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AS MANY as 19 new social and af- fordable houses could be available to Kilrush Town Council if plans for different housing developments in the town go ahead. A total of six

houses have been made available as affordable houses in the west Clare capital during 2007 under part five requirements of planning conditions.

Part five is part of the planning process and is part of the Local Government Planning and Develop-

ment Act 2000. Under this act “no development or any associated works shall take place on foot of this plan- ning permission until an agreement is entered into between the planning authority and the person or persons having sufficient interest in the sub- ject land”.

As many as 445 houses are planned for the town, divided among eight separate developments. A total of 227 of these houses have already got planning permission from the town council with a 218 house develop- ment still awaiting the green light.

“Were these developemnts to pro- ceed, Part five will have to be satis- fied. It is therefore anticipated that further housing units for social and affordable purposes will become available to Kilrush Town Council,’ said town clerk Fiona Mooney.

The town clerk was replying to a question from Kilrush Town Coun- cillor Tom Prendeville (FF) who

asked if the council was satisfying the Affordable Housing Partnership.

“The Minister for Housing, Urban Renewal and Developing Areas, Batt O’Keeffe (now Minister for Educa- tion) published a report of a study commissioned by the Affordable Homes Partnership on increasing affordable housing supply. Inherent in the report was the imperative to increase supply, accelerate delivery, improve access and affordability and deliver value for money for any asso- ciated resources required,” said Cllr Prendevile.

“From a Kilrush Town Council per- spective, the recent AHP report al- lows us the opportunity to take stock of out own situation. A public con- sultation process is underway until the closing date of May 31 and will involve getting the views of the so- cial partners, housing practitioners, financial institutions and the wider public,” he said.

DECADES after falling into disre- pair Lisdoonvarna’s Pavilion Theatre re-opens its doors to the public this weekend. Revamped and expanded, the 300-plus seat theatre and new foyer space will make its comeback as part of this weekend’s Slow Food Fleadh.

“The Pavilion Theatre, or the Town Hall as it used to be called, has been here since the 1900s. Over the years, all the big-name theatre companies used to come. All the big names. I know that Eamonn de Valera had a huge rally here at one stage with thousands and thousands of people,’

said Marian O’Callaghan of Lis- doonvarna Failte.

“It was in use up to 1930 and 1940 when it fell into disrepair. A few at- tempts were made to revive it over the years but nothing major hap- pened with it.”

After receiving €1.27 million in funding from then arts minister, Sile de Valera in 2000, big plans were made for the building.

“Work started around September of last year and now it’s just about finished. One of the main purposes of the venue will be as a theatre, the focus will be on the arts first and foremost. We can sit more than 300 people fairly comfortable – we have

a huge stage which has everything that a travelling group could desire,” continued Ms. O’Callaghan.

“We have a special floor so we can have dance and some life music. The Lismorahaun Singers will be using it quite a lot for practice and for re- citals. We have a new entrance and foyer area which can quite easily be used for exhibitions or for smaller musical events and even parties.

“This is going to be an evolving process. We really want to get as much as we can going on here over the next years and develop its usage as much as possible. There is a really strong tradition of arts in the area. We would love to have all the local

groups involved but it will be a com- mercial enterprise and we will be hoping to bring touring groups here from around the country.”

This Sunday, May 25, The Pavilion Theatre will host an evening of sup- per theatre in association with the Meridian Theatre Company and the Slow Food Fleadh.

Tickets, which include drama, food and wine are available from Jordans in Lisdoonvarna at €27 or from 086 2328257.

CLARE FM’s listenership figures have fallen by two percent, the latest JNLR figures reveal.

According to the figures from April 2007 to March 2008, Clare FM had a listenership reach of 40 per cent, which was a decline of two per cent.

The market share, which indicates how long listeners tune in for, 1s also reduced. It dropped marginally by 0.7 per cent, to 37 per cent. The weekly reach figures, of 65 per cent, remained the same. The figures re- leased last week were compared with the figures for January to December 2007.

In terms of listenership, the Ennis- based station is ranked 10th out of 16 local stations around the country. It is behind neighbouring stations Lim- erick’s Live 95 FM (59 per cent) and Tipp FM (44 per cent), but is ahead Galway Bay FM (39 per cent).

Clare FM is ranked eight out of the 16 stations, in relation to mar- ket share. According to the sta- tion’s Chief Executive Officer Liam O’Shea, the latest figures are not an accurate reflection of listenership.

“IT am not disappointed. These are very competitive times. These fig- ures come out every three months. If you compare with the same 12 month period last week, it is not a true reflection of the year. If you compare the two 12-month periods,

it is exactly the same as it was this time last year,” said Mr O’Shea.

He insisted he was not disappointed with the reduction in market share.

“Minus 0.7 per cent is a disappoint- ment? Absolutely not. You are deal- ing with a market place that there 1s a lot of competition,” he said. “We are very happy with our market share. Compared to this time last year, we are two per cent up,’ he said.

“We had a change of programme controller last June. We changed our programming in January. Morning Focus has changed time (from 10am start to Yam start), there 1s a new show from llam to lpm and there is a new double breakfast show. We are happy with how they are going.”

“We are not down, compared to an- ybody else. There’s nobody gaining against us,” he added. “Listenership in county Clare, to any radio station, is one of the lowest in the country.”

He said when he took up his post at the helm of Clare FM ten years ago, the listenership figure was the same as it is now. It did top 60 per cent at one stage, but Mr O’Shea said, “that day is gone.”

The latest listenership figures were published, just weeks after the sale of Clare FM to Radio Kerry appeared to have fallen through. Discussions on the proposed multi-million euro sale had been ongoing for months, but sources in the radio industry now believe the sale will not go-ahead.

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-

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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.”