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FIVE Clare women have been nomi- nated for the Champagne Nicho- las Feuillatte Women of the Year Awards. The awards will be pre- sented at a gala dinner on June 7 at the Silversprings Moran Hotel, Cork, with up to 600 guests present.

“This is the inaugural year of the awards which honour women who have excelled in whatever area they are in, whether it be business, sport, charity work or simply exceptional achievement of any type,’ said Tom

Desmond, Managing Director of Galvins Wholesale Ltd, distributors of Nicholas Feuillatte Champagne.

Quin businesswoman and founder of Conference Connections Ltd, Colette Duggan has been nominated for her role in promoting excellence in entertainment and business. As proprietor of Clare Conference Con- nections Ltd she caters for a national and international blue chip client list. She is being nominated for deliver- ing objectives over and above her cli- ents’ expectations.

Much-loved traditional musician,

Sharon Shannon is being nominated for her contribution to music.

Rita Mc Inerney, Chief Executive Officer of Ennis chamber, is also nominated. She represents the in- terests of the 250 business members from professional, retail, tourism and industrial sectors in the Ennis and Clare area, on a range of issues through lobbying and submissions on a local, regional and national lev- el. She is a current board member by ministerial appointment to the Shan- non Foynes Port Authority.

Ann Norton is nominated for her

voluntary work as manager with the Clare Crusaders Children’s Charity. The charity, which was established by the late Howard Flannery, pro- vides clinical and vital care for the children of County Clare with spe- cial needs. Ann, whose eldest daugh- ter has Cerebral Palsy, continued the dream of her late friend and over the past nine months has opened a clinic which now employs 12 therapists, providing care for more than 80 chil- dren in the county and providing over 6,000 hours of therapy annually. Ennis woman and presenter of

‘Paisean Faisean’, TG4’s highly rated fashion and dating show, Blathnaid O’ Donoghue is also one of the nominees. She is nominated for her promotion of the Irish language, particularly to the younger audiences on TG4.

The awards are being run in con- junction with TV3 and RSVP maga- zine, with TV3’s Colette Fitzpatrick and Cork’s 96FM’s Neil Prendeville presenting on the night. Nicholas Feuillatte is the top-selling cham- pagne in France and GWL are its sole Irish distributor.

TWO courses, one in how to plaster and the other in getting plastered the natural way, are proving to be a big hit in east Clare.

Run by the Irish Seed Savers Asso- ciation in Capparoe, anyone interest- ed in learning how to make natural country wines or how to plaster with traditional lime will learn all they need to know.

The lime plastering course is a must for people who are involved with re- storing old stone buildings, said PRO

for Seed Saver’s, Geraldine Tobin.

“The course tutor, Phoebe O’Brien, has had a huge amount of experience in working with this type of plaster and it is absolutely the most suitable material for old stone,’ said Geral- elt eter

As part of the course work, par- ticipants will plaster the cob build- ing which was recently erected at the Seed Savers gardens.

Meanwhile, Kes Clarke will be teaching those fond of a natural tip- ple how to make wine from ingred1- ents growing all around us.

‘A lot of people know that you can make wine from elderberries but there are so many more berries and flowers that can be used,’ said Ger- aldine.

Meadowsweet, gorse flowers, dan- delion and elderflower are just some of the base ingredients that can be used and Kes will be demonstrating techniques and natural methods of producing delicious country wines.

And of course, there will be a chance to taste the country tipples Kes made previously, all in modera- tion of course.

The plastering course runs all week- end and the wine-making course 1s a one-day event on Sunday.

Courses cost €60 for wine-making or €120 for the lime plastering.

Both courses are being run by the Irish Seed Savers Association and are being given by tutors from CELT, the Centre of Environmental Living and Training.

There are special reductions for Seed Saver members and places can be booked over the phone at 061 921856 or online at wwwirishseed- savers.ie

CLARE is the only county where there are not enough places in 24- hour staffed community residences to cater for the number of people in need of the service.

According to the report of the In- spector of Mental Health Services, there were 63 people living in the 58 residental places available through- out the county.

The report also showed that three

posts approved for adult mental health services in Clare fell victim of the HSE recruitment freeze in 2007.

According to the Inspector of Men- tal Health Services, additional fund- ing was allocated for the posts last year but the jobs fell to the recruit- ment embargo.

“The Clare Mental Health Service has been proactive in developing a community-based model of care over the five years since the closure of Our Lady’s hospital,” the inspector said.

“It faces considerable challenges in reconfiguring existing nursing resources, introducing health care assistants and accessing funding to achieve appropriate staffing levels on all teams.

“There was a serious deficit in meeting the needs of residents with an intellectual disability who were resident in 24-hour nurse-staffed ac- commodation.

Despite the Health Commission recommending that adequate re-

sources should be put in place in the community to enable service users have bloods taken for clozaril moni- toring, this has still not happened.

They must instead travel to the psy- chiatric unit in Ennis.

The report also showed that while the psychiatric unit at Ennis General Hospital was complying with the ma- jority of the regulations set down in the Mental Health Act 2001, it fell short of having written policies in a number of areas.

The situation was similar for Or- chard Grove in Ennis, which provides intense rehabilitation and accommo- dation for 10 men with “complex and challenging needs”.

Within the psychiatric Unit at Ennis General Hospital, the inspector was critical of the fact that ventilation in the seclusion room was inadequate.

Four clinical files of detained pa- tients authorised for seclusion were reviewed by the Inspectorate and, in some cases, part of the seclusion reg- ister was not completed.

It has since been reported that this matter has been addressed.

‘No record of the patient’s next of kin being notified or reasons for not notifying next of kin was document- ed in the clinical files,’ the report Crate

SINCE group stages were introduced to the championship, it’s become a dog-eared cliché to say that win- ning the opening game provides an element of breathing space for the remainder of the competition. It’s a common reality for sure and it’s one that Ogonnelloe have been using for motivation in the lead up to this sea- son’s championship kick off.

The opening game of the season hasn’t gone their way over the past few seasons and according to man- ager Gerry Cosgrove, it has left them with too much ground to make up in the drive for a play-off place.

Last year, they played Scariff in their group opener, put up a good battle but ultimately lost by four points. They followed this up with another defeat, this time to Tulla and by then, the Senior B championship was looming.

In that competition, there were glimpses of what Ogonnelloe can of- fer. They reached the final and were beaten by Eire Og and while it gave

Ogonnelloe a brief glimpse at the big stage, the secondary competition was never the place they wanted to be.

‘The definite target this year is the first game, which 1s against Clonlara,’ says Cosgrove. “We’ve been striving to get off to a good start these past few years and haven’t been able to do it, but hopefully that can change with our first game this season.”

He says it’s not going to be an easy task, though, considering Clonlara will come to the game aiming to lay down a marker for themselves.

“IT saw Clonlara a few times last year and they’ve got one of the finest up and coming sides in Clare hurling at the moment. They’re well capable of putting it up to the bigger teams and they’ve got some great young players, particularly close to goal. We’ve been playing senior now for 13 years so it’s going to be a case of

the young guns up against the expe- rienced side when we meet.”

Cosgrove has had to plan without the services of Pascal Sheedy and Noel Gavin who have both retired but this year’s Under 21 amalgamation with Scariff for the B championship allowed some younger players expo- sure. As a result, Michael O’Brien, Eoin Collins and Paul Healy can all expect some role to play in the sum- mer’s championship.

“Tt’s still going to be a daunting task for us this season,’ adds Cosgrove. “If you look at it, we have Scariff again and they’re a team we’ve never beaten in senior championship hurl- ing. That shows the kind of test that we face.

“But we’re aiming to get second spot in the group and advance. It’s fair enough to suggest that Crusheen will be the team to beat and the rest

of us might be playing for second place. If any team can beat Crusheen then you’d have to fancy their chanc- es of then progressing.”

For now, though, it’s that opener with Clonlara that’s going to occupy Ogonnelloe minds. They played in the Clare Cup in May and just man- aged to nick a win by a point. Both sides were missing some players but Cosgrove still expects little to sepa- rate them when they meet for the eroloe

Not long to go now until Ogonnel- loe know if they can find that mo- mentum to propel them to greater things this year.

AN TAISCE has warned against any further large-scale housing develop- ments in Doonbeg.

Arising from the development of the nearby €150 million golf resort at the dunes overlooking Dough- more beach, a small group of land- owners are reaping a windfall from a number of large-scale applications lodged with the council.

Applications for almost 200 homes

in the west Clare village are current- ly being processed by the council’s planning department.

Already, the golf club has been a factor in Doonbeg increasing its pop- ulation by 17 per cent going from 586 to 700 in the last census and bucking a trend in many areas of west Clare which have seen a population drop.

Graigue Properties Ltd are one of a number of companies seeking planning permission for a housing development on a zoned site in the

AUN E:Texon

However, An Taisce has raised con- cerns over the fact that 15 per cent of dwellings in Doonbeg are unoccu- pied throughout the year.

According to a submission by An Taisce, “There is also a seven to nine per cent unemployment figure in the village. These figures suggest that there is no demand for further large housing estates within Doonbeg. If considering the opening of the En- nis bypass and marketing on long-

distance commuting, we should not encourage this because of the effect on our carbon footprint.”

However, the council has stated that the principle of development is acceptable at this location in relation to the zoning of the site and also its location within the village of Doon- eres

However, the council has stated that it has serious concerns in rela- tion to the design and layout as well as traffic issues pertaining to the site

and are not favourably disposed to the granting of permission in its cur- Kos s1 MaKe) MONEE

The council state that the layout would not provide for an accept- able standard of residential amen- ity for future occupants and would therefore not be in accordance with proper planning and development of atom Dusre

The council has also suggested that the developers include a commercial component to their plan.

GARDAI in Ennistymon were last night trying to identify the body of a man that was recovered from the sea in the north of the county on Bank Holiday Monday.

The man’s body was spotted in the water between Hags Head and the Cliffs of Moher at around 10am.

The man is believed to be in his late 30s but gardai were still unsure of his identity last night.

It is thought, however, that the vic- tim may be from Dublin but gardai could not confirm this at the time of going to press.

An initial search of the area was carried by rangers based at the Cliffs of Moher yesterday morning after a motorcycle was discovered in the car park at the tourist attraction.

It 1s understood that the vehicle was also seen there late on Sunday evening and suspicions were aroused when it was still at the same location

yesterday as staff arrived for work.

Several rangers carried out a search of the area and later saw a body in the water about three kilometres south of the public viewing platform at the cliffs.

The discovery was immediately reported to gardai and the Doolin unit of the Irish Coastguard was also contacted. Coastguard volunteers launched two boats shortly after llam and rushed to the scene where they recovered the man’s body.

Shortly after Ipm, the body was taken from the water and removed to the pier at Doolin where a local doc- tor pronounced the victim dead. His remains were later transported to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick where a post-mortem ex- amination is expected to be carried today (Tuesday).

Gardai at Ennistymon say foul play is not suspected. An investigation of the incident will be carried out and a file will be prepared for a coroner’s

inquest which will be held at a later CF Kee

A Garda spokesman said, “The body was recovered around lunch- time and taken to Doolin Pier.

‘‘A post mortem will take place and we will prepare a file for the county coroner who will hold an inquest in due course.

We know that he is in his late 30s and he may be from Dublin. We still have to confirm this,” the spokesman added.

HURLING in_ Inagh-Kilnamona hasn’t had it so good since Kilna- mona were one of the most feared combinations in Clare during the first 25 years of county champion- ship history.

Ironically, the last of their three titles came 100 years ago, so what chance the newest club in Clare, Inagh-Kilnamona, affectionately known as “The Combo’ or ‘Inagh- mona’ marking the centenary by go- TbOTeare DO SLomAUYE AYA

That they are being considered as championship darkhorses is all down to a meeting of hurling minds from both ends of the parish, that saw the Inagh and Kilnamona clubs amal- gamate. It has changed the hurling landscape in the parish — suddenly everything has changed, from a situ- ation where both had problems with playing numbers, “The Combo’ are being talked up as genuine challeng- ace

The only downside, according to selector Noel Hehir, is keeping a lid on expectations, wholly unrealistic expectations he says because of the minefield that is group one. It’s been hard work to douse the fanfare, but Hehir thinks this has been achieved only a few months into their maiden voyage.

“When we joined up first there

were great expectations from sup- porters that it was going to happen overnight for us. That has levelled off a bit now — we know that nothing happens overnight. Good teams that have been winning down the years are not going to disappear because we here,” says Hehir.

“Obviously when two senior clubs join there will be great things ex- pected, but it takes a while. You’re playing against clubs that have a great tradition of hurling — that will count for a good bit as well,” he adds, downplaying his side’s chances.

However, on the evidence of what we’ve seen so far, Inagh-Kilnamona look to be a team going places. They sit proudly on the top of Division 2A of the Clare Cup, with five wins form SID GLO LUISE NTSAe

And, they’ve played themselves into this position without fielding the same team in any two successive out- ings. Hehir isn’t complaining though — indeed, contrary to others he’s revelling in the fact that unavailabil- ity of players due to county or exam commitments had forced innovation and experimentation with team se- lections.

“We have three on the under 21 panel and three on the senior panel, SO we were juggling around with panel all year,’ says Hehir. “It has been brilliant — we’ve had a chance to look at every player in a competi-

tive situation.

“The players with the county, we know what they’re like and what they’re capable of. It’s the fringe players that we’ve had a great chance to have a close look at in the Clare Cup. If a lad puts it in a good effort in training, plays good in the cup, he puts himself up there to be consid- ered for the championship. Before there were players who might know that they would be playing, no matter how they trained or played.

‘“There’s nothing like competition for places to keep things going and keep everyone interested. There are going to be three teams gone out of the A championship early on and if they were in another group some of those teams would have no prob- lem getting through to the knockout stages. It is tough, but we’re not com- Oe-DbeUbencame

Perhaps, most crucially of all, He- hir and his selectors aren’t expect- ing miracles — they look on 2008 as something of an adventure. A learn- ing experience where they have noth- ing to lose, but everything to gain.

“Our target was to do our very best to get out of the group — if we don’t it won’t be for the lack of trying. We’re not taking anything for granted — we’re happy for everyone to give 100 per cent. After that if we’re not one of the top teams out, we’ll no the base we have to start from next year.”

. The advertisment read, “Mandelson’s WTO cuts and the Lisbon Treaty are linked, mes- sage to the Government, use the veto or lose the farmers.”

This is the strongest statement to date on the intentions of the IFA

and should significant progress not be made today the organisation are likely to urge farmers to vote no.

Meanwhile former Fine Gael Taoi- seach John Bruton has urged Clare farmers to vote yes in an open letter to the county’s farmers.

“T’m writing this to The Clare Peo- ple newspaper about Clare agricul- ture and the Lisbon Treaty,” read the atoe

“The EU has been good for Clare agriculture. Before Ireland joined the EU, we depended on the British market. I was Fine Gael spokesman on agriculture at that time and I well remember how prices paid to Irish farmers were artificially depressed

by a cheap food policy and a defi- ciency payments scheme that privi- leged British farmers. The European Union did away with all that.

“Tt introduced a level playing field. It pumped billions into rural Ireland, opened up markets we never had be- fore, and helped us invest heavily in skills training. “Although the two are not connected, some are now trying to persuade farmers to use the Lisbon OB IA Oo. ed coer TID elo AMBNIEKeA snes about a possible deal on agriculture in the WTO. It 1s important to be prudent about this and calculate all the consequences.”

In the letter Mr. Bruton, the EU Ambassador to the United States,

said that Ireland, and its farmers, had many ways of influencing EU trade policy.

“We are strongly represented in the Council of Ministers, through the Eu- ropean Commission, the European Parliament, and through the new role the Dail would gain under the Lisbon Treaty. These are the ways to influ- ence trade policy,” he continued.

“In contrast, voting ‘No’ in a refer- endum could be a very blunt instru- ment. Many Clare farm families get incomes from jobs outside agricul- ture, often in businesses that came to Ireland because the country is at the heart of EU policy-making and has access to the EU market.”

A 19 YEAR old Bristol man has been remanded until August after he reap- peared in court on Friday on charges in connection with an assault which left a 20 year old rugby fan from County Clare fighting for his life.

James “Jamie” Egan (19) from Kilmihil is now reported to be in a “stable condition” at Frenchay North Bristol Hospital after being attacked in a pub there on May 23 last.

He had been on the critical list for a number of days before that.

James had been staying in the city and was due to travel to Cardiff to see Munster play in the Heineken Cup Final the following day. However,

the Limerick Institute of Technology engineering student was rushed to hospital with life threatening injuries following an incident in a bar.

Darren O’Neill from Bristol was arrested soon after the attack and was later charged with causing griev- ous bodily harm (GBH).

He first appeared at Bristol Mag- istrates Court on Monday, May 26, where he was remanded to the Bris- tol Crown Court where he appeared on Friday last.

According to a _ spokesperson for Bristol Crown Court, “Darren O’Neill appeared at Bristol Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on May 30. He was remanded to appear at this court on August 29 next.”

Police were called to the scene at the Chicago Rock bar, Bristol Wa- terfront, at around midnight on Fri- day May 23 where they found James Egan seriously injured.

It is understood that Mr Egan had returned to his hotel following an earlier incident, but left the hotel again at around midnight. He was subsequently assaulted by aman ina bar on Bristol’s waterfront.

A short time later in a nearby pub, Darren O’Neill, with an address in Bristol, was arrested and taken into custody.

The injured man’s mother Carmel flew to Bristol from Clare to be at her son’s bedside the morning after the AAA EANOL

THE first prong of a major devel- opment of the community centre in Quin is to be officially opened on Sunday week.

The centre is undergoing major re- furbishments and the first part has just been completed. To coincide with its completion a family fun day will take place on Sunday, June 15.

This is the first phase of a two- pronged project and includes a major development of the front part of the building – the kitchen, storage room and snooker room have been totally revamped. The most impressive part of this plan has been the conversion of the snooker room to a multi-pur-

pose state-of-the art meeting room. This incorporates a dance studio, where local resident Laura-Jane Al- lis will teach dancing to youngsters.

The second phase of the plan will follow the completion of the first prong. This will include the crea- tion of a large activity room, storage areas, toilets, dressing rooms and showers, a dedicated snooker room, an IT/office area, while the possibil- ity of building a gym has also been mooted. Twenty-five additional car parking spaces will also be provid- ed.

Chairman of the community centre committee Ger Buggy said that the entire building would be “totally un- recognisable’ when the plan is com-

taKaee

“The bigger picture is our phase two plan. We have submitted plan- ning permission to totally revamp the hall. It was built in the 1940s. There were a few add-ons in the 1980s, but little change otherwise,’ he said.

‘There has been a huge increase in activity in the hall and we need more space.

“Our policy is to facilitate potential users in any way we can. We wel- come both large and small groups either on a regular or once-off basis and look forward to welcoming new users in the coming year,’ he added.

The work is being funded through government grants, allied to local fundraising and private donations.

an LeCO)tL sD AYAmn Oe) Col MERC DE Nimmo) Nore: I Kore! more than €60,000 income, while €41,000 was contributed through grants.

An application for €350,000 in National Lottery funding is pending and the outcome of this is expected within weeks.

‘A lot of work has gone in on this over the past 12 to 14 months. It is a two-year project,’ said Mr Buggy, who is optimistic that the entire project will be fully finished within ANOLO)N NMA ore

“We are far from the finished prod- uct but are doing our best. I would ask the community to stick with us in our vision for the future,” Mr Buggy added.