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A 20-year-old man from the Czech Republic has been charged in con- nection with a €45,000 haul of can- nabis in Ennis last week.

Michal Karchnak, of Lenabeg, La- hinch Road, Ennis, is charged with possession of cannabis resin and possession for sale or supply, at his

home, last Friday, June 13.

He was brought before a special sit- ting of Ennis District Court on Satur- day. Garda Stephen Hession told the court the accused did not make any reply, when charged at Ennis Garda Station the previous evening.

Defending solicitor Daragh Hassett sought bail for his client, who has lived with his mother in Ennis for

the past two years. He said that the case will be going forward for trial and there will be an “obvious delay” due to the preparation of the Book of Evidence.

He said the accused was co-op- erative with gardai and Gda Hession said that “certain admissions were made.”

Gda Hession told the court that

while the accused was in custody, he became aware that a bench warrant was in existence for him.

However, Mr Hassett said, “The bench warrant comes as a surprise to the defendant.”

Mr Hassett applied for free legal aid for the defendant, who works part-time as a stonemason. However the application was deferred until a

later date.

“He is from the Czech Republic. He’s going to meet this case fairly and squarely,” said the solicitor.

However, Inspector Tom Kennedy said the State would be opposing bail, based on the seriousness of the charges. Judge Joseph Mangan re- manded the accused in custody to re- appear in court later this month.

WHETHER you’re competing or just enjoying, this coming weekend is the time to strap on your dancing shoes.

The county fleadh kicks off in Tulla on Thursday and the line up is im- pressive, with a chance to see both the Tulla and the Kilfenora Ceili bands on the gig-rig in the square on Sunday night.

On Thursday night the courthouse is the venue for the gala concert Where Brian Rooney is performing along with Brian McNamara, Tim Collins, Mick Conneely, Lorraine O’Brien and Eoin O’Neill. Sena- tor Labhras O’Murcht, Director of CCE, will officially open the fleadh on the night.

Saturday night is the céili with Andrew McNamara, Mark Donnel- lan and Jim Corry at Minogue’s at LO eeee

Apart from the many competitions, there is plenty of entertainment for visitors throughout the weekend in Tulla.

On Friday night Peadar McNamara and The Ennis Singers will be in the Power House at 9pm while Kate McNamara will launch her cd at Minogue’s.

On Sunday at lpm Robbie McMa- hon can be heard singing Spancil Hill at Teach Ol. Sunday night is the highlight of the festival with a repeat performance of one 50 years ago when the Tulla and Kilfenora Ceili Bands both competed in the streets

of Tulla for the senior céili band title. There will be set dancing with Aidan Vaughan, half set, brush dancers and sean nos dancers on the specially erected platform from 8.30pm.

The timetable for competitions has now been finalised and first up 1s set dancing in St Joseph’s Secondary School on Friday night at 7pm for the under 12 and 12 to 15 age groups. At 8.30pm the 15 to 18 age group and senior groups will compete.

At 9.30am on Saturday morning there will be the grupai cheoil for the under 15s. This is also the time for the under nine and under 12 banjo competitions, accordion under nine, duets under 12, concertina under nine and under 12, harp under nine, fiddle under 12, flute under 12, whis-

tle under 12 and drums under 12.

Céili bands for the 12 to 15 age group are at llam, grupai cheoil for the under 12s are at 2pm while the under 12 céili bands are at 3.30pm.

The full timetable will be available in the fleadh programme or on www. tulltradfestival.com.

Competitions on Sunday morning start at 10am and the aim is to have all competitions finished by 4pm in time for the hurling semi final.

The grupai cheoil for the 15 to 18 age group 1s the first item on the pro- gramme for Sunday followed by the céili band competition for the same age group at llam. The senior céili band competition is at 12pm along with the solo competitions for the under 18 age group.

A MONDERNISED three — bed- roomed semi-detached home on Quay Road, Clarecastle, has come on the books with Location Location Carrig Maleady.

The property is only a stroll from the village and it’s amenities, which include shops, a church and the Shan- non/Limerick bus stop.

Ennis is only a few minutes drive from the doorstep and the bypass is also within very easy reach.

The property is situated in a quiet cul de sac development. Features include new wiring, plumbing, etc; an attractive spacious site; a side en- trance; Beech shaker fitted kitchen; polished wood flooring; solid block construction; off-street parking and parking to side; tarmac driveway; Sunroom; two bathrooms.

This well presented and spacious property would make an ideal home or investment.

The entrance hall has solid teak en- trance door (glass panelling), carpet- ed stairs to first floor, new laminate wood flooring, telephone point and door leading to main sitting room and study.

The sitting room has new laminate wood flooring, feature brick pointed fire place tv point, built in shelving USD LAE The study has red deal T&G flooring and fitted shelf unit.

In the kitchen there is a modern fully fitted beech shaker kitchen in-

corporating oven, hob, tiled splash back, plumbed for dishwasher and washing machine.

The diningroom/sunroom has tiled flooring, red deal t&g ceiling, sliding patio door to rear garden.

In the bathroom there is a bath with electric shower, wc, whb, tiled floor to ceiling, mirror and shelving units.

On the first floor there are three bedrooms. They all have t&g pol- ished wood flooring and fitted ward-

robes. In the main bathroom there is tiled floor to ceiling, wc, whb, bath with pump shower.

Outside there is a concrete drive, an entrance gate, a garden to the front, garden shed, private and mature gar- den to rear, it is not overlooked to aero

Viewing is strictly by appoint- ment with Location Location Car- rig Maleady only and it is priced at €205,000.

A 61-year-old north Clare man ac- cused of 10 counts of indecent as- sault in the 1960s has been returned for trial to the Circuit Court.

The accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is facing nine charges of indecently assaulting a

female and one charge of indecently assaulting a male, in north Clare.

The alleged offences occurred be- tween January 1, 1964 and June 6, RTese2

At Ennis District Court on Friday, the Book of Evidence was served and the accused was returned for trial to Ennis Circuit Court.

AN €8.5 million development of housing for the elderly and people with special needs is being planned for Killaloe.

Cluid Housing in association with Clare County Council and North Tip- perary Council are working together on the project at Shantraud.

The proposed development is to be located behind St Anne’s Com- munity College and will include 34 one and two bedroom apartments.

The scheme will provide residents with facilities such as a 24-hour scheme manager, a day care centre, hot meals, care and support services, laundry facilities and medical treat- ment rooms allowing all residents to live a full life which will include daily contact with their neighbours.

Cluid is a dedicated housing as- sociation which provides homes for people on modest incomes.

“Projects such as the one we are proposing allow the elderly to retain their own individual space which is

manageable even with reduced mo- bility,’ a spokesman for Cluid said. “The scheme enables senior citizens to remain as active participating members of society.”

The scheme is for people aged 55 and over or younger people who have a special need. However, the major- ity of tenants are older people or cou- ples who no longer want the expense and worry of maintaining their own house and garden.

While the development is to be lo- cated in Killaloe it will also be open

to applications from Ballina, and from other parts of Clare, Tipperary, and Limerick. People wanting to re- turn from England can also apply as can people from other parts of Ire- land who may have family links with Killaloe or the surrounding area.

An open day will be held in the Lakeside Hotel in Ballina today (Tuesdsay) from 10am to 6pm. Representatives from Cluid will be present on the day to discuss the de- tails of the scheme and to answer any queries interested people may have.

, It makes it much more dif- ficult for Irish ministers to transact business as successfully as in the

past.

“The wider European view is that we have been by far the biggest ben- efactor and they do not understand why we would make it more difficult for Europe to function more effec- tively and efficiently.”

While disappointed with the over- all ‘No’ vote, the Clare Fianna Fail TD was happy with the Clare posi- OA om USI EO Le

“Tt certainly indicates that the ma- jority of the people of Clare realise that Europe needs to have systems in place that allow it to operate more ef-

fectively.”

Asked if there 1s likely to be a Lis- bon II, as in the case of Nice, the jun- ior minister said he believed that was not likely at the moment.

“If we see a few more countries ratifying, then the threat to Ireland is much greater. If no one else rati- fies it, then maybe we can find more common ground.”

Meanwhile, Fine Gael’s Deputy Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Deputy Pat Breen said that the Gov- ernment must accept responsibility for the rejection of the treaty.

“IT welcome the decision by the people of County Clare to support the Lisbon Treaty. I thank the people of Clare who have risen above their local concerns because they recog- nise the important role that Ireland’s membership of the EU has played since we joined the union in 1973,” |aTemsy-H (6b

‘Fine Gael played an active part in the campaign here in County Clare and I take this opportunity to especially thank the Fine Gael vot- ers in County Clare who once again showed their true party patriotism,

putting the future of the country ahead of their own frustrations with this Government’s failure to deliver.

“While Clare has said “Yes’ to Lis- bon, the decision by the people of Ireland overall to reject the treaty is disappointing. The credibility of the political system is being destroyed by fairytales of the previous Taoiseach at the Mahon Tribunal and they are further undermined by the unques- tioned support that was given by the current Taoiseach and his band of ministers for these fairytales,” said the Fine Gael TD.

A POLISH man who has spent the past two months in custody has been granted bail after a court heard that a voluntary group for homeless people would support him.

Piotr Baran (30), of no fixed abode, appeared before Ennis District Court on Friday, on public order charges.

The court was told he has spent the past two months in custody and was seeking bail.

Josephine O’Brien told the court that she set up a voluntary organi- sation called ‘Help’ and supports homeless people in Ennis.

She said that she was aware of a place where the accused could stay, over the weekend, if granted bail. It was hoped that the Health Service Executive would then be in a posi- tion to find accommodation for Mr Baran.

“T’ll take responsibility for him. He will have to stay away from his old drinking partners. They don’t do him any good. I’m certainly not giving him any more chances,” she said.

Defending solicitor Daragh Has- sett said that Ms O’Brien had made a very good point in relation to the company the accused keeps.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said he supported Mr Hassett in his applica- wlOyee

“Mr Baran has a dreadful addic- tion to alcohol. He seems to be off it now,” he said.

Judge Joseph Mangan granted bail to Mr Baran, to re-appear in court on Due hs

THE family of murdered Clare wom- an Emer O’Loughlin have begun a campaign to bring the Ennistymon woman’s killer to justice.

To mark the third anniversary of Emer’s killing, her sister Pam – now based in the UK – and her brother Raymond have appealed to the pub- lic to help solve the long-running mystery.

The pair have compiled a video fea- turing images of Emer and details of how members of the public can come forward with any information that might be of assistance. The video has received almost 2,000 viewings since it was uploaded on the Youtube website just seven weeks ago.

As part of the campaign a Facebook site has also been created in which members of the public are warned against taking action into their own hands.

“The third anniversary of my little sister’s murder has just passed. Her killer is still out there shielded and helped to escape by his family and friends. Myself and my brother have decided to do our best to achieve via the Internet what Interpol, the gardai and the Irish media have failed to do and that’s track him down,” it says.

“There are hundreds of people on these lists and they know hundreds of other people, maybe someone might spot him. It is a long shot but it is the only shot we have. Remember, this is a call for information leading

to an arrest and not for action.”

The body of Emer O’ Loughlin (23) was discovered in a burnt-out cara- van in Ballyborna close to Tubber, on the Clare/Galway border in April of PAU thy

The chief suspect in the case, a Galway man in his 40s, disappeared some time after the murder and gardai investigated the possibility that he may have fled to the UK.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gort Garda Station at 091 636407. The video tribute to Emer is available to view at www.youtube. com/watch?v=Hm5BJKCKPQ¢g

SINN Féin in the county was in jubi- lant mood this week, despite losing the local battle on Lisbon.

While the referendum was narrow- ly accepted in the Banner County, an overall “‘No’ throughout the country gave the party much reason to cel- Ce) elkon

Sinn Féin’s county spokesperson Cathy McCafferty thanked the par- ty’s members and supporters.

Ms McCafferty said, “We are de- lighted with this result. The people

have spoken and their views must be respected. Our activists in Clare and throughout the State have put in an enormous amount of work in recent months to secure this result and I would like to thank them all on be- half of all the party in Clare.

“In addition, our supporters who helped with canvassing, pestering, did a wonderful job and deserve to be commended.

“It would have been the icing on the cake of this win if we had won in Clare as well, but given the size and resources of the larger parties,

it was a major achievement to have come so close to securing a ‘No’ in Clare,” she said.

‘Politicians are duty-bound to both provide leadership and to reflect the wishes and opinions of the electorate and it now falls to the Government to address the concerns of the peo- ple instead of trying to push through proposals which are not in the peo- ple’s interests.

“This result has shown that the electorate share our concerns over the direction of Europe and also that they agree with us that our place in

Europe is secure and will continue to be. The Government now has a clear and strong mandate to renegotiate this treaty.

‘They need to use the opportunity to get back around the table with our EU partners and secure a better deal,” she added.

“Throughout this referendum cam- paign, three key issues came up over and over again – Ireland’s loss of power in Europe, neutrality and the lack of information.

‘People were also concerned at the race to the bottom in wages and con-

ditions and the opening of key public services to competition. The Govern- ment now have a huge responsibility to secure a better deal which will ad- dress these areas of concern.

“We believe that a better deal is possible and Sinn Féin will give any assistance we can to Government as they undertake this task and we will also be engaging with the trade union movement, farmers, business and civic society to encourage them to use their influence to ensure that the Government secures the best deal possible.”

AN Irish soldier has told the trial that he contacted a website advertising contract killings because he thought it was a joke.

Private Brian Buckley told prose- cuting counsel, Una Ni Raifeartaigh he had found the site Hireahitman.us while searching for cheat codes for the Hitman computer game.

Pvt Buckley said he was using the computer at his mother’s house in Ennis when he came across the web- site. It was top of the list of Google

search results so he assumed it was the site he was looking for.

He said the homepage of the site made him think is was an internet prank. “I saw a cartoon animation of a man with a gun. He was wearing a hat, sunglasses and had a pistol. It was a cartoon drawing.”

Pvt Buckley said he looked further into the website until he came to a kind of application form. “Out of my own curiosity or my own stupidity I decided to fill out the form.”

Using the email address Judas69@gmail.com he filled out

the form, giving a false telephone number and a false name, Will Buckimer.

He said there was no significance in either name and the number 69 meant nothing.

Using the application form on the website he filled in fictitious skills. He listed handgun, rifle, sub machine gun, shot gun, sniper, heavy gun, heavy machine gun, grenades, basic booby traps and limited poisons.

He said this was not a true answer, with the exception of rifle and gre- nades.

He said he made first contact with the website on July 29, 2006 and re- ceived a reply from a Tony Luciano on August 10.

The reply read, “I have a job for you if you are interested. Two males in Ireland and one in Spain. ASAP. Let us know. We will try and call you. Thanks. Tony Luciano.”

Pvt Buckley agreed that he had provided his mobile number, but had never at any stage thought the website was serious. He said he “just wanted to see where it would go”.

On August 28 he received another

email from Tony Luciano. “Please help us out for this. I need some strong poison. One of us will be in Shannon. We cannot shift this stuff for security reasons – you know that – so please help us out. Will pay and I will owe you favourite. Thanks brother. Tony.”

Pvt Buckley said that this email made him feel uneasy and he decided to distance himself. He received sev- eral communications from the man calling himself Tony Luciano but would not talk to him and kept tell- ing him he had the wrong number.