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THE number of “non-believers” in Clare has seen a massive increase of over 150 per cent in the past 15 years.

According to the latest statistics on religion from the 2006 Census, the number of people who state that they have “no religion” has jumped from 1,778 in 1991 to 4,680 in 2006 — a jump of 2,902 or 163 per cent.

The number of non-believers makes up 4.2 per cent of the Clare popula- tion of 110,950.

The figures also show that the

number of Roman Catholics has dropped marginally in percentage terms from 89 per cent to 88 per cent, although the numbers of Catholics has increased from 92,340 in 2002 to 98,189 to 2006.

The marginal percentage drop in Catholics comes against the back- ground of scandals for the Roman Catholic church in Ireland during the period between the two censuses showing that the Church remains quite a resilient institution.

The figures show that the Church of Ireland population in percentage terms remains more or less static; the

community by increasing from 1825 in 2002 to 1978 in 2006 accounts for 1.78 per cent of the population.

The number of Muslims in Clare 1s now 728 or .65 per cent with 493 liv- ing in Ennis.

Some 48 Jews live in Clare; during the 1930s and 1940s, there were no Jews recorded in Clare.

The 1961 Census recorded 4 Jews and the numbers in the Jewish com- munity have climbed slowly since.

The figures show that there are 333 Presbyterians in Clare, 332 Method- ists and 3,406 of other stated reli- gions.

According to consultant psychia- trist Dr Moosajee Bhamjee the fig- ures relating to non-believers “show that people are looking at life differ- ently now where church and state are not seen as the controlling institu- tions that they once were”.

Clare’s best-known Muslim added: “The Clare figures offer a micro- cosm of what is taking place in Irish ele iA

“The figures relating to the Mus- lims show that the Clare population is becoming more diverse and that we are all learning to live together,’ he said.

FIVE people were questioned by gardai in Shannon on Friday night following a disturbance earlier at Shannon Airport during which an Airport Police Officer was allegedly AISSALUD Kee b

The incident occurred at around 3pm when the four men and one woman, all from Lithuania but with addresses in Nenagh, County Tipper- ary, allegedly presented themselves in an intoxicated state at a check in

desk prior to their scheduled flight to Kaunas, Lithuania’s second larg- est city.

Airline staff refused to allow the passengers board the aircraft and ar- rangements were made to have their luggage returned to them. The group then agreed to make alternative ar- rangements and fly from Dublin on Saturday. However, a row broke out after their luggage was returned to them and one bag appeared to have been damaged.

A garda spokesman confirmed,

“There was a public order incident at Shannon as a group of passengers who were booked on a Ryanair flight to Kaunas arrived at the check in desk in an intoxicated manner. There was an exchange of words between members of the group and airport staff and one Airport Police Officer was assaulted. The assault was minor in nature but the group were later ar- rested under the Public Order Act.” According to one eyewitness, “They were very rowdy but we couldn’t make out what was going on. Two

Airport Police Officers arrived and tried to calm the situation but that didn’t work. They called for more help but when they asked the group to leave the airport, they wouldn’t. They were eventually removed from the building with their luggage one by one. Then the guards arrived and the five people were handcuffed and RCo he Ale

“When they were removed from the terminal, the door was locked behind them and people had to enter and leave through another door which

was heavily manned by security staff. The argument went on for quite a while,” the eye witness said.

An interpreter was sought by gardai to aid them in their questioning of the five. A garda spokesman confirmed that all five were charged with Pub- lic Order offences and were released on station bail later that evening. It is understood that none of the five was charged with the alleged assault. All five are now due to appear before the next sitting of Shannon District Court in Ennis on December 13.

IT was once a ballroom of romance but in recent years there was little that could be called romantic about Quin Community Hall.

Built in 1940 the hall in it’s hey- day was THE place to be for bright young things who wanted to dance the night away to the sounds of the Swarbriggs or the Indians.

The now draughty hall with it’s plumbing creaking and paint peel- ing 1s about to be restored to glory thanks to hard work fundraising and a €40,000 grant from the Depart-

ment of the Gaeltacht and Rural De- velopment.

€70,000 was raised locally through a very successful members draw.

A refurbishment and planned exten- sion for the hall will be carried out in two phases, according to booking of- ficer at the Quin Community Centre, Sarah Lennon.

“In the first phase, which is what this grant is for, we’ll be making the front of the building totally wheel- chair accessible with a new kitchen and an accessible toilet.”

The work is timely as the Enable Ireland sports group have just begun

using the building for sports prac- tice.

It’s hoped that this part of the refur- bishment can begin shortly and fu- ture plans are to apply for planning permission for a multi-purpose facil- ity in the back of the building.

“Local people were fantastic – they really rowed in to support us in the project,” said Sarah.

And whatever it costs to bring the building up to scratch, it will be money well spent, given the number of groups who use it.

Currently a new youth club has Opened it’s doors on Sundays be-

tween 7pm and 9pm, with youngsters aged 12 to 17 joining. Hip-hop and Irish dance classes are held in the centre, while badminton and other sports are played there.

The centre is also a meeting and functions home to local community groups such as the ICA, the parent and toddler group and the Teakwood Club.

‘“We’re booked well ahead and we expect to stay busy. The population of Quin is growing and there are more clubs starting up all the time. The hall will see plenty of use,” said Sarah.

THE future of Clare’s traditional arts took centre stage last night when peo- ple from all over the county gathered for the third meeting of the Clare Traditional Arts Forum.

The time for talking was over as the enthusiastic group made provisions to assist individuals and organisa- tions in working together on shared projects of interest.

The aim of the forum was to put those involved in the traditional arts in the county in a stronger position

for accessing funding at local and na- tional levels.

Clare people involved or interested in the traditional arts were urged to consolidate the future development of the sector by attending last night’s meeting in the Old Ground Hotel, Spay AvESe

The forum, which was established in 2006, aims to strengthen Clare’s musical tradition by assisting indi- viduals and organisations to work to- gether on shared projects of interest, thereby putting them in a stronger position for accessing funding at lo-

cal and national level.

“While previous meetings have proven to be a great avenue for dis- cussion of issues and ideas, this meeting and future meetings will be focused on putting these ideas into action. Some of these actions are already underway so it is, therefore, important that anyone interested in assisting or facilitating actions would be in attendance in Ennis this evening,’ said Tara Connaghan, Traditional Arts Co-ordinator, Clare County Council.

According to Ms. Connaghan, “The

forum has been set up by the Arts Office of Clare County Council with support from the Arts Council of Ire- land. The role of the Arts Office is to organise meetings, offer support, advice and assistance as required. The forum members determine the activities of the forum.

“The Clare Traditional Arts Forum will open up various opportunities for the traditional arts in Clare where people can get support for ideas or projects they want to undertake,” she added.

The benefits of traditional arts fo- rums and networks are widely known and can be seen in various commun1- ties throughout Ireland. For exam- ple, the Roscommon Traditional Arts Forum – the first of its kind in Ireland – has undertaken various projects including the transmission of tradi- tional arts in primary schools and the production of marketing brochures and an on-line archive.

All traditional musicians, singers, dancers, storytellers, festival or- ganisers, promoters, traditional arts organisations and anyone involved or interested in the traditional arts attended the meeting facilitated by Margaret O’Sullivan of Key Cul- aubeed

COINCIDING with World AIDS Day Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSCs) have made a special appeal in Clare for support for their work with AIDS victims in South Africa. In 2006 nearly three million people died from the virus with about two million of these in sub-Saharan Af- rica – half the population of Ireland. ‘There are hundreds of thousands of children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Children as young asl2 years are the head of

their household trying to provide for their younger brothers and sisters,” a spokesman for the charity said.

The MSCs have care programmes for orphans and the sick and dying. These include prevention education, foster family care for orphans, sup- port for the sick and dying as well as for families where the breadwinner has died. They also supported the development of an AIDS Hospice at Midrand.

Fr Michael O’Connell at the MSC Mission Support Centre in Cork said: “The orphans receiving care are the

lucky ones… but many thousands are left to fend for themselves… of- ten with tragic consequences. With very limited resources to meet the erowing need we are dependent on personal donations from Ireland and local fundraisers.”

€35 will care for an orphan for a month. Donations can be posted to Fr O’Connell at the MSC Mission Support Centre, PO Box 23, Western Road, Cork.

Credit card donations can also be made to 021 4544024. All donations will be acknowledged.

AS charities across the country begin their Christmas appeals, Sixmilebri- dge man Kevin Byrne is busy rais- ing the profile of Concern – Ireland’s largest aid agency.

Fondly known around Dublin’s Rathmines as the Clare man with the Dublin accent Kevin has seen first hand where the money raised by the chairty goes as he has spent much of is career working abroad.

“T have been on the Iraq Jordanian border, Liberia, Somalia, Tanzania and Bangladesh,” he said.

His mother, Christina Wallace is now living in Mounthsannon having spent many years in Dublin. Kevin’s uncle, Jim Hoban, is well known in rugby circles in Shannon and is a past president of St Senan’s Rugby Siti

Kevin makes sure to set the record straight about his Clare genealogy before talking about his 20 years with Concern.

“T started working with Concern the day after my 29th birthday and I can honestly say it was the best birth- day present I ever received.

“And I would not still be here if I did not believe that Concern makes a difference helping the poorest of the poor around the world,” he said.

He came to Concern back in 1988 having spent ten years working as a spray painter and panel beater. His first job involved packaging material for distribution to the 800 schools taking part in the famous Concern Se Nierhwrhie

It was not long before he was posted to the Iraq Jordanian border in 1990 where he was assisting refugees from Kuwait, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

“IT was allocating people to their tents and it so happens that I was working with two Ennis men, Mike McDonagh and Noel Moloney.

“Then in 1991 I spent four months working on the Liberian Sierra Leo- ne border. I was based in the Liberian capital, Monrovia. My job was mak- ing sure that Concern goods shipped into Freetown in Sierra Leone were safely delivered to Liberia.

It was a war zone at the time. Im- agine, we had just one satellite tel- ephone which was shared among all the NGOs. We had one fax machine

available to us in Freetown. I often spent all day there until I learned how to ‘wheel and deal’ and manage to get to skip the queue,” he said.

When he arrived in the Somali cap- ital, Mogadischu, in 1992 on a UN aircraft he was greeted with gunfire all over the city.

“It was gunfire day and night every day and it was my job to find some- Where for Concern staff to Stay. There was absolutely no infrastruc- ture, everything had been looted.

“In Afghoi, about 30 kilometres from Mogadischu, we were feeding

2,00 people every day. There were people dropping dead in front of us. It was terrible,” he recalled.

During the Rwanda emergency Kevin was part of the Concern Emer- gency Response Unit and spent nine months on the Rwanda Tanzanian border, based in the Kagera region.

“For the first two months I was involved in managing a camp for 10,000 people. I was then seconded to the World Food Programme where we were distributing food. We began supplying food to 40,000 people and that number grew to 250,000 in a

very short time.”

Between 1996 and 1997, Kevin spent 14 months working with the British High Commission in Bang- ladesh and also helped Concern na- tional staff to improve their report- ing skills in Concern’s head office in Dhaka.

These days Kevin is working in Concern’s head office in Dublin where he is in the customer relations department.

THE Irish Beef Sector is set to lose as much as €100 million should a proposal contained in the review of the CAP, known as the “health check” come about.

Commissioner Fischer Boel has proposed to increase the compulso- ry modulation levy from its current level of five per cent to 13 per cent by 2013.

This proposed move has led to an- ery responses from the IFA.

“While the commission is suggest- ing that part of this cut-back in fund- ing of the EU Single Payment could be recycled to some farmers, this is far from clear, and such ‘rural de-

velopment’ and ‘agri-environment’ measures are likely to impose ad- ditional costs on farmers,’ said IFA National President, Padraig Walshe.

‘In addition to the cut in the Single Payment due to the increase in the modulation levy, many farmers most dependent on the Single Payment for their incomes, particularly cattle and sheep farmers, would also lose out from the proposal to switch from the current individual farmer payment, based on his past level of production, to an average payment across all the land of the country.”

Speaking on the issue, the Minis- ter for Agriculture, Mary Cough- lan, was more positive, saying that the CAP Health Check provide an

ideal opportunity to reduce the ad- ministrative burdens on farmers by simplifying the requirements of the Single Payments System and cross- compliance.

The minister said she had serious concerns about the commission’s pro- posal to increase the rate of compul- sory modulation. Noting that Ireland had shown its strong commitment to rural development through very sub- stantial national exchequer funding, she said she did not see the merit of Supporting rural development at the expense of direct payments to farm- ers, especially at a time when farm- ers were still adapting to the impact of decoupling.

Coughlan also expressed scep-

ticism about the suggestion that changing from a historic to a flat rate model of payment would simplify the Single Payment system and she emphasised that she had no plans to do so in Ireland.

On milk quotas, she stressed the need for careful analysis before any final decisions are taken and said that she was undertaking a consulta- tion process with key stakeholders in Ireland on this important issue.

“Tam optimistic that we can find a practical and useful outcome that de- livers real simplification and assists our farmers to take advantage of the opportunities offered by decoupling and by stronger dairy markets,’ she said.

that the organisa-

tion had not yet been able to calculate

how many women in the mid-west

had been affected but she feared that

the numbers to date were just the tip of the iceberg.

The ICA is providing counselling

for the women who were first given the all clear for breast cancer only to be recalled and re-tested. Some of these women were then told that they had cancer.

The ICA spokesperson said that many of these women were not of- fered counselling until they were of- fered help from the ICA. She said the ICA were now asking the Govern- ment to provide a medical card for the women for the duration of their treatment.

The ICA meeting in Limerick is open to all and not confined to just members of the organisation. The eroup hopes that through the voices of its 14,000 members the women’s voices will be heard.

STUDENTS from St Caimin’s com- munity school Tullavaraga will again be competing with the brightest and best at the 2008 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

3,514 students are represented in the 1,416 projects from 31 of the 32 counties across the island, showing that the interest in the BT Young Sci- entist and Technology Exhibition 1s erowing even stronger.

The aim of the organisers is to at- tract young people to science by making it fun, exciting and acces- sible, not just for the participating

and visiting students, but also for the general public as well.

500 of the projects submitted will qualify to compete in the finals in the RDS, Dublin next January.

The overall winner will be named the BIT Young Scientist(s) of the Year and receive a Waterford Crys- tal trophy together with a cheque for €5,000.

Each category is represented and has entries in junior, intermediate and senior levels.

Speaking at the announcement, Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin TD said, “Every year the BT Young Scientist and Technol-

ogy Exhibition attracts thousands of inquiring minds to submit projects outlining their research and experi- ments. This January, once again, we will see competitors from second level schools throughout the coun- try, as Well as a small number of pri- mary schools participate in this pre- mier science event. This exhibition has served as a Starting point from which many successful careers in science, technology and engineering have been launched. I want to wish all our young scientists the best of luck in the coming months with their projects.”

In total 1,416 projects have entered

next year’s competition with 500 projects expected to take part in the final. This represents an 11 per cent increase on last year’s entries.

The BT Young Scientist and Tech- nology Exhibition will be held in the RDS from January 9 to 12, 2008 and open to the public on January 10, 11 and 12.

Chris Clark, Chief Executive Offic- er, BT Ireland added, ““The key aim of the exhibition is to stimulate, nur- ture and reward those students and schools who have shown a passion for science and technology – subjects that are critical to Ireland’s future as a successful knowledge economy.”

SPEAKING following a study tour to Italy in association with An Bord Bia, Clare farmer and Chairperson of ICMSA’s Beef and Committee, Martin McMahon, said that the Ital- ian market currently presents valu- able and worthwhile opportunity to increase the value of Irish weanlings and must be developed to its maxi- mum potential.

Following visits to a number of feedlots and discussions with many Italian farmers, many of whom are already buying Irish weanlings, Mc- Mahon said that the prices received for Italian cattle are well above the Irish price with some farmers receiv- ing up to €3.60 per kg liveweight.

Given these prices, Italian farmers assured the ICMSA Chairman that they will buy a lot of Irish weanlings if they can get the appropriate type of cattle and would not hesitate to pay a premium price to Irish sellers.

McMahon said that the Italian buy- ers were pleased with the cattle from Ireland this year, but he warned that if we were to develop this market, it is important that suckler farmers produce cattle to Italian specifica- tions.

“If this 1s to be achieved, the role that Bord Bia and Teagasc will have to play is informing farmers on the type of cattle required for this mar- ket in order to achieve maximum value,” he said.

“At a difficult time of low margins

for suckler farmers, the Italian wean- ling market certainly provides an op- portunity to enhance suckler farmer income and it must be pursued.”

Meanwhile, Clare dairy farmers will have the opportunity to meet leading New Zealand fertility ex- pert, Scott McDougall, at a special meeting on dairy breeding and fer- tility in the Radisson SAS, Limerick on Thursday, December 13.

Scott McDougall, who leads the re- search and development team at the Animal Health Centre in the heart of New Zealand’s dairying territory, will be joined on the platform by some of Ireland’s foremost authori- ties on breeding and fertility of live- stock.

The high-powered panel includes

Par Dillon and John Mee from Moorepark, Michael Diskin from Teagasc Athenry and Teagasc dairy specialist, George Ramsbottom. Doreen Corridan from Dairygold AI as well as Mark Crowe and Finbar Mulligan from UCD will also par- ticipate.

The meeting runs from 9.15am to 4pm. Clare farmers unable to attend the Limerick meeting can go to a meeting featuring the same panel in the Silversprings Moran Hotel, Cork on Wednesday, December 12 at the same starting time.

To reserve a place at either meeting, contact Event Plus at 01 2302591, e- mail info@eventplus.ie. Registration fee, which including lunch and cof- fee, 1s €55.