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TWO Shannon men who are endeav- oring to run 12 marathons in as many months have reached the half-way mark and will take on their seventh challenge this weekend.

Darren O’Connell (32) and Alan Mullin (30) from Tullyglass, Shan- non, will run the Swiss Alpine marathon on Saturday. It is part of a challenge aimed at raising money for Cystic Fibrosis.

A friend of theirs died from the condition several years ago and they are hoping that the people of Shan- non will recognise their huge efforts in this challenge.

Over the past six months, the two have run in Zurich, Rome, Valencia

and Norway, along with a couple of runs in Ireland. After Switzerland, WEA SUUENiom alu IOM e(KIl ene stounbre Dublin, New York and Lisbon.

Their last run was on flat ground in Norway. Alan finished in four hours and three minutes, while Dar- ren came home in four hours and 12 minutes.

‘The marathon itself was fine. Get- ting there and home was a bit of a nightmare. We had to travel to two airports and it was tough going,” said PETE

Both have managed to come through the mammoth challenge relatively unscathed and despite nig- gling injuries, have both been lucky enough to stay in good health. This is important, given the high level of

intensity involved.

“The Swiss Alps this weekend will be pretty tough. It is the highest alti- tude marathon in Europe. It will be either very hot or very cold,” added Darren. The rest of the runs will be city marathons,’ he said.

While Alan trains in Dublin, where he is based, Darren does most of his training in Shannon and Cratloe. He also took part in the 10k run in Bun- ratty two weeks ago, in aid of Our Lady’s Hospital for sick children in Sate

Allied to the running, the two have also been raising money for Cystic Fibrosis. They have collected up to €7,000 so far and hope to increase this substantially, as the final runs Zhe) Keene

“We had two days of bag packing last week in Dunnes Stores (Shan- non) and collected €3,500. We were delighted with that. All of the money is going directly to Cystic Fibrosis. We are playing all of our expenses out of our own pockets,’ he added.

The duo will approach businesses in the Shannon area later this year, with a view to encouraging them to help out with funds. They will also hold a number of fundraisers, in- cluding a table quiz in the Oakwood Arms Hotel, Shannon, in October.

PASCHAL Carmody told the trial that he was not aware of the existence of a company called PDT Ltd until February 2002, despite receiving 47 cheques from the company between February 2001 and February 2003.

Mr Carmody was cross-examined at length about the company PDT Ltd which he claims was set up by Dr William Porter and his wife Maggie and with which he had no involve- ment.

Prosecution Sree Denis Vaughan Buckley asked Mr Carmo-

dy if he only became aware of the ex- istence of the company in February 2002, how he received 47 cheques totalling €207,156 as well as an “‘ad- ditional payment” of €242,675 from that company between February 2001 and February 2003.

Mr Vaughan Buckley said, “You must have been aware the company existed.” Mr Carmody said he did not become aware of the company until February 2002.

The court was also told that an ex- amination of Mr Carmody’s bank ac- counts by a forensic accountant dur- ing the garda investigation revealed

lodgments of €240,000 in 2001 and €1.9m in 2002. The following year, (2003) there were lodgments totalling €2.359m while in 2005 the figure had dropped to just over €500,000.

Mr Carmody told the court that he had no issue with his finances being discussed in court and he wanted to be open about them.

He dismissed suggestions that he was a fraudster taking advantage of vulnerable people by shining lights on them to rob them of money. “I have never misguided a patient in any way, he said.

‘There was no need for me to make money from it. In the early stages of treating cancer patients, the ma- jority I never charged for treatment and later, I only charged to cover my costs.”

He said while he had “no problem giving hope to patients, false hopes I have a problem with.”

He added, “If it was a good result, then that was satisfactory to both parties and this and only this was my approach in my 36 years of medical practice.”

Asked by his counsel about how be- ing struck off as a doctor in 2004 im-

pacted him, Mr Carmody said, “‘It is the worst thing that can happen you bem bb Konee

Mr Carmody also told how had a dispute with Dr William Porter and his wife Maggie in 2002 and decid- ed then to end his association with WeoNee

He said that he was concerned they were just carrying out a commercial ey oer: lnleyee

He said the Porters wanted to de- velop photodynamic therapy as a commercial enterprise and he did not feel that this was in keeping with good ethical practice.

THE Clare branch of the Irish Road Haulage Association has criticised IBEC Mid West’s stance on the spi- raling cost of energy, describing it as “living the dream of a wishful tomorrow”.

Last week the IBEC Director for the Mid West, Chris O’Donovan, called for a number of actions to be taken to alleviate pressure on businesses due to the rising cost of energy.

These included fuel diversification, fast-tracking the Corrib Gas project,

supports for energy efficiency and in- creasing market competition.

However, the Clare Branch of the Irish Road Haulage Association has criticised these initiatives as too long-sighted, claiming that the haulage sector will be annihilated long before the impact of any of the changes are felt.

“The crisis at the moment is far more imminent than living the dream of a wishful tomorrow. This is so ur- gent it is unbelievable. We have felt the downturn in consumer spending three or four months ago. Coupled

with this downturn was an increased price in transporting the products to the customers. This is going to hit shops heavily now and after the summer. The hauliers are at the front door of this,” said Eugene Brennan of Spa Transport Ltd in Ennis and the Irish Road Haulage Association.

“I think IBEC needs to address this in a more relevant way. If we can ad- dress this then we can have a much more sustainable service. If they want to wait until more transport compa- nies go out of business and transport gets really expensive then we will

have another peak and trough situa- tion. IBEC should come and meet us and have relevant discussions on how we can fix this.”

According to the Irish Road Haul- age Association many Clare haulage companies are currently operating at a loss and face closure in the coming nee) eLdSLe

“Tt’s cruel to the world. They are still calling it a recession but I don’t know when they are going to start calling it a depression. It’s a vicious cycle. The downturn in the building industry came at the same time as

the huge increase in oil. We have far too many trucks there for the busi- ness. Customers either don’t want to or are not in a position to pay any- thing extra towards the cost of fuel,” continued Mr Brennan.

‘The cost of fuel is a definite – we can’t get away from it. But I think that it might take a few more hauliers to go out of business before they get the message.

Hauliers are doing jobs now with no profit margin or for a loss – they are going jobs just to keep a cash flow ticking over.”

FINAL preparations are being made for the 59th North Clare Show which takes place this Saturday, July 26, at the Parish Field and St Patrick’s Hall.

After weeks and months of frantic organisation everything is now in place for one of north Clare’s sum- mer highlights.

“The show will start at 9.30am with the pony and horse jumping in the Parish Field. At the same time things will be getting underway in the hall. People will be coming with exhibits for the hall from 9am or so for judging around llam,” said Mary

McMahon of the North Clare Show Association.

“The jumping section is always very popular and we have huge num- bers of entrants in both the sportsman classes. People would come from far and wide to take part in that. The jumping goes on until around 6pm including the horses, the ponies and the qualifiers.”

This year the North Clare Show will have three qualification classes for the Shannonside league and all- Ireland qualifiers in the filly/foal sec- tion and the sports horse section as well as a gelding qualifier in the pony section.

Like in other years the hall exhibi-

tions will be a great draw for many.

“The hall is always a site to behold. Between the flower entries, the home baking and the children’s categories which are bursting at the seams,’ continues Mrs McMahon.

‘The flower section and the vegeta- bles are looking particularly well this year as is the home baking. Our turf and poultry is strong as well; overall the hall section is very strong. We really try to have something for eve- ryone. This year we have put up the County Clare Home Baking Compe- tition and we will be sponsoring the Fergus View Cup for the best tray of baking.

“The Clare Limousine Club will be

hosting their calf finals in Corofin this year which is a very big coup for us. As well as that we also have a dog show which always proves to be very very popular with people.”

The North Clare Show Committee includes Maurine Roche, Joe Kil- leen, Mary McMahon, John Cahill, Thomas Carroll and John Beakey. Although the closing date in some categories has now passed, any re- POL-HUOUDOTSME SA OL OM oKMr-DOLO Ms DOLOLUUDMlonm Je COlUNCe! be directed to Mary McMahon at 065 6837795.

RESIDENTS in several housing estates in Shannon do not have ad- equate parking spaces, while oth- ers have a lack of vehicular access to the rear of their homes. That was the message delivered last week by county councillors in the Shannon area, who called for measures to be

taken to address the issue.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (In- dependent) said there was “chaos” in O’Brien Park on occasions.

Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independ- ent) said that a similar situation exists in De Lacey Park and said that that estate, along with Purcell Park, Col- lins Park and O’Brien Park should be looked at.

“Every house now has at least two cars,’ he said.

Cllr Flynn said that some house- holders in Cill Cais were “crying out for an entrance to the back of their houses. These older parts of Shannon are isolated and for a lot of older peo- ple, they can’t get in the front or the back,” he said.

Clare County Council Senior Ex-

ecutive Engineer Donal Hogan said that communal parking is the way to go in future, in high density develop- Ne

“It would take an awful lot of funding to retrofit those particular situations. I can’t see myself getting money to put rear access roads to houses and there is a lot more than Cill Cais,” he said.

A MAN who attacked a neighbour with a knife in a dispute over music coming from his apartment has been told he could face three years behind ey ase

Judge Carroll Moran told Sean Moroney if he fails to liaise with the probation services, he will end up in jail.

Moroney (36), of Turnpike Road,

Ennis, has admitted assaulting Felix Simo, causing him harm, at Fairways Flats, Ennis, on June 27, 2006.

Moroney’s barrister Mark Nicholas told Ennis Circuit Court yesterday that his client has a drink problem.

Moroney addressed the court and said he was willing to go into Bruree for treatment for his alcohol addic- nove

The court heard previously that Mr Simo went to Moroney’s apartment

to complain about the noise coming from it, as he was unable to sleep. He told gardai that when he later re- turned to the apartment, he was at- TO) Coxe MSN OIE Kor

Judge Moran said to Moroney yesterday, “This was a bad assault, somebody complaining from a flat downstairs that the music was loud upstairs and was assaulted with a knife.”

He noted that Moroney had several

previous convictions, including for assault, criminal damage, theft and public order.

“You have a very bad record,’ he HOE

He adjourned the case until later this year and ordered that a proba- tion report be carried out.

“If you are not co-operating with the probation services, you are facing three years. I couldn’t put it plainer,” said the judge.

NON-EU migrant workers face be- coming the first victims of the reces- sion with reports that many have al- ready been let go without being given their legal redundancy payments.

The Director of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, Kilrush woman Siobhan O’Donoghue, has called on the government and the media to take a leadership roll and prevent the spread of racism by not making mi- grant workers into economic scape- goats.

‘There is a real difficulty that these people will fall between the cracks. We are hearing about lots of people

from foreign countries who are be- ing made redundant and are not been given their rights in terms of redun- dancy pay. If you are here on a work permit from outside the EU it can be really difficult to access your rights,” she said.

“We are definitely finding an in- crease of people being laid off and not getting any redundancy. There are often times in sectors which are poorly regulated and if you are not Irish and are here under a work per- mit scheme then the consequences can be dire.

“If you are undocumented you are particularly at risk and very vulnera- ble. We have done some research and

it seems that a lot of people become undocumented through no fault of their own: through being on a work permit and having an employer not renew it for some reason. They can be left with massive debts, depend- ence at home and no choice but to continue working without docu- ments. Often times this leaves them in a position where they have no choice but to continue.

“Racism is something that we are very concerned with. The way in which the media in particular and our leaders scapegoat migrants as a distraction of the real issues and how the economy is being managed can make the migrants into easy scape-

goats. Migrants are an easy target but the leadership need to come from the government. When the economy is on shaky ground the last thing that we should do is turn on each other.”

The Irish Migrant Rights Centre has stressed that while migration is on the wane from areas within the EU zone, including Poland and Lithuania, migrants are continuing to come to Ireland.

“Migration helped to create the boom and they will be a very real part of us getting out of this current slump. Migration is not like a tap that you can turn on and off,” continued Ms O’Donoghue.

“They are not coming in the same

volumes as they were six months ago, indeed it appears that numbers are down, especially those coming from within the European Union. But there are migrants who are part of Irish society, this is their home and they will stay here.

“Nobody can come into Ireland and claim unemployment. It’s actu- ally very difficult to come in and claim social protection in this coun- try – especially if you are coming in from outside the EU. You must be able to prove that you have been in full-time employment for at least a year and there are very real barriers if you ban here working for less than two years.”

KILNAMONA locals and some of Ireland’s most notable public figures come together last Thursday to cel- ebrate the life of one of the small vil- lage’s illustrious sons.

Just over 100 years to the day since his birth, a plague in memory of Br Thomas Keane was unveiled in Kil- namona church last Thursday.

Family and friends were joined at the ceremony by former GAA President Paddy Buggy and Fr Eoin Haughey, brother to former Taoti- seach Charlie Haughey.

“It seemed like an appropriate time considering that it was the 100 year anniversary of his birth. I have met sO many people over the year who has spoken so warmly about him that

we felt that we had to do something,” said family member Thomas Keane.

‘He continued to teach until he was 64 and he brought a certain ethos to all of the schools which he went to. He encouraged great leadership within the students and had a knack of getting the best out of people.

“He had a different way of teach- ing. People might have looked into his class and thought it was chaos but it was just a different style. He loved group work, he loved working together and opening up peoples ho- rizons.

‘He always pushed them to do the best that they could. Even the weaker students, he would cycle around the town on his bike trying to get them jobs.”

Br Keane’s eulogy was delivered by

Paddy Buggy while the plaque was unveiled by Annraoi O Beollain.

While renowned in many secondary schools for his unique teaching skills and dedication to hurling, Brother Thomas never lost touch with his na- tive parish. For many years he was an honoured guest at the annual din- ner of the Kilnamona hurling club.

Educated in Ennistymon CBS, the Irish Christian Brothers, UCD and UCC – his first assignment as teach- er was to Portlaoise CBS primary school in 1926.

Over the years he served in many schools including Baldoyle Noviti- ate, Mount Sion in Waterford, St Josephs in Marino, Dungarvan CBS and Templemore.

In all his time away Br Keane would always return to Kilkee for

his annual holiday in July. He also liked visiting Kilnamona as often as the Order allowed in those strict pre- Vatican II years but quite frequently in later years.

The death in fairly quick succes- sion of his brothers, Miko and Mar- tin in the States in the late 1940’s and Andrew and Pat in Kilnamona in the early 1950’s in the prime of his voca- tional career challenged greatly his reserves of strength.

A SEVERE shortage of burial spaces in Shannon and surrounding areas is leading to huge concerns among lo- cals, who are finding it increasingly difficult to acquire graves for their JEVOOBE BLE

Three cemeteries in the area may not be extended, due to the presence of archaeological remains.

That was the view expressed last week by Fine Gael Councillor John Crowe, who raised the issue at a Shannon electoral area meeting.

He asked were extensions to Bal- lysheen, Clonlohan and Bunratty graveyards held up due to archaeo- logical issues.

In response to his query, Acting Senior Executive Officer with Clare County Council’s water services Myles Carey clarified the issue.

In a written response, the council offical said that the Clonlohan cem- etery was deemed unsuitable for extension, due to the presence of ar- chaeological remains in the area of WRK Ae

He said that an archaeological as- sessment had been carried out at Ballysheen and had been forwarded to the National Monuments Section AW OCG M RoLON LMAO) KOM AUDIKO

He pointed out that an archaeologi- cal assessment is to be carried out at Bunratty burial ground and suitable firms are currently being sourced for this work.

“We have a major problem with burial grounds. I believe it is all over the county. Bunratty is completely full, Ballysheen is full and I think Oi CoyelCo)sk: tem iwaeel mrerer

“It is being held up by the National Monuments Section. We will just

have to break down these barriers,’ said Councillor Crowe.

He said that a site was available for the extension of the cemetery in Bunratty for a number of years, but the plans did not proceed.

“The one thing communities have is their graveyard. It’s very, very wrong,” he said.

“In the last 10 to 15 years, these ar- eas have grown so much. They have no place to bury their loved ones. Some people have had to moved out of the area to get a graveyard,” he added.

Councillor Pat McMahon (FF) agreed with Councillor Crowe.

“It’s absolutely crazy where you have voluntary groups putting in a lot of work and obstacles are being put in place. These are voluntary groups. They are doing magnificent work and are being hindered by depart-

ment rules. People get so frustrated,” he said.

SCR VCCMO erm asses DO MONT M Or velIOR Newmarket-on-Fergus, has found it difficult to get a grave, despite living there for 20 years.

Councillor Gerry Flynn added that IIlaunamanagh graveyard was al- eee aUOUE

“Tt is at a critical stage now. I don’t know hoe many spaces are left. It is pretty limited. They are putting the onus on community groups. If we can’t provide for people who have died, we are going down a very bad road,” he added.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (In- dependent) pointed out that the areas in question were fortunate to have archaeology and this must be pre- served. However the importance of balancing this with people’s needs was critical.

A YOUNG man lost consciousness in an early morning row at a garage forecourt in Shannon during which kicks were thrown.

Christopher McGorrian (19), of Rossbracken, Shannon, pleaded guilty to assaulting Gordon Call- inan causing him harm, while Mark Hayes (19), with addresses at Aidan Park and Rossbracken, admitted as- saulting David Malone causing him harm, on New Year’s Day, 2006.

Garda Liam Reilly told Ennis Cir- cuit Court yesterday that the incident occurred at 2am.

He said that when gardai arrived at the scene, David Malone was lying unconscious on the ground. He and Gordon Callinan later made state- ments to gardai. Mr Callinan claimed he had been kicked in the head.

Mr Malone said he had been struck and this caused him to fall to the ground, hitting his head off a kerb in the process. Mr Malone sustained a fractured jaw and spent five days in hospital. Mr Callinan suffered a lac- erated eardrum in the assault.

Garda Reilly said that the two men had been out celebrating the arrival of the New Year. The two went to the Shell garage, where they met the two PYCe sel 6 Bs

“Words were exchanged and this resulted in the assaults,’ said the garda.

The court was told that both ac- cused came from broken homes. McGorrian had no previous convic- tions, while Hayes has a number of previous convictions.

Hayes’ barrister Michael Collins said that there was no doubt his cli- ent was involved in assaulting Mr Malone, but a number of witnesses told gardai that two or three people had kicked him while he was on the ground. Garda Reilly accepted this.

“Mark Hayes admits hitting him, but he didn’t kick him,’ said the bar- rister.

McGorrian’s barrister Mark Nicho- las said the incident was a result of “words being exchanged” and said his client had co-operated with the garda investigation.

Judge Carroll Moran adjourned sentencing until next week.