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THE rugged surrounds of the Bur- ren may have been the very centre of financial and social activity in Me- dieval Clare, a new excavation has shown.

Early indications from an excava- tion, undertaken earlier this month at the Caherconnell Stone Fort near Carron, have revealed that the struc- ture was a much more important building than previously thought, and most probably the property of a wealthy landowner.

Following a 10-day archaeological excavation, undertaken during Herit- age Week ‘07, it has been discovered that Caherconnell Stone Fort is twice the size of the 300-500 standard cashels that are now under study in

the Burren.

The true size of the fort at Caher- connell is 40 metres in diameter, and with a thick stone walls rising to over three metres in places it would have taken considerable resources, both in manpower and finances to construct.

Artefacts uncovered included two disc-shaped quernstones of the ro- tary type, used to grind cereals while iron arrowhead, three inches in length and with barbs at its base, were also found.

“Both the arrowhead and quern- stone fragments are very fine ex- amples, and are not of a quality you would expect to find in the cashel of a normal farmer of the period,” said Dr Michelle Comber of NUI Galway, who is currently researching early medieval settlements in the Burren.

“All told, it seems very likely that the people living at Caherconnell were of the nobility. Wealthy farm- ers who ruled much of the land in the vicinity of their cashel. Work so far places the site in the upper ech- elons of the Early Medieval social system.”

A piece of sandstone was also found, which was probably used as a hearth stone and, as the Burren 1s predominantly limestone, the sand- stone is likely to have been imported Seer NUR

“The excavation has exceeded our expectations and has produced a lot of information that was previously unknown,” said excavation site di- rector, Graham Hull of TVAS ar- chaeological consultancy based in Sul te

The excavation was undertaken by a partnership of NUI Galway, TVAS and the Davoren family. The visitor centre incorporates Ireland’s first Stone Fort virtual tour and illumi- nates the historical and archaeologi- cal secrets of the more famous Bur- ren monuments. The centre on the family farm now attracts over 20,000 visitors per year.

“When the company was estab- lished in 2003 one of our long term goals was to see the fort dated and preserved,’ said Sean Davoren. “We are very grateful to Dr Comber and Graham Hull for volunteering their time and resources to begin this V0) 0.e

“The work they have carried out has been amazing and their enthusi- asm infectious.”

MUNSTER rugby fans in Clare have expressed mixed feelings following confirmation that London Wasps have moved the venue for their Heineken Cup “home” clash with Munster in November to Coventry forcing supporters to change travel and accommodation arrangements at extra expense.

HEC champions Wasps were ex- pected to host 2006 cup winners Munster on November 10 in London however it has now been confirmed that the Round 1, Pool 5 clash will take place in Coventry, 100 miles from the capital. A spokesperson for the Ricoh Stadium has confirmed that the venue has been booked for the game at 5.30pm on November 10 next.

It was always unlikely that the game would be played at Wasps’ home ground at Adam’s Park as the

capacity there is only 10,000. The club had been considering a number of options including Twickenham, the Emirates, Wembley Stadium and other venues outside London, how- ever none of these options material- There

PRO of the Munster Rugby Sup- porters Club, Glenn Flanagan said yesterday, “Whilst initially we were disappointed that Wasps chose to move the game from London to Cov- entry, we do understand that Wasps exhausted every possibility, to stage the game in London. We understand that venues from Southampton, Emirates Stadium, MK Dons Are- na, Stamford Bridge, Wembley and Twickenham were all considered but for one reason or another, these ven- ues were not available.

As soon as the draw for this sea- son’s championship was announced during the summer, hundreds of Munster fans quickly booked flights

to London but will now have to take a two hour train journey from the capital to Coventry’s Ricoh Stadium for the clash or make alternative ar- rangements.

A spokesman for the European Rugby Cup (ERC) has said, “As the tournament continues to grow several Clubs are now moving pool matches to larger venues to cater for demand following a trend that started with quarter-finals like Munster’s last year at Lansdowne Road and Bourgoin who moved their clash with Munster to Geneva.”

“If Wasps stayed at Adams Park, Munster would get less than 1,500 tickets for their fans for what must be one of the biggest and most antici- pated pool games for either club and the tournament. Their move to the State of the art 32,000 Ricoh Arena will mean that thousands more fans will be able to attend the game if they wish.

‘The venues for the Pool stages are decided by the home clubs, and they must confirm the venues at least sev- en weeks before the game to ERC. This is a new deadline introduced this season,” according to the ERC.

MRSC PRO Glenn Flanagan add- ed, “of course, with the game being moved to a bigger venue, it gives the Opportunity to have more Munster Supporters at the game. Although many of our members have booked various flights into London for the game, we will endeavour to help show them the best way to Coventry from all London Airports.” Informa- tion is available from www.munster- rugbysupporters.com.

THE west Clare capital has seen much prosperity and development according to the Tidy Town judges.

So impressed were the judges with Kilrush they gave the Heritage town 49 marks out of 50 for its overall de- velopment.

The majority of the infrastructural improvements were in keeping with the original landscape according to the judges, but such development had come at a small price.

While Kilrush secured almost maximum marks in all categories to secure a gold medal in the hotly contested tidy towns competition, tidiness remained an issue receiving just six marks out of 30.

“There is still a major amount of construction work going on in Kil- rush and in the environs. This leads to messy site areas and developers

should be encouraged to keep these areas as tidy as possible,’ said the adductors, who were also aware of the hard work of the local people in keeping their area tidy.

“Outside of the above there is goodwill on the part of the local community to contribute to keeping areas immediate to their properties in good condition and free from Itt- ter and weed growth.”

The judges were full of praise for the hard working tidy towns com- mittee especially in its efforts to mobilise people to contribute to the aeue

They paid tribute to the built envi- ronment of the town with its many attractive shop fronts and well pre- sented public buildings.

The standard of the landscape was described as excellent.

“The visual effect of colourful hanging baskets, window boxes, nu-

merous potted planting and roadside planting was exceptional,’ the judges said, who agreed that the planting undertaken throughout the town if of benefit to the wildlife of the area.

“The interesting Cappa Pier area and the Millennium Bridge Amenity are all suitable for wildlife conserva- tion. The Heritage Council will help you to identify wildlife pockets in the area,’ the judges told the Kilrush Loyeabasnianeron

The town of Kilrush has its litter under control according to the judges – “a testament to the great work of the committee 1n advancing the mes- sage of good litter control”.

Kilrush received an amazing 19 out of 20 marks under the “waste minimisation” category, loosing a mark for the “poor condition” of the recycling centre on the Plouzane Car Ane

“Evidence of bottles, boxes, rub-

bish bags were left by the recycling centre. This situation needs to be ad- dressed,’ said the judges.

Private residental areas were sin- gled out for praise, as were the roads, streets and back areas and all en- trances to the town.

“Kilrush has made great strides in the National Tidy Towns Com- petition to date. Despite its major transformation over the last number of years it retains its rural/maritime character. We look forward to even further progress in the competition,” said the judges.

IT was a day for hurling in Corofin on Saturday. Hundred of young sharp shooters from six clubs turned out to show their stuff and prove once again that hurling is alive and well in north ETc

Teams representing Ruan, Crush- een, Lisdoonvarna, Corofin, Kilna- mona and Inagh all competed in the first ever North Clare Hurling Cham- pionship. The competition took shape through the course of the year, developing from a few challenge matches into a fully fledged regional competition.

There was much to play for on Sat- urday with a Cup, Shield and Plaque all up for grabs for the winning Rere betsy

Home side Corofin took the Burren Cup, seeing off a spirited Kilnamona side in the final. Tubber/Crusheen beat an enthusiastic Lisdoonvarna side to take the Plaque while Inagh beat off Ruan to win the Shield.

“The competition was a= great success. We had a situation where there was no hurling being played in Corofin once the teams had been knocked out of their competitions. I rang around some of the local clubs to try and arrange a challenge and it seemed that there were playing little hurling up there too,” said organiser Vincent Maloney, of Corofin GAA Sitios

“They were mad to get involved. Within a week we had five match- es played, and it just took off from there.”

The popularity of hurling has been spreading in north Clare in recent years with young people becoming involved in the sport in traditionally football areas such as Ballyvaughan and Lisdoonvarna.

“The interest is there from the young people but they need match- es. A lot of the north Clare teams would tend to be knocked out at an early stage of the championships and that leaves them with no matches throughout most of the summer,’ continued Vincent.

“There are a lot of people in north Clare who are putting in great efforts to keep hurling alive in the area. Peter Casey has hundreds of kids playing hurling in Lisdoonvarna and Alex Ferguson would not be more professional.

‘Johnny O’ Rourke did the same for Inagh years ago and there are people in every club doing the same. I must thank Corofin GAA Club and John Malone for managing the tournament on the day, Gerry Quinn who pre- sented the medals, Ambrose Hagney for his refereeing and all the manag- ers and trainers for all the teams who took part.”

Saturday’s competition was such a success that it now looks likely to be- come an annual event with Ennisty- mon and Clonbonny set to join from next year.

A KILRUSH town councillor has questioned central governments pri- orities when it comes to providing essential services to the people of west Clare.

Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) said that by law the people of Kil- rush are entitled to a public lavatory, but a laboratory for the nearest acute hospital does not seem to be a neces- sity.

The Kilrush town councillor also questioned why a busy Accident and Emergency service and a mammog- raphy unit was not considered a ne-

cessity, when an under utilised public toilet was an essential requirement.

“You are entitled to a lavatory but not a laboratory,” she said.

Cllr McMahon Jones was compar- ing the stark realities of government policies that threatens 24-hour Ac- cident and Emergency Care at Ennis General Hospital and the closure of the busy laboratory at the hospital.

“You are not entitled to breast screening in Ennis because the government could not be bothered spending money on it,” she said.

In contrast a public toilet must be provided in Kilrush town, at a cost of €34,000, according to Cllr McMa-

hon Jones.

This public amenity is underused and brings in just €2,000 to the council coffers every year.

This is €32,000 of taxpayers mon- ey going down the toilet according to the annoyed councillor.

It is compulsory for the super loo to be provided by local authorities, whether or not it is covering its own cost when people spend a penny.

“We are entitled to a public toilet, paid for by the tax payers, but we are not entitled to a mammography unit paid for by the people of Clare, an A&E, a laboratory, or even a basic hospital,” she said.

“You will not have a hospital in 20 months time, but don’t worry you will have a toilet – at great expense to the taxpayer,” she warned.

Cllr McMahon Jones has been sup- ported by her council colleagues in her call for Minister for Health Mary Harney and CEO of the HSE Professor Brendan Drumm to be in- formed of the councils concerns at the withdrawal of breast screening services and laboratory facilities at Ennis General Hospital. A second letter, proposed by Cllr Deirdre Cul- ligan (Ind) is asking for clarification from Proff Drumm as to the future of A&E at the county hospital.

MINISTER of State, Tony Killeen, has received assurances from the Minister for Agriculture and Food and the EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection that all produce entering the EU must meet standards equivalent to those re- quired of community producers.

The response follows Minister Kil- leen’s representation on behalf of a number of Clare farmers who had expressed concern over the standard of Brazilian beef imports.

“Minister Mary Coughlan and Mr Markos Kyprianou confirmed that

EU policy requires that third coun- Daves bee] ole )u KO) mr-DObONT-D mm oyueye LUC Kmppe ete! standards at least equivalent to those required for production in, and trade between, EU member States,’ ex- plained Minister Killeen.

“As regards traceability and con- trols of residues of veterinary medi- cines, the commissioner said that the purpose of EU legislation is not to impose on exporting third countries a system of guarantees that is equal to the EU system, but that the export- ing country provides guarantees that are equivalent to EU standards.

“Commissioner Kyprianou pointed out that his service is committed to

protecting the health of European consumers and livestock.

“The commissioner also assured Minister Coughlan that the Commis- sion will not hesitate to take appro- priate protection measures if a prod- uct, imported from a third country or produced in the domestic market represents a risk for the health of ECX consumers, livestock or plants.

‘Tam also aware of a similar assur- ance to members of the Dail in Sep- tember 2006 by a senior commission official.”

In a letter this week to Minister Killeen, the Minister for Agriculture and Food stated, “I have consistently

expressed the view that Irish farmers deserve fair play in the market place. At EU level I have advocated that produce imported from third coun- tries must meet standards equivalent to those required of community pro- ducers. In the interests of our pro- ducers and consumers | will continue to adopt this approach.”

Concern have been raised by all of the Irish farming organisations in recent months over the safety of Brazilian beef. Foot and Mouth dis- ease 1S widespread in many areas of Brazil and fears have been raised of spreading the disease through the importation of infected animals.

CURRACH rowing is enjoying a revival in Quilty village as the local currach-rowing club and Leon Com- mittee make the final preparations for the Leon XIII Festival.

Starting on September 28 the fes- tival will celebrate the bravery of the local men who rescues the crew of the stricken Leon XIII 100 years ago.

Members of the local rowing club began training off Seafield at the beginning of summer in hopes of winning at least one race during the weekend long festivities.

Under the guidance of John Downes and trainers from West Clare Cur-

rach Club, several racing crews have formed to help fly the Quilty flag in the upcoming Leon Regatta.

The training regime has been given an added boost with the recent acqui- sition of a new racing currach, which will be in action during the Leon Re- gatta starting in Quilty village at 4 pm on Sunday, September 30.

This regatta will bring together teams from all over Clare to compete in the heats and finals of three main events – The Mixed Open, The Leon Trophy Men’s Open and the Wom- en’s Open Event.

Regattas were a feature in Quilty village up until the late 1950s and the rowing club and festival organis- ers plan to host the Leon Regatta on

an annual basis starting this year.

“Regatta Sunday” will commence with a special commemoration Mass in Star of the Sea Church in Quilty at 12pm.

Incorporating new musical compo- sitions created for the occasion, the Mass will be followed by open-air set dancing in Quilty village starting at 2pm.

Many people from the area now living abroad are planning to return to Quilty for the festival and the Regatta will certainly bring back fond memories to locals and visitors who remember the last occasions on which currach racing events were held in the village.

Beginning with the opening cere-

mony and unveiling of commemora- tive plaque at 6pm on Friday evening September 28, a full programme of events is planned for the festival weekend.

For further information, please take away one of the free programme fly- ers available locally or contact Agnes on 087 1355738 or Caroline on 087 2194541 for details.

LIKE an annoying relations at Christ- mas time, Irish farmers can’t seem to shake the threat of foot and mouth disease. Restrictions are once again in place across the island of Ireland and Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan and her Northern Irish counterpart Michelle Gildernew.

The latest outbreak, which comes just days after the state lifted re- strictions imposed in the wake of the August scare, saw a ban on UK farm exports and the setting up of disinfection points at Irish ports and airports.

IFA President Padraig Walshe de- scribed the latest outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK is most

UrVwmeeneetes

‘The IFA and its members are to- tally committed to all emergency measures to prevent FMD reaching this country. The latest outbreak in the UK, which comes just six weeks after the original Surrey outbreak, highlights the highly infectious and virulent nature of foot and mouth disease,” he said.

‘This time frame is a lot longer than it takes to transport beef from Brazil which is one of the control measures the EU rely on. FMD 1s endemic in Brazil and the European Union are taking unnecessary risks with the importation of 330,000 tonnes on an annual basis.

“The USA, Japan and a number of other counties are not prepared to

take the risk involved with Brazilian beef imports.”

Just last week, Minister Coughlan had announced the discontinuation in Ireland of bio-security measures, such as the removal of disinfectant points from ports and airports, after Britain was declared free from foot and mouth.

A ban on the importation from Britain of live cattle, sheep, pigs and goats, as well as fresh meat, meat products, raw milk and other animal products was also lifted.

The latest case of foot and mouth disease was discover on Wednesday last on a farm some 30 miles from the outbreak centre of last months small outbreak in southern England.

The origin of the latest outbreak is

still unclear but experts are research- ing the possibility of a link between the latest outbreak and the August outbreak.

Meanwhile, the ICSA has called for the Pirbright laboratory, where the first outbreak is believed to have originated, to a safer, more protected location.

A report issued last week by the UK authorities confirmed that the FMD outbreak was caused by a leak, and at least five lapses in bio — secu- rity measures.

“In the USA, all these kinds of fa- cilities, which handle dangerous and Sensitive materials such as viruses, are located off — shore, as a further barrier to accidental leaks,” said Mal- colm Thompson, ICSA president.

THE organisers of Kilkee’s Cois Fharraige festival are preparing to run the doomed surfing competition within the next few weeks.

The summer weather conditions did not favour the short board com- petition, which was planned as part of the weekend.

Hailed in its conception as Ire- land’s first surf and music festival the three-day event was to include surf- ing competitions at the picturesque Doughmore beach.

Now organisers Sony Ericsson are hoping to hold the surfing element in Spanish Point when the surf condi- tions are more favourable.

Meanwhile Sony Ericsson has de- clared a “major success”.

Up to 5,000 music fans soaked up the sunshine and enjoyed a three-day music extravaganza with a differ- ence.

“The festival’s stellar line up, which included performances from Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Ocean Col- our Scene, Paddy Casey, Badly Drawn Boy, Roisin Murphy, Newton

Faulkner, The Enemy, Republic of Loose, The Blizzards and Majella Murphy to name but a few, ensured a phenomenal demand for tickets and a sell-out in its first year,” a spokes- person said.

“Cois Fharraige is not just a music festival, it’s a cultural music festival – an amalgamation of sea culture and music.

“There was a family friendly at- mosphere all weekend as music fans enjoyed sunbathing and swimming on Kilkee beach, craic agus ceol in local pubs and a carnival atmosphere

on the streets of Kilkee not to men- tion great bands in the Cois Fhar- raige Kayham tent.”

Colin Williamson from Sony Eric- sson said, “Cois Fharraige has ex- ceeded our expectations.

‘The music weekend has been a great success, the carnival atmos- phere was brilliant and the crowd were very chilled out and well be- haved.

“We are thrilled with the feedback we have had from the PJ Linnane, Mayor of Kilkee, local businesses and festival goers.”

WITH just a week to go before the beginning of this year’s National Ploughing Championships, excite- ment is already beginning to reach fever-pitch in and around the Tul- lamore venue.

With final preparations now being made, organisers are expecting a good crowd this year following the massive success of staging the World Ploughing Championships last year.

Food 1s likely to be one of the main attractions at this year’s champion- ships with a number of exciting new gastronomic additions to the pro- eau beeueslen

Leader will host the most fantastic food village, featuring gourmets and gourmand’s, foodies and faddies,

even the most demanding of divas will find their every craving satisfied Ain UOCoMB UNE TeXon

From baked foods to ice cream, fruit to chocolate and from whiskey to cocktails, Leader’s food village will cater for all. With a similar fo- cus as the craft village, the aim 1s to heighten awareness of the fantastic range and variety available from lo- cal producers.

A food créche will also be provided to keep your goodies in the best con- dition, so you can enjoy the rest of iW elom-NOAB ASLO (one

Another attraction which will prove very popular is GM Canopies, an in- tegrated farmers market consisting exclusively of Irish farm and cottage industry products, including fudge and jelly bean confectionery, free

range eggs, organic vegetables and Irish manufactured woollen socks.

The Braganza Food and Wine hall will also have plenty to keep you with going throughout the day with Tea Time Express, Lakeshore Foods, Keelings Fruit and Fox’s Confection- ery being just some of the exhibitors in the Braganza.

Education, which always plays a big role at the ploughing, with many edu- cational bodies taking stands includ- ing the National Consumer Agency, Citizens Information Bureau, The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht and Harper Adams University in the UK. Harper Ad- ams is the UK’s largest specialist provider of higher education of land, food and rural-based industries and will be handing out information on

education, training and research.

The tourism industry in this coun- try is as strong as ever with the ploughing attracting many overseas visitors from countries such as Po- land, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Syndey, Australia.

Failte Ireland will be distributing information on education and train- ing, Mid Ireland Tourism, Northern Ireland ‘Tourist Board, Kilkenny Tourism, Meath Tourism, Shannon Development will also be busy pro- moting their regions as popular holi- day destinations. From further afield, The Province of Manitoba will be present promoting agriculture and agri-business in Canada.

Or course, along with this there will also be a bit of ploughing. For more check out Www.npa.ie.