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THE Diocese of Killaloe has taken a major step to advance plans for a new Ennis national school and, ultimate- ly, to secure a €40 million windfall.

The diocese, under Bishop Willie Walsh, has lodged plans with Ennis Town Council for an access road that will open up its valuable land bank at Ashline on the Kilrush Road in Sab av Ese

The 85 acres of land were rezoned in 2006 in order to facilitate the relo- cation of Ennis National School.

The diocese 1s proposing to con- struct 590 houses which would place a €150 million value on the develop- eeloole

The diocese would secure the €40 million through the sale of the site.

Since the council rezoned the lands, progress on the construction of the school has been slow.

However, the development of the road is vital to the relocation a Sep- tember target is in place to have the road constructed.

In tandem with the roadway ap- plication for the school, the Board

of Management of Ennis National School is examining over 100 sub- missions from firms pitching to be

involved in the construction. An advert was placed in the European Journal in order to assemble a design team.

It will be a 32 class school. Hopes

are that planning permission will be secured to allow construction commence in 2009. This would al- low a new school to be in place in 2010/2011.

A spokesman for the board of man- agement stated that the school had written to the Department of Educa- tion for clarification in relation to the submissions.

As part of the development of the 85 acres, the diocese is providing a couple of sports playing pitches.

Along with the 590 homes, the dio- cese is also proposing the develop- ment of sheltered housing for Caher- calla Hospital. The plan states that the proposal will allow the creation of clearly separate and distinct resi- dential sub-areas, while community facilities will be placed at the centre of the area.

The development of the lands is to be carried out in four phases over a 21-year period with the first phase commencing in 2007-09 with the construction of the school.

THE number of people who secured a divorce in Clare last year increased by 21 per cent on the 2006 figure.

Provisional figures from the Circuit Court office in Ennis show that 100 divorces were granted in Clare year, up 18 on the 82 divorces granted in paul eter

The 2006 figures, in turn, were a 26 per cent drop on the 111 divorces granted in 2005.

The numbers securing divorces

have increased since the start of the decade.

In 2002, 49 divorces were granted; this increased to 64 in 2003. The fig- ure for 2004 was 79.

The provisional figures for last year show that the number of judicial sep- arations sought remained static at 22 when compared to the 2006 figure.

In order for individuals to apply for a divorce, a couple needs to be living separately for four of the previous five years.

Divorce was introduced in Ireland

11 years ago after a narrow majority voted in favour in a referendum.

Speaking on the issue last year, the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh stated that he had “no difficulty with hs U CEA VO neome

Dr Walsh said, “I have no difficulty with the State providing a service for people whose relationship has bro- ken down. | have no difficulty with his U EA nees

“T would still maintain that the ideal of marriage of being a life long lov- ing relationship is what people want

and I will not stand in judgement on people for whom that hasn’t proved possible.

“I don’t know their story and I would not stand in judgement on them so I don’t have difficulty with the State providing a service to people whose relationship has broken down

‘In the past, people stayed in dread- ful relationships, where there was a great deal of violence and no person should be expected to stay in a rela- tionship which is highly abusive in relationship to violence.

‘No person should be expected to stay in a relationship like that. None- theless we can’t deny the fact that the best place is a lifelong loving rela- tionship.

He added, “I still believe that 99 per cent of people entering marriage want to have a life-long relationship. I don’t accept what sometimes people say that ‘people walk out of marriage today without thought’.

‘There may be a very, very tiny mi- nority who walk out of marriage very easily.”

A MAJOR question mark has been thrown over plans to construct a wind turbine that would allow a company supply up to half of its energy needs.

Last month, Clare County Council granted planning permission to Ol- ympus Diagnostica for a 200 ft high wind turbine near O’Callaghan’s Mills.

However, local residents, Mr and Mrs JP Murphy have appealed the council’s decision to An Bord Plean- ala, ensuring that the appeals board will take a fresh look at the applica- nO

In their original objection, the Mur- phys stated: “We wish to voice our concerns with the proposed location of the wind turbine of the above site.

“We are local residents in the area for the past 60 years and we feel that

the decision taken by Olympus to erect the turbine in the position in- dicated on the submitted site plan is inconsiderate to the local landscape and setting of Rosslara Lake and its woodland surroundings

“As highlighted in the council’s development plan, the site for the proposed wind turbine 1s within an area specifically zoned as visually vulnerable and due to the mechani- cal nature of this machine this wind turbine would not be in keeping with the development plan.

“The proposed location of this wind turbine is visually intrusive to the scenic area of Rosslara Lake and if planning is granted, it will have a negative visual impact on the sur- rounding area.

“We feel that the proposed develop- ment should be located to a less vul- nerable/scenic area.”

The company overcame concerns expressed by the council in relation to a device that is designed to scare away bats from the structure.

In their planning application OI- ympus stated that it was “seeking a solution which would meet a portion 40-50 per cent of our electrical base ey Teel berearUiKowIrlO homo tls) ucAtaae

The company said that it would consume all the energy from the wind-turbine and there was no need for a grid connection.

“The rationale for this project has its roots in spiralling energy costs which are set by international mar- kets and impact severely for two rea- sons: the wide fluctuation in energy costs which make financial planning more difficult and the underlying trend is upwards.”

A decision is due on the appeal later this year.

THE students of Kilnaboy National School and the local community of Kilnaboy and Corofin have raised valuable money to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

The school have donated more than €2,000 raised from their annual coin collection to the locally formed char- ity, Cystic Fibrosis Children’s Light of Hope. The charity, which is dedi- cated to raising money to help fund research into a cure for Cystic Fibro- sis, was formed by a group of locals including Marcella Clancy, whose son Cillian attends the school.

‘There are about four or five of us

in the group who all have children who suffer from Cystic Fibrosis,’ she said. “We fundraise solely for re- search purposes.

“We do all the work ourselves so we have no overheads – all the money will go for research purposes. We have been going for about three years now.

Marcella continued, “Cystic Fibro- sis 18 a genetic condition. Mainly it effects your lungs and your digestive system. Children are very prone to chest infections and as they go into their teenage years can develop dia- betes and bone problems.

“Cillian is 10 years old now and he loves it here in the school. He 1s re-

ally into sports: rugby, football and hurling. And he is well able to keep up with the rest of them, when he’s well, anyway.”

This is the third coin collection or- ganised by the school.

“We organise a coin collection each year. It’s more or less an annual thing now,’ said school principal Gerry Connors.

‘The first year we gave it to Paki- stan, the time of the earthquake, then last year we gave to a local child in the school who was recovering from leukaemia. So this year we decided we would give it to Cillian’s cause and we are delighted, thrilled with how it turned out. We raised €2,000

which was great.

“The kids do all the hard work, putting collection boxes into the shops and collecting at home. In the end, the sixth-class students have the task of counting up all the money.

“I’d say that over the three years we have gathered as much as €6,000, which is great for a three teacher school. It just shows you the great community spirit that is in the place.”

THE number of house starts in Clare to date this year is down 80 per cent on the corresponding period last year.

Providing further evidence of the decline in the local construction in- dustry, Homebond confirmed that the number of house starts registered in Clare for the month of January was only four. Representing 75 per cent of the market, Homebond confirmed that the figure for January of last year NF ISO

The number of new house starts in February did pick up and 17 start-ups

were recorded. However, the total for the first two months of this year was a meagre 21, compared to 98 for last year – a drop of 80 per cent.

Separate statistics provided by Clare County Council highlight a more long-term decline in housing construction.

In response to a motion tabled by Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) for the council’s March meeting, the coun- cil’s director for planning, Berna- dette Kinsella, said that the number of applications for one-off homes in Clare had almost halved in the past four years.

Ms Kinsella revealed that 1,584

applications were lodged for one- off homes in 2004 but last year the number dropped to 844.

In 2006, some 828 applications were lodged and 960 in 2005. The number of applications for this year is on a par with last year. It stands at 139 for the first two months.

Separate figures supplied by the Department of the Environment for the first two months of this year show that there has been a 30 per cent drop in house completions compared to the first two months of last year.

The figures show that for the first two months of this year, 252 houses were completed in Clare, with 100

completed in January and 152 com- pleted in February.

This compares to 359 homes com- pleted for the first two months of last year, with 122 homes completed in January and 237 homes in February, giving a total of 359.

In total last year, according to Homebound, there were 784 houses starts in Clare, a drop of 37.5 per cent on the 1,258 house starts in Clare in 2006.

Nationally, there were 75,000 hous- es built last year. Ennis auctioneer Philip O’Reilly said recently that he believed that this would drop to 40,000 this year.

THE public is being invited to enjoy the historical and natural beauty of Gort’s Coole Park, tea rooms and visitors’ centre which reopened last weekend. Following a very success- ful winter and spring programme of events, the Coole Park Visitor Centre reopens to the public on Easter Sat- urday and will remain open through- out the summer.

The centre will be open daily from 10am to 5pm until the end of May, and then from 10am to 6pm. As a special treat for literary and his- tory buffs, there will be no entry fee

this year to the centre’s audiovisual presentation of the life of Lady Gre- gory and the exhibition “Coole Park through the eyes of Me and Nu’.

Me and Nu were pet-names of Lady Gregory’s granddaughters who spent much of their childhood in Coole Park and witnessed the passing of some of the leading artistic and po- litical figures of Ireland history in the early 20th century.

Coole Park is managed by the Na- tional Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Be- sides being a literary and historical pilgrimage, it is also a nature reserve,

includes six kilometres of trails tak- ing in woods, river, turlough, lime- stone and Coole Lake.

The Seven Woods and wild swans, which were celebrated in verse by WB Yeats, are part of its unique en- vironment. Depending on the season you may see red squirrels, stoats, bluebells and violets, butterflies and dragonflies, woodland or wetland birds.

Coole Park was once the home of Lady Gregory, dramatist, folklorist and co-founder of the Abbey Thea- tre with William Butler Yeats. In the early 20th century, it was at the heart of the Irish Literary Revival.

Yeats, Shaw, Synge and O’Casey all came to experience Coole’s magic. They and many others carved their initials on the Autograph Tree, an old copper beech still standing today.

Although the house no longer re- mains, you can still appreciate the beautiful surroundings that drew so many to Gort. It is possible to expe- rience the magic and serenity of the landscape that inspired the poets and artists of Ireland’s last literary gold- ae rnes

For more information, contact Hilda Mac Lochlainn, supervisor guide at Coole Park on 091-631804 or info@coolepark

THE thought of taking on a group of five- to 12-year-olds every day, if only for a few hours, would put the fear of God into many a brave soul, while representing the masses as the leader of a workers’ union would bring most of us out in a cold sweat.

Declan Kelleher has taken on both roles in his life, and after more than 35 years involved still speaks about both with an enthusiasm that is contagious. And the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) will be hoping that his enthusiasm turns into an epidemic as it tries to encour- age new members into the union this year.

The Kilnaboy native will have this task, with many more, thrust upon him tomorrow when he takes over as the union’s president for the next year. The Corofin NS principal is well known for his work with the un- ion in the county, which he maintains could not be achieved without the support of his wife, family, teaching staff and management.

This commitment will now see him at the head of a 36,000 member un- ion that represents both the north of Ireland and the Republic, at a time when the INTO in the north is start- ing to work closely with the Ulster Teachers Union.

While taking on the role as presi- dent of the INTO, Mr Kelleher ex- plains that he misses teaching: “I ab- solutely love teaching. I think it has probably been the greatest privilege in my life to have been trusted by parents to teach their children.

“You are never doing the same thing from year to year. It is abso- lutely brilliant because you never meet the same children. You are meeting a new group every year and they are absolutely brimful of talent, and your job is to draw out the talent and potential.

‘And don’t tell me there is any bet- ter job in Ireland or the world than to face a challenge like that.”

With the roots of the INTO of- ten considered to be in Kildysart, Where a strong teacher’s represen- tation body was formed as early as 1868, Declan’s own history saw him

involved in student and teachers un- ions at an early age. He was part of the first students representative body set up in St Flannan’s College, Ennis during his final year.

As a member of the students union in St Patrick’s College, Dublin he was one of the demonstrators who sat sat in front of the Mercedes of Min- ister for Education Padraig Faulkner, demanding a degree course for the college.

Declan joined the INTO in 1972 and has missed just one conference since. He came back to his native county in 1978 and taught in Ennis National before becoming principal in Corofin in 1979. He immediately became aware of the issues facing schools in the county.

“When I came back to Clare what struck me immediately was_ that town schools has a certain amount of learning support for weaker students,

where as rural schools had absolutely none,’ he says. “You couldn’t defend it by any standards – that you have something available to larger schools that wasn’t available to children in smaller schools.”

Issues such as class sizes and spe- cial education needs will be high on his agenda during Mr Kelleher’s presidency.

‘There has been a lot of improve- ment in special education access in ordinary national schools for chil- dren with special needs and disabili- ties,” he says.

“It was something that was very important because children should be able to grow up and go to school in their own local community if that is what their parents so choose. And certainly that is something which has improved hugely in recent times.

“What is improving very slowly is the actual infrastructure of the

schools whereby rooms are large enough to accommodate all the di- versity you need, not to talk of class size, which is a major problem in Clare. One in every two children in Clare is in an over-crowded class- room, which is a startling statistic,” he continues.

“Village schools anywhere in the Ennis area, right down to Shannon and over triangularly towards Tulla and Sixmilebridge, all of that area is expanding rapidly at the moment and we have a huge increase in popula- tion. Then we see the government reneging on its commitment of class sizes again this year.”

He said the union was very annoyed with government partners, particu- larly the Green Party, who gave firm commitments on class sizes, but the largest criticism went to Fianna Fail and politicians who stood on plat- forms making commitments to class

sizes that were soon forgotten.

A number of schools in Clare have also felt the brunt of the reduction in the school building project including Ennis NS and Barefield, according to the president-elect.

“The reason for the slowdown is simply there is a huge expansion go- ing on in the east coast in terms of population,” Declan says.

“There are 30 emergency schools being created in the east coast and I wouldn’t argue against that – they are necessary – but they should have been created through a supplemen- NAVA OL ULO tole

‘What has actually happened is that the money that was out there for oth- er schools has now been diverted to those schools, and schools that have been waiting patiently in the queue for eight to ten years have been told wait longer. I think that is totally un- justifiable.”

The whole area of resoursing schools is a major issue facing Mr Kelleher, as is primary school prin- cipals and the amount of auxiliary services available to them.

Schools with less than 177 students do not get an administrative princi- pal; instead the principal must do all of the administrative work over 22 assigned days per year. In the north of Ireland, principals are assigned two days per week.

Despite his success in being elected to the highest office in the INTO Mr Kelleher has no plans to follow Sena- tor Joe O’ Toole into politics. While he admires those who go into the world of politics, he is happy to re- main a spectator.

He is proud of the many achieve- ments of his profession, especially in welcoming the “new Irish”, say- ing, “I think one of the uncelebrated successes of the Irish primary school system is the way it has absorbed new children over the past number of years.”

His many functions for the year ahead will include the chairing of the first INTO youth conference in April, and a trip to Gambia to see a school built by the INTO credit union.

through

the Freedom of Information Act. The material revealed that a senior department official described as “off

the wall” a demand by the Mid West Regional Authority for a fund of €44 million to prepare the region for the ending of the stop-over.

The documentation also revealed that a €20 million tourism market- ing fund over five years was deleted from the published Economic and Tourism Plan for Shannon, despite appearing in two earlier drafts.

“We are seeking a response from the minister as to why this commit- ment was deleted. We need clarifica- tion on the issue,’ said Mr Vaughan.

“IT am very fearful that the depart- ment will renege on their commit- ment to provide the funding and it will be a similar situation to what you

had in the early 1990s where money was allocating to the Shannon Air- port Marketing Committee, but there was no follow up funding.”

A separate internal memo pointed out that the regional authority de- mand for €44 million “was always totally unrealistic and has done much to undermine the credibility of its broader case.

“If there are real marketing needs, there are likely to be far more mod- est.”

Mr Vaughan said, “I’m shocked by the attitude of the officials and it just shows their lack of understand- ing of the needs of the region. What has been uncovered shows that there

is almost a conspiracy against the re- gion.

“It must be remembered that the €44 million was a spend over a five- year period. The statements made by department officials just raise fur- ther suspicions that the dead hand of Government is conspiring against us down here in the mid-west.

‘“W hat has been revealed comes as a devastating blow and shows just how unenlightened the department is.”

The regional authority has also written to Minister Brennan seek- ing clarification about the economic plan. However, this was on foot of the minister addressing a recent re- gional authority meeting.

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.

THERE has been a call for Ennis Town Council to alter proposals for the planned re-development of Fair Green to include a helicopter land- Thohcan oy-1e

An extensive re-development of Tim Smythe Park is being proposed, with consultants already assigned to the project.

The plan would include an enhanced pitch maintenance programme and the improvement of playground fa- cilities with the aim of making the area a more open and family-friendly CIVIC space.

The final stage of redevelopment will involve the upgrading of the pitch adjacent to Steele’s Terrace and the provision of new dressing room ELON D BLA lony

Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn is calling for the current plans to be amended to allow for the inclusion of a helicopter landing pad.

There is currently concrete space for helicopters at the Lifford road end of Tim Smythe Park. Cllr Flynn said it was crucial to the health infra- structure of Ennis that a landing pad oem ULEADD NICO

“The current design plans do not make provision for a landing pad.

There is a hard standing area in the northern quarter of the Fair Green where helicopters can land, but I am worried that this will be lost if the plans go ahead as they do now,” he said.

“Particularly with things like spinal injuries, it’s vital we have a helipad close to the hospital that it is easily accessible for ambulances.

‘‘T have asked the town engineer and the consultants to make provision for it in the plans. It’s very important we keep it there. It is a very significant OLSArel Ke) ovaslos sl MM er-lap lowers oelouebNsrcaB bem nsle Fair Green.”

Meanwhile, further developments

are expected at Ennis’s other main sporting facility, Lees Road. The council is currently examining the feasibility of constructing a large indoor facility at Lees Road. Town Manager Tom Coughlan has said that no definite decision has been made on where to locate such a facility. Cllr Tom Glynn (FF) has called for an indoor arena to be built at another location.

Work has already begun on an all-weather running track at Lees Road and it is expected to take three months to complete. Work on a cross- country running track is expected to proceed later this year.