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PREPARATIONS are well un- derway for the 2008 Ennistymon Family Festival which kicks off on Thursday, July 17. This year’s show, which runs until July 20, will see an expanded range of activities with a wider variety of activities and events for all ages.

“The festival has been a traditional thing here for a long time but petered out for some reason. Then about four years ago myself, Marie Daly, Wil- lie Daly and Pat Tierney said let’s try again,’ said Marian Cliff of the Ennistymon Family Festival Com-

mittee.

“We have managed to get a lot more people involved this year and we have been filling up the days. The whole idea of the festival is that it 1s supposed to be good craic. The guys will take things like the tug of war and the races very seriously, but at the end of the day, it will be all good fun.”

This year’s festival will include workshops for children, a fun fun, baking competition, a youth art com- petition, a primary school disco, a tug of war contest, stretcher race, barman’s race, donkey derby and the Joe Burke Memorial 7-a-side Soccer

tournament.

This year’s festival will also include Clare’s first ever baby-rave.

“We heard of one that was held up in Dublin. It’s for moms and dads and babies from O up to 4 years old. It’s literally a rave for babies. They come in and everyone gets to dance and have some fun,” continued Mar- ian.

‘The music is always a big part of it. Paddy Mulcahy from Lahinch has once again organised a great line-up of music. The line-up is still being completed but so far Paddy has put together a great line-up. We will also be staging a new band competition

on the Saturday of the festival.

‘There is still time for people to get involved if they have events in mind. People should just give me a buzz if they have something that they think would be a good addition. This year we are also getting local business to sponsor events. So far Cathleen’s Laundrette have said they will spon- sor the soccer competition while Unglert’s Bakery and Conway’s have also come up trumps with great sponsorship.”

Anyone interested in getting in- volved or sponsoring an event should contact Marian on (086) 8782617.

“A MOMENT of absolute stupidity” was how a Solicitor referred to an in- cident in which her client punched a garda in the face.

The remark was made in court in the case of Flan Ginnane (26), of Quay Road, Kildysart, who was

charged with assaulting Garda Alan Kelly, at Abbey Street, Ennis, in the early hours of March 3 last.

Defending solicitor Siobhan Mc- Mahon said her client was pleading cuilty.

Garda Kelly told Ennis District Court last Friday that he was dealing with Ginnane’s friends and he got in-

volved.

‘‘He punched me in the face. He ran off. I caught up with him,” said the eee

He said the accused apologised that night and again the following day.

Ms McMahon said that when her chent saw gardai approaching, he tried to intervene to help one of his

friends who was younger than him.

“Tt was a moment of absolute stu- pidity that led to this situation. He is petrified by the whole situation,” said the solicitor.

She said her client is a “genuinely decent person” who was highly thought of in his local community, where he had a deep involvement in

oh Osa0ae

“Tt is totally out of character,” she said.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a two-month jail term. But he will sub- stitute this with 240 hours commu- nity service if the accused is found suitable. He adjourned the case until next month.

JUSTIN McCarthy emerged from the Waterford dressing room and didn’t have to be prompted to offer his thoughts on where it all went wrong for Waterford.

The Waterford manager felt his injury-hit team were outplayed by a Clare side, he reckoned would have beaten any team on Sunday.

Despite posting a more than re- spectable total of 0-23, the crucial CUTS sTOLN Ke) e Mole AN (ole) IMA Nome CUE KM BEls one element inseparable from Water-

ford performances from recent times — goals.

“T felt the way they performed they would have beaten any team” said McCarthy afterwards, ““We came up here with high ambitions but at the end of the day they outplayed us. They got some great scores, from frees and from play. The two goals of course were a big issue. We scored 23 points which wasn’t bad but we needed the goals as well.”

McCarthy wasn’t getting too down though. He is around long enough to know that plenty more twists and

turns lie in the road ahead.

“There is a lot of hurling to be played in August. We’re playing in five weeks time, which is a good gap in between. We’ll regroup and reorganise ourselves and hopefully ZNO MEO stom DON LEDC Sh MAYA 00MM oLomCed (or-B Kore Mel OO), then. Its not going to be an easy road back, there’s no doubt about that. Having said that we’re experienced enough too. A lot of teams will fall by the wayside between now and Au- gust.”

McCarthy said and lingering feel- ings of despondency will be well and

truly purged by the time Waterford enter the qualifiers.

“If you win youre on a high, if you lose you’re on a low. At the end of the day, these things come and go over a matter of days. You’ve a different outlook coming into the next game will be Galway or Antrim. We’ll just have to take every step as it comes and who knows what the outcome will be in the long run.”

The All-Ireland that everyone in Waterford yearns and hungers for.

Not on the evidence of this tired

display though.

SHARON Collins sometimes re- ferred to herself as “Howard’’, her partner’s eldest son told the trial.

Robert Howard told the court that AYES Gro) UT arm er KeMEAVcCeMY alee mONKweElselon PJ for eight years and had looked af- ter him through illnesses.

Paul O’ Higgins SC, for Ms Collins, put it to him that the relationship was unusual.

“It was an unusual relationship. You’ll probably think it’s fair to say it’s unusual to get a letter to say they wouldn’t be getting married and even more unusual that there was a wed- ding reception with invitations sent out,” said Mr O’ Higgins.

Two invitation cards were handed to Mr Howard in the witness box, but he replied, “I don’t remember see- ing these before. I never saw them before.”

Mr O’Higgins said, “Sharon Col-

lins wouldn’t deny this for a moment, she was very keen to get married,’ and Robert Howard accepted this.

Asked how often he would see Ms Collins, the witness said, “When Sharon was around, I’d see her.” Asked did he and his brother social- ise with her he replied, “Yes.”

Referring to the computer at PJ Howard’s house, Mr O’Higgins said that Ms Collins was “effectively leaving an open book for yourself and possibly for your father and for Niall. Not only was that book open from August on, but all these events came to light in late September 2007. If Sharon Collins was responsible for all these events, the Eridium com- puter was sitting in Ballybeg House through all this time.”

Mr Howard replied, “I don’t know. I can’t remember seeing the compu- ter at Ballybeg House.”

Under cross-examination from David Sutton SC, for Essam Eid,

Robert Howard admitted that he and his brother Niall were more active in running the business than their father.

Asked was he proficient in tech- nology, he smiled and replied, “Not very’, but accepted he had sufficient knowledge for the day-to-day run- ning of the business.

Mr Sutton asked Robert Howard whether he found the visit by “Tony” to his home an “unusual event”’.

He replied, “Very weird, very strange.”

Mr Sutton said, “He shook your hand, very strange,’ to which Mr Howard replied, “Very strange al- Toa

The barrister put it to Mr Howard that he didn’t slam the door on the man’s face. He replied, “I wanted to find out what he wanted.”

IT’S official, Ennistymon is now one of a set of triplets after formalising it’s twinned status with the town of Schimatari in Greece last month.

A large delegation from Ennisty- mon including Cllr Flan Garvey (FF) traveled to Greece to sign the twinning pact and meet the Greek locals. Both towns are also twinned with Pozzoleone in Italy, making En- nistymon Clare’s first ever “triplet- ted” town.

‘This trip was really to set the twin- ning in stone.

“We have now completed the tri-

angle between all of the towns,” said Caroline Heuston of the Ennistymon Twinning Association.

‘They are a very hospitable people over there. They organised a number of tours for us – we went to Delphi and Athens – and they organised a formal evening for us with their may- or and their local politicians.”

“There was traditional Greek and Irish dancing taking place and we all had a lot of fun.” Besides the social benefits, this new relationship also promises to be good for business in Ennistymon and north Clare.

‘The idea is that individuals make contact and keep in touch. While

over there we stayed with ten or elev- en different families and built up a network of people over there,’ con- tinued Caroline.

“It’s a very down to earth thing. It’s all about making links between com- munity groups in both places and not just the core group of people involved in the actual twinning.”

“This is something that could have a benefit for the local tourism and the tourism in the area in the future. Now they know where Ennistymon is – before this they probably didn’t know anything about Ireland outside of Dublin and now at least they know where we are.”

MFaW ie LM NOL MUR MO Slo OPM BOSD MBM OILERS and family will know about Clare and may come and visit in the future. So it is something that we could see a very positive outcome from.”

While no return trip has been or- ganised to date, the members of the Ennistymon Twinning Association are keen to have their Greek friends over to north Clare again soon.

“We don’t now yet about how this will evolve in the future but we would be very keen,’ continued Caroline.

“We would certainly like to have them over here in the future and re- turn the hospitality that they showed us while we were over there.”

AS the surprise package of last year’s championship, Corofin were Mohi- canlike in their scalping of big sides on their way to the quarter-finals but there is one major drawback to Corofin’s unprecedented champion- ship run last season. In the Premier- ship, it’s referred to as “second sea- son syndrome’ but in simple terms, the reality is that Corofin had only one campaign to catch opponents unawares because this season, every- one will be cautious of their threat. It’s a factor that manager Ambrose Heagney is only too aware of but he welcomes it as a litmus test of his emerging side.

“We are certainly hoping to build on last year and this will be the test whether last year was a fluke or not. Obviously teams will be more pre- pared for us now. Doora/Barefield will be right eager to play us after last year and will want to reverse that result and the Bridge will be wary of us I’m sure as well.”

Before last season, a tendency to pigeonhole Corofin as a one-man team based on county senior Gerry Quinn, rather overlooked their true potential as a team. It was one of the factors that caused such an upset against Clarecastle and St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield. After last year, that shortsightedness has been rectified

and Corofin can boast seven county players between the minor, under 21 and senior grades, something which Heagney feels has given his squad immense experience ahead of this year’s championship.

“There is a great bunch of young lads in the squad this year. I had three of them training with the county sen- ior panel [Gerry Quinn, Darragh Clancy and Darragh Shannon], two with the county under 21 team [Mar- tin Tierney and Neil Killeen] and two in the county minor squad [Kevin Heagney and Luke O’Loughlin]. So that is seven lads who are getting inter-county experience and that is wonderful really. And that would be a new enough scenario for Corofin.”

A major factor in Corofin’s eventual exit to Crusheen in the quarter-finals was fatigue. As one of only four sen- ior dual clubs in the championship, a number of Corofin players were made to pay for their duality by be- ing forced to play for ten successive

weekends between the hurling and football championships. But rather than dwelling on it as a disadvantage, Heagney is positive about Corofin’s success in both codes.

“For some of the players, the Crusheen game was a bridge too far in terms of tiredness and energy after so many weekends of action but that is something we have to live with and something which is going to always be there. We are a dual club and we will always be a dual club but we have a great relationship with the football management. Seamus Clancy and myself meet regularly to talk about training schedules and iron out any difficulties or problems arising with dual players.”

When referring to the draw, Heag- ney feels that in many ways this year’s group mirrors last year’s. Corofin are drawn with St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield once again but Sixmulebridge are replacing Clare- castle as the second prominent team

in the group while all the others are on a similar even keel but he 1s under no illusion as to the enormity of the task of qualifying for the latter stages for a second successive year.

‘We have a good bunch of lads and I’m expecting to at least make the quarter-finals. It is going to be a huge undertaking for us but I think they are capable of doing it. Our main problem really is that we are can either blow hot or cold. If we get it right and when their gander is up, we are a match for any team, there is no doubt about it. They amazed me last year with their ability and our goal 1s to get back to that game we lost last year. That’s my main aim, to redeem that game back again but it will take a huge effort from everyone.”

THE number of gardai employed in the Clare Garda Division last year dropped, according to latest figures provided by the Department of Jus- nes

Last night, Fine Gael TD Joe Carey said it was disappointing that the Clare division had shown a drop in strength at a time of continuing pop- ulation growth.

The figures supplied to the Clare deputy by Justice Minister, Dermot Ahern show that the numbers em- ployed in Clare last year dropped from 318 at the start of the year to 314 to year end.

Additional gardai have been em- ployed in Clare since the start of this year. However, the drop in personnel last year compared unfavourably to neighbouring counties.

Garda numbers in Limerick in- creased from 532 to 593, while the numbers in ‘Tipperary increased from 338 to 361.

The strength of Garda divisions in Galway East and Galway West also increased. Louth-Meath was the only other Garda division to see a drop in numbers.

Minister Ahern said that as with any large organisation personnel strengths of individual divisions,

districts and stations may fluctuate due to promotions, retirements and WETS CECE

Deputy Carey said it was disap- pointing that Clare lost four gardai in the past year, particularly at a time of continuing population growth. The simple fact is that Garda numbers should not be declining.

“A well staffed, resourced and bet- ter equipped Garda force 1s essential. We’re very fortunate in this country to have such as well-respected and professional Garda force.

“The gardai in Clare work extreme- ly hard, but they need more col- leagues on the ground just as much as the citizens of Clare also need to see more gardai on the streets.

“Community policing is also an in- tegral part of the policing responsi- bilities of gardai, enabling the force to assert its moral authority in a spirit of co-operation and inclusion. It is also a key factor in building vital partnerships at community level.

“Co-operative policing is the way forward and for that to work at a local level, there needs to be the numbers of community police on the ground to implement this policy effectively. In Clare, this is simply not the case and the good work being done by community gardai is undermined by a lack of numbers,” he said.

CLARE played well on Sunday but there must have been moments when Mike McNamara felt a twitch of panic.

Even as Clare blitzed Waterford in the second half and McNamara watched impassively, some doubts must have surfaced.

Clare, after all, hadn’t won a game in Munster in five years. This was uncharted territory. Waterford may have lacked the usual rapier thrust but John Mullane was swatting over points for fun. Was McNamara wor- ried? Even just a little bit?

‘The last time I got worried was 1963 or four, I think, when I was sent off to boarding school,” said McNa- mara afterwards, standing, coinci- dentally enough, underneath a fire “EbweeP

Don’t worry be happy lads, seemed to be the message. And why not. Be- side McNamara, the Clare dressing room glowed with a sense of achieve- ment and with good cause. Clare won by nine points. They scored two goals. The new lads, particularly Mark Flaherty looked comfortable. More importantly for McNamara though, the win went some way to restoring Clare’s reputation in Mun- Nis

He said, “We’ll we’ve prepared for this the same as an All-Ireland final. We had to come out of the hole we were in. Clare hurling was slipping in a bad way. Even our supporters were deserting us in droves. We had to put in a big performance. We trained for this like it was an All-Ireland final because we felt we had to. It would be interesting to know whether there is anymore in us or not, but that’s for another day.”

McNamara was un-sparing in his assessment of Clare’s recent out- ings in Munster. Clare, he said, had reached a point of no return making a win on Sunday essential.

‘“We’ve been close to a disgrace in Munster for a long number of years now. For those of us, who came up in the old school, the old way, Mun- ster was our goal and our ambition and our pride and our honour. We’re proud to be part of a Munster tradi- tion of hurling and we have to put our

best foot forward today. We couldn’t let 1t go down the line any further.”

By the time they had clocked off, Clare’s forwards had put in a solid 70 minutes of hard work. McNamara was pleased.

“It’s the key to success, work rate. If you have a forward line that aren’t working then you can’t win matches, particularly big matches. We spoke a lot about the lost cause and the one ball that they didn’t contest; it may or may not change the whole course of the game. We spoke about it now for a month. Every ball was vital to those lads today and every ball had to be won and that’s they way we saw

it. That’s the way we approached it and as you saw they did it right until the very end.”

The goals, McNamara acknowl- edged were hugely important and perhaps a little surprising.

“Funny enough we haven’t been scoring them, even in training we were missing goals. It was a pleasant surprise that we could get the goals and the goals came today.”

Asked to consider the challenge of Limerick, McNamara’s thoughts drifted back to 1996 and Clare’s de- feat at the hands of their neighbours in the semi-final of the Munster Championship.

“Of course there is always a bite in a Limerick/Clare match. We can go back, was it 12 years ago, here on that famous day, that we might be able to get a bit of revenge. Who knows, who knows.”

About an hour later, on the Coon- agh roundabout, a proud looking Ollie Baker could be seen riding shotgun in the team bus, shaking his fist defiantly, as Clare headed home. Who knows indeed?

ENNIS businessman PJ Howard found it difficult to understand why €100,000 had been demanded from his son to cancel contracts on his life and those of this two sons.

SCM Ke) (eM tomOUrU MOOT dsCNMONKIO eG est son Robert phoned him in Spain to notify him of the situation, he told him not to pay up.

“T found it very hard to understand. I told him to notify the guards and not to pay a thing,” he said.

Prosecutor Tom O’Connell asked the witness when was the first time he heard of Maria Marconi, who Ms Collins has claimed was tutoring her to become a novelist. He replied, “I

heard it from Sharon maybe a day or two after the office was broken helenae

“I was on the phone to Robert (about the break-in). Sharon prob- ably overheard me. She told me she had something to tell me. She said she’d answered a pop-up on the com- puter. She said she had contact with Maria Marconi over the past eight or nine months. She thought it might have something to do with the break- in,’ said Mr Howard.

He said that Ms Collins told him the contact was frequent and via Heer nee

“She said Maria Marconi had come to Ireland that year (2006) and she met her in the office. They were in

the office together for about three- quarters of an hour to an hour,” he said.

“During that time they spoke and Maria Marconi made use of the of- fice computer at the reception desk and that they then left after about three-quarters of an hour to an hour. She took her for a drive to Lahinch and Kilkee and around Ennis as well,” he said.

He said Ms Collins told him that they visited “our house and also that she used a computer there”’.

He said he had never heard of Ms Marconi previously and had never met her.

He said that his own email, pj@downesandhoward.com, did not

require a password.

Mr O’Connell read out de- tails of an email sent’ to leonard @ proxymarriages.com from an eircom email address in PJ Howard’s name in 2005.

The email stated, “We have tried several times over the past couple of weeks to ring you, but the calls were diverted to an answering machine. Sharon left a message over a week ago and again last night. I have to be honest, I am very worried and get- ting more sceptical as each day goes laa

However PJ Howard told the court he did not send that email. He said that an eircom email address had been set up in his name, but he did

not think he ever used it.

Mr Howard told the court that there was a Safe in his apartment in Spain and Ms Collins was aware of the combination.

On one occasion, in 2004, he said the safe contained a lot of cash for up to two weeks after a friend had sold a boat. He said there was also a safe on the boat and Ms Collins knew where the key was kept.

Asked how long she would spend in Spain, he replied, “Approximately half or three-quarters of the time I was there.”

Asked did she use internet cafes in Spain, he replied, “She did, yes.” Asked did she use the internet very much, he replied, “She did, yes.”

AFTER months of preparation, the grand opening of the Doolin Satur- day Market and Craft Fair will take place this weekend.

The market, which will take place every Saturday throughout the sum- mer, will run from 10am to 4pm at the Russell Centre in Doolin.

“By combining the produce and foods of a traditional farmers’ mar- ket with the hand-made goods of a craft fair, this market will uniquely appeal to both local consumers,” said organiser Toby Sachsenmaier.

“Local people will benefit from having fresh, locally produced foods on their doorstep on a weekly basis,

and the visitor, who is looking for unique and authentic handcrafted items to take home from their visit to north Clare.”

To celebrate the opening, which takes place this Saturday, June 7, the organisers have decided to host a special American-style barbeque with free samples and special home- made burgers.

Some of the locally produced foods that will be for sale include cheeses, breads, cakes, cookies, chocolates, vegetables, and sauces and chutneys.

The market will also include a va- riety of plants, seedlings, hanging baskets, cut flowers, plant pots and one-off garden furniture.

With more than 20 local produc-

ers attending the craft market, many one-of-a-kind items will be for sale.

Items on display will include pho- tographs of north Clare, pottery, crocheted, hand-knitted, and quilted items, bags and jewellery made of beads, silk and felt, small furniture, handmade chess sets, handmade pens, accessories, natural cosmet- ics, kites, prints, paintings and note or Tce

“The aims of the market and craft fair are to provide a place for local small producers to sell hand-pro- duced goods on a weekly basis,” continued Toby.

“We also want to provide high- quality, reasonably-priced hand-pro- duced goods for the enjoyment of lo-

cal people as well as visitors.”

‘The idea is to promote traditional and hand-made craft locally, provide a source of fresh produce and food products in Doolin, which is not currently served by a supermarket or other major food market,’ added Se)o)’7

“We would also like to encourage community interaction by providing an enjoyable daytime activity in a pleasant atmosphere for local people and visitors alike. Teas, coffees, and baked goods will be available.”

The market committee Toby, Emma Willcox, Michelle de Villiers and Steve Mathieson and can be reached by email at doolinmarket@gmail. onee