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PROVING that education is about more than reading, writing and ‘rith- matic, students in the transition year in Scariff Community College have been throwing themselves – literally – into the wider learning experience.

The students have just finished a three-day stay in Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre in County Mayo. Outdoor cooking and dining were part of the experience.

The youngsters abandoned dry land for kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing, gorge walking and raft building.

Back on terra firma they went hill walking, orienteering and abseiling.

‘The weather was in our favour and this along with the positive at- titude of everybody left us with great memories,’ said co-ordinator Liam Sie

On another outing, the students learned what happens when you get on the wrong side of the law.

They took part in a mock court tri- al conduced by Mr James Fahy, SC, and did a law examination certified by Dublin’s Portobello College.

aUCe NAUOMCOLUUM MD SM Sy IDONICM Lol MmCIAULO(ONAS see jury Selection, a criminal trial and they had a very sobering visit to the cells as well as alook inside the van that transports prisoners be- tween the court and the jail.

“Something I hope will be repeated only in a professional capacity,” said Liam Coyle.

“We witnessed the full cross-sec- tion of life,’ said one of the students.

“Court staff, especially Ned, were very helpful in explaining proceed- ings and we are grateful to them.”

The nineteen students have also passed first, second and third ECDL tests.

The transition year tour, with fifth years, is to Barcelona on March 12 and students are preparing for work experience.

A programme on health and life- style issues devised by college chap- lain, Geraldine Condren went ahead

during the winter months and later an evening for parents was arranged so that they could hear presentations from contributors to the programme and open doors for discussions, with their children on issues that had been eI SLe B

Students took part in discussion workshops on_ relationships and sexuality, including an information session on STIs, the contributor be- ing Dr Conor Magee; on emotional health handled by Gerry Dobbins of the Outreach Programme of the Samaritans, and on Christian values and young people, directed by Fr Brendan Quinlivan, college chap- FETEOe

TWO Clare schools have received funding under the CLAR Primary School Enhancement Scheme which will enable them develop outdoor recreational facilities.

Connolly N.S. in the parish of Kilmaley and Drumdigus N.S. in Gr rtiva ae Elerme-lermrseohiee! €7,500, enabling a total value of works amounting to €20,000 to be carried out.

Meanwhile, Gaelscoil Na Bhfili in Gort has received funding of €5,031 allowing for works totalling €6,/07 to be carried out. This brings the to- tal funding approved nationally un- der the Scheme to over €5.4million with 808 schools being assisted since pavers

Commenting on the CLAR Scheme, Clare Junior Minister Kil- leen said that hundreds of primary school children in Clare were now benefiting from new equipment and improved facilities.

“We all know that good play fa- cilities in schools are absolutely necessary, so I am delighted that the schoolchildren of Connolly and Kil- murry McMahon are going to benefit from this scheme.”

The Junior Environment and En- ergy Minister explained that the scheme had already brought sig- nificant improvements to outdoor play facilities at schools in Ballyea, Cloonanaha, Clondegad, Knockerra, Doonbeg, Baltard and Dangan N.S.

“The type of projects being funded at rural primary schools in CLAR

areas include cover grassing/tarmac- adam of play areas, the supply of goal posts, nets and basketball hoops, as well as other recreational facilities for outdoor play areas,’ he said.

Under the Primary School Outdoor Play Facilities Enhancement Scheme, CLAR and the Department of Edu- cation and Science fund 75 per cent of the cost, supplemented by a 25 per cent contribution from local sources up to a maximum of €10,000.

Expenditure in excess of €10,000 must be funded entirely from lo- cal sources. Under the CLAR pro- gramme, a further €lmillion is be- ing provided for the scheme by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, which match- es €lmillion from the Department of Education and Science.

MILTOWN MALBAY is the Tir na nOg of Clare, and if you have any doubt you just have to count the number of nonagenarians in the lo- cality.

Last week seven of the 90 plus year olds gathered at the Seanoiri Laich- tin Naofa in the West Clare Family Recourse Centre.

After dinner and a few dances the 90-year-olds gathered around the ta- ble, some meeting for the first time – as they attend the day centre on different days, others were meeting again after 70 years.

The most senior of the group was Jim Joe Griffin from Coore who will be 94-years young on April 4.

As sacristan of the local Church for

38 years Jim Joe is a mine of infor- mation about all of the people of the area and all the major events in their Tere

‘ T was 72-years in the one profes- sion,’ said the retired farmer who proved quite popular among the women in the day care centre.

Laughter definitely is the medicine for longevity if the table of seven people with an age total of 639 years was anything to go by.

Among the jokers, was Martin Walsh from Creevagh, who played his cards very close to his chest.

The youthful Mr Walsh, 90 in Sep- tember, entertains his friends with an entertaining song.

Not to be out done 90-year-old sea- nachi Francie Connelly told one of his many yarns.

The man from Leeds, Miltown Malbay, is still farming and looked as fresh as a man in his early 60s.

He thought nothing of cutting turf with the slean last year, and one would be incorrect to think that age stopped him this year. No he simply ran out of bog.

“Td still sow a bit of tillage,” he Sr HLG

Francie points across that table to Bridie Carey from Creggane, Quilty, “sure that woman there use to have a turkey and chicken hatchery.”

Bridie who will be 92 years old in May and is originally from Killmur- ry Ibrickane remembered it well.

It was hard work raising the birds, before she sent them off to be killed.

PJ “The Doctor” Downes is look- ing forward to his 93rd birthday on

St Patrick’s Day.

The Kildimo man who inherited his nickname from his father – an expert in looking after calving cows, enjoys a laugh and some fun.

Some might even consider that PJ’s longevity comes from the water, be- cause living across the road from him and sitting across the table was Mary Hurley – 90 in April.

Mary Murrihy from Knockbrack was 90 last month. Mary lives at one of the area’s two milestones – that is two Irish miles she explained with a laugh.

The seven are just some of the peo- ple from the area that enjoy meeting in the resource centre to have lunch, chat, and be entertained by Joe Ryan on the keyboard and local popular musician Michael Mahoney.

THE countdown is officially on for the Clare first ever walking mara- thon, which takes place in the Bur- ROOM BODY ENYA

The Clare Burren Marathon Chal- lenge, which is being organised by the Ballyvaughan-Fanore Walking Club, will take place on Saturday May 24 and organisers are expecting a treat for enthusiast who can exper!i- ence first hand some of Ireland most SOUR UI DMCC OMA

The marathon was launched in the Burren Coast Hotel in Ballyvaughan last Friday evening and organis- ers are hoping to help attract new visitors to discover the beauty of the Burren.

“We have everything you could

want from a walking marathon – up- hill, cross county – everything you ol tIKe Me bele

“The majority of marathons are on the flat on roads, and that is a bit bor- ing after awhile,” said Kevin McCor- mack of the Ballyvaughan-Fanore Walking Club.

“It’s ust as tough as running a mar- athon. The runners are trained fro running and the walkers are trained for walking, it’s still more than 26 miles. It’s a big challenge all the wneales

“We have great scenary for this walk. We have Galway Bay, we have the Aran Islands – on a clear day you can actually see as far as the lakes in Connemara so it’s a great route for anyone who is interested in nature and sight seeing.”

The marathon will coincide with the Burren in Bloom Festival in Bal- lyvaughan and will start and finish in the Burren Coast Hotel in Bally- vaughan.

It will start at 8am and will go cross country through a variety of different landscapes before arriving in Fanore.

The walker will then return via Black Head and the Green Road and back into Ballyvaughan.

The Ballyvaughan-Fanore Walking Club was set up in 2006 and has al- ready some 80 members drawn from all over the country.

“IT was always a walker I suppose and I have been away for year, But when I came back to Fanore here I ended up walking by myself. I got fed up of that and decided that I

would try and start off a club,” con- tinued Kevin.

“This is the very first walking marathon in Clare as far as I know anyway. But they have these walk- ing marathons all over the world. We have the ideal place for walking here. We have the Burren, there 1s no location like it for walking anywhere in the world.”

For more information check out www.bally vaughanfanorewalking- club.com

LOCAL Fianna Fail TD Timmy Dooley says he is encouraged by the response of Ennis Town Council to his request for urgent improvements to be carried out at the Tulla Road.

“The condition of Tulla Road is fast becoming a safety issue because of the amount of motorists using it on a regular basis, including local chil- dren going to school,” he said.

‘“T have been contacted by a number of people who live in the area and- who have expressed their frustration about the condition of the road and the delay in its upgrading.”

“*T have been in touch with the town engineer and I am encouraged by the level of progress being made.”

“Construction on a new roundabout and pedestrian crossing 1s expected to begin shortly at The Grove. The roundabout and pedestrian cross- ing are to be provided by a private developer in association with a new distributor road which the developer is providing and which goes North from the same junction along side The Grove development site.”

“Progress is also being made with regard to the widening and raising of

the bridge. The Town Engineer told me that the Council is now in a posi- tion to initiate planning procedures to raise the bridge deck and reduce the risk of large vehicles colliding with the bridge. It is also proposed to widen the bridge to facilitate pe- destrian and cycle facilities on the South side of the Tulla Road.

“It is hoped that the improvements will be carried out before the rail line becomes operational in 2009,” Deputy Dooley added.

“The Tulla Road between the en- trance to Gort na Blath and the by- pass itself 1s within the by-pass con- tractors site and so the entire area is to be restored in association with the by-pass over the next few months.”

“There are land acquisition issues with the proposed roundabout at Oakleigh Wood and a Compulsory Purchase Order is currently being processed.”

“IT understand the frustrations of residents living in the area and I re- layed their concerns to the Council. I am hopeful that the improvement works already underway and those due to commence shortly will relieve the inconvenience currently being imposed on them,” he concluded.

COSMETIC companies from. all over the world would pay millions to discover the secret of clear skin and a healthy glow in more mature people, so that they could bottle the secret of Keer mAelelsee

However those from the Miltown Malbay area, now in their tenth dec- ade know that such a secret cannot

be found in any magic bottle or jar of over priced potions and lotions.

For Mary Murrihy, Mary Hurley and Bridie Carey the look of natural beautiful skin well into your 90s is easy – in fact it is nothing at all.

Mrs Murrihy laughed at the thought of putting creams and lotions on her face and skin. “I never put anything on it,’ she explained.

The secret of long life is also

agreed on among the majority of the nonagenarians.

“Hard work when I was young made me hardy,’ said Mrs Murrihy.

When asked the secret to long healthy live Mrs Hurley wasn’t as sure as others.

“T don’t know in the name of God, living day to day and working hard I suppose. ”

“We had a great time when we

were young, not like now,” said PJ Downes sympathising with the youth of today.

“Live long and eat enough,” is the secret according to Francie Con- ites Ae

While all of those present looked little over 60 years old Jim Joe Grif- fin maintains that the only way to tell a persons age is by the way they WENN e

GORT will celebrate it’s first ever literary festival this May when a two-day long events hosted by the Western Writers’ Centre rolls into town. The festival, which 1s entitled The Forge at Gort – A Writers Gath- ering, will take place on March 28 and 29 at various locations around the town.

“We have called it the forge, which related to one of Yeat’s poems where he mentions the forge in Gort.

“That forge is still there in the main street in Gort,’ said Fred John- son, founder of the Cuirt Festival and member of the Western Writers’

Centre.

“The Western Writer Centre has or- ganised a lot of events in the western region. I was in Gort as we had or- ganised a reading for Evelyn Conlon the novelist, and I looked around and thought that Gort would be a lovely town to have a little festival in. The best way to do these thing is to start modestly, and have a small festival which reflects the literary history of Gort.”

One of the main aims of the festival is to take an all inclusive approach to literature.

“We will have poetry workshops, Christy O’Connor will be down to talk about his book on hurling “Last

Man Standing’, we are trying to keep it as open as possible,” continued Fred.

“The last thing that we would want is to have anything that is too elitist. We really want to be as all inclusive as possible. If anyone locally has ide- as and would like to get their group involved then we would love to hear from them.

“We have been in touch, for exam- ple, with the Brazilian community in Gort and we hope that we will be able to organise something with them. But if anyone has an idea, all they need to do is give us a shout.

“We are supported by the Arts Council, Galway City and County

Councils and Poetry Ireland but we are hoping for other sponsorship if it is forthcoming.”

The festival line-up so far includes novelist Geraldine Mills, poet Knute Skinner, a poetry workshop with poet Nessa O’Mahony, poetry read- ing with Frank Golden, a talk with Christy O’Connor, a reading for children and adults with Eddie Leni- han a workshop on poetry publish- ing, with the head of Salmon Poetry, Jessie Lendennie and The Rahaline Experiment, a drama by John Arden and Margaretta D’Arcy.

For more info check out www. twwe.ie or contact 091 533594 or westernwriters @eircom.net.

AGREEMENT on a site for the pro- posed new Doolin Search and Rescue Headquarters could soon be reached, according to Minister of State Tony Ono

Minister Killeen confirmed that a meeting between the Office of Pub- lic Works, Clare County Council and the Irish Coast Guard is scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 28.

“The provision of new accommo- dation for the Coast Guard Services in Doolin continues to be a top pri- ority for the Office of Public Works. The Department of Transport, mean- while, has also expressed its desire to see the project progressed,’ ex- plained Minister Killeen.

“The view of the OPW is that the

location of the new Coastguard facil- ities should tie in with Clare County Council’s preferred option for the development of a new pier and ticket office in Doolin. Following my in- tervention with Munister Eamon O’Cuiv last November, the €10mil- lion pier development is being pro- eressed.”

Minister Killeen said he was con- fident the construction of the new headquarters would follow quickly once a suitable site had been ac- quired.

“The OPW has repeatedly stressed that the construction process, includ- ing building design, planning per- mission application and tendering, will be proceeded with as quickly as possible. I am hopeful that the up- coming meeting will move the proc- ess forward,’ he said.

THE demise of Clare’s rural pubs 1s a major contributing factor to suicides levels in the county, according to an Ennis mental health expert.

Home consumption of alcohol has been singled out by retired commu- nity nurse and Secretary of the En-

nis Mental Health Association, Tom McGrath, as one of the biggest con- tributing factors in many suicides. He believes that excess alcohol con- sumption can be the trigger for many people suffering from depression to attempt to take their own life. “Alcohol is a big problem and it’s going to get bigger. People are drink-

ing at home now and there is no con- trol over how much they have”’.

“It’s a big factor in many cases. It would be better for people to be in the pubs where at the very least there are some regulations on how much WOTeaVAr-DM CMON UDOT Ope ycaua

According to Aware’s Depression Awareness week, as many as 14,000

Clare people will suffer from depres- sion at some stage during their life.

“People can be suffering but are generally okay. They then take too much alcohol and that can push them over the edge. It can be very sudden,” explained Mr McGrath.

KILKEE woman Fionnuala Whelan is preparing for the challenge of a lifetime in Cuba.

In March, the Rathfarnham based garda will cycle 335 kilometres over five days in the Caribbean island with the group expected to cycle 67 kilometres per day. Fionnuala is undertaking the challenge to raise money for the Dublin based ARC Cancer Support Centre.

The first of its kind, the aim of ARC House is to provide a professional support service to adults affected by all types of cancer, no matter where

they are being treated in Ireland.

An holistic approach to support 1s used as a complementary adjunct to primary medical treatment.

Fionnuala explained the work done by ARC. “ARC Cancer Support Cen- tre charity is a very worthy cause and we would very much appreciate your support in helping us to raise funds for this charity.

It offers a variety of courses and programmes such as stress man- agement, learning to live with can- cer, stress management for carers, a drop-in centre and Ta’i Chi classes to name but a few.”

The route is classified, as moder-

ate to challenging and the terrain is quite steep in parts. Expected tem- peratures are around 28 degrees for the month of March, all of which make the cycle more demanding physically. There will be thirty cy- clists in total from various parts of the country.

Fionnuala hopes to raise €10,000 with all proceeds going to directly to ARC.

To do this she is organising a number of events with the first, a quiz, planned for the Strand Bar, OT rer

Fionnuala said she is looking for- ward to the challenge. “There are 30

of us going so it should be an amaz- ing experience. Cuba is meant to be a very beautiful country. I really wanted to highlight the work done by ARC. Hopefully we will get good support.”

She added, “You can donate by log- ging on to Www.mycharity.ie/event/ cubancyclefidanni/. We are current- ly organising a variety of events in Dublin and also hope to hold a fund- raising night in The Strand in Kilkee and possibly a table quiz.”

Further details on ARC Cancer Support Centre can be obtained from their website www.arccancer- support.ie.