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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.

THE Government’s economic and tourism plan for Shannon Airport in- cludes a series of wide ranging pro- posals for the development of infra- structure, tourism product, tourism promotion and institutional reform.

Junior Minister, Pat “The Cope’ Gallagher, told the Dail that the plan will be considered by the Govern- ment in the coming weeks and sub- ject to approval, will be published as soon as possible.

“The report and its recommenda- tions have been examined by the relevant departments in the prepa-

ration of the proposed tourism and economic development plan for the Shannon catchment area,’ he said.

Minister Gallagher added that there was “considerable overlap between the proposals and existing initiatives that are underway or planned”.

The minister also welcomed the input to this process by the liaison eroup established by the mid-west Regional Authority which also in- cludes Clare County Council, Shan- non Development, the Shannon Air- port Authority, SIGNAL and IBEC.

In his contribution, Limerick East TD Kieran O’Donnell said: “Open Skies is effectively now in place for

Shannon. A transitional period was Supposed to operate from October 2006 to April 2008 but flights can be stacked and averaged over the pe- riod, three for one.”

He added that airlines are using Open Skies for Shannon Airport has “grave implications”.

“Three airlines are about to pull out from Shannon Airport. American Airlines, which flies year round to Chicago, will be gone from October. Air Canada, which flies year round to Toronto, will cease operations on August 10. Delta, which flies to At- lanta…will be gone from this win- oa

He added that this is a serious is- sue for the “six new hotels in Limer- ick, one of which 1s down 2,000 bed nights for 2008 because of uncer- tainty around future flights”.

He asked the minister of state to confirm that “CIE International Tours is redirecting all of its US business to Dublin because of that same uncer- tainty with disastrous consequences for the region in 2008 and 2009”.

“The Government has neglected the mid-west region to date. I want to know when the plan will be imple- mented, how much will be spent and who will implement it,” he said.

THE allocation of almost €2 mil- lion for a voluntary housing project in Shannon should further reduce housing waiting lists in the town, according to the mayor.

Last week, funding of €1.85 mil- lion was allocated by the Govern- ment for a ten-unit voluntary hous- ing project at Tullyvarraga Hill.

It comes in the wake of Clare County Council announcing details of a new 60-house development at Cluain Airne last month.

That project will consist of 45 three-bed houses and 15 two-bed dwellings. This project is subject to local approval.

With 165 people waiting for social

housing in Shannon, the council be- lieves the project is critically impor- tant. However, local residents have reservations that the number of 60 is too high, in the area.

The Tullyvarraga scheme is under the auspices of Respond, an organi- sation which rents out the accom- modation to those who are waiting to buy houses.

The project is geared towards those who are attempting to purchase pri- vate houses or who have a desire to buy under the affordable scheme.

The mayor of Shannon, Council- lor Sean McLoughlin (FG) believes there is a need to address the hous- ing waiting lists in Shannon. How- ever he stressed the importance of ensuring green areas are maintained

throughout the town.

‘There is a huge need for housing in Shannon. The existing Respond scheme, at Rineanna View, has been a huge success and there are good community facilities there too. The people there are very happy,” said Cllr McLoughlin.

‘“Hopetully the development at Tul- lyvarraga will start shortly and fin- ished within 12 months,” he added.

Along with these projects, a six- unit scheme, for the aged and elderly, is to come on stream in Ballycasey, while a major private housing devel- opment in the Cronan area – of more than 500 units – will also address the need of potential house buyers.

The mayor believes every effort must be made to tackle the waiting

lists.

“It will just take some time. If the development in Cluain Airne goes ahead, it will take people off the list, within the next year or two,” he Sr HTOR

‘There is a huge amount of people who couldn’t get a house in Shannon, because there were none available. They will be able to move back into the town now, with the new develop- ments coming on street,” he said.

‘There is still a need to keep green space in Shannon. We don’t want overcrowding and we should try to balance everything. I would also like to see amenities going into these developments as well,’ added the mayor.

THE early impact of the phased in- troduction of the Open Skies avia- tion deal is being felt at Shannon Airport where transatlantic traffic has dropped by 5 per cent to date this year.

In figures for the first six months of 2007 released yesterday, the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) confirmed that transatlantic traffic had dropped 5 per cent to 325,000.

This follows American Airlines withdrawing its dedicated Boston Tos mats een

Airport Director, Martin Moroney said: “We are pleased that Aer Lin-

gus, Continental Airlines, Delta A1r- lines and US Airways have commit- ted to Shannon for next winter and summer.”

However, the overall figures for Shannon remains very positive with the six month traffic report showing an increase of 9 per cent in interna- tional terminal traffic.

A record 1.4 million people trav- elled to and from international desti- nations since January | this year.

A statement from the SAA states: ‘Record traffic figures were recorded for the month of June also. Interna- tional terminal traffic numbers rose by 12 per cent when compared to the same time period last year.”

Mr Moroney said, “Our key focus in the coming months will be to en- sure that with significant reductions in our cost structure Shannon will become a viable, self sustaining busi- ness, with capacity and efficiency to grow its airline network in the inter- ests of the region.

We will continue to compete ag- gressively with all the other airports and consolidate our position as Ire- land’s second largest airport.”

Mr Moroney added, “We are pleased with the strong perform- ance of our traffic to date and the outlook for the remainder of the year looks positive. Passenger throughput for the month of June alone is well

ahead of expectation with short haul and transatlantic services increasing by I5 per cent and 4 per cent respec- tively.

The statement continued: “In the six-month period to the end of June the short haul European and UK scheduled network has grown by 16 per cent to over | million passen- ae

“This strong growth is mainly at- tributed to the development of new routes by Ryanair and ongoing de- velopments by Aer Lingus and Cen- Wee DAY eNO nSace

“On charters, over 100,000 passen- gers traveled from Shannon to sun CLA a a reLu (eye hone

A 61-YEAR-OLD man has admitted producing a hatchet in the course of a row in which his son was involved.

James Keane, a father-of-six, of Hermitage, Ennis pleaded guilty to the charge, arising out of an incident at Woodquay, Parnell Street, Ennis, on July 11, 2005.

Keane had denied assaulting David Halligan, causing him harm, on the same night.

He was found not guilty by a jury on that charge at the end of a day-

long trial last Wednesday.

Garda Eric Stafford told Ennis Cir- cuit Court that Keane was standing near the River Walk in Ennis with a hatchet while his son and another man were fighting.

He said that Keane was carrying a handbag which contained a vice grips.

Defence Counsel Lorcan Connolly said his client maintained graves in Ennis, “off his own bat”’.

“Td ask you to consider community service,’ said Mr Connolly.

Judge Sean O Donnabhain said he

accepted the accused had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty.

‘“That’s impressive. He is not likely to re-offend. In the circumstances, he got carried away,” said the judge.

“It’s a one-off, but he did have and hold a hatchet,’ he added and im- posed a fine of €500.

During the trial into the alleged assault, the court was told that Mr Halligan (25) and his girlfriend had stopped to have a cigarette, on their way home from town.

They were approached and Mr Hal- ligan was assaulted. It was alleged by

the State that Mr Halligan was hit on the nose with an implement, which was being carried by the accused.

Mr Halligan told the trial that he “sot a belt of something. I didn’t know what it was at the time”’.

Mr Connolly said his client admit- ted he was present and admitted he SPT Or Dw MAD Otcar- bomb este) (se slo tlm

‘At no stage did he assault you. Any of the blows you got were from An- thony or James Keane Junior,’ said Mr Connolly.

Garda Albert Hardiman said he observed Anthony Keane taking an

implement from his father, the ac- cused, and threw it over his shoulder into the river.

The accused told the trial if he hit a person in the face with a hatchet, “his face wouldn’t be there no more”.

Counsel for the State, Stephen Coughlan put it to the accused that Mr Halligan was quite sure he was struck by a hatchet. The accused replied, “Not by me. . . I didn’t get involved.”

After deliberating for a short peri- od, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on the assault charge.

FAMILIES living in Ivy Hill have described how reckless drivers are causing havoc on roads around the estate.

Resident’s representatives told the July meeting of Ennis Town Council they fear a serious accident is just a matter of time.

Dangerous driving and the width of the roads in the estate were indenti- fied as the main reasons for the high levels of speeding occuring in the estate.

One mother spoke of the worry she felt every time she heard a screech of brakes on the road.

‘You wake up to hear brakes screeching. We are afraid something is going to happen. We don’t want to have to wait for a serious accident to happen before anything is done”’.

The group called on the council to install traffic calming measures to combat the problem. They claimed speed ramps and or traffic islands are the only effective methods to stop speeding drivers.

One resident, Jenny, explained that drivers treat the area like a main road. “There is a very long corner and very long stretch and drivers are coming in here and treating it as a main road. We’re here to say that it is only a small percentage of drivers

that drive badly but there are a lot of young children playing on the road and something needs to be done”.

She added “There are signs up there to say children are playing, but they aren’t making any difference. Coming home from school can be an absolute nightmare with the amount of cars”.

Another resident Kay, described how she had observed a speeding car hit a lampost and spin into a green area before driving away.

She said “There is serious potential there for something to happen up near the hill. People say that speed bumbs cause damage to cars but if you are a serious driver you will drive sensibly

and look after your car”’.

Green party councillor Donal O’Bearra said the problem was widespread in many residential areas around the town.

“It’s a problem that’s going to hap- pen more frequently in many areas in the town especially when you have a lot of people who are driving on the other side of the road. When speed comes into then, it creates a far more dangerous problem”.

Mayor of Ennis, Tommy Brennan told the delegation from Ivy Hill that the council would examine the issue more closely once they had been briefed by Town Engineer Tom Tiernan.

THE importance of keeping water- ways clear was stressed by a judge when he fined a publican who plead- ed guilty to discharging effluent into waters.

The proprietor of O’Connor’s pub in Doolin, Patrick Sexton, pleaded guilty to one charge arising out of an inspection by Clare County Council on August 11, 2005.

Karen Hayes, from Clare County Council’s Environmental Depart- ment, said she visited O’Connor’s pub as part of routine monitoring.

She told Ennis Circuit Court that she took an effluent sample and analysed it. The results showed that BOD, a measure of the oxygen used by microorganisms to decompose, was six times over the licensed limit, while the level of suspended sol- ids exceeded the legal limit by four

Wb Seley

Counsel for the accused said there was no “deliberate breach on my cli- ent’s behalf.”

Ms Hayes accepted this, saying, ‘He didn’t physically put the effluent in there.”

The court was told that the accused had three previous convictions un- der the same legislation, in 2001, 2003 and 2004.

Ms Hayes said that the prosecution

was mounted in the District Court, where jurisdiction had been declined and costs amounting to more than €2,500 had arisen.

“It is my opinion it could have been dealt with in the District Court,’ said Ms Hayes.

She said that since the proceedings were initiated, Mr Sexton had put in a lot of work to rectify the situation and was now meeting the require- ments.

His counsel said, “Since the date of this offence there have been no fur- ther difficulties.”

Judge Sean O Donnabhain pointed out that this was a fourth conviction.

‘Publicans are like everybody else. Reality sometimes only dawns when it gets caustic. We are all increasing- ly conscious of how important it is to keep waterways clear,” he said while imposing a fine of €2,500. He also ordered that accused pay costs.

TWO local heroes who have raised thousands for cancer have been nominated for the People of the Year awards

Ballyea man Tony Griffin was nominated alongside Clare 250 Mile Cycle founder John Dunne as one of Ennis Town Council’s nominees for We Comre Nise 8K 6 he

The 2006 hurling all-star last week completed an epic and often arduous 7000km cycle across Canada.

Griffin completed the Irish leg of his journey when he cycled first from Dublin to Athlone and then back to Ennis last Sunday.

Thousands lined O’Connell Street in Ennis town centre on the day to welcome Griffin home.

Through his endeavours with the Tony Griffin foundation, the 26- year-old hopes to raise one million for the Irish Cancer Society, Ovarian Cancer Canada and the Lance Arm- strong Foundation.

He reflected last week on the amaz- ing level of support he had received from the general public.

“The people were absolutely bril- liant. The response we got from strangers was amazing. It was just very heart warming to have com- plete strangers coming up to you, it would leave you with a new outlook on life”.

Griffin’s fellow nominee for the People of the Year is another cyclist.

John Dunne founded the Clare 250 Mile Cycle in 1979 and it has since grown into one of the largest charity event is in the country. The two-day event which takes place in June regu-

larly attracts over 100 participants. Money raised from the event goes towards helping cancer sufferers and the area of cancer research. In recent years some of the funding has been

allocated towards the construction of a dedicated Clare 250 cancer centre in Ballygriffey Ruan.

Both Griffin and Dunne were put forward for the award at the July monthly meeting of Ennis Town Council.

Independent councillor Frankie Neylon said both men deserved rec- ognition for their immense fundrais- ing efforts.

“IT recommend we put forward Tony Griffin and John Dunne. They have done tremendous work and fundrais- ing and I think they would be worthy recipients’.

The People of the Year awards provide an unique opportunity for the Irish public on both sides of the border to honour outstanding con- tributions by individuals to life on the island. This includes those peo- ple that have raised money for vital services for people with disabilities, older people, carers and other mar- ginalized groups.

Awards are given in many diverse categories to a mixture of high pro- file figures and the unsung heroes of local communities.

This year’s awards will be held on September 8 in the City West Hotel, Dublin and will be televised live on 0 SaF

A KILRUSH man who was found by a judge to have told lies during his trial has been handed a suspended jail term after paying compensation and apologising.

Martin Walsh (49) of Island View, Kilrush, had denied causing almost €4,000 damage to two cars at 22 O’Gorman Street, Kilrush on No- vember 28 2005.

However, he was found guilty by a jury at Ennis Circuit Court last Friday week. The trial judge, Judge Sean O Donnabhain, said the ac- cused had “fabricated a tissue of lies” and he remanded him in custody for a week.

When he reappeared in court last week Walsh apologised for telling Wty

Judge O Donnabhain pointed out, “An offence of criminal damage of

this type wouldn’t merit a custodial sentence. Compensation would be number one to consider, with maybe some sort of binding to the peace or a suspended sentence.”

The judge said to defence barrister Lorcan Connolly: “You are entitled to fight the case. Your man went two steps further. He lied about his whereabouts that night and made up lies about the injured parties.

‘For those two aggravating factors,

I have remanded him in custody for the week,’ added the judge.

Mr Connolly said that his client had paid almost €4,000 compensa- tion to gardai.

‘He did not enjoy the week in pris- on. He now realises he was responsi- ble for the damage and his behaviour was unacceptable and he wishes to proffer his apology to the two wom- en,” said Mr Connolly.

The judge replied, “He didn’t spare

them when he was in the witness box.”

Martin Walsh subsequently ad- dressed the court and apologised for CURD OreMpOONRIOMbUROtcE

“I’m very sorry for misleading the court, telling lies,” he said.

The judge imposed an 18-month jail term, and suspended the balance of the sentence, on condition that he keep the peace for that length of anealee

A GROUP of young people from Ballynacally are making a conscious effort to make new friends in the area and share some interests.

Paddy, Brian and Connie are just three of the people from the area that use the services of the Brother’s of Charity by day and are now hoping to link up with people with similar interests in the evening and at week- ends to explore their hobbies, have a chat or go out for the evening.

“Connecting People” is a_ pilot scheme that will run in Ballynacally by the users of the service and their families, while being supported by the Brothers of Charity.

It does not require anyone to com- mit time to the project, but just to remember these young people when

they are going for a run or to a show and perhaps ask them along.

‘This 1s so that these young people don’t have to go places to do things,” said Brothers of Charity worker, Kevin Delaney.

It is hoped instead that these young active people can get involved with their own community.

Connie is a keen swimmer and loves working on computers. Among her other interests are singing, danc- ing and bowling and the stylish young woman has also strutted her stuff on the catwalks at local fashion shows.

Brian is a runner, anxious to get back into training. A farmer, who loves working in the bog, he also loves bowling, swimming and going out to eat.

Paddy is the DJ in the group and

loves country and western music. He also plays soccer, goes bowling and enjoys go carting.

Like most people their age they en- joy a night out and a bit of craic, a chat and a cup of coffee.

The families who will be support- ing this project said that they are not looking for a major commitment; they just want it to become a natural progression.

“Up to now they have been totally dependent on their families, and families don’t necessarily have the same interests,’ said Mr Delaney.

“We saw a gap for people in their own community,” he said.

He said that in rural areas it is often harder for people to meet up and it is hoped that this movement run by the families will transcend any of those difficulties.

“Families are hoping to create a forum for naturally linking brothers, sisters, sons and daughters with dis- abilities with people and activities in their own community. There are cur- rently three families involved in this but it looks like more will be joining in,’ he said.

A public meeting will be held on Thursday at 8.30pm in the Ballyna- cally Community Centre to discuss ideas with those interested.