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IF YOU want to cross the “Bridge to Health’, Ennistymon may hold the connection you’re looking for with the opening of new local healing and therapy centre.

The centre, officially launched last Saturday, will offer various health and relaxation treatments including reflexology, massage and reiki and classes in belly-dancing and Tai Chi.

The centre will also incorporate a gift shop selling local and outsourced crafts, homewares and jewellery.

Owner Celeste Davis and her hus- band Brian, who met in Miltown Malbay nine years ago, have done extensive work in natural therapy.

“We support the conventional sys- tem too but alternatives can work alongside it. There are often fewer side effects and my husband had great results using natural therapy to treat cancer and chronic illnesses in Sydney. The classes and shop add an extra element. We have had a lot of interest from people who want to come and teach here.”

Ms Davis, originally from Byron

Bay in Australia, said that Ennisty- mon’s Steiner-Waldorf school was a major factor in the family’s move to north Clare and this openness to alternative forms would benefit the Le LUKBE Lee

‘Bridge to Health’ will also offer bioenergy healing- a natural therapy which is rapidly gaining popularity.

“Bioenergy comes from Chinese medicine, where it is used widely in hospitals, and it works with a type of energy called ‘external chi-gung’. We are all surrounded by electro- magnetic fields and illness is outside

as well as in. Bioenergy clears the aura,’ said Ms Davis, adding that its two leading Irish practitioners are from Clare.

She added that she hopes the busi- ness will expand quickly to include counselling and psychotherapy as well as more classes and treatments such as acupuncture.

The centre will be open from 1lam to 7pm daily and later on weekends. It will close on Tuesdays. For more information, call 065 7071968 or 085 1390381.

AS ONE political campaign official- ly ended on Thursday, another began in earnest.

The opening of the 30th Dail may have signalled that the General Elec- tion was well and truly over, but for many the campaign had just begun.

Early on Thursday Clare Seanad

hopefuls Cllr Pat Daly (FF) and Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) arrived in Dub- lin canvassing for votes and nomina- tions.

This was like shooting fish in a barrel. Almost all of the Seanad members they would need to can- vass would be only one place that day with many of the country’s vote yielding councillors not far behind.

At llam while the newly elected Dail members assembled for Mass, canvassers from all over also assem- bled. In Buswell’s Hotel, Cllr Mulc- ahy had strategically placed himself inside the door, cup of tea in one hand, list of councillors in the other.

He was hoping for a parliamentary nomination having received the nod from Clare Fine Gael.

Cllr Daly arrived soon after. Hav- ing already received a nomination, he was now looking for votes for the Labour Panel.

The assistant to Tony Killeen had already canvassed most of Munster but the Dail seemed the ideal loca- tion before he started moving north.

Then Clare’s only sitting senator, Brendan Daly (FF), met briefly with

his colleagues in the famous political hotel. Senator Daly was also seeking a Seanad nomination before begin- ning his tour of the country canvass- ing votes.

Cllr John Crowe (FG) 1s to date Clare’s only other candidate seeking election to the upper house, having secured a nomination for the Indus- trial and Commercial panel.

CLARE Mayor Flan Garvey will meet with Nova Scotia’s tourism minister this week to discuss the possibility of establishing a direct air link between the

west of Ireland and

the Canadian prov-

nNeon

The Shannon-

Halifax link was

first proposed last

August when the

two public’ rep-

resentatives met

at the Milwaukee

Irish Festival in

Wisconsin. It 1s anticipated that this week’s meet-

ing will lead to a submission being made to a transat- lantic carrier regarding the proposed os ats (Len

Commenting on the proposal, Minister Len Goucher, a former em- ployee of Air Canada, said that the establishment of a direct flight from Nova Scotia to the West of Ireland would be of huge benefit to both re- gions.

“I would love to see a direct air link being established between our provincial capital of Halifax and

Shannon. Air Canada currently flies from Halifax to London but it is my intention to push for a similar service directly into Ireland,” he said. Mayor Garvey highlighted the cul- tural links between Nova Scotia and Ireland and _ said that a direct air service would not only serve to ce- ment these links but would provide a platform to boost tourism on _ both sides of the Atlan- non Nova Scotia 1s located on Cana- da’s south-eastern coast and is the country’s second smallest province with a population on just under one million people. Thousands of Irish people emigrated to the region dur- ing the 18th and 19th centuries. An estimated 500-1000 Nova Scotians are fluent Irish speakers. Most of these live in Antigonish County or on Cape Breton Island. Mayor Garvey is scheduled to meet with Minister Goucher in Halifax on Friday.

CONCERNED residents rb O’Callaghan’s Mills and Kilkishen are joining forces for a charity walk/ cycle to raise money for a defibrilla- tor unit for each village.

The event will be on Sunday, June 24, and will cover the distance be- tween the two villages, starting from Kilkishen at 6pm. People are asked to make a donation of any sum when registering to take part or simply do-

nate funds if not.

The target 1s at least €6,000 to cov- er the cost of both machines. Train- ing for up to 15 people is included in the price but further training costs 40 te

Local man Martin McMahon ex- plained that with the nearest hospi- tals in Ennis and Limerick, demand for local lifesaving measures was stronger than ever.

“We had two meetings- one in each village- and everyone thought that

it was a great idea. It might never be needed but if it saved one life it would be worth it. We saw commu- nities like Mountshannon and White- gate getting defibrillators as well as a large number in Limerick and we felt that it was time to do so ourselves. I would recommend that every village get one.”

The Red Cross will be enlisted to provide training and insurance and anyone can learn to save a life.

“T have gotten a lot of calls from peo-

ple interested in training to use them. It hasn’t been decided yet where we will put them but they will be kept centrally. In O’Callaghan’s Mills, we are lucky that the school, church, community centre and playing fields are all very close together.”

Mr McMahon added that donations from Overseas are welcome and also appealed for sponsors to come for- ward.

For more information, phone 086 “ORI oe

CLARE County Council has been accused of acting outside its pow- ers by imposing a condition that a €25 million housing development not be used as holiday homes but be the permanent homes of the owners concerned.

Last month, Clare County Coun- cil granted planning permission to Paddy Madden, Barry Madden, Jerry O’Sullivan and Paul O’Connell for a 60 home development at Dough, Kil- kee.

However, in granting planning for the homes the council states: “The dwellings shall be occupied as princi- pal placed for permanent residences. In this regard, the developer shall en- ter a legal agreement with the council under the provisions of Section 47 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000. This shall be included in the sales agreement of each dwelling.”

The developers’ planning appeal states: “It is submitted to the board that the zoning provisions do not re- strict the occupancy of houses on the site nor is it stated in any section of the plan that a restrictive occupancy condition will be attached to residen- tial developments in Kilkee…

“It 1s argued that the council have acted ultra vires in attaching such a condition to the grant of permission and in this regard, it is requested that

the board omits the condition.

The developers propose a require- ment to provide 20 per cent of the overall site for permanent occupa- tion, This would necessitate that 12 homes be restricted in use.

The appeal adds: “It is further con- sidered that such a condition would facilitate the integration of different housing needs within the town of Kilkee and would prevent secularisa- tion of holiday and permanent hous- iba

“It is not clear from the plan wheth- er the occupancy condition is to be afforded to all new development in the town. However, if this is the case, then having regard to the extent of residential zoned land in the town relative to projected demand, there will be an over-supply of houses restricted to permanent occupancy Visteon

“If it is case that the condition 1s to be applied in an ad-hoc manner to fu- ture development, such that adequate provision is made to meet projected demand as detailed in the plan, then the proposed development has been unfairly restricted to accommodate 55 per cent of the overall demand.

The developers argued that it would be unreasonable to hold them respon- sible for the future actions of poten- tial house purchasers.

A decision is due on the appeal later this year.

AN AIR Accident Investigation Unit inquiry into a “very serious in- cident” involving an Aer Lingus jet has blamed the faulty installation of a cargo door seal for pressurisation problems which forced the aircraft to declare an emergency return to Shannon Airport.

The inquiry concluded that a cargo door seal had been fitted incorrectly by an engineer at Dublin Airport who had never carried out a cargo door seal replacement on an A330 previously. The seal in this case was fitted inside out and upside down.

The incident occurred on August 18, 2005 after the Aer Lingus Air- bus A330-301 aircraft left Shannon for JFK Airport in New York.

Shortly into the flight, the captain declared an emergency due to pres- surisation problems. The aircraft made an emergency descent from 35,000 ft and the captain requested a diversion to Shannon. A normal approach was executed and the air- craft, although overweight, landed safely at 4.23pm.

Earlier, when the flight first ar- rived at Shannon, the captain was forced to abort his first landing af- ter reporting a pressurisation prob-

lem. The plane landed safely on the second attempt.

The door seal was fitted inside out and upside down which, according to the report, “would indicate that neither the crew leader nor crew- members understood how the seal functioned in flight. Taken collec- tively, they all had adequate experi- ence but obviously none were aware of the significance of the inflation holes.”

According to the investigation unit report, the incident should sig- nal the need for a review of the con- tractor’s initial and ongoing train- ing system.

The report cited mitigating cir- cumstances, however, stating that the crew leader’s attention was di- vided between two aircraft. There was also the length of time taken to acquire a seal, the time spent on the job as a consequence, the move- ment of the aircraft to another stand and the encroaching darkness.

Had the new seal been fitted at the time of the damaged seal removal, its correct orientation in the door might have been obvious to the crew who might also have noted that the inflation holes were on the incorrect side and facing out from the door centre.

PLANS for a major overhaul of Shannon ‘own Centre, to include a traditional streetscape, have been drawn up – they will go to the public and key stakeholders in the town, to allow them to have an input into the finished product.

The aim is to create a new ‘urban retail environment’ and a ‘living cen- tre’, a task described as ‘challenging’ by the firm of architects overseeing the project.

The plans – for a site across the road from SkyCourt – include a develop- ment focused on ‘people-orientated places’ with ‘daytime and evening vibrancy’, featuring a mix of town

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A presentation on the plans was made by Murray O’Laoire architects to town councillors last week. Vari- ous stakeholders, including council- lors, the business sector and local groups, will be consulted, before a draft design will be put on public dis- play later in the year. A public infor- mation evening will also be held.

Senior Urban Designer with Mur- ray O’Laoire, Daibhi Mac Domhnaill told councillors the plans – if imple- mented – would add to the image of the town and would “redefine how people view the town”.

“The objective would be to have a draft plan by September 2007 and if itis approved, it would go forward for

adoption,’ said Mr Mac Domhnaill.

“You would like to make the town centre accessible for young teens and elderly. There should be routes that would be safe at day time and after dark,” he said.

“Shannon hasn’t a great street- scape,’ he added, to responses from councillors who pointed out that there are no streets in the town.

“That is something we would want to bring to the project,” he contin- ued.

John Murray, of Murray O’Laoire told councillors the biggest challenge was to “integrate it successfully with the existing town centre”.

Clare County Council Senior Exec- utive Engineer (planning), John Bra-

dley said the council was working on a “very tight schedule”.

“There are a couple of major plan- ning applications in at the moment. Developers don’t waste time. We want to get it right. We are looking at something that will bring devel- Opers in and who want to develop in this area. This is going to be the hub of your town. At the moment a large amount of employees don’t use the town for shopping,’ he said.

He said that the land in question is owned by four landowners – the main one which is Clare County Council – all of who are being consulted with.

‘We have to flesh out what is possi- ble. What will attract the investors to invest in Shannon?” he asked.

THE restructuring plan at Shannon Airport, which includes 185 volun- tary redundancies, has already be- gun. Current workers expect the first instalment of their “loyalty bonus” on June 20.

The €10,000 payment to around 350 workers will be followed with another €6,000 within four and half months according to the original agreement, which was given the all clear after management and trade unions resolved outstanding differ- ences under the auspices of the La-

bour Relations Commission (LRC) last week.

A spokeswoman for the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) said that some redundancy dates had already been agreed.

‘Some people have been given an exit date but the majority will be phased out over the summer. That is our busiest time so changes will be gradual. We also have catering busi- nesses taking over so everyone will be working together as the structure undergoes a major transformation.”

The catering companies, HMSHost and EFG In-Flight, will also start

providing terminal and services from June 20.

The SAA fell 15 short of the origi- nal redundancy target of 200 but this was not a major stumbling block.

‘Between the number that applied and their gradings, we are satisfied that we will make the savings we need. Workers with over 24 years experience will get redundancies of approximately €100,000 and other payments will be decided on a slid- ing scale,’ she added.

“The airport is in a good position with a bright future and lots of new routes have been announced. We

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SIPTU Industrial Organiser at Shannon Airport, Tony Carroll, said that although redundancies were al- ways disappointing, SIPTU tried to negotiate for the best result.

‘We had to work on the basis that the company wanted voluntary re- dundancies and if people wanted to go, they could. The important thing was to structure and secure the jobs for those remaining. We are satisfied that the remaining staff have viable jobs.”

A YOUNG mother who stole five bottles of aftershave from an Ennis pharmacy was jailed for four months after a court heard that she had sev- eral previous convictions for theft.

Andriena Williams (25), of Doneen Road, Woodview, Limerick, admit- ted stealing four bottles of aftershave from Cassidy’s pharmacy, Ennis, on May 19. She also pleaded guilty to stealing another bottle of aftershave, earlier that day.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told Ennis District Court that the defendant was in the pharmacy with her five-year old son.

She was seen leaving the premises with one bottle of aftershave. She was not apprehended at the time.

Some 30 minutes later, she was seen leaving the same shop with four more bottles. She was stopped by security and the four bottles were recovered.

Defending solicitor, Daragh Has- Sett, said his client wanted to come

up with compensation. He said he believed the case was suitable for the ake): IHNEN MA CoKy

“She has a bad record. She is plead- ing on the first available date,’ said the solicitor.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a four month jail term and fixed a bond of €600 in the event of an appeal.

Mr Hassett said his client wouldn’t be able to meet the bond and he asked the judge to reduce it.

He said if the court would agree, his chent would “submit herself to

the gates of Limerick Prison next Wednesday”.

Judge Mangan reduced the bond to €500 and Mr Hassett said that was still very high.

The judge replied, “It’s not a very high sum, considering the offences and she has a string of previous con- victions.”

The woman then apologised to the court. The judge told her, “You shouldn’t have used the child in the commission of those offences. You did. Now face the consequences.”

A FEASIBLE shopping alternative – different to what is planned for Coon- agh in Limerick – should be planned, in an effort to attract shoppers in to SJetvevaleyey

In general, Shannon town council- lors endorsed the need for a major change in the town, to incorporate more shopping and an_ attractive Streetscape.

OE Ticet Orelireia an eel mn Ome arne ecutive Engineer John Bradley said the shopping centre at Coonagh will have a huge impact on the Shannon and Limerick areas and Shannon needs an “alternative option’.

Reacting to last week’s presenta- tion by Murray O’Laoire architects, Labour councillor Greg Duff said, “We have had numerous presenta-

tions since the 70s, but what we have been left with is a private mall that has been dressed up as a town centre. We’d be better off if we got the folk village in Bunratty and transported it vo

He said over the years, development in the town has been “solely develop- er driven. We keep on repeating the same mistakes.”

The Mayor of Shannon, Councillor Tony McMahon (Labour) said this was a “unique” opportunity to do something that was “neglected previ- ously in relation to streetscape.”

“That is the most important thing the people of Shannon would be anx- ious to have,’ he said.

Councillor Gerry Flynn said an arts centre must be an integral part of the plans and should be located in a “prime position,’ while adequate

public parking must be made avail- able.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Independ- ent) said a “living centre” is required, and overnight accommodation and facilities should also be addressed.

She noted that the land was owned by a small number of landowners and expressed concern that there would be no opportunity for others to “buy rhe onae

“It’s not just about putting in devel- opment. It’s also about putting in a centre, that there’s going to be a life there,” she said.

Cllr Sean Hillery, who runs a chem- ists in the town centre, said, “If I had my time over again, I don’t think I’d be in the town centre and that is a hard thing to say. The rents keep go- ing up.”

He said the last thing Shannon

should do is try to compete with oth- er major shopping centres, “because they would wipe the floor with us.”

“We need to do something unique. It’s most important that people would be in control, not the multinationals. I’m not against them but they are transporting our money out of here. We can have a traditional town. That’s what the people want,’ he said.

Councillor Tony Mulcahy (FG) said that a piece of land was left out of the plans and said it must be put back in.

“We deserve an answer. Somebody took it out. These guys (architects) didn’t get the correct mapping. This is the same bull we went through two years ago,” he said.

Mr Bradley replied, “I inherited this project. Those were the lands I know are there. Your concerns have been noted on the report.”