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TEN years ago, a coach teaching youngsters the fine art of wielding a hurley would be shouting encourage- ment to Paddy, Michael or Colm. The game is Still the same but in Scariff, some of the names have changed and youre as likely to hear cries of “come on Dieter’, as “come on Pat”’.

The young students of the Raheen Wood Steiner School are coming to grips with the sliotar for the first time and help is needed in keeping them safe and sound on the field. Steiner school parent, John Donaldson, is one of the people organising training for the students and he is appealing for anyone with gear and particularly helmets to donate to contact him or

the school.

“When we started the training ses- sions we weren’t sure what the inter- est would be but the response was fantastic,’ said John. “We had 20 kids to start with and that’s risen to 50 now. But their safety is very 1m- portant and we have very little in the way of gear. We can only put as many children on the field as we have helmets for.”

The school doesn’t have resources to buy helmets and strip but John believes there are probably helmets gathering dust in homes all over Clare. “It’s a lot to ask parents to buy helmets for all their children at the Start, with some of them bound to drop out along the way,” said John.

“I think there must be spare hel-

mets in homes where children have given up or grown up and we would love if people could donate them to us. Or if there is a commercial spon- sor who would like to help or anyone who has some strip lying around, we would love to hear from them. We want to bring the game to the chil- dren and not leave any child out but it’s a catch 22. We can’t let them on the field without helmets,” he added.

The school doesn’t have its own playing pitch, but, said John, “Scariff GAA have been very good to us, let- ting us use their pitch for training.” Anyone who can help with kit or sponsorship should contact John on 086 3761807.

After many years of waiting and campaigning, the Raheen Wood

Steiner Primary School in Tuam- eraney has been granted provisional recognition by the Department of Education and Science from next September with Lifeways Ireland Ltd based in as patron.

Commenting on the announce- ment, Pearse O’Sheil, spokesperson for Life-ways, said, “The parents who have worked hard to provide this education for their children over the past number of years are delight- ed that the State now recognises and supports the choice they have made. We would like to take this opportu- nity to thank all those who worked so hard to help establish and sustain the schools and who supported us in our efforts to gain recognition from the department.”

has learned that Clare County Council has contracted the CM International group to pub- lish a Clare County Enterprise Strat- egy detailing a new way forward for business and enterprise in the county.

This strategy, which will be pub- lished next month, includes at its core a co-operative approach to de- velopment involving both the Uni- versity of Limerick and the National University of Ireland in Galway.

The report came before the Strate- gic Initiatives and External Affairs Committee of NUI, Galway last ete

“The report came before my sub- committee detailing information from Clare County Council recom- mending enterprise strategies for County Clare. Basically what is pro- posed is that Clare County Council co-ordinate all the major organisa- tion in the area including the County Development Board, RRD, NUI Gal- way, UL and anyone with the inter- ested in enterprise,” said Cllr Martin Lafferty (IND), who is a member of

the governing body of NUI, Galway.

“The idea is to form a committee to develop enterprise in the county. They are looking specifically at in- creasing the quality and quantity of research and development, increas- ing innovation and the quality and adaptability of the labour force.

“Clare County Council wouldn’t have the expertise for this kind of project but they are looking to co- ordinate the expertise that is avail- able in the area. They are lucky that we are sitting here between the two universities, one in Limerick and one in Galway. Galway university have a close relationship in Clare County Council and will be carrying out this initiative on their behalf.

“We have a number of organisa- tions already in Clare like Shannon Development, Enterprise Ireland and the County Development Board it- self.

In the minutes recorded for last week’s meeting of NUI, Galway’s Strategic Initiatives and External Af- fairs Committee commitments were given for the university to take a “leadership” role in the process.

A commitment was also given, in principle, to share intelligence with their client base in the county and to “define and elaborate the scope, role of an R&D transfer facility in the area of bio-medical engineering” in the county.

A MAN died in his car after suf- fering a heart attack yards from his home, the Coroner’s Court heard last elo

Sean Corry drove 100 yards from his home in Dunmore, Doonbeg when he fell ill, causing the car to strike a stone wall. Mr Corry was on his way to feed cattle when the acci- dent occurred. At the inquest into his death, a jury at the Coroners Court in Ennis found that Mr Corry died of natural causes.

Mr Corry was discovered by a

neighbour, Ann McInerney. She told the court that she was dropping her daughter to school when she saw Mr Corry’s car.

She said, “I saw the car of the left side of the road. The car had hit the stone wall. When I was coming back I noticed Sean Corry slumped at the wheel”.

Garda John O’Brien was called to the scene. He told the court, “I saw a green Opel Vectra embedded in a wall two foot high, 100 yards from Sean Corry’s house. I had known him for the past 12 years”.

Garda O’Brien said he believed Mr

Corry had “suffered a heart attack before the car mounted a wall near where he was going to feed cattle”.

Pathologist Dr Elizabeth Mulcahy carried out the post-mortem on Mr Corry’s body at Limerick’s Midwest- ern Hospital.

In her deposition, Dr Mulcahy told the court that there were no exter- nal injuries and that Mr Corry had a clinical history of ischemic heart Oberon

She said “In my opinion, Mr Corry had a heart attack in the previous 12 hours and then had this terminal Vo 0 ee

Dr Mulcahy said death was due to cardiac tamponade, secondary to a micro-cardial infraction.

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea told the jury “I would suggest that in the circumstances, and based on the fact that it wasn’t caused by an accident,

the verdict should be natural causes.

Ms O’Dea said, “I extend my sym- pathy to Mr. Corry’s family on this huge loss. It must have been a huge shock”. Supt Gabriel O’Gara ex- tended his sympathy to Mr Corry’s Je DOepe AYA

PARISHIONERS in Kilbane have taken to the highways and byways, raising cash to rennovate their much- loved nineteenth century parish church.

St Mary’s Church, Kilbane was built in 1845 by Fr John Burke and has seen generations of parishioners, baptized, married and sent on their final journies.

Above the main altar hangs a life- size crucifixion scene by the famous Italian painter, Cleato Luzi.

But while it has a special place in the hearts of the parishioners, the stone-built church — which is a pre-

served building – has seen better days and now needs a complete renova- nt)

But the work will cost money so parishioners have been organising all sorts of fundraisers.

“People of the parish and even outside the parish have been very Supportive,’ said Kilbane Pastoral Council Chairwoman, Mary Burke.

Mary was one of the organisers of a 10k fundraising run and walk on Easter Monday, which roused enor- mous enthusiasm and support lo- cally.

“Everyone got involved. Sgt Gerry Mulqueen walked the route in uni- form and looked after guiding the

traffic, our parish priest, Fr John Bane, cut the ribbon to start the 10k. Water for the runners and walkers was sponsored by Pat Walsh and Pat Meagher and Gunnings provided re- freshments in the form of Mars bars and water. Micke Ryan and Billy McInerney came along with a horse and trap and picked up the stragglers. We had wonerful co-operation and camaraderie,’ said Mary.

Seamus Bridgeman was the first runner over the finishing line and first walkers were Patricia and Fan- chea Moloney along with Sinead and Emer Mullane.

78 people signed up to do the 10k but almost 100 actually took part,

raising much-needed funds. The youngest walkers to finish the route were Anna-Lee Marsh (7) and Catri- onal Millane (8).

And despite their Trojan efforts, it’s unlikely that the parishioners will be sitting still for long. The fundraising committee have organised a dance on Friday, April 11, at the Lakeside Hotel in Killaloe with music by PJ WZ iitwet ene

FIANNA Fail TD Timmy Dooley has welcomed the sanctioning of some €10 million in funding sup- ports for schools and pre-schools in disadvantaged areas.

The funding comes under the Dor- mant Accounts Fund and the Rapid Leverage Fund and will enable up to 100 schools designated under the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme to

achieve Digital School Status, the upgrading of facilities in up to 200 feeder pre-schools for DEIS schools, and the continuation of the library enhancement programme in up to 130 DEIS schools.

A proportion of the funding will also be directly sanctioned to 20 DEIS Limerick schools, to enable them to remain open after hours, at weekends and during holidays.

“This funding will support three main measures in DEIS schools in

Clare and all over the country. All DEIS schools will soon be informed how they can apply for funding un- der these schemes.”

With regard to the Library En- hancement Scheme, schools who have already applied for funding under the first round of funding last year will now have their application reviewed, the Deputy was told.

“There were so many applications first time around that there are a number of outstanding applications.”

CALLS have been made for an all- out ban on jet skis on Clare beaches in order to protect the safety of swim- mers, surfers and other water users. These calls follow recommenda- tions made by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board last week in which it was suggested that jet skis should be licensed and those using them should have to undergo mandatory mecbnepeNtes Last Thursday, the board published its report into the death of jetskier Alan Joyce in Mayo in 2006. “IT have been ap- proached on numer- ous occasions over the last 18 months by swimmers, mostly on Lahinch beach, as well as people in west Clare, about the dangers of jet skis. They are rid- ing roughshod in the water and not showing respect to people swimming or to surfers,” said north Clare Coun- ty Councillor, Martin Conway (FG). “It has been suggested that there should be a jet ski licence for any- one who wants to use a jet ski and in order to get the licence you have to go through a certain amount of train- ing. I would go one step farther. We also need to take cognisance of the people who are swimming and surf-

ing and whose safety is being put in jeopardy as a result of these jet skis.

“The jet skis should be banned from areas where people are known to swim and to surf. Really we should have designated areas for jet skies where they wouldn’t be compromis- ing the areas of people who are in- volved in other water sports.”

Cllr Conway suggests that desig- nated areas should be set up where

jetskiers can use the water. “Putting a jet ski into a place where there are a lot of swimmers and surfers is akin to putting a motorbike into a_ playground. If someone is swim- ming and they get hit by a jet ski, they’re gone. There is no second chance with these things,” he continued.

“If you look at Ballyvaughan, there are jet-skis everywhere. Maybe Bal- lyvaughan might be an appropriate place for jet skis. Maybe harbours are a more appropriate place for jet skis but I know that they are also very prevalent in Fanore and Bally- vaughan as well. When you have a situation like that, you have to regu- late it. We have had these by-laws for the dogs on the beach but this is a much more lethal piece of equipment and there don’t seem to be any regu- lations on them.”

SECURITY for older people is the focus in Scariff this month, with the Community Alert Group reminding people that they can avail of grants for personal and fire alarms.

The group was formed in 2004 and has eight voluntary members.

The purpose of the group is to ap- ply for funding to help with the in- stallation of security devices for older people.

Available at a reduced rate are smoke alarms, out-door lighting, door locks and the social monitored rE veene

“Last year when we had a push, most of the older people in the area got the social monitored alarm and we want to urge people who may not have one or who have qualified for it in the last year to get it installed,” a spokeswoman for the group said.

“The social monitored alarm is the most popular device as it offers a great sense of security and safety. Many of our parishioners already have this alarm and we would en- courage them to wear the pendant at all times, especially if they are alone for any length of time.

“It is of no use if it is left hanging on a hook on the wall or tucked in-

side a drawer, as without the pendant you cannot activate the alarm.”

The system works through the phone system and is activated by a special pendant carried on the per- son. Once the alarm is sounded, the monitoring company will first try ringing the alarm’s owner.

If they cannot answer, each of three nominated keyholders will be con- tacted until someone can be found to go to the person’s aid. If none of the keyholders can be contacted quickly, the monitoring company contacts the emergency Services.

The Department of Community, Social and Family Affairs is now

giving a full 100 per cent grant for the alarms. However, there is an an- nual monitoring fee of €98.

‘We want to make sure that every- one is aware that there is a grant for these and other security aids and that we can apply for that grant for peo- ple aged 65 and over and for those in receipt of a disability pension,” the spokeswoman said.

For more information, contact any member of the Community Alert Group including Chairman Do- nie Bane on 061-921469, Secretary Carmel Gooney on 061-921226 or Treasurer Geraldine Rodgers on 061- 921269.

CLARE’S efforts to preserve the past for future generations have been given a major boost with the announcement that the fund for con- serving the county’s built heritage is to be increased by more than 20% this year.

Environment Minister John Gorm- ley has announced funding of €172,000 to Clare County Council under the 2008 Built Heritage Capi- tal Works Programme. This will be OTe mle leikore mm oy am se lommecel ous COUMUTN(eloMmLES Architectural Conservation Grants Scheme which supports the repair and conservation of buildings on the Record of Protected Structures.

The money is part of a funding package amounting to almost €25 Million to support built heritage projects in 2008. The provision rep- resents an increase of 42% nationally on the amount spent last year.

The Minister commented, “Invest-

ment in built heritage conservation is vital for the safeguarding of our architectural heritage, and the in- creased level of funding which I have secured this year underlines the Gov- ernment’s commitment in this area. | am confident the increased package of funding measures will encourage an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to built heritage conserva- tion as a whole.”

“The conservation of our historic buildings makes our towns and vil- lages more attractive to tourists and locals alike and can often act as a catalyst for further heritage projects in an area as it enhances local aware- ness in our built heritage”, said jun- ior Environment Minister and Clare TD Tony Killeen.

“Tam very happy to announce this funding for Clare County Council, an increase of over 20% on last year’s allocation. This allocation will sup- port the conservation of significant buildings all around Clare.”

THE retail core of Newmarket-on- Fergus will suffer if a new €10 mil- lion mixed-use development proceeds on the periphery of the village.

That is the view of a Newmarket resident, Patrick J Hannon, in re- sponse to plans by Tom Lavelle and Adrian Callanan to construct 56 units at Boheraroan, Newmarket-on- Fergus.

The plan by the two includes 16 commercial units, 22 duplex apart- ments, 11 apartments, a medical fa- cility and six office units.

However, Mr Hannon of Lough- lash, Newmarket, who is the owner of lands at the rear of the proposed development, has lodged an objec- HCOemr-hexc BD ets nL

Mr Hannon points out, “No details are submitted with the application as to the retail impact the proposal will have on the village of Newmarket- on-Fergus.

“As elsewhere, out-of-centre retail developments should not be allowed as this development is likely to lead to a reduction in the range of local facilities in the town that will affect the diversity of shops and lead to a

loss of general retailing from the vil- lage centre.”

Mr Hannon also contends that the scale of the proposed development will have adverse implications in preserving the existing character of the 18th-century streetscape and roadways within the village of New- market.

“Despite the vibrancy of the town, there is evidence of vacancy both in housing and commercial.

“Development of additional units on the periphery of the town will contribute to further vacancy levels within the village, thereby weaken-

ing the existing vitality of the vil- FTexone

Mr Hannon claims, “The site is functionally detached from the vil- lage centre.

“The linkage is totally dependent on the adjoins development proceed- ing. Therefore, this development is premature until the adjoining devel- opment commences.”

He states, “The proposed develop- ment would introduce a development with a mass, scale and height which would be substantially and detrimen- tally at odds with the defining char- acter of the area.”

IT COULD be described as bringing art to the people, or at the very least encouraging the local population to embrace art. Whatever category you might choose, it’s happening this Saturday in Tulla thanks to an annual initiative by Clare Arts Office.

From 12 to 5 pm the Tulla Stables Studios are hosting an Open Day, in conjunction with Kathleen Moroney’s ‘Second Generation’ exhibition.

Currently, there are six artists working in the studios – Mairin Kel- ly, John Hanrahan, Kathleen Moro- ney, Sandra Hurley, Patrick McHugh and Peter Sheahan. Their work en- compasses a variety of disciplines: painting, sculpture, photography and basket making.

“This open day is an excellent op- portunity to visit the artists spaces and see both finished work and work in progress,” revealed a spokesper- son for Clare Arts Office.

Kathleen Moroney’s ‘Second Gen- eration’ exhibition was commis- sioned by Clare Arts Office in rec- ognition of the transformation of the stables into studios.

Over the last three months, Kath- leen has created 191 white porcelain cobblestones, replicas of the original cobblestones found during the reno- vation of the stables into artist stu- Chey

The cobblestones were part of the original structure and date back to 1817, and Kathleen has created a por- celain stone to mark each year from the opening of the original stables

to the present day. Throughout the month of February, she welcomed visitors to her studio to become part of the project by participating in the making of the cobblestones.

“This exhibition is a temporary work of public art, as the cobble- stones will be on display in her stu- dio on Saturday only, before being dispersed into the local community.

“Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to take away one of the porce- lain cobblestones; the second genera- tion of the stone, a symbol of the past and the present,’ said the Clare Arts Office spokesperson.

Owned by Clare County Council, the studio is a resource for all art- ists of all disciplines. It comprises six studios with full services includ- ing provision for broadband, exhibi-

tion space and parking set around a courtyard in a converted stone 19th century stable building which had been derelict for many years.

The original building was bought by Clare County Council in 1950 and had been used as a store until it was restored and developed into an arts facility by the Arts Office of Clare County Council with support from Clare County Council and the De- partment of Arts, Sports and Tour- 008

Last year the Tulla Stables Studio was named the Best Public Building in Ireland. The title was bestowed on the studio at the annual Local Authority Members Association (LAMA) awards hosted by RTE pre- senter Miriam O’Callaghan at the Burlington Hotel.