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THE Ennis Active Retirement As- sociation celebrates two decades of friendship and civic pride next week- end.

The association marks its 20th an- niversary with special event in the Eire Og clubhouse on Saturday May OF

The Ennis ARA offers people over 55 the chance to engage in educa- tional, social and cultural activities.

The primary aim is to make retire- ment an enjoyable and meaningful part of life. The association attracts members from all walks of life and holds regular talks and demonstra- tions along with classes in dance and kTEOle

Twice a year, in spring and autumn, the ARA organizes two trips abroad.

The association is supported by the Clare VEC, which provides free 10- week courses in arts and crafts dur- ing the winter months.

One of the highlights of the asso- ciation’s long history was a visit by group from the Ennis ARA to Aras an Uachtaran to meet with President Mary McAleese. Association PRO Phil Barrow explained that friend- ship has always been the cornerstone of the association.

“We seek to improve ourselves and our community and to enjoy ourselves while at the same time ap- preciating the fulfillment that comes from the companionship of our members”.

Phil said that the association has proved a helpful first point of contact for new people moving to Ennis.

“It is ideal for people who have just

moved to the town. People might come along to a meeting. Now, not all of them will stay, some will drift away. But the most important thing is that people make friends and they know we are there to help them”.

The Ennis ERA was founded in April 1988 by Fionnula Moran, who was working for Clarecare at the time.

The first meeting was held in the De Valera library Ennis and was at- tended by ten people.

Kevin O’Donoghue was elected as the association’s first chairman. Oth- ers who held the position of Chair- person over the years, were Frank Hanrahan, Michael Coleman and Kitty Begley.

The current committee is made up of Mary Meaney (Chairperson), Alice Coote (Secretary), Mary Rose

McMahon (Treasurer) and Phil Bar- row (PRO).

Over the years membership grew steadily until it topped 100. Current membership stands at 65.

Meetings take place every Tuesday in the offices of Clarecare and new members are always welcome.

Phil said “We have always got great Support over the years. We are very active organisation. All the events we organise are for people who are physically active”.

The programme of events for next Sunday’s celebrations begins with mass at 2pm followed by as night of song and dance at the Eire Og club- Le uites

Phil said “Its really a re-union of old friends that have been involved over the years. We have always tried to help each other”’.

IRISH people are not getting enough dairy products according to new re- search released by the National Dairy Council (NDC) last week. At the launch of their organsations strategic plan last week, NDC experts started their commitment to tackle the issue. According to consumer research, four in five adults aged 15 and older claimed to consume milk everyday, yet almost 30 per cent stated they were not consuming the three serv- ings of dairy a day as recommended by the Department of Health.

In addition to this the survey found that 55 per cent of people believed that butter is fattening and detrimen-

tal to their health while 72 per cent said that butter is not good for cho- lesterol levels.

“While there is a high level of agreement on the importance of milk and dairy products in terms of their health and nutritional benefits, it is also clear from this research, that this is not being translated into behaviour and there is clearly a problem with consumer perception of milk and dairy products in these increasingly health conscious times,” said NDC Chief Executive Helen Brophy.

“It is also worrying to note that more than 30 per cent of people do not agree that milk is a natural un- processed food. This image and these attitudes must be tackled as a

matter of urgency and this is a key objective of our new Strategic Plan.”

The new five year Strategic Plan, entitled Dairy: Food for Life, was launched at a large industry event in Dublin and in advance of the open- ing session of the European Dairy Marketing Forum.

Speaking at the launch, Minister of State at the Department of Agricul- ture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Wal- lace, welcomed the new approach.

“The dairy sector is of vital im- portance to Ireland. It provides em- ployment for around 34,000 farmers, workers in the processing sector and those engaged in support and ancil- lary services,” she said.

“Some 85 per cent of Irish dairy

products are exported representing one quarter of all food and drink ex- ports. In 2007 that trend continued, despite the difficulties caused by the dollar exchange rate.

“Last year exports increased by 13 per cent to €2.36 billion, a record performance. Against this back- ground it is very encouraging to see that the National Dairy Council is focused on meeting the challenges which lie ahead.”

Coinciding with the NDC strategy launch, the inaugural meeting of the European Dairy Marketing Forum will take place, which is made up of leading dairy marketing executives from companies and dairy market- ing organisations across Europe.

WHEN Geoff Hurst scored the World Cup Final’s first ever hat-trick on that warm July day in 1966, roughly 300 miles west the men of Newmarket were watching. Inspired by what they saw, within two years Newmarket Celtic was born and football began to take root at McDonagh Park.

But instead of Charlton, Moore and Hunt, the names that drove the fledgling club forward were Ryans, Sheedys and Collins’ as well as Pat Coughlan, Mike O’ Malley and Frank McNamara.

It’s all the more fitting then, that 40 years on the name of O’Malley and McNamara still appears proudly on the Newmarket team sheet.

“This is unreal for the club,” said captain Mark O’Malley .

“We have been waiting 13 years for this, it’s unbelievable. This year now we really put in the effort. We had a good man over us in Paudie Cullinan

in charge of us. Packie Ryan, Seamus Cullinan, Billy Woods – they drove us on all year and it’s to them we owe Wee

“It’s a big club, everyone got right behind us. And the supporters are fantastic, you can see all the people who came out today to cheers us on – all of that matters. We have worked so hard this year, everyone.

“We had a 24 man squad and were able to play 11 versus 11 in training which really helped.”

“We started the match well and it was a good goal. But I suppose we started to get a bit complacent after that. But that happens sometimes – Burren are a very good team, very physical. They sent in a lot of high ball and caused us problems,’ he continued.

‘But once we got in a half time lev- el. We pushed on well in the second half, maybe got as bit of luck with the third goal but we did well.”

They think it’s all over, it is now.

BATS and badgers are to benefit from a local building boom.

The creatures are to get their own means of safe passage around the proposed new Shannon Tunnel.

The €600 million project will take 40,000 vehicles off the streets of Limerick city, but it will be built right in the path of a number of crea- tures who need protection.

Kevin Cleary of White Young Green Consultants said that four badger sets have been identified within the construction site span-

ning the river between Coonagh and Bunlicky and a the same number of protected species of bats have been found along the construction site.

To prevent the badgers from meet- ing a terrible fate if they wander on to the tunnel road, the construction will include badger fencing, which is sunk into the ground to prevent them burrowing and specially constructed underpasses the help them cross the road.

The mature tress which are home to the bats will now only be felled at certain times of the year to allow the bats time to breed and rear young and

once they are cut down , they will be left without further disturbance for 24 hours to allow their winged in- habitants to move home.

The biggest engineering project in the midwest region, the fourth river crossing’s new planned route in- cludes 11 bridges and each will be complete with two bat boxes and a bat fly-over.

“This means keeping the vegeta- tion raised to a certain height to al- low bats, which rely on sonar, to stay clear of traffic and other dangerous obstacles’, said Mr Cleary..

And birds and other wildlife are to

get a newly constructed wetland and dry reserve to compensate for the loss of 15 per cent of habitats in the area.

Rare plant species, meanwhile, will be experimentally transplanted to the Trinity Botanic Gardens.

The tunnel scheme is hailed as the answer to congestion on the roads into Limerick

It will also act as a method of short- ening journeys and cutting costs for commercial transport.

The construction was approved by An Bord Pleanala in 2004 after a five year period of consultation.

STUDENTS at Clarecastle National School rolled up their sleeves for the annual spring clean, to help the school’s bid for another green flag.

As part of Environmental Action Week, staff and student students took part in a major clean up of the school and the surrounding grounds.

The work didn’t end there with stu- dents helping to further enhance the appearance of the school by potting new plants.

Clarecastle National School has already firmly established its green credentials with a number of envi- ronmental initiatives.

The school’s commitment to en- couraging greater awareness of green issues has been acknowledged through the awarding of two green flags.

Everyone in Clarecastle now hopes that efforts of the last few months will be recognised with a third green ne hee

The aim of Green-Schools is to increase students’ and participant awareness of environmental issues through classroom studies and to transfer this knowledge into positive environmental action in the school and, also, in the wider community.

Schools that have successfully completed all the elements of the

JO) ROy:a eH ANUS Oem T Rem RU DRO Lo(OME NO lem Osteo te Flag. This award has now become a well-recognised eco-label. The award has to be renewed every two years.

The Green Schools initiative has gone from strength to strength since it was launched in Ireland in 1997.

Eleven award ceremonies are be- ing held this month. Over 2000 Irish schools are registered for the pro- eramme, representing over 49 per cent of all the schools in the coun- (ry.

290 children attend Clarecastle Na- tional School, representing a number of different nationalities.

The school now has a two stream

system up to second class and 15 teachers, 12 mainstream teachers and 3 resource teachers.

The pupils receive their education in state of the art classrooms equipped with up to date I.T. resources includ- ing interactive white boards.

The school also houses a library/ computer room, resource area and PE/Multi purpose room in addition to 16 classrooms. Work commenced on the new building in 2006, seven years after procedures were instiagt- ed to secure a new school.

Prefabs were erected for temporary use and the old school was demol- ished apart from the original 1935 building which was retained.

TO celebrate the launch of their 2008 range of electrical goods, Ennis Electrical has joined forces with Sie- mens Domestic Appliances in bring- ing T’V3’s Andrew Rudd to Ennis to cook up a storm for their customers.

Andrew will share his expertise with Ennis Electrical customers at the store’s first cookery demonstra- tion, which will take place on Satur- day May 10 at lpm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm.

Preparing up to ten different recipes, Andrew will demonstrate healthy and energy efficient options using steam and induction hob appli- ances. The demonstration will also illustrate the user-friendly nature of Siemens kitchen appliances.

According to Paul Flynn of Ennis Electrical, the company is hosting the event to provide customers with an opportunity to see their Siemens kitchen appliances in action and experience the difference a well de- signed kitchen can make to home life. All are welcome to join in the fun and learn of the latest technolo- gies to make cooking more fun, en- joyable and even energy efficient.

“We are using the event as an op- portunity to thank our customers for their continued support. Custom- ers will have the chance to win spot prizes and we are offering 10% dis- count on all

Siemens appliances”, he said.

Siemens will also have experts on hand to talk about energy efficiency in domestic appliances and the most up to date technologies and innova- WOO A BEE e) lon

With two branches in Ennis, on Par- nell Street and in Quin Road Busi- ness Park, Ennis Electrical is in busi- ness over 30 years making it one of the oldest, electrical suppliers in the mid west. With it all under one roof, Ennis Electrical serves the people of Clare and beyond with experienced sales assistants, private parking and free delivery nationwide.

Anyone interested in Saturday’s event should contact Ennis Electri- cal, Quin Road Business Park, to reserve a place. Telephone (065) 6829684.

AMONG the joy that rattled among the management and players out on the grass in Cusack Park was a definite feeling that the victory over Donegal and the silverware secured would act as a spring to further suc- cess.

The championship remained in the front of the mind of Clare captain Louise Henchy and manager Deirdre Murphy.

“What we want is the champion- ship,’ said Murphy. We want to get to Croke Park. When we started out

in the league we said we would keep working for the championship and that’s still the aim.”

Henchy, too, was unswerving in her view that greater things could lie in store.

“We want to keep on winning but today was great,’ she said. “We knew Donegal were strong so we had to up it against them. We struggled at times, around the middle especially but the minute we got the ball into our forwards we looked dangerous. We knew if we could keep ball going in we would get scores.”

David Browne is tucked away in a

corner of the field as Henchy is walk- ing up the steps to collect the trophy and emotionally, he says he’s stuck for words to put perspective on the 200

“I’m delighted for the girls because for the past few years, football has been in the doldrums in Clare. Fair play to Deirdre [Murphy]. She came in three years ago and we got on board with her and things have taken off.

“We lifted the siege and a lot of the girls who weren’t there a few years ago have come back and fair play to them and it’s days like this that it’s all about.

“It was a tough game there at the end and it was touch and go for a while. But we wanted to win it. We knew we were getting Division | sta- tus next year but we wanted to go up as champions. This day is great for football in the county and hopefully we can go on from here.”

His fellow selector David O’Brien said Clare recognised early on they would have to work hard to win. “We knew it was going to be a difficult game but when we heard it was on in Cusack Park, that gave us a boost.

“We didn’t give them many chances but we spoke about it all year. Once they have the ball, everybody filters back and that’s how we played. We worked very hard, but the goal is to win the championship.”

The first step has been taken now and the journey continues.

PSYCHIATRIC services in Clare are coming under pressure as a com- bination of staff shortages and indus- trial action by psychiatric nurses has left many of the county’s psychiatric facilities “unsafe”’.

SIPTU National Nursing Official, Louise O’Reilly says her union and the Psychiatric Nurses Association are likely to escalate their dispute when the joint strike meets later today.

The dispute 1s over a compensation scheme for members injured as the result of assaults at work.

The work to rule action already un- dertaken by the nurses has impacted on Clare, a county with a psychiatric nursing shortfall of between 16 to 20 LOD RNTorSe

The nursing shortage in the county has been attributed to a difficulty in recruitment. This problem had been solved with overtime in the past and the good will of the staff.

An average of six to seven psychi- atric nurses work overtime in Clare everyday. This number reached an

all-time high of 17 on one occasion.

Work to rule means that staff are now being redirected from the com- munity services to cover in patient services in the county as the posi- tions affected by the nurse shortages and sick leave go unfilled.

A source close to the service said the staff welfare and patient safety couldn’t be guaranteed.

“The vulnerable groups who rely OMAN oMON EDEN DIMM Ms onnOlNomYo better than this – nurses likewise want jobs, not overtime. Under- staffing also jeopardises safety for patients and staff alike. That is why SIPTU members rejected the ‘gener- ous’ HSE compensation scheme for injuries suffered as the result of as- sault at work by 91 per cent,” said Ms O’Reilly.

“It was a very clear message to the HSE but it still does not seem to have registered with them. Our members have given us a very clear mandate and we remain strong and deter- mined to secure a decent scheme which does not treat nurses as sec- ond-class citizens.”

MAKING banners for a Banner fes- tival is what youngsters are up to this week in Mountshannon.

Weve @ barca busCe(oJmmmatom sColiOVGUU MBB ITO MELOr tion of artists Nicola Henley and Melanie Jones, are twenty school children aged between nine and 12 from Mountshannon and Whitegate.

Their job is to prepare the silk- screen printed banners which will adorn the streets of the village for the up-coming Iniscealtra Festival of the Art from May 23 to June 1.

“They’re making a very fine job of it – the banners are beautiful and we look forward to seeing them hung for the festival,” said Nicola.

The banners will have plenty to

shout about this year as the festival has a programme full of spectacle and colour with something for eve- ryone.

The official opening of the week long festival by Theo Dorgan, re- nowned poet, writer, broadcaster and member of Aosdana and the Arts Council takes place on May 24.

With music, drama and dance per- formances from local and visiting eroups, some of the highlights of this year’s festival include musical performances by Eoin O’Neill, Orla Harrington and John Feely to name Ulm: IB AYA

There will be film night, a free storytelling family event and an art exhibition which will be opened by well known artist Charles Harper.

The Fishbowl Youth Group will present an acoustic evening of enter- tainment; music, poetry, prose and dance in a candle-lit café style set- ting. Visiting German students and young people from The Alfa Project school will work with artists to cre- ate a sculptural riverside installation for the festival on the river bank from Scariff Harbour to Lough Derg.

Also planned are a ceili with The Four Courts Ceili Band, weekend classes and workshops in sean nos dancing, traditional music and sing- ing and adding some cultural variety, an African drumming workshop.

Also being launched during the festival is ‘Does It Grow Corn?’, the feasibility study to determine the need for a new community/arts cen-

tre for Mountshannon.

One of the most unusual events will be the family boat building course. Families – or groups – get to build a real wooden boat over the bank holi- day weekend and then take it home. The boats will be assembled from pre-cut kits under the supervision of two experienced boat builders. All the boats made will be launched at the harbour, communally, at the end of the weekend.

More details of the line up of events will feature in

A DIALYSIS unit for the mid-west has met yet another hurdle as an anonymous objector has opposed planning permission being granted to the new facility.

According to the Irish Kidney As- sociation (IKA), the unit would al- leviate the stress now suffered by patients forced to travel outside the mid-west for the life saving dialysis treatment.

Between 16 and 20 patients travel from the Limerick, Clare and Tip- perary area to Galway three times a

week for essential dialysis.

Eight patients from Clare make their way to the commercial unit in Ballybritt every week, while 16 at- tend the Mid Western Regional Hos- pital Limerick, which is now running at capacity.

There are currently 17 people in the mid-west on the waiting list for COU ASISE

Treasurer of the Clare branch of the IKA, Peggy Eustace said that the kidney support group offered the HSE the prefab it has used for dialy- sis in Tullamore to use in Limerick until it had upgraded the unit at the

regional hospital as promised.

The HSE refused this offer, she said and so Clare patients are now relying on the unit proposed for the River- side Retail Park on the Dock Road in Limerick.

In a letter dated April 24, an objec- tion to the proposal by the commer- cial company Fresenius Medical Care (Ireland) Limited was revived from a Mallow based solicitors’ company representing Hookford Limited.

Hookford Limited main activity is registered aS management activities of holding companies.

The objection is made up of three

main parts including concerns about site suitability.

The objection states that the site contains a number of retail units and “the medical usage of this site is not appropriate and would not be in ac- cordance with good planning”.

The objection also stated that the proposed facility would be best co- located on a health care campus or on an individual dedicated site.

The objectors pointed out that the sewer facilities for the existing devel- opment on the site are inadequate.

The IKA said it was “saddened” by the objection.

The support group has concerns that following a further six weeks delay due to the objection, that an appeal of a planning decision to An Board Pleanala would end the pros- pects of these patients returning to Limerick for dialysis for at least an- other year.

In a statement the Irish Kidney A ssociation said: “There are three other Dialysis Units in the country not on a hospital campus and they did not object to their planning ap- plications.”

It asked Hookford Limited to with- draw its objection.