Category: Uncategorized

A MAN who took almost €8,000 worth of aluminium pallets from outside two businesses in Shannon believed he had the authority to do So, his solicitor told a court.

Patrick McNamara (29), of The Sta- bles, Lickadoon, Ballysheedy, Limer-

ick, admitted stealing 13 aluminium transportation pallets in the Smiths- town area of Shannon. He took eight of them from one premises and five from another, last September.

Garda Paul Coleman told Shannon District Court that the pallets are used to transport cargo in the airline industry. He said the pallets were left

outside the business premises and McNamara had sought permission to take them.

However, while truck drivers – who were on contract to the companies – told him the pallets were a nuisance, he did not have the authority to take possession of them.

He brought the pallets to Limerick

and sold them as scrap. While they were worth almost €8,000 new, he only got €530 from them.

The court was told that while management at both companies did not expect full compensation, they sought some compensation.

Defending solicitor Daragh Hassett said his client had collected pallets from various premises, over a two- year period. “He got the green light from the wrong people,” said the so- licitor.

Garda Coleman accepted that “there certainly wasn’t anything untoward in that he wasn’t coming during the night disguising his vehicle.”

Mr Hassett said his client “very much falls into the reckless category when it comes to the thefts. He was told in both locations they were a nuisance and could be taken.

‘“He’s not a thief by any stretch of the imagination, but accepts he has to plead guilty on the reckless aspect of it,” said Mr Hassett.

Judge Joseph Mangan adjourned the case for a year for the accused to come up with €3,000 in compensa- tion.

PATRICK Bourke Menswear was taking a trip down memory lane this week as it celebrated 80 years in business in Kilrush.

As proprietor Patrick Bourke dressed the manikins in clothes from the 1940s and 1970s for the celebrations, he with his aunt Mary Keatinge (nee Bourke) recalled the family’s long history of business in the west Clare capital.

Mary, whose parents Patrick and Johanna (nee O’Dea), opened the shop just days after they married in Summer 1928, has clear memories of early days in the clothes shop.

Her father who originally came from Miltown Malbay, added the letter “o” to the family name when the business opened, because there was a public house in the town also called Burke’s and the invoices were constantly getting confused.

“She was the business woman though. She minded the money and paid the bills,’ said Mary Keating of her mother whose family had a pub- lic house in the town.

Mary herself worked in the shop at lunchtime or when she was needed, but avoided the job as much as pos- sible.

She remembers fondly the people from the peninsula – especially those from Carrigaholt.

‘When the country people came in, they would come in from Carriga- holt on the bus at nine in the morning and we would have the cellar door off Francis Street open. They would come in and have the breakfast.”

“They were great customers back there. The day they came to town was as good as Christmas,” she said.

It was Mary’s brother, the late Michael, that took over the business and from him his son Patrick learnt the trade when he joined in the early 1970s.

Michael was assisted in the shop in the early years by his sister Marga- ret, who previously served as a nurse in World War II.

Today Patrick oversees the shop in Kilrush and the two in Ennis.

Looking back through old ledgers and receipts last week, Patrick found an old list of suit prices. It took three

days for a suit to be ordered, made in Dublin and collected in Kilrush in the 1950s.

During the rationing the clothes shop sold women’s items and any- thing else available reflecting the DU Oee MOTO (oto TLE

In later years the only clothes for women in the outfitters were habits to be laid out in.

As Patrick looked at the old price of habits, one of the photos fell from the ledger book. It was of the first of- ficial employee – Jose McGrath who worked with Patrick’s (Jnr) grandfa- ther.

The shop is full of memories and especially this week as manikins are dressed in clothes from every era.

As well as styles changing so too did the materials used to make the clothes and sizes.

Suits from the 1940s and 50s were made with the purchaser who was more concerned about practicality than style in mind.

“The material on this was almost bullet proof and the waist very high. There was no central heating so they had to be practical and clothes had

to keep them warm. The tempera- tures have since got warmer and the clothes lighter,” said Patrick pointing to an old suit.

The average size of men’s clothes has also changed. According to Patrick when he first started working in 1974 the average size waist in a confirmation suit was 27 inches. To- day the average is 29 to 30 inches.

‘For a man the average size waist in the seventies was 34 inches now it is 36 moving towards 38. The col- lar size in the 1970s was 15.5 inches now it is 16.5 inches,” he said.

The shop in Kilrush now spans three old buildings. The original shop, the old library purchased in the 1960s and a tearoom bought in by Michael Bourke in 1970s.

The business has also expanded into the county town of Ennis.

Today Patrick Bourke still knows his regular customers; a few were even served by his grandfather.

DYNAMIC, honourable and a pas- sionate supporter of the Irish lan- eAUeE Ton

They were just some of the tributes paid to the late Riobeard O’Ceallaigh by friends and former colleagues at last Tuesday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council.

Mr. O’Ceallaigh, who served as Ennis Town Manager from 1985- 1994, died in Dublin last week. He had been suffering from a rare heart disorder for a number of years.

Leading the tributes Mayor of En- nis Tommy Brennan (Ind.) recalled Mr. O’Ceallaigh as a man central to the development of Ennis as a mod- ern town.

He said, “He had a great way about him, a great way of getting things

done. Without him the Ennis 750 celebrations would never have hap- pened. He was one of the first in- volved in the re-development of Par- nell Street. He was the first man to introduce wheelie bins in Ennis. He was way before his time”’.

A strong supporter of the Irish lan- guage, Mr. O’Ceallaigh was chair- man of Glor na Gael Ennis when the organisation scooped a major na- tional award last March. He was also chairman of Conradh na Gaeilge and of Clar na Gailge.

Town engineer Tom Tiernan said, “It’s hard to believe a man of such energy has died. You always felt his enthusiasm.

“T was always getting phone calls from him about little bits of Irish that were missing from a sign here or there. They were always glass-half-

full comments with Bob.”

Fianna Fail councillor Peter Con- sidine, a long time colleague and friend of Mr O’Ceallaigh said, “He was the most honourable man you could ever hope to meet.

“Without taking anything away from the current executive, he was the best public official I ever met in my life.”

Fianna Fail councillor Joe Reidy said Mr O’Ceallaigh was “nothing but a gentleman. He will be a great loss to the town of Ennis and the oot b nA ae

Fine Gael councillor Mary Coote Ryan said, “Bob was a thorough gen- tleman and a very good friend. What has happened in the town is testa- ment to his great work.”

Fianna Fail councillor Tom Glynn said Mr O’Ceallaigh was a “wonder-

ful person”. Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn said Mr O’Ceallaigh’s greatest skill was his ability to deal with others.

He said, “He had a dynamic na- ture and his energy was hugely ap- parent. He was very demanding. He expected the best of public servants because he expected the best of him- self…He was an extraordinarily de- cent person.”

Independent councillor Frankie Neylon said, “It’s apparent when you walk the streets and you hear about Bob Kelly, you hear what type of man he was.”

Town clerk Eddie Power said Mr O’Ceallaigh possessed a “terrifically positive attitude to life and work.”

Town mwanager Tom Coughlan said, “I never worked with Bob but I am sure I would have learned a lot.”

DECLAN O’Loughlin, a_ student at the Christian Brothers Commu- nity School, Ennistymon, has been named ‘Senior Academic Student of

the Year 2008’ at the Bank of Ireland National Student Awards — a nation- al awards scheme for second level students that recognises exemplary performance in five unique catego- ries. His prize included a cheque for

€1,500 and another cash award of €3,000 for his school.

The judges selected Declan as the national winner for his outstanding and consistent academic excellence having achieved 10 A’s and one B in

higher level papers in the 2007 Jun- ior Certificate and was nominated for the Irish EU Science Olympiad, the mathematical enrichment pro- gramme in NUIG and the transition year physics programme in Trinity College.

The Bank of Ireland Student Awards is a national awards scheme for second level students and these winners have won at both local and regional level before going on to win these national awards.

Now in it’s third year, Bank of Ire- land has already committed a total of €180,000 in cash prizes to re- ward the efforts and talents of sec- ondary school students across the country. With a prize fund of over €60,000, the annual awards scheme recognises exemplary student per- formance in five categories – art, sport, entrepreneurial spirit, aca- demic achievement and community spirit.

Speaking at the awards, Richie Boucher, Chief Executive, Retail Financial Services Ireland, Bank of Ireland said the winning students had shown exemplary performance and outstanding achievement in their category.

Bank of Ireland is proud to provide a forum where exceptional students are recognised and rewarded on a lo- cal, regional and national level. This is a fantastic accolade for Declan and I wish him every success for the fu- ture,” Mr Boucher concluded.

A 24-hour Ennis supermarket was forced to temporarily close after a security guard was ‘boxed into the eye’ and his assailant had to be re- strained by customers.

Bartlomiej Konieczko (24), a na- tive of Poland and with an address at Cornmarket Street, Mill Road, En- nis, was brought to court just hours after an incident in the early hours of last Friday.

Garda William Delaney told Ennis District Court that he arrested the ac- cused at 3.15am.

He was charged with assaulting Michal Rudowski, with engaging in threatening, abusive or insult- ing behaviour and with providing a false name and address to gardai, at Dunnes Stores, Ennis.

SW slemcleltbuMm cme) Cem Ner-lmee-NRee-NEAN (one called to Dunnes Stores, where they

spoke to security staff.

“They told me the accused had as- saulted one man on the door,’ said Gda Delaney.

He said gardai were told that the ac- cused had confronted a doorman and threatened him. He was then asked to leave the store.

‘He then hit him a box in the eye. It was captured on CCTV. He had to be restrained by customers,” said the garda. He said the store had to be closed and gardai were called.

‘He again hit out. He had to be re- strained. He threatened the injured party. He said he’d burn his house and kill his family. It was all said in Polish,” said the garda.

Gda Delaney said the accused gave an incorrect name and only after he was charged on Friday morning did he provide his correct details.

Defending solicitor Ted McCarthy said his client has lived in Ireland for

the past three years, two of which have been spent in Ennis.

“All of these events happened last evening under the influence of alco- hol,” he said.

He said that both the accused and injured man were Polish nationals and said there had been a “history of dislike between the two”.

“Ennis is a relatively small place. The Polish community in Ennis would know each other. They never got on. There is animosity between Nees 00 MaancT HIG MnO CemO) beri KOe

However, the garda said the door- man would say he did not know the accused, prior to this incident. The solicitor said his client would un- dertake to stay away from Dunnes Stores, if ordered to do so.

The accused was remanded in cus- tody for a week for gardai to establish if he had any previous convictions in his native country.

CITIZENS of Kilrush are being asked to put on their working clothes and even bring a date to this year’s annual spring clean of the west Clare capital.

Kilrush Town Council and the Kil- rush Tidy Towns Committee are or- ganising this year’s major clean up for June.

Although April is designated as the National Spring Clean month the two local organisations are proposing to get everyone out on Wednesday, June 11, in order to maximize the impact

on the adjudication results in the National Tidy Town’s Competition as judging is expected to take place between June and July.

This year’s event will also include a clean up of Brew’s Bridge.

“We hope to encourage people from all aspects of the local community to take part and to take pride in their local town and environment.

“T would like to take this opportu- nity to invite you to join with us and participate in this community initia- tive,’ said the town council’s market- ing and development officer Siobhan Cramer mcelko peleselm

The statement was co-signed by secretary of Kilrush Tidy Town’s Sean Moran.

Those willing to lend a hand are asked to assemble in the Market Square at 5pm. Gloves and bags will be supplied.

Kilrush has a long and distin- guished history in the national tidy town’s competition.

The heritage town celebrated its greatest success to date last year when it received a gold medal in Cat- egory D making it the tidiest town with a population of 2,501 to 5,000 people.

Kilrush scored 290 points, an in- crease of eight points on the previous year when it secured silver for the second year in a row.

It received bronze in 2003 and mauler

The Kilrush Tidy Towns Commit- tee and all its supporters will be go- ing for gold again this year and will be trying to even beat last year’s high score.

Next month it will be asking all the local people to do their part by help- ing with the clean up and maintain- ing the standard so the judges see the town at its full potential.

ENNIS Rugby Club’s thriving under- age set-up has seen the club named junior club of the year at the second annual Munster rugby awards.

The award is handed out by the re- gional development officers of the Munster branch who scrutinise all aspects of club management.

It acknowledges the achievement by Ennis in registering 386 players between the ages of eight and 18 with both the club and the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).

Ennis received top marks for its coaching structures, the club’s code of ethics and all the hidden, often overlooked effort that goes into run-

vb betcare ed Leloy

Ennis’s contribution to refereeing also came in for praise. The club currently has one referee – Frank Butler – officiating in the All Ireland rerkea ton

The award is the culmination of five years hard work and a radical overhaul of the club’s underage struc- eb Keny

Chairman of the rugby commit- tee, John Colleran explained that the erowth of the junior section owes much to the support received from xD KLE

He said, “Last year, I think we were the only club in Munster who fulfilled all our fixtures at every age group. It shows how the club has de-

veloped in the past five years. A mad effort has been put into it, particu- larly by the parents who have given huge support.”

John continued “Every year since we Started the cost of our bus hire has reduced because more and more par- ents are bringing kids to the games. All mini rugby players now buy their jerseys. It’s small things like that that make the difference.”

Much of the credit too, John ac- knowledged, goes to coaches like mini league officer Damien Clinton and Gerry Buggy (youth officer) and John Mahon, who were responsible for the painstaking duty of regis- tering, via computer, all 386 names with the IRFU. In all, Ennis has a

coaching staff of over 50, overseeing teams in every age group.

John said, “The coaches put in a lot of effort. It 1s a hard task for the club with such a large underage section. It requires a lot of concentration. The amount of work Gerry and John did, getting kids registered, was great.”

On the field, Ennis has enjoyed plenty of success with six members of the club’s promising under 16 team selected to train with Mun- ster. Former Ennis player Liam Og Murphy played a key role in helping Young Munster to the final of the AIL division two championship.

John said, “You look at what Liam Og did this year and it shows you what can be achieved.”

CLARE people with a desire to work on the International Space Station and explore the solar system have just a few weeks to apply for a place on the European Space Agency’s new astronaut training programme. Recruitment opened yesterday May 19, and candidates from Ireland are welcome to apply.

Candidates need a relevant degree or equivalent, and/or be a pilot or engineer. They will have to provide the same medical examination cer- tificate as private pilots do.

The first step in the application process takes place online at www. esa.int/astronautselection. There will also be two stages of psychological and professional aptitude evaluation.

“The ideal European candidate should be competent in relevant sci- entific disciplines, including but not restricted to life sciences, physics, chemistry and medicine and/or be an engineer or pilot, and should have demonstrated outstanding abilities in research, applications or the educa- tional field, preferably including op- erational skills,’ explained Gerhard Thiele, former astronaut and Head of the European Astronaut Division.

“In addition, characteristics expect- ed of all applicants include a good memory and reasoning ability, con-

centration, aptitude for spatial orien- tation, and manual dexterity.”

Applicants should be fluent in Eng- lish (Russian is also an asset) and should exhibit personality traits such as high motivation, flexibility, team competence, empathy with others and emotional stability. The final appointments will be officially an- nounced in 2009.

Encouragement for people from the region to apply came from a NASA astronaut last Friday last. Speaking at his talk on the NASA space pro- gramme, Captain Jon McBride said it was time for the first Irish astronaut to go into space with ESA. Looking beyond that to NASA’s planned mis- sion to Mars, he said that the likely candidates for this were at school now, and the first step for them was to study hard and go to college.

McBride was the pilot on the first shuttle mission to carry a crew of seven astronauts. He has also held many other senior positions within the NASA organisation. Although now retired from active service, he still works for NASA to raise aware- ness of its work.

Dr Moore also announced that, for the first time, the society will be run- ning evening classes on astronomy for beginners this autumn at the University of Limerick. Register at www.astronomy.ie.

A WOMAN who has 84 previous convictions added to her “appalling” record the theft of a pair of Podge and Rodge dolls and other items, a judge was told.

Emer O’Connell (25) of 93 Ab- beyvale, Corbally, pleaded guilty in Shannon District Court to steal- ing the dolls and other goods worth a total of €74 from Dunnes Stores, Shannon, on December 10.

She also pleaded guilty to stealing cosmetics worth €47 from Varden’s pharmacy in Newmarket-on-Fergus on December 15 and a bottle of bran- dy worth €30 from Shannon Knights Off-Licence also on December 10.

Her solicitor, Darragh Hassett, told Judge Joseph Mangan that the young woman has “an appalling record”. She had been “taking heroin on both dates. But she has turned a corner and is now on a methadone mainte- nance programme.

Mr Hassett told the court that his client has a child, who was put into care by the HSE but had recently been returned to her.

“If she goes to prison, it 1s a fact of life that drugs are available, despite the best efforts of the prison staff and, in all likelihood, she will be re- introduced to heroin.”

Judge Mangan remanded her is cus- tody until May 23 for reports on drug and alcohol abuse.

MUSIC is in the air in Doonbeg as the “Long Village” prepares for the ninth Doonbeg International Jazz Festival which will take place over the Whit-Weekend – May 30 to June 2.

This successful annual festival promises to be better than ever with a line up of nine bands to suit all tastes. All performances throughout the weekend are free of charge.

This year the festival welcomes some new bands as well as some old favourites.

The Streetrats from Switzerland will give spectators a taste of the

music of Louisiana, with a delicious mix of Blues, Zydeco, Cajun, Jazz and Rock and Roll.

The Jazz Freaks, Dublin, will en- tertain the crowds with Dixieland and Swing.

Renowned for hitting the high notes, this band is sure to provide foot-tapping music for all.

If you are partial to lively old style jazz, smooth latin and some blues, then you will enjoy Big Swing – a five-piece band from Dublin.

If Jamaican ska, reggae and latin music are more to your taste, then look no further than Skazz from Clare, who will be sharing the stage with guest stars “The King of Ska”

Rene van der Reijden from Holland, and “Boots” Bernie Weiler from CSeerrene

Molly O’Mahoney and Norman Collins will delight with their set of the best of Bossa Nova, some swing and blues as well as their romantic lyrics and melody.

The Downtown Jazz Band from Limerick will be making their first appearance at the festival this year. A seven-piece band, they play popu- lar dixieland and swing favourites.

The popular Limerick based trio Idol Bones have a wide repertoire that appeals to all, from swing to salsa.

The festival is pleased to welcome

back The East Coast Jazz Band, from Leinster, who will be entertaining the crowds with their mix of popular jazz from dixieland to swing, bossa nova to blues.

The ninth Doonbeg International Jazz festival will get off to a great start on Friday, May 30, with the official opening and wine reception taking place at the Igoe Inn, Doon- beg at 9pm, accompanied by music from Skazz. From 10pm there will be music at all venues in the village, NOLO MO OCMC BA BIO CoML BOU MOON LBD NLEComNalON] non-stop music throughout the week- end. As well as the scheduled gigs there will be “Jazz Jam” sessions on Saturday and Monday.