- al, even in another land that colonists fought and killed for.

Almost two centuries on and like many South Africans, Avril and her husband Gerhart made the journey to the native home of those exiles in the hope of finding peace and a new life.

Now settled in their west Clare cot- tage, the photo on the mantle piece is not that of de Valera but of politi- cal hero Nelson Mandela, and on the walls, vibrant paintings of native Af- rican animals replace the traditional Sacred Heart.

With reminders of their homeland peppered around the walls, their new Tullybrack house is now home and life in Ireland has quickly become the way of life for the former Robin Island tourist guide and her former prison warden husband.

Born in Cape Town, Avril and her husband moved to the wine region of

South Africa after they got married. Then for six years they lived on the world famous Robin Island.

Her husband was the prison warden on the island for six of the eight years it functioned as a “regular” prison and signed the amnesty of the last political prisoners to leave the infa- mous prison when he first arrived.

At the time Avril worked as a tour- ist guide for the prison services and later worked for the Robin Island Museum when the prison became a national monument.

It was through this job that she met Mandela numerous times as he brought friends and dignitaries on a tour of the prison he was incarcer- ated in for almost 20 years.

Looking at the signed picture that takes pride of place in her sitting room she recalled, ““What a man. He always remembered a face.

“Our greatest hope was Nelson Mandela and we had a great few years (after he became president),”’ she said.

After the election of Thabo Mbeki, Avril said that the great African hope was gone as “reverse racism” replaced apartheid.

“As an ex-prison officer, even though he worked there after all the political prisoners had been released, it was impossible for my husband to get work,’ she said.

Violence became commonplace as robberies, rape, and torture were inflicted randomly. Many of those to meet a torturous end were friends of the Tullybrack residents. Life was

becoming unbearable.

“When you start going out with a revolver and sleeping with a revolver, and you know you will have to shoot to kill, it is time to move, because you have stopped being yourself,’ she said.

In 2002 her husband saw an adver- tisement for jobs in Ireland.

‘He didn’t know where Ireland was so I had to show him on a map,” she laughed.

Always interested in history Avril recalled how she had read the history of Brian Bort: long before she ever thought of coming to Ireland.

She laughed as she recalls the re- action of friends and family to her proposed move.

‘People would say “oh you are go- ing to Ireland, that is a very danger- ous place,’ and they were having friends being killed left, right and Cons tonee

Her husband got a job with Tesco and moved to the country he was soon to learn a lot about.

Avril and one of her three daugh- ters followed soon after.

After six months in Dublin, they moved to Ennis where they lived for two years.

“Then we got the dog and decided to settle. Ireland really became home when we got the dog so we needed to get a home, and | wanted to get out of the town and into the country.”

The couple bought the house in Tullybrack and moved in with their rescued dog Butti (meaning little brother), who is probably the only

dog in west Clare that understands Afrikaans better than English and Irish.

“When we were coming to Ireland we decided to find out what Irish people are like and that we would adapt to how they live. We know a few South Africans here, but most of our friends are Irish. They find us weird and we think they are weird, but we are very similar. We have the same set of values, very similar cul- tures, likes and dislikes and a very similar history,” she said.

“T miss South Africa, but with sev- eral years passed you forget and start to romanticise. Then you hear what is happening and you realise how lucky you are.

‘The freedom you have here is in- credible. To be able to go for a walk with the dog without worrying what will happen is wonderful. Ireland is so beautiful. I don’t like driving so much because you miss the scenery and the changing of the seasons. You don’t have that in South Africa,’ she Cree

“And our neighbours are wonder- ful. They are still people in the sense that they still care and they are won- derful.”

Avril is better known in west Clare for her art. Although her first memo- ries of drawing are not necessarily happy ones, having being chastised as a child for her drawings in school, Avril is now happy to fill her days painting and introducing others to the art.

She has never had an art lesson in

her life, as art was not encouraged as a career path when she grew up.

Instead she taught herself the tech- niques needed to produce amazing paintings of wild animals and scen- ery.

Now Avril is inviting people into her home for individual lessons and one-day courses for small groups.

Those who avail of the course do not even have to bring their own materials as she provides all that 1s required for an introduction into the world of oil painting.

“I give people canvas to draw on – giving them paper is patronising – and when they have finished painting on the canvas they can take it home. They will have something for them- selves to encourage them to continue Oe RUNLn en tcame

While not everyone can draw, Avril believes that everyone can paint.

“I don’t like using photos in the class. Instead I bring them back to their childhood, to a time when you draw from what is within you. Chil- dren have no inhibitions,’ said the talented artist.

Ms Brand initially started the one- day course as a one-off experience, but it proved so popular that she is now holding introductory workshops in her home in Tullybrack during most Sundays.

Information on her art and her workshops are available from www. clareartist.com.

INTERNATIONAL golf comes back to Shannon for the first time in many years this week when the club plays host to the third annual European Seniors’ Team Championship.

The course was put on the world map over 30 years ago during the heady days of the Shannon I[nterna- tional Pro-Am that attracted some of the top professionals of the day like Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, Hu- bert Green and many more.

Now, it’s the turn of some of Eu- rope’s top amateurs to take the Shan- non stage from Wednesday to Satur- day of this week. Twenty teams from around Europe will compete for the coveted title that’s now in its third year of competition.

Ireland enter this event as defending champions, having won the title last year in Bled Golf Club in Slovenia. Captained by Tommie Basquille, a past President of the Golfing Union of Ireland from 2007, the Irish team boasts a strong team as they go in search of back-to-back titles.

Leading the Irish team will be Irish Seniors and European Seniors

Champion Adrian Morrow from Portmarnock Golf Club. A past Irish international at full senior level and two-time South of Ireland champion

at Lahinch, Morrrow is joined on the team by John Carroll (Bandon), Maurice Kelly (Killeen), Liam Mc- Namara (Woodbrook), Hugh Smyth

(Mourne) and former Walker Cup

star and British Seniors Champion

for 2007, Arthur Pierse (Tipperary). Speaking ahead of the event, Shan-

non captain Billy O’Sullivan said “We have great pleasure in hosting this event at Shannon Golf Club and we extend a Cead Mile Failte to all the visiting participants together with their supporters, and indeed all the visitors who may come to enjoy this Championship.

“Over the past year a lot of hard work has gone into the preparation of our course and club house for this wonderful Championship. I hope that these efforts will be reflected in a greater sense of enjoyment of our facilities by all our visitors.”

President of The Golfing Union of Ireland, Barry Doyle (Carlow) thanked Shannon Golf Club for their wonderful facilities. “Shannon Golf Club has very kindly hosted many International, National and Provin- cial Championships over the years and will provide the players with a wonderful experience and lasting memories. A big thank you to all at Shannon Golf Club for their efforts and hospitality which will be second to none.”