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AT TIMES on Sunday, Tipperary re- sembled surgeons. They were swift, incisive, they produced what was needed when it was needed.

Just take the two goals.

The first, from Seamus Callinan, came with seven minutes left in the first half. By then, Tipperary were ahead by five but the break was in sight and at the least, it offered Clare an opportunity to re-group. When Callinan took the ball at pace, the

goal didn’t seem the obvious target but he dipped his shoulder, left Conor Plunkett in his slipstream and struck off his left hand side. Frank Lohan, standing between Philip Brennan and Callinan, didn’t get any contact on the shot or the man and the net rattled. That goal gave the game a different story and from there, Clare were forced to chase, which they did effectively in the second-half.

But once more, Tipperary took the scalpel from the sideboard and in- flicted another wound. This time, it

seemed to be with even less effort but as much conviction. Clare had played themselves into touching distance and had chipped away at the Tipper- ary lead to leave just five between them once more.

Then, Brendan Cummins whipped the puckout from Jonathon Clancy’s point into the paw of John O’Brien and seconds later, Tipp had their sec- ond goal and the game by the neck. It was the perfect response.

In contrast, Clare were sloppy and indecisive. The first half wides and

those balls dropped into the grasp of Cummins were the stand out memo- ries for Clare from those opening 35 minutes but on Sunday, surrounded by his daughters Aisling and Gemma, Clare’s sloven play didn’t concern Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy and even with a fine haul from open play and a semi-final place already booked, he had the appearance of a man still unsatisfied.

“All but two points from play is pretty impressive, but if the forwards are working hard they should be winning a few more frees from pos- session as well. That’s the plus and the minus of it. We only won one scorable free in each half so in that sense, we really struggled.

“Clare, in fairness in the second half, they played well and we strug- gled to get the ball to our full-for- ward line and half-forward line. We made a few swicthes where we just tried to get our hands on the ball. But really, it was John O’Brien’s goal that was vital for us. It gave us an eight point cushion again.”

He’s reminded that Tipperary are now just two games away from win- ning an All Ireland final, but Sheedy stands resolute. He refuses to get drawn into a commentary on what might yet be.

“We can’t think about an All Ire- land final. These lads are very level headed. They’ll go back and they’ve serious club championship games to play over the next two or three weeks and in between we’ll be working like tigers to get up to Croke Park. In re-

cent years, Croke Park hasn’t been a happy hunting ground but we’ll try to change that.

“It’s nice to be in an All Ireland semi final but we’ve got to re-focus again. It’s five weeks and there’s work to be done on the back of two very tough games. But in fairness to the lads, they deserve this. I couldn’t speak highly enough of them and the work they’ve done. It’s great for them be- cause their attitude is great. They’re amatuers, they love what they do and I’m delighted with them.”

He poses some questions himself. Can Tipperary match the perform- ance shown by Kilkenny in last Sun- day week’s Leinster Final? He says he doubts it.

“But the bottom line is we’re still in there. It’s a first semi-final since 2003, so we’ll look forward to that and the lads will give it a right go.

‘Being unbeaten isn’t something we talk about here. We just take it game to game but these lads are competi- tive and they just want to be the best when they take to the field. But I’m under no illusions, we won’t win an All Ireland on today’s performance.”

Strong but sombre. Work to do and five weeks to do it. That’s the cold but accomplished attitude of a side and a manager with bigger things on WeToJPMB BODE NTORSE

THE ever increasing fame of the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival could be its eventual downfall with copycat festivals beginning to sur- face right across the world.

Over the last eight month two new festivals modelling themselves on the Lisdoon festival have been an- nounced in America and in Asia.

Just last week the Chicago Irish Fest announced that it would be hosting its own matchmaking event entitled the Hooley Happy Festival.

Event organisers have claimed that the Lisdoonvarna Festival was the inspiration for the Hooley Happy Festival and have employed 86- year-old Irish matchmaker Maureen O’Looney, to oversee the romance.

Last year Lisdoonvarna matchmak- er Willie Daly, and festival organiser Marcus White travelled to Singapore and Thailand to consult with the na- tional tourist board wishing to set up matchmaking festivals in those countries. Daly believes that these new festivals will help and not hurt the Lisdoonvarna Festival.

“I think that Lisdoonvarna is prob- ably the best festival in the world. The music is so great and there is just so many places for people to meet,” he said.

“The atmosphere that we have in Lisdoonvarna is something hard to capture. I’d have no worries about festivals in other parts of the world taking people away from Lisdoon- varna. It’s all a help and there is plen- ty of room for all of us.

“We went to Singapore and Thai- land last week and there is great pos- sibilities out there for matchmaking.

The women out there are so very beautiful and they are shown from a very early age how to do all they can to help and support their man.

“That is something that most wom- en in the west have yet to properly realise.

“T think that a new festival in Thai- land would have huge possibilities and we could even see a Situation that people from Lisdoonvarna were going out there for their festival and people from there coming here for ours.”

Willie, who is Ireland’s foremost

matchmaker, also believes that peo- ple matched by matchmakers are much better couples than those who meet through the Internet.

“There are lots of people walking around now who would not be here if it wasn’t for matchmaking,” contin- ued Willie.

‘‘T have seen people matched up by a computer that I would never have put together – not in a million years.”

The Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival runs each year during the month of September. For more check out www.matchmakerireland.com.

IN the wake of an organic farm walk which took place on the Coolnaboy farm of Pat McCormack in Ennis Thursday last, Teagasc have called on Clare farmers to look at organic farming as a real option for the fu- ture.

The Ennis farm walk was the fifth in a series of 21 walks taking place nationwide and Teagasc officials are hopeful that they can convince farm- ers of the growing market for organic produce not just in Ireland but right across Europe.

“The aim of the walks is to show

that organic farming is a great op- portunity for Irish farmers,” said Teagasc organic farming specialist James McDonnell.

“A well-run organic farm can be very profitable in the current climate as it complies with good farming practices, and when combined with organic scheme payments and pre- mium prices for produce there is po- tential for good profit.

“Payments for conversion to or- ganic farming are ©212 per hectare for two years and €106 thereafter, in addition to the basic REPS 4 pay- ments. On a 55 hectare farm the or- ganic scheme payments amount to

approximately €©8,100 per year or €40,810 over five years.

“Organic food is a niche market but a rapidly growing one. Most organic produce attracts a price premium and represents a significant addition to income on organic farms.”

Teagasc, in association with the Department of Agriculture, Fisher- ies and Food, has organised a series of 21 organic farm walks throughout the summer.

In other European countries organ- ic farming 1s much more popular and has grown in response to increased consumer demand.

Just 0.9 per cent of agricultural

land in Ireland is farmed organically, compared to 4.4 per cent in the UK, while in countries like Italy, Aus- tria, Sweden, Finland and Denmark it ranges from between 6 to 13.5 per cent of farmland.

The 21 farms hosting the organic walks represent the full range of organic enterprises in Ireland and cover the vegetables, fruit, cereals, beef, sheep, poultry, dairying and pig sectors.

The latest information on organic production from Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Fisher- ies and Food is available at the open days.

THE Doolin Craft Fair has put out a call to food producers and vegetable growers whose produce is just com- ing into season at this time of the year. The fair has a number of ven- dors who would like to sell fresh pro- duce on behalf of local producers.

“It’s a win-win situation. The pro- ducers get a fair price for their pro- duce and no longer have to think of desperate ways to use up their spare vegetables and the people who come to the fair get lovely fresh vegeta- bles,” said organiser Toby Sachsen- maier.

“It has really taken off over the last

few weeks – better than any of us could have hoped for really. From the very first day that we opened we have gotten a great response from locals and visitors who have come.

“I think one of the things that makes this market really different is that we have new stalls coming in each week so people can come back week after week and have a different experience.”

The Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair takes place each Satur- day from 10am to 4pm at the Russell Community Centre in Doolin.

“It’s not just about having these products for sale. A few of the ven- dors are always doing something

which the people who come to the market will find interesting. For ex- ample we have Mairead who sells woolen garments. She shows people how to spin wool each week,’ con- WbOlE(ore me Re) ey\A

“It’s about creating an atmosphere for the people and I have heard from a number of people that the atmos- phere created by the vendors at the Doolin Market is something special.

“We have a core group who are there every week and then we have different people who come once and awhile when we have space. This week, for example, we have people who are making fused glass jewelry which is something that we haven’t

had before. We have a certain turno- ver each week and that keeps it fresh for the locals who come up all the Wb elen

“We are always looking for new people. We have no room at the mo- ment for permanent tables but we have space for people who only want to come in once and awhile.

“We are also looking at the possi- bility of doing a Christmas fair and it would be great to have a few people around who would be interested in that also.”

For more information on_ the Doolin Craft Fair contact Toby at doolinmarket@gmail.com or phone Paul at 065 7074229.

A RENOWNED consultant surgeon said he could not be sure that treat- ment offered to patients at the East Clinic had any positive affect.

London-based Dr Colin Hopper said he believed that it was likely that other treatments received by the three patients he interviewed helped to elongate their lives.

The Consultant Oral and Maxillo- facial Surgeon at the University Col- lege London Hospitals and Senior

Research Fellow National Medical Laser Centre London, was giving evidence in the case of Dr Pascal Carmody who has denied deceiving terminally ill patients at his clinic in Killaloe.

Mr Hopper visited Dr Carmody at his clinic in 2002.

Spending almost two hours in the witness box on Friday morning, Mr Hopper said, “There is a quantum leap, a leap of faith if you will, be- tween what is mainstream medicine and this medicine being provided.

That is what I have the greatest dif- ficulty with.”

He raised concerns about using drugs on patients without having any information on them and said pa- tients who are terminally ill should not be used as guinea pigs.

‘People who have a very short time to live should not have new medi- cines experimented on them. Pa- tients who are terminally ill have to be protected,” he told the jury at the circuit court.

Council for the defence Pat Mar-

rinan SC told Mr Hopper that the patients were told that they were dy- ing.

Mr Hopper replied, “Dying with an unknown prognosis. None of us have a crystal ball. I have seen pa- tients who were told they had three weeks and they were still alive in ten years.”

The defending barrister asked if there was an adverse reaction in the patients he reviewed.

“The patients did well but whether it was from PDT or other therapies

offered I would expect other thera- pies to have the effect,” he said.

Mr Hopper agreed that he described the case of Mark Hadden, who was given three months to live in 1996, as miraculous, in his 2002 report. Mr Hadden died weeks before the trial preteen a

The consultant surgeon told the court, however, that he could not be sure what was at work as Mr Hadden had also received hyperthermia im- munotherapy in Germany. The trial is to continue this morning.

d planning permission to Brian McGoey and Niall Cunningham to construct 75 homes in Doonbeg but insisted that they only be used as

principal places of residence.

This prompted an appeal to An Bord Pleanala, with the developers claiming that the condition is “‘oner- ous and that at least a proportion of the dwellings should be available for use as holiday homes’”’.

They state that the imposition of the condition “is not in compliance with the proper planning and development of the area”.

“It is acknowledged that there are concerns regarding the provision of further holiday homes in Doonbeg potentially resulting in the village becoming seasonally quiet. How- ever, because of the quality of the proposed scheme, it is unlikely the houses will be purchased by people who only wish to live in the area for a small portion of the year as they are suitable for people who will reside in

them on a more continuous basis eg retirement homes. This means that there will be a high rate of occupan- cy in the development throughout the year with resulting benefits for the local economy”.

The appeal also cites a policy of the West Clare Local Area Plan, which states that the provision of visitor ac- commodation should be encouraged in areas such as Doonbeg.

The developers also point out that the Local Area Plan acknowledges that there is an opportunity to expand the existing tourism base “through the provision of holiday homes and tourism related accommodation’.

‘The proposed scheme is capable of providing suitable holiday homes to cater for this shortfall and to contrib- ute to growth of the tourism product offered in Doonbeg.”

IT appears that Clare farmers will escape any direct losses as a result of the cut in government spending an- nounced last week.

The farming organisations however, have expressed fears that a number of schemes, especially the Farm Im- provement Scheme, could face a very uncertain future.

In the meantime however, the IFA has welcomed the department’s pro- tection of the schemes and its com- mitment to “enhancing the com- petitiveness of farming and the food sector”.

IFA President Padraig Walshe said the current farm investment scheme is clearly boosting the construction

sector in rural areas.

“The investment programme by farmers, supported by department grant schemes, would strengthen the competitiveness of the sector at a time when the industry had to meet the most stringent environmental conditions,’ he said.

Speaking on Thursday, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, confirmed that his department would be providing sav- ings of €9.1 million in 2008 towards the Government’s overall savings of €440 million. The minister said he would seek more savings in 2009.

“The €9.1 million will be absorbed by the administrative budgets in my department and its state agencies and will involve savings in operating

costs, including salaries,’ said Min- ister Smith.

“T can confirm that €1.04 million would be saved on this department’s administrative budget, €5.391 mul- lion would be sought from the state agencies under this department’s ae- gis and a further €2.679 million will be saved on consultancies, PR and payroll costs.

“I will be examining every aspect of my department’s programme of schemes and services with a view to ensuring that expenditure is fully justified and that we get the best pos- sible value for public investment in these sectors.”

Emphasising the significant contri- bution to the economy made by the agriculture, food, forestry and fish-

ing industries, Minister Smith de- scribed the agri-food sector as “one of our most important indigenous manufacturing industries” which ac- counts for almost 7 per cent of GDP, 8 per cent of employment and 10 per cent of exports.

The Minister said that the range of measures and schemes funded by his department were “important drivers of economic development in the agri- culture, fisheries and food sectors”.

Minister Smith concluded with a commitment to continue with this prudent approach to managing the public finances in order to support the agri-food sector but also in tak- ing any additional and proportionate measures required to manage our way through the current difficulties.

ENNISTYMON will open up for some good clean fun this week as the town’s Family Festival prepares to take over.

Beginning on Thursday, this year’s festival has been designed to offer something for all tastes, young as well as old.

With dozens of events taking place each day, the festival mixes light- hearted games for young people and adults with some of the very best of local music.

Some of the festival highlight in- clude the bar persons’ race and pub stretcher race on Thursday, the tug of war and teen disco on Friday, Joe Burke Memorial Cup soccer tourna- ment and 5k fun run on Saturday and

the baby rave and donkey derby on SLUICE NE

“We have tried to get something for every element of the community. We tried really hard to get something that would interest ever age group. From all the silly events for adults, to the music that everyone will enjoy and all the events designed for younger people,” said organiser Marian Cliff.

“What is important is to thank ab- solutely everyone who has helped out this year. So many people are offer- ing their time for nothing – like the DJ, the people who are running the workshops and all the stewards.

“Pretty much all of the local busi- nesses have sponsored something di- rectly or they have just handed me a cheque for the festival,” she added.

“That’s what it’s all about – we

are trying to make an event that has something for all the community and the community has really gotten be- hind it.

“We have small collection boxes in all the bars and in the evening the girls behind the bar have been going around and rattling them trying to raise some money. We need all this money to pay for the insurance.”

One of the highlights of the En- nistymon Family Festival is always the live music. This year is no excep- tion with a typically eclectic mix. The likes of the Robot Pilots, the Andy Wilson Band, Kohima, Bush- plant and the Van Diemens will all be taking to the stage.

The youngsters will also get a chance to shine with a youth bands competition on Saturday.

“Thanks to Matthew Griffin we have the gig rig back in the square for this year’s music and Paddy Mulcahy has but together a great line-up of live music,’ continued Marian.

“There are so many people who have gotten involved in the festival or have given sponsored that I would love to thank, but so many people have been generous that it’s just 1m- possible to mention them all.”

For the full line up and times for the weekend’s festivities check locally.

A CANCER expert told a jury that he “had great difficulty” believing that a specialised laser treatment – photo- dynamic therapy (PDT) – would have any affect on deep-seated cancers.

A consultant radiation oncologist at Galway University Hospital, Profes- sor Frank Sullivan gave evidence as an expert witness called by the pros- ecution in the case against former GP Pascal Carmody.

Prof Sullivan told the Circuit Court in Ennis that he worked with PDT for treating some cancers while he was

cancer centre director for Holy Cross Health, Silver Spring as well as CEO and medical director of Maryland Regional Cancer Care.

He said the treatment would only be effective when treating cancers on the skin or on the lining of structures such as the airways and food tube.

PDT involves the use of a photo- sensitising drug that is administered intravenously through the vein.

When it reaches the cancer cells in the presence of oxygen if a light is shone directly on to the cancerous cells they will very likely be killed.

He told the court that the laser

would not penetrate more than 5mm and was ineffective on deep-rooted cancers such as lung cancer or can- cer in the bone.

The 1l-person jury has already heard that 15-year-old Conor O’Sullivan from County Wexford had undergone PDT treatment in July 2002 in the East Clinic.

Having examined the young teen’s medical notes Prof Sullivan said that he had suffered from a very aggres- sive form of cancer – Ewing’s Sar- coma.

“I can see no reason to consider PDT for the child,’ said the expert

with 25 years experience in cancer treatment.

Prof Sullivan was also asked about the effects of PDT on the cancer suf- fered by Mullingar man, the late JJ CRUE toe

He said the 46-year-old’s cancer had spread even after his stomach, part of his liver and spleen had been removed.

“To shine a light that would only penetrate 5mm would be very inef- fective,” he said.

He said that likewise the treatment would be ineffective in the late John Sheridan from Kilkenny who had

suffered from cancer of the rectum that spread to the liver.

Prof Sullivan also gave evidence that patients treated with the licensed photosensitising drug – photofolora – were extremely sensitive to light for AUemeaeyela ele

They would suffer from severe sun- burn and their lips and face would swell if they went outdoors without wearing long clothes and a special PPI Ele ENF

He said the only information he had on the drug used in the East Clinic – radochlorin – was that it was from Russia.

LOBBYING of councillors by three Ennis-based companies has resulted in Clare County Council reversing rezonings that would have wiped millions of euro off the value of the companies’ lands.

However, planners have warned that by reversing one of the proposed rezonings the council could, in the future, be open to compensation claims over flood damage.

The draft Ennis plan is due to go on

public display next week. An earlier draft of the plan, circulated to coun- cillors in recent weeks, showed that lands owned by Michael Lynch Ltd, Tom Hogan Motors Ltd and T Sheils and Co Ltd had inferior zonings.

The businesses involved scrambled to lobby councillors ahead of a series of meetings behind closed doors. The draft put before the July meeting of Ennis Town Council yesterday shows that they have been successful.

Last year, Tom Hogan Motors Ltd paid in excess of €10 million for

an eight acre site incorporating the One Mile Inn on the Lahinch Road in Ennis. That was zoned “local cen- tre” in the 2003 Ennis Development Plan, conferring on it the ability “to sustain and strengthen the area as a centre of commercial, retail, cultural and community life’.

However, in the new draft Ennis plan, planning officials removed that zoning and instead moved to have a large proportion of the site rezoned to “open space” and “flood risk” with the remainder zoned “commercial”.

In recommending that the flood risk zoning remain, a report put be- fore the meeting yesterday stated: ‘The portion of the site to the south of the property is known to be a flood risk area for which photographic evi- dence of winter flooding exists.

“It is strongly recommended that the lands should be zoned as per the draft development plan to protect the council against any future claims.”

But the councillors countered that flooding problems “due to blocked drains during by-pass construction

(are) now resolved. Flood risk on site should be determined by experts at time of any planning application.”

The councillors also ruled that the Michael Lynch and Co Ltd site near St Flannan’s roundabout should re- tain its “Proposal Site” status. Plan- ners had sought to rezone the site to “other settlement land” and “residen- tial” to protect the amenities of adja- cent properties.

Councillors also ordered that “com- mercial” zoning be reinstated on the site owned by T Sheils and Co.