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A WOMAN was heard telling her friends that she told “the f***ing judge her mother was dead” just min- utes after she left a courtroom, when, in fact her mother was still alive. The bizarre allegations were made in the case of a woman accused of stealing €99.84 worth of groceries from Dunnes Stores in Ennis in Oc-

tober.

Margaret McCarthy, of O’Halloran’s Lane, Ennis, appeared at Ennis Dis- trict Court on the shoplifting charge on November 9.

On that date she told the court that her mother had died. The case was then struck out by the prosecution, who took pity on her.

However, Inspector Michael Gal- lagher told the court last Friday that

the State has since established that her mother had not died and the case was re-entered.

In evidence to the court on Friday, Ms McCarthy said she had got a call from her sister in the UK before she went into the courtroom on the previ- ous date, telling her the bad news.

Inspector Gallagher said, “It’s one thing to lie but the lie 1s being com- pounded further today. You went out

the door skitting, laughing.”

Garda Doody then told the court that he had met Ms McCarthy three times before the court case and she had not mentioned anything about her mother passing away.

He said shortly after the case was struck out, he heard her saying, “I told the f***ing judge my mother is dead,” and she started laughing.

Gda Doody said her friends told

her to stop laughing as they saw him observing, but Ms McCarthy simply replied, “Let it be.”

Judge Joseph Mangan commended Garda Doody on his vigilance. He jailed Ms McCarthy for a month and fixed a bond in the event of an ap- peal.

He refused to substitute the one month jail sentence with a commu- nity service order.

PROJECTED growth in the number of people attending Sixmilebridge national school has prompted plans to be drawn up for a new school in STO BU UE RSXon

Currently, there are 329 pupils on the roll of St Finnachta’s National School and it is anticipated that this will grow to 600 within the next 10 years.

The Department of Education and Science has approved the building of new 24-classroom school to ac- commodate the future needs, on the current school site. The site itself has recently been enlarged through

the purchase of land adjacent to the original site. Based on current es- timates, the anticipated cost of the new project could reach €5 million and over the next few years and the fundraising committee hopes to raise €120,000 which will include the lo- cal contribution sum required for all such school development projects. Chairperson of the Parents Associ- ation Caitriona O’Reilly said growth in the village’s population is key to the development of the new school. “Sixmilebridge is very well located for Limerick and Ennis and Shannon and that is how it has grown so much. There has been a huge increase in the numbers of house built in the areas,”

she said.

While the funding has been sanc- tioned by the department, planning permission has yet to be sought and it should be four years before the school will be built.

The school’s teachers and pupils currently use the existing building, along with four prefabricated build- ings, on the same site. The space is not sufficient for the growing popu- lation of the school and given the anticipated increasing numbers, the new school will be a necessity.

“We really want a state-of-the-art school. It will be a challenge to raise the money,” said Ms O’Reilly.

“We are appealing to locals to help

out, particularly people coming into the area. A lot of young people are choosing Sixmilebridge to live in, given that houses are affordable and the location suits them,” she added. School principal Ray McInerney acknowledged “the early decision and foresight of the Department of Education and Science to invest in the new school here’. He thanked “the parents and supporters of the school, the Board of Management, the teachers and staff of the school and the sponsors of this important event”. He made special mention of “the organising committee who have dedicated time and energy to make this local fund raiser a big success”.

A MAN who kicked another man while he was on the ground has been jailed for four months, despite a plea from the victim’s father not to send him to jail.

Trevor McMahon (36) of Sandfield Centre, Ennis, pleaded guilty to as- saulting Owen Walsh, causing him harm, at Sheil’s garage, Gort Road, Ennis, in the early hours of on Au- gust 25 last year.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told Ennis District Court that following a complaint, gardai viewed CCTV footage at the garage.

He said the footage showed that there was a scuffle in the forecourt and McMahon was “the major cul- ele

The injured party bled from the teeth, he said. Inspector Gallagher pointed out that the incident arose in the queue. Mr Walsh was knocked to

the ground and kicked.

Solicitor for the injured party, Stephen Nicholas told the court that his client suffered bad damage to two front teeth in the incident. “One is dead and has to be replaced,’ he said.

He said the cost of replacing the tooth will be between €3,000 and ono 0107

Solicitor for McMahon, Tara God- frey said her client is a voluntary worker and is currently in education.

‘There is an alternative for the in- jured party, the Criminal Injuries Tribunal can provide money. Mr Walsh might be able to find in that the means to have the tooth repaired,’ said Ms Godfrey. She said her client turned around and two men behind him seemed to be challenging him.

“In his mind, he was intimidated and he swung for Mr Walsh. Mr Walsh felt intimidated and pushed Mr McMahon,” she said.

“Mr McMahon stupidly lost the plot for the first time in 36 years,” SNToMCT BLO

Inspector Gallagher pointed out however that video evidence showed McMahon kicking Mr Walsh to the head while he was on the ground.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a four month jail term on McMahon and fixed a bond in the event of an appeal. Mr Walsh’s father then stood up and said he wanted to speak on behalf of his family.

“The family don’t want him to go to jail,” he said.

However Judge Mangan replied, “It’s not a case between you and the defendant. It’s a case between the State and the defendant. The courts must consider the community.”

A LEVEL playing pitch should be put in place for all water users, ac- cording to county councillors in the Shannon area.

In a joint motion at a meeting last week, Councillors Gerry Flynn (In- dependent) and John Crowe (FG) asked a number of questions relat- ing to the supply of water to bed and breakfasts and guesthouses in the Bunratty area.

They specifically asked how the

cost 1s calculated; are bed and break- fasts paying the same rate as guest- houses; and are families who use the bed and breakfasts as their family homes allowed a set discount.

In response, Senior Engineer Wal- ter Walsh said the flat rate charge and metered charge applies through- out the wider area of Bunratty and also throughout the county.

“Bed and breakfasts are paying by both systems, 1.e. some are me- tered and some are paying by fixed charge. This situation has arisen his-

torically and there is no explanation for the different charging systems to different customers. It is the policy that all new customers both domestic and non-domestic will have meters installed at the time of connection,” said Mr Walsh.

He pointed out that families who live in their own bed and breakfasts or guesthouses are given an allow- ance. All other water provided is charged at the current charge rate.

“At present, a complete survey of all known non-domestic water cus-

tomers is ongoing in the county. Fol- lowing on from the survey, meters are being installed where none exist at present or where existing meters are not properly functioning. It is expected that this contract will be finished in late spring 2008,’ added Mr Walsh.

Cllr Flynn said he raised the issue on foot of queries in Bunratty, while Cllr Crowe remarked, “All we are looking for is a level playing field. If one is paying for it, let everyone pay for it.”

“THE BEATLES once said _ that they were bigger than Jesus but I’ll tell you – there’s a manager, a selec- tor and a chairman down in Clonlara and they are bigger than the Beatles ever were.” That was Clonlara cap- tain Paul Collins assessment of his management team and _ whatever about being compared to the son of God, manager Jim Gully is certainly the ‘special one’ of Clonlara hurling right now.

Along with Niall Hogan, Kieran Whelan and Pat Conlon, Gully has transformed this Clonlara side into the slick machine that appeared on Sunday. It’s been a long hard year for the South East Clare side but now they will feel that all that hard work has been worthwhile after winning their first Munster title. No more so than Gully himself as he collected his thoughts after the game.

“T suppose you look forward to the county championship all the time and it is your goal but this is just an added bonus really. I think since the Cork game, our lads took on a whole new way of hurling really. They seem to hurl with a bit more freedom and the same pressure didn’t seem to be there. The fact that you know very little about the opposition and they know very little about you, the game tends to be open and you are 20 minutes into the match before you realise what way the other team are and what way your own team are go- ing. It’s a fantastic competition and it brought our club alive. That’s all I can say, it brought it alive.”

There were no massive comebacks needed on Sunday but leading all the way through didn’t seem to sit well with Clonlara at times. Like Muham- mad Ali’s rope a dope tactic in the famous Rumble in the Jungle fight against George Foreman or similar

to a hurler who needs a belt before they start to perform, Clonlara ap- peared more comfortable in previous games having to battle back from behind rather than hold the lead for the hour.

“We had kind of spoken about it for the last two weeks and we said that someday these comebacks won’t work for us,’ mentions Gully. “We had driven it into them that they were going to have to give everything in the first half and then I think the way we started the second half, probably scoring five or six points, suddenly the lead is gone out to nine or ten and really they weren’t causing us an awful lot of problems. It think at that stage it was thirteen points to three and unless they scored two or three freak goals, we were always going to be there. They hadn’t really threat- ened our goal and I thought that we should have been further ahead real- ly. We had a couple of great chances where we probably took a step too many or didn’t let the ball go when we should have but to finally win it was great.”

Gully also picked out John Conlon for special praise after the county minor scored 1-3 from play with the goal in particular coming at a crucial stage of the second half when Clon- lara seemed to be letting the Limer- ick side back into the game.

“John Conlon played a magnificent part today. Without doubt he gave an exhibition of scoring – both points and that goal. To pick up the ball 50 yards out and solo 30 yards and just let fly was amazing and I think he scored fantastic points as well into the bargain. He was just on fire today and I think his goal probably killed the game as a contest.

‘The two previous games stood to us. Fellas were much more confident as well today. We took the lead and once we got the goal, we were nev-

er really threatened after that. Ger O’Connell pulled off a fantastic save at a vital time as well and after that. Dromin-Athlacca probably dropped their heads a bit.”

In his speech, Munster chairman Seamus O’Gorman stated that the Clonlara bandwagon rolls on but af- ter four games in five weeks, Gully felt that his side now need a week or two off to recharge the batteries be-

fore contemplating the All-Irleland series.

“We’ll take a break now. The lads need a break. We’re out now since the second week in February and the lads deserve a break. But we’re going to go there and give it a good lash. We said all along that we were going to do Clare hurling proud and I’d like to think that we have.”

It will be the new year before Clon-

lara are back in action and if Paul Collins’ comparisons with the man above are to be believed, perhaps Clonlara have been aided by divine intervention along the way. Nothing would surprise anyone about this Clonlara side.

UPTO 100 children from across Clare will gather in Ennis next Wednesday to share their school experiences and Opinions on the future development of play and recreational policies.

The meeting has been organised by the Clare County Development Board, as part of the Comhairle na nOg or ‘youth council’ initiative.

Clare Comhairle na nOg, which includes representatives of primary and secondary schools, is a local forum for young people where they can discuss local and national issues of relevance to them.

Since 2002, Clare Comhairle na nOg has seen a steady increase in

its membership, with up to 40 local schools now participating.

Speaking ahead of the upcoming meeting in the West County Hotel in Ennis, Clare Mayor, Councillor Pa- tricia McCarthy said, “The objective of the Comhairli is to give children and young people a voice at a com- munity level. In my address to dele- gates I will outline the importance of considering the opinions of younger members of the community when devising local or national policy.”

“IT am delighted to see that Com- hairle na nOg is increasingly being recognised by local, regional and national bodies. It has provided rep- resentation to a number of initiatives such as Dail na nOg. This proves

that the process is effective and does make a difference to the lives of young people,” added Ms McCarthy. The upcoming Comhairle na nOg meeting will consist of two separate workshops and feedback sessions, which will feed into the review of Clare Local Authorities Play Policy and the development of a new Strat- egy for Clare Sports Partnership. | Meanwhile, five Comhairle na nOg delegates will be selected to repre- sent County Clare at the annual Dail na nOg on February 15, 2008. The national Young Person’s Parliament, which comprises representatives of Combhairli in 34 local authority areas throughout the country, meets once a year and submits an annual report of

the outcome to the Cabinet Commit- tee on Children. ;

Ms Brid Kirby, Comhairle na nOg co-ordinator for Community and Enterprise in Clare County Coun- cil, said that the upcoming meeting would provide an invaluable oppor- tunity for young people under 18 years of age to have a say in issues that affect their lives.

“The opening ceremony will fea- ture speeches from two of last year’s delegates who represented Clare at Dail na nOg and made a presenta- tion to the September meeting of Clare County Council. It underlines Comhairle na nOg’s ability to have its collective voice heard at local and national level,’ said Ms Kirby.

AS CLONLARA captain Paul Collins waited to collect the cup from Munster chairman Seamus O’Gorman, he smiled and shook his head in disbelief. In his acceptance speech, he confirmed this incredu- lous feeling by stating that it has been an unbelieveable year. That feeling was echoed all over Cusack Park by the 2,000 plus crowd who were still coming to terms with what they had just witnessed.

Clonlara have done so well this year that they have actually sur- prised themselves by getting this far. Collins himself may have missed the semi-final against Tipperary champions Lorrha due to a family bereavement but in typical Clonlara fashion, he slipped seamlessly back into the side on Sunday as if he had

never been away. Two vital first half blocks emphasised his importance to the team and set them on their way to a first Munster crown. An achieve- ment which he still finds difficult to sink in.

“The whole thing is just unbelie- veable,” said Collins. “How do you describe it? It’s like a dream and we are just waiting to wake up.

“It was strange today compared to the other matches where we tended to get out ahead then drop back and lose it and then having to fight hard to get back in it. But today thank God we got out in front and we stayed out in front. There was always a danger that they could come back and we could run out of time but thank God, we had the luck on the day.”

Luck certainly played it’s part but essentially Clonlara deserved this title more than Dromin-Athlacca. In

what has been one of the most excit- ing runs in the competition’s history, Clonlara were just too strong for the Limerick champions and played with an added spring to their step after famous wins over Carrigtwohill and Lorrha.

“The previous games stood to us,” agreed Collins “It’s great because there was no pressure going into the Munster competition. It’s a great competition and it lets lads play their own style of hurling and it’s a bit freer. It showed there when we were hurling well again today.”

THERE are people in east Clare who will forever have cause to be grateful to Kevin Canny.

In the 41 years plus that Kevin has been delivering letters and parcels to his native Feakle and surround- ing areas, he’s brought a lot of good news.

And some bad. But for Kevin, who followed in his father’s footsteps as postman and whose daughter is now taking up the reins as he retires, it is, in his own words, “in the blood”’.

“IT remember 35 years ago, going to the house of a man who was known to be a good man to swear. He said to me ‘well Canny, I suppose that’s another feckin’ bill?’ I joked with him that it was a letter from the Prize

Bonds office. As I walked back to collect my bike he let a shout out of him for me to come back. He asked me how did I know what was in the letter — he’d won £100.”

Kevin took over as postman from his father, John Canny, who earned a princely £19/23 when he started out in 1929.

Kevin’s route took him on a daily 27 mile journey, delivering letters to more than 400 homes on a bike.

‘People used to wait to see you coming, to see were you bringing a letter they might be waiting for from a child or relative who had emigrated to England or America. The Amer1- can parcels that used come brought huge excitement. They were clothes of amazing colours and materials and money sometimes. I remember one

Christmas, when we’d just got our first post van, a Renault, we had four American parcels for one house. We packed the four boxes into the van and you wouldn’t have got a pound of butter in with them. You can imagine the excitement in that house.”

Some days were not so happy. “You’d bring telegrams and people would ask you to open them because they were so afraid of what was in there. Telegrams were very often bad ea AS

He describes the days of delivering the post as “the happiest days of my Th tome

While getting motorised transport made the job physically more com- fortable, Kevin says he missed the bicycle.

“When we got the van, we were

pressured for time. Before that you’d stop for a chat with people, sit up ona ditch or go in for a cup of tea.”

As the people of Feakle parish gathered last Friday, along with rep- resentatives of An Post to celebrate Kevin’s years of bringing the news to homes in east Clare, Kevin himself had a proud boast.

With his daughter, Martina, now working a route round Killaloe he can say “there has been a Canny de- livering the post in east Clare since 1929.”

FOUR of the 50 counts against the proprietor of a créche in Ennis, relat- ing to the running of the premises, have been dismissed by the judge hearing the case.

Martina Baker, of Hopscotch Child- care and Montessori, Quin Road, En- nis, faced seven summonses, divided into 50 counts, relating to various inspections on dates between March 2006 and January 2007.

Judge Tim Lucey heard evidence relating to six of the counts on the first day of the hearing at Ennis Dis- trict Court yesterday and dismissed four of the six, while he has yet to rule on the two others.

Three of the charges he dismissed relate to keeping records while the other was an allegation that Ms Baker failed to ensure adequate ar- rangements were in place to summon medical assistance promptly in an emergency.

Among the remaining counts due

to be contested in court today (Tues- day) include that she is alleged to have failed to ensure the premises

was adequately heated, failed to se- cure the gates in the play area and failed to ensure there was sufficient

nutritional and varied food available for the children. Among the allegations against Ms

Baker include that she failed to take all reasonable measures to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all pre- school children; that she failed to en- sure every child had a suitable means of progression and development with books, games etc, regarding his/her age and stage of development.

She is accused of failing to ensure there was a sufficient number of com- petent adults to supervise preschool children in the service at all times.

She is also accused of failing to provide a suitable equipped First Aid box and failing to ensure there was adequate means of ventilation pro- vided on the premises.

She is further accused of failing to ensure all waste and refuse was dis- posed off frequently and in such a manner as to not cause a nuisance.

THE SAFETY of children and par- ents travelling to school in Shannon Banks is at risk from the huge vol- umes of traffic which now pass their homes and school gates, local coun- cillor Pascal Fitzgerald has warned.

He was speaking at a meeting of the Killaloe area councillors last week, having asked the director of services to provide safety railings across the bridge at Shannon Banks.

“This would go a long way towards ensuring the safety of residents and children in the area. It has been re- ported to me that there have been a number of potential accidents there in the last few weeks. Young kids just run out on to the road and there will be a tragedy if we don’t do some- thing,” the Labour councillor said.

Cllr Tony O’Brien seconded Cllr Fitzgerald’s motion to have railings erected.

“You have Scoil Ide National school

and St Munchins on that route and it is heavily used. I know we would have to have agreement with Limer- ick City Council but we need to move on this,” he said.

Senior Executive Engineer with Clare County Council, Sean Leni- han, told councillors that part of the area in question comes under the re- sponsibilty of Limerick City Coun- cil, as the bridge straddles the border betweent the two local authorities.

“IT have a meeting lined up with

city council staff for November 27. We have agreed to do this, it’s just a case of getting down and doing it in the new year. We’ve taken on board what the councillors have said and this is a high priority for us,” he told the meeting.

The senior engineer also told the meeting that there were a number of issues which Limerick City Council and Clare County Council needed to discuss and these would be on the ta- ble at the meeting later this week.