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GLEANN Bhreandain, a develop- ment of three and four-bedroom homes in Lisdoonvarna, comes to the market with the benefit of Section 23 relief and rental guarantee for five- years for investors.

The development is of a high qual- ity design and layout and is divided into two clusters of 14 and 15 houses. SOTA eMC LUr-VOUR Yam eer-I cou rcDicMECLbCe) omc K MN OTL ce ural slate, timber windows, cedar timber and stone cladding have been UEoxO

The scheme represents good value for money with the first phase of Sec-

tion 23 type holiday houses being re- leased at €345,000 excluding VAT. These homes come fully furnished and include five-years guaranteed rent of €9,500 per annum.

A second house type targeted at owner occupiers will also be re- leased, with prices starting from €235,000 inclusive of VAT.

Throughout Gleann Bhreandain a high standard of landscaping can be found and there is direct access to green roads for walking and cycling, safe from disturbance by vehicular traffic in the town environs.

The development is located in the very popular town of Lisdoonvarna

– Ireland’s only Spa Town. The town prides itself in the amenities it offers to residents and tourists alike, includ- ing 100 acres of public amenity lands with facilities such as a town park for walking, playgrounds and creche fa- cilities together with the famous Spa and Health Centre.

The new houses at Gleann Bhrean- dain were launched at the beginning of the month jointly by Toureen Es- tates and Costelloe Estate Agents.

THE CLARE roads will play home to bigtime international cycling later this year during the Tour of Ireland Stage Race that takes place from Au- gust 22 to 26.

Stage three of the flagship cycling event in Ireland will take in the 35 miles from Killaloe to Ennis giving cycling enthusiasts an opportunity to see some leading professionals 1n ac- nen

Ciaran Power and David O’ Loughlin have been named in the Navigators Insurance cycle team. The Irish duo will ride the UCI 2.1 ranked inaugu- ral event sponsored by Failte Ireland in the team announced by Director Sportif Ed Beamon this week. The other riders named in the seven-man U.S based outfit are Kristian House, Hilton Clarke, Valeriy Kobzarenko, Sergey Lagutin and Phil Zayicek.

Mayoman O’Loughlin has won the Irish championships’ triple-crown by winning senior time-trial, crite-

rium and road race titles. He has is a regular on the Irish national team at major events including the world championships. Ciaran Power, from Waterford is a double Olympian from the Sydney and Athens Olympics. The 31-year-old roadman sprinter is a former overall champion and mul- triple stage winner of the FBD Milk Ras.

FORTY eight per cent more men in Clare die by suicide each year than the national average.

Death by suicide is the number one cause of death among young Irish men with 12.4 men per 100,000 dy- ing this way every year. In Clare the figure is as high as 18.4 men per 100,000.

The death among women in Clare by suicide is half that of the national average with 6.2 women per 100,000 OND Eom HOBIE WE

The earliest figures from the cen- tral statistics office show that just two people of Clare residence died from suicide in 1980.

In 1985 this number had multiplied by more than five bringing the total number of deaths to 11. In 2005 15 people died from suicide in Clare.

Ireland has an alarmingly high rate of suicide – the fifth highest suicide rate in Europe among 15 to 25 year olds.

The highest rate of suicide is found among young men aged under 35 years – accounting for approximately

40 per cent of all Irish suicides. In general, men are reluctant to seek professional advice to help them cope with difficulties.

The often taboo subject of suicide 1s now being tackled by a new national mental health promotion campaign called “Tough Times”.

This campaign aims to reduce the large number of deaths by suicide by raising awareness of the alternative options available to young people in crisis. It will use a combination of television advertising, poster cam- paign, online marketing and pres- ence at festivals and concerts, radio, newspaper and magazine features to communicate its key message; that everyone goes through tough times and answers are out there.

“Tough Times” encourages young people to realise that it’s normal to experience difficult times and that, however small or big the problem, there are help and support options available. It points young people to- wards www.spunout.ie, which pro- vides fact sheets on a range of health and lifestyle issues, signposts users to relevant help services.

STRESSED out exam students in Shannon have had the opportunity to relax in a friendly environment over the past few weeks, in their very own café!

The Kick Back café opened in Feb- ruary, specifically geared towards those between the ages of 16 and 21. It has been a hive of activity during weekends, over the past few months.

Students sitting the Junior and Leaving Certificates this year have taken the opportunity to reflect on their various exams, in the café.

Exam students mingled with volun- teers and other non-exam students, in a friendly and relaxed environment.

The café is run by Shannon Youth Office and the organisers were very happy with its success.

Shannon Youth Worker Cathal Dil- lon said the café has been running very well.

“We had an average of 18 people attending, which is good, and they seemed to really like having the chance to unwind with their pals af- ter the exams were over,” said Cathal DIU eye

All of those who attended the café over the past few weeks paid glowing tributes.

‘This cafe 1s just what we need, a place to chill and relax after the ex- ams, it’s so cool,” said Junior Cert student Hayley.

Another Junior Cert student, Si- mon, pointed out that the refresh- ments were particularly nice!

“IT love the cafe as its really relax- ing, I love the hot chocolate especial- ly,” he said.

His classmate Estelle said, ““The cafe is a fun place to hang with friends, its a place where teens can relax, its great.”

“I love coming here, the youth information boards here are very helpful,’ said another exam student, Lindsay.

Aine, who a fourth year student and a volunteer at the café, was delighted with her chance to help out.

“LT enjoy working at the exam cafe! I get on great with the customers and I

think its a relaxing place for students to come after exams. I hope it will still be around when I’m doing my leaving,” she said.

Grainne, who was a volunteer with the group over the past few weeks, enjoyed her role.

“Volunteering in the cafe was a great experience, and I will definitely do it again. I thinks it’s great for the exam students to have such an outlet to unwind after important exams and relieve the pressure,” she said.

LOCATION ~~ Location Carrig Maleady, Ennis, have a modern three bedroom semi-detached house on their books, at Ard Caoin off the Galway Road, guiding at €269,000. Ard Caoin 1s an attractive new de- velopment located adjacent to the Auburn Lodge Leisure Centre, and is only a short distance from Ennis town centre and all of it amenities. This three bed semi-detached prop- erty is presented for sale in impec- cable condition and would make an ideal buy-to-let property, as all of the contents are included in the sale. Features include, modern décor throughout, gas fired central heating, fully fitted contemporary ivory col- oured kitchen units, three bedrooms, one of which is en-suite, a south fac-

ing landscaped rear garden, with a patio area and there’s a Barna shed included in the sale.

The accommodation on the ground floor comprises an entrance hall with understairs storage, a guest WC, a good sized sitting room with bay window and attractive pine surround fireplace with black granite insert. The kitchen dining area is bright and very smart, with integrated applianc- es and attractive wall and base units.

Upstairs, the landing incorporates a hot press with immersion and shelving. Also on this level are three bedrooms, including the master bed- room which is en-suite and the fam- ily bathroom is also on this level.

THE 2007 U-12 A Championship fi- nal will take place this Tuesday, June 19th in Clarecastle GAA grounds with a 7.00pm throw in. Contesting this year’s final will be the holders The Banner Ladies from Ennis and last year’s Clare B champions the Newmarket Ladies.

This should be a great game of foot- ball as both teams are sprinkled with an array of up and coming young stars. When both teams met earlier

in the championship Newmarket-on- Fergus won with a decisive 2-6 to 2-1 scoreline in what was a thrilling game. County U-12 stars Orlaith Lynch (The Banner) and Niki Kaiser (Newmarket) are expected to play major roles in this eagerly awaited contest.

The game will be refereed by Or- laith Griffin of Fergus Rovers and parents and supporters of both teams are urged to turn out in great num- bers to give support to two excellent teams.

FORMER senator and newly elected TD, Timmy Dooley, has admitted that his party colleagues in Clare are facing an “uphill” battle in the up- coming Seanad election.

Looking forward to his first term as a ITD, the east Clare Fianna Fail deputy, was predicating a busy time ahead amid fears that his party would not return two senators from the banner county to replace himself and outgoing Senator Brendan Daly.

“It will be more difficult (work- ing in the 30th Dail). In the last ad- ministration we had four Oireachtas members. We now have two,” he said referring to himself and outgoing Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Ono

“We are hopeful that the Seanad will deliver two for us to balance it out but that is going to be an uphill battle with the way the Seanad cam- paign is going,’ he said, just hours before Senator Daly removed his name from the Seanad race.

The most Fianna Fail in Clare can now achieve is one Seanad seat if Cllr Pat Daly is elected. A Taoi- seach’s nomination could secure a second but this 1s thought very un- likely to happen.

“So it is going to be a big job of work for us to try to cover the county and manage the issues that are there,” he said.

Fianna Fail are expected to lose ap- proximately one senator from each panel in the upcoming election due to the make up of the council and the party’s losses in the last local elec- tions.

Poll topper Dooley does not see himself as a junior minister in the upcoming Dail and has resigned himself to the backbenches.

“IT see myself as an active back- bencher working obviously to deliv- erer for the people that have elected me and I think that as a back bench- er, I can work effectively in the same way many back benchers before me have done in the past, having access to government ministers, having a weekly parliamentary party meeting chaired by the Taoiseach addressing the issues together with my colleague Tony Killeen.”

THE success enjoyed by local gov- ernment in Shannon over the past 25 years was celebrated, when council- lors – past and present – gathered to- gether last week.

At a special function to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of local government in the town, spe- cial tributes were paid to Town Clerk Tomas MacCormaic and Councillor Patricia McCarthy (Independent). Both have been involved with the lo- cal authority since its inception.

Current councillors were joined in the celebrations by former council- lors, including the first chairman of the local authority in the town Brendan Regan and Pat O’Brien, who was among the first elected mem- bers.

Shannon Town Manager Ger Dol- lard said he was proud that two ma- jor projects, which have been “in the blocks” for some time, are nearing CeO eF

One of those, the €3.5 million Shan- non Southern Primary Road project will open to traffic within a week and will be officially opened in July.

The other major project, the Shan- non Recycling Centre in Smithstown, will also be open for business this Ssseloe

Mr Dollard told the group that “a debt of gratitude” was owed to those who set up Shannon Town Commis- sion, back in 1982.

“That sense of community 1s still in Shannon,” said Mr Dollard.

He said that since Clare County Council took over the running of the town in 2004, a strong link between

the town authority and the county council has been maintained.

The mayor of Shannon, Councillor Tony McMahon (Labour), pointed out that the town has grown signifi- cantly over the years.

“It is a sign of the times in the de- velopment of Shannon that Shannon has progressed to the stage where we need to look at our boundaries. That is a sign of growth. It is a very posi- tive thing that Shannon has grown to that degree,” said Cllr McMahon.

He said the local authority is a “master of our own destiny” in look- ing ahead to the future status of the reaa

“We long for the day when Shannon has a different status. We do want to see that in the future,’ he said.

He expressed hope that the views of the people of Shannon are taken

into consideration, in the event of a proposed overhaul of the town taking se eeleres

Councillor Patricia McCarthy said she was honoured to be present, hav- ing represented the people of Shan- non at local authority level for the past 25 years.

“T first heard of Shannon in 1959. That was when my father moved us from Kilrush to take up a post in Sixmilebridge station. I always thank my family for that decision,’ she nee

“We all came to Shannon to make our home in Shannon. People always made us feel welcome,’ she added.

Addressing County Manager Alec Fleming, Cllr McCarthy said, “I still think he should evolve a budget each year for us to decide on how to spend on the town.”

THE developers of the €50 million retail park planned for the Quin Road in Ennis were last night refusing to confirm if they are to appeal Clare County Council’s decision to appeal to An Bord Pleanala.

A spokesman for Sean Lyne and Noel Connellan would only say that the two are “examining the deci- sion’.

Ennis Chamber of Commerce chief executive Rita McInerney said the chamber was keen that any retail park be near the town to offer ben- efits in terms of linkages to the town

centre.

She said she would have to examine the reasons behind the refusal before making a definitive statement on the olor teee

The council decision ensures that the local authority will miss out on a development levy bonanza in excess of <1 million through planning con- Wm le)ULBlOeKe The proposal is the second retail development to have fallen foul of planning hurdles in the past eight rneLeye la etse Last October, a plan by Michael Lynch Ltd to develop a €50 mil- lion retail park at Clonroadmore that would create 250 jobs was turned down in a comprehensive ruling de- livered by An Bord Pleanala. The Lyne-Connellan consortium will need to make a decision quickly in relation to an appeal as it will be contesting the council’s decision on eight separate grounds. They have four weeks within which to lodge their appeal to An Bord Pleanala. The appeal could take up to eight peeve etse The decision is a setback for the two who are currently the prime resi- dential developers in the greater En- nis area through their company CLS Crystal Partners.

PRIDE overruled disappointment as Clare camogie representatives, Sixmilebridge were desperately un- lucky not to qualify from a extremely difficult group. They accounted for themselves well throughout, display- ing some terrific camogie on their way to winning two of of their three eroup games and were only outdone by two points in their final game against the eventual finalists, Mil- ford, which 1s a barometer of how far the bridge team could have gone had they overcome the fancied Cork champions.

The Bridge side were in a tough eroup with Kilmanagh, their Kil- kenny hosts who Sixmilebridge ac- counted for in their opening game on Friday evening on a score line of Sixmilebridge 7-4 to O-l. Scor- ers for Sixmilebridge in this game were Mairead Hyland (4-02), Alison Quinlan (2-0), Sinead Tuohy (1-0), Chloe Morey and Rachel O’Halloran (O-1) each.

On Saturday morning, the Dublin Champions St. Lachtain’s provided the opposition and once again, Sixmi- lebridge came out on top in this one 5-05 to 1-04. Sixmilebridge’s scor- ers were Mairead Hyland (3-3), Katie Liddy & Alison Quinlan (1-0) each and Rachel O’ Halloran (0-2).

In the final group game, Sixmi- lebridge were up against Milford, the Cork champions, who were also unbeaten at this point so this game would decide who would qualify from the group. A tough, tight game was played out between these two

and indeed, it was level at half time 1-1 apiece. Unfortunately, Sixmile- bridge just came out on the losing side, as the game finished Sixmile- bridge 2-2 to Milford’s 2-4. Alison Quinlan and Mairead Hyland scored (1-0) each and Rachel O’Halloran

and Chloe Morey (0-1) a piece in this game.

Sixmilebridge were understandably disappointed but were overwhelmed by the welcome and courtesy of their Kilkenny hosts who even had their county representatives, Eddie Bren-

nan and Jackie Tyrell entertain the Sixmilebrdige squad on Saturday evening.

Afterwards, Club Secretary, Ni- amh McInerney was quick to point out how well the team had done and that the quality of their play through- out was outstanding. Niamh went on to congratulate the girls, stressing that the club was very proud of all the girls and how they had acquitted themselves. “A lot of hard work had gone into this and the girls played very well, we are very proud of each and every one of them and if the final of this competition is anything like the last game we played in the com- petition, it will be a good one”.

Sarsfields from Galway were the eventual champions, seeing off Sixmilebridge’s group opponents, Milford by 2-8 to 1-3.