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AN elderly Ennis man charged with sexually assaulting a neighbour over a three-year period has been cleared of the charges by a jury.

The man was before Ennis Circuit Court last week facing 19 charges of sex assault on dates between March 1975 and May 1978.

The alleged victim was aged be- tween 12 and 15 years at the time and said she had been assaulted by the accused when sent to his house on various messages.

The court heard evidence that the accused was alleged to have touched

the then teenager on her breast and private parts and to have shown her pornographic pictures on playing cards and in magazines. He was also alleged to have shown her a photo of himself naked, taken in his bedroom with an instamatic camera.

The accused had pleaded not guilty to all charges. The jury heard that the alleged victim made a complaint about the accused on Christmas Day, 25 years after she claimed the as- saults had started.

The jury of nine men and three women cleared the man of all charg- es after deliberating for almost four hours.

THE chief executive of Clare FM last night moved to dampen local speculation that the station is being sold to Radio Kerry for a reported €7-8 million.

It is understood that the board of Clare FM has agreed in principle to the sale to Radio Kerry and it is ex- pected that the sale will be finalised in the New Year.

The proposed sale will result in minor windfalls for the hundreds of small shareholders across Clare who invested in the station 15 years ago as a result of a share drive.

However, Liam O’Shea yesterday dismissed reports of a sale to Radio

Kerry as “pure speculation”, adding that he found the query on the matter “very surprising’.

He added, “Given the industry we are in, and our size, our future strat- egy must always be open. However, this year is no different to any other year.

“IT am always getting enquiries in relation to selling and, in fact, I have also made one or two inquiries my- self in relation to acquiring another radio station. There will always be speculation in this industry.”

In a second email yesterday, Mr O’Shea said, “I can categorically state that Clare FM has not been sold to anybody. ”

Radio Kerry yesterday failed to re-

spond to a query on the reported sale. The move comes against the back- eround of growing profits and listen- ership for Clare FM, which scooped a recent national news award.

The annual returns for 2006 show that the company increased its an- nual profit before tax to €240,000 on a turnover of €1.9 million, making it an attractive target for a takeover. The profit achieved last year results in accumulated profits of €694,000, while its most recent JNLR radio survey showed a four per cent in- crease in market share.

Mr O’Shea said, “I am broadly sat- isfied we have maintained our profit- ability… We are pleased with the fig- ures, as we Set out 12 months ago to

increase our weekday market share. We have seen a healthy four per cent increase on this figure over this pe- riod. Our weekend figures have also increased.”

Asked to comment yesterday on the reported sale, the founding chief ex- ecutive of Clare FM, Caimin Jones, said, “If the story is true, it is to be welcomed for two reasons, the first being Clare FM and Radio Kerry have similar broadcasting objectives in having a strong connection to the community and a strong cultural identity with the community.”

Mr Jones said, “I would also wel- come the sale in that it will give a re- turn to the many people who invested in the station in 1992.”

SCARIFF is the location this week for film, art, drama, poetry, music and thought-provoking photography on the theme of human rights.

One World Week (OWW) is an international initiative to provide space for people from diverse back- grounds to learn about global justice, to spread that learning and to use it to challenge inequality, discrimina- tion and degradation, locally and globally.

Last year during this week, Fish- bowl Youth worked with the theme of HIV/AIDS and this year, the club has organised a host of events on the theme of power and justice which

will appeal to all ages to mark the Neto)

With the help of five European vol- unteers, Fishbowl are organising the ‘Cornered’ Human Rights and Arts Festival in Scariff.

Over the past six weeks they have given workshops at Youth Reach, The Alfa Project, Mercy College Wood- ford, EMC Youth Club, and Scariff Community College, the results will be displayed during the festival.

From November 19 to 25, young local artists will have their work ex- hibited at Fishbowl Youth club and the Market House. Photos by Sophie Breuker, taken in South Africa and Turkey will be exhibited in main street shop windows while Brian and

Joe’s Coffee Shop will host Katie Moore’s photos of Nigeria.

At Youth Reach, visitors can come face to face with a thought-provok- ing collection of photos of Israel and Palestine and Philip Daly’s inspiring pictures of “Burma Action Ireland” will be exhibited at the new Scariff Public Library.

Anyone interested can try their tal- ent at the drumming workshops, get information about the work of Am- nesty International, hear local musi- cians play, or explore human rights through the living statues of Fish- bowl Youth.

During the weekend there will be presentations on Fair Trade, and there will be two workshops or the

‘Breaking through the Wall’ work- shop in Youth.

There will be a number of short movies, relating to the issue of Hu- man Rights, Ruaille-Buaille dance night and The Acoustic Music evening in a cafe style setting.

Not forgetting the younger ones, on Sunday the ALFA Project’s students will present a puppet-show of “Vasil- issa the beautiful”.

Everyone interested is welcome to the grand opening with music, poet- ry and refreshments at the new pub- lic library on the Thursday at 6pm when Deputy Timmy Dooley will officially open the event with Elean- or Feeley, Youth Theatre Officer, in attendance.

A LONG-AWAITED flood study report on the greater Ennis area is recommending the freezing of devel- opment on 210 acres of land in the towns and its surrounds.

The consultants’ report also recom- mends spending €15 million to carry out works on barrage, river channel and an N18 bridge upgrade.

The recommendations in the study report, entitled “Ennis Main Drain- age: Lower Fergus Floodplain Stor- age Areas’, recommends that the “flood risk designation” be extended in the Ennis and Environs Develop- ment Plan, the removal of “other settlement lands” designation from development exclusion zone and the keeping of open spaces at existing ground levels.

The consultants discounted a sepa- rate option costed at €32 million which recommended the relocation of the barrage at Clarecastle. They stated that it would have severe 1m- pacts on pristine undeveloped areas and may be blocked by the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley.

The option discounted also rec- ommended an exclusion zone of 40 AYO Kone

The environmental appraisal of the

options included the potential 1m- pacts on fish, bird, vegetation, water quality, archaeology and recreational Viston

The consultants discounted two other options costed at €10 million and €7 million respectively.

Developers have been eagerly await- ing the publication of the report and how it impacts on proposed develop- ments on the environs of Ennis.

One of those developments im- pacted upon includes the Stephen Harris €50 million retail park on the outskirts of Ennis with the publica- tion of the flooding study one of the reasons why the plan has been put on hold.

However, it 1s not known in the presentation made to _ councillors from the Ennis area how the flood- ing study will impact on the Harris plan and other planning applications currently before the council.

In a statement earlier this year, the council stated that the flood manage- ment study “will have a significant influence as regards what is appro- priate and feasible from a develop- ment point of view in the lands in the vicinity of the Lower River Fergus”.

The report was conducted against the backdrop of severe flooding in the town in 1995 and 1999.

THOSE objecting to a planned €10 million retail plan for Miltown Mal- bay are doing so for commercial rea- sons, not planning ones.

That is the view of the promoter of the venture, John Jones, who said yesterday that the opening of the Su- pervalu retail outlet would generate up to 100 jobs for the west Clare vil- lage.

Mr Jones said that not one local resident had objected to the develop- ment, pointing out that the objections to the proposal came from the local business community, with only one

business person being native to the village. Mr Jones said that he could not remember the last time that 100 jobs were created in Miltown Mal- bay. Mr Jones’s plan also includes seven shops, 18 apartments and of- Nene

“Miltown needs something like a Supervalu and it will mean more business for Miltown. People go into Ennis and Limerick to shop, but hav- ing more services in Miltown will make sure that Miltown is a bigger draw for shoppers.”

Mr Jones accused those opposed to the development of being “small minded”’.

He said, “We have had nine pre- planning meetings with the council. The development is only a short dis- tance from the Main Street and will provide 148 spaces for the village.”

Mr Jones said that his family have been operating a business in Miltown since the 1830s.

‘We have a proud tradition here and we are well qualified to be in line to put in a new shop and we should be allowed the opportunity to do it.”

Mr Jones said that he has had a number of phonecalls from local people offering their support for the project. He said that he would start construction work on the project as

soon as planning is secured.

However, Clare County Council has expressed “serious concerns in regard to the height and proximity of the proposed development and its 1m- pact on the adjacent terraced houses to the south”.

The council also states, “notwith- standing the submitted Retail Impact Assessment (RIA), the council has concerns regarding the impact of the overall development on the vitality and viability of the existing retail commercial units currently operat- ing in Miltown Malbay and the effect of the proposed development on the Main Street of the town.”

IF the urge to draw and paint is some- thing you’ve had since you first man- aged to stay inside the black lines ina colouring book, then a course that is starting on the lively shores of Lough Graney shortly could be for you.

Art At The Park at Killanena starts Saturday, November 24, running un- til Sunday, November 25.

The two-day course teaches draw- ing, using a variety of subjects and media, from pencil to chalks, char- coal to water-soluble crayons.

“People learn to draw what they really see. This is tuition that will change your attitude to drawing, help

you really progress and improve your painting ability for ever’, said artist and teacher, Julie Douglas.

‘We have a very mixed bag of peo- ple who come to Killanena House for courses. Some are older people who used to draw and maybe haven’t been back to it since school. Others are people who have done painting courses and enjoyed them but real- ised they can only go so far before they need to learn how to draw prop- Se WA

“We also have established artists who want to get back to basics, so it’s CL DN Comr: ecb Dem Jalomcr BLCE

All artist-quality materials are sup- plied – “and we’re big on cake,” said

Julie – as well as coffee and home- made lunch.

The courses are not residential except for Julie’s five-day portfolio preparation course for students who are hoping to get into art college. “It’s a bit like prison,’ said Julie.

Julie guides students through wa- tercolour painting, drawing, life drawing, portraiture and botanical painting in the quiet, unspoilt corner off the tourist trail.

The course runs from |lam to 4pm. For more information, contact Ju- lie on 061 925975 for bookings and information or visit the website at www.artatthepark.net

THERE are always uncertainties when facing into a Munster cam- paign. The fear of the unknown and the precarious history of Clare football clubs in Munster contrib- ute to this feeling but this year, O’Callaghan’s Mills had an added point to prove. A year previous, they had qualified for the Munster junior quarter-final by virtue of the fact that Clare champions Kilmurry/Ibrickane had a senior team but the East Clare side went down disappointingly 0-8 to 0-3 to Cork side Adrigole.

This time the Mills were backed by an impressive run in the Clare junior A championship but after a five week absense since the county final against Kildysart, manager Mike O’Brien knew that they had would have to re- produce their championship winning form if they were to have a chance on Sunday.

“We are really delighted with the win. It was definitely a tricky one because we had to go down to their backyard and they had just won their county final last week while we hadn’t a competitive game in five weeks. So we didn’t really know how good or sharp we would be but it all worked out for us in the end. We had a great start and from there we controlled

the whole way through really.” Challenge matches against interme- diate champions Ballyvaughan and Galway side Gort certainly helped their sharpness as they hit the ground running from the opening whistle and opened up a Seven point lead. “The good start put any doubts to sleep really” admitted O’Brien “but again, going down we were confident that we would do it. Eoin Pewter’s goal after 3 minutes gave us a great start. Then we got a few points to go 1-4 to nothing up and it really settled iS Leading by 1-5 to O-2 points at the break, the Mills knew that all they had to do was continue playing to their strengths and frustrate their Waterford opposition but things be- gan to go against them as they con- ceeded a dubious second half penalty which was followed soon after by the sending off of Steve Donnellan. “They were two decisions which were crucial to the game in one sense. The penalty we felt wasn’t jus- tified at all. Their man even said it was no penalty but you have to live with those things and get on with it. Immediately after it, we went a man down when one of our lads got a straight red so we had to regroup, we got behind it and we kept them to a point after that before we got three

points ourselves to finally win out.

“Our fitness really told at the end. We had a few physical sessions done over the past few weeks with Ger Keane and he had them in tip-top shape going into it and that fitness really told in the end.”

Now O’Callaghan’s Mills find themselves in the unique position of being only 60 minutes away from a Munster junior final when they face Tipperary side Moycarkey-Borris in the semi-final in two weeks time. And with the added bonus of home advantage, the East Clare side are more than capable of achieving that momentus feat.

“It is a great opportunity to get to a Munster final.” stressed O’Brien. “It’s something that a Mills team has never done in the past and I suppose very few teams from the east have done it in football, if any so it’s a great opportunity to create history. It’s ahome game so we will look for- ward to it with good hope anyway.”

The rise of East Clare is confirmed with Clare’s only remaining repre- sentatives all coming from the east. Tulla and Clonlara in a final and the Mills flying the football flag for Clare in the junior semi-final. Vive la revolution.

SEVEN out of 10 shoppers prefer to purchase local food from outlets such as farmers’ markets which are enjoying a resurgence in Clare, ac- cording to a new report.

Clare Green Party Councillor Brian Meaney has welcomed the survey by An Bord Bia, which shows that seven out of 10 people prefer to buy fresh local produce. Cllr. Meaney said the survey ensured a bright future for lo- cal food producers.

“This shows that consumers are interested in buying fresh produce locally, to keep their local economy

alive, to ensure they are receiving the freshest food possible and to play their part in helping the environ- jee) 8 i

Cllr Meaney said that the develop- ment of local produce markets such as the country market and the farm- ers market in Ennis is “a vital means of ensuring the demand by consum- ers for local produce is enhanced”’.

The survey, carried out by Landsdowne Market Research and released at the National Conference on Local Food found that local food meant ‘fresh’ food to the consumer and 76 per cent agreed that local food tended to taste better.

A LEADING Dublin interior de- sign and architecture firm has been appointed to guide the redevelop- ment of the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point into the future.

Millimetre Design, already having directed the design of other leading hotels across Ireland, has been com- missioned to lead the design of the Clare coast hotel.

John Burke, director of the Armada Hotel, said, “After looking over the portfolio of many of Ireland’s lead-

ing design companies, it became apparent the Millimetre Design team and in particular their company director, Ronan Holohan, displayed the ability and vision to lead this project in the right direction”

“In particular, the new concept of the ‘tranquility suites’, which he grasped and brought to new levels, is exciting. The tranquility suites will be unique and original in providing spa facilities within the comforts of one’s bedroom. While enjoying the great location, the tranquil setting will be created by a combination of

mood lighting, 1Pod surround sound, bespoke furniture and a floor-to-ceil- ing window. The real diamond of this concept is the ability to enjoy a spa bath while looking across the bay.”

The development, due for comple- tion in spring 2008, will comprise a full re-design of the existing hotel, along with the addition of 25 new rooms, including superior rooms and tranquility suites.

Ronan Houlihan, chief designer with Millimetre, said, “I was drawn to the project by the location, the tranquility suites and the exciting

concepts I was able to produce for the bars, restaurant and function room. I think Clare has something to be ex- cited about, and this property, when completed, will be able to compete with the best in the country.”

Work on the project will commence in November and the new-look hotel will be rolled out from February to April. The hotel will remain open ex-

cept for a short period in January.

JIM McInerney gathered his selec- tors around him outside the dressing at half-time. With Michael Browne and Raymond Stewart he chewed the fat of the first half. Pat O’Connor, who’s acted as a consultant to the team over the past few months threw in his tuppence worth too.

‘“T was worried,” admits Jim, “be- cause we were only three points ahead and we should have been a lot more ahead. We were trying to fig- ure out why we only had six points scored with all the play and posses- sion we had. We should have at least nine or ten points scored at half-time, but these things happen in games. We didn’t let it get to us and we went out and performed in the second half.

“We dominated the end of this game. Ballyduff Upper brought

their full-forward to midfield and he played a very good game there. It took us a while to get to grips with him, but Declan Murphy destroyed Stephen Molumphy and then we switched him over on Brian Kearney and he cancelled him out. We were in trouble until that switch, but then we TaD UI oxe ms aCe)ee Com OMA SCoMONONK ORM

It’s why supporters rushed to con- eratulate McInerney after the game. As manager he has led Tulla to the promised land in Clare and within 60 minutes of the provincial title. The stuff of dreams, he readily admits.

“Everyone knows that the Munster Club is a great competition to play in. Lads from Tulla don’t get many opportunities to play in a Munster final. This is our first and now that we have that chance, we’re going to go all out for it. We are giving this a serious lash.

“IT would have always felt that we were good enough to win a county title, but to get this team to reach that goal was a huge task. However, when you get on a winning streak anything can happen. You just keep on rolling and we’re still rolling, So roll on two weeks time in the Munster final.”

You can tell McInerney is relish- ing the prospect, because his side have nothing to lose and everything emcee Bute

“It’s a game of hurling — there’s no established club left in the final. Loughmore-Castleiney are like our- selves. We have as good a chance as them, we have a strong, fit team and we ll give it a rattle.”

Same as it has been all year.