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OF ALL the connections which have become a hallmark of the Building of Hope projects, Fr Martin Keane’s family involvement in the effort has to be the most celebratory.

For the first time in his 40 years in Africa, he is surrounded by family.

aUiXe MuHa Comm aslo] mmc) peLeleCeyer-V mmpasleyeereanls was when he was surprised with a visit from his sister, Kathy (79), who has fundraised but has never visited him before.

‘To come out here and to see what

all those years of support and fund- raising were about — that’s very spe- cial to my aunt and to Martin,” said Mary Kileen, who is volunteering on the project with her daughter and Fr Martin’s grandniece, Roisin (18).

‘When Olive (Halpin) told him two years ago that the Building of Hope would come here, it was like all his birthdays came together.”

Mary’s husband, Eugene came with an earlier group to be part of the project as did her two brothers.

John and Larry Culligan, Martin’s nephew, Pat has also been out as part

of the crew along with another niece, Marie. “His joke is that he never gets visitors and now he has them all at once,’ said Mary.

“It’s great to be here as family to support him but there are also all the people in Lissycasey who supported 30 of us to come here. In these harsh times they gave so generously. We organised a bed-push and raised €27,000. We started with a Wren and that raised €1,900 — that’s unbe- lieveable money the way things are Te) Aa

Roisin says it is “amazing to be on

Fr Martin’s patch — normally, we see him when he comes home for visits but when you see this, you really know what it’s all about.”

The NUIG student had to explain to one of her lecturers that between getting up at the crack of dawn and painting for Ireland all day, her plan to meet a essay dealine for next week had gone awry.

‘He gave me an extension for three weeks after I come back. People are being so supportive, so marvellous,” she said.

Speaking about the surprise visit

from Fr Martin’s sister, Roisin’s grandmother, she said it has “taken ten years off Nana’s age — all these years she has supported him and now she’s come to see him. It’s great.”

A delighted Fr Martin said that he is “so happy to have all this support from family and the community at home. They have been so good to travel all this way, to work on the project and for the opening. I’m so very happy and I can’t thank the peo- ple of Clare and all the other coun- ties involved enough for what they have done here.”

DEFENDING champions Coora- clare had a perfect start to 2010 with an impressive victory on Saturday afternoon.

It was cold and bitter, but some of Cooraclare’s football was very hot as a first-half blitz in which they built up a 1-7 to 0-3 lead was the founda- tion for this winning start.

When they extended their advan- tage to 2-11 to 0-3 midway through the second-half, Kilkee’s race was run, even if they finally roused them- selves in the last quarter to give the electronic scoreboard some sem- blance of respectability from their point of view.

Remarkably, given what would unfold it was Kilkee who opened the scoring after less than a minute through countyman Gearoid Lynch, but essentially that was as good as it got for the Blues, even though after 15 minutes the match stood at 0-3 apiece after some fine scores on el- ther side.

But the second quarter belonged to Cooraclare as they tacked on 1-4 to wrestle control of proceedings. First there was a hat-trick of points from John Looney (2) and Cathal Lillis on the mark — then came the crucial goal in the 25th minute.

The anger and frustration of all Kilkee commenced when they felt Gearoid Lynch was clearly pushed in

the back as he was ready to unleash a goal bound effort from inside the Cooraclare square.

However, the referee waved play on as the ball petered out for a goal kick. From the resulting kick out Cooraclare worked their goal, the final flick coming from full-forward Michael Kelly that was parried away by Kevin Harte, only for one of the umpires to rule that the ball had crossed the line.

There were howls of protest from the shed and on the field, but the goal stood as Cooraclare led by seven points at the break.

Kilkee needed a fast start to the

second-half to have any chance but it was Cooraclare who took up where they left off, adding 1-5 in the first 15 minutes, with the second goal from Michael McMahon.

It must be said that Kilkee were their own worst enemies — they were concentrating more on the referee than on trying to drag themselves back into the contest.

It was only when their attitude changed that their fortunes took an upward turn.

They found their purple patch and suddenly a miraculous comeback was on the cards. Two goals in quick succession by Dennis Russell and the

excellent Kevin Larkin illustrated that there was still hope.

Larkin full of confidence then fol- lowed up with two wonderful long range points only partly neutralised by Looney’s sixth free of the hour. Full-back Brendan Smith burst for- ward from defence to make it a six point game with six minutes remain- ing.

It was as close as they got, how- Vole

KELVIN Wairimu is 18 years old and has excellent school grades. Ask him what he wants to be and he says “I want to be a doctor.”

Kelvin is a lovely, grave, respon- sible young man who has taken on the role of father-figure to his three brothers and his baby sister. His fa- ther has gone and left the family to fend as best they can.

He shares a 10 foot by 12 foot room with his family and mum, Ruth. He achieves his excellent grades study-

ing by the light of a tiny flame from an oil-burner whenever his mother takes in enough washing to pay for oil. When she doesn’t, the family have to go to bed before it gets dark in the tiny room furnished with an old bed, a side table and one broken chair.

There are five other families sharing this tiny house, one family to a room, almost 20 people in one house.

As well as taking in washing at 100 Kenyan shillings — about €1 — per bag, Ruth babysits a tiny baby and is paid the quivalent of 30 cents per day

for the service.

Ruth would like to be able to send her eldest son to seondary school but that’s impossible.

She speaks only a little English but explains that she wants to give the other children some basic education and that has to be paid for. Keep- ing her son in secondary school for a year would cost €250 a year, an ambition way out of reach for woman who earns less than than €10 per week and has to find €17 a month to pay rent for her one room.

Money is so short that the family

buy salt-water from the street hawk- ers to drink because it’s cheaper.

If Kelvin ever gets to be a doctor, he will understand what damage the family’s poverty striken lifestyle has done to their health but in a house where it’s all that Ruth can do to feed her children, health considerations take a back seat.

IT WAS hardly an ideal night for the Opening round of the Cusack Cup. The obvious benefit of lights was in stark contrast to an icy chill that swirled around Cooraclare on Satur- day that saw only the hardcore sup- porters man the stand. That said, it wasn’t the only contrast on the night as a much sharper Doonbeg simply had too much for a ringrusty Liscan- nor outfit.

From this performance alone, it 1s easy to see why the Magpies are per- ennially in the shake up for Cusack Cup honours. They approach the league with a typically champion- ship zest while Liscannor appeared to be simply blowing off the cobwebs of the new year.

The statistics reflect a relatively even share of possession but it was the use of the ball as well as move- ment off it that essentially dictated the outcome and in that count, Doon- beg just had far more options, espe- cially up front.

The respective panels also had a bearing on the game as the dismiss- als of Doonbeg’s Colm Dillon and Liscannor’s Shane Canavan were significant for both sides. Up to that point, Dillon was controlling the

midfield sector but their superior strength in depth ensured that substi- tute Paul Hehir took up where Dillon left off as Doonbeg saw out the win.

The game was only two minutes old when Doonbeg had the ball in Liscan- nor’s net as David Tubridy slipped a ball through to the unmarked Shane Ryan to drill a ground shot past goal- keeper Noel Kilmartin.

Liscannor’s response was immedi- ate as Kieran Considine pointed a free resulting from the kick-out but far from rallying, Liscannor were simply too wasteful. Jamie Whelan restored Doonbeg’s goal lead only two minutes later and after a ten minute period of Liscannor pressure yielded nothing, the Magpies finally got to grips with the tie to open up a decisive advantage.

Four points in as many minutes fol- lowed as Doonbeg laid siege to the Liscannor half, with Colm Dillon in particular having a hand in almost every attack. Two impressive long range strikes from Dillon, added to by points from Whelan and Shane O’Brien pushed the leaders 1-5 to 0-1 clear by the 21st minute. David Tu- bridy opened his account in the 28th minute but there was a mini-revival from Liscannor until the break.

Points from Alan Clohessy and

Thomas McDonagh gave them re- newed hope for the second period and although Doonbeg’s Shane Ryan opened the scoring, the sendings off were to briefly alter the course of the game once more. As the ball moved up the other end of the field, Dillon and Canavan got mixed up in some afters that possibly deserved only yellows but after consulting with his umpire, referee Michael Talty adopt- ed a zero tolerance approach.

Two Kieran Considine frees saw Liscannor slowly creep back into the game and once Alan Clohessy set up corner-forward Paul Guerin for an- other at the turn of the final quarter, the deficit was now down to four.

Doonbeg didn’t panic though and pushing half-time substitute Paul Hehir back into midfield as well as introducing Brian Dillon, they re- gained control of the game. Liscan- nor attempted to push forward but with Enda Doyle, Conor Whelan and Paraic Aherne constantly counter-at- tacking, they were soon on the back- foot.

Tubridy converted a free in the 48th minute to settle his side but his next contribution was to seal the win as Doonbeg produced the best move of the game to secure a second goal. It was Doyle again that initiated it,

bursting forward before playing a ball over the top for Jamie Whelan who in turn fed the onrushing Tu- bridy to place the ball to the bottom corner of the net.

There was still time for a peach of a point from Hehir but by that stage, Liscannor had accepted their fate as Doonbeg crank up for another tilt at a title that has somehow eluded them in recent years.

Margaret thought she had seen the last of baking for the Building of Hope when she had a cake sale to raise money to come on the trip but for the penultimate week of the project her main station was the kitchen.

A personal tragedy moved Mar- garet to make the trip she had been contemplating for some time.

“My children think I’m a bit past my sell-by date for going on this

trip. But my son, Paul, was killed in a road accident last year. When that happened I thought, you only get one chance at life and you have to do something good with it,’ Margaret explained.

Margaret’s final decision to come was a late one but “people were very generous to us, they really support- ered us”.

Secondary school teacher, Joanne, was originally volunteered for the project by her mother.

“Olive Halpin asked my mother if she would come on the trip but she didn’t think she could at the time and said I would go instead. Then she decided to go as well and we’re both here,” said Joanne.

Joanne’s pupils have been follow- ing the Building of Hope website and she will be filling them in on everything that happeded on the trip when she goes back.

“T didn’t really know what to expect when I came out but the camraderie is fantatstic — it’s such a team effort and everyone is pulling together, with the locals. It’s just an amazing experience.’

MINISTER for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Ea- mon Ryan, joined cycling legend Sean Kelly, and his daughter Stacey for an early morning bike ride to offi- cially launch the 2010 An Post Cycle Series, with Clare one of participat- ing counties in what is a joint initia- tive with the Irish Sports Council.

The series aims to encourage com- munities around the country to get on their bikes. With routes catering for everyone from the serious ama- teur to families, the series has proven to be a great way for family, friends and work colleagues to spend a day of fun together while the serious rider can choose a more challenging KO) b Ken

Clare is one of the five counties (Sligo, Meath, Waterford and Cork being the others) that has been se- lected as regional hosts for the An Post Cycle Series events, which run monthly between May and Septem- ber 2010. Each event is organised by the Irish Sports Council’s Local Sports Partnerships in conjunction with their city, county and cycling club partners. The Tour de Burren will feature a 10k family loop as well as a 60k challenge and the 160k a SIUNSFNDeM > IbuRo) te

This is the second year of the se- ries, which were a huge success in year one, with over 5,500 riders taking part last year. The series is a welcome addition to the cycling cal- endar and this year has the additional support of Cycling Ireland.

“T congratulate all those involved

on the great work they have done so far and I’m positive that the Cycle Series will inspire many more people to ‘get on their bike’. It is an annual event that will undoubtedly go from strength to strength.” Minister Ryan added.

This year’s Cycle Series ambassa- dor is former world number one cy- clist Sean Kelly, who will be taking part in the Clare Tour. “I’m delighted to be an ambassador for this year’s series. The events are unique in that they offer something to every type of cyclist, from beginners and families to the more serious and dedicated enthusiast. On a personal note, I’m really looking forward to getting the series underway in Sligo in May, and

as far as a challenge goes I’m looking no further than the “Burnin Burren’ in Clare.”

The An Post Series gets underway on Sunday, May 9, with the An Post Tour of Sligo. This will be followed by the An Post Tour De Burren in Clare on Saturday, June 19, while the Heritage Cycle Tour of Meath will take place on Sunday, July 25. The already well known Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford event will be on Sun- day, August 29, and finally the Rebel Tour of Cork will be on Saturday, September 11.

THE intellectual disability services in Clare are under severe pressure as frustrated staff struggle to find enough time to treat patients.

Staff shortages and tight budgets have also resulted in long waiting lists of children hoping to access the Clare Early Intervention Service (CEIS).

In 2005 the Government introduced legislation requiring CEIS to carry out an assessment of needs on children referred to the services within a very tight time frame. With the legislation came the promise of more resources but these have yet to be provided. As a result, clinical staff hired to treat children with intellectual disabilities are spending their time assessing re- ferrals and writing reports.

In a bid to ensure some children were seen by their therapists the Dis- ability Services in Clare were forced to ring-fence therapy time .

The situation is less than ideal with the HSE admitting that it is proving difficult to retain staff. Providing equipment for people with intellectual and physical disabilities has also led to difficult decisions for HSE staff.

Last year just €725,000 was provid- ed for appliances and equipment for people with intellectual and physical and sensory disabilities in the county.

With a specialised wheelchair cost- ing €10,000, and communication devices costing up to €15,000, staff have to prioritise cases for essential devices, leaving many without.

The budget for the Clare Disabil- ity Services for 2009 was just under €26.5 million. Of that €17,140,517 went to the service providers who work with the HSE.

THE only way for 11-year-old Mo- ses Moody to come in from school is for him to use his arms to drag his crippled legs across the floor on his one-room home in the township at Migombani.

He has use of a wheelchair in the parish school, built by Fr Martin Keane with donations, but the tiny door is far too small as is the room which he shares with his mother, An- gela and nine other adults and chil- dren, all family.

Angela Naliaka throws her grand- daughter, little Angela, up on her

back and wraps her Africa-style, so she can wash little Moses and mas- sage him with coconut oil to try to keep the his skin from constantly breaking out in sores.

Angela’s husband left when she be- came pregnant again after Moses. He told her it was “too much and he went to another woman”. Now Angela has to fend for herself and her children with two of her daughters and her grandchildren also living in the one Keleee mellem aoe

Angela has a job, cooking for the children at the parish school.

“T am thankful to Fr Martin — he has given me a job so I can earn money

to buy food and pay the rent.”

Baby Angela, who is less than a year old, is coughing loudly. She has had pneumonia, a condition not helped by the fact that all of the town- ship families cook on a tiny charcoal Stove, indoors.

Surgery could have helped young Moses, who was born with an open wound in his back but accessing the mostly charity run health services in Kenya is not an easy task. By the time he got into the hospital system, it was too late for surgeons to save any of the movement in his lower body.

He’s doubly incontinent and An-

gela has to buy toddler size nappies to change him four times a day, a ter- rible drain on family finances.

The disease which has twisted and crippled his body has been eliminat- ed in most of the western world.

It’s possible that proper nutrition would have saved him from being born disabled and the vaccine which would have protected him against infant Polio costs just a few pence. But there is no progamme of immu- nisation in this country. The vaccine which would have immunised his mother and saved him for the birth defects costs just a few pence.

The family home has a little fur-

niture, but the only place to store clothes is a wooden wardrobe which is falling to bits. Angela also stores clothes in an old suitcase, also crum- bling and useless. The only thing she asks of the Building of Hope is that one of the carpenters might be able to fix the wardrobe and if one of the many cases brought purely to carry clothes, toys and sweets for the children might be donated to her for storage.

The latter won’t be a problem but the former might be beyond even the skills of the amazing craftsmen who are on the site.

We promise to do our best.

MICHAEL O’ Dwyer got the man-of- the-match gong; Noel Downes was top scorer and between them they hit 1-5; Stephen Moloney, meanwhile, didn’t score at all, but was the other stand-out figure in the forwards.

That he turned in such a energetic running performance — his best since the Munster quarter-final against Dromcollogher-Broadford was re- markable, given his injury-hit prepa- ele (eyee

“My fitness ran out for a finish,” he admits, “because I hurt my hip the week after the Tir Chonaill Gaels game and my first night training was last Thursday night, so there wasn’t much in the tank, but there was enough for me to last that long.”

By then Kilmurry were on the highroad — off the N67 that runs by the football field in Quilty and on the N7 that leads all the way to Dublin,

a destination that Moloney says was always going to be theirs.

“Everything was good in the camp; the mood was good and Declan Call- inan’s suspension really fired us up more. He was the last man that spoke in the dressing room and to see a man crying before you in the dress- ing room puts the hair standing on the back of your head.

“Portlaoise felt that at the start of the game. Whatever Portlaoise might do we knew we had to stick to our running game. We’ve been relying on our backs since the first round of the Clare championship last year, but we finally gave them a performance KOO hs

“We knew we could beat them. We looked at their results. They’d put up big scores — scores like 2-12 and 2-10 and we knew they weren’t going to do that against our backs. Our backs are too good for that and weren’t go- ing to concede a big score.

‘And Portlaoise hadn’t been in bat- tles like we had. That game over in England was some battle. It was the toughest match we’ve ever played and we knew that they hadn’t that done and it showed today, that game against Tir Chonaill Gaels and what we got out of it really showed. They hadn’t the bottle. They didn’t want to battle like we did to win the All-Ire- land semi-final.”

It means Moloney is one of half a dozen or so who will be back in OO AGIA KEM mobaa note with a Féile na nOg team. “Back then I never thought I’d be back in Croke Park. It’s a long time coming but it’s great to be back with a lot of those same boys. It’s unbelievable really.”

THE barony of Ibrickane has a proud history, but there’ll be no day prouder than St Patrick’s Day when they grace Croke Park on All-Ireland Club final day.

“It’s a dream,” said manager Micheal McDermott after Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final win over Portlaoise in The Gaelic Grounds in Limerick by 1-14 to 0-8.

“It’s a dream this club has had for a long time and now it’s a reality that Croke Park is opening out before us. But we’re not going up to make up the numbers. We’re going there to win the All-Ireland,” he added.