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A QUESTION mark has been put on plans by All-Ireland winning Clare hurler, Niall Gilligan to press ahead with a €7 million housing develop- ment in Kilkee.

This follows local resident, Ray O’ Halloran lodging an appeal to An Bord Pleanala against a decision by Clare County Council to grant the Sixmilebridge man the go-ahead for the development.

Along with the Kilkee application, Mr Gilligan also has two separate planning applications for his home village of Sixmilebridge where he is seeking to construct 14 apartments, two shops and a pub.

The council has put those applica- tions on hold after seeking further in- formation on the two applications.

The Kilkee proposal faced a small number of objections and the council gave the go-ahead after Mr Gilligan lodged revised plans.

The site is zoned ‘residential’ and adjoins a third class road.

In his appeal, Mr O’Halloran of Dunlicky Road, Kilkee said he was shocked by the council decision as it showed no regard for the existing residents who are in situ for more than 25 years.

“The roadway is barely adequate for our needs at the moment and is certainly not sufficient for this pro- posed new development.

“T cannot believe that the additional information requested regarding the traffic was not addressed and that the traffic impact assessment was not carried out by a competent traffic management company.

The planning authority gave Mr Gilligan the go-ahead after ruling that the plan “would not seriously in- jure the amenities and would not be contrary to the proper planning and development”.

As part of the 38 conditions, the council ordered the omission of two homes. It is also seeking that Mr Gil- ligan pay €175,000 in levies towards public infrastructure and that the homes be the principal places of res1- dence of purchasers of the houses.

SPANISH Point is set to become one of the world’s leading sites for the production of wave energy following the launch of the Ocean Energy Ini- tiative last week.

The new initiative, which guaran- tees a price of €0.22 for each KW hour of ‘blue’ energy, has made Ireland the world’s most attractive market for the generation of wave energy.

Spanish Point was identified by the Irish Marine Institutes as one of Ire-

land’s top four sites for the produc- tion of wave energy. Indeed, it was short-listed as a possible site for the creation of Ireland’s first test facility for wave energy.

“Places like Spanish Point are now going to get more and more attractive because investors will be able to see exactly what price they will be able to get for the energy in the long term,” said Andrew Parish, of pioneering wave energy company, Wavebob.

“Investors will be able to go into Spanish Point, examine the prevalent wave strength and predict with cer-

tainty exactly what revenue they will be able to make. This will make it much easier to get financial backing for large-scale projects.”

“The real key is that we will have market stability. This makes it attrac- tive for developers such as ourselves to invest and it also makes it easier for us finance major projects.”

With a host of new wave energy generators at the prototype stage, the wave energy market is expected to boom over the next 10 years.

“We are relying more than 90 per cent in Ireland on fossil fuels. So by

having this tariff for renewable en- ergy, it encourages more alternative clean sources of energy into the mar- ket, which will actually make energy cheaper in the long run,” continued Mr Parish.

“Fossil fuels are going to get more and more expensive as time goes by, and wave energy is going to become a reality.

“Not only will Irish companies be looking at developing sites like Spanish Point, but international com- panies will be there too. It 1s very at- tractive for them.”

WHERE experimentation goes in the McGrath Cup campaign of 2008, Limerick can claim to enjoy an edge on Clare. Mickey ‘Ned’ O’Sullivan has used 27 players in their three games to date, while Clare have used 23. And, as he looks ahead to the fi- nal that fixed for Cooraclare on Sun- day, O’Sullivan that there’s more to come. “We’ll try a few more because we have a big panel in at the moment,

but by the time the National League comes around the following week, the county board will want numbers aria Cena F

‘“We’ve brought in five new for- wards, while we’ve experimented in other areas of the field as well. In that respect the McGrath Cup has been great — we’re getting competi- tive games and a chance to see what we ve got.”

However, the wholesale changes that O’Sullivan made in the cam-

paign thus far shouldn’t lull Clare into any sense of confidence ahead of Sunday’s final. ““Now that we’re in a final, we will be going out to win it, just as Clare will be,’ says Kerry’s 1975 All-Ireland winning captain. Famously he tasted defeat at the hands of Clare as Kerry manager way back in the Munster final of 1992, but during his tenure with Limerick to date has enjoyed league and champi- onship victories against Clare. However, most of those who will

line out on Sunday have no experi- ence of playing against Clare. “This is my third year in charge of the team and the team has changed a lot in that time,’ admits O’Sullivan.

“In my first year I more or less stuck with the team that had been there before. They had played a lot of football over the years and put in a lot of hard work to try and win a Munster championship.

“In my second year I brought in a good few players, but many more

have come in this year, so the team is going through some transition. After the McGrath Cup we go straight into a tough league campaign where we will be up against teams like Sligo, Wexford, Fermanagh and Down. By then I’d hope to have the new players and the old fighting out for places on the team.”

The first test comes 1n Cooraclare on Sunday — not a must win game, but Mickey ‘Ned’ O’Sullivan wants to win it all the same.

HUNDREDS of walkers are expect- ed in north Clare this May for the first ever walking marathon ever to take place in the county.

The Ballyvaughan-Fanore Walk- ing Club will host the Clare Burren Marathon Challenge on Sunday May 24, and organisers are expecting a treat for enthusiast who can experi- ence first hand some of Ireland most SURINDER OMA

The marathon will coincide with the Burren in Bloom Festival in Bal- ly vaughan and will finish in the in the Burren Coast Hotel in Ballyvaughan. It starts at 8am in the morning and

will go cross country through a va- riety of different landscapes before arriving in Fanore.

They return via Black Head and the Green Road and back into Bal- lyvaughan.

“It’s more of a challenge than a running marathon. Half of it will be done on road and half of it will be cross country. It’s the exact same distance as a marathon,” said Mary O’’ Brien of the Ballyvaughan-Fanore Walking Club.

“We will also have a half marathon route and a mini-marathon route available for people on the day.

‘In a marathon like the Dublin City Marathon you would have walker,

runners and elite runners and the route is always flat. This event is dif- ferent, you are talking about walking up hills and over many different ter- rains. It’s not an event for wearing runners, you would need a good pair of boots.”

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

The club was all the brian child of Kevin McCormack from Fanore who is a well seasoned walker himself. Now we have members from all over the place and organise walks each Sunday all year round,” continued Mary.

“For each walk we leave around 11 in the morning and we wouldn’t be back until half three or four. You bring some lunch with you and make a day out of it.

“We have walked in spots all around Clare and we will be going to Letterfrack and Kilkenny later in the year. The islands are a big thing for the Club. Each year so far we have gone for a walk to the Aran Islands in August. Last year we had 67 peo- ple in the Aran Islands. We walked on each of the islands throughout the weekend.”

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

THE way is now clear for the smooth relocation of 300 staff to Clare Coun- ty Council’s €27 million HQ after a dispute with IMPACT has been re- solved — for now.

Last month, IMPACT members voted four to one for industrial action in relation to disciplinary procedures that the council have in place.

The vote threatened to disrupt the council’s relocation from_ offices around Ennis back to the recently completed HQ, which is set to be

open to the public on Wednesday.

However, the vote by 130 members of its 270 strong membership at the council overwhelmingly voted for industrial action.

In response to the threat of industri- al action, the two sides met last week and agreed to refer the council’s con- tentious disciplinary procedures to a third party.

The third party will be a profession- al in the industrial relations field.

According to a spokesman for IM- PACT, the union are anxious that members be afforded proper union

representation in disciplinary proce- dures and that the employees be made aware of allegations before them.

The spokesman said that an issue that will be addressed by the third party will be staff transfers with only 24 hours notice as a means of disci- plining a staff member.

The IMPACT spokesman said: ‘The council denies that the transfers are carried out to discipline people, but we take a different view.”

The spokesman said that the dis- pute had the potential to disrupt the council’s relocation if it was not re-

solved.

He added: “We are asking that the council deal with people in a civi- lised way.”

The major logistical exercise of re- locating to the council’s new HQ was continuing last night.

As well as providing office accom- modation for 300 staff, the new cor- porate headquarters incorporates a number of environmentally friendly measures and will operate as a natu- rally ventilated building. Some solar panels and a wood chip heating sys- tem have been installed.

IN THE space of twelve months, K1i- eran Kelliher has seen Clare exit the McGrath Cup at the first stage and make the final of the competition. He’s the only arm of the manage- ment team that links the 2007 season and the progress this year is clear to him.

“It’s an achievement getting to a final and the lads played some good football out there. We got a great start with the goal almost right after the throw-in, but they seemed to go into that comfort zone again.

“We were sliced open a couple of times and that was worrying. Joe Hayes made a couple of great saves but if CIT had taken those opportun1- ties, they’d have been back to two or three points. We’d have been forced to start over again and establish out lead.”

The McGrath Cup, as always, has been used by Clare as a springboard to the league, a vehicle for establish- ing the best 15 come early February. But it’s been more than just a compe-

tition to blow early season cobwebs eee

The preparation has been ongo- ing since mid-winter and the fruits are showing. Still, Kelliher believes some more work is required.

“You have to say that CIT caused us some problems. They ran at us through the middle and we’ll have to tighten that up. If we’re going to com- pete with the county teams come the league, we’ll have to make sure they don’t get the goal chances that CIT got. Simple as that. But we’re still us- ing the McGrath Cup to look at play- ers in different positions. Nothing’s decided on yet and the team is still open.”

So far, 23 players have been used, discounting Greg Lyons, Garry Bren- nan and John Hayes who were each involved for their college. The pool of talent, Kelliher says, is increas- ing and improving. Fitness levels are high and competition for places is rising.

‘““We’ve wanted to have a look at as many players as possible and we’ve done that. We still haven’t stopped

looking and that’s the message we want to send out.”

One of those to resume training in the past fortnight was David Russell. He was named to start wing forward, was replaced on the starting 15 by Kevin Larkin but eventually made an appearance with 12 minutes left.

“This was David’s second week back and it’s been a big plus for us. He’s a strong player, a team player.”

Sunday is Clare’s fourth game in a month and it brings added incentive.

‘“There’s only four or five lads in- volved this year who already have a McGrath Cup medal. They’ll want to finish the competition on a high note, but we won’t take too much for eranted against Limerick. They’re the first county side we’ll have met.”

AFTER 10 long years, Father Ted is coming home. On February 28, 1998, comedy legend Dermot Morgan died suddenly, just days after completing the final episode in the third series of Fr Ted.

To mark the ten year anniversary of his passing, Fr Ted is returning to it’s spiritual home in north Clare next month for the second annual Ted Fest. The festival will this year be split between Inis Mor and Kil- fenora and will run from February 25 to March 3.

Kilfenora was one of the many places in north Clare used while shooting Fr Ted. Memorable scenes such as the Milk Float scene in Speed

3 and the Chinese Pub (Vaughan’s Bar) were all shot in the village.

“It happened by chance really. We had always been saying up here that we should bring Fr Ted back to Clare, to where it belongs. I’m a big Father Ted Fan, I know all the episodes in- side out, so the joined the Friends of Ted organisation. So people in the organisation kept asking where dif- ferent episodes were shot, and I was able to tell them,” said festival or- ganiser, Janet Cavanagh.

“So anyway my husband was in London at a rugby match and hap- pened to start talking to this guy called Fergal, who it turns out was the head of the Friends of Ted, the eroup who organise the festival in Inis Mor.

“SO we got in contact and decided to make one big event, involving both Inis Mor and Kilfenora, to mark the 10 year anniversary of Dermot Mor- gan’s death.”

The Kilfenora leg of this year’s fes- tival will kick off with Chinese Re- ception on Monday, February 25 in Vaughan’s Bar. Other events will in- clude the EcumeniCeili, a trad-disco, the Milk Float and banger parade, the Brick-fada, the first ever blondes only snakes and ladders competition, an evening with Father Ted writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Line- han and the all Ireland Elvis look- alike competition.

“IT wouldn’t want to give away too many secret about exactly how the events are going to take place,’ con-

tinued Janet. “It’s will be all about getting involved and we would ex- pect people to make the effort and get dressing up.”

Unfortunately, both legs of Ted Fest 2008 are already sold out. There will a large number of events which will be free and open to anyone who wants to come along.

Watch the Burren Section of the Clare People for weekly updates on Ted Fest and the 40 Days and 40 Night Milk Float challenge with Down Syndrome Ireland.

A TWO and half year project cost- ing €27 million will come to fruition at New Road, Ennis this Wednesday when Clare County Council’s new Corporate Headquarters opens for LUI BALeASE ;

To facilitate the relocation to Aras Contae an Chlair, all county council offices in Ennis will remain closed to

he public today and tomorrow.

The completed facility will provide accommodation for 300 staff, as well as meeting rooms, a staff canteen, laboratory, mayor’s office and coun- cil chamber and three party rooms for the elected members. 320 car parking spaces are provided at the rear of the building.

The Corporate Headquarters build- ing incorporates a number of envi-

ronmentally-friendly measures and will operate as a naturally ventilated building. Some solar panels and a wood chip heating system have been installed. Following a tender proc- ess, Clare Wood Chip of Flagmount has been selected to supply the wood chip for the building.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy, Mayor of Clare welcomed the opening of the new offices and referred to the ease of

access to the various council services that will now be available at the new location. Mr Alec Fleming, Clare County Manager, added, “I would like to pay tribute to the council staff for their patience and co-operation in relocating from the old offices and the move back to Aras Contae an Chlair this week. I now look forward to the council providing a service of the highest standard from Aras Con- tae an Chlair.”

Mr Michael McNamara, Director of Services, explained that the building had been designed in a user-friendly manner.

He said, “The council was very conscious of the need to put in place the highest standards of accessibility to all parts of the building and serv- ice within. We have been working with the National Disability Author- ity with a view to attaining accredi- tation under the Excellence through Accessibility Scheme.”

Sections of the council were relo- cated to several sites around Ennis when the old offices on the New Road site were vacated in mid-2005. Following a tender process that gen- erated a lot of interest from many of the country’s larger developers, the firm of Michael McNamara & Co Building Contractors was chosen as the preferred option to design, build and finance the provision of the new building. The contractors com- menced work in January 2006.

“A GOOD result in miserable condi- tions.” Two days after the game, that’s Anthony Foley’s concise reaction to Saturday’s victory over Wasps, a re- sult that saw the reigning champions dumped out of the competition.

It was one of those old Thomond nights when Munster rolled out the red carpet for an esteemed visitor be- fore devouring their reputation with 80 minutes of controlled rugby.

The achievement didn’t end with the scalp of Wasps and Munster didn’t rely on their home record to see them through. Effectively, it was the bonus point secured against Cl- ermont Auvergne that catapulted Munster to their tenth consecutive

appearance in the knock-out stages of the competition.

“It was great to get all the points be- cause we went into the game with a lot of permutations in our heads. Bo- nus points, the winning margin. So we had to keep our eyes on a number of different things and to succeed on all fronts was a great achievement.

“It was a real cup atmosphere, a winner takes all thing. Thomond has seen a lot of those over the years and we ve got a lot of experience in those battles and we never doubted our- selves on Saturday.”

Munster’s composure impressed Foley. The full force of Wasps was met early on and the home side con- trolled the momentum.

‘“We’ve come to learn that playing

against any English side there’s a big 20 minutes in them from the start. They’ll throw everything at you and you’ve got to cope with that. Then they’Il come out in the second half and give it everything for the ten minutes after the break.”

Foley is asked if the ground, in the process of a major facelift, lost any of the character and tenor that dappled the place in the past and dismisses the theory immediately.

“Not a chance. It’s a great ground. The atmosphere was terrific and the kick off time was better than the Sunday games. Saturday evening seems to suit the crowd. There was a great buzz around the stadium and you have to think that as the stadium develops, the spectacle is just going

to be get better and better.”

Munster now face Gloucester at Kingsholm Stadium at the beginning of April and in between, they play just six matches with four of those going ahead during the Six Nations. When he looks at the pool of clubs still left in the competition, Foley reckons it never mattered who Mun- ster faced next.

“There are seven other teams ca- pable of winning the tournament. A few teams have never been at this stage before, so there’s going to be some extra excitement.

We’ll have some time off between now and then and there’s the Six Na- tions in between, so there’s going to be a lot of free time and we’ll have to handle that. You’d prefer to be play-

ing games, to stay together and that’s something we’ll have to deal with.

“But for now, you’ve just got to be happy with a quarter-final. To come away from Thomond with that place secured was the target. We knew go- ing into it that we wouldn’t have a home tie and we wouldn’t have an easy passage. It’s the old story – there are no easy games in the last rounds of the Heineken Cup.”

THE schools of the Burren have continued to build on the regions blossoming reputation for scientific achievement with an excellent show- ing in last weeks BT Young Scien- tist Competition which took place in Dublin.

Students from Scoil Mhuire in En- nistymon, Mary Immaculate Sec- ondary School in Lisdoonvarna and Gort Community School all gained high marks from the judges in the RDS.

Indeed, Mary Immaculate were the second most successful school in the competition in terms of the amount of prizes that they brought home. With one first place, two second place, a third place and a number of

commendation under their belts, the students of Lisdoon did their school proud.

Sixth year, Laura Sims, took home the prize for first place in the Senior Social and Behavioural category with her examination of the importance of voter geography in elections.

Evelyn Linnane and Tess McGov- ern were awarded a second place for their project on tolerance and prejudice while Darren O’Gorman also came second in his category for his project on temporary limestone FEN Coh

Transition year student, David Crowe, was awarded third place in his category while there was also commendations for Ciara Griffin, Amie Barrett, Amy McGrath, Sine- ad McMahon, Catriona Callinan.

Meanwhile, the weekend proved very successful for transition year student Emma Hennessy who was awarded the SafeFood title and re- ceived a commendation for her KO) (em

In her project, Emma used ad- vanced scientific methods of testing to compare how many germs were present on cans of coke bought in a number of different locations.

The BT Young Scientist also proved to be a happy hunting ground for Gort Community School. In just their second year in the competition, the school put up another good show- ing this year with one project receiv- ing a commendation.

Leaving Cert James Mahon, fourth year Cian Brassil and third year Joe Murphy also received a green ribbon

for their project which attempted to investigate the possibility of using Zebra Mussels as an organic ferti- liser.

After the success of the “The Elec- tromagnetic Glove’ invented by Finn Krewer, Robin Flake, Michael Sell and James Mahon last year, Gort Community School continued to gain a place in the media at this year event.

Indeed, James Mahon, soimpressed the people from RTE that they asked him to present the section on the Ex- hibition for the DEN News2day pro- eramme.

More than 1400 projects from all over the country entered the BT Young Scientist Competition this year, with only 500 making it to the erand final in Dublin.