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AFTER the flooring disappoint- ment of Sunday’s nine point defeat to Limerick, Clare need an immedi- ate reaction. Fortunately, the Banner have only a few days to dwell on the circumstances of that second half ca- pitulation with the visit of Tipperary to Ennis for their first game in Cu- sack Park this year.

The deficiencies in the Clare side were blatently obvious for all to see last Sunday but a lack of options due to injuries has limited Mike McNa- mara’s ability to remedy the situation in the short term at least. Consistency in their line-up has been hampered by an assembly line of injuries and as a result, some players are forced to occupy unnatural positions for the OF NU Ton

Darragh Clancy filled the full-back role well against Laois but since has been dogged by injury. The half- back line has seen 7 different players fill the positions in the three league games with Clancy, Gerry Quinn and Brendan Bugler starting against Gal- way, a whole new line of Pat Donnel- lan, Conor Plunkett and James MclIn- erney lining out against Laois a week later while it was McInerney, Tommy Holland and Donnellan who took to the field on Sunday. All have done reasonably well but again that lack of consistency has damaged their un-

derstanding.

However, it 1s the forward line which is the cause of most concern, a problem area which has dogged the county for over a decade now. On Sunday, there was an obvious lack of strength and scoring prowess which ultimately cost Clare dearly. Fergal Lynch seemed to be the man to fill the problematic centre-forward spot after a superb display against Laois but a hand injury suffered in the Kilkenny challenge last week meant he only made a brief appear- ance on Sunday. Tony Carmody and Jonathan Clancy both impressed in the half-forward line and Niall Gilli- gan proved a threat in the corner but again the key position of full-forward remains open for challenge and per- haps the return of Declan O’Rourke can provide some power in the for- wards.

Allis not lost as Clare still have the return of Tony Griffin and Diarmuid McMahon to come but it is hoped ercLamm oO) Amn O (COME OO SKOMR BOOM LUN BE(e(oOII competition for places.

On the other hand, Tipperary are still unbeaten in the league after three games. The Premier county already have the Waterford Crystal Trophy to show for their efforts and new manager Liam Sheedy have in- stilled a freshness in the squad which has complemented their ever grow- ing assembly line of young talent.

While Eoin Kelly still takes centre stage in the forward line scoring 2- 26 in their three games to date with Offaly, Limerick and Galway, there are also a whole host of fresh for- wards vying for places. Pat Keswick (1-2), Lar Corbett (0-3), P Bourke (O- 3), Seamus Callinan (1-4), J O’Brien (O-3), Ryan O’Dwyer (0-2), Willie Ryan (0-1) and Hugh Maloney (0-1) have all influenced the scoreboard so far giving them several options for Sunday’s encounter. Add in free scoring midfield find Shane McGrath and centre-back Conor O’Mahony who has converted seven points from placed balls and it is easy to see why Tipperary are riding high at the top of the division.

A large crowd is expected for what should be a showdown on Sunday but essentially, the performance will be just as important as the result. An- other heavy defeat could be detri- mental to Clare’s confidence but Tip- perary should be stronger and come away with another two points.

THUGGERY, allied to intimidation, is preventing people going out walk- ing in Shannon at night-time, it has eLoeMO EBEDAee

The suggestions came during a de- bate last week among Shannon town councillors on anti-social behaviour.

A number of the local elected representatives expressed concerns about anti-social behaviour, with one councillor, Sean Hillery, stating that he no longer walks at night, given the intimidation around the town.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (In- dependent) asked for an update on the implementation of the by-laws on

drinking in public places.

She was told that four people were summoned to-date for breaches of the by-law – three in 2006 and one last year.

“We are all aware about the amount of drinking done in open areas. It is visibly on the increase. Now, more than ever, these by-laws should be called into force,’ said Cllr McCa- ua OWs

“Gardai should use their powers. Certainly the evidence is there to show the by-laws are not used,” she AYO Ce(eren

Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independ- ent) said there were problems in the town and while some of it was due to

alcohol, a lot of it was as a result of “thuggish behaviour”.

“There is something happening in Shannon at the moment and it isn’t good. We need to arrest it, pardon the pun, before it goes any further,” lntemcy-B(e

Fianna Fail councillor Sean Hillery said he no longer walks at night, be- cause he is aware of the “intimidat- ing attitude of some groups”.

“There is a lack of respect for the law. I’ve given up walking at night and I loved walking. You hear so much of this. It’s the attitudes of these groups to the law,” the council- lor said.

Councillor Tony McMahon agreed

that “people are afraid to go walk- rhea

“In a town like Shannon, we shouldn’t have this attitude prevail- ing. If we are going to have thuggery to the extent that we cannot go out of our homes at night, we have reached a very Serious state,” he said.

The mayor of Shannon, councillor Sean McLoughlin (Fine Gael) said, “There is anti-social behaviour all over town. We need to work with the gardai.”

He called for a meeting between councillors and senior gardai in the town, to discuss anti-social behav- iour issues and other such matters in SJervepeceyee

THE physical and logistical chal- lenges that faced Kilrush Town Council when it embarked on the pi- lot phase of the reyuvenation of John Paul Estate paled into insignificance this week when local families got their first view of the newly reno- vated houses.

One who was on the coal face of the development from the start was the town clerk, Fiona Mooney.

“It was a case of how would we overcome the design mistakes that were there from the start,’ she said.

The first challenge facing the coun- cil was to remove the notorious back lanes to the houses.

Ms Mooney said that while some residents were initially concerned about how they would access the back of their houses, it soon became apparent that the security and privacy their removal would achieve would far outweigh the other difficulties.

The other major physical changes were the derelict spaces that had been left and the block of houses that had been built in what could easily have been an open public area.

She also paid tribute to the build-

ers, Martin Fitzgibbon Builders.

“This long term regeneration project is about more than the indi- vidual houses, it is about people tak- ing pride in their area and standing up for the positives in the commu- nity,’ said Ms Mooney.

She said that the houses in the pilot part of this project now have secure back gardens and boundaries.

There were more than physical boundaries to overcome for the town clerk and the council staff.

“We had to relocate households while the work was carried out.

‘We met with nothing but positivity

from people,’ said the town clerk.

“It was a leap of faith for people and we were So impressed with the leap of faith they took,” she said.

“We hope it has paid off for them.”

The pilot phase of the John Paul Estate Remedial Works Scheme cov- ered almost one quarter of the entire estate and now the council are hop- ing to get the support of central Gov- ernment so they can finish the estate as soon as possible.

The show house at Willow Green will be open for viewings until March 14, Monday-Saturday (1lam to lpm) and Sunday 9 (2pm to 4pm).

IT WAS easy to see which dressing room each team occupied. One was awash with well wishers and report- ers buzzing around the door while the other had more of a funeral at- mosphere and the door remained closed. It took 25 minutes for any movement from the Clare dressing rooms, understandable really after such a disappointing result. This was the first time this year that Clare had finished so poorly in the league and a “Where are we going’ meeting was patently necessary to clear the air.

Richie Bennis was the first to ad- dress the media, complementing his side’s spirit and noting that Clare “genuinely accepted the result as in- evitable” long before the final whis- Co

In contrast, Mike McNamara was obviously disappointed and lament- ed Clare’s lack of experience which he felt was the deciding factor in the game.

“It was disappointing but the ex- perience of Limerick really showed. They showed why they were in an All-Ireland final last year and in gen- eral terms that was the same team. They are much further down the road than us. For all practical purposes we have a mountain to climb, we knew that starting off and we know it now and we are going to have days like this. The stats of the game will be very interesting when I see them. I would imagine we won as much pos- session as them but our team game and our team plan has to be looked at and addressed.”

Clare shot 16 wides over the 70 minutes, ten of those in the first half when Clare were clearly on top and McNamara rued thoses misses which he felt were predominantly struck at crucial periods of the game.

“I suppose it’s an area of concern rather an area which we would be proud of. To shoot 16 wides means that at least something is happening right but some of those wides were at vital times and a couple of very, very important frees which are bread and butter to our free-taker went wrong on the day and it cost us dearly.”

With Clare not utilising the wind to the maximum, Limerick took full advantage in the second half and overall, had far more options than Clare. This was proved by the fact that Limerick had 11 different scor- ers, including four of their substitutes while Clare had only six scorers over the 70 minutes. McNamara cited their inexperience and anxiety as a reason for their eventual subsidence and lamented the lack of underage success in the county which contin- ues to affect the senior side.

“I think any time you arrive with a new team and fresh faces, there is bound to be a nervousness in their play and there is. While we bemoan the fact that underage talent and un- derage success isn’t there, on days like today you can see that. You can see that the confidence you have with winning at Minor and Under 21 just isn’t there and we will have to build that and then build it into them and whatever it takes we will have to do. There is very little difference be- tween the teams in Munster, some are further down the road in preparation than others. There were times today that Limerick still looked like they were on holidays and yet they came back and finished so strongly and got some marvelous long range scores and you know if we were able to get a few of those, then I’d say we’d have finished up with a very tight match.

‘Again, that’s a nervousness in the

play which we will have to work on. We had four forwards there today re- ally who are only starting. Tony Car- mody is after a major operation and irrespective of how he plays or how he looks on the day, we need him in June so we have to take our chanc- es. Mark (Flaherty) maybe isn’t the Mark we have seen but it is a big step up again and you are now play- ing the top players and as I have said already, you can see why Limerick were in the All-Ireland final.”

With qualification to the latter stag- es of the league slowly slipping away, McNamara remained defiant that there is still two games left but that the player’s progress was ultimately more important to the greater goal of the championship in June.

“We have two matches left, we have four points to play for yet and if we get those four points then we will be in a quarter-final. It’s more important that we see progress and it’s more important that the players who are coming on stream that they start to show form and championship form as the year goes on.”

That progress will have to start on Sunday against leaders Tipperary for McNamara’s first game at Clare headquarters where nothing less than a win will do if Clare are to ad- NE TITOCOR

A DECISION by the Shannon town manager to recommend funding for a skateboard area in the town has prompted two sports groups to also make submissions.

Ger Dollard told town councillors at a meeting in February that he would recommend the provision of €50,000 towards the project, which will open near the leisure centre.

Over the past few years, money has been set aside for community ini- tiatives. €100,000 had accumulated and he said he would be suggesting that €50,000 of this be considered for the leisure centre.

The Wolfe Tones camogie club and Newtown FC both made submissions for funding, in letters to the town clerk ‘Tomas MacCormaic.

In its letter, Wolfe Tones said it

was applying for €34,000 from the €100,000 fund, towards the develop- ment of a new car park and associ- ated civil works.

In his letter, Brendan Wall of New- town FC applied for €12,000.

“Our facilities in Ballycasey have been vastly underfunded by any grant schemes and despite having spent over €400,000, only approxi- mately €50,000 has been grant aid- ed,” he said.

“The facility currently caters for all age groups from seven years of age to 18 and also facilitates two men’s teams and a women’s team. We cur- rently field seven teams in the under- age bracket for an eight-month play- ing season,” said Mr Wall.

Councillor Gerry Flynn (Ind) pro- posed that a special meeting take place, to decide how the letters should be dealt with.

Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) said it was important to give both applications “courtesy and deal with them prop- erly”.

Labour councillor Tony McMahon said some mechanism should be put in place, to decide how the money was going to be distributed.

Councillor Geraldine Lambert (FF) said the development fund was established several years ago.

“Vd support having a meeting to decide on the terms of reference,” she said. Cllr Sean Hillery (FF) agreed with this.

Mr Dollard said the community fund was set up initially with the aim of contributing to projects for the community.

He said that money was put aside every year and every five years, the town council could contribute to projects.

“Td still fully stand behind that (€50,000 for the skateboard area). A lot has been made from the fact the money is going for the centre. It’s not funding towards the development of the leisure centre. It’s towards a skate park,” he said.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said the leisure centre “has no intention of getting involved in any contro- versy. We put a request in for money. The town council has agreed. The leisure centre is concerned about the amount of damage and ill feeling. The leisure centre is quite content to withdraw the application and let the town council provide a skateboard park.”

A suggestion by Councillor Geral- dine Lambert, that the applications be deferred until a private meeting of councillors at a later stage, was or eu loee

derelindslomea eel oy

which is as yet in its infancy will look

into tourism in the area and identify

any actions that may improve the in- CliamtA

The task force will also be charged

with progressing an economic devel- opment strategy for the region.

Covering a geographical area from Kildysart to Loop Head and north as far as Miltown Malbay Cllr Cham- bers said the main function of the task force will be to encourage in- dustry into west Clare.

He said it is vital that the Clare side of the Shannon estuary is developed and maintained and that the pier off Moneypoint is currently working at 25 per cent capacity.

“Kilkee to Loop Head is the finest scenery in Europe and that is not ex- aggerating. There is great potential,” he said.

“The long-term objective is to get people to settle in west Clare.”

The idea of a new task force was first mooted at a Kilrush Town Coun- cil meeting.

Town councillor Liam O’Looney (FF) said that the previous proved successful and folded only after it reached the three goals set for it

The first goal was to encourage broadband into the west Clare capi- tal, which was achieved.

Decentralisation was the second goal with came to fruition last year when the Revenue offices moved into Cappa.

The third goal set for the town was to source a much-needed hotel. Since then sites for a hotel have been iden- tified and interest shown by some ey ba Olen

“The task force should be es- tablished to organise sustainable

jobs for the area,” said Councillor O’Looney.

The West Clare Economic Task Force is made up of the seven Kil- rush area county councillors, the mayor of Kilrush, mayor of Kilkee, Kilrush and Kilkee Chambers of Commerce, Leader, FAS, Eiri Corca Baiscinn, Shannon Development, the County Enterprise Board, the VEC and the ESB.

TOWN Engineer Tom Tiernan has issued a firm endorsement of the En- nis water supply saying it is safe and compliant for the vast majority to ey stU bs alen

At the March meeting of Ennis Town Council, Town Engineer Tom Tiernan said that a reminder to boil water for the immuno-compromised people was not a message for people to not drink the water.

Asked to clarify the present situa-

tion with regard to the town’s drink- ing water supply, Mr Tiernan told the meeting that boil notices were issued as a precautionary measure only.

He said, ““When these boil notices do appear, it is important that people read all of them. It does state that it only affects a minority of the popu- lous. Ennis water is perfectly safe and perfectly compliant for the vast majority of consumers to consume. The temporary treatment plant has definitely improved the water and re- duced the risk, but the Ennis supply

is that little bit more vulnerable than other supplies.

“It (the boil notice) is definitely not a message not to drink the water. The water is not contaminated, there is nothing wrong with it.”

He also revealed that the council is sending out a letter to all homes in Ennis to clarify the exact situation with the Ennis water supply.

“We are going to put together a let- ter to clarify for all customers what the situation is. Sometimes we are criticised for not letting everyone

know or not getting the message out to everybody as soon as possible. Sometimes, logistically, it is impos- sible to get a letter out to everyone. So we will be talking to the post of- fice about getting a letter out.”

Ennis Town Council, Clare County Council and the HSE last week is- sued a reminder to water consumers in the Ennis area to continue to ob- serve the partial boil notice.

It followed confirmation that three young children in the area had been diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis.

Mr Tiernan repeated that there was no evidence to suggest that the ill- ness had been caused by the Ennis water supply.

“On Friday, when the three cases were confirmed in the Ennis area, we set up a conference call with the HSE. There was no evidence to sug- gest that these cases were as a result of the Ennis water supply. The ap- propriate thing to do was to issue a reminder to all those who are immu- no-compromised, just in case they weren’t fully aware.”

WOLFE ‘Tones is the only camogie club in the country to have its own pitch, an achievement the entire club is intensely proud of.

A major project got underway eight years ago, when the shell of a dress- ing room was built. Over the years, major groundwork has been carried out, the dressing rooms have been completed and showers installed.

The final stages are now in full swing and the pitch will be playable

for the first time this year.

In the long-term, plans are afoot for the pitch to be the home of camogie in the county, with county champion- ship finals and interprovincial games to be played there.

The club has 150 juvenile members and 30 senior players on its books and the officers are indebted to the people of Shannon who helped out with the whole project.

To-date €250,000 has been paid and the final parts of the project are on the horizon. These include the pro-

vision of car parking, ballstops, nets and goalposts, all which will come at a cost of more than €50,000.

While money has been granted through the County Camogie Board, Shannon Development and National Lottery funding, the club 1s now call- ing on Shannon Town Council to in- ject capital into the scheme.

Club secretary Carmel Butler said €34,000 is being sought from Shan- non ‘Town Council.

“The official opening will be in August, but in order to achieve this

goal, we need to secure funding for off the road parking, the access road into the pitch and car parking around the dressing rooms,’ said Ms Butler.

“We cannot open the development as the access road is prone to flood- ing in its current condition,” she added.

The club has enjoyed no shortage of success on the field of play over the years – not least at Feile and senior league levels – but need the support of the people of the town to ensure this continues.

THE importance of continued re- search and innovation in the food industry was highlighted last week with the announcement of a major new postgraduate programme in- volving two of Ireland’s foremost universities and Teagasc.

The Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, last week launched the new initiative in postgraduate educa- tion in the agri-food sector. The Food Graduate Development Programme, has been allocated funding of €1.1 million for a five-year period by the Department of Agriculture under the Food Institutional Research Measure Coa OR

Pioneered jointly by Teagasc, Uni-

versity College, Dublin (UCD) and University College, Cork (UCC), the Food Graduate Development Pro- gramme will provide skills training to postgraduate students and research staff in Universities and Research institutions in Ireland engaged in FIRM food research projects.

The project is being co-ordinated by Professor Michael Gibney, Pro- fessor of Food and Health at UCD and the Director of Training is Dr Alan Kelly, Dean of Graduate Stud- ies at UCC.

“The aim of my Department, in funding the Programme, is to ad- dress the needs of the food industry by ensuring that postgraduate stu- dents and research staff engaged in food research projects gain an un-

derstanding of industry expectations and skills required for duties requir- ing rapid decisions on problem solv- ing in an industrial environment,’ said Minister Coughlan at last weeks launch.

This will complement the research skills acquired in the course of their research projects.”

Speaking after the launch, Profes- sor Mike Gibney, Professor of Food and Health at UCD, said that the overall objective of the Programme is to improve skills training through the creation of a modularised series of graduate training programmes.

Programme modules will have a strong emphasis on the skills re- quired of leaders in the agri-food sector, food industry and other re-

search institutions nationally and internationally.

Dr Alan Kelly, Dean of Gradu- ate Studies at UCC and Director of Training of the Programme, high- lighted the changing national context of postgraduate education and con- tinuing professional development, Where inter-institutional collabora- tion delivering high-level transfer- able skills allowing graduates to make the maximum impact in their careers in the knowledge economy. He described the Food programme as a pioneering model for how such programmes may develop in the fu- ne Ken

For more information on the Food Graduate Development Programme, check out www.foodpostgrad.1ie.

ENNIS Town Council is looking to win support for a proposal that would see the council increased from nine to 12 members.

Green Party councillor Donal O’Bearra put forward the motion calling for the council to make a submission to the local electoral area boundary committees to increase the number of council seats to 12.

Cllr O’Bearra said the explosion in development around the fringes of Ennis and the increases in popula- tion called for the expansion for the council.

He said, “I think it was the late ‘80s since the last changes were made to the Ennis boundary. We have spoken before about increasing the council membership from nine to 12 mem- lero Ece

“I think it’s time we make a sub- mission for greater representation on the council.”

Fianna Fail councillor Tom Glynn supported Cllr O’Bearra’s motion. He said the council had to look at in- creasing membership in the context of recent discussions on the exten-

sion of the Ennis boundary.

He said, “I think this is a good op- portunity to go ahead and do this, particularly when we are looking at increasing the town boundary. | defi- nitely would second that motion.”

The motion for the local electoral area boundary committees will also include a request for the regulations for independent candidates standing in local elections to be modified.

Independent candidates are re- quired to obtain the signatories of 14 people before their name can be put on the ballot paper.

Independent councillor Brennan said the procedure should only apply to independents seeking election for the first time.

“I don’t see why we should have to do the same thing again and again. If it’s for first-time candidates that’s fair enough, but I think it is unfair that we are discriminated against.”

Cllr Tom Glynn maintained candi- dates from political parties faced a similar challenge in trying to win the support of their part colleagues.

He said, “Its different but it’s the same. You don’t have to go before a political party.”