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IT was the victory that finally lifted Munster into the patheon of the great sides of Europe. Munster’s triumph against Biarritz in 2006 registered them among a host of teams who had produced one great year. The two final defeats mattered for little, they needed a second Heinekin Cup tro- phy to secure their place among the elite, to be called a truly great team.

For the 65,000 Munster support- ers that crammed into the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, this final meant everything. Winning well or win- ning ugly didn’t matter to the horde of red who sang, cheered, screamed and lifted their heroes to the final whistle.

They just craved a win by however means necessary and were made ex- perience the full spectrum of emo- tions as Munster clung on to their

slender lead in the final stages.

The raucous roars of the Munster faithful willed them to victory, con- tinually drowning out the attempted cries of the 5,000 or so Toulousains who made the trip across the chan- nel. Equally, the hordes of Munster fans’ total silence at times had a sim- ilar effect on the French side no more so than for Jean-Baptiste Elissade’s first kick as the deafening silence ap- peared to unnerve him.

For Munster, they are used to such support from their loyal fans. The tension, the emotion, the pressure, the nerves, even the occasion did not sway the team’s unrelenting focus on the grand prize. The did it the hard way, coming through the so-called group of death before knocking Eng- lish champions Gloucester and even Alan Gaffney’s Saracens on their way to their second Heinekin Cup success. Two wins in three years

makes for satisfying reading. And they couldn’t have done it without the 16th man. Or perhaps it should now be 17th considering the 65,000 plus who swarmed the Millenium Stadi- um and its environs at the weekend.

CLARE County Council could net up to €300,000 at public auction next month for the site of a dilapi- dated toilet block in Lahinch with ‘uninterrupted sea views’.

The local authority is behind the sale of what Costelloe Estate Agents describe as a “stunning seaside de- velopment opportunity”.

The small site measures 290 sq me- tres with 23 metres of frontage on to the prom and, according to Cos- telloes, it is zoned ‘other settlement land’ and ideal for mixed residential or commercial scheme.

The proposal to put the toilet block site up for sale was first mooted in July 2006 but delays in obtaining title prevented the council from pro- ceeding until now.

According to local councillor Mar- tin Conway, the time it has taken to secure title will cost the council.

“We are now experiencing a down- turn in the property market and the council has missed the boat in re- ceiving anything up to €400,000 for the site because of the delay. Now the price should be something between €250,000 and €300,000.”

The proceeds from the sale are to go towards the development of Lahi- nch prom and Cllr Conway said he would “cautiously welcome” the pro- posed sale.

“There has been foot-dragging on the redevelopment of the prom and

that is completely unacceptable. It was first talked about in spring 2006, but little has happened on the ground since.

“Lahinch is the poor relation in Clare when it comes to investment. There has been a lot of take from La- hinch, but no giving back.”

A council spokeswoman said there was “absolutely no fault on the coun- cil’s part” in not securing title before now. It is understood the process related to first registration and this generally takes longer than a normal transfer of title.

Work on the resort’s new €234,000 lifeguard station is expected to be complete by early July, while con- sultation continues with 10 local

groups in relation to the redevelop- ment of the prom which includes a new services building as well as improvements in traffic management and car parking.

However, the spokeswoman was unable to state how much the scheme will cost, although she predicted that some elements of the redevelopment will be in place for the 2009 summer season.

The public auction in relation to the toilet site takes place at 3pm at The Old Ground Hotel on June 20.

Last year, the council collected almost €200,000 in parking fees at Lahinch.

THE increasing level of interest in an after-school project in Newmar- ket-on-Fergus is leading to its expan- sion.

The project was set up by Obair in 1999 and is open to primary school- going children in the Newmarket-on- Fergus area.

Currently, 20 children from first to sixth class attend and there is a wait- ing list for spaces.

Those who attend are given assist- ance with their homework, while they also get the opportunity to do arts and crafts, computer games and physical activities. The children are also brought on various trips, while summer camps are organised every

year.

Kirsty Horner took over the run- ning of the scheme last year. She ex- plained who the club is open to.

“Our target groups would be the disadvantaged, but it is open to eve- ryone,’ said Ms Horner.

“We have homework support, which is why it was set up. Some of the chil- dren would be struggling with their homework,’ she pointed out.

The project runs for 48 weeks of the year from Monday to Friday. It has gone from strength to strength since its inception and the co-ordinators are optimistic that it will continue to make good progress.

“We just got funding for an ex- tension to the building, so we can have two rooms specifically for the

project,” said Ms Horner.

Currently the group meets in a room at Obair, but this room also holds other meetings. Given the in- creasing numbers of children attend- ing the project specific space is nec- essary for them.

“We will have more space. Our numbers have increased and we have a waiting list,’ added Ms Horner.

“The parents think it is a great Service and the children love it,” she added.

While Ms Horner co-ordinates the project, she is seeking volunteers to help her in the week-to-week running Omi

The project is one of three groups in the Shannon/Newmarket region nominated by AIB bank to win a

Better Ireland award. The prize up for grabs is €10,000 and winners will be chosen from a text message based competition.

To vote for the after-school project, text SHANNON A to 53099. The project which receives the most texts wins the €10,000 prize.

The project has also been shortlist- ed for Clare County Council’s Pride of Place competition, which honours groups which have contributed to their local community. The results of this competition will be announced CLUN@uercametemcibbeeneetosm

TEAGASC claimed last week that the increased cost of artificial ferti- lizer this year 1s impacting on farm- ers’ profit margins and could squeeze many Clare farmers off the land. Depending on stocking rates the higher cost of fertilizer in 2008 could increase production costs by up to €50 per hectare on beef farms, or up to €100 per hectare on dairy farms. This increase is the equivalent of 0.75 cent per litre of milk or 16 cent per kilogram of beef live weight. “Even though production costs have increased grass remains the cheapest form of feed on dairying and drystock farms, and nitrogen

remains the main driver of yields. On tillage farms, even at current fer- tilizer prices and based on expected grain prices, applications are justi- fied economically,” said Teagasc en- vironment specialist Tim Hyde.

Changes in the price of fertilizer have implications for usage and the management of other valuable nutri- ent sources such as slurry on farms. These changes have refocused at- tention on the benefits of clover as a source of nitrogen. In monetary terms a thousand gallons of slurry is now worth €25, while clover can fix nitrogen to a value of €120 per hectare.

Among the factors to be consid- ered when responding to the change

in fertilizers prices is the enterprise type and the level of efficiency. On farms fertilizers, particularly nitro- gen, drives farm output, and used ef- ficiently also drives profit.

Nitrogen is the main determinant of high yields and artificial fertilizer sources should only be reduced be- low crop requirement if it can be re- placed by alternatives such as clover swards and organic manures.

“While the increased cost of ferti- lizer will add €10 per head to feed costs associated with a winter fin- ished animal on good grass silage plus concentrates an intensive feed- ing system based on concentrates would only become more competi- tive, if concentrate prices dropped by

€80 per tonne,” said Siobhan Kavan- agh, Teagasc nutrition specialist.

In relation to tillage crops, nitrogen fertilizer prices would need to rise, or grain prices drop significantly, before current nitrogen application rates would not be justified econom1- cally.

“Despite dramatic increases in prices fertilizer applications remain a cost effective input for profitable crops.

“With current fertilizer nitrogen prices and the projected price of grain the economic optimum for cereal crops has not changed and is similar to that of 2007,” said Teagasc soul and plant nutrition specialist Mark Plunkett.

IF any Clare footballer was in doubt about what was expected of him on Sunday, he need only have looked at the number written on his arm. Be- fore the game, Clare decided to em- broider each jersey with ‘100%’ to represent the effort required.

A second championship defeat to Waterford in 12 months was unthink- able for Clare and though they skated perilously close to the edge, Clare managed to find a way through, to the relief of manager Frank Doherty.

“To be honest I’m just delighted to get over this hurdle because after last year, we needed to win’, said Doher- ty on the sideline afterwards.

“It was a morale booster to the county as such. We needed that go- ing forward, because if we had lost today, it probably would have driv- en Clare football back another bit. We’ ve had enough of knocks over the last few months, so hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

“Clare was a year waiting for this day to come. Them lads were hurt- ing over last year. Obviously I wasn’t there but I know what they went through, because when you lose a championship game you hurt. I knew they would keep going.”

Clare operated well below the re- quired mark for long periods and while rejecting the effect of the swirling breeze, Doherty acknowl- edged Clare’s shooting wasn’t up to

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“Tl tell you the truth. This whole breeze stuff I don’t believe in. Some- times teams play better against the breeze. We were knocking ball into our forwards in the first half and it was running away from them. We

were using the breeze too much. I felt if we carried the ball more directly and ran at them, and had overlaps and then kicked the ball, it would hold for our forward, and it would be a disad- vantage to the Waterford backs.

“We were shooting erratically at

times. It was decent enough ball go- ing in, but it was coming out just as fast. We had to cool things down.” Yet, for his first championship win as an intercounty manager, Doherty took heart from the way his team – particularly the younger members,

– stood up when it mattered.

“David Connole was man of the match in my opinion today. He’s only 18, he’s doing the Leaving Cert and he’s an absolutely fantastic young lad. I said the whole time that I’d love to play either him or Gordon Kelly at six. When David came out to six, it CHUN DE (orem Neto 8 ee

Doherty also thanked Waterford manager for his pre-match com- ments, damning the state of Clare football.

“I’m delighted with Kiely, with all his nice words during the week about Clare football. I didn’t have to say too much and I do appreciate his words of wisdom, fair play to him.”

Kerry, the All-Ireland champions, are now in Doherty’s sight-lines.

“It will be a privilege to the young- er lads. It’s going to help their game playing against the best team in Ire- land,” said Doherty

‘As far as ’’m concerned, you could pick the best players in Ireland and they wouldn’t beat Kerry. We’ll go down there and we have nothing to fear. We’ll go out and we’ll give it a lash, we’ll try our best and it will be great experience for the younger lads – for next year in Division 4 and that’s what we’re building on.”

No prizes for guessing what will be required in Killarney. Just think of a number and double it.

BUILDING started on only two houses in Clare last month as further evidence of a local housing slump.

The drive to build new homes has fallen away with Ennis-based auc- tioneer, Philip O’Reilly stating that there are 200 newly built homes in the Ennis area still remaining to be sold.

He said that the latest figures from the Department of the Environment came as no surprise, considering the amount of houses that remain un- sold.

According to department statistics, only two new house guarantee reg- istrations were made in Clare last month and this compares to the fig- ure of 41 for the corresponding pe- riod last year.

This was the second lowest in the country with only Longford hav- ing less where no new houses com- neo Neere FO aNO eee

There has been an 80 per cent drop in the number of new house registra- tions over the first four months of the year.

To the end of April, there have been only 79 new house registrations and

this compares to 398 for the corre- sponding period in 2007.

The April figures show there was an increase in house completions on March but the overall figure for the first four months are down signifi- cantly on last year.

There were 128 house completions in Clare last month, representing a 36 per cent increase on the 94 house completions in the county in March, although this was down on the 192 house completions for the corre- sponding month in 2007.

Statistics for the year to date show that 474 houses were completed –

compared with 748 for the first four months last year – a drop of 36 per cent.

Warning that the impact of the credit crunch has been underestimat- ed, Mr O’Reilly said that on a weekly basis, the lack of funding available for loans in the banks is diminish- ing and his advice to anyone who has got loan approval is to avail of it, be- cause it 1s getting harder day by day to secure approval.

“If a person needs a home, now is probably the time to buy before the mortgage market dries up further,” he said.

THE railway station in Sixmilebri- dge is poised to reopen within the next 12 months, after an absence of more than 30 years.

That was the message delivered by Clare County Council, in response to a query on the matter last week.

Local Fine Gael councillor John Crowe asked for an update on the project and queried when works would commence.

He specifically sought a date for

the reopening of the station, which locals have sought for a considerable period of time.

In response, acting senior engi- neer with the council, John Bradley pointed out that the council has been working in close co-operation with CIE, with regard to the re-opening of the former station.

“The station lands and railway house has been recently acquired by the council. It is planned to provide a park and ride facility in conjunction with the opening of the said railway

station,” said Mr Bradley.

“CIE have advised that funding has been provided in the 2008/2009 budgetary cycles for the upgrading of CIE’s infrastructural requirements and it is anticipated that the pas- senger rail service will open some time during 2009. No fixed dates are available for the scheduled opening of the facility,” added Mr Bradley.

Councillor Crowe said he was pleased with the response.

“IT am very happy with the re- sponse. At the end of the day, we can

see light at the end of the tunnel,” he pointed out.

‘“T would be hoping it would re-open next March or April. It will benefit the entire east Clare area as people can drive to Sixmilebridge and get the train to Limerick or Galway,” he added.

“The people of Sixmilebridge are thrilled with the update,” he said.

“Efforts have been made to get this re-opened for about lO years now, when petitions were signed,’ said Councillor Crowe.

40 per cent of farmers now Say that they are ready to vote Yes in the upcoming election.

The number of farmers now com- mitted to voting No stands at 33 per cent with a sizeable 27 per cent still undecided.

The Irish Farmers Organisation have been on the verge of endors- ing the No campaign over the last number of weeks following increas-

ing anger over the handling, by EU Commissioner Peter Mandelson, of the WTO.

Galway MEP Sean O’Neachtain spoke out on Thursday last calling on the farmers of Clare to Vote Yes for the EU Lisbon Reform Treaty.

O’Neachtain has been one of the treaty’s strongest advocates and has spoken out at many public meetings over the last month.

“IT strongly believe that it is in the future economic and political inter- ests of the people of County Clare and the people of Ireland that the EU Lisbon Reform Treaty is ratified,” he Sr nLee

‘This treaty is about ensuring that the EU institutions reform how they

will take decisions into the future so as to ensure that the European Union becomes more effective and more efficient in how it will carry out its business into the future.

A more effective European Union will help to ensure that the EU can bring forward new laws which will help to develop the European econo- my to a stronger extent. The ratifica- tion of this treaty will guarantee that the EU will be able to address new problems such as climate change and the security of energy supplies in a more structured manner. No one country alone can tackle all these problems on their own.”

Specifically targeting farmers, O Neachtain said that a yes vote will

help Ireland to effectively address the concerns of Irish farmers in the context of the CAP Health Check 2008 — 2013

“We welcome any measures at an EU level which will simplify the actual operation of the CAP, and, in particular, the administration of the single farm payment,” he said.

“But we clearly do not support the proposal to increase compulsory modulation from five to 13 per cent, which means that farmers will lose eight per cent in the value of their annual single farm payment from the year 2012, and it is proposed by the European Commission that these monies will be re-directed to other rural development programmes.”

GHOSTS banished. Demons laid to rest. A win against Waterford, his- torically, wasn’t something to get excited about.

But judging by the roar at the end and the sense of relief outside the Clare dressing room, this meant something.

More than winning, this was about wiping the slate clean and starting again. Conor Whelan, captain when Clare capsized in troubled waters down in Waterford last year, knew that for a long time on Sunday, it looked like Clare were charted to- Se NUGK-MCTOO ODE ED as EelKon

“Things didn’t look great for us,” Whelan, stand-on captain this year, admitted outside the Clare dressing room. “The lads got back into it. A great interception by Gordon Kelly was a real turning point in the game. We went up the field and got a point and then the point from Stephen Hickey closed the day out.

“We know we played very poorly in the first-half. We weren’t expressing ourselves on the ball. We just didn’t play right. We, as players, know that. Frank Doherty told us too. It was really laid on the line to us and we were happy that we rose to the chal- lenge in the second half. *

Sitting in the stands, injured, this

year’s captain Michael O’Shea kicked his heels in frustration as the errors continued to mount.

“Tt’s frustrating when you are look- ing out because you can see what is going on. You’re sitting in the stand and you can’t do anything about it.

‘“We’ve a lot to improve on. We made a lot of stupid mistakes. Our ball handling was very poor at stages, especially in the first-half. Our move- ment up front wasn’t up to standard. We weren’t creating enough oppor- tunities for ourselves. Saying that, a couple of the lads showed good bot- tle towards the end. They stood up and were counted when a couple of Scores were needed, but we’ll take the positives.”

They included a rattling good per- formance from David Connole, who, along with John Hayes, O’Shea said, provided Clare with mobility and strength going forward.

Plenty of work and plenty to think about, then, ahead of the Munster semi-final against Kerry.

O’Shea, who Doherty said after- wards would add a different gear to Clare’s running game, is hopeful of being fit to face Kerry.

“We’ve three weeks and we’ll be doing everything we can. That’s a day you really don’t want to miss. Playing Kerry down in Killarney. We’ll be doing everything we can.”

to clarify that the hospital did not receive any donations from 2003 to 2007, or if it simply did not record donations, a HSE spokesperson said the hospital had no record of any do- nations made during that time.

“But this does not rule out the pos- sibility of somebody coming in to

buy a box of chocolates for patients in a particular ward.”

Chairman of the Ennis General Hospital Development Committee, Ciaran O’Dea said that “despite the expected flippancy and condescen- sion evident from the HSE response”, the survey carried out under the Free- dom of Information Act poses more questions.

“If there have been no donations, it indicates the distrust that people feel with the HSE or a dissatisfaction with the level of service and resourc- es provided under the HSE. The issue may also point to a belief and dissat- isfaction with the over-distribution of funds to administration as opposed

to front-line staff and services. Both these possibilities are a result of the removal and lack of answerability of the HSE to the electorate,” he said.

‘A second possibility is that unre- corded donations have been made to support the hospital. This scenario beggars belief given the massive in- crease in expenditure on administra- tion. It is time to ask if the HSE is ‘value for money’ and to test whether they cost more than they benefit the people of County Clare and beyond,” the committee chairman added.

It remains unclear whether any do- nations have been made to the hospi- tal since 2003.

In the past, the people of Clare fun-

draised for a mammography unit for the hospital, which was later replaced by the health board and eventually closed by the HSE in favour of the centre of excellence in Limerick.

The Mid-Western Hospitals De- velopment Trust also agreed to pro- vide €600,000 to purchase the much needed CAT scanner, although the HSE has not yet taken the trust up on its proposal. The machine is estimat- ed to cost just over €400,000.

In February 2007, Deputy Pat Breen (FG) was told in a parliamen- tary question that €550,000 per an- num revenue funding has been pro- vided for running the CT service at the hospital.