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MORE than one third of all road traf- fic cases which went to the district court in Clare last year were struck OMB Lm eRMoN Eee

4.896 cases went to court and 1,646 of those were struck out, according to figures published by the Courts Serv- ice on Friday.

Fines were imposed in 1,365 of the motoring offences, with jail or deten- tion sentences imposed in 69 cases. The Probation Act was applied in 137

of the cases. The total number of 4,896 cases represented 2,653 defendants.

A similar number of cases went to court the previous year, 2005 — 4685 — 1419 of which were struck out.

The figures show that 150 drugs cases went to the district court, which involved 123 defendants.

Twelve people were jailed, 26 were fined, while 32 people had their drugs cases struck out. The Probation Act was applied in the case of 27 defend- ants.

A total of 265 larceny cases (a drop

from 302 in 2005) went to court, which represented 168 people. 51 cases re- sulted in jail or detention sentences be- ing imposed. 92 cases were taken into consideration (with other charges), while fines were imposed in 28 cases. The Probation Act was applied in 31 cases, while 29 were struck out. Seven cases involving sexual offenc- es were heard in the district court, dur- ing 2006. One defendant was jailed or had detention imposed. Three were fined, two were struck out, while the other case was taken into considera-

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751 cases relating to assault or public order were heard in the district court last year. These involved 592 defend- evel AE

92 cases resulted in jail or detention sentences being imposed, while fines were imposed in 126 cases. The Pro- bation Act was applied in 79 cases, while 191 were struck out. Communi- ty service was handed out in 11 cases.

The Courts Service figures show that the average waiting time for criminal and civil trials in the Circuit Court in

ERE Meee som Oo Aol IMU elRoromr: Tale! six months. The waiting time for ap- peals was three months.

The waiting time for divorce cases in the family law court was three months, while those seeking judicial separation had an average wait of six months.

The average waiting times for crim1- nal cases in the district court in Ennis was one month, with no delay for civil cases. Family law cases in the dis- trict court had a waiting time of one month.

PHILIP O’Reilly, Property Plus has taken on a 2,300 sq. ft. family home, located at Claremount, Clarecastle, guiding at €600,000.Approximately 1.5 km from Clarecastle village and just two km from the Ennis bypass link, this property, which occupies a 0.6 acre site, would make a perfect family home.

The internal accommodation com- prises a very spacious entrance hall- way, with understairs storage and direct access to the family room, reception and kitchen/dining rooms. The reception room has solid yellow birch, polished wooden flooring a bay window overlooking the landscaped

front garden and a large picture win- dow overlooking the rear gardens, there are also sliding double patio doors on the gable end overlooking surrounding countryside.

The kitchen/dining room has ce- ramic flooring, solid white oak wall, base and display fitted units with laminate work surfaces and ceramic tiled splash backs. There’s an inte- erated fridge/freezer and dishwash- er, electric double oven and ceramic hob. There is access from the kitchen to the family room, the utility and the attached garage. Meanwhile the dining room has double sliding patio doors leading to a large flagged patio area and the rear garden.

The formal dining room has solid

wooden flooring, ceiling coving, a corner feature fireplace with gran- ite base and wooden surround a bay window overlooking the front gar- den. Also on the ground floor is a well fitted utility room, a guest WC, and a garage (which could have al- ternative use as a home office or play room).

Upstairs, there are four large bed- rooms and the family bathroom. The master bedroom is en suite and all four bedrooms have fitted ward- robes.

Outside, there’s a large patio area to the rear, with countryside views.

For full details contact 065 6844448.

THE developers of a €30 million re- tail park for Shannon have appealed Clare County Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for the proposal to An Bord Pleanala.

Last month, the council refused planning permission to Greenbrand Investments and Sean Halpin after it ruled that the plan would be pre- mature pending the preparation of a masterplan for the area.

The mixed-use retail park develop- ment consists of a DIY anchor store, garden centre, three retail warehous- es, 10 retail units, eight office units and one department store.

A decision was due on the applica- tion in June of last year. However, the developers have requested a year- long extension for the council to fur- ther consider the proposal.

The developers deferred a decision on the application after a planner’s report into the scheme recommended that planning permission be refused on two grounds.

On this occasion, the developers accepted the council’s ruling and

are now seeking that the planning appeals board make a ruling on the scheme.

In the appeal, consultants for the developers state that “this proposal will provide a retail service for the people of Shannon and will also fill an identified retail need, currently not available in town’.

It continues, “It is anticipated that the proposal will create a significant number of jobs at both construction and operational level, representing a significant boost to the local econo- ve ae ‘Furthermore, the proposed devel- opment was subject to a number of discussions with the council over the last two to three years.

“At the advice of the council, the applicants deferred lodging the ap- plication on a number of occasions to facilitate amendments to the de- velopment plan and the preparation of a masterplan for the area.

“The masterplan adoption was not however progressed in the timescale advised.”

A decision is due on the appeal early next year.

THE development of a multi-pur- pose arts centre should form the focal point of the redevelopment of Shannon Town Centre, according to the local musical society.

A team of architects has been ap- pointed and been requested to create a new ‘urban retail environment’ and a ‘living centre’, on a site across the road from SkyCourt.

Submissions from various groups in the town have been sought and many have been made, to the local authority.

In its submission, Shannon Musical Society said a multipurpose arts/civ- ic centre is needed, where opportuni- ties for cultural, social and commer-

cial events would be developed.

The society’s chairman, Derek Barrett, pointed out that the town is perceived as three things, “an inter- national airport, an industrial zone and a shopping mall”.

“Most people do not realise that there is a town and a community hidden within this triangle. We need to create a space and a centre that is both active and animated, not just during the 9am to 5.30pm shift. Shannon has all the traits of a sub- urb and few of a real town. That 1s our problem in a nutshell,’ said Mr By be KoA

“The town has a community spirit and that spirit has managed to sur- vive as community facilities and amenities have decayed over the

town’s short history,” he said.

He said that a streetscape, as 1s sug- gested in the plans, is necessary, to tie the existing shopping centre to the new town centre.

“It is very clear that we do not need another shopping centre.

“We need a link to the current shopping centre, with possible small scale retail, service and other com- mercial opportunities within that space,” he said.

The society points to a number of key components of the development – a focal point or monument for the town, such as a town clock; a rec- reational area, like a picnic area or skatepark.

“Do not let a commercial developer decide what our town becomes. This

has been our problem the last two times we had spurts of development in Shannon. Tax incentives have not helped the objectiveness of develop- SIS OComnsy- BCG

“In Shannon, community halls and similar centres have been allowed to decay and dilute to such a level that they have become useless. School halls, sports clubs, hotel function rooms and pubs have all been called upon to fill the gaps,” said Mr Bar- rett.

The musical society is suggesting that an arts centre would need to accommodate up to 400 people and would feature an orchestras pit, base- ment, foyer and venue, which would be “multi-functional” and could be TIMUR OM Aer AYA

CRUEL pet owners took dumping to a new extreme when they flung a Iit- ter of kittens into a recycling bin.

The tiny creatures were only saved from their fate when their desperate cries were heard by a pub manager who went to investigate and found them dumped among the cardboard boxes.

Tailrace Bar manager John Ryan said the dumping of the helpless kit- tens was “the last straw” in the Par- teen pub owner’s decision to install concealed CCTV cameras to catch people dumping every kind of rub- bish at the recycling bins in the car- park.

“It was pouring rain and they were soaked through. I’d say they were about four weeks old. If they had been left there, they would have cer- tainly been killed by dogs or foxes or, if they had escaped that, they would have died of cold or starved. I can’t understand how someone could do that, just dump live animals and walk away.”

Animal welfare concerns have con- firmed that if the person or people who dumped the kittens is found, they will be facing prosecution for cruelty to animals as well as a litter- ing fine.

John and his staff at the pub adopt- ed the three tiny kittens and fed them baby formula until they had fully recovered from their ordeal before finding kind homes for them.

“We christened them all ‘Lucky’ because that’s what they were,” said John.

‘When they recovered, they took to following us around, bawling up at us for food. It was a heartless thing to do to dump them.”

The serious issue of dumping has plagued John and pub-owner, Ger Mulconry.

“People dump bags of household rubbish that have nothing to do with recycling or they bring their bottles but throw down the boxes and bags the bottles came in. We’re constantly filling our own bins that we have to pay to have collected with the rub- bish people dump there.”

As well as household rubbish, bags, boxes and now live kittens, John has also had to pick up dead dogs.

But footage from the hidden TV cameras — which can cover the whole car park — could be used to prosecute dumpers who don’t respect the facility.

“It’s what has to happen — that or the whole thing will have to go be- cause we’re picking up after people every day,” said John.

THE construction of an artificial reef on the Clare coastline could gener- ate knock on benefits for the county’s tourism industry, a meeting of Clare County Council heard last night.

Putting forward the motion coun- cillor Brian Meaney (GP) said any such project would help establish Lahinch as a destination for water sports and provide for considerable coastal protection.

He also stated that the reef would

help generate consistently bigger waves making Lahinch a mecca for Sele ace

The reef is made up of huge sau- sage-like bags of sand placed in around six metres of water around 250 metres from the coast with the waves peeling off from either side of the triangular shape.

The reef can be custom built to provide waves of varying shapes and SIZES.

Cllr Meaney said a similar project was already underway in Bourne-

mouth on the south east coast of England.

Bournemouth Council are planning to begin construction of an artificial reef in early Autumn 2007, the only such reef in Europe.

Original estimates put the cost of the project at £500,000 but experts say that the reef could be built for less than that amount.

Cllr Martin Lafferty (Ind) wel- comed the motion but asked that the issue be first discussed by local councillors at the north Clare area

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Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) also requested that the motion be put before coun- cillors living in the area.

“There should be a facility where issues like this can be brought to the area meetings. I would suggest that the motion be forwarded to the next north Clare area meeting.”

Mayor of Clare Patricia McCarthy (Ind) advised that the issue go back to a local committee meeting before being fully debated at county council aoe

THE BATTLE of the bands brought tunes and toe-tapping to Tulla at the weekend. Members of the Tulla Pipe Band played host to the Munster Pipe Band Championships.

The event follows on their hosting of the championships last year, to mark their 70th birthday.

The musical gathering saw more than fifteen bands, including almost two hundred musicians, helpers and supporters flock to the town on Sun- day.

Between lpm and 5pm, the bands

played their hearts out for the honour of being the best in Munster.

For the finale, all of the musicians joined in a musical parade through the village and the grounds of the national school were busy with per- formers and locals who came along to enjoy the music and support the competitors.

There were four grades of competi- tion, with the Tulla band competing with the best of them.

Michael O’ Rourke of the Tulla Pipe Band said they were “delighted and honoured” to be hosting the impor- tant competition for the second year

running.

“Even the weather was kind to us on the day – we had a fine afternoon and everyone enjoyed it,” he said.

While hosting of the Munster Championship is up for grabs next year, the Tulla organisation is hoping to have some input into the organi- sation of the All-Ireland Champion- ships, which will be held in Ennis next year in July.

The event will see up to 100 bands from all over the country come to town to play and compete.

‘Ennis will never have see the likes of it. It’s a massive event and a real

boost for Clare,’ Michael said.

Pat Danagher of the Tulla Pipe Band was named the Munster Cham- pion Bass Drummer. The Tulla Pipe Band finished runners up to Youghal with Togher coming in third. Limer- ick City Pipe Band were the overall competition winners with another Limerick band, Corpus Christi also among the prize winners.

A KINVARA musician is preparing to turn the world of traditional Irish music on it’s head with the produc- tion of the world’s first ever trad-mu- sical.

The Year of the German is an ex- citing and ambitious new production from Gerry Kennedy, who last year produced the Road to Clare with Druid Theatre. Indeed, the Year of the German takes it’s inspiration from his 2006 production, which became one of the highlights of the Galway Sessions 2006 programme.

“It is set in the 1970’s when trad

music began to become popular with the Europeans and especially the Germans. This happened because German traditional music itself had been used by the Nazis and they wanted to find something else,” said Gerry Conneely.

“You began to see young German men and women hanging around Doolin with tin whistles in their back pockets, around McGann’s and Gus- sie O’Connors. These European also made their way up as far as Kinvara and that is what the story is about.”

The Road to Clare is set in Kinvara and tells the story of the impact these European visitors had on the local

community and musicians. The Year of the German is a continuation of this story, set in the imaginary town of Ardbo and put to music.

The Year of the German is cur- rently preparing for it debut in Aras Inis Gluaire in Belmullet but plans are already underway to take it on the road.

“It is very much a work in progress. I mean, this production is being done with transition year actors and mu- sicians and is very much something that I am playing with at the moment, seeing how it can be developed,” con- HOM OCoNaA

“It has been going well and the con-

cepts seems to be catching on. So it is something that I will be looking to get professional actors involved in and develop more in the near future.” The musical tells the story of Johnny Keogh, who seized the reins of the well-known Keogh’s Bar in Main from his alcoholic father. He pro- ceeds to run it into the ground and alienates most of his customers, 1n- cludes local musician Patsy McMa- hon. In a weird twist of fate, Patsy is ‘discovered’ and becomes a radio sensation in Germany. Patsy’s fame draws thousands to the town and Johnny has to befriend Patsy again in order to save his own business.

Knife attacker granted bail

FUN – hopefully in the sun – is on the agenda for Feakle people this weekend with the second summer Family Fun Day all organised, de- spite the weather.

The day is designed to have people come out and enjoy spending time as a family and with neighbours.

Whether you think your forte is welly-throwing or tug-of-war, there’s bound to be something eve- ryone excels at. Or at worst enjoy the

hilarity of being soundly trounced by a more Serious welly-slinger. Among the fun competitions being staged from 2pm at the hurling field are the bungee run, sheaf throwing, sponge throwing, the aforemen- tioned tug-of-war and welly throw- ing, a limbo competition, an assault course a penalty shoot and a clothes hanging competition, of all things. ‘The men are welcome to try their hand at this if they are confident in their abilities – this is an equal op- portunities event,’ a spokeswoman

for the organisers said.

The day is the brainchild of the pastoral group and the youth group and is the second after a very suc- cessful debut last year.

Also on the day, there will be a prize for fancy dress and everyone is welcome to try their hand by coming dressed up.

There will also be a Feakle ver- sion of “odd one out” as well as a mini-treasure hunt.

To slake the thirst of all that sheaf, welly and sponge throwing, there

will be tea and coffee and a shop on site.

There will be a canopied area and a sheltered toddlers play area as well.

“What we are saying to people is to come out, bring a picnic and spend the day. There’ll be music and great fun and it’s a chance for people just to relax, enjoy the day and have fun. Hopefully, we’ll get a couple of dry days this week for the pitch to dry out,’ the spokeswoman said.