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THERE was anger and aggression in the air as missiles were hurled and glasses and bottles smashed in a ‘life threatening’ Traveller riot, which

caused €14,000 damage to an Ennis pub.

Up to 40 men and women fought each other, at a double engagement party at Brandon’s bar, O’Connell Street, Ennis, on May 3, 2006.

Arising from the fracas, nine members of the Travelling commu- nity – aged between 19 and 29 – were charged with violent disorder. Anoth- er individual was charged with pub- lic order offences. All pleaded guilty

at Ennis Circuit Court.

One of the 10, Patrick Quilligan, (19) of Knockane, Newcastlewest, who held a bottle up to the owner of the bar, Declan Brandon, was re- manded in custody for six weeks, be- fore the sentence 1s finalised.

The other nine were fined various sums, totaling the €14,000 cost of the damage.

Additional garda reinforcements had to be brought in from Shannon and Ennistymon to deal with the juke)

When gardai initially arrived at the scene, one Traveller had his t-shirt torn off and had his fist clenched.

Gardai heard roaring and shouting coming from the laneway, while sev- eral glasses were smashed.

Recalling the incident to the court, Garda Shane O’Connell said, “You could see people hitting each other and there were glasses smashing.

“Td call it a riot, something that I’ve never seen before, highly dan- gerous,’ he said.

One young man fired a bottle in the direction of the gardai. It skimmed over a garda’s head and hit a door. Another bottle hit the squad car which was parked outside the door, while other missiles were thrown at the

gardai. A stool was smashed and part of it was also hurled at the gardai.

Garda O’Connell said he took out his baton. He told one drunk young man to put down a piece of wood and, when he refused twice, he struck him on the arm with the baton. The baton broke in two.

“It was a volatile situation. There was no point staying there. It was too dangerous,” said the garda.

Later that night, two young men at- tempted to rob the same bar.

One of the two, who has never been identified, pointed a piece of timber at Mr Brandon and threatened to put it “through your f***ing neck”’.

Another, Patrick Quilligan, held a bottle to Mr Brandon’s head.

Judge Michael White said the ac- tions of a small minority of Travel- lers impacted on the wider Travelling community, most of whom are law abiding citizens. He said the incident was “life-threatening” and someone could have been seriously hurt.

Those fined were given varying lengths of time to pay.

A NEW committee is to be established to advise on the future development of sporting facilities in Ennis.

Ennis Town Council is seeking to restructure the current committee, set up in 2003 to facilitate communi- cation and discussion on the develop- ment of sporting facilities in Ennis.

At the November meeting of Ennis Town Council Town Clerk Eddie Power stated that the council was also looking to hear from other sporting clubs and associations not currently represented.

The present committee is made up

of Ennis Town Council (three elect- ed members), Clare County Council (three elected members) and a rep- resentative from the GAA, athletics and Clare Soccer.

It is known that the Clare school- boys/girls soccer league is looking to have a voice on the committee, as are representatives from the Ennis Rugby Club.

SW slommere)cebeeDUnCcroMmmn Oelo(o1B00Tcs mmr: Dus attended by council staff and the senior staff officer and corporate services provide administrative sup- port. Nominations by both local authorities were made after the last local elections in 2004.

In his report, Power said, “One

of the county council representa- tives has been elected to the Dail in the 2007 General Election and consequently a vacancy has arisen on the committee. Other sporting codes use the council’s sporting facilities in addition to the associa- tions represented.”

“A skateboard park was opened re- cently which attracts a large number of skaters. It 1s important that there is a continuation of the successful communication links with the skat- ers. Participations in the committee would be beneficial in this regard.

“IT am proposing that the number of sporting bodies representatives be increased and that each body

be asked to confirm their existing representatives to the committee. Clare County Council should also nominate a member to fill the cas- ual vacancy referred to above. The sports facilities committee has a rep- resentational role through which the sporting bodies using the facilities have a structured communication fo- rum,” he added.

“The committee has an important promotional role to play in high- lighting the nature of the facilities available among sporting clubs and associations.

“The committee can further pro- mote additional facilities as these become available to use.”

SELINA Moylan confirmed her rep- utation as one of the brightest talents in American college soccer when she was named Daktronics Inc Women’s Soccer Division Two Northeast Re- gion Player of the Year.

It is just the latest accolade for the Ennis woman who has also won the 2007 East Conference Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Year

aE TKee

In 2006, The University of New Haven midfielder became the only two time all-American in the pro- sramme’s history and also a First Team All-Region and Third Team All-America pick, in the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Asso- ciation of America)/adidas coaches’ olan nts

These are major achievements when you consider the geographical

area involved (nine universities) and the high profile of the women’s game in America.

22-year-old Moylan has made a serious impression on the wom- en’s game since moving to study in America in 2003.

Statistical analysis is a major aspect of American sport and a quick perus- al of Moylan’s 2007 season quickly reveals why she is rated so highly.

The midfielder was second in the

league scoring charts on 17 goals and tied for fourth with eight assists.

She helped lead UNH to 12 wins this season, the fourth year in a row that the team has won 11 or more neTeWke s(erce

In her debut season in 2005, Moy- lan wrote her name into the record books when her winning extra-time goal lifted UNH to its first-ever WiGraVae sarees

She is currently pursuing a major in

Management of Sports Industries. A former captain of the Ireland under 19s, Moylan was the eircom ladies under 18 international player of the year in 2002.

She spurned offers from some of the major colleges in America at the time instead choosing UNH because it was an up and coming college that she hoped to accomplish great things e180 8

A CONVICTED Clare sex offender has been found guilty by a jury of sexually abusing two of his daugh- ters in a County Offaly townland.

The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury returned 10 guilty verdicts by a majority of sexual assault on two of his daughters on dates between Sep- tember 2001 and December 2004. He was acquitted on one count.

The court heard that the 36-year-old man received two concurrent 10-year sentences from the Central Criminal Court in 1993 for aggravated sexual assault and burglary.

The final six years were suspended on condition that he stay away from

two named Limerick villages and not re-offend during the six years.

The court heard that one of his 10 new convictions was for an offence committed within those six years.

Judge Desmond Hogan directed the preparation of victim impact re- ports for the sentence hearing early next year.

The jury of five women and seven men returned its verdicts on day 14 of the trial, following some five hours of deliberation.

Judge Hogan told the jury it was the first to have had video-recorded interviews with one of the victims admitted as evidence as a result of Section 16 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

HUNDREDS of thousands of euro are being needlessly wasted each year on house insurance in Clare, ac- cording to new research released by the Financial Regulator.

Clare was one of just 7 counties specifically targeted by the Central Bank’s consumer watchdog, which is attempting to promote more con- Sumer awareness and competition in the home insurance sector.

The research focused on the cost of insuring a 4 bed detached house

in the county with a rebuild cost of €245,000. This sample house was described as being some 20 years old and was being insured along with contents to the value of €55,000.

The Financial Regulator discovered consumers who opted for the most expensive provider were paying out more than 60 percent each year more than those who opted for the cheap- est provider.

According to the survey, FBD In- surance offered the most expensive quote at €379.00 per year, Quinn Direct was the cheapest provider at

€236.64.

Other brokers quoted included Ea- gle Star (€356.90), AXA (€342.00), Hibernian Direct (€320.38), Allianz Direct (€301.44) and Royal and Sun Alliance Both (€263.53).

“The purpose of this survey was to show people the benefits that could be gained by taking the time to shop around. | mean, in the Clare survey there was as much as €140 difference between the quotes being offered by some insurers,” said a spokes woman from the Financial Regulator yester- day.

“It is an important thing for people to consider; there are real savings to be made but at the same time money can be thrown away needlessly.

“We would be encouraging people to shop around and ask for quotes for a number of providers to see who has the best quote for your own circum- stances. You really need to look at each quote on its own merits, and it doesn’t always follow that the cheap- est quote would necessarily be the one for you.”

The other counties targeted by the Financial Regulator for investigation

were Kerry, Tipperary, Waterford, Meath, Leitrim and Dublin.

Meanwhile, in a parallel survey, the Financial Regulator has discovered that only two insurers were willing to give content insurance for resi- dents in a rented accommodation.

In this survey, which was carried out in Galway City, only FBD and Quinn Direct offered quotes for con- tent with FBD offering the cheapest yearly quote.

Other insurers Hibernian, Allianz, AXA, Royal and Sun Alliance and Eagle Star declined to give a quote.

IN THE past few years, camogie has become of the fastest growing sports in the county. The successful influence of the county junior side has contributed largely to this re- surgence as has the increasing pro- motion at ground level. In addition, this expanding interest in the sport has commanded greater exposure 1n the national media which in turn has further developed the sport’s profile. Better standards of coaching, facili- ties and personnel has also meant that the county has enjoyed great success at underage levels in recent years.

In order to hone this interest and progress Clare camogie to the next level, an open forum entitled “To- gether, Raising the Banner’ will take place in the Auburn Lodge Hotel this Saturday from llam to 3pm. The brainchild of Clare Junior captain and Munster Camogie Development Co-ordinator Deirdre Murphy, this exclusive forum which is open to all who are interested, is the most am- bitious and far reaching conference ever to be held in the county and boasts a star-studded line-up of GAA and camogie people which is sure to attract a large attendence. Among the speakers on the day are Donal O’Grady, an All-Ireland winning player and manager with Cork; Cyril Farrell who managed both Galway’s

hurlers and camogie players to All- Ireland success; Pat Fitzgerald, Sec- retary of the Clare County Board, Emily Hayden, a current member of the Tipperary senior camogie team and five time All-Ireland winner; Stella Sinnott, manager of this year’s All-Ireland champions Wexford and Mary O’Connor, National director of Camogie.

“The line up is really special” ad- mits All-Star nominee Deirdre Mur- phy, “What I hope will come out of the day really is that from listening to these speakers and being able to

have a questions and answers ses- sion, there should be a lot of valu- able information but also getting all of the people involved in Clare camogie and the people involved in Clare GAA into the one meeting in a proactive and vibrant setting, you would hope for clubs that it would in- crease the numbers of volunteers they would have working within their club structure and that it would develop a much more positive attitude towards camogie throughout the county and a proactive attitude I suppose.”

A qualified secondary school

teacher, Deirdre took the job as Mun- ster Camogie Development Officer at the beginning of the summer and after experiencing the varying levels of camogie in her role as a promoter of the game, she is certainly the best person to assess where Clare cam- ogie lies on the national map.

‘The standard of camogie amongst the strong counties has really, re- ally improved. The likes of Cork and Wexford that were playing in the senior final with the preparation and the work and the stardard that they can produce is just fantastic. But I suppose on the other hand, you have counties like maybe Water- ford, Kerry, Carlow and Wicklow where it’s a real struggle to try and give camogie a foothold once again. I think there has become a very big gap between strong and weak and I think in Clare we are somewhere in the middle of that gap and whether we move forward and close that gap and once again become one of the strong camogie counties or we are happy to remain a competitive jun- ior county which isn’t enough in my opinion. We should be there in a cou- ple of years time strongly challeng- ing for senior honours would be what I would hope that would happen in Clare in the next few years.”

TWO former heroin addicts who admitted stealing €5,000 worth of jewellery from an east Clare home have been warned they are facing suspended jail terms.

Carmel Duggan (23) of St Munch- in’s Street, St Mary’s Park, Limer- ick, and Nicholas Herdman (35), of Dooradoyle Park, Limerick, admit- ting entering homes in Meelick and Cratloe as trespassers, with intent to commit theft, last April.

Detective Garda Stephen Ryan told Ennis Circuit Court that a woman re- turned to her Cratloe home and saw a car parked in the driveway.

Aman, Nicholas Herdman, was sit-

ting in the car. He blew the horn and two people – Duggan and a man – ap- peared from the back of the house.

Sgt Oliver Kennedy told the court that €5,000 worth of jewellery was taken from a house in Meelick, when the owner was not home. He said both accused admitted the offence. None of the property was recovered.

Herdman’s barrister, Michael Fitz- gibbon, said his client developed an addiction to heroin.

“His involvement with these rob- beries was to do with obtaining money to feed his habit,” said Mr Fitzgibbon.

He said he used two or three bags of heroin a day to “keep himself right,” but is now heroin-free.

Duggan’s barrister Lorcan Con- nolly said his client also had a heroin problem, but feels she has now ad- dressed the matter.

Judge Michael White said the jew- ellery offence was “particularly mean and nasty” and the accused were in the “terrible throes of heroin addiction”’.

“The court is concerned both of you are at a high risk of re-offending because of that addiction,” he said.

He said he intends to impose sub- stantial sentences, suspended.

“IT want to make it quite clear to both of you if you do reoffend during the period of the suspension, you will be back before me again,” he said.

He adjourned the sentencing until paleo. qmpasleyelaer

A FUN new series of music classes in which children will play games and compose their own pieces will open the door to a lifetime of enjoy- ing and making music, according to a local musician.

“Learning music improves lan- guage skills, maths, reasoning and spatial intelligence. However, it also should be creative and fun — this is sometimes forgotten in the way music is taught in schools and one-

to-one lessons,” said Killaloe violin- ist Diane Daly.

“The new Saturday Music Club will focus on the fun while develop- ing skills, understanding and abil- ity,’ she added.

The classes will be held in Diane’s house in the Glen — a beautiful and historic area in the foothills of the Slieve Bernagh Mountains, two miles outside Killaloe — and will involve creative games, composition, improvisation, singing, movement NOLO mebue-N ent R

Terms start in January 2008 and will run for 10 weeks. Daly is one of Ireland’s most respected violin- ists. A member of the Irish Cham- ber Orchestra, she has performed across the globe with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Camerata Ireland, the European Union Cham- ber orchestra, the Killaloe quartet and many others.

In recent years she has built a paral- lel career as one of the country’s lead- ing music educationalists, running workshops in a variety of settings in

Ireland and the UK. Saturday Music Club will allow her to use these skills to benefit the children of her local community, she said.

She took her first degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and has _ post-graduate qualifications in performance, music education and community music. She is in wide demand as a teacher and workshop leader.

For further information, phone 061- 376639 or visit musicintheglen @ftml. ate

CLARE showjumping received a massive boost at the weekend when teenage rider, David Blake, based at the East Clare Equestrian Centre in Tuamgraney, took the top prize at the Cavan Two Star International Show.

Blake is fast making a name for himself on the national circuit and Sunday’s victory in what was the second most prestigious event in Ire- land, marks him out as a star of the JaUiaUN Ken

The Clare showjumper, on board Fabienne, eclipsed the country’s leading riders in the 40 strong event that saw the top performers over the course of the Cavan show compete for the weekend’s most coveted title.

Cian O’Connor, Shane Breen, Ed- ward Doyle, Francis Connors, as well as a number of top British riders all qualified for the event but it was the Clare kid that stole the headlines.

In the first round, Blake was among eight riders to go clear. First out in the jump-off was Tulla’s Shelia White, sister of Marie Burke. After her round, of eight faults, Blake was next out and he went clear in an im- pressive time of 34.52.

It set a clear marker for the remain-

ing six riders but slowly, it became obvious that Blake’s time couldn’t be surpassed. The quick time forced those who tried to match it into mis- takes.

“It was a nervous enough wait for the other six riders to jump, but we knew that David’s time was fast and it was going to take something special to beat that,” said his father, Michael on Monday.

“It’s easily his biggest win to date and we’re hopeful that he’s going to have a productive time on board Fa- bienne.”

On Monday, he travels to the conti- nent for a three event spell that will see him compete in Holland and Bel- cium. While Sunday’s victory brings some time in the spotlight, there are other headaches to sort out.

“At the moment we’re looking for a main sponsor,” said Michael Blake. “It’s an expensive sport especially when you factor in travel abroad, but we’ve a quality product and we’re confident that we’ll go from strength to strength.”

Sunday’s win, then, will be one stop on the road.

THE group constructing the €205 million Ennis bypass last year sus- tained an operating loss of €48 mil- lion, according to accounts filed with the Companies Office.

GAMA Construction Ltd last April missed its deadline to complete the Ennis bypass and is expected to com- plete the project next month.

Accounts filed by GAMA Con- struction show that the GAMA group of companies in Ireland suffered an operating loss of €48 million.

However, arising from the sale of its 40 per cent share in a power plant at Tynagh, County Galway for €55 million, the company recorded a profit before tax of €10 million last year.

This follows the company sustain- ing a €44 million loss in 2005.

The accounts show that the com- pany had a turnover of €81 million in 2006, but the cost of sales was €111 million, leaving a gross loss of €29 million. The profit before tax re- duced its accumulated loss at the end of the year to €49 million.

The accounts also show that the company employed 373 at the end of 2006, comprising of 304 Irish and 69 Turkish workers.

According to a statement accompa- nying the accounts, “Gama Construc- tion Ireland Limited commenced op- erations in Ireland in 2000 and is ina erowth phase of its development.

“It is reliant on the continued finan- cial support from its parent under- taking, Gama Holdings A.S. Gama Holdings A.S. has indicated to the eroup that it is committed to continu- ing to provide this financial support

to the group.

The principal activity of the group is that of a turnkey construction contractor for power and industrial plants, dams, buildings and roads.

Overall, results for 2006 decreased in terms of turnover and the company continued to incur operating losses in 2006. The company made a profit on the sale of fixed and financial assets in the year.

At the year end, the group had three main projects ongoing, the Ennis by- pass, the Monaghan bypass and Bal- gaddy C.