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THE threatened stoppage which would have grounded all Aer Lingus flights from today has been averted after marathon talks in the Labour Relations Commission.

The pilots had threatened to down tools in a row over pay and condi- tions for staff at the airline’s new bases in Belfast.

The agreement, reached early yes- terday, still has to be voted on but union bosses have said they will be recommending the deal.

The package also provides a frame- work for the opening of future bases on local terms and conditions, ac- cording to Aer Lingus.

The deal was reached after more than 20 hours of continuous negotia- tions at the LRC.

The two sides have reached an agreement on pension conditions and promotions based on seniority for pi- lots at the Belfast hub.

Had the 48 hour action gone ahead, passengers bound for and return- ing from to New York and Chicago would have been stranded.

As he left the talks, Labour Rela- tions Commission Chairman Kieran Mulvey said it was up to both sides to consider the proposals.

Aer Lingus Chief Executive Der- mot Mannion said he was delighted with the outcome of the talks, par-

ticularly for passengers.

Michael Landers, Assistant Gen- eral Secretary of IMPACT, said on balance it was a deal which could be recommended to its members.

Meanwhile, Ryanair has comment- ed on the European Commission’s confirmation that it has properly re- jected Aer Lingus’ request to force Ryanair to sell its stake in Aer Lin- gus on the basis that Ryanair has no influence or control in Aer Lingus.

“Given that Aer Lingus has twice rejected Ryanair’s request for an EGM, it is impossible for Aer Lingus to claim that Ryanair have any influ- ence or control over them. We pre- sume this initiative was designed to cover Aer Lingus’ embarrassment at a current share price of €2.35, which is 20 per cent less than Ryanair’s of- fer of €2.80 almost one year ago” the airline said in a statement.

The statement continued “sadly, Aer Lingus passengers continue to suffer higher fares and increased fuel surcharges as a result of the EU Commission’s prohibition of Rya- nair’s offer for Aer Lingus, which guaranteed to deliver those passen- gers lower fares and to remove fuel surcharges.”

THE percentage of people speaking Irish in Shannon has dropped, ac- cording to Census figures.

Figures revealed during the Census of Population, which was undertaken last year, reveal that 41.8 per cent of people in Shannon can speak Irish.

This compares with 44.5 per cent, When the previous Census figures which were compiled in 2002. Na- tionally, 41.9 per cent of people can speak Irish.

The figure in Shannon is lower than that in Ennis (47.5 per cent) and Kil- rush (42.9 per cent). Overall, 48.8 per cent of the population of Clare can speak Irish.

The figures show that 3,580 people

in Shannon, over the age of three, have some knowledge of Irish, 1,684 of them were male, with the remain- ing 1,896 female.

There were 4,991 non-Irish speak- ers in Shannon, while 228 did not state if they spoke Irish.

Four years earlier, 3,539 people spoke Irish, while 4,418 declared them as non-Irish speakers.

Residents filling out Census forms were also asked to state whether they were frequent Irish speakers. 1,033 people said they spoke Irish daily, within the education system, while 47 said they also spoke it outside the education system. For those who were not in the education system, 65 said they spoke our native tongue Neto) AYA

182 said they spoke it weekly, while 1,242 said they spoke Irish less often than weekly.

One national statistic was also re- flected in Shannon, in that more fe- males than males used Irish. 44 per cent of females in Shannon spoke Irish, while 38.9 per cent of males were able to speak cupla focal.

In 2002, 47.3 per cent of females and 41.8 per cent of males, had the ability to speak Irish.

Overall, 1.6 million people in Ire- land said they could speak Irish, in mau eToys

The chairman of Club na Sionna, Sean O Nuanain said he was happy to hear that so many people can speak Irish.

“I would be delighted to hear that

SO many people can speak Irish. The figures are encouraging,’ he said.

He said the Irish is widely used among a number of groups in Shan- non, particularly Duchas na Sionna and its sub-groups, whose work is bilingual.

These include Conradh na Gaeilge, Glor na Gael, Shannon Wetlands Group and wildlife and historical groups.

“We work together in Duchas na Sionna to further the aims of the dif- ferent groupings,” he said.

One seanfhocal to be remembered in the use of Irish, he said, is “Fao1 Scath a Cheile a Mhaireann na Dao- ine (We live in the shadow of each Other/We get strength from each 0) ds 0

is the title of the DVD which features a magical night of mu- sic by Mickaleen Conlon and friends, which was recorded in Greene’s pub, Ballyvaughan, on August 17, 1994.

The 13-year gap between that famous session and the release of the recording will be bridged on Octo- ber 26 when The Roadside Tavern in Lisdoonvarna hosts the launch of the

DVD, which also features some of the great names of traditional music.

Mickaleen Conlon was born in Poulnagun , three miles outside Lis- doonvarna, and lived all his life in an area that had a rich tradition of mu- sic, particularly “box’ music.

He learned the concertina from his father at a young age and was to car- ry his distinctive ‘hob’ style of play- ing with him all though his life. He later learned to play the accordion, at which he became equally adept.

The country house dances provided the setting for Mickaleen’s music in his youth and, in later years, he played in the pubs of north Clare,

especially the Roadside ‘Tavern, Where he enjoyed music for more than 50 years.

Apart from the rich musical tradi- tion which he represented, Micka- leen was also a great storyteller and humourist who is fondly remembered as a gentle and colourful character.

Indeed, one of the musicians who featured in that memorable session in August 1994, Sean Tyrrell, recalls Mickaleen’s legacy in the sleeve notes to the DVD in which he credits the Poulnagun maestro with teaching him the “art of magic in music”.

“T owe him a huge debt of gratitude for all the wondrous nights of music

we played together and shared with another musician, Shane Holden, who, like Mickaleen, is no longer with us. Shane helped me forge the style I have in song. No matter what rhythmic ramble I took, he was always there beside me, right on the beat. They were both masters of the rhythm, the bedrock of music’, ‘Tyr- rell said.

The DVD, which was produced by Dark Horse Films, also features the music of Vincent Browne (gul- tar), Gabriel Casey (whistle), Shane Holden (guitar), Liam Lewis (fiddle) as well as Tyrrell on vocals, mando- cello and banjo.

IT WAS justified. It was relentless. And most of all, for Lissycasey, it was historic.

The game itself wasn’t a pretty thing to watch, but with the cloak of success falling over them for the first time, that won’t matter to the new champions.

Perhaps the familiarity bred the dour nature of the game or maybe Lissycasey just got it right on the day. This was the third champion- ship meeting between the two in only twelve months and it was clear who had learned more in that time and who hungered more over the past year.

From the start, Lissycasey were

like lions targeting a gazelle. They sped out of the dressing rooms with- out a care for the usual pre-match sit down and smile for the camera. And coming back out after the half-time breather, their substitutes lined the entrance and roared their 15 back onto the field.

It was a frenzied approach and they compressed the life out of their op- ponents, pythonesque.

Throughout the field, the focus re- mained constant. With a couple of minutes left, Martin Daly turned to the umpire and asked how long till the final whistle. Daly believed there was still a quarter of an hour to ride out and couldn’t understand the game was nearly over. That was the sort of concentration and application

Wd eLoavaer-KOn

“Last year was a massive motiva- tion,’ said Declan Conway from a perch underneath the stand. “The pain we felt standing here last year, looking up at Alan [Malone] lifting the cup. That hurt us. It’s been on our minds ever since. But these boys stuck with it. They gave it everything, had the belief and got their reward.”

For those who gave the breakaway club life back in the early ‘60s, this was a day to savour. A day they de- To Mio1em

Men and women had _ travelled home from far afield to watch this one, undeterred by the county final of 2006. They’ll go back to their new lands later in the week happy with the knowledge that the club is

in good hands. Progressive and ready to be fed by the new breed of young- sters who fill the homes on their side of the parish.

Just after he held the Jack Daly cup over his head, the first Lissycasey clubman to do so, James Kelly said this band of footballers were no long- er the whipping boys of Clare.

To be fair, they never were, but Sunday’s win puts them among the county’s elite and now, they’ve a de- cent chance of scalping Kerry side Kilcummin in the Munster champi- onship at a Clare venue on November oF

AS THE development of a school playing pitch comes to a conclusion, the people of Quin are being asked to dig deep and help fund the project.

Local primary school, Scoil na Mainistreach, is currently raising €200,000 for the extension of the school and the purchase and devel- opment of a school field.

The field has been acquired, adja- cent to the school, and the work has been completed. Half of the funds have been raised. In an effort to drive

the fundraising effort, the board of management is appealing for finan- EVE SR eUIeron

The parents of all 174 students at the school have been asked to pay €50 per month, for three years, to- wards the project. Further funds will also be required.

Pat O’Brien, who is a parents coun- cil representative on the Board of Management, said the support of the local community is imperative.

“We did not receive any grant for this project and have been fundrais- ing. We are hoping to hold *Who

wants to be a thousandaire’ in Janu- ary, said Mr O’Brien.

He said that while the field is owned by the Diocese of Killaloe, it will be available to the entire community.

“It should be a great benefit to the community. The community will be able to use it, with permission from the Board of Management,” he said.

Previously, there was no pitch avail- able to the school and local parents are delighted with the development, which will benefit their children.

Mr O’Brien believes that the addi- tion of two local sporting heroes, to

the school staff, should augur well for sport in the area, in the future. ‘Along with experienced sports co- ordinator Eleanor Gallagher, Fergal Lynch and Sile Daffy, both from Clooney, are teaching at the school. All three are of major benefit to the school. It 1s important that the chil- dren are playing sport,’ he said.

THE gloves have come off and it’s starting to get personal. The ICMSA launched an incredible attack on Teagasc last week, describing their plans for a massive increase in the milk quotas as ‘half-baked and glo- rified pub talk’.

ICMSA president, Jackie Cahill, bashed Teagasc’s call for a massive expansion in milk quota and called on the organisation to weigh up the different quota options open to Ire- land and make a recommendation based on the best interests of Irish dairy farmers and the dairy sector

which those farmers underpin.

“This is unfortunately typical of the kind of half-baked theorising that Teagasc has lately chosen to describe as ‘research’ and which always seems to obscure a question rather than throwing some light on it,” said Cahill.

‘Proper research 1s needed and this is precisely what we’re not getting. Today’s statement might be charita- bly described as useless and could more accurately be described as con- fused nonsense.

“Dairy farmers will be veering be- tween amusement and bewilderment as they try and work out how a three

per cent increase in milk quota would depress milk prices and lead to an overall loss to dairy farmers while a 20 per cent increase in quota would leave many farmers better off.

“Can Teagasc tell us how many farmers and how much better off they’d be? What we’re seeing here — yet again — 1s Teagasc’s inability to give direct answers to relatively straightforward questions. [If it’ll help them, Ill happily set out here the questions to which dairy farmers need a direct answer from Teagasc.

“What will be the impact of milk price for every one per cent increase in quota, what will be the likely

price in Ireland for every one per cent reduction in the tariff protec- tion in WTO and what will be the likely price of milk if there was no quota?”

Last week Teagasc had called for a large expansion of the EU milk quo- ta, which they claimed would benefit the Irish dairy sector in advance of milk quota abolition, but may not suit all dairy farmers.

Teagasc economist, Trevor Don- nellan, said that if a large quota increase was agreed as part of the upcoming CAP Health Check, few other EU Member States would have the potential to increase production

CLARE County Council is to pay tribute to one of the county’s most decorated sporting heroes.

Gymnast William Loughnane from Knockanovra, Clooney/Quin won six gold medals and one bronze at the Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China last week, and the local authority has agreed to pay him the ultimate local hour — a civic reception on November 12.

Loughnane also won bronze in the vault beating stiff competition from Russian gymnasts.

Councillors Pat Hayes (FF) and Pat Daly (FF) proposed that the man who won gold for Ireland in five cat- egories — including rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, horizontal bars and floor — be honoured.

“It is a huge achievement for Wil- liam and his family, continuing on from his success in the 2004 Olym- pics in Dublin,” said Cllr Daly.

William’s medal haul at the 2007 games equals the number of med- als he won at the 2004 games, which were held in Ireland.

William’s parents, Liam and Rose joined him in China and were among

a large Irish representation at the games.

Cllr Daly and Hayes also paid trib- ute Patrick O’Leary from Inagh who was a member of the five-a-side soc- om cre b eee

The team just missed out on a medal as they were beaten in the third place play-off by Mauritania from Africa.

The Irish contingent in Shanghai consisted of 141 athletes, 55 coaches, 200 volunteers and over 400 family members.

William qualified for the games in Belfast just over a year ago. Since then he concentrated on his prepara-

tion for the challenge in China.

The champion gymnast hopes to coach gymnastics himself in the fu- ture and puts a large part of his suc- cess down to St Clare’s School in Ennis where he learned his trade as a gymnast.

A NEW group, whose aim it is to in- tegrate newcomers to Shannon, has become a huge hit in the town.

Le Chéile na Sionna International Club was set up earlier this year, to cater for the social needs of several people of different nationalities, who have moved to Shannon.

Its motto has been to “foster the 1n- tegration of all ethnic groups through enjoyable contact.’

The idea to set up the group came after a programme on Shannon Community Radio – called “The New Irish’ – encouraged the new residents in the town to get involved.

Everybody who was involved in the programme expressed an interest in developing the friendships they had experienced and the idea of setting up Le Chéile emanated from that.

Co-ordinator Trish Fallon-Barry said the response to the group has been hugely positive, over the past few months.

“A lot of people work in the call centres in Shannon. Some might be here for 18 months and do not know anybody in the town. A lot of people come to Shannon from Limerick and Ennis and go back every night. It is good to have something in the town for people. People who have moved to Shannon welcome a social outlet,”

she said.

“There are several nationalities in the group,” she added.

The group has just started to host socials, on the first Tuesday of every month, at Rineanna Hall. At the in- augural social earlier this month, there were representatives from France, German, The Netherlands, America and South America, along with locals from Shannon.

A drop-in meeting also takes place in the foodcourt, at SkyCourt, every second Saturday morning. This gives people who may not have the oppor- tunity to attend the socials, to mingle with others.

“Between

students and _ people

working in Shannon, hopefully we will get local people integrating. Success breeds success. AS soon as people hear about a gathering, they join in,’ said Ms Fallon-Barry.

There are currently over 50 mem- bers of the group and the organisers are keen to encourage others to join ne

‘The whole idea is an international social club. We learn about each oth- er’s cultures. For example in Decem- ber we will have a theme night, where people will bring dishes specific to their native regions,’ she added.

Anyone who wants to join the group can email Trish on trishfallon92 @hotmail.com.

TODAY is an early pay day for Clare farmers. Clare Fine Gael TD Pat Breen received confirmation from the Minister for Agriculture, Fisher- ies and Food Mary Coughlan, that half of the advance single farm pay- ment will be paid out to Clare Farm- ers today, October 16.

While welcoming the confirmation Deputy Breen urged the minister to ensure that adequate resources are put in place in the SPS unit of the de- partment to deal with any outstand- ing farmers administrative queries 1n

the days preceding this payout.

Deputy Breen said “I welcome this acknowledgement by the minister of the serious problems experienced by Clare Farmers due to the bad weather. The Department has set up a Lo-Call Telephone Number 1890 252 235 in the SPS Unit to assist Clare Farmers with any outstanding queries.

“It is important that the depart- ment allocates sufficient staff in the SPS unit to deal with these queries; the farming community in County Clare should not experience any un- necessary delays because of the de- partment’s failure to assign adequate

resources,” said Deputy Breen.

During parlimentary questions the Fine Gael deputy asked the minis- ter if she would make 80 per cent of the advance single farm payment in October 2007, due to the increased costs incurred by farmers as a result of the bad weather.

Minister Coughlin said she ap- proached Commissioner Fischer Boel earlier this year, seeking her agreement to have payments made with effect from October 16 rather than December I, as is provided for in the relevant EU regulations.

“While the Commissioner indi-

cated that she could not agree to this request at this time, she did make it clear in her written response that she agreed with the need to work for greater simplification, proposing that the matter be further pursued in the broader context of the CAP Health Check, scheduled to commence later this year. “The commitment by the Commissioner to pursue this matter is important to Ireland, as we will be seeking, as part of the Health Check negotiations, a change in the Regula- tions to provide for a Single Payment Scheme payment commencement date of October 16,” she said.

COUNCILLORS angry at what they describe as planning inconsistencies demanded to know last night “how long is a piece of ribbon?”’.

Cllr John Crowe (FG) had asked that a “detailed criteria for ribbon de- velopment in all areas be put before the council for its consideration”.

He said that there “appears to be no consistency in what defines ribbon development and people are being refused permission because of it.

‘For instance, when there 1s an 1n-

fill site that hasn’t been developed, a genuine local rural person should be able to build.

“The bottom line, is that local ru- ral people should be entitled to build homes.”

Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) said that, “In some places, people are told five houses is ribbon development. In other cases, they are told that it’s four. And in some cases, house number seven might be going in and ribbon CLAYeA Le) oy eatornlmp ye mon (oO ONSNLBLOITeOr

“Tt’s totally unfair. What I want to know is how long is a piece of rib-

bon?”

Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) seconded Cllr Kelly’s motion.

He said that a “guideline is not a rule and it is definitely not a policy. J am aware of two people who are homeless in my area because of rib- bon development guidelines.

“They were refused permission to build and now they are on the coun- cil’s housing list.”

Cllr Martin Lafferty (Ind) said that it needs to be made clear that the “council is not responsible for the legislation on this – it’s our TDs up in

the Dail who are responsible.”

Members of the council asked to know, apart from numbers of hous- es, what other guidelines affect the eranting or denying of planning permissions to avoid ribbon develop- ment.

Council officials told the meeting that ribbon development is not to be encouraged as it is not in the interests of best planning.

Issues such as an excess of septic tanks and public health had to be considered. If a ribbon development oexexey ae (onc er-MVONT- DUMB Reco MUMBO oM NNN T(EN lc

of nowhere, then pressure comes on to provide public lighting and serv- ices where it is not economical to do so, councillors were told.

Cllr John Crowe said that his con- cern is for the inconsistencies with which the definition was being ap- plied, as this was affecting people’s ability to build homes and live in their own areas.

“If we are going to have a definition then it should be interpreted with consistency – the bottom line is that a genuine local rural person should be able to build.”