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HAVING given more than 30 years service to the community, prominent Wolfe Tones na Sionna clubman Jim Tubridy now aims to travel 6,000 miles to help poverty-stricken AIDS sufferers in South Africa.

Jim has volunteered to spend 10 days working on helping to build a hospice and community facilities for AIDS victims in Missionvale, Port Elizabeth. A former Wolfe Tones club vice-chairman, adult games chairman and executive committee member, he has also been, and con- tinues to be, involved with a number of club teams. The Missionvale Project is run by Lissycasey-born Sister Ethel Normoyle of the Little Company of Mary Congregation with her staff of 15.

“I read about how the project was looking for Irish volunteers to give freely of their time and skills to build a hospice roughly the size of eight

local authority houses,’ explained Tubridy.

“Having discussed it with my wife, Mary, we decided that I should offer my general skills as a tradesman to help this most worthy cause.”

To enable Jim to make the trip ear- ly next year he is organising a fun- draising campaign over the coming weeks. To cover the travel, transfer and accommodation costs involved, he needs to raise about €3,000 by November 26.

“IT would greatly appreciate any sponsorship support from the people of Shannon, no matter how small,’ said Tubridy, who lives in Cluain Lia, Ballycasey, and is also a long- serving crew member with Shannon Fire Service.

Jim said more than 70 per cent of people living in this part of South Africa are infected with HIV/AIDS and malnutrition and TB are rife.

“This hospice will make a real difference to such people and give

them some dignity,” he added.

Paying tribute to Jim for volunteer- ing to go on such a mission, Tony O’Connell, Wolfe Tones chairman, said it was indicative of his unselfish contribution to the wider community over many years.

“T wish Jim well with his efforts to

raise sufficient funds to do this work. It is an honour for the club, and for Shannon, to have a volunteer from the community carry out such valu- able work for the less-privileged of the world,’ he said

You can contact Jim Tubridy on O86 1565371.

ige na- tional school in Ennistymon remains in doubt today following a meeting between representatives of the Stein- er School and Department of Educa- tion officials yesterday afternoon.

The meeting, which included two representatives of the Department of Education, two senior school inspec- tors, three represent of the school’s patron body Life Ways and senior teacher Una Ni Ghairbhith, was de- scribed as “lukewarm” by a school official.

“We were trying to get some clar- ity on a number of issues but no ma- jor progress was made by either side today. Both sides were looking for clarification on a number of issues

relating to our application for official Status,” said Ms Ni Ghairbhith.

“No date has yet been given for a decision but we would obviously be looking for this to be sorted out as soon as possible.”

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ONE of the four men accused of the murder of a Limerick bouncer has been found not guilty at the Central Criminal Court sitting at Cloverhill.

Mr Justice Peter Charleton directed the jury of 12 men to acquit John Dundon (27) of Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick of murdering Mr Brian Fit- zgerald in the early hours of Novem- ber 29, 2002, at Brookhaven Walk, Mill Road, Corbally, Limerick.

Mr Justice Charleton said he had come to his decision after a state- ment made by chief prosecution wit- ness James Martin Cahill, who is currently serving a life sentence for shooting Mr Fitzgerald, that “I’m getting like voices and | don’t want to convict someone in the wrong.”

Cahill said he did not remember Mr Dundon being present when Mr Fit- zgerald was pointed out at his place of work or a visit to the victim’s house before the murder.

He also said that while Mr Dun- don was present at a house where the murder was discussed he was not present for the conversation.

Mr Justice Charleton went on to tell the jury there was no case against John Dundon and he was requiring them to acquit him.

He warned them that this move did not affect the trials of the other three

defendants when they came to delib- erate their cases.

The jury also heard from Michael Flynn, a consultant engineer, who told Michael O’ Higgins SC, defend- ing Mr Kelly, the time it would take to travel certain routes mentioned during the trial.

He said that the journey from the Heath in Portlaoise, where Cahill said he had met with two men to plan the murder and arrange to pick up a gun and ammunition from Mr Kelly, to Mr Kelly’s house would take just over three hours.

A journey starting at 3.45pm from the Heath as suggested by both CCTV footage and phone records from the day of the meeting, would arrive at Mr Kelly’s house at 7pm.

A trip taken at the same time as an alternative account of the journey to Kilrush also given by Cahill would have taken | hour and 24 minutes each way.

However Mr Flynn agreed with Mr Sean Gillane BL, prosecuting, that he had undertaken all journeys at the statutory speed limit and journey times would be affected if this was not observed.

Mr Justice Charleton informed the jury that closing speeches would be- gin on Monday and urged them not to make up their minds before they had heard all arguments before them.

is a brand-new eight-part series presented by the food writer and broadcaster. The — series

follows McKenna

around Ireland as she visits farm- ers’ markets, meeting artisan food producers and cooking dishes using ingredients which relate to the mak- ers she has just met.

McKenna visits a different market each week to meet and introduce the viewers to stall holders.

Concentrating on an individual stallholder’s farm or place of work, she then interviews them on their products.

The programme on Ennis will be screened in spring 2008 and will also feature the Kilrush Farmers’ Market, which takes place every Thursday in the market square.

Located in the upper Market Street public car park on Friday mornings from 8am to 2pm, the Ennis Farm- ers’ Market is a hive of activity.

The market has been up and running since 2004 and consists of a group of dedicated food producers and traders with a wide range of local, artisan and organic foods including meats, cheeses and local honey. Most of the produce is sourced in Clare, with some coming from _ nearby Tipperary.

Aoife NicGiollacoda Egan, pro- ducer of Cill Mhuire pure Irish hon- ey based in Derra, Kilkishen, said she hoped the visit would further

promote local interest in the Ennis Farmers’ Market.

During her visit McKenna also met Freddie Rynne, head chef of the Old Ground Hotel, to see how local produce plays such a prominent role in the hotel’s menu.

The programme will also take a look at the growth of the food industry in Clare, with the present- er visiting the premises of Inagh Cheesemakers and the nearby Biddy Early brewery.

ENVIRONMENTAL experts will continue to monitor air quality in the area affected by last week’s fire on Station Road.

Clean-up teams have been working at the site of Bredin’s Hardware store since Thursday after it was destroyed by fire in the early hours of Wednes- day morning.

Eleven homes in nearby Ard na

Gréine were evacuated in the after- math of the blaze, after particles of asbestos cement used in the roof of the building were blown into homes and gardens.

Of those evacuated, all have now returned home after being housed in hotels in Ennis at the weekend by Ennis Town Council.

Sean McCusker of McCusker Envi- ronmental, the company overseeing the work at Bredin’s, said extensive

assessment and air monitoring of the area had revealed no traces of asbes- ON

He said, “Most people are back in their homes by this stage. We have been down there for the past three days. We are continuing with the clean-up, but we have not found any trace of asbestos, either outside or i1n- side people’s homes.”

Mr McCusker said clean-up teams will continue to monitor the area.

“All the tests have shown that no fibres are present but the cleaning will continue in houses and the area around them. We are not quite sure for how long.

“The air will be monitored for some time yet purely as a preventa- tive measure.”

The next stage in the clean-up proc- ess is the demolition of the remain- ing sections of the building.

Mr McCusker said, ““The demoli-

tion will take place as a soon as pos- sible. That is something we are keen to start soon. Contractors will be contacted in the next week.”

At a meeting on Friday attended by residents, members of Ennis Town Council and a representative from the Health Services Executive, Chief Fire Officer Adrian Kelly said the building was structurally unsafe and that he would be issuing a closing OKeloe

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.