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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.

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.

FAMILIES in Inagh and Gort are returning to their homes this week following a month of intensive flood- ing which trapped a number of peo- ple in their homes for days at a time throughout January.

Pressure 1s mounting on local au- thorities in both Clare and Galway to tackle problem areas such as Drum- cullaun in Inagh and Tierneevan on the outskirts of Gort.

Rising waters cut off two families of Mullins’ in Drumcullaun at vari- ous times throughout January. The area was flooded for a total of 10 days throughout January, with mem-

bers of the Mullins family trapped either inside their home or away from their home for days at a time.

“If they are stuck outside of the house when the flood comes, they have to go and stay with relations or friends, but if they are inside the house when it floods, they’re trapped there, end of story,” said Inagh-based County Councillor Flan Garvey (FP).

“They have just returned to their homes but who knows when the next flood will come. Besides the incon- venience to the families, what if there was an emergency? There would be no way of reaching them.

“They can be trapped there for

three or four days at a time.”

Clare County Council has agreed to examine the situation but warned that a solution to the flooding could be both time-consuming and expen- sive.

“It is an expensive thing but as far as lam concerned the Mullins family are entitled to access to their homes the same as any other family. They pay their taxes the same as anyone else. A solution has to be found,” continued Cllr Garvey.

Meanwhile, Galway County Coun- cil are examining the possibility of opening a relief road to facilitate lo- cal people in the townland of Tiern- eevan near Gort who were marooned

as aresult of the recent flooding.

According to former Fianna Fail councillor, Michael ‘Stroke’ Fahy (IND), a relief road is available to allow families affected by the flood- ing to access Gort, but this cannot be done until insurance issues are sorted out between the landowner and Gal- way County Council.

Cllr Fahy returned to active service for Galway County Council in De- cember after spending seven months in prison after he was found guilty of misappropriating council funds and attempted theft last May in Galway Circuit Criminal Court.

Cllr Fahy (56) is the longest serving member of Galway County Council.

IRISH language group, Glor hInse has won first prize, €50,000, in the annual Glor na nGael awards.

Comharchumann Rath Cairn, County Meath, won the second prize of €12,500, while Cumann Forbar- tha Ghaoth Dobhair, came in third place, winning €7,500.

Praising the work of Glor na hInse, Glor na nGael director, Lorcan Mac Gabhann, described the commit- tee as an example for Irish groups throughout the country.

“The committee enjoys broad rep-

resentation from the community and uses an effective planning system. The adjudicators were particularly impressed its strategic plan and the work arising from it,” he said.

Mr Mac Gabhann said the win re- flected the strong gaelic movement that existed in Ennis. He said

‘“T congratulate the people of Ennis and Clare for this Glor na nGael win, achieving first place in the competi- tion for the third time, a feat achieved only once before.”

“Ennis enjoys a strong Irish gaels- coil movement. As well as that, the committee manages to exert influ-

ence on all the schools in the area through drama, debating and other major events.

“There has been significant growth in participation of Ogras. From the start of the year till the end, young people are supported through Féile na hInse, schools’ drama and a sum- mer camp.

He praised the large number of events organised by Glor na Gael throughout the year. He said, “A large number of events are also or- ganised for adults such as a reading circle and public lectures.

“The Irish language is central to

other cultural events such as an Flea- dh Nua. The committee received particular praise for organising Fili an Chlair.

“The committee is working suc- cessfully with the state sector, par- ticularly with Clare County Council and has achieved much. A demand for state services in Irish 1s advanced and encouraged.”

In total, Glor na nGael announced awards to the value of €141,950, giving recognition the work being carried out by many committees to promote the Irish language at home ~NOlemr-lesKers(en

THE Ennis General Hospital Devel- opment Committee is in the black following a very busy year for the lobby group.

According to the accounts present- ed to last week’s AGM of the com- mittee, the group has carried over €8,804 from last year.

Its treasurer, Fine Gael Deputy Joe Carey (FG), told the meeting that the

committee spent a total of €19,576.

Last year proved a busy and expen- sive year for the committee as it cam- paigned during the general election campaign for commitments to the future of the hospital and organised a protest rally for the streets of Ennis.

The greatest expense for the group was media advertising which totaled €7,951.

This included the cost of advertis- ing in the four local newspapers and

the local radio station.

Printing costs came to €4,151, which did not include car stickers, the cost of which was sponsored.

Postage costs for 2007 came to €3,520, public relations cost €300, Clare Cancer Concern was afforded €800, photography €1,098, the pub- lic health alliance €50 and bank charges came to €117.

The hospital committee raised most of its fund from church gate collec-

tions totalling €6,843.

Sales of the lobby group’s CD raised €5,/41, with further donations reaching €1,550.

The collection on the day of the hospital rally came to €2,800.

In total, the committee raised em eres

A carry-over of €10,646 from the previous year saw all the bills paid and the books in good stead for the Ley eaBNTSaA orb

KILRUSH area councillors have agreed that holiday home owners in Clare should pay for the water sup- as At last night’s (Monday) meeting of the council, Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) said that holiday homes were a commercial interest and as such the owners should have to pay for the water supplied to them.

Under Government policy, all non- domestic water must be paid for but local authorities, such as Clare Coun- ty Council, cannot charge domestic users for their water supply.

As many as 3,092 non-domestic water users in the Kilrush area have been identified but this does not in- clude holiday home schemes.

“People who are trying to make a living in the county are being charged and those making money from the county are not contributing at all,’ said the former TD.

Supporting Clir Taylor Quinn, Cllr Patrick Keane (FF) said, “There is a lot of revenue that can be collected.”

The 3,092 non-domestic water cus- tomers identified by the council in the Kilrush Electoral area includes all non-domestic customers on group schemes supplied with public water.

According to Derek Troy, Execu- tive Engineer with Clare County Council, “The process of surveying, compiling lists of works and meter installation is currently ongoing and the total number of customers may change due to additional connections being made or non-domestic connec- tions being removed.

“This project should be complete over the next number of months.”

Revenue that may accrue from non- domestic connections will depend on total usage. However, current rates are €1.10 per cubic metre for water supply, €2.08 per cubic metre for the consolidated supply (water and

sewerage connections), and a fixed charge of €1.45 per customer,’ he said. Installation of the meters will cost €145.

It was argued at Clare County Council level that the installation of such metre should be borne by cen- tral government.

The cost, however, will have to be paid by the customer. Clare County Council must also find €80 million to upgrade the county’s treatment plants, to maintain water schemes, and to monitor them if it is to reach the targets set in the first report on the Provision and Quality of Drink- ing Water in Ireland, 2006 – 2007.

STUDENTS from Ennis Commu- nity College proved to be the bright sparks at the 2008 National Elec- tronic Engineering Quiz.

Rebecca Murphy, Victor Aku- jobi, Shona Ni Meachair and James Philips came first in the regional round of the 2008 National Elec- tronic Engineering Quiz in GMIT before narrowly missed out winning the overall prize.

The annual quiz took place in si- multaneously in University College Cork, Dublin Institute of Technology and Waterford Institute of Technol- ogy and the Galway Mayo Institute

of Technology on January 26. The quiz attracted schools from across Ireland and this year the standard of entry was again very high

Having won the regional round in GMIT, the Ennis team was tied with a team from Cork for the national wa Con

It came down to one question; what was the record time for winning the Dublin City Marathon?

The closest answer deciding the BUONO Coe

Unfortunately for Ennis Commu- nity College, their opponent’s answer was closer and the Ennis team had to settle for second place.

All teams from the four simultane-

ous events were competing for the national title and a national prize worth €2,000 donated by MIDAS Ireland to the winning school.

MIDAS Ireland (Microelectronic Industry Design Association) is a joint industry and academic organi- sation, which defines and develops the future direction of Integrated Circuit design in Ireland.

MIDAS as an organisation was launched in February 2001 by the Minister of Enterprise, Trade & Em- ployment Mary Harney TD.

It is a national cluster consisting of the microelectronics design com- panies and third level institutions in Ireland, building on the already-

strong relationships between them.

The quiz success is just the latest for Ennis Community College. In 2006, Victor Akujobi, who repre- sented Ennis Community College in GMIT, won a gold medal at the Irish Science Olympiad. Victor qualified for the competition based on his ex- cellent results in junior certificate maths and science.

INDIVIDUALS, groups and organi- sations interested in undertaking works aimed at protecting Clare’s biodiversity are being invited to ap- ply for funding under the Biodiver- sity Fund for 2008.

The fund was established last year by the Department of the Environ- ment, Heritage and Local Govern- ment following the Interim Review of the Implementation of the Nation- al Biodiversity Plan 2002-2006.

Administered by the Heritage Council, with the support of Clare County Council, it aims to encour- age and enable people to undertake capital projects that help protect Clare’s abundance of wildlife and

wild places.

The types of works being targeted by the Fund include enhancement, protection and conservation of Bio- diversity, creating wildlife areas, re- moving invasive species, and plant- ing native wild flowers and trees.

“The objective of this fund is to Support site conservation and man- agement for the enhancement of bio- logical diversity at a local level,” said Congella McGuire, Heritage Officer, Clare County Council.

“Priority will be given to high qual- ity and well thought-out applications that assist the management of sites that contain habitats of special con- servation importance in Ireland, or which support threatened or vulner- able species.”

A grant allocation can cover up to 50 per cent of the project cost and can be used in conjunction with grants from other sources.

Individuals, community groups, properly constituted non-profit or- ganisations, local authorities, statu- tory institutions, academic institu- tions and private companies are eligible to apply to the Fund for grant assistance.

“Clare has a rich variety of dif- ferent animals and plants as well as some of the best examples of habitats in Europe. However, our biodiversity is disappearing fast with animals and plants becoming extinct and habitats being damaged.

Therefore, I would urge anyone interested in protecting their local

biodiversity to consider applying for funding,’ said John Murphy, Biodi- versity Officer with Clare County Council.

“Biodiversity is all living things from the tiniest insect to the mighty oak. It is the variety of life on our planet. Our health, economy and quality of life depend on a healthy environment rich in_ biodiversity. Here in Clare, its presence is every- where, in our parks and gardens, by our roadsides, in our rivers and seas, and our ‘living landscapes’.”

Application forms will be automat- ically sent out to all previous appli- cants, and may also be downloaded from www.heritagecouncil.ie. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 15 February 2008.

TALKS over a timetable for pedes- trianisation in Ennis will get under- way at the end of the month.

It follows yesterday’s monthly meet- ing of Ennis Town Council where the results of a survey carried out on December 20, 21 and 22 revealed a largely favourable response to pedes- trianisation in Ennis at Christmas.

The survey, carried out for Ennis Town Council by Amarach research, found that between 79-81 per cent of respondents indicated that pedes- triaisation was a good idea in each

of the four areas surveyed. The four areas surveyed were Abbey Street, O’Connell Street, O’Connell Square and Lower Market Street.

Town Clerk Eddie Power said he expected talks between Ennis Town Council and the local business com- munity would resume at the end of February. “The next stage would be to meet with traders from the areas to see when and what days would be the most suitable. I would suggest a meeting take place in February with a final report to be presented at the March meeting,” he said.

The survey found that the principal

reasons given by those who viewed pedestrianisation positively was that it improved safety (58 per cent), cre- ated a more pleasant atmosphere (38 per cent) and that it would be easier to get around (37 per cent). Some 41 per cent of those surveyed cited this as a reason. 273 people were polled for this section of the survey.

46 per cent respondents felt that parking facilities were conveniently located and facilitate shopping in Ennis. However, this opinion var- ies between drivers and non-drivers, with just 35 per cent of drivers agree- ing with the convenience of parking

facilities.

The key reasons given by those who view pedestrianisation nega- tively were concerns about vehicular access to the streets, concerns about getting around and concerns about access to shops and banks.

96 per cent of respondents felt their frequency of shopping would not de- crease, with 36 per cent indicating they would shop more often in Ennis should the streets be pedestrianised.

SW ilo Kom sku hd ucoeelo NL MBDOMMAOlomeler-Nene ber that the introduction of pedestri- anisation was now a matter of “when’ and not ‘if’.