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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.

CLARE’S newly elected TD’s and Senators are to meet with the Ennis Chamber of Commerce to give an account of themselves and their in- tentions towards issues raised in the chamber’s pre-election manifesto.

Topping the agenda of matters under scrutiny will be the future of Shan- LO) aU bu oem

At the June Monthly Executive Meeting of Ennis Chamber, the board unanimously supported Shannon Town Council in their recent call on the Irish Government to apply to the

European Union for a Public Service Obligation for Shannon Airport. This would enable the airport to at- tract airlines to offer regional serv- ices to Dublin, Belfast and Cork. “Such services are vitally impor- tant in strengthening the airport and would be of huge benefit to business

and commerce in the mid-west’, said chamber CEO, Rita McInerney. Ennis Chamber published its elec- tion manifesto prior to the general election and issued it to all twelve Clare candidates. The first item in this document was Shannon Airport, because, Ms McInerney said, of its

significance as the driver of growth for balanced regional development. “Ennis Chamber plans to meet with the newly elected Clare TDs when a new government has been formed and also with the new Clare senators once appointed to discuss the mani- festo further”, Ms McInerney said.

THE disposal of a key community position in Shannon, allied to the lo- cal sergeant being moved from the town, are indicators that locals are being neglected.

That’s according to Independent councillor Gerry Flynn, who said he was disappointed to hear that the Sergeant-in-Charge of Shannon Garda Station moved to Ennis Garda Station last week.

Sergeant Dermot O’Connor, who had held the post for two years, 1s now stationed in the Chief Superin- tendent’s office at Ennis Garda Sta- tion. He replaced Sergeant Seamus

Ruane, who has been promoted to the rank of inspector. The vacancy created in Shannon will be filled within weeks.

Earlier this year, Clare County Council did not renew Develop- ment Officer Padraig McCormaic’s contract, which he had held for four years.

He had held a key post in Shan- non, where he had played an integral role on many committees and was involved in several projects which were seen as a major benefit to the town.

Councillor Flynn said the people of the town feel very concerned that Sergeant O’Connor has left, while

the crucial Development Officer’s role has been discontinued.

“We need a continuing of personnel at Shannon Garda Station. We are not getting that as Shannon is being used as a training ground. Shannon is growing, yet we are a sub-station of Ennis. Ennistymon, Kilrush and Killaloe all have their own district stations. It is not good medicine here for us in Shannon,” said Cllr Flynn.

“If we had a situation where Shan- non was a district station with a su- perintendent, they would stay and there would be more continuation,” he added.

He said that the people of Shannon have not been informed who will

take over Mr McCormaic’s work.

“A lot of the projects he was in- volved in will fall, while the loss of the sergeant-in-charge will have huge repercussions for the local area,” he Sr BKGE

Cllr Flynn believes that Shannon should be afforded the status of dis- trict garda station, while substations should be created in Newmarket-on- Fergus and Sixmilebridge.

“What we have in Sixmilebridge and Newmarket-on-Fergus are not even substations. There are huge social issues in the community. Rob- beries are becoming more frequency and we need stability in policing in the area,’ he said.

A CLARE County Council policy that results in Ennis losing out on 150 jobs and a €50 million investment appears, at first glance, bizarre.

A little known document, the Coun- ty Clare Retail Strategy 2003-11, has concluded that there is only capacity for one retail park on the southern fringes of Ennis.

This has now been endorsed by a consultant’s report commissioned by the council which has led to plan- ning permission being refused to Ennis businessmen Sean Lyne and Noel Connellan for a retail park on

the Quin Road and confers a mas- sive advantage on Galway investor Stephen Harris to develop a 48 acre land bank at Skehanagh adjoining the Ennis bypass.

The stakes are massive. Harris and his backers spent €18.5 million pur- chasing their land from local man JJ McCabe and while it is not known how much Lyne-Connellan spent on the Quin Road proposal, the overall cost would be be substantial.

The two local businessmen lodged their plans before Harris last summer and believed they were ahead in the race to secure planning.

The sparring continued with Har-

ris lodging a submission against the Lyne-Connellan proposal and the Clare developers responding by ex- pressing their own reservations over the Harris plan.

It is not known if either party were aware that the council commissioned consultants to adjudicate on the sus- tainability of either proposal.

Either way the outcome highlights the council’s contradictory policy moves on job creation in Ennis against a background of the town’s industrial base contracting year on year.

Why, for instance, did councillors Zone so much land for commercial

development on the fringes of the town in the Ennis and Environs De- velopment Plan 2003 when a separate council document, the Clare Retail Strategy, concluded there was room for only retail park south of Ennis?

Should the market be allowed de- cide how many retail parks can be accommodated without a document such as the retail strategy there to limit development? Or is the council correct in adhering to a retail strat- egy in order to preserve businesses 1n the core town area?

However, it is not plain sailing for the Harris proposal either. If the same criteria which rejected the

Lyne-Connellan proposal were to apply, the council would also rule that the Harris plan was premature pending the completion of the flood risk study and the absence of an inte- erated sewerage design scheme.

The Galway developer has also to address the issue of the protected Marsh Fritillary butterfly on the site.

Harris must lodge his response to council concerns — including the fate of the Marsh Fritillary — by the middle of next month otherwise new plans will have to be lodged.

It is very much “advantage Har- ris’ but there are bound to be further twists and turns in this scramble yet.

THE end of an epic journey for Bal- lyea’s young hurlers arrived at the weekend when they were beaten by two goals in the final group game of

the Féile Roinn A Hurling competi- nee

They had two fine wins earlier in the weekend when they put in two hugely convincing displays but they came undone in the third and final

eroup stage against a physical Castle- knock side.

The Dublin club — with over juve- nile members — went on to win the tournament outright and had their toughest test against Ballyea who

they beat 3-2 to 1-2 to advance to the knock out stage.

Played over quarter hour halves, Ballyea, without the services of Mar- tin O’Leary who fractured his collar bone last week, were always within

touching distance of Castleknock.

“It was disappointing but we always said that if we lost a game, whoev- er beat us would go a long way in the competition and that’s the way it turned out,’ said trainer Fergie O’Loughlin. “We’re just proud of our players and the huge effort they put in to get this far. They’ve mas- sive potential and we’re proud of the work they’ve done over the past few ppeKeyela kona

Though they exited the tournament earlier that they would have liked, they left Kilkenny and headed back for Clare on Sunday with the knowl- edge that the overall experience will stand to them in the years to come.

“It’s a building block along the way, added O’Loughlin. “These lads have fine hurling futures ahead of them. Three of the panel were drawn from the Under-12 team and it’s a great experience for young play- ers like that to compete at this kind of level.”