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PLANS to market the west Clare capital as a “key economic, com- mercial and administrative centre” through a specially published guide has been proposed by local council- lor Tom Prendeville.

The guide suggested would target prospective settlers and investors to Kilrush outlining all it has to offer.

“This council has been most posi- tive and progressive in stimulat- ing and accommodating economic erowth,” said Clr Prendeville (FF).

“The layout of Kilrush is most at- tractive. As the capital of west Clare there is an expectancy that Kilrush has the capability to create its own vision of where the town would hope to be in 2020.

“That vision would have to be built on a bedrock of economic sustain- ability. We need to aggressively chase investors to establish an indus-

trial base in west Clare,’ he told this month’s meeting of Kilrush Town Council.

‘Nowadays people seek quality of life and this presumes a wide accept- ance of social inclusion and integra- tion and the promotion of vibrant lo- cal communities,.

“An admission that we lack ad- equate services in some area will of necessity be counterbalanced by the many quality of life advantages we enjoy here in west Clare.

“Perhaps at a later stage we can produce a town or regional guide highlighting their advantages.”

Senior staff officer, Siobhan O’Keefe said that while there is no one publication that fulfils that criteria there are many examples of marketing tools that are used by the council including the “Welcome to Kilrush’ brochure, www.kilrush. le, participation by the council in various advertising and _ business

features, and county development board’s “Clare Means Business’ CD.

“In light of the ongoing invest- ment by Kilrush Town Council in all of the above marketing tools, I feel the publication of a new guide as requested could potentially be deliv-

ered through the partnership struc- ture of the West Clare Economic Task Force.

“Kilrush Town Council would be happy to support the task force in the delivery of such an objective,” said Mrs O’Keefe.

ENGLISH clubs are battling it out for the signature of talented Newmarket Celtic goalkeeper Shane Cusack.

Fifteen-year-old Cusack spent last week on trial at Colchester City, where he played against Cork City. It’s the fifth time in the past year he has travelled to play for the Champi- onship outfit.

Others too are monitoring Cusack’s progress, with Leicester City among the clubs keen to secure his services. Leicester know a bit about keepers, having famously given Peter Shilton his start in professional football.

Interest in the 6’3” stopper first emerged following his performances for Clare in the 2006 Kennedy Cup.

He travelled to Colchester in Au- gust 2007 and since then has trained with the club’s first team and started a match in a friendly tie against lower league opposition.

The East Anglian club were impressed with Cusack’s ob- vious physical at-

tributes, sound hands and booming goal kicks.

If, as anticipated, Cusack does make

the move, he would sign a two-year

apprenticeship contract and learn his trade on the club’s Youths Training Scheme (YTS).

Cusack wore the number one shirt for Clare squads at under 14, under 15, under 16 and at

youth level.

This season he made his debut at senior lev- el, between the posts for his hometown club Newmarket Celtic.

A graduate of the eV acm oniCom(ouse my itbee ster Emerging ‘Talent Programme at Lees Road, Cusack caught the eyes of English scouts for his perform-

ances at Ireland’s Premier underage tournament, the Kennedy Cup. Cusack’s rapid progress through the

ranks highlights the massive strides

made in recent years at grassroots level in Clare soccer. Shane’s father Seamus, is proud of his son’s com- mitment to playing at the highest lev- el. “That was the fifth time he was over. It’s a pretty tough schedule over there. You have to be really commit- ted to make it.”

Seamus praised the input of coaches in Clare and of St Patrick’s Athletic number one and Ennis man Barry Ryan. “Denis Hynes (FAI County Development Officer), Ronnie Pyne and Pat Tarrant have been great as well. Denis was his coach all the way along and he did a few coaching ses- sions with Barry Ryan which were creat.”

MARATHON man Pat O’ Keeffe is taking on the ultra challenge in run- ning on April 6, and his efforts are all in aid of a children’s charity.

The Sixmilebridge-Kilmurry na- tive, who now lives with his young family in Quin, will undertake Ire- land’s only on-road ultra marathon in Connemara for the first time ever.

Initially the army man took part in the mini marathon, later progress- ing to the full marathon.

Despite a back injury before Christmas Pat is now planning on the longest race in the country: the 39.3-mile ultra marathon through the hills of Connemara.

His efforts will all be in aid of the Ronald McDonald House.

The father of two became involved in fundraising for the charity when a colleague’s child had to avail of its Services.

The Irish Ronald McDonald House is 15,000 square feet stand- alone building on the grounds of Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Chil- dren, Crumlin.

The house gives a home from home to the families of children who have to stay in the national children’s hospital.

It caters for families, who has to travel a journey of two hours or more to Crumlin Children’s Hospi- tal, and whose child who is hospi- talised or undergoing treatment as an outpatient for five days or more.

The House has 16 en-suite family bedrooms. There are three kitchens and a large dining area.

Pat hopes to support the house with his fundraising effort.

A keen runner since before he

joined the army, this April will be the ultimate challenge in road rac- ing for the athlete.

In order to raise funds for this good cause Pat will be outside Pa- per chase in Dunnes Stores, Ennis next Saturday collecting donations.

He also has numerous sponsorship cards in local businesses.

The kind army man said while he has no fundraising target in mind, he hopes to raise as much as pos- sible for the children’s charity.

The 2007 Connemara Internation- al Marathon has already attracted a sell-out of 3,600 entries with repre- sentation from 30 countries.

A NEW project aimed at balancing the scales of history will take place in the Vandeleur Walled Garden this Maren tee rhs

The “Bring a Story’ open day, which aims to root out some positive stories about the often-abhorred west Clare landlord family, the Vandeleurs, will take place on the ground of their old homestead from |llam to 4pm.

The Inrush House seat of the family was burned out in 1897 and Wednes- day marks the 111th anniversary of the razing of the house.

“We are not attempting to re-write

history,’ centre manager Susanne Matejka explained. “The stigma at- tached to the Vandeleur family as cruel landlords has lived on in the folk memory of west Clare and the burned-out ruins of Kilrush House stood as a reminder of those op- pressed times right up to 1972 when the shell of the great house was de- molished in the interests of public SAAS

“Yet in the 89 years that it survived, Kilrush House was a landmark in west Clare and an outstanding exam- ple of the great houses of the time. As home to the military and political family, which owned most of Kil-

rush and built most of its civic build- ings, the building of Kilrush House under the direction of Crofton Van- deleur was completed in 1808. It was built on classical style rising to three floors over a basement and with 86 windows which were a feature of the building,’ said Ms Matejka.

“We would like to balance up the bad taste which was left by the Van- deleur landlords by gathering what- ever positive information we can,” she added. “As the Vandeleur era is now more than a century distant, we are hoping that locals will have sto- ries which were passed down to them through the older generations.

“We will have people on hand on the day to record the stories or make arrangements to have them docu- mented. Depending on the response, we would also envisage assembling the stories in a publication.”

Ms Matejka is also interested in collecting pictures of Kilrush House before and after the burning and any other memorabilia connected to the Vandeleur estate.

Local people and any other inter- ested parties are invited to attend the centre free of charge for a coffee and an exchange of stories. Information can also be emailed to info@vandele urwalledgarden.ie

yesterday that a number of “malicious” letters and e-mails directed both and himself

and the centre had been circulated anonymously to people in the Irish arts community.

The Western Writers Centre will this weekend host the Forge, Gort’s first ever literary festival.

“People from Dublin have been coming up to me thinking that we are running a mad-house down here in the west. This correspondence is malicious and it is damaging,” said Mr Johnson.

“We have heard from people in the Arts Council that it is having a dam- aging effect. Everything this person

says in these letters and e-mails is a lie but I guess that if you throw enough mud some will stick.

“Over the last four year both myself and the Western Writers Centre has been the subject of this anonymous correspondence sent to a variety of different people in the art commu- nity and beyond. Last year, for exam- ple, I was due to take up a residence at the Princess Grace Irish Library of Monaco and they received some of this anonymous correspondence about me and the centre.”

Fears have been raised, however,

that bad publicity as a result of the smear campaign may make the west less attractive to writers.

“The intent of this is to frustrate me and the work of the centre,’ contin- ued Mr Johnson.

“The Arts Council have received these letters, they know what going on as does the county council. A lot of important people in the artistic community have seen these letters and they are damaging. It’s mali- cious, it creates a bad impression of art in the west and some investiga- tion needs to take place.”

HORSE lovers from all over the county will descend on Quin later this month in an effort to raise mon- ey for the local national school.

The Clare Hunt Association has organised a special four hour cross- country charity ride which will take place this Sunday in the town.

“We will kick off with a jumping competition in Malachy Hassett’s field at 12pm. Following that we will have our charity cross country event, starting at lpm,” said Paul O’Neill, Head of the Clare Hunt Association.

“We have tried to make it accessi- ble for different levels of riders so we

have two routes. One route takes the riders through the fields, cross coun- try and over jumps.

“But if riders don’t feel comfort- able going cross country we have a second route along the road.

“Both routes begin and end in Malachy’s farm and should take between three and three and a half hours to complete.

“If people are interested in taking part they should come along on the day or get in contact with the hunt. We have sponsorships cards avail- able at the moment which can be col- lected easily by contacting myself or other members of the hunt.

“People don’t have to fill out the

sponsorship cards but we would ex- pect that everyone who wants to take part in the hunt would contribute €50 in some way towards the char- ra A

The Clare Hunt has raised money for a number of good causes over the years.

“We have done a bit of fundrais- ing in the past. Last year we raised money for the Sr Ethel Normoyle Project with an event is Lissycasey and we have organised a number of other events for worthy charities oversees,’ continued Paul.

“This year though we though it might be a good idea to focus on a good cause closer to home. We have

a number of hunts each year and we need to cross the land of a lot of farmers for that to happen.

“Each year we have four hunts in and around the Quin area so we felt that this would be the ideal way of paying back that good will.

‘The school have recently put up a state of the art sports facility and we hope that this money help the school out a little with the expense of that.

“But hunts take place all over the county so if someone has a good cause locally, we would interested in looking at that possibly next year or the year after.”

For more information contact Paul O’ Neill on 6825740 or 087-9176243.

AGRICULTURE Minister Mary Coughlan continued to talk tough at the World ‘Trade Organisation (WTO) talks last week, describ- ing them as representing a “serious threat to EU and Irish agriculture” while speaking at an EU Agriculture Ministers meeting on Thursday. Coughlan said that there were clear indications that the negotiations be- tween over 150 countries in Geneva may be reaching a critical point. The EU is represented in the talks, which are now in their seventh year, by the European Commission. “There is a real danger that, in an

effort to get a deal before the US presidential elections, there will be a temptation to agree concessions on agriculture which would be severely damaging to farming and the food industry in this country and through- out Europe,” she said.

‘This must be firmly resisted, and I and my Government colleagues have been and are working hard to build the widest possible alliance to pre- vent this happening.

“My worries in this regard have not been eased by the Commission, which accepts that there will be a major increase in imports into the EU if a deal is done along the lines currently on the table.”

The Minister said that it was huge- ly important that important sectors such as beef and dairy received the necessary protection.

“The European beef sector could not possibly survive the 70% tariff cut which is on the table in Geneva, and must therefore be treated as a sensitive product as provided for in WTO rules.

“While this is widely accepted, it is vital that sensitive product status must deliver real and effective pro- tection. Some proposals now being touted could seriously undermine Wena

Minister Coughlan claimed that Ireland has strongly pressed its case

in relation to the beef and dairy sec- tors in a wide-ranging set of contacts, throughout the EU and elsewhere in the world, as well as in every avail- able official forum in the EU and at WTO, most recently by the Taoi- seach at the European Council last Veto) @

Other member states have expressed equally serious concerns about other aspects of what is on the table.

Another key feature of the talks are the proposals to reduce domestic supports to agriculture.

Most of the supports received by Irish farmers are classified in a “green box” which is not subject to such reductions.

ENNIS Town Council has been ac- cused of “taking unfair advantage” by demanding over €300,000 in planning levies after “forcing” a fam- ily to lodge a planning application.

Earlier this year, Ennis Town Council granted Michelle Madden planning permission to redevelop the family-run furniture showrooms at Station Road, Ennis.

Mrs Madden lodged the application

after the council issued a Compulso- ry Purchase Order (CPO) for lands at the address to facilitate the develop- ment of the Ennis inner relief road.

However, the local business family were shocked after the local author- ity demanded €332,020 in levies if they wished to proceed with the de- velopment.

The family face a bill of €255,500 for car-parking facilities although the council don’t plan to provide car- parking in the area. The council is

also demanding €76,520 for a con- tribution to public facilities benefit- ing the development.

It is not known how much money the Maddens received in compensa- tion for the CPO.

However, consultants for Mrs Mad- den state in an appeal lodged to An Bord Pleanala seeking to delete the council’s financial demands, that the council “is taking unfair advantage of the situation”.

The consultants state that “Mrs

Madden has been forced to apply for planning permission in this instance and that all financial contributions should be dispensed with in this or Won

‘No allowance has been made for the fact that Mrs Madden’s business premises is long in existence. No al- lowance has been made for the dem- olition of existing areas of the build- ing and no allowance for the fact that substantial areas of the building are to be retained and compromised by the demolition to allow the CPO to proceed and further compromised by the resultant development”

The consultants states that Mrs Madden has been compelled to apply for the application by the actions of the council.

In response, Ennis Town Council has told An Bord Pleanala that the contributions were calculated in good faith, properly applied and that there was “no exemption from develop- ment contributions in circumstances where there is a CPO on site.”

The council asks, “Why should one development not be charged for parking when other businesses who extend their floor area or build new are charged for parking as per the scheme or provide it on site.”

They argue that the application has to be dealt with as an issue that is completely independent of any road development proposals.

A decision is due on the appeal later this year.

AFTER 40 years and the odd meet- ing with a US president, Newmarket- on-Fergus man Joe McCormack has retired from Aer Lingus.

In a long career with the national carrier, Joe observed the many A aT betexeh Met IM ST MVom Cot OE-Com aCe Lingus, from the boom times of the nineties to the ending of the Shan- non-Heathrow link.

Joe left Aer Lingus around the same time as his friends and col- leagues Tony Lillis, Flann Fahy and Michael Culligan, and says he’ll miss the place.

“It’s a bit strange alright, particu- larly in the mornings,” he says.

“I would have been used to get- ting up early for the morning shift. But you have to move on, and any- way sure I’ll find plenty to keep me LeU A

Joe started and ended his career with Aer Lingus working in the load- ing section of Shannon Airport. He left the job as a supervisor, though with dwindling staff numbers, Shan- non has become a different place.

There was a time, Joe remembers, when the airport was busy, bustling re tleren

He explains: “For a while there, in

the nineties when you might have 150 people working during the day, you start at 6am and not finish till 12 that night. There might be 12 or 14 teams working in loading. It was very busy.

“You would be handling up to 50 flights, when it got really busy. The night shift was hectic. We worked very hard, but it’s definitely a lot qui- eter now.”

Its no surprise that along the way Joe met one or two famous faces on their way through travel.

“You got to meet a lot of different people. I remember meeting Telly Savallas and Bill Clinton. Bill Clin-

ton came over and talked with a few of us and shook our hands. I remem- ber Abba coming too, they came over to us. But the thing was, you wouldn’t go over to someone unless they came over to you.”

Joe may have retired but the Mc- Cormack family tradition continues at Aer Lingus. Joe’s daughter Emma works in the personnel section of Aer Lingus in Shannon and has been with the company for nine years.

EU laws governing the control of bluetongue has come in for stick this week from Clare farmer and Chair- person of ICMSA’s Beef and Cattle Committee, Martin McMahon.

“If bluetongue arrives in Ireland it will not only lead to considerable movement restrictions, but also lead to livestock mortality, poor animal health and performance, as well as imposing considerable additional costs on farmers with the negative impact on farm incomes that comes from that,’ said Mr McMahon.

‘The starting point in our efforts to control the threat of bluetongue must be to ensure that EU rules at least do

not hinder Ireland’s ability to keep the disease out. And ICMSA’s view is that the current rules are unfortu- nately more of a hindrance to our ef- forts than they are a help.

“For example, under the existing rules, if a vaccination programme is introduced, then zones have to be es- tablished and movement restrictions put in place. In addition, Ireland’s trading status for live exports would ost ahem

He continued, “It is absolutely ab- surd that we would face extra restric- tions because we vaccinate to try and prevent the disease. What kind of logic has you disadvantaged for trying to prevent a disease?

“It is ICMSA’s firm view that we

need to strengthen our defences against bluetongue in the whole of Ireland. In this context, preventative vaccination for bluetongue should be considered as soon as the vaccine be- comes available. And we should be able to carry through this preventive measure without being disadvan- taged by the EU.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Agri- culture, Mary Coughlan, last week noted that a draft proposals from the EU Commission in relation to blue- tongue has been compiled.

The Minister said that she and her officials had been pressing the Com- mission to make every effort to en- sure that those countries that are free of bluetongue remain disease-free

and the latest proposals from the Commission should be seen in this context.

“Following the introduction of im- port control measures last month, which suspended the importation of certain cattle and sheep from blue- tongue-restricted zones, I had again asked the Commission to consider revising the conditions under which live animals may be exported from bluetongue-restricted zones in the light of the then emerging informa- tion,” she said.

The new proposals will be dis- cussed at a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) in Brus- sels on March 31.