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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.”

RYANAIR Chief Executive Michael O’Leary has confirmed to the Mayor of Clare, Flan Garvey (FF), that his airline will investigate the reopening of daily services between Shannon and Belfast.

O’Leary made the commitment during an hour-long meeting with Clare’s first citizen at Dublin Airport on Wednesday last.

Councillor Garvey said he had a “full and frank meeting” with O’Leary during which issues affect- ing the future growth of the airport and surrounding region were dis- CAN ISSsrer6

“IT impressed upon Mr O’Leary the huge demand that existed north and south for the re-establishing of direct services between Shannon and Bel- fast. Up until Aer Lingus’s decision to drop the route in 2001, the serv- ice was being used by up to 22,000 passengers a year. Aligned with the strong links between County Clare and Northern Ireland, as well as the changing attitudes to air travel, there certainly is potential for the reopen- ing of this route’, the mayor said.

‘“O’Leary confirmed to me that he would immediately request a viabil- ity study into the possible reopening of the air link.”

Aer Lingus dropped the Belfast/ Shannon leg of its New York service

from Belfast International Airport just three weeks after the terrorist attacks on New York in September 2001. At the time the airline said the move was made as part of its re- sponse to the dramatic fall-off in de- mand being experienced in the wake of the 911 attacks.

Mayor Garvey said he gave O’Leary a commitment, on behalf of Clare County Council that any new service to and from Shannon International Airport would be promoted by the local authority.

“Mr O’Leary who spoke very

honestly about Ryanair’s position at Shannon expressed to me his fears that some existing Ryanair services will require greater support from the people of the entire west of Ireland if they are to remain viable.”

Meanwhile the Ryanair boss ac- cepted Mayor Garvey’s invitation to be a keynote speaker at the annual Clare Tourism Council Conference in Ennistymon, County Clare this November.

LEAVING cert students get the chance to blow of some steam next weekend when the Q-ness festival hits venues in Ennis and Shannon

Hosted by Clare Youth Services, Q-Ness is a post leaving cert festival of fun and relaxation that will take place from Friday, June 22, to Sun- day, June 24.

The idea behind it is that it offers exam students the opportunity to relax after the stressful period of Leaving Cert exams. Q-Ness is the brainchild of four students from En- nis who felt that every year there was a big anti-climax in the aftermath of the summer exams.

The programme begins in Shannon on Friday night with a concert in the Respond building in Rineanna.

Saturday will feature a full day of activities at the Clare Youth Service on Carmody Street. The now legen- dary “Outdoor Exam Bash” will start at 3pm and will feature over 12 local bands. There will be an eclectic mix of music, with all tastes (bar classi- cal) catered for which is guaranteed ORS NoMeDONE

This will be followed by a barbe- cue before the proceedings move in- doors for a more mellow and relax- ing Acoustic Gig within the walls of the Clare Youth Service. Places are limited so it’s advisable to grab your seat early.

To top off the festivities Glor will play host to the proceedings on Sun- day.

Running from 7.30pm to 9.30pm the event will feature DJs, a Video Jockey, Sumo Wrestling, Gladiators, Cult Movies, Music, Madness, May- hem & a touch of mystery. Jonelle Mannion, Leaving Cert Student at Colaiste Mhuire explained students were fed up with the lack of post leaving cert activities in the county and decided to take matters into their own hands.

She said, “Students spend two years preparing for a set of exams that are over in the space of two weeks. They then find themselves facing into the long hot summer waiting for results.

Allin all, the whole thing boils down to quite a lot of stress. We decided that the best way to mark the end of the exams was to take all the things that people like to do to unwind and bring them all together in one big event”.

Glen Guilfoyle, Clare Youth Serv- ice said: “The weekend will kick off with a gig in Shannon. This will take place in the Respond Building in R1- neanna from 6.30pm to 9.30pm and will also feature a barbecue at the newly developed Kick Back Café”’.

Tickets cost €20 and are available from glor box office. The event is strictly alcohol and drug free. More information available from: http://q-nessl.bebo.com

EIGHT Clare bed and breakfast busi- nesses feature in a prestigious new cuide to Irish golfing holidays.

Capitalising on the legacy of the Ryder Cup, Tourism Ireland and the Town and Country Homes Associa- tion have joined forces to produce the special all island B&B/Golfing Guide.

The new publication features over 100 B&B’s which were selected by the B&B Association from its large membership, because of the proprie- tors’ strong interest in golf and active involvement with a local golf club.

The guide highlights the wonderful courses which Clare has to offer in- cluding Lahinch Castle Course.

“The stunning west coast is blessed with a diverse range of links and parkland courses, all of which reflect the great traditions of the game’, a spokesman for the producers of the eabaTelemre BCG

“And as the guide suggests the west’s spectacular coastal landscape has provided a perfect canvas for some of the most imaginative golf course architects the game has pro- duced,” he added.

The B&B golf connection means that visitors can tap into a wealth of local knowledge where B&B owners can give them the “inside” knowl- edge of local golf courses, organise

tee-times or discounts or perhaps even join in a game themselves. The brochure is ideal for the less experienced golfing traveller as it includes not only the more difficult,

more prestigious courses, but also the many great value and less well known gems. The new B&B golfing brochure has been distributed to over 55,000 subscribers of Golf World

and Today’s Golfer.

According to Tourism Ireland, golf holidays offer huge untapped busi- ness potential. “Ireland has over 440 golf courses, more per head of popu-

lation than any other golfing destina- tion, added to which the country en- joys more than a third of the world’s true links seaside golf courses.

“There are 60 million golfers in the world, and the sport continues to grow in popularity with many couples, and active newly retired people taking up the game. While this brochure caters for all levels of golfers, it 1s ideal for these beginners and improvers, many of whom may never have played out- side of their own country,’ said John Greene, head of regional marketing, Tourism Ireland.

Speaking at the launch of the guide, Alan Hill, CEO, Town and Country Homes Association said, ““The B&B sector is about to undergo a most 1m- portant transformation. In partner- ship, we will begin to redefine what has made this very Irish accommoda- tion option unique around the world.

‘The impact of this process will be to present today’s busy and demand- ing global traveller with renewed Opportunities to stay in an approved Irish home. This golfing B&B bro- chure and supporting direct mar- keting initiative gives us a glimpse of the next generation of successful B&B operations – customer focused, committed to high standards and spreading high yielding business into principally rural parts of the island”.

THRESHOLD’S new housing ad- vice centre at the Citizens Informa- tion Centre in Ennis was officially launched by Threshold Midwest Co-ordinator Louise Kennedy in the Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis last week.

The outreach service which will be held on the second Tuesday of every month will provide free and confi- dential information, advice and sup- port for people with housing prob- anak

According to Citizens Informa- tion Centres Manager, Paul Woulfe, the service is seeing an increasing number of housing related queries and welcomes the intervention that this new service can provide.

Speaking at the launch, Louise Kennedy said Threshold was com-

mitted to helping the people of Clare to secure and maintain good quality housing suited to their needs.

“Our longer-term plans include a placement service that will help vul- nerable people who need our help to get private rented accommodation.”

Threshold can intervene before problems become unmanageable by negotiating with the landlord or by helping the tenant to locate alterna- tive accommodation.

“We can also support a tenant to take a dispute with their landlord to the Private Residential Tenancies Board.”

Threshold is a national not-for-prof- it organisation established in 1978. Threshold’s housing advice serv- ices are focused on people who are in greatest need of support, mainly people living at the low-priced end

of the rented market, people living in social housing, and people who are homeless.

“The number of immigrants seek- ing Threshold’s help is also growing eyetslelore-l eas

Threshold provides advice on hous- ing rights, mediates with landlords or local authorities on behalf of tenants with problems and supports tenants who bring disputes to the Private Residential Tenancies Board.

“Last year Threshold helped over 20,000 people through its advice centres in Cork, Dublin, Galway and Diitouee

People with a housing problem can make an appointment or drop in to the centre. They can also have their query answered by phone 061 405400, email limerick @threshold. ie, or by letter.

AMONG the groups taking part in the Clare People 10k walk/run are the Ennis based organisation, Living Links.

Over the past five years the Liv- ing Links organisation has offered a suicide outreach support service to families and individuals in Clare who have been bereaved by suicide. SU iloKomr-DeomCUUKC NU RAKoNMPAOUD DANN e-BDACeCe! volunteers staffing the service in Ee

In addition to healing programmes volunteers respond to approaches made by a bereaved family or in- dividual and can arrange to meet them inside or outside their homes or

wherever the bereaved person feels most comfortable.

All meeting are conducted in the strictest confidence.

Clare Living Links operates under the auspices of the Health Services Executive. Originally Clare Liv- ing Links formed part of a larger programme that provided Suicide Bereavement Support in Clare, Lim- erick and north Tipperary, but three years ago the service was divided into three separate units by the then Mid Western Health Board.

The service recently concluded an eight week healing programme for those who’s lives have been affected lo\VamcLe bea LO (on

The programme aimed to help

adults who have experienced a death by suicide to find healing and support in a Safe and caring environment and to provide an opportunity of meeting others who have experienced loss by suicide.

The meetings aimed to provide healing through talking and listen- ing in small groups.

A spokesperson for the service explained, “If they want, they can choose to meet one of the service’s volunteers at home or they can come to the centre, or wherever 1s suitable. It’s about giving them the opportu- nity to talk about it.

‘Depending on the need of the per- son there might be one session or they might be a number. There is no

set number”’.

The spokesperson continued, “The aim is to help people talk about their loss and the whole process of be- reavement. There is no set formula for bereaved persons feelings or re- actions. Different people will react in different ways and in a different Ocal ue

Clare Living Links also provide a booklet entitled “You Are Not Alone” which aims to provide in- formation that will be of help in the immediate aftermath of a death by suicide occurring, such as immedi- ate reactions; natural responses pro- cedures in unexpected deaths, sort- ing out your affairs and getting help for you and your children.