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SECTIONS of the Clare fishing in- dustry are on the verge of collapse as a result of the all-out ban on wild salmon fishing.

The ban, which was introduced last year, has already resulted in a number of fishermen leaving the industry, with many others being forced to switch to the already crowded lobster and crab sector.

According to one west Clare fisher- man, the Government has abandoned GET com ER ialouselosMO Om Asim ITI (on

“It’s affecting an awful lot of peo- ple, from Loop Head right up to Black Head. It’s very difficult for any of us to keep going. The salmon was our big thing. We had 32 days a year and in those days we were able to pay for the rest of our fishing for the whole year. But that is all gone now, said Quilty fisherman Michael Crane

“The compensation being offered by the Government won’t make one inch of difference to the fishermen in ETc

“The bottom line is that Govern- ment didn’t do its job on this. We have got no back-up here at all, we have just had to take everything on the chin and get on with it. We have no choice and the Government doesn’t seem to care.”

According to Mr Galvin, fishermen are being forced to either leave the industry altogether or switch to the already well served lobster and crab sector.

“The navy are out there checking us every day. When we come back to port, we are met every day by people going through our catch, checking all the fish. Everything we land is gone through,” he continued.

“There are lot of people who just can’t cope with it. People are leaving the business all over the place. The

only choice is to try and get into lob- ster or crab but there 1s enough peo- ple already doing that and it’s just putting more pressure on people.

“It just doesn’t pay anyone to get in a boat and go out there and fish. Peo- ple are walking away from it all over the county. They have no choice.”

Meanwhile, Minister of State and Clare, Tony Killeen last week said that the Government remained com- mitted to helping Clare communities to diversify and reduce the effect of the loss of income from wild salm- on.

His comment follows the announce- ment of an allocation by Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister Eamon O’Cuiv of €200,000 to Rural Re- source Development Ltd.

EXHIBITIONS and demonstrations of age-old skills will bring prehis- toric Ireland to life at the Clare Mu- Nol Uuse brat e eee

Heritage Education week will run at the Clare Museum from April 8- 11. The main purpose of the four-day event 1s to generate greater interest and encourage appreciation of Ire- land’s heritage in a practical and pu- Um Rule ICUAaae-NA

The event coincides with the dis- play at the museum of a rare 2500 year old Iron wooden bowl.

The bowl was discovered during excavations along the N18 bypass and the N85 western relief road.

Heritage education week kicks off

on Tuesday, April 8 when specialists Simon and Maria O’Dwyer will give a presentation and demonstration of prehistoric musical instruments of Ireland. Simon has been employed as a heritage specialist by the INTO and the Heritage Council for the past seven years. He has conducted stud- ies into prehistoric and medieval mu- sical instruments in Ireland.

One of the highlights of this event will be Simon’s playing of replica’s of Bronze Age and Iron Age horns.

Three such original Bronze Age horns are displayed in the museum and the event represents for the stu- dents present a unique opportunity to hear and experience these sounds not usually heard in these parts for over 2,000 years.

On Thursday, April 10, students from Clare will get the opportunity to witness a demonstration of the traditional Traveller craft of copper Seon ioperee

The demonstration will be per- formed by members of St. Joseph’s Traveller Training Centre in Ennis.

The copper craft group at the Train- ing centre have been showcasing their skills at festivals and events around Ireland for the past two years.

In March 2007, the centre earned national recognition, when three members showcased the art of cop- per craft at the fourth annual Cork lifelong learning festival.

Last year, the centre also donated seven copper items including buck- ets, pots and scuttles to the Cork

public museum for a permanent dis- eA

It was the first time a permanent display of Traveller culture had been showcased in a national museum.

Metalcraft instructor Brian Cros- sen explained the group were de- lighted to be part of Heritage Educa- tion Week.

“We were out in Barefield Nation- al School during the week doing a similar demonstration. It was a good idea by the school because it’s great for the kids to see the demonstration up close.

“We are going to be doing the same thing for Heritage Week, in the mu- seum, so yeah, I think it’s a good idea because it brings to life for the jae Kae

THE European Commission is to launch a pan-EU public survey of invasive flora and fauna species. These invasive alien species disrupt local flora and fauna and cause con- siderable damage to nature and the economy.

The findings will feed into an EU framework for invasive alien species to be adopted by the end of this year. In Clare, the invasion of rhododen- drons, Japanese knot weeds and hog- weed are having a particular impact on the local flora.

Parts of west and north Clare have been infested with Japanese knot weeds while Lough Corrib in Galway has been invaded by Lagarosiphon, a

weed native to southern Africa that suffocates the lakes ecosystem by creating a dense canopy impervious to light.

Ireland’s biodiversity is also under attack from non-native grey squir- rels, who compete with native red squirrels.

“Europe is committed to halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010. We know that invasive species are one of the major threats to biodiversity, and that economies often suffer as a result, but we lack a harmonised system for tackling the problem and assessing its impact,” said EU Com- missioner Dimas.

“A strong public response to this survey will help Europe define the problem more clearly, and ultimately

help us develop a suitable mecha- nism to halt it altogether.”

The European Commission is tack- ling this problem by launching an internet consultation on the issue until May 5. Interested parties, in- cluding individual citizens, industry and consumer representatives, inter- est groups, the NGO community and other organisations are all invited to contribute information and opinions. The results of this consultation will be used to inform the development of EU policy in the field of invasive alien species, the options for which will be presented in a communica- tion from the commission at the end of 2008.

Ecosystems are dynamic by nature, and many species become estab-

lished far from their place of origin.

These new introductions are often the result of human action — Europe’s rhododendrons originated in the Himalayas, and staples of the Euro- pean diet such as tomatoes, potatoes and maize originated in the Ameri- cas.

But while many introduced spe- cies bring considerable benefits to local economies, others upset the balance and proliferate in ways that are highly destructive to the environ- ment and to economic and human interests. This consultation is a first step to address this problem on a Eu- ropean scale.

You can take part in the survey. Simply check out www.invasivespe- ciesireland.com

A THREE-year building project to construct a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on the Shan- non Estuary is to begin shortly.

The EPA report attached to the €400 million project in Tarbert and Ballylongford states that the danger to the people living nearby and to the environment is very low.

The report said, “The resident im- pact of the proposed development on human beings will be a positive eco- nomic and employment effect.

“Results from the quantitative risk assessment show that the risk to in- dividuals living and working around the facility would be very low when compared with other ‘everyday’ risks.

“The existing residence around the terminal lie outside of the Health and Safety Authority’s respective land use planning zones.”

Once up and running, the natural gas will be pumped from tankers to storage tanks, then converted to natural gas before being piped to end users.

The terminal will include a ma- rine berth, jetty and secure mooring, LNG offloading facilities, storage tanks, and vaporisers to turn LNG from a liquid back into a gas.

The gas will then be connected up to the national gas grid.

The terminal will be built on 281 of the 600-acre land bank owned by the State for large-scale maritime-re- lated industry.

Shannon LNG, which is an Irish subsidiary of Hess LNG, outlined a number of reasons as to why the terminal was first proposed for the

Shannon estury. Among these was the exhaustion of gas fields.

“The Kinsale Head Gas Field is now nearly exhausted” and the “UK North Sea reserves are rapidly de- pleting,” it stated.

In an outlining brochure on its plans, Shannon LNG claimed that its natural gas is one of the safest and least environmentally hazardous en- ergy sources.

“LNG has had an exemplary oper- ating history and all these facilities have been operating without seri- ous public safety incidents, some for

more than 30 years.”

It stated that the construction and operation of the facility would be regulated by Government depart- ments and agencies including Kerry County Council, An Bord Pleanala, the Environment Protection Agency, the Health and Safety Authority, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and the Commission for Energy Regula- tion.

“Trish and international regulations and standards will govern the design and operation of the facility.”

IT was all green action at Ogonnel- loe National School last week, when rosy-cheeked pupils and staff braved the elements to plant apple trees.

Last Thursday, members of the Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA) came to the school to plant three apple trees under a grant scheme, which is a joint venture between the Department of Agriculture, under the Genetic Conservation Fund, and the ISSA.

“Under the scheme, funding has been set aside for planting native ap- ple trees in schools,’ School Secre- tary, Joanne Allen said. “The staff,

pupils and parents really enjoyed this event,’ she added.

Eleanor Walsh, Chairperson of the school’s parents association said the event “continues in the green schools theme and it allows the children be more aware of their own contribution to the environment, which 1s not in- significant. Every time they recycle, pick up rubbish or even bring their lunch wrapper home they are making a difference and making the world a better, cleaner place for everyone.”

The theme of the planting day links into the natural environment and Irish heritage and is linked to key strands of the primary SESE (Social, Environmental and Scientific Edu-

cation) and SPHE (Social, Personal and Health Education) curriculum.

While youngsters taking part in the planting got a birds eye view of where their delicious apples come from, the event will continue to promote the school’s healthy eating policy as the trees – and the children – grow.

The ISSA is a voluntary organisa- tion dedicated to the location and preservation of traditional varieties of fruit and vegetables. In the early 1990’s ISSA began a search for the last surviving traditional Irish varie- ties of apple.

They have now found more than 140 different types of Irish apple trees which are all thriving in their

orchards and where they were origi- nally found – in people’s gardens. Native apples are more intense in flavour than those now grown com- mercially.

Special membership offers are available to support the work of the ISSA and members get discounts on any seeds and trees they buy.

For details, contact Aine Ni Fh- latharta 061 921866, the education officer at the Capparoe site, Scariff, for more information on ISSA.

THE 2008 Cheltenham Festival will go down in history as a landmark meeting which saw the abandon- ment of racing due to high winds on Wednesday but the main reason last week’s action at Prestbury Park will live long in the memory is due to the brilliant performances from a triumvirate of national hunt stars, Denman, Master Minded and Inglis Drever.

Despite the pressure on the fixture list, the Gold Cup still held onto its’ position as the feature contest on a bumper nine-race card on Friday and it is hard to remember a horse race that was so eagerly anticipated by the racing world. The big clash between Kauto Star and Denman even made its’ way onto the pages of the non- racing papers as the outside public could not resist the engaging battle that was promised between the two chasing stars who are near neigh- bours at the stable of Paul Nicholls.

As many pundits, fronted by Den- man’s ebullient part-owner Harry Findlay, correctly predicted, Den- man’s power and relentless galloping style proved too much for the reign- ing Gold Cup champion who had no answer to the punishing pace set by the eight year-old son of Presenting. The winner of his only point-to-point start for Adrian Maguire at Liscar- roll, County Cork in 2005, Denman (9/4) was settled in second place be- hind his stablemate, Neptune Collon- ges, before taking control under Sam Thomas as the field headed out on the final circuit. A heavily backed 10/11 favourite to claim his second Betfair Million, Kauto Star never looked at ease on the tacky ground and he also made a few uncharacteristic jumping errors in contrast to the impressive fluency of the winner. The much- hyped contest never materialised as Denman had the race won a long way from home and he maintained his unbeaten record over fences with a decisive seven lengths verdict over Kauto Star who stayed on strongly to his credit despite not performing at his best. Neptune Collonges ran a fine race to complete a historic 1-2- 3 for Paul Nicholls, some 25 years

after Michael Dickinson saddled the first five home in the Gold Cup.

It is hard to believe that Denman’s demolition job could be eclipsed by another horse at Cheltenham but that is exactly what happened when Master Minded (3/1) produced a breathtaking performance to turn the Queen Mother Champion Chase into a one-horse race. The French bred five year-old, who raced in the Clive Smith colours of Kauto Star, was sim- ply awesome in the manner in which he brushed aside Voy Por Ustedes by nineteen lengths and Ruby Walsh’s post-race assertion that the winner is a “machine” only confirmed what our eyes had told us that Master Minded has the chasing world at his feet. Paul Nicholls will have a nice headache trying to keep his three stable stars apart next season and the Ditcheat maestro has already hinted that the

Gold Cup principals are unlikely to meet next season until renewing ri- Neb Yar-1 Om Oo Ted ike sDet-beee

Already a dual winner of the race in 2005 and 2007, Inglis Drever wrote his name into the history books when claiming his third World Hurdle title on Thursday. Given a fine ride by the Galway Plate winning jockey, Denis O’Regan, Inglis Drever (11/8f) was many people’s banker of the meet- ing and Howard Johnson’s admira- ble nine year-old did not disappoint his supporters with a typically de- termined performance to hold off a strong challenge from the French horse, Kasbah Bliss with the Eoin Griffin trained Kazal running a cracker back 1n third.

The Champion Hurdle proved a big disappointment for the strong Irish contingent who were seeking to win the opening day’s feature

for the eighth time from the last ten runnings. All seemed to be going to plan when Sizing Europe smoothly moved to the front under Andrew McNamara to challenge at the sec- ond last while last year’s winner, Sublimity, was also travelling well in behind under Philip Carberry. Things changed dramatically in the closing stages however as Sizing Eu- rope capitulated dramatically and it was later discovered that Henry de Bromhead’s six year-old had pulled muscles in his back. The John Carr trained Sublimity could not go through with his challenge on the rain softened ground and it was left to the Alan King trained Katchit to continue his love affair with Chelten- ham with a typically gutsy victory over Osana at odds of 10/1.

The number of Irish trained win- ners was seven at this year’s Festival

which was a respectable tally consid- ering the defeat of many fancied run- ners like Zaarito, Mossbank, Sizing Europe and Wonderkid. The roll of honour for the Irish contingent was Captain Cee Bee (Supreme Nov- ices’ 17/2), Garde Champetre (Cross Country 4/1), Finger Onthe Pulse (Jewson Novices’ 9/1), Cousin Vinny (Champion Bumper 12/1), Fivefor- three (Ballymore Hurdle 7/1), Tiger Cry (Grand Annual 15/2) and Silver Jaro (County Hurdle 50/1).

For Tony Martin, the 2008 Chelten- ham Festival was a meeting he will want to quickly forget. The Meath trainer failed to yield a winner from a powerful string which saw Robin Du Bois (Pertemps Final), Wonderkid (Cross Country Chase) and Psycho (County Hurdle) all head the betting for their respective races while Patsy Hall could only finish fourth after being heavily backed for the Wil- liam Hill Chase on Tuesday. To add insult to injury, Martin’s Coral Cup ante-post favourite, Leg Spinner, was withdrawn due to the softening conditions after the race was moved from Wednesday to Friday. Like a lot of Irish punters, Martin also had to leave Cheltenham with a sour taste in his mouth after Paul Carberry gave Psycho a hugely over-confident ride on the well-backed 5/1 favourite who came from a long way back to beaten less than a length by Tom Hogan’s 50/1 winner, Silver Jaro.

The prizes for leading trainer and jockey at this year’s festival unsur- prisingly went to Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh who both recorded three winners while Davy Russell, despite some high profile defeats, also en- joyed a profitable meeting with two winners and three second places. Racing fans can now look forward to the upcoming festivals at Fairy- house, Aintree and Punchestown but thanks to the likes of Denman, Mas- ter Minded and Kauto Star, the an- ticipation is already growing for the 2009 Festival which will seem like an unbearably long wait for many punters.

A COURT has heard that a motor- cyclist is still receiving treatment for injuries sustained in a road collision with a bus last June.

Arising out of the accident on June 30, 2007, bus driver Simon Quinn (51), of St Michael’s Place, Ballya- gran, Limerick, was convicted of

careless driving.

Garda Diarmuid O’Brien told Shannon District Court that a Mr Baker was driving his motorcy- cle and stopped at a stop line at the end of a road at Bothar na Luachra, SJ etbabetoyey ;

He said that a Bus Eireann bus, driven by the defendant, approached from the motorcyclist’s left, indicat-

ed and turned right onto Bothar na BE e Ne

‘The bus cut the corner and collid- ed with Mr Baker,” said the garda.

‘The motorcycle fell to the ground on top of Mr Baker. He received injuries. He is still receiving treat- ment for his injuries,’ said Garda O’Brien.

Defending solicitor Mr Lenihan

said as Mr Quinn was approach- ing the junction, a car was also ap- proaching and he did not see the motorcycle.

He said his client had been driving with Bus Eireann for seven years and previously had driven heavy goods vehicles for 25 years.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a fine of €400.

The book, by Jim Corbett, tells the story of the ferocious battle by Re- publican volunteers to hold the bar- racks at Clancy Strand during five days of the Civil War in July 1922.

The officer commanding Clancy

Strand barracks against this bom- bardment was Captain Cornelius McNamara of ‘A’ Company, 2nd Battalion, Mid Limerick Brigade, but known to his men as Connie Mackey.

Between July 15 and 20, 1922 the Republican held barracks was re- peatedly bombarded by sniper, ma- chine gun and mortar fire by Free State troops located at Arthur’s Quay, and lead by Commandant General Michael Brennan, a native

of Meelick.

He led a fierce onslaught against the men led by Connie Mackey. When that failed to dislodge them, the Free State unit turned an 18 pounder Ar- tillery Gun on the barracks. This was the only time a siege gun was used in Limerick since the siege of 1691. Mackey was told to surrender the barracks or be responsible for the loss of life. His response was he would not surrender “while he still had ammunition”.

Even when the four foot front walls had been breached by the nineteen Shells fired…he remained resolute. But they were eventually surrounded after Free State troops also began an assault from behind the barracks.

Only when he realised that further resistance would lead to the loss of the lives of his men did Connie Mackey surrender. But when he did, an ever gracious Commandant Gen- eral Brennan complimented him on the magnificent defence he put up.

THE opening sprint of the Thurs- day’s night card at Galway was race number two for S10 graders and here the good recent run of the John Fit- zgerald kennel of Kilrush continued as his Ler Peepers a daughter of Match Up and Cranny Droopys came home a length to the good over Lor- rha Pepsi (T3) in 18.53.

The winner wearing the red jacket trailed Lisnaculla Shaw (T6) early doors but she was in control roun- deing the opening bend before eas- ily holding the late effort of Lorrha oe

The night’s entertainment opened

with an N2 graded 525 for which Shyan

Matilda (T4) owned by the Callin- ans of Kilmihil was sent of favour- ite and although she was away well enough she was outpaced into the Opening corner by the John Gleeson owned Greenlane Saving who led by a length turning down the far side.

Racing past halfway the the gap was two lengths and although Shyan Matilda closed between the final two bends Greenlane Saving(Top Sav- ings-Rushmore Spiral) won hand- somely by one and a half lengths in PESTO

The eighth contest on Fridays pro- eramme was an A3 graded 525 and

from traps Devon Hero (T3) Crag- brien Magic (T5) and Got Derailed (T6) all came away well and they raced line abrest to the opening cor- ner where the Martin Cronin/Jack

Markham of Ennis owned Cragbr- ien Magis grabbed the initiative and the rail berth to lead his rivals as the turned down the far side.

Racing past halfway Cragbrien Magc led by three lengths from Got Derailed who was now looking the only danger but the son of Top Honcho and Greencroft Magic kept the lead at three lengths all the way home in a time of 29.28.

The ninth contest was an A graded 550 in which Burnpark Duke cake

in as reserve in trap five and he was well supported in the ring from 2/1 to 5/4 and he certainly delivered for his Supporters as he came home three lengths clear of Maninthemiddle in 30.45. On the long run to the open- ing corner Hold Te Head(T3) led from Maninthemiddle with Burn- park Duke improving rapidly on the outside rounding the opening bend.

Racing down the back the David Browne of Kilrush owned Burnpark Duke (Top Honcho-Burnpark Cuck- 00) stretched clear and as he exited the back straight he was “home for all money”’ as he stretched clear for victory would not be denied as she gained her second success.

Race number seven at the Col- lage Road Venue on Saturday Night was for A4 graders where the Frank Browne of Quin owned Mine Dyna- mite never saw another rival as she blew away with a real burst of early pace on her way to a six length victo- ry over Unique Express (T3) in 29.44. The winner a son of Honcho Classic and Belindas Hill led by two lengths at the opening corner from Lingrawn Ger (T2) and Unique Express (T3) and with the remainder involved in crowding behind the front three had it between them turning down the back. Racing towards the third bend Mine Dynamite led by three lengths from Unique

A PROSECUTION taken against a couple accused of assaulting their wheelchair-bound children was with- drawn by the State, after some of the case was heard in court last week.

Martin and Mary Browne of Knockbeg, Kilmihil, had denied as- saulting their wheelchair-bound son and daughter, aged 23 and 17, in the carpark of the West County Hotel, Ennis, on July 15, 2007.

Witness Gillian O’Gorman_ told Miltown Malbay District Court that she was sitting in the lobby of the hotel when she saw a family with two young adults who were both in wheelchairs.

She said the family’s car was parked in a disabled zone and the parents were attempting to put the two young adults into the vehicle.

“The girl didn’t have the ability to communicate. They didn’t have full control of themselves,” said Ms O’Gorman. She said the girl seemed “agitated”.

She said she saw the parents slap- ping the young adults while loading them into the vehicle.

“IT thought the force used was exces- Sive,’ she said. She said she took the registration of the vehicle and made a complaint at Ennis Garda Station.

Defending solicitor Bote O’Kelly put it to the witness, “You made assumptions about the treat- ment of them. Why didn’t you go to the hotel manager? If you were that

concerned why didn’t you go out and intervene?”

She replied, “I was one person. I don’t think anything good would have come of that.”

Mr O’Kelly said that the two young people’s conditions are such that “they are subject to spasm and they jerk a lot. They have to be physically restrained.”

The witness replied, ““There’s a ditf- ference between physically restrain- ing and walloping someone. What I saw was not acceptable. Whatever was happening, the force was exces- sive.”

Mary Browne told the court that both of her children were born with a very rare disease. She said on the date in question, her son started laughing and this upset her daughter. She then got agitated and started jerking in her wheelchair at the hotel.

She said she had to move her daugh- ter’s head to get her into the vehicle.

Asked by her solicitor did she slap the children, she replied, “No. I’ve never slapped the children.”

Mr O’Kelly said Ms Browne has been honoured by President Mary McAleese for her care of the chil- Clone

While giving evidence, Ms Browne broke down in tears. Inspector Tom Kennedy said, “In the light of the evidence presented, the State will withdraw the prosecution.”

Judge Mangan pointed out that the witness was “perfectly justified in doing what she did”’.