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THE HSE has this week announced that a 15-station satellite dialysis unit for the Midwest will be up and run- ning within the next six months.

The unit is a response to what the Irish Kidney Association has de- scribed as a crisis in the dialysis Service.

The Haemodialysis Unit at the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick has been unable to take any new pa- tients for the last number of months due to overcrowding.

Renal patients were instead sent to Tullamore, Tralee and Galway.

This week the HSE said that it had been working to provide the addi- tional capacity needed to enable pa- tients receive their dialysis as near as possible to their homes.

As part of that work a short term, 15-station satellite dialysis unit has been commissioned for Limerick.

A tender competition was held for the provision of the unit and the suc- cessful company has been notified within the last week.

The new facility is expected to

be operational within the next six months, according to the HSE.

Patients treated in the satellite unit will remain under the care of the referring consultant and multidisci- plinary team from the regional hos- pital.

SU ilem eR Sa seme slepeeComKen one Busnr-)| patients to Galway in the interim.

‘As a further measure and because of the urgent needs of this area in the Short term, the HSE has entered into a further contract with a dialysis pro- vider in Galway which will be able to accept mid-west patients imme-

diately and will help to avoid more protracted travel times for mid-west patients to Dublin and elsewhere,” a HSE spokespersons said.

“While we regret the inconven- lence that this travel imposes on some patients in the short term, we are confident that it will provide sig- nificant relief for the particular pa- tients affected while we are working on achieving self-sufficiency for the region over the next six months.”

‘Because of the urgent need for ad- ditional capacity the HSE has also funded a home dialysis programme

for medically suitable patients in the Limerick area as an alternative to hospital dialysis.”

As part of its long term plan the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick is currently developing a capital plan for an extension, which will expand the existing dialysis unit in Doora- doyle to 25 stations.

Each year in Ireland about 170 peo- ple reach the “end-stage” of renal failure and need treatment to replace their non-functioning kidneys. Ap- proximately 30 Clare people require dialysis three times a week.

IF you have ever wanted to prove just how strong you really are, then the Gort Show is the place for you this SUT Ter Naa Urea bk Oe

Strong men and women will be de- scending on Community Centre and Community School Grounds to take part in the first ever Carry the Guin- ness Barrel Competition ever held in Ireland.

The competition, as you might ex- pect, involves carrying the barrel of Guinness as far possible and was the brainchild of Gort man Noel Cor- less. This year show will also feature a Senior and Novice Sheaf Throw-

ing competition, which will test the strength of anyone who survives the barrel challenge.

Entries in the indoor show classes are now closed but last minute entries will be taken at the show from llam for horses, ponies and donkeys, lpm for the dog show and from 1.30pm for the cat show.

Entries will also be taken at 2pm for the new Pet Corner. The classes are Cutest Pet and The Pet, Show Queen would like to take home. The Pet Corner is confined to small pets, such as rabbits and guinea pigs.

One of the highlights of this year’s Show will be the final of the new All-Ireland Amateur Painting Cham-

pionship. Finalists in this Champion- ship have already qualified at twen- ty-three shows held throughout the 32 counties.

This will be the first time for Gort to hold a final of an All-Ireland com- petition. The qualifying paintings will be displayed on the stage in the Community Centre. The champion- ship was devised by Amanda Nor- ton, new secretary of Gort Show and is being held in conjunction with the Irish Shows Association of which Gort Show is a member.

The Poultry section has expanded greatly over the years and is one of the most interesting parts of the show. In addition to the competi-

tive classes, Derek and Tracey Pul- lein, Gortavoher, Tubber will display a sample of their unusual poultry and ducks, including such breeds as Rhode Island Reds, Light Sussex, Orpingtons, Wyandottes, Leghorns, Anconas and Pekens. Tracey is the National Secretary of the Irish Poul- try Society.

All attending will be able to re-live times olden times by viewing the dis- play of vintage cars, tractors, farm and static machinery. The vintage display is always well supported by members of the Western Veteran and Vintage Motor Club, based in Gal- way, and by members of the Clare Classic and Vintage Club.

THE Dermot Power and Kildysart Cultural Festival four mile open road race and fun walk sponsored by Clare Oil Co Ltd will take place this Friday evening, August 3, around the roads of Kildysart starting with the walk at 7pm and the road race at 7.30pm.

Entries will be taken at the Com- munity Centre in Kildysart and their will be t-shirts to all competitors.

This will be the fifth annual road race around the roads of Kildysart and many of the well known stars will be taking part.

John Downes, Donore Harriers, Brian Maher, Kilkenny City Harri- ers, Gerry Ryan, Galway City Harri- ers, Dermot Galvin, St John’s (runner up three years ago) will take part.

Former Inter Club Cross Country Champion and nine times All-Ire- land Inter Counties Cross Country Champion and defending his title and going for five straight wins in a row will be Seamus Power, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare.

He will be looking to big local sup- port to retain his crown from his former training partner Peter Mat- thews and Cormac Smith, both Dun-

drum South Dublin.

Also in contention will be James Liddane, Tulla, who finished second in the Dundrum 10k Road Race a few weeks ago. Other leading contend- ers will be Brian Murphy, Marian,

Rory Chesser, Michael Maher, Dav- id Quinn, all Ennis Track, Eugene Moynihan, Marian, Michael Harvey, James Kenny, Donal Howley, Kil- murry I[brickane/North Clare, Ger- ard Mullane, Tom Blackburn, both

of Bilboa AC, Limerick, Mick Rice Athenry, and the Clare hill running champion, James McIntyre, Tulla.

In the team contest Galway City Harriers will start as favourites from the host club Kilmurry Ibrickane/ North Clare, Tulla, Bilboa, West Limerick, St Mary’s, Ennis Track Club, and Marian.

The ladies race will be a very com- petitive race with many fine athletes in contention. The girls to watch will be the Cork Marathon champion Tracy Guilfoyle, Kilnaboy, and her training partner Veronica Colleran, Ennis Track Club, the 2005 cham- pion. Also in contention will be Sue Garrahy, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, the road specialist Loretta Duggan, St Mary’s, who has pro- duced outstanding performances re- cently in Dundrum, along with Mar1i- an Burke, St Mary’s, Cushla Murphy Hehir, Marian, Maura Falsey, Sile O’Loughlin, both Kilmurry Ibrick- ane/North Clare, Margaret Ryan and Frances Guilfoyle, Kilnaboy, Mar- ion O’Loughlin, Ennis Track Club, Bernie Kelly, Galway City Harriers, and Ciara Hassett, Marian.

The ladies team award will be well contested between Ennis Track Club,

Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, St Mary’s, Marian, and West Limerick.

AN EAST Clare-based company has lodged plans for a wind farm which would supply up to half of the com- pany’s energy costs.

Its planning application to Clare County Council states that Olympus Diagnostica is “seeking a solution which would meet a portion 40-50 per cent of our electrical base load using alternative energy”.

The height of the proposed turbine is 200 ft high. The company points out that this is “half the size of the industry norm”.

The company states that it will con- sume all the energy from the wind turbine and that “there is no need for a grid connection”. It points out that “the proposal doesn’t lie within any recognised flight path of the Whoop- er Swan and the Greenland White Fronted Goose”’.

The company based near O’Callaghan’s Mills covers a broad spectrum of needs ranging from mi- croscope systems for life and mate- rial science, to high-performance analytical systems and reagents for clinical laboratories. It serves most- ly large and medium size hospitals, commercial clinical laboratories and blood banks.

In a submission lodged with the plan, the company states: “The ra- tionale for this project has its roots

in spiralling energy costs which are set by international markets and impact severely for two reasons: the wide fluctuation in energy costs which make financial planning more difficult and the underlying trend is upwards.”

Stressing its adherence to “Corpo- rate Social Responsibility”, Olympus points out that it has already reduced its greenhouse emissions by putting in place a wood chip burner instead of oil, so also creating a locally-based market for wood-chip.

The company states that the noise emissions from the wind-turbine would be lower than similar sized turbines. It suggests that the Clare County Development Plan has deemed the location “a suitable area for wind energy’ and doesn’t have any scenic or environmentally sensi- tive designations.”

The company also states that it has held a number of local meetings and has relocated the wind-turbine from its original location in response to lo- cal concerns. A second public meet- ing was held, although residents to the north east of the site stated that the new option would have a greater visual impact on them. However, the submission points out that this site 1s the last option open to Olympus that would allow the company comply fully with all the planning regula- tions.

KINVARA is gearing itself up for the highlight of it’s busy tourist sea- son as the Crinniu na mBad prepares to take over next week. The festival, which runs this year from August 9 to 12, attracts thousands of boat lov- ers from across Ireland as well as a number of European countries.

The Crinnia celebrated Kinvara’s long and proud boating history. In years gone by the village was a trad- ing centre where food stuff, turf and other goods could be traded with the people of the Aran Islands.

Each summer a fleet of Galway Hookers and Currachs would ferry

supplies back and forth from the Is- lands to the mainland at Kinvara.

“At this stage the Crinniu has grown into one of Ireland’s biggest and most important festivals. It had become part of our heritage,” said organiser Michael Brogan.

“Itis very important to continue it to make sure that the tradition does not die out. It gives the people who own these boats something to have their boats ready for. This year we should have boats from the UK and France and we are hoping to get some trad1- tional boats from Spain, Norway and Denmark over for next year.”

Michael made history himself last year as he was part of a crew who

conquered both the icy North West and North East passages aboard the yacht the Northabout.

The first race of this year’s Crin- niu will see a fleet of boats sail from the docks in Galway city and down the coast to Kinvara on Friday after- noon. Formally known as the Cladd- agh Cup, this race has been renamed the Mikey Lynskey Memorial Cup to mark his tragic passing earlier this year.

In it’s 29 year history, the Crinniu has developed a reputation for it’s commemorative posters. This years posters features one of Galways old boatman, Pat Jennings, who is now 90 years old and still involved in

keeping the boating tradition alive.

An exhibition of photography fea- turing the last three decades of the Crinniu also takes place at the Gal- way museum throughout the festi- val.

The first Crinnid na mBad took place in 1979 and has been growing steadily ever since. The original con- cept for the festival came from local man Tony Moylan, who organised the Crinniu as a means of maintain- ing Kinvara’s connection with it’s baiting heritage.

This years festival is once again sponsored by Irish owned company Cityjet. For more check out www. kinvara.com/cnb.

CLARE volleyball team CbPhoto.ie will feature in RTE2’s coverage of the Coca Cola Beach Volleyball Fes- tival on Monday, August 6.

CbPhoto.ie won the tournament which was played earlier this sum- mer in Bray.

This was the biggest beach tour- nament held in Ireland to date and is proving to be very important, at- tracting international players from the USA and Australia.

Daniel Apanowicz and Slawek Wrzesniak represented CbPhoto.ie volleyball club in the mens tourna- ment, while Lina Klim took part in the womens tournament.

The mens pair are currently ranked in the top three in the beach circuit

with Lina is actually the leading wo- mens player in the country.

These players are concentrating on the beach circuit at present until the indoor competition restarts in Octo- ber. It is a fantastic result for the club to win this prestigious tournament in Bray which has now become a ma- jor attraction and part of the Annual Bray Festival.

OB Sport (RTE2) on Bank Holiday Monday at 8.30pm will show the lo- cal side 1n action as well as some in- ternational players in this fast grow- ing sport of volleyball.

CbPhoto.ie volleyball club is also welcoming new players at all levels for indoor volleyball or beach volley- ball at present and for information check out cbphoto.ie/volleyball or send a text to 085 7681838.

PLANS have been lodged with Clare County Council to develop a centre for the Irish World Academy of Mu- sic and Dance.

The academy — which is part of the University of Limerick (UL) campus — is to form part of the campus that now is located near SOE Teen mm rele northern shores of the Shannon in south-east OE

The accom- modation is to include two performance theatres, music practice rooms, computer and research suites,

Me supported

by studio class-

rooms, academic and administration offices.

The academy, formerly known as the Irish World Music Centre, offers a suite of taught MA courses and a BA and graduate diploma in music and dance related subject areas.

The academy has an international reputation and a report on the acade-

my concluded, “The visionary nature of the centre reinforces the vital con- tribution that song, music and dance make to communities locally as well as internationally.”

The move to construct the academy further increased UL’s foothold on the Clare side of the River Shannon.

Five years ago, the college se- cured planning permission for the first phase of its ambitious plans in Clare when it received the go-ahead for a student village for 500 students.

The develop- ment also includ- ed the provision of a bridge across the River Shan- Wteyee

Also included in the masterplan

for the 100-acre site was a health and science building and three research institutes.

A decision is expected on the latest planning application later this year.

THE streets of Ennistymon and DFNev tele oMmsU0 Mm olommbecDencycoywee lore mBnelKOmre| movie set next month as shooting be- gins on a new project by acclaimed local filmmaker, Fergus Tigue.

The film, which is entitled Sea- side Stories, combines the skills of a number of professionals based in Clare and Dublin with a group of young and talented local actors.

Seaside Stories is set in a coastal Irish town and tells the entwined sto- ries of a number of the local inhabit- ants.

Many of the younger actors became involved in the film after taking part in a series of open workshop hosted by Fergus earlier this year.

Written by Fergus, the story has evolved through these workshops as well as through improvised rehears- als held with the actors and could now develop into a three film series.

“The improvisation and the work- shops is beginning to feed the writ- ing that I am doing. The ideas are really coming from the people I am working with. As soon as you start delving into things, people start tell- ing you stories,” he said.

“T would like to evolve some sort of an operation out of this where-by we continue to run the workshops right the way through the winter. It’s not just about making film, it’s about hu- man development. You give the kids skills that will help them in life and you give them a sort of self aware-

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Talented youngsters Aileen Mur- phy, Maura Garrihy, Evan Philips, Caolainn O’Dwyer and Fionn Burke will join local professionals Gerry Howard, Michael Canavan and Ber- nard Dowd alongside a number of Dublin based actors in the produc- nee

Fergus is based at the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon where he shares studio space with a number of other artists. One of these artists, Sara Faust, is producing Seaside Sto- ries.

“[’m going a lot of work on the practical side of the production, keeping an eye of things for the crea- tive team,” she said.

‘Fergus has a system in place where

everyone in the team gets to contrib- ute to the creative process. So I have my input on how things seem to me script-wise or in those sorts of areas. And I’m sure I’ll be having my two cents worth here and there.”

Shooting for Seaside Stories will take place in a number of locations around Lahinch, Liscannor and En- nistymon from August 12 to August WF

A MAN who purchased a site in Cratloe more than 30 years ago only to discover some years later it had been sold a second time to a former member of Clare County Council has been awarded €80,000 in dam- ages as well as his costs.

Michael Costelloe, originally from County Kerry, initiated legal pro- ceedings against two defendants in the case — the executors of the estate of the late Mr Thomas Flan- nery of Brickhill East, Cratloe, from who he originally bought the site, and former Clare county councillor, Joe O’Gorman. The case was heard on Thursday at Ennis Circuit Civil

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Mr Costelloe was working in Shan- non in 1973 when he purchased the half-acre site from Thomas Flannery, at a cost of £1,500.

Mr Costelloe had sought planning permission to build on the site. How- ever, Clare County Council rejected his application. Mr Costelloe was granted permission on appeal, but he later moved to County Kerry to work and didn’t get to build his new home.

While living in Glin in County Limerick, Mr Costelloe made regu- lar trips to Cratloe to visit the site. During this time, solicitors for Mr Costelloe had attempted to register the property with the Land Registry.

The site was never registered offi- cially and remained in the name of Mr Flannery.

One of the solicitors who acted for Mr Costelloe in the 1980s was Joseph Mangan who was later made a judge of the District Court.

Mr Mangan handed Mr Costelloe’s file over to another solicitor when he gave up his practice to take up his position in the District Court. While listed as a witness, Judge Mangan was not called to give evidence.

It was during a site visit in 1997 that Mr Costelloe discovered that a house was being constructed on the site he had purchased. He immediately con- tacted his solicitor.

It emerged that in 1989 the same

plot of land was sold along with 8 more acres to Joe O’Gorman who at the time was a member of Clare County Council, for £10,000.

The court heard that the transac- tion was dealt with in a “one stop aCe) oMmmont-vevelss mm-ViCO MnO er-lM\y bum mItTebeomy did not engage his own solicitor to oversee the deal. Mr O’Gorman took Mr Flannery (then 79 years old) to the councillor’s solicitor in Scariff where the deal was completed during the short visit. Judge Harvey Kenny described the transaction as “very ir- Korea bd eB ae

He said that there was no evidence the Mr O’Gorman was aware that part of the land had been sold pre- viously to Mr Costelloe. But if Mr

O’Gorman had investigated the his- tory of the site he would have seen that Mr Costelloe had sought per- mission to build there. The judge also said that despite denying so, Mr O’Gorman must have seen marking posts placed on the land by Mr Cos- telloe’s engineers.

While Mr O’Gorman claimed he purchased the land for agricultural use, he later sold seven sites on the property and gave two acres to his son. The court heard that the site Mr Costelloe purchased for £1,500 would be worth €250,000 today.

Judge Kenny awarded damages of €80,000 to Mr Costelloe and ordered that the plaintiff’s costs to be covered by both defendants in the case.

A REVIVAL in the property market to safeguard the jobs of thousands of Clare construction workers after the annual “builders holiday” looks unlikely this week following spec- tacular losses on the Irish stock ex- oh atebetexen

In the last seven days, €8 billion has been wiped off the ISEQ index of Irish shares, with companies en- gaged in the housing market, such as banks and major contractors, the worst hit.

McInerney Construction, which was founded in Clare more that 100

years ago, has lost more than 20 per cent of its share value in the last seven weeks while Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland have lost 19 per cent and 14 per cent respectively in the same period.

Last Thursday, 24 hours before the start of the annual builders’ holiday, was the worst single-day loss in the Irish stock market since America in- vaded Irag in March of 2003.

“Obviously, it would be a concern. The people in the industry such as the banks and the big construction firms have been hit the hardest,’ said a Limerick-based stockbroker. ‘There is a lot happening on a global

scale that is having an effect but the housing market is having an impact.

‘People have been selling out their interests because they think the Celt- ic Tiger is finished. There is a lot of nervousness out there.”

Industry insiders have predicted 35,000 job losses in the construction industry this year, with as many as 3,000 in Clare alone.

“I know that people are being laid off right across the sector. We will have no idea exactly how many have been let go until the end of the build- ers’ holiday on Monday, August 13,” said Paddy Kenneally, President of the Clare Plasterers Union.

‘When they are let go, builders will try and get work from other compa- nies but everyone is in the same boat. It’s inevitable that a lot of jobs will be lost.

“All you have to do is look at the towns around the county. There was building going on everywhere this time last year but now there is noth- ing.

“Builders are not due any redun- dancy unless they have been with a company for seven or eight years. It’s the nature of the business that work- ers move around all the time so most will only be getting two weeks of holiday pay.”