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AN ENNIS woman was one of 17 people from throughout Ireland to qualify with a diploma in hypno- therapy over the weekend.

Ennis woman Johanna Tracy be- came the first Clare woman to be presented with a Practitioner’s Di- ploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy by the Irish Hypnotherapy Association at a ceremony in Galway on Sunday.

She will now begin to practice hyp- nosis throughout the county.

“So far I haven’t come across too many sceptics but I have come across people who fear it. Some people as- sociate what I do with stage hypno- sis; these people don’t want to be made to do something against their will. But they are thinking of hypno- tists who are more like comedians.”

“lm already a qualified psycho- therapist and a life and business coach and | thought that this might be helpful for clients. It’s very good for building confidence, helping with

phobias, giving up cigarettes and los- ing weight. It’s good for children who have problems with bed wetting or nail biting or things like that, or for teenagers for confidence building.

‘This course was all about learning how to hypnotise people and helping them to achieve different goals in their own life. Hypnosis is about the power of suggestion, it’s nothing to do with sleeping.

“It’s actually concentrated con- scienceness. People would see them- selves doing something that they would love to do but can’t. Once they picture doing it in their sub-con- scious mind, then they are better able to do it in reality.”

She warns that hypnosis will not always work for everyone.

“It really depends on how much a person wants to work on it. We can’t hypnotise the cigarettes out of them, they have to want to give up and have a real desire. The more they use their imagination the more successful they will be.”

COLAISTE MHUIRE, Ennis, has been short-listed for the ECO- UNESCO’s Young Environmentalist Awards (YEA) 2008.

Competition judges visited the school yesterday (Monday) for the final judging process. The school has been short-listed for the national awards scheme in the Senior Eco- Consumerism category, for project “Tree Wise and Waist Knot’.

Students decided to work on con- sumerism through two different projects in order to make people aware of their role in reducing global

waste in the production of consumer goods.

To carry out the “Tree-Wise’ project the group decided to pot holly plants and Christmas trees.

The trees were sold in the Ennis Market to encourage people to grow their own Christmas tree instead of buying a new one each year.

The group invested the profits in environmental initiatives in_ their school such as a new composter called the ‘Big Pig’.

For the second project, ‘Waist- Knot’, the group organised a fashion show with second-hand clothes to encourage both students and parents

to be consumer-aware and to pass on second-hand clothes to others who would benefit.

After the event, the students decid- ed to sell the clothes from the fash- ion show and once again the results exceeded their expectations, with the profits donated to the “The Butterfly Challenge’ organisation.

Students from Colaiste Mhuire along with other participating school will take part in the YEA Showcase and Ceremony on May 13, in the Round Room of the Mansion House, in Dublin.

“We are delighted to see such a ereat variety of local environmental

action projects being carried out by young people all over Ireland. The quality of their projects is making the judging process more challeng- ing each year,” said Elaine Nevin, Director of ECO-UNESCO.

Each year ECO-UNESCO, Irelands environmental education and youth organisation, awards and celebrates young people who take part in en- vironmental projects, which protect their local environment.

Since the creation of the Young En- vironmentalist Awards over 10,000 young people have taken part with awareness campaigns taking place in over 750 schools and communities.

did for Cong in County Mayo – plenty of tourism and visitors decades after the film was released.

The Canadian production has al- ready contributed to the local econo- my in off peak holiday season.

St Mary’s Hall, Teach Ceol and

Fennels have all been rented by the 8Q0-strong crew, as well as renting lo- cal holiday homes.

“It 1s a blessing,” said well-known publican Seamus Carmody

“Sure it is an ideal place for a film. The estuary down there is beautiful and it would sell any film,” he add- ed.

It is not just the contribution such a venture has made to the economy, the filming also brought an air of excite-

ment to the community last week as the locals got involved in the drama.

‘I don’t know what I am going to do next week when they are gone. It will be so quiet. They have been here six weeks painting and everything, and the filming has been this week,” said postmaster Pat Galvin.

‘There has been a fantastic reaction from the people around the village.”

The local fishermen got involved in the filming on Tuesday last, as did the

Kilkee Marine and Rescue Service.

All of the extras on the film were local people, who caught the eye of one of the producers Kevin Tierney for their professionalism.

“It is very nice to have background action that looks real,’ he said.

Among the local stars were De- borah Hunter, Jack Sheehan, Brianna Byrne and Elizabeth Byrne from KOT corer

‘The crew are lovely and encour- aging,’ said Ms Hunter, who was amused by the stocking she had to wear.

Little Jack Hunter looked very handsome in the 1960s boy’s clothes, with Brianna proving a very pretty Tl Oeearee

Ten-year-old Saoirse Quinn from Cooraclare was absorbing all of the detail of the day. With her beautiful red hair in pigtails and wearing a lit- tle grey hat she looked the perfect schoolgirl.

Mum Geraldine was kitted out in a coat – like her mother would have ve) u OF

There was a lot of standing around for the Irish extras, but they had al- ready learnt some of the tricks of the trade, as Geraldine showed off the warmers she wore in her shoes. Like a lot of the mothers involved, she had taken her daughter to the auditions after they received notice through their speech and drama classes. It was while enrolling their children that the Mums and Dad’s also got roped into the adventure.

The filmmakers hope that all of the local people will be seen in cinemas worldwide soon, in the film that tells the story of a young Canadian ge- ologist that comes to the Burren and falls in love with a young Irish girl who is about to enter the convent.

will be updated imminently by letter in relation to the approach by a party interested in acquiring our flagship station.

“Our obligation in relation to any potential transaction is first and fore- most to both shareholders and staff we will not be making any public comment on this matter until they have been communicated with.”

Asked to comment on the situation at the weekend, the station’s found- ing chief executive, Caimin Jones said: “Clare FM should clarify the current situation unless there is some compelling reason to prevent them.

For example, if they are engaged in sensitive negotiations with another consortium, then the absence of a statement might be understandable. “Otherwise, a clear statement to shareholders and the general public is essential. A media company which asks probing questions of other peo-

ple and organisations risks losing credibility by remaining silent on its own affairs when these matters are clearly of public interest. With no information or discussion forthcom- ing, the station is also putting its own news and current affairs service in an invidious position.”

A shareholder in the station, Mr Jones said that he welcomed the pro- posed sale to Radio Kerry.

“It 1s disappointing that the deal appears to have come unstuck,” he ene m

“I felt that Radio Kerry and Clare FM were a good fit. Their values, broadcasting culture and commit- ment to serving their communities are broadly similar. These issues will undoubtedly be considered by many shareholders should any new offer be made for Clare FM.

“In general, Clare FM has fulfilled its original objectives and several broadcasters continue to produce good programmes. However, the station is at a crossroads and needs an injection of ideas, energy and creativity. Despite the increasingly competitive radio environment, the station must win back listeners. The key to this in Clare is to reinforce the “Clareness” and individuality of the station and not become a bland clone of the latest passing media fashion.

“Somebody in Irish local radio broadcasting needs to have the cour- age to tear up the current programme schedules and devise new ones. The schedule of programmes on Clare FM and other stations 1s more or less the same as it was when the station was founded nearly 20 years ago.”

OVER 200 people have already signed up for the Ennis Tag Rugby League.

The sport has developed into a fix- ture on the summer sports calendar. This year 23,000 people have signed up to play, making it Ireland’s most popular tag league.

Tasked with over seeing the growth of the sport and maintaining its pro- file is Ennis man Brian Nevin.

Earlier this year, Nevin was ap- pointed Commercial Manager of the Irish Tag Rugby Association CUR eA

Two years ago he was part of the first team from Ennis to compete in the All-Ireland tag rugby champion- ship in Limerick.

In 2007 he was involved in estab- lishing the first tag rugby league in

Sab eb Ese

He explained, “We had been talk- ing about getting a league going in Ennis. | was always onto the asso- ciation about doing it, so eventually they challenged me to start a league in Ennis. We held coaching clinics in April in the rugby club. We though wed get about 10 people, but 105 turned up the first night. We ended up with 16 teams. It just grew legs and kept developing”. The teams that competed in the nine-week league were drawn mainly from local busi- nesses and clubs.

Brian said, “It was great to see players developing from the coach- ing clinics in April to competing in the league. If you do play rugby it is a great way to develop skills and, equally, if you’re not, its good fun to oe Nae

Nevin took up the role with the

ITRA after working for four years as Brand Manager for Erdinger Beer in the west of Ireland.

The idea of tag rugby is that it pro- vides an enjoyable way of keeping fit. There is also a huge social element to tag rugby with matches usually end- ing with a barbecue or a trip to the pub.

“The social aspect is one of the main reasons why the summer leagues have gone so well. On week three we have a salsa night where people can learn salsa dancing. On week seven of the league we’re hop- ing to organise Ireland’s largest table quiz. In week seven there will be a charity event in conjunction with World Vision, where, for every litre of water sold, Volvic will donate 10 liters to Africa”.

Perhaps the most eye-catching of the planned events is the beach tag

rugby tournament in Lahinch on June 21.

“We’ve got great support from the GAA clubs in Lahinch and Ennisty- mon and local businesses and the Gardai. There has been interest from teams around Ireland. Its definitely an event we would hope to grow over the next few years”’.

Registration is live now on www. volvictag.ie for Ennis RFC summer leagues. For more information call CAO U Lee

KILRUSH children and teenagers are being encouraged to help other kids while displaying their own tal- OLAS

This May will see the inaugural Kilrush talent show, an event organ- iser’s hope will be repeated for years om ere) eaten

The brainchild of Kilrush woman Teresa Carrig, the talent show will see children from 10 to 18 year olds take to the stage to show case their talents.

And the talents will be as varied as the performers.

Boys, girls and groups are encour-

aged to enter the competition. Tal- ents can range from singing to danc- ing; comedy acts to drama sketches, gymnastics to hip-hop dancing, and magic tricks to juggling.

“We are looking for everything, whatever they think 1s their talent,” said Ms Carrig.

All proceeds from the event will go to the Irish Society for the Preven- tion of Cruelty to Children.

The event is being supported by the Whole community with local busi- nesses all providing spot prizes for the night.

“It is very much community driven and it is great to see all the commu- nity involved in something like this,”

said Ms Carrig.

The winner on the night – May 17 – will walk away with the perpetual shield sponsored by Hartman’s Jew- ellers in Kilrush. The jewellers will also sponsor a €50 voucher as a prize.

There will also be medals for sec- ond and third prizes on the night.

To appear on stage on the big night, participants must first of all take part in the auditions on May | in the Kil- rush Community Centre from 3pm to Bye

All of the judges will be local.

The Simon Cowel and Sharon Os- borne on the audition day will be TG4 Country and Western star Sonia

Carrig, primary school teacher and singer Linda Clohessy-O’Gorman and Hell for Leather’s John Fennell.

When these judges have picked the 20 participants for the show, two more – hip-hop instructors Nelly Gil- ligan and a mystery judge yet to be revealed will join them on the night of the talent show.

SATURDAY night’s card at Galway featured three semi finals of the Bal- lyea GAA Club A3 525 Buster Stake and in the opening heatm the the Mrs Mary Jones owned Lingrawn Ram- bler got back on the winners rostrum as he satyed on strongly to defeat Crafty Classico by a half a length in PRS

In the second heat all six runners Came away as one with the reserve Outback Maverick just holding a fractional advantage rounding the Opening two bends. But it was Cal- lums Honcho who railed well turn- ing in before getting the better of Leonies Aoife by a neck in 29.54.

The concluding heat saw the good recent form of the Ann Maire Mc- Grath kennel continue as her repre- sentetive Saints Above (Blackjack Tom-Mi Viva) powered home seven lengths clear of her rivals in a time of 29.22. The final is down for deci- sion on Friday night and officers of the Ballyea Club are expecting a big turnout for the occasion which sees €1,200 going to the winner.

In the eigth contest over the 550 yard trip for A4 graders, Tiermana Rosie (T5) stormed up the home straight to record a victory for owner Noel Moroney of Ennis in a time of a OPz

The tenth contest at the Collage

Road venue on Thursday night was an A4 graded 550 and the Master Michael Browne of Cree owned Burnpark Enda needed no second in- vitation as he went clear for a 1&3/4 length victory in 30.86

The fourth event was an N2 graded 525 in which a wholesale punt on the trap one runner Cracking Spirit went west when he ran wide off the open- ing corner allowing the trap six run- ner Inagh Mal slip through to lead by a length turning down the back. Racing past halfway the Michael McGuane of Inagh owned Inagh Mal had extended his advantage to three lengths over Ms Firesparker who closed slightly as they began the swing for home but Inagh Mal (Droopys Maldini-Inagh Spice) drew away up the straight to win in 29.70

The concluding contest of the night which was an A2 contest also went the way of the Browne family from Cree where from traps Torpais Mai (14) and Burnpark Tracy (T3) were away best and they disputed the lead on the run to the opening corner but Burnpark Tracy was in control up front as she came clear for a three length success in 29.50

Clare’s only winner on Friday night came in the eight race – an A4 event — where up the straight, the P.J O’Halloran trained Wood Sweet came clear to win by a length and a half in 29.59.

A GROUP of locals in Liscannor has warned Clare County Council not to repeat the planning mistakes made in other coastal areas.

The residents, who are opposing plans by Atlantis Developments for a mixed use development on the village’s main street, including the redevelopment of Joseph McHugh’s and Egans’ pubs, state that the coun-

cil needs to draw up a strategic de- velopment plan for the village before any more tourism based development is granted.

“It 1s apparent that over-develop- ment has already taken place in Lis- cannor and the council should be taking steps to stop it from causing irrevocable damage to the village character,” they state.

“It is now at the stage where a small cottage in Liscannor has an asking

price of €1.5 million. How can local people expect to afford a site or home when prices have reached this hugely inflated level?”

The Atlantis Development plan includes a 14-bed hostel, five-two bedroom apartments, four retail units and the two large extensions to McHugh’s and Egans.

Atlantis Development also has ap- plications for park and ride parks in Liscannor and Doolin and decisions

on all three applications are expected later this month.

The local residents state, ““Let us not forget the Holland Park development — directly opposite the site — which included commercial units along the front facade. All but two of these are empty, 1n poor repair and some have been converted to residential units.”

The residents continue, “Liscannor is a small coastal village that caters for both permanent and seasonal residents. However, the excessive fra- tio of seasonal versus permanent ac- commodation is greatly deteriorating the fabric of the community.

‘Apartments, more akin to the re- quirements of towns and cities where space is at a premium, are not justi- fiable is a small village like Liscan- nor. The only reason for apartments in such a small village is to maxim- ise profitability at the expense of the architectural setting of the receiving village.”

The residents state that currently, the ratio of holiday homes to perma- nent residences in approximately 7:1 and this figures is even higher from the church to Knockaderry where it is in excess of 10:1.

They residents claim they have been for far too long subjected to the eradual and saddening deterioration in the fabric in the community. “This has taken place by developers being given free reign to build whatever they wish wherever they wish.”

FOR the first time in the event’s his- tory, this year’s Fleadh Nua will fea- ture performances from an Ulster/ Scots Pipe band.

A pipe and flute band in the Ulster Scots tradition, the Hounds of Ulster are one of the provinces most high profile marching bands.

Announcing details of the festival programme at last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Rory Casey, of the Fleadh Nua committee, explained the festival is opening up to embrace the new cultural landscape.

He said, “We have to be careful

to address other cultures. There is a whole different cultural landscape out there than there was in Ennis in 1973. We talk a lot about the eco- nomic benefits of the Good Friday agreement but perhaps its time to reap the cultural benefits. If we are serious about living on this island to- gether, we have to develop relation- ships like this”.

The Hounds of Ulster, Mr Casey said, would not be marching in the annual Fleadh Nua parade.

The nine-day festival takes place in venues throughout Ennis from May 18-26.

Other highlights include a tribute

to acclaimed musician and teacher Frank Custy, a series of concerts in glor and a wide and varied pro- gramme of street performances and music workshops.

Mr Casey said the Fleadh Nua had survived because of the close links formed between the organising com- mittee, Ennis Town Council, local arts and cultural groups, Shannon Development and venues like the County Museum, Cois na hAbhna and Glor.

However, Mr Casey said he was disappointed with the response of the business community to last year’s BATE

“We have a close relationship with Ennis Chamber. But it was very dis- appointing, we sent out 300 letters and we only got one response. It is an Ennis festival and we do bring ben- efit to the town”.

Mr Casey explained that with 57 festivals taking place in Clare this year, the Fleadh Nua faced a chal- lenging, competitive market place.

Independent councillor Frankie Neylon said the festival should adopt a country each year to maximise the benefits of tourism.

Fine Gael councilor Johnny Flynn urged the committee to embrace new concepts like pod casting.

THEY are passionate about their fashion in Kilkee and this year Pai- san Faisean presenter Blathnaid Nic Dhonnacha will present the annual event.

The former Clare Rose in the Rose of Tralee contest will have 150 local models to introduce on the night.

In its fifth year, the fashion show run by the fourth year students from St Joseph’s Community College, Kil- kee 1s attracting models from all over the community.

Not only are the local football team signed up yet again, as well as many of their fellow students, parish priest

Donagh O’Meara will also take to the catwalk.

The fashion show has proven a success in the last number of years, proving one of the biggest fundrais- ers for the school.

Last year, as a result of the fashion show the school developed a canteen for students.

The money raised through the fash- ion show funded all the furniture for the canteen.

The school then invited a cater- ing company into the school to sup- ply healthy food to the students and provide another option to going into town for lunch for the students.

TJ’s catering provides soup and

sandwiches to the student. They can also bring their own lunch to school and avail of the new surroundings for Cr BnereaB Lm

This year’s fashion show will take place in the Kilkee Bay Hotel on April 18.

It will begin with a cheese and wine reception at 7.30pm with the show beginning at 8pm.

More than a dozen shops from Kil- rush, Kilkee, Miltown Malbay and Ennis will be displaying their fash- ions on the night.

Teacher, Deirdre Kennedy who has overseen the fashion show with the students for the past number of years, said that there has been great support

from the local community.

There will also be a number of stalls displaying jewellery, lingerie and other accessories to browse on the night.

“We have had support from all the shops in Kilkee, Kilrush and the county. They also sponsored ads in the programme as did a lot of local B)EISID ORT SI MMIC) OLoMSTAN TOD

“We would also like to thank the Kilkee Bay Hotel for its support last year and this year.”

Ms Kennedy said that the fashion show not only provides funds for the school but also helps develop the or- ganisation skills of the 25 students on the organising committee.