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AN effort to adapt to the changing needs in a parish in east Clare will be made over the coming weeks When locals compile a community TOTS H ESE

Through the initiative, all 1,200 households in Parteen, Meelick and Coonagh will receive ‘listening census’ forms in the coming weeks. They will be asked to fill out the forms and return them to the organ- isers of the initiative, the parish pas- toral council.

The aim behind this project is to compile a list of events and initia- tives that locals feel are lacking. The organisers then plan to do as much as

they can to implement key changes in the local community and address the needs highlighted in the census.

The forms are divided into three areas – how local communication can be improved, suggestions regarding social improvement in the commu- nity and involvement in church ac- tivities.

Residents are also being encour- aged to make any additional sugges- tions which they think would help develop the community.

Project manager Peter O’ Mahony explained the idea to carry out this research.

‘Towards the end of last year, we realised it was getting more difficult to get in touch with every household

in the county. We then came up with the idea of a listening census.

“It means that we will listen to the community and then inform them we do have an active community. They will be asked if they would like to be involved locally,” said Mr O’ Mahony.

This census will vary in some ways, to the national census of population, which was compiled last year.

“It is different in that it 1s option- al. You are not obliged to fill it out. While the national census 1s to iden- tify future needs, we don’t have in- dependent funding as it is voluntary work,’ he added.

“One of the first things we will do is get an email address, phone number

and postal address for every house in the community. It is about forming a key part of our new communications strategy which is going to allow the community to communicate better with itself,’ he added.

They said that the third part of the census, which relates to the church, will give people the opportunity to get involved in this particular area.

— was quizmaster for the tense and action-packed two-and-a-half hour final. This was the 17th Credit Unions quiz and Doolin took vic- tory in the Under-13 competition. The team was made up of Keelan McMahon, David Nagle, Orla Burke and David Sims.

After five rounds, they trailed the leaders by three points. At the 10th round, they were one point behind the current leaders (Ennis National

School).

In the 11th round, they got six clear points and were catapulted into the lead. And in the last round, if they scored three points they were tied; but four or more points meant they had won. They scored five points and were the clear and final winners.

Winning team members each re- ceived a Sony PSP and commemo- rative salver, while their school re- ceived €1,270 and the Credit Unions Schools Quiz cup. Every finalist also received a special certificate marking their achievement and a fun gift-bag filled with goodies.

Uel Adair, President of the Irish League of Credit Unions, presented the winning teams with their prizes.

“It’s always exciting for us in the Credit Union movement to see an event like this.

“Here are great teams of young people who have shown that hard work and a great team spirit can tri- umph when it matters,” he said.

Congratulating the winners and all the finalists on their dedication and achievements, Mr Adair added that, ‘For the past 17 years, we have organ- ised and funded our quiz to help stim- ulate children’s curiosity about the world around them, as well as helping them to develop their research, social- ising and teamwork skills.”

NUMBERS unemployed in Clare have reached an 11 year high accord- ing to the latest figures from the Cen- tral Statistics Office (CSO). The live register now totals 5,126 — the high- est number since March 1997 when 5,253 were unemployed.

The figures show that the unem- ployment rate has increased by al- most 20% in the past 12 months, the lowest level having been in October 2000 when only 2,778 were on the live register.

The slowdown in the Clare con- struction sector in recent months is believed to be responsible for a large

slice of the increase.

It’s not all bad economic news for Clare, however. Ennis has proved to be one of just two towns in Ireland that are bucking the national trend of a shopping slowdown.

According to a _ just-published Retail Excellence Ireland review, O’Connell Street saw an increase of 39% in terms of hourly footfall be- tween March 2006 and March 2007. The number of people shopping in the street was up from 1,917 per hour to 2,658 per hour.

Responding to the unemployment figures, Deputy Joe Carey (FG) called for the fundamentals of bal- anced regional development to be

implemented to ensure Clare is well- positioned should the economy re- bound later this year.

“There is little doubt that the in- ternational banking and credit crisis has impacted on the Irish economy, fuelled by a downturn in the housing market, and I believe that sustained investment in the mid-west is vital for the region,’ he said.

On recent job losses in Clare, Dep- uty Carey commented: “We have seen these at companies such as Aer Lingus, Tyco Electronics, John Crane Ltd and Thompson Financial. We have also seen companies going on three-day weeks, unsure of what their future 1s.

“We have not seen this rate of in- crease for a very long time and there is nothing to indicate that either the rate or overall number will abate in the near future.

“So, as far as the region’s econom- icS are concerned, we need to start boxing clever”

Sinn Féin spokesperson Cathy McCafferty reacted to the CSO fig- ures, “The blame for this increase lies squarely with Government. De- spite unprecedented tax returns over a number of years the Goverment failed to plan ahead, deciding in- stead to rely on construction and the spending boom to keep the economy on track.”

DUST off your best rags, or better yet, come along to the Scariff Fash- ion Show which takes place later this week. The show, which is a charity event, takes place on Friday evening in the Scariff Community College from 8pm.

“The show is a fundraiser for the playground and for the Harbour Fes- tival Family Fun Day. We have all local amateur models, and they will be modeling clothes from the spring/ summer 2008 collection from some fabulous shops in Killaloe, Scaruiff, Feakle and one from Shannon,” said one of the organiser’s, Joan Crotty.

“There 1s good craic to be had out of the show, especially with the local

models. We have around 450 tickets sold at this stage so I would say that people are really looking forward to ia

The show will include a wide va- riety of clothing and is sure to have something to meet everyone’s taste.

“We have one menswear shop, one children’s shop, one costume hire shop and the rest then are ladies bou- tiques, inlcuding one show boutique, ’ continued Joan.

“We even have one shop which includes organic clothing which is something a bit different.”

Work has already began on the Scariff playground and some of the money raised will go to that very worthy cause.

“A lot of events are being organ-

ised to fundraise for the playground and they have received some grant funding also, but there is still more than €50,000 to be collected for it,” continued Joan.

‘The rest of the money will go to- wards the Scariff Harbour Festival’s Family Fun Day. The festival takes place each year on the August Bank Holiday weekend. On the Saturday of the festival we like to organise this fun day for young people and ie Daee sony

“We have puppet shows, bouncy castles, slides and lots of other in- flatables. We try to keep the price as low as we possibly can for people. Last year we were able to give the children access to all of the enter- tainment and a Supermacs meal for

just €3 each. So the more money we raise the more things we will be able to organise for this great fun day for all the family.”

“There will be a superb raffle on the night with over 100 prizes on of- fer, with a value of over €3,500 in total. Prizes include a family week- end break, hampers, concert tickets, gift vouchers, bouquest of flowers, a designer handbag and jewellery, to name but a few.”

The fashion show takes place this Friday, April 11, at Scariff Commu- nity College. It begins at 8pm with a cheese and wine reception.

Tickets are available from Karena’s Boutique, Centra Supermarnet and from O’Meara’s Pharmacy in Scar- hee

CLARE COUNTY Council yester- day granted planning permission for contentious plans to construct a €10 million explosives plant along the shore of the Shannon estuary.

In the county’s longest running planning saga, the council gave Shan- non Explosives Ltd the go-ahead to construct the plant at Cahercon pier, GTC Ay am

However, the council decision 1s unlikely to be the last move and the decision is to be appealed by An Bord Pleanala by opponents of the scheme.

The Kildysart Explosives Factory Opposition Group (KEFOG) yester- day confirmed that they would be ap- pealing the decision and stated that, if necessary, the group would take a legal challenge to stop the plan from proceeding.

Confirming that they will be seek- ing an oral hearing in the case, the spokesman said, “We have opposed the plan for seven and a half years and will oppose it for another seven and a half years if necessary.”

Plans were first lodged for the scheme in 1999 and the council gave the plan the go-ahead in January UE

The decision was appealed by op- ponents and An Bord Pleanala re- fused planning permission in March 2003.

Without a sod being turned on the scheme, the Whelan Group has al- ready spent almost €7 million on the Ke) (elm

When operational, the plant will provide employment for close to 35 people and contribute €3 million an- nually to the local economy.

An Taisce, the Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) and local resi-

dents, including (KEFOG), objected.

A spokesman for the Whelan Group which owns Shannon Explosives Ltd said that they welcome the decision.

The spokesman for KEFOG said, “We are not in the least surprised by the council’s decision because it has never taken any of our views on lexey-VKeR

“It is just passing the parcel to An Bord Pleanala.”

He said that one of the conditions for the development involves road widening and one of the owners of the land is a member of KEFOG and will not sell the land to allow Shan- non Explosives Ltd widen the route.

Shannon Explosives has also to se- cure a foreshore license as part of the planning application. He said, “The bottom line is that 1f it becomes nec- essary, we will take a legal challenge. We have taken it before and we do have the capacity and will to do so.”

A FATHER-OF-FOUR was. last night found guilty of killing his brother during a drink-fuelled row at a house on the outskirts of Ennis last year.

Patrick McDonagh (27), of Bridge Court, Roslevan, Ennis, had denied murdering his brother Charlie (30),

at Bridge Court, on January 28, 2007. He had also denied the alter- native charge of manslaughter and a further charge of producing a knife in the course of a fight.

A nolle prosecui was entered by the State on the knife charge, after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

It was the State’s case that after an evening of drinking in their neigh-

bouring homes, a row between the brothers developed into a “serious, almost gladiatorial fight” that led to elaas he: ou(enler-U ms @UUbnitcam

After a fight involving a knife and a hatchet, Charlie McDonagh, a fa- ther of four, was stabbed 12 times, including the fatal wound to his Sikeyeet-eee

The jury reached its majority ver-

dict shortly after 7pm last night, af- ter almost six hours deliberating, at the Central Criminal Court in Dub- lin. It found him not guilty of mur- der, but guilty of manslaughter.

Patrick McDonagh was remanded on continuing bail and will be sen- tenced on May 6.

IN a close contest, last year’s event winners, Patrick Ellott/Paul Good- man (Subaru WRC) edged out Niall Maguire/Paul McLaughlin (Subaru WRC) on a tie-break to win the Fels Point Hotel Circuit of Kerry Rally, the second round of the Dunlop se- ries. On the final stage, they finished

two seconds ahead of Maguire/ McLaughlin, that gave both crews an identical overall time and El- liott/Goodman got the verdict on a tie-break – as they were fastest on the final stage. It was the second event in succession that a round of the Dunlop National Rally championship went to a final stage decider.

Seamus Leonard/John McCafferty

(Subaru) finished third overall — 29 seconds further behind, that was also decided on a tie-break with Michael Barrable/Dermot O’Gorman (Ford Focus WRC) finishing fourth. As a result of his victory, Elliott moves to top spot in the Dunlop series. The Group N category was won by Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy (Mitsubishi), they were tenth in general classifica-

tion.

Top Clare crew Anthony O’ Halloran /Charlie McEnery punctured on stage four after clipping a rock on the inside of a corner and had to stop to change the wheel. They lost about six minutes which pushed them well down the leaderboard but they even- tually went on to finish 35th. overall.

The top Clare Crew were Alan

O’Callaghan/Gerard Murphy from Ssixmilebridge who battled through the very wet and slippy conditions in their Subaru Impreza to finish 20th overall.

THE challenges posed to Broadford National School by rising costs have met with a terrific response by the lo- oN ereyeapeeltvaviare

Enrollment numbers at the school are set to jump by 50 per cent in September, meaning that extra strain is being placed on the school’s re- sources.

Like many schools in Clare and around Ireland, Broadford has been hit by cutbacks to the summer works scheme and the imposition of water charges.

In order to raise money to increase the playground area, improve the schools IT facilities and replace doors and windows, a fundraising committee was established in the school.

So far the support received has sur- passed all expectations. The most re- cent event was a race night held over the weekend at Vaughan’s Bar.

Liam Patterson who has been prin- cipal in Broadford since 2006 said the challenges faced by the school are emblematic of those faced by countless other schools in Clare.

“The capitation fees the schools

receives only covers about half of the running costs. The cutback in the summer works scheme has hit us and the water charges are big things. It seems to be endemic of the melt- down that is occurring across the Department of Education. It is the children that are suffering. But we are no different than any other of the hundreds of schools who find them- selves in this position.”

He continued, “The fundraising committee has been extremely well supported by the staff, the parents, the kids and by the wider community outside Broadford.

The number of pupils attending has risen from 66 in 2006 to 90, with the jump largely attributable to the rise in development in the area.

As well as the upgrade work to the existing facilities, an unit for chil- dren with autism will be opened in the school.

Mr Patterson added, “A new hous- ing estate has opened across from the school. We have about 83 families in the school at the moments and all of them have given great support.

“We have had great support from local businesses. It has surpassed all expectations.’

AMBITIOUS plans for a new hotel on the Main Street of the north Clare resort of Lahinch have been given the go-ahead.

Clare County Council has given William Stackpoole the go-ahead to construct the 16-room hotel in spite of opposition from Pat Kenny of Main Street, Lahinch and Donal Kenny of Kenny Woollen Mills.

In a hard-hitting objection against the planning application lodged by William Stackpoole, Pat Kenny claimed, “This proposed develop- ment is over-build of the worst kind. This is a village. This site is a cottage with a small yard and some outhous- es. The proposal to build 16 apart- ments, restaurant, bar and reception areas on this small site is ludicrous and has already been refused by An Bord Pleanala.”

Mr Kenny states, “This develop- ment does not materially differ from the previous application that was re- fused by An Bord Pleanala. The cur- rent proposal shows only cosmetic differences from the previously re- fused plan and none of the root issues of the refusal have been addressed.

“The construction of this un- derground car-park will certainly compromise the structure of Kenny Woollen Mills and Avondale Apart- ment Block to the south of the devel- opment.”

In his objection, Donal Kenny stat- ed, “I own a building, Kenny Wool- len Mills, directly south of the site. This proposed development would seriously devalue my property.

My building is being overlooked by this proposed development. We will have windows facing directly into apartments and commercial areas. Privacy 1s compromised.”

However, in the planner’s report, the council planner stated, “It is considered that the proposed three- storey building is of an appropriate scale for the main street of Lahi- nch, having regard to the respective heights of the adjacent buildings to the north, Shamrock Inn and south, Kenny’s Woollen Mills.”

The council gave the plan the go- ahead taking into account the urban setting and concluded that it would not seriously injure the amenities of the area and be in accordance with the proper planning and development of the area.

THE growth of Clare-based poker schools and online gambling has led to people losing their businesses in high-stakes gaming sessions.

And according to the Bushy Park Treatment Centre in Ennis, the num- bers presenting for gambling addic- tion more than doubled last year.

Centre Director, Margaret Nash said that there is anecdotal evidence of people who have lost businesses to other players in local poker schools.

“You have well-run businesses transferring over. You could be a business owner today and working for the person you gave the business to next week.”

In all, the centre admitted 14 peo- ple with gambling addictions — an increase on the six admitted in 2006. Ms Nash said that online gambling is now huge and that online companies have strategies to lure players back by forwarding them advances.

On the rise in gambling addictions, she said the primary causes were online gambling, horses and poker schools which “were quite big in the

Ennis and Clare area”.

‘The debts are quite big. People es- cape their debts by getting into fur- ther problems with gambling. They have no choice but to go for treat- ment. It is a serious problem.

“Gambling isn’t about winning, it is about the buzz of trying your odds and having a formula that you believe gives you better information — a better formula than the next per- son. It is not about the winning. The buzz is about putting €100,000 on the nose of number seven.

“The hard part of gambling is that there are no symptoms or signs for the family until it gets serious but in hindsight, the family may real- ise that the symptoms are similar to other addictions and these are black- outs, loss of memory, affecting your eating, lack of sleep and agitation.

“Online gambling is huge and banks are beginning to realise that people have problems. There have been cases where banks have called people and there has been no obvi- ous expenditure and big withdraw- als of three and four thousand euro,” said Ms Nash.