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MEMBERS of Ennis Town Council have overwhelmingly rejected a mo- tion calling for Ennis to withdraw from the RAPID scheme.

After a heated debate at last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, councillors voted by a margin of sev- en to two against the motion submit- ted by Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind).

Cllr Guilfoyle had called for the Council to withdraw from RAPID — a government initiative that provides funding for projects in 51 urban ar- eas around Ireland — because the De- partment of Gaeltacht, Community and Social Affairs refers to them as “disadvantaged” areas.

Cllr Guilfoyle told the meeting that there was a stigma attached to the term and said it was unfair that areas of Ennis should be referred to as dis- advantaged.

Opposing the motion, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said RAPID funding had enabled the council to install and carry out numerous works projects including white lighting, all-weather pitches, panic buttons in the homes of elderly people and playgrounds.

“There 1s no such thing as disadvan- taged areas. These are all figments of Mickey’s imagination. I have no intention of denying the people of Ennis of money coming down from Dublin,” said Cllr Brennan.

Town Clerk, Eddie Power said “‘dis- advantaged” was not mentioned in the description of the RAPID pro- gramme. He said the programme had resulted in “huge investment” to benefit communities in Ennis.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said he could not support a motion he de- scribed as “unfortunate”, “ill thought out and ill informed”.

‘“T do not want to be associated with

this motion” he said.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said resi- dential areas should not be referred to as disadvantaged. However he added that Ennis should continue in RAPID because it served as “mecha- nism to draw down funding”.

Cllr Guilfoyle’s motion was backed by Mayor of Ennis Frankie Neylon (Ind) who raised concerns over the structure of RAPID in Ennis.

In response, Cllr Flynn told the meeting that Ennis had been high- lighted as one of the most successful RAPID areas in the country. “As a process it is very transparent and it has been externally audited.”

Town Manager, Ger Dollard told the meeting that RAPID had been very successful in Ennis.

Clir Guilfoyle then challenged councillors to vote, angrily claiming that councillors were voting to keep people “down and living in disadvan-

taged areas’. His comments drew a stern response from Cllr Brennan, who reminded him that the motion to be voted on concerned the proposed withdrawal of Ennis from the RAP- ID programme.

The debate concluded on a stormy note with Cllr Guilfoyle referring to Cllr Meaney as “a clown”. Cllr Meaney requested that Cllr Guil- foyle provide “some background” to his comment. Cllr Guilfoyle claimed Cllr Meaney had been called a clown on local radio.

A vote was taken with seven coun- cillors — Cllr Tommy Brennan, Cllr Peter Considine, Cllr Johnny Flynn, Cllr Mary Coote Ryan, Cllr Mary Howard, Cllr Brian Meaney and Cllr Paul O’Shea — voting against. Two councillors, Cllr Michael Guillfoyle and Cllr Frankie Neylon, voted in favor of Ennis withdrawing from RAPID.

A MAN has been convicted of pub- lic order in what a court heard was a volatile and hot-tempered atmos- phere during the Matchmaking Fes- tival in Lisdoonvarna.

Fergal Neylon, of Laghtagoona, Corofin, was convicted of engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour on September 27, 2008.

Evidence in the case was heard last month and Judge Joseph Mangan ad- journed ruling. In court last week, he convicted the accused and imposed a two-month jail term. This was sus- pended on condition that he enter a bond to keep the peace.

The court heard that several people

were involved in a row in the early hours of the morning.

Gardai gave evidence of the ac- cused being highly intoxicated, high- ly agitated and acting in a threaten- ing manner to others. However, the defence disputed this.

Detective Superintendent Gabriel O’Gara told the court the situation was “very tense. It was very vola- tile. A large number of males present were all very intoxicated.”

He said from his observations, Mr Neylon’s intention “appeared to be to breach the peace and also to entice others to get involved. . .He remind- ed me of a person you would see out on a Saturday night, highly intox1- cated, shirt off, chest out, blood all

over him. This was the man who was going to solve everyone’s problems.”

The accused told the court that he had not consumed a lot of alcohol that night. He said that after he left the Hydro hotel, he had been struck and knocked to the ground, where he had been kicked and beaten.

“I was obviously agitated and prob- ably concussed from being kicked. I had no top on because it had been pulled off me while I was on the ground being beaten,’ he said.

“I was agitated with the guards for being arrested, because I was the victim of an assault, but I was not ag- gressive, he added. He denied that he was highly intoxicated.

RESIDENTS in the Cronan area of Shannon are calling for a bus shelter to be put in place in their locality. The previous shelter was removed, af- ter local residents complained about anti-social behaviour in its vicinity. Councillor Mike Fleming (FG) called for the shelter to be replaced, but was told — in a written response at this month’s meeting of Shannon Town Council — that “re-erecting a bus shelter at the same location as be-

fore would not be welcomed by local residents and is therefore not recom- mended”’.

Cllr Fleming said he was not happy with the response. “An 18-page peti- tion has been filled out in that area,” he said.

He added that a survey carried out showed that 78 people use the bus Shelter in the area, most of who are old-age pensioners.

Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy said the shelter cannot be located in the same position as it was

previously.

Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) said, “Somebody needs to do foot pa- trol down there and talk to the resi- Clonee

Labour Councillor Tony McMahon said that the bus service in the area is very popular. “There has to be a degree of consultation with all the parties in the area. A solution must be found and a bus shelter must be put there. If that means the council or somebody has to do surveys, that’s what needs to be done. It is the high-

est use of bus service in the town,’ JnTomcte BCG B

His party colleague, Councillor Greg Duff agreed. “I understand there 1s a need for a bus shelter there in the vicinity, not at that exact spot,’ |nTemcteBCG

Sinn Féin Councillor Cathy McCat- ferty said there is a “dire need” for a bus shelter in the Cronan area.

The mayor of Shannon, Council- lor Sean McLoughlin (FG) said he would support the suggestion that a survey be carried out.

A MOTHER and son have pleaded guilty to drug-related charges, arising out of a drugs seizure in Corofin.

Fiona Keane (38) and Stephen Keane (19), of Main Street, Corofin, admitted possession of cannabis in Corofin on November 20, 2008.

Stephen Keane was also convicted of possession of drugs for the pur- pose of sale or supply. Ennis District Court heard that neither had any pre- vious convictions.

Defending solicitor John Casey said that Fiona Keane is a mother- of-four who has lived in Corofin for many years.

“This was an unfortunate incident. It has caused her an amount of dis- Keron OomncT= BLO

Referring to Stephen Keane, the solicitor said, “He will say he would gather money and buy drugs from somebody further up the ladder. He would have it and deal it out to his friends. He never made any money out of it.”

He said his client was an apprentice carpenter, but the business he was working with folded. He then went back to school. “Living in a small village, something like that is going to have an impact on him. This is a very serious conviction for this man

to have against him. was fined €100. The case of her son “It was between him and his was adjourned for two months for friends. He was not out on the street preparation of a probation report. corner selling drugs,” he said. Fiona Keane, who told the court she runs a launderette in Corofin,

CLARE County Council has sought funding for the demolition of the Tradaree Court flats in Shannon and the project will be a priority for next year.

Town councillors were told last week the council is hopeful that the funding application, from the depart- ment, will be successful. Funding has also been sought for site suitabil- ity and feasibility studies.

Sinn Féin Councillor Cathy Mc- Cafferty raised the issue at a meet- ing of Shannon Town Council, where she called for the demolition of the flats to be discussed. “I don’t want

the same situation happening with the Tradaree flats as happened with Cluain Airne in the past,” she said.

“The front areas have overgrown to the extent they are tearing the legs off people passing. I don’t want to see the same going up again,’ she said.

Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn said some of the flats are “old and dilapidated”. He said there are more than 300 houses in that area and he would like to see a green field site there when the flats are demol- ished.

Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy said, “I don’t know would we want that whole area a green area where we could have anti-social be-

haviour going on.”

Labour Councillor Tony McMa- hon said, “I’d be interested to know what’s the situation around these. I certainly wouldn’t like to see another structure of the same type and in the same place. I think it would be good to look at it and see could a differ- ent type of accommodation be pro- vided.”

“T believe if something gets fund- ing, it should be within an area or within the town,’ he said.

Fine Gael Councillor Mike Flem- ing said, “My biggest fear is the loca- tion where it would be removed to. The last thing I’d like to see going into an area like that would be apart-

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He said the option of building sin- gle houses, rather than apartments, should be considered.

The town manager Bernadette Kin- sella said that discussions on the fu- ture of that area were never brought to aconclusion, “but what is agreed is that they have to be demolished and that is one of our priority projects for next year”.

“What isn’t agreed is where any replacement dwellings would go. We need to carry out site feasibility and suitability studies. Any replacement development would require us to go through a consultation process,’ add- ed Ms Kinsella.

LEGENDARY ‘Tulla walker and dancer, Kitty Leyden, is to feature as one of the contestants on this week’s ‘Jig Gig’ programme.

T na G have started another 13 part series of the popular show and Kitty said she was “delighted” to be asked to take part.

“T got the shock of my life when they rang me and said I had been nominated – I thought they were cod- ing me. But they called back and I had to go to Jury’s in Limerick first to dance for them to see would I get through to the next round.”

Kitty made it through the Limer- ick try-outs and was asked to go to Dublin to the RTE studios where the filming would take place.

“T was delighted – I didn’t get any further in the competition than that but I got to take part and I had a love- ly time in Dublin. I always wanted to see RTE and I got to meet all of the newsreaders and the cast of Fair City – | really enjoyed it.”

The episode featuring Kitty danc- ing will be screened this Sunday, November 9

A LEADING expert on the Burren has called on the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley (GP), to consult with the people of the Burren before pushing forward in seeking World Heritage Status for the area.

The Green Party leader yesterday announced a new tentative list of po- tential Irish nominees to the World Heritage List which included the Burren and six other possible loca- tions.

Speaking yesterday, the manager of the BurrenLIFE Project and found- ing member of the BurrenBEO Trust,

Brendan Dunford, said that the local people needed to be consulted to avoid hostility to the project arising because of a lack of information.

“The important thing about this process 1s what happens next – the real challenge will come when they try and push this project forward,” said Mr Dunford.

‘In contrast to Ireland’s two other World Heritage Sites, the Burren is a relatively densely occupied area and this whole thing will require a lot of engagement with the people.

‘“BurrenBEO did a survey last year on this subject and it revealed that most people didn’t know much about

the World Heritage status. There was curiosity but not necessarily hostil- ity and most people wanted to know nee) Ree

Speaking at yesterday’s announce- ment, Mr Gormley said that the “World Heritage List has evolved considerably since its inception and it is now much more difficult to meet the UNESCO requirements for in- scription.”

Yesterday news was welcomed by the Mayor of Clare, Tony Mulcahy (FG), who said it could be a real tourist draw for the county.

“By securing World Heritage Site Status, the Burren would benefit from

a wider international profile and, as a result, would experience an increase in visitor numbers,” he said.

‘Furthermore, such status would ensure the conservation of the fragile landscape and its habitats for future generations.”

The Department of the Environ- ment, Heritage and Local Govern- ment is inviting comments on the draft new tentative list to be made to it’s office before the end of the year.

IT HAS been confirmed that US- based firm, Emerson Electric, is to buy out Avocent, which employs more than 100 people at its base in Shannon.

But it is understood that the $1.2 billion deal to buy the company is unlikely to harbour any major chang- es at the Shannon concern.

Under the deal, Emerson 1s paying €25 per share, a premium of 22 per cent over the price which was quoted for shares a few days before the deal

was agreed.

It is understood that the deal will be completed by the New Year.

There was no-one available today to comment on the Emerson buy-out but it is understood that employees were aware that the deal is going through.

The parent company, Avocent In- ternational, announced a restructur- ing programme in July of last year which involved the loss of 57 jobs at the Shannon operation as well as another seven in Dublin. The cuts affected research and development,

marketing and technical support functions as well as the transfer of its Asia operations from Shannon to its newly established operations in Sin- gapore.

The functions of Avocent’s Dublin office were also transferred to the US, resulting in seven redundancies.

Shannon remained the company’s support centre for Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

There was good news on the con- struction business front in Clare this week as a Clare company landed a €2 million contract. The Limerick Mar-

ket Trustees yesterday announced the appointment of Clare-based L&M Keating Ltd as the main contractor for the development project at Lim- erick’s Milk Market. This is a sig- nificant coup for the Kilmihil-based firm, with demand for construction work currently at an all-time low and intense competition for the limited work that is available.

L&M Keating Ltd won out over a to- tal of eight building contractors who submitted tenders for the project.

‘Key factors which led to Keatings’ success include their superb track

record in the building trade, expertise with heritage projects and the value for money they offered,’ said David O’Mahony, Chairman, Limerick Market Trustees Ltd.

Other projects completed by L&M Keating Ltd include the construction of the Doonbeg Hotel and Golf Club and restoration of the 18th-century Clifden House in Corofin.

Commenting on the appointment, Louis Keating, Managing Director, L&M Keating said they are “delight- ed to win such a high-profile project, especially in the current economic

THREE MEN from west Clare will travel to South Africa later this week, where they will help to build new houses for families living on the breadline.

Kevin Burke and Pat McMahon from Cooraclare and Kevin Whelan from Kilkee will join dozens of other volunteers from across the country in the Niall Mellon Township Trust Building Blitz. A total of 1,000 volun- teers will complete 100 new houses in Cape Town, which will replace shacks that the families currently occupy.

Mr Burke and Mr McMahon trav- elled with the Niall Mellon team

last year and were so moved by what they experienced that they both de- cided to undertake the trip again this year. Each of the three men had to raise €5,000 for the trip and they are indebted to the people of west Clare who generously helped them out.

Mr Burke, who currently lives in Killimer, is a part-time farmer and also drives machinery for Clare County Council. He explained how he got involved in this project.

“T was talking to a friend in Feakle and he said his brother was going. I said I’d like to do that some time. That was last year. We were accepted. We went last year and we said we would like to give it another shot,’ he said.

The group spent almost two weeks building houses, in intense heat, but they were pleased to be able to give something to those less well off than WNIT Aone

“It was a complete eye-opener. It was unreal. The living conditions were unreal. You would be crying coming out of it, but it was a great experience and well worth it. I can’t wait to go again,” he said.

Pat McMahon also said the experi- ence was amazing last year. “It was unreal. Those people are living in a totally different world to what we are living in. Most people haven’t got a clue what the recession is here com- pared to what they have out there. A

lot of them have no education,’ he said.

“When everyone is out there to- gether, it is easy to do the work, es- pecially knowing that the families are going to get proper homes out of it,’ said Mr McMahon, who is a wind turbine installation technician.

He paid tribute to those who helped him to raise the funds to take part in the challenge.

‘People have been very good, espe- cially with the recession. They came in their droves with money,’ he said.

The three men organised various fundraisers including a head shave, table quiz, bag pack and céili. All of the events were very well supported.

CHRISTMAS | shoppers will be making their way to Kinvara this December for the annual Christmas Fair, organised by the local farmers market.

After celebrating their first full year in operation last Friday, the Kinvara Farmers Market Committee announced details of their upcoming Christmas Fair which will take place on December 5 and 6 in the Kinvara SroysveleviA monies

The Christmas Fair will be very different from the weekly farmers market, with a much greater focus on crafts for Christmas presents rather than the usual supply of local fresh food.

“This event isn’t really a farmers market as such. There is a much big- ger emphasis on crafts. The farm- ers markets can only have a small amount of crafts where as the main focus of this event will be on the

crafts side of things,” said Rosaleen Tanham, secretary of the Kinvara Farmers Market.

“We are still confirming the stall- holders but already it looks like we will have lots of different crafts on Show and, as with the farmers mar- ket, as much as possible will be sourced from local producers.

“There will be a great atmosphere on the day, with lots of things for children to do and a great festival at- mosphere.”

The Kinvara Farmers Market has gone from strength to strength this year. So much so that they have al- ready confirmed their start date for 2010, with the first market due to take place on Friday, April 2.

“It’s been a fantastic first year. We were very lucky with the weather all summer long and always seemed to have a lovely sunny Friday for the market. The whole market was very well supported by the local people and it very much became a social

occasion for the local people. People come along and have a cup of coffee or tea, listen to the music and then have a look around at what is on offer to buy,” continued Rosaleen.

“At the height of the summer, we had about 25 stall-holders and it was very much a farmers market. What I mean by this is that the vast majority of what was on sale was food which

was produced in a 35-mile radius of the market. We did have a small amount of crafts and a few bits and pieces which we could not source locally but the majority of it was lo- cally-produced foods.

“The whole committee has worked so hard all year and we are all very pleased at how things have gone so ie