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THE Banner Ladies maintained their firm grip on underage ladies football on Sunday morning as they completed a three-in-a-row of Mi1- nor A titles. While the champions were dogged against the conditions, against a battling Newmarket side it was only in the final quarter that they really upped the ante, scoring 3-5 without reply to put the result beyond any doubt.

On the flip side, it was another cruel blow to Newmarket who along with suffering defeat to the Banner for the second year in succession, also had a sizeable pool of players on the under 16 and minor camogie sides that lost finals in recent weeks.

They battled admirably for three quarters of this tie but needed a goal to really kickstart any meaning- ful challenge against the perennial champions, especially in the first-half when backed by the swirling wind.

After an evenly matched start that saw Niamh O’Dea kick four of the Banner’s opening five points with Newmarket’s replies coming from Niki Kaiser, Zelica Brown and Jenny Kelly, there wasn’t a lot to separate the sides in the breezy conditions. However, the game received it’s first major turning point in the 23rd minute when Sinead O’Keefe’s ball over the top was gathered by Naomi

Carroll to score the only goal of the first-half. That score was to prove the difference for the next 20 minutes as Newmarket tried to regain a foothold in the game. By half-time, Niki Kai- ser and Niamh O’Dea had swapped points to leave the scoreline 1-6 to 0- 4 but on the restart, a resurgent Ban- ner side took up the ascendency after Laura McMahon had cut the deficit to four.

Louise Woods was instrumental in stopping the Newmarket supply and with Shonagh Enright, Niamh O’Dea and Katie Cahill all willing to carry the ball forward at every opportunity, Newmarket had to remain resilient to hold them out. Chloe Morey was strong in defence, Roisin McMahon and Carol Kaiser scrapped for every ball but eventually, the Banner’s re- lentless pressure had to pay off and

after five successive wides, Niamh O’Dea finally got them back on track with a point from 30 metres.

In a brief revolt, Ann Marie Hayes grabbed a wonderful point for New- market but once Catherine Dolan scrambled the Banner’s second goal in the 48th minute to increase the lead to eight, Newmarket’s heads be- gan to drop.

An experienced Banner side took

full advantage when Niamh O’Dea soloed through unchallenged before unleashing her effort to the net and the Munster award winner would tack on a further 1-2 to lead her side to another memorable victory.

Not only that but for captain Lorna Higgins, Katie Cahill, Shonagh En- right, Kathleen O’Keefe, Niamh Ca- hill and Sinead O’Keefe, it was the crowning of a Minor A double in camogie and ladies football, a sig- nificant achievement in an already success filled year.

LOSSES at the company that con- structed the €198 million Ennis by- pass last year exceeded €10 million last year.

Accounts filed with the Companies’ Office show that the losses at GAMA Construction Ireland resulted in the company having accumulated losses of €69.6 million at the end of last year.

Work on outstanding issues 1s on- going and Clare County Council recently confirmed that it paid €2.6 million to GAMA Construction this year.

Last year, GAMA admitted to the Labour Court that it had projected a loss on €45 million on the Ennis bypass project alone after underesti- mating the cost of labour and materi- als and incurring financial penalties for delays.

The company’s work in Ireland came under scrutiny in 2005 over allegations that it underpaid migrant workers.

The accounts for 2008 show that the company’s turnover slumped by 67 per cent from €39 million in 2007 to €12 million last year.

The directors state that the group had negative net assets at the end of the financial year.

The accounts point out that GAMA

is reliant on the continued financial support from its ultimate parent un- dertaking, GAMA Holdings.

“The company’s ultimate parent has agreed to support the group over the next 12 months from the date of signing of the financial statements.”

The directors confirm that they are actively tendering for a number of projects and conclude that they have “a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to

continue operating for the foresee- able future having regard to trading prospects and finance available.”

Last year, the company employed 58 compared to 183 in 2007 with the company’s wage bill falling from €14m to €3.6m.

The accounts also show €750,943 in an exceptional item from the sale of an asset.

GAMA Construction Ltd is based in Santry, County Dublin.

WITH a little over five minutes to go, this game rested on a knife-edge. It shouldn’t have. Just three points separated the two, Smith O’Brien’s ahead on a scoreline of 1-5 to O-5.

A total of 16 minutes had passed with neither side able to register a score. The opening quarter aside, Smith O’Brien’s — beaten finalists in this competition last year after going down in a replay against Ennisty- mon — were by far the fitter and more creative team. By all reckoning, they should have wrapped up the game before their late onslaught arrived. That they didn’t close the door on St Breckan’s meant the north Clare side would always believe they could get back in the game. With 12 minutes gone in the second-half, they al- most did. Tony Shannon had just put them back to within three of Smith O’Brien’s when he almost levelled things up. He latched onto a low ball 15-yards out from goal, kicking from the ground soccer-style and his shot looked destined for the net. Eugene Cusack, in goal for the Killaloe club, made a fantastic save to keep the ball out. It broke to Sean Neville who aimed for goal but his shot slid left and wide. Ten minutes later, Brian Scanlan produced another goal save for Smith O’Brien’s when he blocked what looked like a certain goal for St Breckan’s and Smith O’Brien’s — though running their luck to the max — remained in control.

If Cusack and Scanlan’s contribu- tions were crucial then so too were the displays from John Cusack, Kevin McCarthy and, in particular, Shane Byrne. The latter produced a quality display, popping up in all

areas of the field but his distribution remained the key component of the game.

While the focus among those dot- ting the inexcusably unlined “‘side- line” may have been on the former Munster and Ireland rugby interna- tional Anthony Foley — who clocked in a muted enough game at full-for-

ward — the work-rate of Byrne and John Cusack, the power of McCarthy and the agility of Eugene Cusack are what really caught the eye.

As early as the 15th minute Mc- Carthy had Smith O’Brien’s in the driving seat. He goaled after eight minutes and pointed on the quarter hour with another score from An-

thony O’Sullivan — a cousin of the Kerry All-Star Declan O’Sullivan — wedged in between. In total, it gave Smith O’Brien’s a four-point lead. John Stack with three and Eric Mur- rihy were the only names on the St Breckan’s scoresheet by the time the break rolled around.

After those goal opportunities for

St Breckan’s slid by, Smith O’Brien’s re-focused once more.

Trevor Howard kicked his side four ahead with five minutes left and 60 seconds later, Stephen McCarthy — who was influential after coming off the bench early in the game — pro- vided an insurance goal.

Into injury-time but there was more to come. Fittingly, Byrne stepped up for the final two scores. Firstly, a point and two minutes into time add- ed on, a beautifully taken goal.

A ten-point win, deservedly so, and yet another football title wintering in the east of the county.

eis

terday that the loss “is not an issue of concern” to the company.

The losses – which follow a surplus

of €5,800 in 2007 – have been ab-

sorbed by the company’s accumulat-

ed surplus, which stood at €106,110 at the start of 2008. At year end, this was reduced to €39,781.

Last April, the Health Service Ex- ecutive (HSE) ended 24-hour A&E services at Ennis and Nenagh Gen- eral Hospitals in spite of protests from GPs.

Since then, there has been a 22 per cent increase in calls to Shannon- doc’s Ennis service between 8pm and 8am while calls to the Nenagh service increased by 33 per cent.

Mr Maher said, “There have been operational difficulties, but we have worked around them and have had the flexibility to deal with any is- sues. We are coping well enough.

The service has been helped by the HSE providing an additional doctor in Ennis and Nenagh between 8pm and 2am since April.”

Last year, it cost €6.1 million to provide the Shannondoc service and the company’s greatest source of funding came from the HSE, which increased its contribution from €4.3 million to €4.6 million.

Mr Maher said, “The worry big con- cern for next year is that our funding will be cut and the impact that will have on services. We have become embedded in the health service in the region.”

Shannondoc’ provides primary medical cover for GPs during out-

of-surgery hours for the mid-west, excluding Limerick city.

Last year the service dealt with 95,217 calls. This represented an in- crease of 5.7 per cent on calls in 2007 and the area to show the highest in- crease was Kilrush at 25 per cent.

The director’s report recorded that, for the first time, the number of pa- tients dealt with by doctors has de- creased, if only very slightly at 340 eT (oNlhSe

The service employs 134 staff made up of 43 drivers, 51 medical staff and 40 in administration with employ- ment costs increasing by eight per cent from €3.8 million to €4.2 mil- lion

TRICK-OR-TREAT. A phrase that aptly summed up Whitegate’s Hal- loween adventure on Saturday as they followed the well worn path of Clooney/Quin, Clonlara and Broad- ford into the latter stages of the pro- visional intermediate championship.

The trick for Whitegate was mani- fold, beginning with the Munster Council’s decision to take the game out of Whitegate to the enclosed con- fines of neighbours Scariff, a venue that has been a veritable graveyard for the club over the past two years. It also refers to the county’s unwel- come tradition of only leaving a week between the county final and the Munster campaign, insufficient time really to prepare for such an im- portant competition.

Add in the fact that Whitegate tend to start slowly and this could have been a a real Halloween horrorshow for the east Clare side. Crucially though, through the ever depend-

able George Waterstone, who again scored all of Whitegate’s four first- half points for the second week in succession, the county champions only found themselves two points in arrears at the break at 0-6 to 0-4.

With the wind at their backs, Tip- perary champions Davins_ should have been cruising by half-time but while they were dominant for long periods through centre-back anchor Lee Mackey and the running of William O’Dwyer and Noel Butler, their inability to turn possession into scores repeatedly frustrated them. As did the dogged performances from Whitegate’s John Bugler, Thomas eC) I EiCe Mr TiOMMWF:lKo nice) etee

The treat duly arrived with a storm- ing second-half display from the home side who, in keeping with the festive day, appeared like a side pos- sessed as they threw off the shackles of a below par opening period.

The Davins two point advantage was wiped out after only four minutes when the impressive John Minogue

and a Waterstone free gained parity for their side and from the puck-out, Thomas Holland put Whitegate into the lead for the first time with an in- spirational score from halfway.

Now brimming with confidence, Whitegate proceeded to haunt the Davins with their half-back line of Thomas Holland, Brendan Bugler and Jason Malone again proving to be Whitegate’s strongest line by cut- ting off the South Tipperary side’s supply to their front six.

It forced the Tipperary champions back and allowed Whitegate to lay siege on the opposition goals as Wa- terstone converted another free be- fore Stephen Malone completed the purple patch with a goal in the 37th minute.

It came out of nothing really as Carrick Davins full-back Richard McGrath beat Malone to the ball in the right corner, only to dig his hur- ley into the heavy surface. Malone did the rest by gathering possession and ghosting past the remaining de-

fenders before hammering the ball past goalkeeper Ed McGrath.

Not having scored in the half while conceding an unanswered 1-6, that goal proved to be the death knell for Carrick Davins, who all too easily dropped their heads after that. Mikey Cronin secured their first point in 16 minutes through a free in the 40th minute but by now, Whitegate were rampant and further points from Wa- terstone and captain Patrick Minogue saw them pull 1-10 to 0-7 clear by the turn of the final quarter.

In an effort to regain a foothold in the game, the Davins brought back Shane Butler as a third midfielder but that tactic only played in White- gate’s hands even further as former county senior Thomas Holland now had a free reign in the half-back line to sweep up any danger that Carrick would pose.

An Jan Fahy lineball and another Waterstone effort cancelled out the Davins mini-revolt of two Cronin frees, with the final nail in the Tip-

perary champions’ coffin coming when Lee Mackey blazed a 20 me- tre free over the bar instead of at the intended target before substitute Michael O’Brien finished the scoring for the home side.

A typically spirited fightback en- Sured there were no real scares for the east Clare side on this occasion but the celebration bonfires are still burning strong as Whitegate march on to another home tie for the sem1- jnbOr-N IS

Gavin is well known aan his time with De Dannan and has worked

with some of the biggest names in the music industry.

However, their concert at the Old Ground Hotel on Sunday, November 8, as part of the Ennis Trad Festival, brings the pair together for a rare joint appearance.

Festival Chairman, John Rynne ex- plained that the concert promises to be one of the highlights of the week- Koyatemy oyueyeaucbeebeates

He said, “Tony McMahon who is from here in town, an accordion player. Frankie 1s a fiddle player, of De Dannan fame, RTE producer, he’s done all that sort of thing. The two of them, they are like lions of the trad1- tion, if you like. They are two very long established big names. You have the Noel Hills, the Matt Molloys, the Chieftains, Frankie Gavin and Tony McMahon, Christy Moore, Donal

Lunny, they’re the big names.”

Rynne added, ““They’re doing a duet together and I haven’t found anybody else, apart from myself, who’s actual- ly heard them doing a duet together, playing together. They’ve both been in all sorts of arrangements and done all sorts of concerts and shows and television and every sort of thing. Individually they’re extremely well known and regarded. But as a combi- nation they’ve been rarely heard. So it should be really special.”

Ennis native Tony McMahon’s con- tribution to Irish folk music, both as a broadcaster and as one of Ireland’s most remarkable musicians, has been singular and unmatched. His music has been variously described as both transporting and transforming.

Sharing the stage on this night will be Galway fiddler Frankie Gavin.

Frankie who hails from Corrandul- la, has recorded 16 albums with De Dannan as well as a number of solo albums, and three collaborations: one a tribute to Joe Cooley entitled

THE contest for the highly sought after Clare vacancy on the GAA’s influential Central Council commit- tee is set to boil down to a two-horse race between two former members of the Munster Counc1l.

MEMBERS of Clare’s All-Ireland winning under-21 team will lend their support to the Irish Wheelchair Association’s (IWA) annual Angel campaign in Ennis today.

The Mayor of Clare, Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) will also be on hand at the official launch, which takes place at 2pm in the Temple Gate Hotel.

The Angel campaign runs through- out November when IWA Angel Pins and Angel Pencils will be sold na- tionwide for €2.

All funds raised will help to fund Services for the 20,000 members throughout Ireland.

Commenting on the launch, Berna- dette O’Rourke, Community Employ- ment Supervisor, IWA, Ennis, said the

funds raised from the Angel cam- paign are “vital” in allowing the [WA to maintain services throughout Clare.

“It’s vital. We receive funding from the HSE and FAS but it does require a lot to keep the service going.

“We have buses going here in Ennis and all over Clare. If you’re picking someone up in west Clare that means bringing them to an outreach centre in Spanish Point. The main thing is is that people are getting out of their homes to socialise.”

She added, “It’s not just the out- reach service we are providing. We are facilitating personal assistants to help people in their homes. These might be people they know, people from their area. There is a whole personal and social side to it. We are providing assisted living services

throughout Clare.”

The Irish Wheelchair Associa- tion was founded in 1960 by a small group of wheelchair users commit- ted to improving the lives of people with physical disabilities in Ireland. Almost 50 years on IWA provides services nationally, including 60 re- Source and outreach centres; assisted living services; motoring advice, as- sessment and tuition; youth services; training and education; respite and holidays; wheelchair sales and rent- al; peer counselling and sport.

The IWA aims to achieve greater independence, freedom and choice for people living with a disability.

Speaking about this year’s cam- paign, CEO Kathleen McLoughlin commented, “Our annual Angel campaign allows us to generate the

funds to provide essential resources and services to many people with disabilities. Our members rely on us for essential services, such as, per- sonal assistants to support them in their daily living.

“In these tight times, with reduced funding sources, we are doing our very best to avoid cutting the serv- ices we provide to our members in their own homes and in the commu- nity. We are asking the general pub- lic to support our essential work by buying these lovely angel pins and pencils.”

The pins are distributed courtesy of DPD Ireland, the national courier service. For further details or to do- nate online, contact the Irish Wheel- chair Association on 065 68 44150 ennis@iwa.ie or angles@1wa.ie

EAST Clare has never been behind when it comes to being generous in a good cause and with Christmas loom- ing large, organisers of the Shoebox Appeal are hoping that people local- ly will come up trumps again.

Every year, thousand of shoeboxes, filled with toys, warm clothes, toilet- ries and sweets, are shipped to chil- dren around the world.

The gaily wrapped boxes are the only Christmas presents these chil- dren see, living as they do in war- torn countries or in third-world areas devastated by famine and disease.

Under the auspices of the Samari- tan’s Purse organisation, Operation Christmas Child – also know as the Shoebox Appeal – brings a bit of cheer into the lives of the children involved.

In east Clare, Joanne Allen is gear- ing up to collect boxes from the gen- erous people in Scariff while a sepa- rate shoebox appeal is under way in Tulla.

Joanne got involved with the appeal after her daughter Rachel started do-

ing it in school.

‘People are very generous when it comes to making up boxes. We have one collection at the school and we are also asking anyone who wants to fill a box to drop it into Bane’s Gift Shop,” said Joanne.

The numbers taking part in the ap- peal has been rising steadily, despite the recession. “We got 150 boxes from the school alone last year which was fantastic,’ she Joanne.

As well as co-ordinating the col- lection of boxes in the Scariff area, Joanne works in the warehouse in Ennis, checking the boxes and pre- paring them for the onward journey.

Asked about criticism which claims that project organisers are plac- ing religious literature in the boxes, Joanne says that this is not the case. “The boxes have to be checked to be sure that the contents are suit- able for the age group and within the guidelines but once that is done, they are sealed and sent off. There is no literature put in them and they are given to children of every religious background. What does happen is that nuns and priests who travel to

where the children are to give them their gifts also give them a leaflet on the story of the first Christmas or some other religious story if it’s ap- propriate. The Samaritan’s Purse is a religious organisation – they make no secret of that. And if I was a child be- ing handed a lovely box all wrapped up, and a sheet of paper at the same time, I know which one Id be inter- ested in.”

Anyone in the Scariff area who would like to make up a box is asked to drop it into Bane’s Gift Shop be- fore Saturday, November 7.

Ennis co-ordinator of the appeal and east Clare man, Louis Duffy, told

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