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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.

A MID-AFTERNOON head-on col- lision between two cars close to the townland of Darragh resulted in both drivers being killed, an inquest into their deaths has heard.

Peter Beckley, a 40-year-old man who lived in Tullycrine, Cooraclare, and Raymond Stack, aged 61, from Limerick, lost their lives in the ac- cident at Bansha, Darragh — on the main Ennis/Kilrush road — on the afternoon of July 16 last.

Teresa Lyons, a paramedic, had at- tended an inquest in Kilrush that af-

ternoon.

She was on her way back to En- nis and was travelling behind a Ford Mondeo car. She noticed the Mondeo overtaking a number of vehicles when it was safe to do so.

A short distance before she reached Darragh, she noticed the Mondeo pulling out again “in what appeared to be an overtaking manoeuvre.”

She saw a Silver vehicle approach- ing. “My immediate thought was that these two vehicles were going to col- lide,” she said.

She said that the Mondeo then ap- peared to spin around in mid-air and

the other vehicle, a silver Volvo, spun to her right-hand side and ended up near a fence.

She stopped her car and contacted the emergency services.

She went over to the cars and saw that a child was crying in the Mondeo. The child was thrown across the back seat of the car, but was still in the child’s seat. Ms Lyons said she tried to find a pulse in the man in the Mondeo but was unable to do so.

She said she believed the Mondeo was travelling at a speed of between 50 and 60 miles per hour at the time.

Mr Stack’s wife Ann recalled trav- elling in the car with her husband and their grandson, Donnacha. They had left Kilkee at around 3.25pm, having been in Doonbeg earlier.

She remembered her husband driv- ing along and all of a sudden there was an accident. She was taken to hospital, where she was treated for injuries.

The inquest heard that both men were pronounced dead by a doctor at the scene of the accident, shortly before 6.30pm.

Garda Niall Doody explained that he received a call to attend the scene

of an accident at 3.55pm that after- noon. He said it was a dry, clear, sun- ny day. He said that Mr Beckley had been driving a Volvo, while Mr Stack had been driving a Mondeo.

There was no response from either driver when he checked for pulses. He said that the bodies were removed from the scene shortly before 7pm.

Post mortem examinations con- cluded that both men died due to multiple traumatic injuries including Skull fractures, consistent with hav- ing been involved in a road accident. Verdicts of accidental death were re- turned in both cases.

A GROUP of students in Ennis have been learning about all aspects of German culture as part of their lat- est project.

12 young people, currently en- rolled in the Clare Youth Service’s Leaving Cert Applied Programme (LCA), will take part in a Ger- man cake sell in Ennis tomorrow (Wednesday, December 9).

Students from the LCA (1) group will be in the market area of town from 10am to 3pm selling cakes.

Money raised at the event will go

towards funding projects with Clare Youth Service.

Since starting the programme in September, the students have been learning about German language PN IOMeUUI ADDER

‘“They’re studying German so we thought it would be a good idea to do a German cake sale. They’ve been learning about German cul- ture, German music, German books, the country, all sorts of things, so this ties into it,” explained teacher, Laura Griffin.

“This LCA programme will finish in 2011, they’re just a new group at

this stage. They are a good group, but we’ll find out good they are next week,” joked Laura.

She hopes that the event will be boosted by the high presence of Christmas shoppers in Ennis.

“We’re hoping people will come along a buy the cakes. I think the bigger ones will cost around €5. All the money will go back to the Clare Youth Service to run projects. They’ll be down in the market and we ve got a little stall set up.”

She continued, “The LCA (2) group have produced a number of calendars and they will be selling

them around town. They are setting up three little stalls and again all the money will go towards the Clare Youth Service.

The LCA is a recognised Leaving Certificate from the Department of Education. It encourages students to apply their knowledge, skills and experiences acquired on the pro- gramme, in preparation for future work, and/or further education.

The programme is a full-time two- year course and is divided into four sessions over the two-year period. These sessions are sub-divided into periods of study known as modules.

A HIGH COURT challenge to the DPP’s decision to retry former Kil- laloe-based GP Paschal Carmody is due to open at the High Court today Gh er oF

Mr Carmody (60), of Ballycugga- ran, Killaloe, is accused of defraud- ing terminally ill cancer patients and WeCHUMBE-DOODUB (oe

However, he was granted leave to seek a judicial review of a DPP de- cision to proceed with a trial on 11 charges and that case is currently be- fore the High Court.

In July 2008, Mr Carmody went on trial at Ennis Circuit Court, ac- cused of 25 charges in total. At the end of a five-week trial, he was found not guilty by a jury of six charges. The trial judge, Judge Rory McCabe, directed the jury to return not guilty verdicts in relation to eight other Ont Nexone

However, the jury did not reach a decision on 11 other charges.

The judge and jury heard from 64 witnesses during the lengthy trial – 49 for the prosecution and 15 for the defence.

The outstanding 11 charges relate to more than €30,000 obtained from three terminally ill patients and their JEVOOVE BLE

The patients received photodynam- ic treatment at the East Clinic in Kil- laloe in 2001 and 2002.

He is facing seven deception charg- es relating to €9,610 obtained from

the family of a 14-year-old boy from Wexford, Conor O’Sullivan, who died in November 2002. There are two charges in relation to JJ Gallagh- er from Westmeath, who died in Sep- tember 2002 (relating to €14,300). There are two other charges relating to John Sheridan, of Kells, Kilkenny, who died in November 2002 (relat- ing to £6,944).

Following the trial, the DPP decid- ed that Mr Carmody be retried on the

11 charges. However, Mr Carmody’s legal team then applied for a judicial review of the DPP’s decision.

In September, the case was ad- journed at Ennis Circuit Court, pend- ing the outcome of the High Court challenge.

AN EERIE silence descended upon Ennis Coroner’s Court as the horrif- ic details of a car crash that claimed two lives were recalled.

Members of two heartbroken fam- ilies sat in the courtroom at Ennis courthouse as the exact descriptions of the multiple injuries sustained by the two men were outlined. The de- tail was almost unbearable.

Just 20 weeks earlier, Peter Beck- ley and Raymond Stack had sat behind the wheels of their cars for what tragically would be their last ever journeys.

Those trips had began with de- termination, but ended in tears and devastation.

On that fateful July afternoon, Mr Beckley, a native of the UK, was alone in his Volvo car driving towards his home at Tullycrine, while Mr Stack was driving a Ford Mondeo towards his home in Lim- erick city.

His wife Ann and their four-year- old grandson Donnacha were in the or Tua aisemeuneee

The Stacks had been on holidays in Doonbeg and were en route home when they were involved in the ac- cident which occurred on a straight Stretch of road, but close to a hill- crest.

Those who were quickly on the

scene that afternoon tried to find a pulse on both men but there were none.

At the inquest into the men’s

deaths last Wednesday, County Coroner Isobel O’Dea commended the “bravery” of a young paramedic who arrived on the scene shortly

after the accident and did what she could.

The scene in the immediate af- termath of the crash that afternoon

was dreadful. Members of the vari- ous emergency services entered and exited the sealed-off stretch of road for several hours after the accident.

Several gardai walked away from the scene pale-faced. They were traumatised by what they saw. Gardai took a sensitive approach and covered the badly damaged cars as they were taken from the scene.

The mangled state of both cars would have painted a very grim pic- ture. After all, both families would have to try to come to terms with deeply upsetting news that evening.

Mr Beckley’s wife Bridget would answer her door at around 7pm that evening to see two gardai standing outside. They were there to deliver the message that her husband had been killed in a road accident just a few hours earlier.

Mrs Beckley then went to Limer- ick Regional Hospital, where she identified her husband’s body.

It’s the knock on the door that no- body wants to have to answer and the haunting words of those deliver- ing the devastating news are never likely to be banished from memory.

REMEDIAL works need to be car- ried out on culverts in Shannon but will be expensive and a source of funding will have to be identified for oO US

That was the message delivered from Clare County Council last week, after Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independent) called for a _ pro- gramme to be set up to tackle flood- ing in some parts of Shannon.

‘As it stands, some parts of Shan- non are between four and six inches under water. There is a deficiency in our system,” he said, at a meet- ing of Shannon Town Council, last ‘Tuesday.

He said that in the past, the Office of Public Works patrolled the river banks every week, but that has been reduced to fortnightly checks.

“The Government has failed the community. We need to be more vigilant than most in Shannon. We have flash flooding,” he said.

He was told that remedial works

will be undertaken, in conjunction with road resurfacing, in relation to slit channels.

“Given the extent of works re- quired, however, the costs are likely to be significant and will take years to complete unless funding sepa- rate from that provided in the Road Works Programme is made avail- able,’ stated senior executive engi- neer Eugene O’Shea, in a written response.

Fine Gael Councillor Tony Mulc- ahy said the people of Shannon are very thankful that they were not forced to contend with the same del- uge that Ennis was subjected to. He said that the recent flooding crisis in the county was “absolutely and ut- terly well managed”.

Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy said it is important that the storm drains are cleaned out on a regular basis.

“We escaped relatively unscathed and we would like that to continue. Prevention is always the best rem- edy,’ she said.

Labour Councillor Tony McMahon said, “We are in a very vulnerable position in Shannon. We could have a very serious situation in Shannon. That has to be remembered. There is a very definite need to be alert and to be aware.”

The mayor of Shannon, Council- lor Sean McLoughlin (Fine Gael) said, ““We don’t know how lucky we were in Shannon in that we were not flooded.”

County Manager Tom Coughlan, who attended the town council meet- ing, said he was happy that Shannon escaped the flooding crisis. He said he is in the process of preparing re- ports on the flooding in the county. One of those will address “where we go from here and that will contain reference to Shannon”.

He said that an increase in roads grants, to deal with flooding preven- tion, will be sought.

CLARE All-Ireland Under 21 win- ning heroes have been challenged to move on to the next level with the county by stepping up to the senior plate and trying to bring the Munster and Liam McCarthy cups back to the reel ANe

It was a challenge thrown down by All-Ireland Under 21 winning man- ager John Minogue when addressing players and Clare County Board offi- cials at Friday night’s medal presen- tation in the West County Hotel.

“The players have been magnifi- cent,” said Minogue. “The effort and the commitment they have shown has been wonderful. They have all had hectic years being involved with their clubs while some were involved with the senior team. In addition to this many are working or else study- ing and it was very hard to travel from colleges and far away but they did and that’s why were here today with a title in our hands.”

For Minogue, however, this A\ll- Ireland cannot be the final stop on Clare’s journey to even greater suc-

cesses. He put the question to his players, where do we go from here? The simple answer, he volunteered, is that more hard work, and plenty of it, can yield even greater harvests.

“Have you the commitment to go forward?” he asked. “You have to,” he added defiantly.

“People of Clare need you to, the county team needs you, the county board as well, we all want you to progress and grow and to try and make us even happier than 2009.”

Minogue then turned to his back- room team. “I have to thank them for

their efforts,’ he said, “and for their commitment, their mentoring and every positive thing they carried out. We had a big panel of players and there was a lot to be done and con- trolled. The four of us worked well with one another and thankfully it all gelled together”.

Now to see if things can be gelled back together at senior inter-county level. Minogue has publicly stated that he doesn’t covet the job — he let that be known in the hours after Clare’s epic triumph over Kilkenny in September.

Who knows. That no could very well become a yes over the next few weeks. We’ll just have to wait and see.

A MAN lost his life in tragic circum- stances when a tractor jumped for- ward and knocked him to the ground, Ennis Coroner’s Court has heard.

An inquest into the death of Michael Conroy (81), of Tubber, heard that he was showing a tractor to a man when tragedy struck, on July 12 last.

Tim Walsh was home from the US on holiday when he visited Mr Con- roy.

In a statement, Mr Walsh said that Mr Conroy turned the key in the tractor and it jumped. As a result, the

rear wheel ran over Mr Conroy, who was a retired mechanic.

Garda Marius Stones said he re- ceived a call shortly before 6pm that evening to go to Tubber.

He said he was told that Mr Conroy had wanted to show his vintage trac- tor to Mr Walsh, who was home from the US on holidays and was staying AU Mrs im ole) Fd poe) b0

He said that Mr Conroy reached in from a standing position to turn on the tractor. However, the tractor was in gear and it moved forward, knock- ing him to the ground.

The inquest heard that an autopsy

was carried out on Mr Conroy’s body at Limerick Regional Hospital. This concluded that death was due to trau- matic chest injuries, consistent with pecleneerae

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea said it was “abundantly clear from the statement of Mr Walsh that an unfor- tunate accident occurred.”

The jury returned a verdict of ac- cidental death.

DOZENS of senior citizens from Newmarket-on-Fergus gathered on Sunday for their annual Christmas party.

The Christmas bash is generally one of the highlights of the year for mature residents in the Newmarket- on-Fergus area and this year was no different.

The event would not be possible without the fantastic efforts of local volunteers and businesses who help

out on an ongoing basis.

Support is vital for the Christmas party and this year it came in the shape of €500 from the Shannon and District Lions Club, along with spot prizes from various businesses in Newmarket-on-Fergus and Shan- rHTOyee

PRO of the committee, Michelle Quigley, said more and more peo- ple are getting on board, helping out with the club every year.

“The committee has got bigger. Newer members have joined in and

therefore we can carry out extra ac- tivities,’ she said.

There is a lot of goodwill. Because we have a bigger number of people in the committee, we can spread it out. “We have been very lucky to get sponsorship from local businesses and the Lions Club. That helps to make the Christmas party a great Success,’ she said.

Fundraising also plays a role and the committee spearheads various projects, such as bag packs and poker classics.

“A lot of people are living on their own and the Christmas party is their only outlet. It is good for people to meet others that they only meet on these occasions, while they also get to meet new people. It is very much hands on,” she said.

Throughout the year, the club’s members are treated to various trips around the county and they thor- oughly enjoy these tours. More than 50 people travel on those trips, while more than 150 attend the annual Christmas party.

GAA 125 year. What better way to celebrate Michael Cusack, who founded the GAA back in 1884 than by bringing an All-Ireland title to his home county.

It’s why this was a lavish affair from the moment a Tulla piper led captain Ciaran O’Doherty into the Liam McCarthy Suite with Munster and All-Ireland trophies in hand.

“It’s an honour to be here tonight in your company representing the views of the people of Clare. I salute you all and your marvellous achievement,’

said county board chairman, Michael O’Neill by way of introduction.

Others had plenty to say too, like broadcasting legend Micheal O Muircheartaigh, who also had a year to remember when clocking up 60 years commentating for RTE.

“I was passing through Ennis and decided to spend the night in the West County Hotel,’ O Muirc- heartaigh revealed. “I thought it was a big wedding but then when I saw my good friend Pat O’Donnell I re- alised something special was taking place. Before I knew it he had a ticket out of his pocket and I accepted his

invitation gratefully. ;

“We all need each other,’ added O Muircheartaigh. “The players need WM aLomnar-Nercbexesee (ole LMmNeloaTmoLeOMNeloMeCOlelete ty board. John Minogue spoke of the players from the year before carrying the hurleys this year — everyone com- ing together and working together. Everyone rallied together and that brought success.”

“In the early ‘90s apparently the county board got in touch with Pope John Paul IT saying they wanted to get rid of me and they were very success- ful,” said Bishop Willie Walsh when presenting the medals. “It worked

because Clare won the All-Ireland the following year,” he joked. “Compliments have to be paid to the whole team here tonight. The panel, the backroom team everyone was magnificent. In Thurles we saw an exhibition by these extraordinary hurlers. Galway hit back with goals but we showed great heart like no other team would have,” he added. “On behalf of the players I would like to thank the great men behind me, without them we would certainly not be here. They are John Minogue, Cyril Lyons, Sean O’Halloran and Alan Dunne,” said team captain Ci-

aran O’Doherty.

“T would like to thank ye all for coming to all the games during the year. The events at the homecoming in Ennis after the all Ireland really capped it all off,’ added O’Doherty.