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A RETIRED New York City fireman lost his life after he fell from a cliff while out walking just yards from his holiday home in Quilty.

Ennis Coroner’s Court heard last week that Pat Lusterring (80) had been staying in his holiday home at Seafield, Quilty, last October.

Local woman Margaret Downes

recalled seeing Mr Lusterring, at around 7pm on October 9.

She said he had been out walking, as he normally did. That was the last reported sighting of him.

She later heard that his body had been found on rocks at the base of a cliff.

Garda Ian Kelly said gardai re- ceived a call that the body of a man had been found at the base of a

cliff, across from the Star of the Sea Church in Quilty.

He said he saw an elderly man ly- ing on the rocks. He had suffered the fall, opposite his holiday home.

The drop of the cliff measured 30 feet, said the garda.

Pathologist Dr Peter Fawl said he carried out an autopsy on Mr Luster- ring’s body, on October 11, 2007. He said the base of his skull had been

fractured.

“Death, in my opinion, was due to acute head injuries, include a frac- tured skull, consistent with the de- ceased having fallen from a height,” said Dr Fawl.

Coroner Isobel O’Dea said Mr Lus- terring had suffered a “very sad end.

“He was well-known and liked in the neighbourhood. It is one of these very sad cases where we don’t have

exact evidence as to what happened Mr Lusterring. We can presume he was out for a walk and fell,’ she SP ALOe

“T am quite satisfied there was no suspicion of suicide,” said the Coro- ner.

She said she could not record an ‘accidental’ verdict, aS no-one saw what happened and recorded an open verdict.

A VALUABLE piece of specialised gymnastics equipment is being left outside rusting in the rain, as there is no storage available for it in Shan- nte)eF

The Shannon gymnastics club bought a €17,000 linear trampo- line in November and was under the impression at the time that storage would be available at the local lei- sure centre.

However, the storage is not avail- able and the equipment has been left O)ULMB NOMA slomod (one lo OLR

The club, which was formed 10 years ago, trains at the leisure centre. However, in recent years, a number of its members have achieved nation- al honours, with the result that they

are in need of improved facilities.

There are currently 80 members signed up, seven of who recently made the Irish team. One of its mem- bers, 12-year-old Becky O’Donnell (from Kildysart), will travel to Por- tugal in March to represent Ireland in an elite junior open competition. Last year she competed in Lithuania and was placed in the top ten in a world cup event in Poland.

Club coach Elaine Ryan said the success has become a struggle, as facilities are not satisfactory.

“It (the trampoline) is outside in the rain, wrapped up. It would be mas- sive work to get it in and back out,” said Ms Ryan.

“Over the past few years, the club has raised over €42,000 which was spent on specialised equipment, to

allow the club to develop at high competitive level,’ she said.

She also said that the other equip- ment is being damaged, because it is not located in a permanent, suitable No NLELOR

“The equipment is left in open ar- eas because there is no storage at the leisure centre. If we were to take out all of our equipment, it would easily take an hour,” she said.

“Very expensive equipment is get- ting damaged at an alarming rate, due to lack of storage, but the club has nowhere else to go,’ said Ms Ryan.

She said the club needs a tall build- ing. While many warehouses are too expensive to rent, the club would be willing to pay an affordable rate for a building.

“Realistically we need a permanent residence. We would be willing to oy Nas ean

“It is crazy that there are so many empty buildings around Shannon that would be ideal. Even part of a building would be a dream.

‘There is a huge demand for gym- nastics in the area and the coaches work very hard to meet the demand,” said Ms Ryan.

CLONLARA and Patrickswell in Limerick are today trying to come to terms with the deaths of two friends who shared a passion for sport.

William Quane from Monaska in Clonlara and Sean O’Donoghue of Patrickswell in Limerick were look- ing forward to supporting Ireland in the Ireland—Italy clash in Croke Park When their car was involved in an horrific head-on collision between Borris-in-Ossory and Roscrea on Saturday morning.

Niall Furlong, from the Canal Bank

in Limerick, who was also travel- ling to the Six Nations match was the only survivor in a crash which claimed the lives of four people. Last night he was in a Serious but stable condition at the Midlands Hospital in Tullamore.

Both Mr Quane (34) and Mr O’ Donoghue (37) died at the scene of the accident, described by Fr Jackie Robinson, who administered the last rites, as “the worst I have ever seen’’.

All three men who were travel- ling from Limerick were employees of Dell, who have opened a book of condolences at the plant in Raheen.

The Quane family had moved from Limerick to Clonlara about 30 years ago.

‘William was very much into sport and followed the rugby in particu- lar,’ said Fr Brendan Cleary, Clon- lara, who described the incident as a “terrible tragedy”.

William, who had followed the for- tunes of the national team at home and abroad, had driven to Birdhill on Saturday morning to be collected by his friends.

The accident also claimed the lives of Polish man David Dziemianowicz (21) and his Italian girlfriend Marika

Rossi (24) who were travelling in a rented car from Dublin when the ac- cident took place.

According to a Garda spokesman, the accident took place while one car was attempting an overtaking ma- noeuvre.

The head-on collision took place on what the spokesman described as a “very wide, straight part of the road” where the “hard shoulder was nearly as wide as the road itself”.

Gardai are appealing for any wit- nesses to the accident as they don’t expect Mr Furlong to regain con- sciousness for a number of days.

IT WAS the biggest celebration in Lissycasey GAA club history – the night they honoured the storied year that was 2007 when they swept away the major honours in Clare senior football.

Of course the high came when they annexed the senior football title for the first time, a success over Eire Og that was followed two weeks later a maiden victory in the Cusack Cup when they beat Doonbeg in a tem- pestuous encounter.

And there was more – 2007 also saw Lissycasey win the Minor B championship and Division 5 league, the medals for which were also pre- sented on the night by guest of hon- our, double All-Ireland winner with

Galway and Tuam Star, Jarlath Fal- lon. The 2006 O’Gorman Cup med- als were also presented.

Master of ceremonies on the night was former club secretary, Seamus Hayes, while each medal presenta- tion to members of the senior team took place to a backdrop of footage from Lissycasey’s march to the Jack Daly Cup.

Over 400 people attended the func- tion in The West County Hotel, with the county board represented by chairman Michael O’Neill, vice- chairman Johnny Hill and secretary Pat Fitzgearld.

A special presentation was made to former county board chairman, Michael McDonagh, while county final referee Michael Talty from Kil- murry Ibrickane was also honoured

with a presentation.

A HUNGARIAN student who came to Clare to spend the summer with relatives died after he fell from a height during a visit to the Cliffs of Moher.

Tibor Bardos (19) went missing while on a day trip with his aunt and uncle, last June.

Karoly Torok told Ennis Coroner’s Court last Wednesday that Mr Bar- dos – who was his wife’s nephew – was staying at his house in Kilrush

last summer.

He had visited Ireland to work, for the summer period. One June 23, they decided to visit the Cliffs of Moher. They first went to the interpretative centre and then took photographs at the tower.

They arrived at the end of the safe walking area and Tibor wanted to walk further to take photographs. A short time later, they were in contact with him, via phone, and arranged to meet.

“He agreed to meet us in 20 min-

utes,” said Mr Torok.

However, when he did not appear, Mr ‘Torok’s wife tried to phone Mr Bardos, but only got his voicemail.

They eventually went back to their car, but were not “really worried” as they thought he had met someone or was reading a book, as he was inter- ested in history.

However, as time passed, they be- came very worried. Later that night, gardai made them aware that Tibor’s body had been recovered.

Tom Doherty was working as a

ranger at the cliffs that day. He took part in a search for Mr Bardos. It got underway at 9.32pm and a body was spotted just six minutes later in the water at Johnston’s Quarry. The body was taken from the water and taken to the pier at Doolin.

Pathologist Dr Peter Fawl carried out an autopsy on the deceased’s body, at Limerick Regional Hospi- ae

He said Mr Bardos received a lac- eration to the forehead. Death was due to multiple injuries, including

Skull fracture, consistent with the de- ceased having fallen from a height.

Coroner Isobel O’Dea said “one can only presume it was an accident. There was nothing to indicate he was suffering from depression”.

‘There was no direct evidence as to what happened. I’m absolutely satis- fied there was no suspicion of foul play,” she said, and recorded an open verdict.

“T can only imagine how difficult it must be for Mr Bardos’ family, to be so far away,’ added Ms O’Dea.

A GROUP set up in Shannon last year to integrate newcomers to the town is Set to expand.

‘Le Chéile na Sionna’ has sought to encourage people from a multitude of nationalities to get together and mingle.

Since its inception a year ago, the eroup has attracted people from a wide range of nationalities to join vheR

Representatives of a number of countries, including Egypt, France, Germany, Mauritius, England, Neth- erlands, Pakistan, China and Africa, have attended the monthly meetings

and regular social gatherings organ- ised by the group.

Now, 12 months on, the group is poised to expand, through its link with the Shannon Family Resource Centre. Its co-ordinator Marie Ro- land is hopeful that Le Chéile’s scope can now be expanded.

“Le Chéile will be coming under the umbrella of the family resource centre. We will be looking for fund- ing, through the resource centre,’ said Ms Roland.

“We are encouraging people to get involved. We are hoping to expand the programme further,’ she added.

The group was set up by Trish Fal- lon-Barry, who is welcoming new

members to join.

“The more diversity the better. People can make it their own club. The group includes all different na- tionalities and traditions. It has real- ly taken off and has been very posi- tive,’ she said.

‘People have interacted with each other in the group and network and offer friendly advice to each other,” she added.

Le Chéile participated in last year’s St Patrick’s Day parade in Shannon, where it won the ‘Best New Entry’ section.

It hopes to enter an entry again this year, to include a wide variety of na- aCoyet- Lele

“We are encouraging people to come along and show a splash of diversity for the parade. They are a part of the Shannon community, a welcome part,’ added Ms Fallon- Breas

The dates for the forthcoming meetings of the group are tonight (February 5), March 4, April 1, May 6 and June 3. The starting time is oe 0) 080

The group also meets at the food court, SkyCourt, every Saturday, from 2pm to 3pm.

Anyone interested in joining the eroup, or taking part in the parade, should contact Ms Fallon-Barry on 087 6743796.

THE team of volunteers who worked with Gerry Daffy on building a hos- pice in South Africa formed a guard of honour for his funeral at the week- end, along with members of the Tur- key Trotters and the Clare Hounds.

And his family bravely insisted that the church gate collection which he had organised to raise money for the Sr Ethel Normoyle Building of Hope Project should go ahead.

His grieving widow, Annette, told friends that her husband had been so moved by the plight of the people in

the townships at Missionvale that he was adamant to continue fundraising.

Gerry, who died in a tragic farm- ing accident, had just returned from spending 10 days working to raise the building in the centre run by the Lisseycasey nun outside Port Eliza- lreiteF

When news of the tragedy broke in Port Elizabeth, stunned volunteers placed a picture of Gerry on the seat in the children’s playground where he used to sit to have lunch.

As candles burned before the pho- to, children from the township came to say prayers and thank the man

who had worked tirelessly on their ont ee

Sr Ethel said that she could not believe that “such a bright light has left us. He worked so hard and gave everything while he was here to help bring hope to people. We are so shocked and our hearts go out to his Ie DObeAVA

‘He was a lovely, caring man. He will be reaping the rewards of his kindness and hard work now.”

‘He was a hero for those 10 days,” said project organiser, Olive Halpin. “When he was getting on the bus to leave I hugged him and he said, ‘Ol-

ive, those were the best 10 days of my life’.”

Fellow organiser, Maureen Mc- Carthy said that the team are “abso- lutely stunned. He was such a vibrant person and so lively”’.

Ennis priest, Fr John Molloy said Mass on Sunday in Missionvale as Gerry was being laid to rest in Ort

Gerry and his wife Annette organ- ised a charity performance night with traditional music star, Sharon Shannon. The night raised more than €6,000 for the Building of Hope Ke) elm

THE College championship season began in earnest last week when the Fitzgibbon and Ryan Cups got un- derway. Top of the bill was undoubt- edly the clash of WIT and UL in the so-called Group of Death which also includes last year’s winners LIT.

Despite being a dour affair played in less than favourable conditions, 2006 champions WIT came away with all the points with Kilkenny senior panelist TJ Reid the hero scor- ing O-7 in their O-11 to O-6 victory.

Clare were well respresented in the game with Conor Cooney (O’Callaghan’s Mills), Patrick Kel- ly (Clarecastle) and Ger Griffey (Clarecastle) all starting for the win- ners while Peter O’Brien (Ogonnel- loe) was introduced for UL midway through the second half. The Lim- erick side also had to do without the services of the injured Brendan Bu- gler (Whitegate).

In Group B, CIT were four point winners over last year’s finalists NUIG but the Cork side were far more impressive than the 1-16 to 1-12 scoreline suggests. Newtownshan- drum duo Ryan Clifford and Cathal Naughton did most of the damage se- curing I-13 between them and NUIG had no answer to the forward power, especially after losing their captain and centre-back Martin Ryan after only 15 minutes.

Five Clare players were on show for the Galway side with the O’ Donovan twins Domhnall and Cormac return- ing to action after Clonlara’s narrow defeat to Tommy Larkins and the NUIG side also included Cian Dillon (Crusheen), Colin Ryan (Newmar- ket-on-Fergus) who scored five frees and his clubmate David Barrett who managed an impressive tally of four points from play.

In Group C, UCC secured a com- fortable 0-16 to O-8 victory over the Garda College with Sixmilebridge’s

Aidan Quilligan heavily prominent from centre-back. The Garda college depended largely on Eoin McGrath’s (Waterford) frees but the Banner were also represented in the side by Brendan McMahon (Crusheen), Kevin Dilleen (St Josephs Doora/ Barefield) and Eire Og’s Barry Nu- gent who grabbed two points.

In Group D, UCD easily accounted for UUJ in their 3-18 to 0-10 point win with Kilkenny’s Maurice Nolan amassing 1-10 of that total.

This week’s fixtures sees poten- tiallty the game of the group stages when WIT host 2007 winners LIT on Wednesday. Between them, these sides have dominated the prestigious colleges Cup in recent years with WIT winning three and LIT win- ning two out of the last five Fitzgib- bon titles and a cracking game is expected.

Holders LIT who knocked out Clare

in the Waterford Crystal Competi- tion a few weeks back have a host of inter-county stars with Joe Canning (Galway), Niall Healy (Galway), Willie Hyland (Laois) and Shane Maher (Tipperary) in their ranks. Davy Fitzgerald’s side is also well represented by Clare players includ- ing Enda Collins (Killanena), Gary O’Connell (Wolfe Tones), Jonathan Clancy (Clarecastle), James MclIn- erney (Newmarket-on Fergus) and Bernard Gaffney (Newmarket-on- Fergus) who are all expected to fea- Ub Ken

Clare midfielder Jonathan Clancy is one of the most experienced in the LIT side having won two Fitzgib- bon medals in three years. Winner of a Higher Education All-Star last year in their run to the title, Clancy feels that despite the loss of several key players this year, the potential of the Freshers coming through this

year makes them a strong candidate to complete a successful defence of their title.

“We lost Jackie Tyrell, Kieran Murphy, Shane McGrath and Conor O’Mahony. These lads were starting even on their county teams so there was a gap there all right but I think we have enough young players com- ing through to fill the gap.

“I think the squad is good enough to win it again. We have a lot of strong players still there, a shell of a panel of seven or eight that were there last year and a lot of new lads coming in and we seem to be bonding well to- gether.”

With the benefit of a game last week, WIT have the chance to se- cure top spot with a win on home turf on Wednesday but they will be up against it against a well marshalled LIT who made a clean sweep of the HIgher Education honours last year.

In Group B NUIG have to beat DIT to stay in this year’s competition and because they retained the majority of last year’s team, they should have too much for the Dublin side. In Groups C and D , the Garda College and UUJ are in a similar predicament when they take on Connaught Hurl- ing League finalists GMIT and St Pats respectively, both needing wins to survive.

This week also sees the commence- ment of the Sigerson Cup, third level football’s premier competition. The full results and fixtures are as fol- O45

DOMESTIC violence incidents in Clare have increased substantially over the past two years – and gardai say much of it is linked to alcohol.

143 incidents of domestic violence were reported to gardai in Clare in 2006 and this figure increased sub- stantially last year.

This is a massive rise on the fig- ure of 90 incidents in 2005 and re- flects an overall national trend in this area.

The head of the Clare Garda Divi- sion said gardai are worried about the WKOIIXOD

“We are concerned about the rise. domestic violence is one of our ma- jor concerns and the traumatic effect

it has on individuals and on society as a whole,” said Chief Superintend- ent, Gerry Mahon.

He said that alcohol is a prevalent factor in domestic abuse.

“Certainly alcohol is an issue. We are finding that alcohol is an issue in many of those incidents. Drugs is a factor, but not an overriding factor. Alcohol would be the main factor,” he said.

“There are so many factors in it. Relationships and outside factors like work and other social stresses play a role,” he added.

He said people are more willing to report incidents of domestic violence now than they were in the past.

“We are taking a very proactive stance on domestic violence. Every

garda has received training on do- mestic violence,” he said.

“It 1s one of the priorities for the gardai going forward in 2008,” he Cre HLGm

A spokeswoman for Clare Haven, which provides support to female victims of domestic abuse, said the marked increase was no surprise.

‘There has been a huge increase in the number of helpline calls and new visits, while our outreach centres in Shannon, Scariff, Ennistymon and Kilrush have been extra busy,” said PR co-ordinator Eileen Murphy.

“2007 certainly was a busy year for Clare Haven,” she added.

NO AER Lingus flight between Bel- fast and Heathrow is booked out be- tween now and the end of the month, despite some seats being offered at eee

Airline boss, Dermot Mannion said last week that the airline’s bookings on the Belfast routes have improved, although no official figures are yet available for the Belfast/Heathrow route.

After a slow December for the air-

line flying from Belfast Internation- al, with just over one quarter of the Seats full, Mannion said the airline had “a good January in Belfast and the figures are improving al the time. The Aer Lingus brand has now been brought to the attention of the entire public in Northern Ireland and we’ve been very well received. These are very early days.”

The airline boss was speaking at the launch of its partnership with US budget carrier JetBlue. The deal will allow customers to book JetBlue’s 40

routes across the US on the Irish car- rier’s website and vice versa.

The service will be available on both airline’s websites from April One

Mannion said he is “confident” that the new service between Belfast and Heathrow will prove a success.

But customers wishing to fly from the Belfast airport to Heathrow in the slot which replaced the Shannon/ Heathrow flight can find availability any day this month, indicating that none of the flights are fully booked.

Mannion said that the partnership with JetBLue will “bring Dublin as a destination and Shannon as a des- tination to a very large database of customers that we don’t have access to at the moment.”

Aer Lingus pulled it’s Shannon to Heathrow flights last month, despite a huge swell of opposition to the move from the business community and the travelling public.

The airline said that moving the routes was a commercial decision, despite the fact that the route was

well supported out of Shannon and profitable.

But there has been some specula- tion that the decision might be recon- sidered in light of the slow take-up on the route out of Belfast.

According to figures published in a national newspaper last week, fllights from Belfast to Amsterdam took off in December with just 27 per cent of the seats filled, Aer LIngus Belfast to Barcelona flights had 44 per cent of seats filled and the Geneva route sold 39 per cent of seats.