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CLARE farmer Michael O’Brien will represent the county at the an- nual Macra Na Feirme Mr Personal- ity competition to be held this Friday and Saturday in Kilkenny. The fes- tival which is in its third year will be held in the Springhill Court Ho- tel and will again be sponsored by Kilkenny Carlow and District Farm Relief Service.

Clare hopeful Michael Carey is a

26 year old farmer from the Kincora Club whose interests include Macra, hurling, socialising and he is also a big supporter of Manchester United HIG ON E-buer

He also feels he will be a good Mr Personality because he’s very ap- proachable and he gets on well with everybody.

The competition consists of a two day schedule of activities in which the contestants will be judged on their ability to interact and display

their individual personalities.

They will be interviewed on stage on Friday night by former Macra president Matt O’Keeffe followed by music by Domino Effect and DJ till late.

On Saturday morning, the contest- ants will participate in challenges and in the afternoon, they will be interviewed by an esteemed judg- ing panel — Helen Carroll present- er on RIE’s farming programme Ear to the Ground, Seamus Phelan

former Macra President and Sinead O’Sullivan former County Person of the Year in Kilkenny.

On Saturday evening there will be an informal gala banquet followed by music by Loaded and the Mr Per- sonality 2008 will be announced at approximately 12 midnight.

The winner will be presented with the perpetual trophy, a cheque for €500 and a weekend which is beigng sponsored by the Springhill Court ee)roe

THE champagne flowed amid the glitz and glamour of the foyer of the West County Hotel on Saturday night – and this was even before the official proceedings of the night kicked off.

It was the prologue to Avenue Unit- ed’s big party to celebrate 25 years that took the form of a champagne reception.

As the bottles were uncorked, there were Samba dancers on hand to add a little bit extra colour to the occa- sion.

Then the long night that stretched

into the late morning hours began in the Liam McCarthy Suite.

It all took place 25 years to the day that Avenue United was established – it was 12 April, 1983 and time had now raced on to 12 April 2008.

The maiden voyage was in Mickey Kerins’ bar in Lifford with a meet- ing chaired by Gerard ‘Paddlers’ O’Grady from Marian Avenue. What to call the club was one of the most important items on the agenda. Some said Marian Rovers, the mouthful of Boreen Rambling Rovers had a few supporters, but in the end Avenue United was adopted unanimously.

Paddlers lives in Mayo now, but just as he journeyed down to the old town for the launch of Ollie Byrnes’

CLARE BASED writer Nuala O Faolain revealed over the weekend that she has cancer and will soon die. In an emotionally charged interview, the Lahinch based journalist and author revealed that she learned of the diagnosed six weeks ago in New York.

The cancer, which began in her lungs but has now spread to her brain and liver, is incurable and Ms O Faolain has turned down the option OMe Toate

Ms O Faolain owns a house in Bar- tra outside Lahinch and has lived between Clare and New York for the last two decades. ;

During those years, Ms O Faolain spent much of her time in Lahinch

with fellow journalist Nell McCaf- ferty and was a regular contributor to the Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna.

“T lived for years with Nell McCaf- ferty and lets say 12 of those were the greatest fun and I owe so much to them and in fact, as far as I am con- cerned, Irish women owe so much to Nell and I was dead lucky to live with her. But then again it ended up not so hot, but now it is my great pleasure to be in email contact with Nell and to thank her,’ she told RTE radio.

“Let poor human beings believe what they want, but to me its (the af- terlife) meaningless. I waited on the radio the other day to hear poor John O’ Donoghue, knowing that he is very important to many people, but to me it is utterly meaningless.

“And yet I want to mention one thing that you might play at the end, particularly for dying people, some- thing I picked up little bits here and there about Ireland, largely at the Merriman Summer School, which is one of the great things in my life.

“It’s a song I heard a few years ago called Thois I Lar an Glanna. It’s a kind of modern song sung by Albert Fry and other Donegal singers. And the last two lines are two things, ask- ing God up there in the heavens, even though you don’t believe in him, to send you back even though you know it can’t happen. Those two things sum up where I am now.”

€83,000 will be spent by Ennis Town Council to slow down speed- ing drivers in Ennis.

That is the amount allocated to traffic calming works in Ennis under the council’s Draft Programme for Special Roadworks 2008.

In addition to outstanding works for 2007, the locations targeted in the programme are Hermitage, Shalee Drive, John Paul Avenue, Gordon Drive, Turnpike Road, Drehid- nagower, laneway beside St Josephs, Collins Park, Summerhill, Connolly Villas and Bridge Court.

However, despite concerns from local residents, traffic calming meas-

ures will not be installed in Ivy Road. A speed survey conducted by Ennis Town Council found speed limits in the area were not high enough to warrant the introduction of traffic management controls. Inbound, the total number of vehicles surveyed was 442.

The average speed recorded for vehicles travelling into Ivy Hill was found to be 36km/hour and the 85th percentile speed was recorded at 46.02km/hour. Outbound, the total number of vehicles surveyed was Tyee

The average speed recorded was 39km/hour and the 85th percentile speed was 49.55km/h.

The 85th percentile mark is the

speed below which 85 per cent of the vehicles were travelling and is a method used in determining the need for traffic controls.

The survey was carried out over a 24-hour period between 4pm on Jan- uary 10 and 4pm on January 11

In his report Town Engineer Tom Tiernan stated that as the 85th per- centile didn’t exceed 50km/h, in e1- ther inbound or outbound situations, traffic calming measures wasn’t jus- abELsee

In total, €720,500 is available to the council to implement the road- works programme.

It is proposed to spend €150,000 on road surfacing works at 10 locations around Ennis at Corrovorrin Grove;

Cappalawn, Roslevan, Laneway at Dalcassian Park; Avondale, Kilrush Road; Castlewood Park; College Green (A); College Green (B); Clau- reen Drive; Road by Golf Club; Lane at rear of Lifford Road.

A total of €145,000 has been allo- cated for footpath upgrading works while a total of €150,000 has been set aside to cover loan charges and CCAS hea eec Dele mr: Delea OED mYmere Nims Colm Nelom ENT.) stage of the Ennis inner relief road.

Ennis’ laneways will also get a makeover with the upgrade of Chap- el Lane and Cookes Lane. The next phase of the scheme involves the laneways linking the pedestrian sec- tion of Parnell Street with the Parnell street car park.

FARMFEST °08, the major Teagasc open day of the year was launched in Athenry on Friday. The festival in- corporating Bioenergy ‘08, will take place in Athenry, on Friday, 20 June. Announcing details of the event, Teagasc director, Professor Gerry Boyle said: It has been 10 years since a major Teagasc open day was held in Athenry. The full range of Teagasc activities in advisory, research and education will be showcased. The best technical advice for dairy, beef, sheep and tillage businesses, along with the latest research from young scientists will be available.” Professor Boyle continued: ”The Irish economy and rural Ireland has changed dramatically over the last ten years and this is reflected in the emergence of innovative rural-based

businesses right around the country. Farmfest °08 will reflect this new ru- ral Ireland, bringing together these rural innovators to display their novel range of products including many artisan foods. The rural devel- Opment opportunities are many, and visitors will have the opportunity to find out more about some of the best and most promising ideas to develop in rural Ireland in recent times at this upcoming event.”

“I am particularly pleased that Bioenergy *O08 will be a significant part of the event, and we welcome our partners, Sustainable Energy Ire- land and COFORD, to work with us in highlighting the potential of this exciting and emerging new sector,’ he concluded.

Exhibits at Farmfest *O8 will in- clude a dairy exhibit which will fo- cus On opportunities for new entrants

and expansion, a major beef breeding display, a tillage exhibit will include newly established cereal trial plots in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and an education exhibit will see all the colleges mount individual practical skills displays in an interesting for- eatele

The Teagasc national sheep re- search programme is based on the Athenry campus so the sheep exhibit will be particulalry significant.

Bioenergy ‘08 promises to be even bigger than last year’s event, bring- ing together all stages of the supply chain, from producing energy crops, through the processing stage, to the options for the final consumer.

Covering over six hectares of eround, the environment exhibit will feature the main environmental chal- lenges facing Irish agriculture, while

providing practical demonstrations for the thousands participating and interested in REPS.

Artisan food, scientific research, forestry, equine and Health and life- style together with farm safety and reducing labour and Land use op- tions including organic production, tourism and other enterprises will all play a prominent part at Farmfest ’08 which promises to comprehensively cover all aspects of Teagasc’s activi- lene

CLARE County Council has disre- garded the objections of the Sister of Mercy and other Lahinch residents and granted planning permission for a €25 million housing development in the seaside resort.

Last year, Brendan O’Doherty, Patrick Montgomery, Paul Mont- gomery and John McInerney lodged plans to develop 114 residential units with a number of them to be holiday homes. The development was on a

9.5 acre site on Station Road.

Their application attracted wide- spread opposition in Lahinch. The nearby Sisters of Mercy described the plan as a “concrete jungle” pro- posal.

The nuns asked the council “to look at this development in light of the se- rious issues of anti-social behaviour on Station Road and the fact that the services to Lahinch, including sew- age, water supply and electricity, are seriously over-stretched.

In her oleyassiry leven Marie

O’Donoghue reflected much _ local sentiment when she claimed that “the character of the village is destroyed by the construction of too many holi- day homes which, in turn, is a threat to the tourism on which the village ele ores ake hae

Ms O’Donoghue quoted figures from the Census showing that the population of Lahinch dropped by 2.9 per cent between 2002 and 2006.

Michael and Maria Vaughan of Vaughan Lodge Hotel also expressed their opposition against the plan.

However, the proposed develop- ment site was zoned “residential” meaning it was always going to be difficult for the objectors to prevent the development from going ahead.

Imposing 44 conditions attached to the permission, the council has re- duced the number of residential units to 96, including 28 four bedroom homes and 21 two bedroom units.

As part of its continuing policy not to grant permission to any holiday homes, the council has placed as a condition that the homes be used as

the principal place of residence of the home-owners and that the condi- tion be included in the sales agree- ment of each dwelling.

As part of the permission, the devel- Opers are required to pay the council almost €1 million in developer con- tributions.

However, it 1s likely that the deci- sion will be appealed to An Bord Pleanala

A final decision will be made on the proposal before the end of the year.

THE third annual 10km walk in aid of suicide awareness takes place in Ennis on April 22.

This year’s event is being organised to raise money for the Ennis based support group, Living Links.

A poker night, also in aid of Living Links, takes place in Ennis on Friday April 18.

Ennis student Sasha O’Brien is the woman behind the event. Along with her uncles, Keith Molloy and Gerry O’Brien, Sasha has championed the cause of suicide awareness, in a bid to encourage greater debate and highlight the impact of suicide on

bereaved families.

Sasha explained the campaign has received great support. “It has been brilliant since we started it. I’ve got great help from my uncles. We just wanted to get people talking about it. We had an event there recently, and I must have had about 20 people com- ing up to me, who had been affected by suicide, and they were really de- lighted with what we are doing.

Sasha’s efforts were recognised last year when she was among 20 Irish students to be nominated for a Pra- merica Spirit of Community Award.

The Pramerica Spirit of Commu- nity Awards programme recognises and rewards post-primary/second-

level students for volunteer work car- ried out in their communities.

For the past six years the Living Links organisation has offered a suicide outreach support service to families and individuals in Clare who have been bereaved by suicide. SU ilcceTKcMC ISRO NON MNCOOUMBRUDUKanRe-BDO Tere! volunteers staffing the service in Ee

Clare Living Links operates under the auspices of the Health Service Executive and all volunteers are ful- ly trained.

In addition to healing programmes volunteers respond to approaches made by a bereaved family or in- dividual and can arrange to meet

them inside or outside their homes or wherever the bereaved person feels most comfortable. All meetings are conducted with complete confiden- SEUOIAYs

The 10km walk will take in a route around Ennis. Last year’s 10km walk raised over €24,000 for the Samarti- tans.

For further information on Living Links contact the support co-ordina- tor between 5pm to 7pm Monday- Friday at 086 0565373.

SEVERAL MEMBERS of Ennis Town Council yesterday expressed mixed views over the proposed re- zoning of Cusack Park to construct the €350 million RiverSide Quarter.

In a bid to fast-track the rezoning, the Clare GAA have submitted a rezoning application with the town council, rather than the wait for the new Ennis Development Plan to come into force in 2009.

The public will be able to make submissions on the plan over the next four weeks. After that process Ennis

Town Manager, Tom Coughlan has two months in which to draw up a re- port and present it to the council.

The nine-member council will then have a further six weeks to consider the proposed rezoning. Majority sup- port is needed for it to pass.

In financial terms and the impact it will have on Ennis, the decision by the members is set to be the biggest they will make in their time to date as councillors.

The €350 million RiverSide Quar- ter will comprise of a 15,000 sq m net retail area, a food court, ten res- taurants, an eight screen cinema, a

200-bed four-star hotel, a 100-bed budget hotel, office, 200 residential units, a civic centre and a hub for a new urban bus service. The plan also includes a riverside boardwalk, a pla- za for weekly events and markets, a creche and 1,100 car parking spaces at basement level.

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind), a stead- fast opponent of the plan, re-iterated his opposition. He said that “there is no point talking about rezoning Cu- sack Park because planning cannot be got for the GAA stadium on the Quin Road as it is a flood plain.”

However, Cllr Peter Considine (FF)

said that his gut instinct was to favour the rezoning and not have further re- tail be driven to the outskirts.

He said, “We should try to retain as much commercial activity in the town centre as possible because I would have a worry about this out of town mall syndrome.”

Cllr Considine cautioned that re- zoning was no guarantee of planning permission being granted.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said that he remained open-minded in relation to the rezoning.

“However, I am not convinced that it should take place at Cusack Park.”

has learned that plans to have the project finished be- fore the 2007 tourist summer season have now been scrapped.

Instead the developments’ will continue on the Lahinch lifeguard centre, which is due for completion in mid-June, with all other majors works to be suspended until after the tourism season.

“A number of brand new designs have now been shown to the council- lors and among those there are two or three realistic possibilities.

“The developers must now consult with private stake holders such as Lahinch Golf Club, Seaworld and

the Lahinch Playground committee,” said local councillor Martin Conway GnGoF

“We can’t at this point go public on the specifics of the options but what we saw was totally new.

“The councillors made observa- tions but we reserved any judgement until after the developer spoke with the interested local parties.”

It was, however, confirmed that some minor works would be carried out on the much delayed project over the summer.

“We felt that significant progress had been made in the last number of weeks. We are now three weeks into the building work on the lifeguard centre which is expected to take three months, so that should be completed before the height of the summer sea- son,’ continued Cllr Conway.

“Some minor works will be car- ried out throughout the summer and I would hope for major developments to start this autumn.

i eFeTMncva CoN Oaks another cause to be happy. “I’ve been told I’m accepted at NCAD in Dublin, providing I get my Leaving

Cert,’ the sixth year student said.

No stranger to success in the com- petition, Lucy has won three special merit awards in recent years.

“T couldn’t believe it – I thought it was a joke,’ Lucy said of her reac- tion to the win. She is delighted to have been accepted for the Dublin college, but is keeping her options open. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet’, said the girl who has been painting since she was a child. Nor did she lick her talent off the stones. Lucy’s mother, and sister both paint while her aunt is an artist and her erand-uncle a sculptor.

A second Clare student, Edel Mulqueen, aged 18, from Kilrush Community School also won a spe-

cial merit award in the competition.

Praising Lucy as “a well deserved winner’, the chairman of the judging panel, Professor Declan McGonagle said that she had produced an intense portrait painting in which every inch of the surface is active and alive with brushmarks and paint.

This is the second successive year in which the top prize has been won by a Clare student. Last year, the overall winner was Cillian Boyd, a student at Gaelcholaiste An Chlair, Ennis. This year, a total of 754 stu- dents from County Clare entered the competition, a 21 per cent increase on the 2007 figure.

Announcing the awards at a recep- tion held in the Dublin City Gallery,

The Hugh Lane, Enda Riney, Coun- try Chairman of Chevron (Ireland) Limited described Lucy as an ex- tremely talented young artist whose work has featured prominently in previous competitions.

In 2004, 2005 and 2006, she won a Special Merit Award for her entries. ‘Her achievement in winning the top prize this year has helped maintain the very high standard set by Clare students in the competition,” Mr Riney said.