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CLARE is quickly becoming one of the most cosmopolitan counties in Ireland with the latest figures show- ing that 44 per cent of people living in Clare have been born outside the county.

The latest census figures show that out of the 2006 population of 108,760, 47,339 people were born

outside Clare with 16,102 of that fig- ure born outside Ireland.

The trend of people born outside Clare living in the county is also an upward one.

The 1991 census recorded 36 per cent of the population coming from outside Clare. In 2002 that increased to 39 per cent. In four years this in- creased by five per cent.

The Clare figure is well ahead of

statistics for the same group in Mun- ster counties. The figures show that only 29 per cent of Limerick resi- dents have been born outside Limer- ick, 32 per cent of Kerry residents, 24 per cent of Cork residents and 36 per cent of Tipperary North residents. Underlining the changing face of Clare, there are now more Poles in the county than Africans, with 1,381 Polish-born people compared to

1,155 African born.

The figures also show that there are more than double the number of residents from the EU accession countries in Clare than citizens from the original EU 15. Accession state citizens in the county number 2,421 while those of the EU 15 total 1,204.

The highest proportion of non-Irish nationals in Clare remains people from England and Wales who ac- count for 6,889 of the population. There are 582 people from the United States, 667 from Asia and 603 who are included in the “other category”. Within the Asian category there are 211 Chinese.

The census shows that there was net migration of 4,169 into Clare during the 2002-06 period.

Underlining the growing cosmo- politan nature of Ennis and Shannon, the figures show that of the 23,101 population in Ennis, 10,456 of the residents have been born outside of ET

The figures show that there are 1,128 residents in Ennis born in the EU accession countries. In Shannon, the figures show that the town has a population of 8,942 with 5,765 not born in Clare.

The figures for Ennis and Shannon are in contrast to Kilrush. The figures show that of the 2,569 population of the west Clare town, 1,804 have been born in Clare.

RICHIE Bennis is not the sort of man to take punishment from author- ity lying down. Having been banned to the stand for the most important game since he took charge of Lim- erick last year, Bennis was unable to curb his emotion in the latter stages of this quarter final and took it upon himself to move down closer to the action, positioning himself behind the substitute enclosure.

“It was a joke. I was told on Friday that I had to sit in the stand. Then today, I was escorted up and had to walk all the way around to the back

of the stand. It was scandalous be- cause my eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be. I’m alright when I’m on the sideline but when I’m that far away, my eyesight is not good at all. So late on in the game I came back down myself because I had to watch it from somewhere.”

Ironically, Bennis got his chance to take over the Limerick hotseat in the aftermath of the pummelling which Clare gave them just over a year ago in the qualifiers and after perform- ing major surgery on his player’s at- titudes and performances, Limerick have emerged a radically different side this year, not in personnel but in

personality. And while Bennis may not have 20:20 vision, he is well able to air his opinions. Reflecting on the seven point victory over neighbours Clare, it was obvious that he was delighted to have turned a corner on Sunday.

“We are very pleased because of the way they worked. You know peo- ple were saying that we are a kind of a hard working side more than anything else but we are well capa- ble of hurling too and they proved that today. All over the field we had character today. Clare came back at us in the second half but I think we weathered the storm well and came

good again in the last five minutes. These lads have great character and are great yokes. They want to win something this year beacause they are not known to have won anything. They won three under 21s but that is not enough for these players. They really want to win more.”

During the week, Bennis_ had stressed the need for big performanc- es from his players in this real test of their development and so he was par- ticularly impressed with the contri- butions of Andrew O’Shaughnessy and substitute Donie Ryan who com- bined scored 1-12 out of Limerick’s total of 1-23. But while he is relieved

to have got over the abnner on Sun- day, he was at pains to stress that this is only a stepping stone in Limerick’s plan for the campaign.

“We are not happy with that. This was the best performance since ’96 but now that we are in the sem1’s, we have no preferences who we meet. We don’t care because we can beat them all now. We are in the top four now which is a big thing for Lim- erick because we weren’t in the top four this morning, we were in the top eight. The team is getting better now with every outing and there is a lot more to come from them, I can as- sure you.”

WHILE pop and rock music enthu- siasts may be looking forward to the three day September music fes- tival in Kilkee, opera enthusiasts are also being catered for at the seaside Keer

Opera by the Sea will take place this Saturday, August 4, in Kilkee Parish Church.

Presented by Kilkee Civic Trust in association with Opera Works, this cultural event promises to be an evening of the world’s most popular arias.

Those attending can expect duets

and ensembles from La Travietta, Carmen, The Magic Flute, La Bo- hme and many more operatic favour- ites.

Kilrush woman Edel O’Brien will make a welcome return to west Clare as part of the talented line up of art- ists performing.

Edel graduated with an honour masters degree in music and per- formance from NUI Maynooth. At the age of 19, she won the Mar- garet Burke-Sheridan Cup at the Dublin Féis Cheol. In London, she was awarded a scholarship to study singing at Trinity College of Music Where she won ‘distinction’ in her

postgraduate diploma in vocal stud- ies. In addition, she won the Vocal Faculty Award and the College Gold Medal.

In 2002 Edel was one of seven singers out of 200 applicants world- wide to be accepted onto the Young Artists’ Programme at the Centre de Formation Lyrique at the Opera Bastille, Opera National de Paris.

While there, she won the Prix Lyr- ique, which is awarded, annually to one male and one female singer at the CFL.

Edel has much experience in opera, oratorio and recital, having worked around Ireland, Britain and France.

Her future plans include the mezzo- soprano solo in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the National Symphony Or- chestra at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, and Maurya in Vaughan- Williams’ Riders to the Sea in Dub- lin’s Anna Livia Festival.

Joining Edel on the night will be Sandra Oman, soprano; Edel O’Brien, mezzo, Niall Morris, tenor; Martin Higgins, baritone and Maire- ad Hurley, piano.

Tickets on the night are €20 and are available from John William chemist, Nolan’s delicatessen or at id etomeColeye

that landowners would be compen- sated for any delays in resolving cas-

es and that efforts were being made to speed up the process.

“In the event that agreement can- not be reached on the compensation to be paid, the landowners or the local authority may refer the claim for non-binding assessment under the 2001 agreement and look to the Statutory Arbitrator whose decision is final and binding,” he said.

“The local authority is entitled to enter onto the land following service of the Notice To Treat and subse- quent Notice of Entry on the expira- tion of 14 days notice. Once the local authority has entered onto land, in- terest on the eventual compensation

becomes payable.

This provision is designed to pro- tect the landowner’s interest. The longer cases take to settle, the more money will be paid as interest, there- by giving the local authority a pow- erful incentive to deal with cases as quickly as possible.”

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) had stated their wish for a defi- nite time structure to be put in place for disputes to be resolved. The NRA have agreed to work towards this.

“The NRA has proposed the intro- duction of a clear timetable for all stages of the process in an effort to resolve outstanding compensation

claims more quickly and make pay- ments to landowners. The authority has allocated funding to Clare Coun- ty Council to meet such payments.

“Land values are assessed having regard to comparable land sales in the area – the local authority adopts an open and transparent approach to the comparable used and makes the information concerned available to valuers acting for landowners,” said Mr Fagan.

In addition to the cost of the land, compensation can also be paid to landowners for any disturbance or injurious that emerge as a result of O OKs

JONATHAN Clancy emerged from a soundless dressing room to offer a player’s perspective on Clare’s flat performance against Limerick.

The Clarecastle player produced some sparkling moments. Namely when he drifted across from the left

wing and fielded Gerry O’Grady’s clearance to land his first point.

Even with the game up, he still mo- tored up and down finishing Clare’s best-constructed move of the match from under the Hogan Stand.

Nice moments, but ones you sus- pect Clancy won’t dwell on.

Like his manager he’s thinking

about the ones that got away.

With his back against a _ wall, Clancy spoke of his frustration as he contemplated another early exit from the All-Ireland series.

“We missed a number of chances in the first half that will haunt us for a while. We didn’t enjoy the bounce of the ball, which is always important

in such tight matches. We are sick and tired of coming up here giving good performances and not winning. I’d rather have played a bad game and won than a good one and lost.” However, he said the experience would benefit the team in the long run. According to Clancy, Clare could do with a little rub of the green.

“We still have a very good team, but we need to be contesting All-Ireland semis and finals to bring it on. There is very little between the teams when you reach this stage of the champi- onship. Games can go either way. Just look at what Wexford achieved against Tipperary on Saturday. All we need is a little bit of luck.”

and who suffered the gruesome fate of

being hanged drawn and quartered for his patriotism.

“My father was William Wallace from Edinburgh,” he pointed out.

He was brought up within hailing distance of White Hart Lane the home ground of Tottenham, Hotspur Football Club. “I’m a lifelong Spurs fan,” he said.

He has had paintings exhibited in the Hunt Museum in Limerick and local venues in south east Clare.

“IT also had paintings on show in Philadelphia in the US when I worked there,’ he said.

He won a free scholarship to the Hornsey School of Arts and Crafts in London when he was 12 years of age eventhough the exam was for 15 year-olds. “I was the only child of that age to ever achieve that at the time,” he said.

He pointed out that there are peo- ple who like to have their portraits hanging on the wall and others get paintings done as presents for rela- LU Aorcer-HOLe BU Lo AXC Ke

‘They can also be very acceptable wedding presents for young couples to adorn their new house with a sce- nic view or even a Surprise portrait of themselves which they didn’t know was being painted for them.

“Portraits are also very acceptable to give to people on their retirement. I was commissioned to do a portrait of a Roadstone employee in Bunratty to be presented to him on his retire- ment. They gave me a photograph of him in his work gear complete with helmet. It turned out very well,’ he ene

Among the scenic views he was requested to paint again from pho-

tographs were The Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, King John’s Castle and Sarsfield Bridge in Limerick.

“T also do dogs in pastel and horses in oils and of course your favourite cat.”

John worked with money during his working life – not his own money but making it.

He was employed with the Royal Mint in London for 21 years and had Stints in countries such as the US, Japan, Argentina, Canada and Indo- nesia as a sales director in the same business.

So if you want to be hung over the fireplace or for that matter hang your dog, cat or horse or your favourite view, artist John can be contacted at 061-340592.

AS THE new Killanin stand opens for the first time this week to accom- modate over 7,000 racing enthusi- asts, it incurs memories of that fa- mous day when the Pope came to the Ballybrit racecourse on September 30, 1979. The new €22 million stand is a state of the art work of modern architecture which provides bar, res- taurant, lavish seating arrangements and countless hospitality suites but this is in stark contrast to the servic- es provided to the estimated 280,000 people who travelled far and wide to see Pope John Paul II.

For the three day duration of his stay, the country came to a veritable standstill. Traffic was chaotic, busi- nesses were shut down, families were gathered and surrounding buildings got a lick of paint as hundreds of thousands flocked to Dublin, Droge- da, Clonmacnoise, Galway, Knock, Maynooth, Limerick and Shannon airport to welcome the Catholic church’s highest figure in what was a whistle stop tour of Ireland.

He arrived in Ballybrit racecourse on the morning of September 30 to a crowd estimated at under 300,000. Flags, banners and umbrellas were all being sold by the clued in en- trepreneurs en route to the famous arena which was stewarded by 4,000 volunteers. It was a dreary, damp day but the entusiastic crowd were enter- tained by the pope’s support act, Fr.

Michael Cleary and Bishop Eamon Casey the singing duo who belted out such classics as “by the rivers of Babylon” among others in a scene which possibly would not have been out of place in Father Ted.

Such was the atmosphere as his holi- ness appeared on stage that the crowd began to chant “he’s got the whole world in his hands” before the pope began to address the eager masses. A spiritual silence fell on the crowd as the pontiff began to say mass. Dur- ing the ceremony, he relayed his messages of reassurance and hope to the youth of Ireland. “This morning the Pope belongs to the youth of Ire- land. I believe in youth with all my heart and strength of my conviction, and today I say: I believe in the youth of Ireland. Young people of Ireland, I love you.”

He also insisted that the ‘lure of pleasure’ would be strong and the ‘desire to be free from external re- straints may manifest itself very strongly in the sexual domain. How many young people have already warped their consciences and have substituted the true joy of life with drugs, sex, alcohol, vandalism and the empty pursuit of mere mate- rial possessions?” Prophetic stuff indeed.

The county had or will never see anything like this ceremony again. It was a momentous occasion which probably will never be equaled but will be forever remembered.

THROUGH gap in the dressing room door, Clare captain Frank Lohan can be seen shaking the hands of play- ers and thanking them. The place is almost empty. Players are filing out, heading back up that cavernous stretch under the David Stand.

Lohan, shakes the last of hands, says a few more words before ac- knowledging the two lads with the tape recorders.

He makes his way out the front door of the dressing room. Outside the stillness is rocked by another de- lerious roar as Cork and Waterford endeavor again to bring the very best out of each other.

He’s known better days on the big stage and knows the way Croke Park can provoke a thunderous response in a team.

On Sunday, it just wasn’t there. A genuinely dejected looking Lohan offers his thoughts on why Clare

failed to rise to the occasion.

Too many wasted chances. Allow- ing Limerick to get a run on them. According to Lohan it was a combi- nation of factors. “We gave them a soft goal and that put them a bit away. They got ahead of us so it was prob- ably that bit comfortable for them at the end of the day.”

With Limerick renewed by their three game saga with Tipperary, Lo- han said it was always going to be difficult once Clare fell behind.

“They had that bit of a cushion. It was three points for a bit and then it was seven or eight points and you can’t do that with a team like Lim- erick and let them have that sort of a cushion.”

Lohan also had words of praise for goalkeeper Philip Brennan. The Tul- la man had been the focus of unfair attention earlier in the season after filling the position vacated by David Fitzgerald.

‘Philip has had a great year. He’d a

difficult year too. He is a great goal- keeper and he is going to show that in years to come. We had three lads in Croke Park who were playing for their first time, maybe even a few more and hopefully that will stand to them”’.

“We came up with the intention of getting to an All-Ireland semi final and I suppose we didn’t play as well as we wanted. But that’s it, fair play to Limerick,’ he added. There was nothing left to say.

WIMBLEDON may be done and dusted this year but tennis is playing centre stage in Killaloe with the ad- dition of a fourth court to an already impressive set up at the New Street venue.

The Killaloe/Ballina Tennis Club was founded in 1984 and has been at the current site since 1988. The tennis club is popular not only in the

Killaloe/Ballina area but also the surrounding parish with members coming from Parteen, Portroe, Scar- iff and Tuamgraney.

There are 150 family memberships along with 30 adult single member- Jabh eke

According to vice chairman of the club Pat Grace the development of the new court is much needed in the area.

‘The main reason behind the new

court is to help clear the backlog of 40 people waiting to join. You don’t want to stop people from joining but unfortunatly that has been the case.”

The court will be 60 x 120 ft in size and will have the same all-weather sandbased surface as its three sister courts. The development is expected to be ready by the end of Septem- ber and will cost €85,000, thirty of which is to be funded by the Nation- al Lottery.

Now the club is watching out for a young Roger Federer or Venus Williams waiting to burst onto the scene? The facilities are open to the schools of the area are according to Pat Grace are “being put to good use by the convent girls school, which 1s great to see’. On the club front the juniors are performing very well with a representative in almost all of the finals of a recent tournament which was held in Nenagh.

A NEW Dairy Consultative Com- mittee is to be set up to help Ireland avoid a farming meltdown, following next year’s CAP Health Check and WTO talks.

The forum, which will comprise in- terested parties from within the sec- tor, was announced my the Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, at last week’s National Dairy Forum and will assist her in the evaluation of policy proposals ahead of the OEE Nee

Minister Coughlan will shortly an- nounce membership of the Consulta- tive Committee. “I am affording the sector as a whole the opportunity to

contribute to an all inclusive indus- try-wide perspective on the future policy and growth strategy for the dairy industry,’ she said.

Speaking after the Forum, Minis- ter Coughlan added that discussions were wide-ranging including the current market situation and the op- portunities and challenges that sus- tained market buoyancy will bring.

Discussions included the WTO and CAP Health Check and, in particu- lar, their implications for competi- tiveness at farm and factory level.

Minister Coughlan observed that there was a great sense of optimism amongst the participants about the future of the dairy sector and a great deal of confidence that current mar-

ket buoyancy would continue for the foreseeable future.

In this context, there was general agreement that the Irish dairy sector should take full advantage of the op- portunities that will arise to expand market opportunities.

“In the light of forecast growth in world market demand, the sector needs to adopt appropriate market- ing strategies that would best secure a growing share of international markets,’ she said.

“The general mood of confidence was tempered by concerns that com- placency might prevent the sector reaching its full growth potential. In this regard issues relating to com- petitiveness at both farm and fac-

tory level were identified including the need to expand production and processing potential in order to meet the growing demand for dairy prod- ucts in the EU and worldwide.”

According to the Minister there was a Shared view that any WTO agree- ment must be balanced and there should be parallel progress across all three pillars of the agriculture sector. ‘The period ahead and the decisions we take will have a lasting impact on the Irish dairy sector and this Fo- rum has started a process that will result in the development of a policy framework to build on the success of the sector and enable the industry here in Ireland reach its maximum potential,” she said.