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TWO men who were caught with a scissors and kitchen knife claimed they were carrying them “for self- protection” as one of them had been badly assaulted previously.

Patryk Dej (22), of Bru na Sionna, was convicted of possession of a sharply pointed scissors, at Shannon

Town centre, on November 17 last.

Zenek Moroniski (26), of 9SA Bo- heron, Newmarket-on-Fergus, was convicted of possession of a knife with a sharply pointed blade, at Tul- lyvarraga, Shannon, on the same CPI Kes

Inspector Tom Kennedy told Shan- non District Court that the two were intoxicated outside Murphy Brown’s

pub in Shannon. One was found in possession of the scissors and the other with a kitchen knife.

Defending solicitor Jenny Fitzgib- bon said Dey had had his jaw broken in two places in an attack prior to this incident and had become paranoid as a result.

‘He was very much afraid he would be attacked again. He had a scissors

on him only for self-protection,” she Sr AKOE

She said Moroniski was accompa- nying Dej on the night and was “very much aware” of the previous attack.

“The kitchen knife was strictly for self-protection. He didn’t believe it was unlawful,” said the solicitor.

She said both men had drank a bot- tle of vodka each and were paranoid.

Judge Joseph Mangan asked was this paranoia caused by drink and was told it was. Both men told the court they have not drank since the night of the offence. However, In- spector Kennedy said, “I would 1m- agine that’s a bit of a fairytale.”

The case was adjourned to establish if either have previous convictions in Poland.

A YOUNG Shannon student’s skills in art have been recognised in a na- tional awards competition in which she scooped first place.

14-year-old Desislava Valkanova, a student at St Caimin’s in Shan- non, won the top prize in a postcard competition which was organised by Léargus, which promotes language learning 1n Ireland.

The event was organised to cele- brate European day of languages last September and the winners have just

been announced.

Junior cycle German students were asked to depict a site of cultural in- terest for another country and write a message in a language of that coun- try on a postcard.

Dessi, who is a native of Bulgaria and moved to Shannon with her fam- ily a few years ago, drew a picture of the Aleksandar Nevski Cathedral in Sofia and wrote a friendly message in her native tongue on the back.

She even went to the lengths of drawing a stamp on the back of the postcard. Her work earned her a

book token for €500.

Dessi and 16 others from St Caimin’s entered the competition. While Desi particularly impressed the judges, her schoolmates also fared well as they were all com- mended on their efforts.

Her teacher Anne O’Loughlin, who organised the competition in St Caimin’s, said everyone was very proud of Desi, who thoroughly de- served the award.

“She is deserving of the award and always puts her heart and soul into her work. It is great to see her getting

some kind of recognition,” she said.

“We are thrilled. We incorporated this into celebrating the European day of languages,” she said.

This was the first time that the school entered this competition and Ms O’Loughlin is optimistic that this success will be followed by fu- ture accolade.

SPAN e DS ee Eli iael ance secait-leleye speech to Dail Eireann in 1992 sprang to mind. In that speech he famously quoted from Othello when saying, ‘I have done the State some service, and they know it, no more of ere

Simon Moroney could have used the line last Thursday night when he announced his own resignation — he has done GAA in Munster some great service over the past four years, something he is proud of.

“It was a great job to have and I was delighted to serve in the position,’ he

says. “The province is very success- ful on the pitch, but I feel that you have to have a similar standard off the pitch.”

“I’d like to think that I contributed to getting to that. I loved the job and I was the first Clare man in the job and only the sixth Munster Council secretary since the position was cre- ated in 1901.

“I thought I put a very good struc- ture in place. The headquarters wasn’t there when I came into the job and I was the first secretary to move into new headquarters.”

“I set up good systems there — it’s not very exciting stuff, but we have

a good financial system, we have a very good development grant system set up with clear guidelines. I would have said that the Munster Council was very well administered in my time there — that’s the first and fun- damental requirement of a good sec- retary,’ he adds

‘“We’ve been very fortunate that we ve had very little controversy and I would say that the ship was steered quite well over four years. The record will show that.”

“My successor, coming in, I would like to think will certainly have a system and a structure there that will be relatively easy to follow.”

A JUDGE said yesterday that ‘deal- ing in drugs is a pernicious activity’ and the State expects judges to 1m- pose tough sentences for drugs of- fences.

Judge Carroll Moran made the comment as he imposed a two-year jail term on an Ennis man, who ad- mitted possession of amphetamine and cannabis resin, for the purpose of sale or supply, at his home in En- nis in August 2002.

However the sentence imposed on Cathal Brohan (28), of 142 Hermit- age, Ennis, has been suspended for three years, on condition that he does not re-offend and co-operate with the Probation services.

Ennis Circuit Court heard that cannabis resin, valued at more than €5,500, was found, along with 90 ecstasy tablets, when gardai carried

out a search of the house. €2,200 cash was also seized in the

accused’s bedroom, which gardai believed was the proceeds of drug

dealing. Brohan denied this, saying it was money he had gathered to pay back a loan.

His barrister Pat Whyms said his client was “not a threat to society. He is a threat to himself. He needs to ad- dress his problems.”

Judge Carroll Moran noted that Brohan had stayed out of trouble since the offence, over five years ago.

“Dealing in drugs is a pernicious activity. The State expects judges to react and impose substantial sen- tences. It may well be that this ac- cused deserves a prison sentence,’ said the judge.

In suspending the jail term, he said he was “satisfied beyond reasonable doubt” the State’s suspicions about the money seized were correct.

TAKING inspiration from the worlds of classical and jazz music, the Jazzi- cal Quartet plays Danlann an Chlair on Thursday.

This is the second outing on stage for the recently formed four piece who also performed in the Ss Peter and Paul Cathedral during Christ- Tete

The band is comprised of Michael Hennessy on piano, drummer Danny Byrte, Deridre Frost on bass and flut- ist Tanja Fritschi.

They will be performing work by

renowned French jazz pianist Claude sXe)iunetee

A fusion of two apparently con- trasting styles of music Jazzical utilises motifs from classical piano repertoire as subjects for jazz inter- pretations for solo piano, chamber ensemble or jazz combo, and orches- tra. A true marriage of classical and jazz, it is designed to bridge the gap between classical and jazz music and its audiences while remaining true to both forms.

Michael Hennessy explained the kind of show audiences in the Dan- lann are in for.

He said “It is a classical jazz cross- over So the very music on the night will be all instrumental, very light, very easy listening. We have played together once before, 1n the cathedral on December 8, but we have been doing a lot of rehearsals”.

After the Ennis concert, the band hit the road for a show in Cork at the newly completed Cork School of Music. The school is the fist pur- pose building of its kind consists of specialist tuitional areas, rehearsal areas, live recording studios and lec- ture rooms.

A teacher in Colaiste Muire, Ennis

for over 25 years and vice principal there for six, Michael is currently pursuing a Master in Music from University College Cork.

He said “I took a year off to do the Masters down in Cork so it will be good to get the opportunity to down and play there.

The award winning Colaiste Muire Choir, led by Carmel Griffin, will provide support at Thursday’s con- cert in Ennis.

The band takes to the stage at 8pm with tickets €10 and €3 for students. The Jazzical Quartet plays the Cork School of Music on January 19.

THE outstanding work of local com- munity groups across the county was highlighted at the 2007 Community Environmental Awards ceremony in the Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis, on Monday evening when several awards were presented in competi- tions including Clare In Bloom, Best Public Seat, Power of One – Energy Efficiency for Clare, Keep Clare Clean and Pride of Place.

Ballynacally Development Asso- ciation was named overall winner of the Clare In Bloom competition achieving the highest marks for a second year in a row. The associa- tion scored highly for landscaping, range of planting, colour and overall impression.

Mayor of Clare Councillor Patricia McCarthy presented the Ballyna-

cally group with a cheque for €1500. As well as taking the overall award, Ballynacally was named winner in Category 3 population sector, beat- ing off competition from Labasheeda and Mountshannon.

Category | was won by Kilrush Tidy Towns Committee, who fin- ished ahead of Bridgetown and Shannon. Tuamgraney Development Association was named the winner of Category 2, with Kilmihil Tidy Towns and Quin Development As- sociation achieving second and third je Elen

Categories are based on population size with a first, second and third prize in each category of <€1100, €550 and €300 respectively. A Special Endeavour Award went to Bridgetown for the overall ap- pearance of the village, which was a blaze of colour during the adjudicat- ing period with the displays on the approach roads excelling. The Mayor’s Environmental Award, as well as a cheque for €1,000, was presented to Mountshannon. Spe- cial Merit Awards were presented to community groups in Bodyke De- velopment Association, Feakle Tidy Village Committee, Scariff Commu- nity Council, Obair Newmarket on Fergus, Kildysart Tidy Towns, Car- rigaholt Tidy Towns, Ballyvaughan Tidy Towns, Lisdoonvarna Com- munity Council, Ruan Tidy Village, St Mary's Community Development Lissycasey and Kilmurry McMahon Community Group. For the second consecutive year Ballyea claimed the Best Public Seat Award, which acknowledges com- munities for tasteful public seats that encourage people to take a few mo- ments repose in pleasant surround- ing. Ballyea finished ahead of Bal- lynacally and Decomade Lissycasey. A newly introduced art competition themed Power of One - Energy Ef- ficiency for Clare attracted an enor- mous number of entries from both primary and secondary schools. First prize was awarded to Jennifer Ly- ons, St Joseph’s Secondary School, Spanish Point, with Edel Curtin, St Joseph’s Secondary School, Span- ish Point second and Abby Koomans O’Reilly, Scariff Community College third. The primary school categories were won by Cillian Fennell, Ennis National School, Paraic O’Gorman, Kilmihil National School, Caolann O'Dwyer, Scoil losaf Naofa, Moy, Lahinch, second Class, Clarecas- tle National School, Laura Brassil, Dangan National School and Cai- triona O’Gorman, Kilmihil National Nye tere) Winners in the Keep Clare Clean competition included Louise Hill Ballynacally/Lissycasey; Eoin Mc- Namara, Ruan Toonagh; Liam Kelly, Cratloe; and Grace Kearney, Cratloe. The competition is organised with support from Clare County Council and runs in conjunction with Clare Community Games. The ceremony included an inaugu- ral presentation to local participants in the All-Ireland Pride of Place competition run with Co-Operation Ireland in conjunction with local au- thorities north and south of the bor- der. Clare County Council and Co- Operation Ireland honoured the lo- cal contribution that the Michael Cusack Centre in Carron, Kilmihil Community Development Ltd and the RAPID Community Pitch-In at Cloughleigh made in 2007.

A l7-YEAR-OLD who refused to co-operate with the welfare services after being in court on 12 charges re- solved to follow instructions after a stint in custody.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was before Ennis

District Court on charges including stealing a car, theft of a generator and fraud.

Judge Joseph Mangan heard that the boy had been in custody since the be- ginning of November and read a re- port from the probation and welfare service which said he was not engag- ing with the after-care services.

But his solicitor, Marina Keane said the boy had been in custody since November 4 “and does not want to go back there. He knows now what he has to do and is willing to do a FAS course and co-operate with the Services.”

Judge Mangan said that the charges were of a Serious nature and he did

not want to see the accused go out of the hands of the court entirely.

He fined him €100 and disquali- fied him from driving for five years on the car theft charge.

On other charges he placed him on probation for two years and remand- ed him on bail on the two remaining charges to April 11.

GREATER representation will be given to skateboarding and rugby on the re-structured Ennis sports facili- ties committee.

The committee, established in 2003 to facilitate communication and dis- cussion on the development of sport- ing facilities in Ennis, is to be ex- tended from nine to 11 members.

This comes after concerns were raised about the effectiveness of the committee.

Currently the committee is com- prised of three elected representa- tives from Ennis Town Council, three elected members of Clare County Council and a representative from the GAA, athletics and soccer.

However with the development of a new skate park and the increased use of Lees Road by underage and

senior sections of Ennis rugby club, the Council is seeking greater input from both groups.

A report prepared by Ennis Town Council proposed that ‘the number of sporting bodies representatives be increased and that each body be asked to confirm their existing rep- resentative or to nominate a repre- sentative to the Committee’.

A vacancy, created when a repre- sentative from Clare County Council was elected to the Dail in 2005, will also be filled.

A proposal to create an extra po- sition for schoolboy’s/girls soccer on the committee was rejected at the January meeting of Ennis Town Council.

Speaking at that meeting Fianna Fail councillor Joe Reidy said greater commitment was needed from sport- ing bodies.

He said, “It’s not up to us its up to individual sporting bodies. The peo- ple that are chosen have to speak up for themselves. The sports we are looking to hear from are skateboard- ing and rugby”.

Mayor of Ennis Tommy Brennan said previous committee meetings had been poorly attended.

Committee chairman and _ inde- pendent councillor Frankie Neylon said, “I would suggest five represent- atives from five different sports. We already have one from soccer, GAA and athletics. We have a particular problem with communication on the committee. We need to hear from the people, like those in rugby and soc- cer, who are frequent users of Lees Road. Its better to have people like that, rather than six councillors sit- ting around a table”.

Fianna Fail councillor Tom Glynn

expressed concern that an en-larged committee could prove less effec- tive.

He said, “I would have some con- cerns. Do we need to extend com- mittee? What you find sometimes with large committees is that it can take longer to get things done. Would it make the whole process more un- wieldy?”’

According to the report “The com- mittee has an important promotional role to play in highlighting the nature of the facilities available amongst sporting clubs and associations. The committee can further promote ad- ditional facilities as these become available for use’.

CLARE firms interested in exploring innova- tion aS a means of becoming more competi- tive are urged to take a closer look at the new Design Shannon Skillnet programme, which tees off this spring. The two year programme, which will run concurrently in Ennis and Lim- erick, is funded by member companies and the Training Networks Programme, an initiative of Skillnets Ltd, which is funded from the Na- tional Training Fund through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

“Design Shannon Skillnet represents a great opportunity for established manufacturing and service businesses — small and large — to ben- efit from the insight of leading national and in- ternational experts in the areas of design and innovation, and from the experiences of the other member firms in the network. The addi-

tion of more customised, one-on-one training to the new programme will further enhance the tangible benefits for each, individual company participating,’ said Laura Maye, Network Man- ager, Design Shannon Skillnet.

As a participant of the Design Shannon Skill- net programme, which recently finished, Frank Whelan, Sales Manager of Ennistymon-based Data Display, summarised how Data Display had benefited from the programme: “At a com- pany level, it has helped us to see and seize new ways of doing business. On a personal level, it has given me the skills to enhance my selling techniques, and to reap the ensuing benefits. Overall, worthwhile and value for money.”

For further information/registration, con- tact Design Shannon Skillnet at 065 6895282 (www.designshannon.ie).

A DUBLIN man who imported a haul of cannabis resin from Brus- sels, via Shannon airport, to pay off a drug debt has been jailed for four years.

Paul Hand (22), from Malahide in Dublin, admitted possession of drugs with a market value of €13,000 or more.

He was caught with cannabis resin, valued at €21,000, at Shannon air- port, on August 28, 2006.

Ennis Circuit Court heard yester- day that Hand had flown to Brussels on August 25 that year. On his return three days later, he was apprehended by Customs and when his suitcase was searched, the drugs were found.

The court heard that his own drug habit cost him up to €500 per week and he had imported the drugs to pay off a debt.

Hand’s barrister David Sutton, SC, said the accused had co-operated fully with gardai and had expressed remorse. He had since given up drugs, he said.

He pleaded guilty to the charge, which he said was at the lower end of the scale in terms of value.

He said it did seem to be a very “foolish enterprise” carried out for another individual and his client had

been naive.

Judge Carroll Moran said the im- portation of drugs was a serious mat- ter.

“Even though the value is small and the illicit drug is cannabis resin, which is not as poisonous as other substances, it’s still a Misuse of Drugs Offence,’ said the judge.

“You have to be living on another planet not to know that the legisla- ture expects and demands heavy sen- tences (for drugs offences),” he said.

The judge told Hand that investigat- ing Garda Michelle Holian had been fair to him and said “I hope you are appreciative of that.”

Noting that the accused was a pleasant individual, the judge said, “It is very difficult to send such a man to prison,’ and imposed a four- year term.