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COMEDY is thick 1n the north Clare air this weekend with a series of one- act plays presented by the Burren Players.

The captivating evening of one-act plays, which features seven short comedies from the players, will take place in the Royal Spa Hotel in Lis- doonvarna from Thursday to Sun- day.

“Things have changed a bit this year,’ said Susan Edwards of the Burren Players. “A lot of the key ac- tors who have been with us in the past are not with us this year because of other obligations, which means that

we have a whole cast of new players – 14 – this year.

“The show will consist of seven one-act comedies. They will cover the whole spectrum of comedy – there is some farce and some relationship comedy, which can be a bit dark.

“In the past the cast has ranged from two to seven players each year. So by putting on a large number of plays it means that we can bring ina lot of new people who have shown an interest before but for whatever rea- son haven’t always been able to be a part of the production.

“In this format we have some ac- tors who play a number of roles in different plays. Some of the charac-

ters are very extreme and it is very interesting to see the players go from one character to another on the same night,” Susan added.

The players have been careful to incorporate many different and com- plementary styles of comedy into the programme.

“Comedy is something that our au- dience always enjoys. But as well as that the cast is having a really good time with these plays. We had to pick the plays and order them very care- fully,’ continued Susan.

“We took a good bit of time to fig- ure out what was best and we wound up with a fairly wide range of com- edies. We have some Irish plays and

Some non-Irish, but seven different types of comedy. It’s a really inter- esting mix of plays.

“People might love one play and then find the next one a bit bizarre. But then the person beside them might feel the total opposite. But there will definitely be laughs in the evening for everyone.’

Tickets at a cost of €15 are avail- able on the night or from the Royal Spa Hotel on 065-7074288. The show Starts at 8.30pm.

IT’S been a busy few weeks for Clare handball and there will be more of the same this coming week with Munster finals being played across the various grades.

Having already reached the Mun- ster Under 21 Doubles final with Conor Cooney, Tulla’s Cathal Han- non has claimed the Under 21 Sin- gles title, marking Clare’s first Mun- ster Singles title of the year. It came about when he beat Shane Hayes of Clooney in an all-Clare decider at Newmarket on Friday night.

Ashling Fitzgerald and _ Edel O’Grady, both Tuamgraney, were crowned Munster Minor Ladies Doubles champions after receiving a walkover in the final.

Meanwhile, Declan Frawley of Clarecastle was defeated in the Mun- ster Intermediate Singles final after going down against an in-form Colm Jordan of Cork.

In the Silver Masters °B’ Doubles, Tuamgraney’s Teddy O’Hanlon and Tulla’s Donal Vaughan exited the Munster race when they went down against Limerick’s Jimmy Fanning and Jack Dillon.

There is Munster final action in Galbally tonight (Tuesday) as Tua- mgraney’s PJ Counihan and Jimmy

Walsh take on Michael Jordan and Jim Kennedy of Cork in the Dia- mond Masters °A’ decider.

On the local scene, the second of this year’s Clare League finals was played during the week with Tulla scoring a comprehensive win over Tuamgraney to take the Division 3 title. The winning team was Cathal Hannon, Trevor Vaughan, Sam Ed-

brooke and Aidan Lynch, plus subs used during the year.

Clooney had already claimed the Division 4B title with victory over Tuamgraney while tonight also sees both 4A semi-finals with Shan- non playing O’Callaghans Mills in Clarecastle and Tuamgraney A fac- ing Clarecastle in Tulla.

On Wednesday night the focus

switches to Clarecastle for both Di- vision 2 semis as Tuamgraney and O’Callaghans Mills clash in Court | and Clooney go up against Kilkishen in Court 4. All games are at 8pm.

In juvenile handball, the Banner’s up-and-coming stars kicked off their own Munster Championship cam- paigns over the weekend. Clare were represented from under 12 to under

17, boys and girls, at Munster semi- final stage against Cork opponents generally and Waterford at under 13 girls and under I5 boys.

It proved to be a successful week- end on the whole, with Banner victo- ries in a number of the age-grades.

CLARE County Council is now demanding that developers provide social housing within new housing developments in a new departure in jee) BCAA

Up until now, the local authority has been entering deals where developers would provide a financial contribution to the council to meet their require- ments through Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

The contentious “Part V’ provision requires developers to make a contri-

bution to 20 per cent of the site value of the development in order to pro- vide social and affordable housing.

The council’s draft Housing Strat- egy 2007-11 revealed that the council did not provide a single social house through the Government’s conten- tious Part V legislation during the lifetime of its first Housing Strategy introduced four years ago.

The draft — which includes a review of the performance of the existing strategy — shows that the council pro- vided 74 affordable homes through the Part V arrangement.

However, in a new initiative to meet its social housing targets, the council has requested the developers of a 64- unit housing development in Liscan- nor to deliver proposals to provide social and affordable housing.

In its request for further infor- mation, the council tells the Lios Ceannuir Partnership, “The council require both social and affordable housing at a breakdown of 25 per cent social and 75 per cent affordable at this location with units required measuring 1100 sq ft. You are there- fore required to submit proposals to

comply with these requirements.”

This will mean a small number of houses of the development will be social and affordable.

The proposal is already facing op- position from a large number of resi- dents in Liscannor and, in its request for further information, the council states that it has a number of con- cerns in relation to the development.

These include inadequate capacity of the Liscannor wastewater treat- ment system; the design and layout of the scheme; the visual impact as viewed from the road; the location

of a distribution road; and the lack of footpaths to the village.

The council has told the developers, “While it is noted that permission has been permitted for wastewater treatment works, it is as yet not built or operational. The council therefore is not in a position to grant the pro- posed development until such a time as these wastewater treatment works being put in place and made opera- tional.”

The application will become ‘live’ again once the information has been lodged with the council.

THE waiting is almost over for the children of the Lisdoonvarna area as works on the Community Parkland Playground and Childcare Centre is nearing completion.

The playground, which is part of a large community and amenity centre planned for the park, has been built to cater for the needs of children in the surrunding areas, as well as those in Lisdoonvarna.

To coincide with the completion of the playground, a children’s sum- mer camp will begin on July 7 in the adjoining childcare centre. Children between three and five are invited

to take part in the camps which will be continued weekly until the full launch of the centre in September.

“It is going to be a kids’ summer camp with loads of activities for all the children. We will have a lot of arts and crafts, sports and all kinds of activities,’ said organiser Maggie O’Sullivan.

“At the moment we are looking for three- to five-year-olds but if a par- ent comes with a two-year-old who is potty trained and ready to go then we will be as flexible as we can.

“We will have six different children in the camp each week so we should have a good range.

“We will definitely be looking to

grow it but for this year the numbers we have are about right.

“In September we will be starting the new creche facility. We haven’t got a name yet but I’m sure over the summer one of the kids will be able to come up with a good name for it.”

The summer camp will be the first part of a major childcare centre open- ing on the premises in September.

“Come September, we will have six or seven rooms going and we will be catering for 0-12 months, toddlers, playgroup Montessori and _after- school,’ continued Maggie.

“It will be a fairly large operation but numbers will be limited both in the summer camp and the creche so

people should get in contact as soon as possible.

“We have space now but we could be full before we know it.

“As of right now the building is up and more or less ready. They are just finishing off the insides and the parking and landscaping outside so everything should be perfect for July wi 99

For more information on _ this project, contact Maggie O’Sullivan Oy MOL MANOR LONE

This playground, summer camp and creche are all elements of the Lisdoonvarna Amenity Park being developed by Lisdoonvarna Failte Ltd.

IN assuming the reins of power last autumn, Mike McNamara was at pains to point out that Clare’s hurling future lay in a re-building process. It was all about “restoring our pride in Munster” — a soundbite McNamara has used many times in the interven- ing months.

How long that journey takes will only be known with time — in the heat of summer battle, this summer or maybe in summers beyond as Clare bid to mix it at provincial level for the first time 1n many years.

The county has only recorded one victory in the Munster Championship since 1999 — that was on a rainy day by the Lee in 2003 when Tipperary were pummeled into submission.

Breaking that cycle of defeat is McNamara’s main focus, something he’s been eyeing up during Clare’s five-match league campaign that fi- nally ground to a halt in O’Connor Park in Tullamore on Sunday with a spluttering win over Offaly.

However, despite it being a poor league in terms of results, it can be deemed satisfactory in the context of the re-building process. Twenty six players saw duty for Clare in the five games.

Some were tried and trusted, with a spine of players from the Clare 2002 All-Ireland final team still in- tact as McNamara set about blending some new players into the fold. The old hands were players like Frank Lohan, Conor Plunkett, Niall Guil-

ligan, Colin Lynch and Tony Car- mody. The big disappointment was that Gerry Quinn, who emerged as one of Clare’s real on-field leaders in 2007 made only one appearance, while he dropped off the panel after a challenge game against Kilkenny in early March.

Meanwhile, a raft of new players were given their chance to shine. Mark Flaherty was on the panel for a few weeks last year, but this term he started all five games and notched up 5-42. David Barrett recovered from his nightmarish debut of being sent off after a couple of minutes against Galway to play three more games; Tommy Holland played in the last three games, while Ger Arthur, Ca- thal Lafferty and Martin ‘Ogie’ Mur- phy were other league debutants.

Others like Pat Donnellan and Dar- ragh Clancy, who featured on panels past were also given their chance to claim championship jerseys. Now it’s a matter and waiting and see who’ll make the team for the | June clash with Waterford in the Gaelic Grounds.

PLANS to demolish one of Clare’s best known hotels to make way for a mixed residential and commercial development is facing widespread opposition in Liscannot.

Earlier this year, Derek, Alan and Petra Logue lodged plans to demol- ish the Liscannor Bay Hotel and, in its place, construct 41 residential units and 444 sq m of retail space.

The Logue are planning to con- Struct six three-bedroom homes, 20 two-bedroom homes, 14 three-bed- room homes and one two-bedroom duplex unit. The Logues are also planning 1,477 sq metres of base- ment parking.

The Liscannor Bay Hotel is located on an elevated site with panoramic views of Lahinch bay and lies adja- cent to Liscannor harbour.

However, the application has prompted a large number of objec- tors to raise their concerns with Clare County Council over the plan.

In one objection on behalf of a number of residents, they claim that the development would have an ad- verse visual impact on the village and its character and would not be appropriate to its setting.

The objection continues that the

development would unbalance the village due to its size and proposed usage and would, therefore, have a detrimental impact on the settlement. They also claim that the development does not comply with the local area plan and that it 1s premature pending the upgrade in sewerage services in the village.

The objectors also claim that there is no need at present for the scale of commercial activity proposed by the harbour; the development is not a tourism development product and will not add to community life in the village in any comprehensive way.

A separate objection points out that Liscannor has been waiting over a decade for improved waste-water infrastructure. The objection states, “No development of this scale should take place until a new, local authority managed facility is in place.”

The objection adds, “It must be re- membered that without the residents and community spirit of Liscannor, it would not be as attractive a place to come on holidays. This very re- source 1S being degraded with the steady dilution of the village char- acter by excessive and inappropriate developments.”

A decision is due on the application next month.

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