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CHILDCARE facilities in Ennis are set for a significant upgrade as work gets underway on a new 5000sq foot community creche.

Mayor of Clare, Patricia McCarthy and Mayor of Ennis, Tommy Bren- nan yesterday turned the sod on the site on the Watery Road. When com- plete, the creche will serve all com- munities in Ennis, providing urgently needed childcare facilities.

An extensive programme in pre- school education will be delivered. The créche will also operate a full

Montessori run by fully qualified teaching staff, and provide for chil- dren with special needs with facili- ties to include state-of-the-art multi- sensory rooms and four classrooms.

The Clare Family Resource Centre will operate the creche with a staff of 33 full-time workers. There will also be a close working partnership with the FAS community employment scheme. A management committee will be made up of a voluntary board of directors.

The total cost of the project is esti- mated at under €2 million with the majority funded by the Office of the

Minster for Children. The remainder will be raised by the Clare Family Resource Centre (CFSC) through a series of fundraising initiatives.

The project was first mooted two years ago when it was established there was a need to expand the level of childcare services in Ennis. Mau- reen Keane of the CFSC said the cen- tre had received huge support from different organisations and groups.

‘There is a great need for a creche like this in Ennis. Since two years ago, when the idea was first put for- ward, we have received great support and it has made this project possible.

We received a lot of support from the HSE, Pobal and FAS,” she said.

The CFSC is currently based in Clonroad Business Park and provides creche services for 80 children.

Ms Keane added, “Our ethos is to provide an environment that is warm, safe and friendly, and supports and encourages children to be them- selves, grow and reach their potential at their own pace. And we will still be local and accessible to the town.”

Work at the site will commence in the next few weeks and should be completed in time for the creche to open in October.

PLANS have been lodged with Clare County Council for a €5 million tourism development in Bunratty.

The plan has been lodged on behalf of Kieran Flanagan who is seeking planning permission for two blocks that include commercial units and a café restaurant.

The site has been zoned for the pur- poses of providing tourism/leisure facilities and is located within walk- ing distance of Bunratty Castle — the main attraction in the area.

According to planning documents lodged with the council, “the modest

size of the individual units ensures that the development remains at a scale appropriate to the surrounding village context. The design of the de- velopment successfully reflects tra- ditional design character in a mod- ern idiom and is thereby in keeping with the established character of BLUbevestAATy

“The proposed development will consolidate the tourist retail presence within Bunratty and provide sup- porting facilities for existing tour- ist attractions and accommodation in the area. It will serve to increase and expand the tourist retail offer of Bunratty and in turn increase the

attractiveness and vibrancy of Bun- ratty as a tourist attraction.”

‘The site is one of the limited sites within Bunratty which has been zoned for the purposes of tourism AN OCO MD (sR UN Kon

“The development is compatible with the zoning objectives for the area which is to reserve lands for tourism related purposes,’ the plan- ning application states.

‘The urban design strategy for the development is to consolidate the village streetscape of Bunratty. This is achieved by the proposed design form and layout, which presents a streetscape to the main road through

Bunratty and also the access road to the development.

“The target market for this devel- opment is the substantial number of tourists who visit Bunratty each year as well as the local population. It is envisioned that the units will provide outlets for small, specialised stores, selling high order comparison goods suitable for the tourism market, such as crafts, gifts or clothing

“The development will serve to increase and expand the tourist re- tail offer of Bunratty and in turn in- crease the attractiveness of Bunratty as a tourist destination”, the planning application concludes.

STORIES and the ways in which they are passed on and retold is the central theme of the 2lst Annual Spring Conference which takes place next month. The conference, which is entitled ‘Narratives of People and Place: Burren Stories, Told and Un- told’, takes place in the Burren Col- lege of Art in Ballyvaughan from February | to 3.

“Stories knit community together – both the telling and the listening of a story bind us. As I have been organising this conference, I have been amazed by different conversa- tions I have overheard walking down

the street. In Ireland we don’t seem to disguise our telling of a story. We don’t hide it,” said conference direc- tor Anne Byrne.

“If I tell you a story, you are bound to me through the telling of that story and I to you. In the Burren it- self there is a lot of activity going on around that idea. It’s almost like the old community 1s still held in our minds and in our imaginations and it just needs to be expressed and found ayers be

“All the time you hear it said that there is no such thing as community anymore, but as long as you tell sto- ries the community can be given life here 00 ae

The conference will include a number of expert speakers who will each aim to explore different elements of conversation and storytelling in a Burren context. Speakers include Daithi O’hOgainof the Department of Irish Folklore in UCD, writers Re O Laighleis and Kieran Sheedy, Celtic Scholar Sean O Duinin, Lelia Doolin and Donnachada O’Corrain.

‘This year we are trying to draw at- tention to the stories that we tell our- selves, but also about the places we live in and the people who populate those place. Some of those people way well be gone and forgotten, or gone and remembered, but the con- ference is about bringing attention to

the story,” continued Anne.

‘We have a wonderful collection of speakers but it’s important not to for- get that this is just a representation of some of the people who tell stories.

“The Burren is an organising de- vice – it’s a place where nature meets you face to face, there are no distrac- tion. I think that does something, it helps the creative process. These are all creative people – whether they are farmers or people working in art or in film. They are all people who have a passion about storytelling.”

THE first major farming event of 2008 was launched last week with the announcement of FarmFest ‘08. The major outdoor farming event, which is organised by Teagasc, will take place at the Teagasc Centre in Athenry on Friday, June 20.

Teagasc FarmFest 2008 will focus on all areas of farming but in par- ticular some of the emerging areas such as food, sustainability and the environment and REPS.

‘“FarmFest *O8 will display all as- pects of Teagasc’s relationship with the countryside, farming and farm families. Taking place this year in the west of Ireland, this event will

have something of interest for all members of the farm family, and will also be of interest to those living in the wider rural community,” said Teagasc Director, Professor Gerry Boyle last week.

‘Education will be a key aim of the day and will display the breadth of Teagasc’s services and the opportuni- ties available to farmers and country dwellers. We will bring together the old and the new, demonstrating Tea- gasc’s innovative and contemporary approach while not dismissing the rural traditions people hold dear.”

All the main farm enterprises will be featured along with areas such as bioenergy, forestry, artisan foods, tourism, sports horses and organic

farming. These displays will be in the form of a series of themed tented ‘villages’ with separate, but conven- iently located, exhibition areas and entertainment.

The villages will include sheep, dairy, cattle, horses and tillage tents as well as advisory services and re- search. Other tents will include food, crafts, alternative agri-enterprises and alternative energy. FarmFest is hoping to attract a good attend- ance from all farm families as well as those living and working in the countryside. The event takes place in Athenry on Friday, June 20.

Meanwhile, Teagasc and the Irish Bioenergy Association (Irbea) are jointly organising a one-day con-

ference that focuses on making the bioenergy supply chain work.

The event will be held in the Tul- lamore Court Hotel on February 12 and will consist of three separate sessions: Policy, Vehicle Fuel and Solid Biomass. The speakers, ex- perts drawn from different stages of the supply chain, will share their experience of how they achieved successful operations in the popular biofuel energy sectors, or in the less known non-energy sectors such as crop-derived construction materials, renewable polymers and lubricants.

For more information please con- tact Liz O’Sullivan, Teagasc Oak Park on 059 9183483 or email Liz. O’Sullivan @teagasc.ie.

NEXT Friday sees the opening of the first exhibition of the year at the Bur- ren College of Art in Ballyvaughan. The exhibition, which is entitled ‘Flicker’, explores the possibilities that emerging technology and exper- imental new-media can have on art and artistic creation.

‘Flicker’ also aims to introduce a selection of Dublin-based artists to the region and allow them to explore how art can function in a more rural context.

It is also hoped that this launch will be the first in an active programme of shows and screenings of lens- based artists at Burren College of Art Gallery.

The exhibition will run from next Friday, January 19, until February 16 at the Gallery of the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan.

The five Dubs making their way out west for the show include Mark Cullen, Brian Duggan, Niamh Mc- Cann, Cliona Harmey and Darren Bolger.

Mark Cullen’s recent work explores artificial and natural light instal- lation while Brian Duggan’s work creates on performative based video installations.

These installations aim to question the limits of the physical body and endurance.

Niamh McCann on the other hand uses a variety of new technologies to push the boundaries in drawing and

photography.

Cliona Harmey’s is based in audio- visual pieces in which she uses sound installation, video and printmaking.

The final member of the group, Darren Bolger, is an experimental film-maker.

All the artists have also been ac- tively involved in a number of im- portant Dublin-based new-media art collectives and initiatives, including Pallas Contemporary Projects, Tem- ple Bar Studios and ArtHouse. The show 1s curated by Martina Cleary, a multi-media artist and lecturer at the college.

Burren College of Art is an inter- nationally recognised not-for-profit independent college specialising in undergraduate and graduate fine art

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The exhibition will be opened by the film-maker Vivienne Dick this Friday, January 18, from 6 to 8pm. For more information check out www.burrencollege.ie.

Meanwhile, following the success of the Ennistymon Christmas Ex- hibition which featured works from well-known Clare artists Richard Sharpe, Barbara Roder and Finola Graham, Sarah Fuller has taken up residency in the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon.

Sarah will host her puppet show and art exhibition in the gallery until January 26.

For more information on this ex- hibition, contact the gallery on 065 POP a Teele)

CLARE students again fared well at the annual BT Young Scientist Com- oxeBL BLO) NF

12 Clare projects impressed the competition judges, earning top three placings and commendations.

There was success for St Joseph’s Community College, Kilkee who came first in the senior group sec- nee

Fourth-year students Danny Molo- ney, Davis Gould Duff and Roisin Latham won for their project, “Does ash help plants to grow?’ in the sen- ior biological and ecological cat- egory.

In the same category, Emma Hen- nessy, fourth-year student at Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon was awarded the Safefood tithe and a commenda-

tion for her project, “An investigation into bacteria growth on drink cans and the most effective way of clean- ing them’ in the intermediate indi- ACLU Ensen (e)ee

Patrick O’Connell, a third-year stu- dent, and Tim Horgan, a fourth-year Student, both from St Flannan’s, were highly commended in the biologi- cal and ecological category for their project ‘Have you seen your DNA to- day?’. Their project involved study- ing various types of plant DNA.

Fellow St Flannan’s students Siob- han McGrath and Aoife Staunton were also highly commended in the social and behavioral sciences sec- tion for their examination of the be- haviour of a solitary dolphin.

Aine O’Halloran, Sinead Liddy and Siobhan Weir, transition-year students at St Caimin’s Community

School, Shannon were highly com- mended in the chemical and physical sciences intermediate group for their project ‘using energy beads to test how effective sun creams really are’.

Mary Immaculate Secondary School further enhanced its good reputation at the Young Scientist Soyrayersisene

Students this year entered 13 projects and the school finished the second highest award winners.

Leading the way was sixth-year student Laura Simms who came first in the senior individual section of the social and behavioural category for her project “Did geography affect the 2007 General Election?’.

The north Clare student’s project examined whether voting is stronger along geographical or party political Naar

Evelyn Linnane and Tess McGov- ern scored a second place finish in the intermediate group section for their project on ‘Prejudice and toler- ance among teenagers in Ireland’.

Darren O’Gorman came second in the senior individual section of the biological and ecological category for his investigation into the effects of temporary limestone lakes on lead morphology of Rannaclus Repens.

There were commendations for students Ciara Griffin and Amy Mc- Grath and Sinead McNamara, Amie Barrett and Catriona Callinan.

Fourth-year student David Crowe came third in the intermediate indi- vidual of the social and behavioural sciences section.

School principal John Simms said he was very proud of the achieve- ments of the students.

FARMING experts and conserva- tionists from all over Europe will at- tend Ireland’s first Farming for Con- servation conference which takes place in Ennistymon next month.

The conference, which is being or- ganised by the BurrenLIFE Project, aims to bring together leaders in the field to assess and examine the eroundbreaking strides which have been made towards creating sustain- able farming in the Burren.

The conference will also focus on pooling the participants’ knowledge and discovering new and exciting ways of creating sustainable farming in north Clare and across Europe.

The conference, which is entitled ‘Farming for conservation — support- ing the future’, will take place in the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon from Feb- ruary 24 to 27.

The conference will include speak- ers from a number of European coun- tries and in particular from other limestone regions such as the Alvars of Sweden, the Causse in France and the Yorkshire Dales in England.

The Minister for Environment, Heritage and local Government, John Gormley (GP) and the newly appointed Director of Teagasc, Pro- fessor Gerry Boyle, will be among those to address the conference.

Proceedings have been broken into three sections with the first day fo-

cussed on introducing the concept of ‘farming for conservation’. This will include presenting European case studies, outlining the work of the BurrenLIFE Project and a dis- cussion on the practical difficulties and obstacles associated with farm- ing for conservation. Day two will involve a visit to a number of Burren farms where conservation farming 1s taking place. These field trips will be followed by a panel discussion on the future of farming for conservation in the unique context of the Burren. The final day of the conference will look at potential models for Supporting and delivering farming for conservation. A discussion will also take place on the marketing of

conservation produce and on deliver- ing conservation through innovative agri-environmental schemes.

The BurrenLIFE project is just over half-way through its five-year long project on north Clare. The overall aim of the organisation is to help cre- ate a means of farming in the region than can both protect the local ecol- ogy and give local farmers a means of making living.

Over the past two years, they have undertaken the largest campaign of scrub removal ever seen in Ireland, established a producers group for top-quality ‘ecology class’ Burren beef and lamb and undertaken a mas- sive education programme aimed both at children and older people.

A KILRUSH man who has admitted robbing a US bank at gunpoint is to be sentenced next month.

Niall Clarke, 27, who is originally from the Killimor Road in Kilrush, was arrested in Bangor, Maine, in October 2006, shortly after robbing a Bank of America branch, near the Bangor Mall.

He had more than $11,000 in a black mesh bag and a loaded .38-cal- iber handgun and box of ammunition with him.

He pleaded guilty in January to charges stemming from the robbery.

After his Bangor attorney, Richard Hartley, had Clarke evaluated by a psychiatrist, he sought to withdraw his client’s guilty plea and enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Hartley has said that Clarke suffers from a severe mental illness. Clarke also was evaluated during the sum- mer at a federal facility by a govern- ment psychiatrist.

Clarke also had an assessment car- ried out by a psychiatrist, who was employed by his family. It concluded that “Niall was suffering from an ill- ness that rendered Niall unable at the time of the crime to appreciate the nature and quality of the wrongful-

ness of the act.”

In November, Clarke’s attorney agreed to schedule a sentencing date rather than to continue trying to withdraw Niall Clarke’s guilty plea, as had been indicated earlier.

Clarke faces up to 25 years in fed- eral prison on the armed robbery charge and a mandatory minimum of a consecutive seven years for using a gun during the robbery.

Under the federal sentencing guide- lines, the recommended sentence for the robbery is between 33 and 41 months. The seven-year mandatory sentence would be added to that sen- tence.

The sentencing date of February 19 next was fixed last week. The sen- tencing hearing will take place in Bangor, Maine.

Clarke was an award-winning stu- dent while studying Computer Sci- ence at Trinity College, Dublin and won a top Enterprise Ireland Student Award in 2002.

As a result of his Junior Certificate results at St Joseph’s Spanish Point, he was invited to join the Irish Math- ematics Olympic team.

As a result of his Leaving Certifi- cate, he was awarded a scholarship by Trinity College to study math- sere ee

THE house that inspired the final play ever penned by WB Yeats is in the centre of a growing row between the descendants of its former owner and the State.

Tyrone House, which is located on the outskirts of Kilcolgan and close to Coole Park in Gort, where Yeats spent much of his time, was the inspiration for the Nobel Prize winners’ final play, “The Death of Gee y re

The 18th-century property, which was formerly the home of the St George family, has also been cred-

ited as inspiration for a number of other artistic works, including “The Big House of Inver’ by Somerville and Ross.

According to the St George family, the Government has gone back on a commitment to purchase and pre- serve the historic property.

The property, which is currently in a State of disrepair, was designed by renowned Irish architect, John Roberts for Christopher French St George in the early 18th century.

One of his direct descendants, Gordan St George, last week criti- cised the Government for going back on acommitment to allocate funds to

purchase and preserve the property.

The house was abandoned in 1905 and then burnt by the IRA during the War of Independence in 1920. It iS now in private ownership but has been ransacked and looted down through the years.

Galway County Council has pre- viously tried to purchase the build- ing on behalf of the Department of the Environment, but with no suc- TIE

Labour TD and former Minister for the Arts, Michael D Higgins has sup- ported a proposal to purchase Tyrone House, but ownership problems de- layed the plan.

According to Deputy Higgins, fur- ther representations were made last year but he was informed that Gal- way County Council had written to the owner in relation to the building but had received no reply.

‘The Death of Cuchulain’ was writ- ten by Yeats in 1939 and tells the sto- ry of the last few days of his life. It was the fifth in Yeats’ series of plays on Cuchulain.

He also wrote ‘On Baile’s Strand’ in 1904, “The Green Helmet’ in 1910, ‘At the Hawk’s Well’ in 1917 and “The Only Jealousy of Emer’ in 1919.

Yeats also penned a number of po- ems on the legend of Cuchulain.

CLUSTERING has become a com- mon phenomenon in our large towns and cities and Philip O’Reilly, Property Plus has just launched a car showroom development, which could see a large concentration of car dealerships establish a new base on the Kildysart Road.

The development incorporate six car showroom sites, which range from 1.1 acres to 2.1 acres. Prices range from €850,000 to €1.225 million.

The property is very well located

on the Kildysart Road, just 2km south of Ennis town centre and 300 metres south of the Clareabbey in- tersection of the new bypass.

Each of the six sites has outline planning permission in place for a car showroom unit together with assoociated parking and other facil- ities, allowing for the development of individual styled units.

The property has extensive road frontage running to 210 metres. The site is bounded by residntial lands with full planning permission for 220 housing units.

For full details call 065 6844448.