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THE Interprovincial Championships, that have been sponsored to the tune of over €500,000 by Clare’s Martin Donnelly over the past seven years, are on a “stay of execution” from the GAA’s top brass.

That’s the verdict of Clare’s county secretary Pat Fitzgerald, whose an- nual report praises Donnelly’s sup- port of the series, but hits out at the failure of the GAA authorities’ dedi- cation to the inter-provincial con- cept.

“Through Martin Donnelly’s un- flinching support the Interprovincial Championships are a competition that seems to have been drawing its last breath for the past few years has, almost miraculously, continued to

Survive, says Fitzgerald.

“But [I’m fearful that the compe- tition, which once had supporters streaming through the turnstiles in their droves, is on a stay of execu- tion.

“The GAA at national level has emphasised repeatedly that they are fully behind the inter-provincials but actions do speak louder than words. What it now needs to do is decide on dedicated dates for the competition and then, with sufficient time on their hands, press ahead with a proper and sustained marketing campaign.

“If that is done, the public might start voting with their feet once more and turn out in large numbers as in the days of yore,” adds Fitzgerald.

under the Free- dom of Information Act, of the 11 staff members dealing directly with Traveller issues, seven have been transferred to other areas of the local authority since 2004, with two other retiring during that time.

No details were given on why such a high number of staff members re- ceived transfers to areas of the coun- cil which do not deal directly with

Traveller issues.

According to Traveller rights cam- paigner, Heather Rosen, this is part of a wider campaign to erode the stand- ing of Travellers when dealing with the local authority. She claims that the local authority have failed to replace a dedicated Traveller social worker even though the position has been va- cant for more then nine years.

“It’s not a good situation. When Clare County Council are issuing court proceedings against a Traveller family they can easily get the Envi- ronmental Health Officer out to say that the accommodation is not fit to live in, but, when Traveller families are desperately in need because of problems with accommodation, no-

one is ever sent out. All of a sudden they say that they don’t have the per- sonnel to examine the homes or they are not qualified,” said Rosen.

“There was a dedicated social worker in the Traveller Accommo- dation Unit until 2000 and when she left she was never replaced.”

According to Rosen, Clare County Council have begun a process which will bring to an end all local author- ity positions which deal only with OBE NON mp EoKe

‘From what I have heard there is not going to be anyone dealing directly with Travellers anymore. Travellers will be dealing directly with the gen- eral council staff even though their situations are drastically different

from anyone else who will walk into LoLeTaTeopmoLUbN Cen Dercamae

Clare County Council were con- tacted in relation with this story but no comment was received at the time of going to press. However, according to the the information received under the Freedom of Information Act, a number of the positions mentioned involved dealing with both Traveller and non-Traveller issues.

Meanwhile, a grandmother in her 5Os was rushed to hospital again this weekend after taking ill in her caravan. The woman, who suffered from epilepsy and asthma, has been engaged in a long running dispute with Clare County Council in search of accommodation.

FEILE na nGael coming to Clare for the first time in 23 years in 2010 has to be the spur for a new referee recruitment drive across the county, according to referees supremo Kevin Walsh.

The Clare Referees Administration Committee chairman will use this Thursday night’s annual Conven- tion to issue a challenge to the clubs

of the county to answer the Féile na nGael call, but providing referees for the under 14 hurling spectacular to be played next June.

The call comes following the ad- mission from Walsh that, on the back of apathy and lack of interest from clubs, 2009 was a disastrous year where recruitment of referees was oy sleroru sleree

“In this the 125th anniversary year of our association it is disappointing

to be reporting that we failed to have a referees course in the county this year,’ admits Walsh. “Due to lack of interest and numbers we were unable to run a foundation course in 2009. “It is intended to rectify this situa- tion for 2010. Every club, but espe- cially those with no referee, or who didn’t bother for the past five or six years will again be given the op- portunity to put their shoulder to the wheel and help. At the end of Febru-

ary and into the beginning of March we hope to run a course and we will need at least 30 recruits for this.”

Walsh is hoping that the carrot of Feile na nGael will be spark new in- terest among clubs.

‘Everyone knows the huge task and undertaking this (Féile na nGael) will requirement,” he says. “Now is the time for your club to step up to the plate and play its part in this ven- melden

“We will need referees and a lot of them. Every club will be taking part in Féile and every club should strive to have a referee and play their part in making this Féile as successful as previous Féiles.

‘The eyes of the country will be on us in every aspect of the game and can your club afford to be the one who is not contributing to the area of refereeing,’ Walsh’s annual report adds.

Floor levels may have contributed to problem

AN AMBITIOUS | new project, which aims to document the oral his- tory of the county, was launched in Ennis last week.

The Clare Oral History and Folk- lore group was formed in February and their latest project Cuimhneamh an Chlair or Memories of Clare aims to record, archive and share the memories or the older people living in the county.

The group has began a programme digital recording and already con- ducted more than fifty interviews with older people in Clare – includ- ing two 105-year-olds, one of whom, Margaret Hoey, passed away just two weeks after her life story.

According to Cormac McCarthy, Leas Cathaoirleach with Cuimh- neamh an Chlair, a huge amount has been achieved by the organisation in a relatively short time.

“Since February, we have worked extremely hard at developing a well planned, strategic and systematic in1- tiative. We had to begin by consult- ing with all relevant agencies and or- ganisations both across the country and internationally in order to ensure all our elements were developed ac- cording to best practice,” he said.

“The group have been busy with organising the professional training of all the Cuairteoiri, who have vol- unteered from across County Clare. In addition, Cuimhneamh an Chlair

have been invited to speak at many conferences including an interna- tional folklore conference in Kerry, a national oral history summer school at the University of Limerick, the Milwaukee Irish Festival and other lecture series across Clare.”

Since their formalisation, Cuimh- neamh an Chlair have recruited and professionally trained 25 volunteers

who have been contacting and visit- ing some of Clare’s oldest citizens in order to record their unique insight into a fading way of life in County ETc

Age Action Ireland have acknowI- edged the ‘Cuairt’ of visits by the group is an excellent way of docu- menting memories and endorsed the work of Cuimhneamh an Chlair in

the county.

“The resurrection of Cuairt will help to build social cohesion in com- munities across Clare by enhancing connections within towns, villages and townlands in the county and by highlighting the presence and the value of elderly people who re- side in different parts of Clare,” said Edel Greene, the Group Secretary of

Cuimhneamh an Chlair.

‘The primary aim of Cuimhneamh an Chlair is to record the precious memories of our elderly, while they PVeomS SOOM aloe me ne

Council set to lift partial boil notice in Ennis

THREE young men arrested in con- nection with a suspicious fire in En- nis on Thursday have been released A Us oO LULMed OTHER

Gardai are describing the incident as “mindless vandalism” after a car and house were set alight at St Anne’s Terrace on Clon Road in the early hours of the morning.

The house was unoccupied at the

time as it was being renovated, but two other homes, which were occu- pied, were evacuated, after the emer- gency services were alerted to the in- cident at around midnight. However, the blaze hadn’t spread to the other homes.

The car – which was parked outside the house – was burnt out in the blaze, while considerable smoke damage was done to the house.

Three teenagers, who reside in En-

nis, were later arrested. One was re- leased without charge on Thursday and two others were released without charge on Friday night. A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

A technical examination of the scene was carried out on Thursday. Ennis Superintendent John Scanlan is urging members of the public who may have information on this inci- dent to come forward.

“This was mindless vandalism. We have had a lot of help from the general public and we are anxious to hear from anyone with information,” he said.

This was the third serious fire dealt with by the fire services in the county last week, after houses in Broadford and Scariff were damaged earlier in the week. A house in Scariff was gut- ted in the early hours on Wednesday and a garda investigation has been launched.

Clare County Council’s fire service has issued a warning to homeowners to take precautions in relation to fire safety around Christmas time. It says that safety must be exercised when it comes to Christmas lights. They should be purchased from a reputa- ble electrical supplier and must be fully uncoiled before use. Checks, to ensure lights are in good working order, should be carried out, while lights should be turned off when homeowners are out.

The fire service is also warning homeowners to make sure chimneys are clean and that spark guards are in place at night-time. Candles should not be left on if there 1s no-one in the room, while smoke alarms should be in good working order.

A fire safety routine should become a habit at night-time to include un- plugging sockets, keeping escape routes clear and closing all doors.

CLARE farmers have seen an in- come drop of almost 30 per cent in the last 12 months.

That is according to new research issued by the Central Statistics Of- fice last week, which indicates that farmers in Ireland have been affected worse than any other farmers in Eu- rope by the recent “collapse” in farm income margins.

The results have come as a result of ongoing poor commodity prices, Government cuts, unprecedented poor weather conditions and the con- tinued weakness of sterling which 1s damaging Irish agriculture exports

to the UK.

Reacting to the figures, IFA presi- dent Padraig Walshe said that it has been a devastating year for farm families in Ireland.

“The agriculture minister must re- flect the dreadful income situation in farming at cabinet and deliver a proper funded REPS scheme for farmers leaving REPS 2 and 3. He must also ensure there are no further cuts or additional costs imposed on the sector,’ he said.

“The stark reality is that aver- age farm income is now between €13,000 and €16,000 for full time farmers. The Government proposal to close REPS is simply not a run-

ner as it will collapse the already dire incomes of at least 20,000 drystock farmers and leave them with incomes below €10,000.

‘Already cuts in vital schemes to- talling €130 million have impacted severely on farm income. Govern- ment expenditure on farm schemes accounts for less than one per cent of total net Government expendi- ture and if equity is to prevail, cuts already imposed on the sector must be reversed.”

The IFA president called for the Government to support the pro- ductive agriculture sector through maintaining funding for vital farm schemes and ensure that changes to

the taxation system are equitably ap- plied and do not undermine the com- petitiveness of the export sectors.

‘The carbon tax would further in- crease production cost by €17.5 mil- lion per year which is a further 1 per cent cut in national farm income,’ continued Mr Walshe.

“The minister should exempt farming from this tax because no alternatibe fuels are available, farmers cannot pass on the extra cost to the market and any further income cuts to the sector would be intolerable.

“This situation already exists in France where farmers are refunded the cost of the carbon tax there.”

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