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THE citizens of Kilkee will don their berets, prepare a few baguettes and gather in the Diamond Rocks Cafe this Thursday to celebrate 25 years of twinning with the French town of Plouhinec.

By celebrating the silver anniver- sary organisers hope to form a new twinning committee and reinvigor- ate the relationship between the west Clare seaside town and the small French town.

Kilkee Town Twinning Steering Group is looking for new blood to join the Kilkee-Plouhinec Twinning Association as ordinary, affiliate, or junior members.

It is proposed to form a new man- agement committee to revitalise the twinning arrangements between Kilkee and Plouhinec and realise the benefits of town twinning for the community.

The group are particularly encour- aging young people to get involved as it promises opportunities to travel and broaden language experiences and provide alternative work place- ments.

The steering group is also encour- aging clubs, groups, and organisa- tions in Kilkee and surrounding ar- eas to contact the association with a view to exploring the potential of twinning.

Those interested in joining are

asked to part take in the 25th anni- versary celebrations in the Diamond Rocks Café at 7.30pm.

Kilkee was formally twinned with Plouhinec, the small town in south- ern Brittany, in 1983 after initial con- tacts were made in 1982.

The aim of the Kilkee Twinning Association is to promote and foster friendship and understanding be- tween the people of Kilkee, Plouhi- nec and their hinterlands and associ- aK

It also aims to encourage visits by individuals and groups and the de- velopment of personal and organisa- tional contacts, thereby broadening mutual understanding of social, cul- tural, educational, sporting, recrea-

tional, civic and commercial activi- Woe

The idea of twinning was born after World War II when it was felt that establishing links between lo- cal communities from former enemy countries would contribute to secure peace in Europe. Since then, thou- sand of villages and towns in Europe have established twinning links.

Twinning aims at developing mutu- al understanding and cross-cultural awareness between people from dif- ferent cultures. It helps develop val- ues such as citizenship and tolerance. Above all, twinning is a fun way to discover how other European people live and make friends from different felt bau lone

THE tragic drowning of a man while swimming in Spanish Point last week has left the people of Cratloe in shock.

John Harrington (58), a father- of-three, drowned at teatime on Mere See E RA

Mr Harrington, who was originally from Newport, County Tipperary, had been swimming alone when he got into difficulty.

Two local surfers took his body ashore but efforts to resuscitate him failed and he died later.

Mr Harrington, a carpenter, had been staying at his family’s mobile home in Spanish Point during an early summer break. His wife, Kath- leen, had been due to join him on the holiday the following morning. The couple had spoken on the telephone Were rhe

Mr Harrington, a keen GAA fan, had planned to go to the Munster Senior Hurling Championship game between his native Tipperary and Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick on Sunday.

He was born in Tipperary and moved to Cratloe several years ago. His wife Kathleen hails from the lo-

cal area.

He was known locally as a talented musician and played the accordion in the local church and during senior citizens parties with members of his family. He was also involved in the GAA and community games locally and was a regular Mass-goer.

Cratloe parish priest, Fr Liam En- right, said the local community was in shock at Mr Harrington’s death.

“John’s death has come as an aw- ful shock to us all. He adored his family. He was very quiet and loyal and was a good musician. He was a great worker. He did everything for his family and made sure his three children furthered their careers.

‘He painted his house on Tuesday morning and headed to Spanish Point for a few days that evening,” said Fr JSyavwesd elm

‘He was well used to the area (Spanish Point) and was generally very careful. He used to go there eve- ry year to the Willie Clancy Summer School,” he added.

Mr Harrington is survived by his mother Peg, wife Kathleen (nee Chaplin), daughters Eimear and Orla, son Colm, brothers Michael and sis- ters Kathleen, Mary Bernadette and Geraldine.

BEACHES at Ballycuggeran and Mountshannon on Lough Derg have regained the prestigious Blue Flag status which was lost last year due to algal bloom on the lake.

The beaches were among two of seven in Clare to be awarded the international stamp for good water quality, safety and services as well as environmental management, in- formation and education.

The Blue Flag jury said that wa- ter quality at the beaches had vastly improved and was now in line with

Bathing Water Directives.

“The jury acknowledges the excel- lent management efforts Clare Coun- ty Council undertook to monitor the bathing areas at Ballycuggeran and Mountshannon, sending out press releases to the media about the algal blooms and warning the public.

‘The council must have a fast re- sponse time to get the flag down and ensure the public is adequately in- formed.”

The awards, handed out on June 5 by environmental minister Dick Ro- che, is a significant boost to tourism in east Clare and has been welcomed

locally.

Sean Ward, Senior Engineer for the Environment and Emergency Services Directorate said that an early warning system had been put in place, minimising the effects of algal bloom.

“It is safe to swim in Lough Derg. There has been no algal bloom so far this year,’ he said.

He expressed his disappointment that Doonbeg beach was one of only three Irish beaches that had lost a flag before adding that the decision would be appealed.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy,

Chair of Clare County Council’s En- vironment, Emergency Services and Consumer Protection Strategic Pol- icy Committee said that the awards were achieved through hard work and collaboration between commu- nities and local authorities.

Meanwhile, the 2007 Clare Beach By-laws were announced. From June 1 to August 31, no dogs or horses are allowed onto beaches between llam and 6pm. If on a beach outside of these hours, dogs must be on a eo

Detailed restrictions are available to view on www.clare.ie.

THE long awaited sewerage scheme for the coastal village of Carrigaholt came a Step closer this week, as the council prepared to send a revised proposal for the scheme to the De- partment of the Environment and Local Government.

The fortunes of the scheme has made a complete turn around in the last three months when it appeared that it was facing even further de- JE WAS

At the end of March a preliminary review of the cost of the scheme

had shown that the unit cost for this scheme was still at a high, unaccept- able level.

A further review of the scheme has shown a marked reduction in the cap- ital cost and seems to satisfy specific Department of the Environment and Local Government requirements.

Senior executive engineer for Clare County Council Hugh McGrath, told the west Clare councillors, “we are confident that the revised proposal now meets this criteria, and follow- ing an internal review of the revised document we expect to be able to forward the proposal to the Depart-

ment of the Environment and Local Government in the next week. We also need to submit a new Part III Planning Application.”

Initially a report was prepared for the Carrigaholt/Labasheeda/Co- oraclare Sewerage Scheme bundle and submitted to the Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government, but this proved unsuc- COSINE

Cooraclare was then separated from the grouped sewerage scheme and the submission of a revised and reduced proposal for the village was drawn up. As a result approval was

received from the department for the Cooraclare sewerage scheme.

The design review is also complet- ed for Labasheeda. It proposes a re- duced outfall length and the installa- tion of a tidal valve and storage tank arrangement, allowing discharge of treated effluent on the falling tide.

The foreshore licence could hold up the Labasheeda project however by up to two year. Under the new proposal for Carrigaholt it will not require such a licence. The people of Carrigaholt have claimed that they were first promised a sewerage scheme more than 30 years ago.

EUROPE’S first ever large-scale au- dit of farm machinery is about to get underway in Clare.

The Clare Farm Machinery Audit aims to document unprotected early agricultural machinery and to estab- lish a strategy for the conservation of such items as seed drills, harrows, ploughs and rollers, horse carts and harvesting and haymaking machin- ery.

The Clare Heritage Office recently secured funding from the Heritage Council and Clare County Council to conduct the project.

East Clare-based — consultants Minogue Associates have been ap- pointed to conduct the audit. Re- orTKONSHUCMA YON MLO CCNLBE Rare TELOMmereyeel ODE Le an inventory of agricultural machin- ery in Clare and will allow for the future analysis of issues surrounding the future protection and role of farm machinery for education, historical awareness and museum and heritage centre accessibility.

“This tradition has bequeathed a significant amount of farm machin- ery dating from the late 19th- and early to mid-twentieth centuries,” explained Acting Clare Heritage Of- ficer, Tomas Mac Conmara.

YOGA has stretched its way to a prominent position in east Clare as well as many exercise regimes with people coming from all over the world to the family-run, East Clare Yoga Centre.

The Tuamgraney-based centre, opened in 2004, is one of only four facilities in Ireland to run residential courses in Iyengar yoga as well as other workshops and classes.

Owner and teacher Susanne Sturton explained that Iyengar Yoga 1s a par- ticularly traditional and intense form of the exercise technique, which is a combination of meditation and phys- ical posturing.

“People’s pace of life is faster so they want something to integrate different facets of being – mind and body. The style is very distinctive and there is a lot of emphasis on al- lignment and precision but it is tai- lored to suit the individual. You real- ly have to apply yourself but people see a real difference from a keep fit class or running on a treadmill.”

The business is truly a family affair and is based in the home. Ms Stur- ton’s husband Paul and his parents, Rod and Pheme, create and cook the vegetarian menus at the centre. The one and a half acre property is also op N ROOST DUST EABD SLO

The Sturtons were living in Lon- don when they discovered something

that would draw them to east Clare shew OLR

“We have two daughters, Holly and Hazel, and moved here because I found out that there was a flagship Steiner Wakldorf School, Raheen Wood, in Clare. It was definitely what we wanted and we are just a 10 minute walk away from it now and we really enjoy living here.”

Setting up a yoga centre was part of this plan and it has gone from strength to strength since opening, running at least four full weekly classes, a monthly workshop and 10 courses a year. “It has been hard work and we have long waiting lists so we could be doing more. People have come from England and as far

away aS New York as well as from all over Ireland. It’s nice that they are bringing these techniques back to where they’re from.”

She added that Clare was the per- fect site to practice yoga.

“There is a huge demand and it is very popular. It is about lifelong learning and many people keep it up for years. Some of the guest teachers we bring over from the UK mostly have two or three decades of experi- ence. We are aiming to create a cen- tre for excellence.”

www.eastclareyoga.ie

CLARE County Council has ap- pealed the decision by An Taisce to remove the prestigious International Blue Flag from White Strand, Doon- leeren

While the International jury con- siders the unfavourable verdict, the local authority is continuing to carry out works on the beach, and other beaches along the west coast.

The Doonbeg beach lost its blue en- vironment flag this week, not because of inadequate bathing water quality but due to improvement works at the beach, which Clare County Council expects to complete in the near fu- neko

Sean Ward, Senior Engineer, En- vironment & Emergency Services Directorate, said “we are very dis- appointed with the loss of the blue flag for Doonbeg. Major improve- ments works have been underway at this beach to improve access, and we hope to have them completed by the end of this month. We have appealed this decision to the International Jury and look forward to a favourable out- ey anton

To date this year the council has re- paired steps to the southern part of the beach and provided a new view- ing area on promontory that provides a general outlook and a facility for people with limited mobility who may not wish to go down on to the

beach.

The council also expects to restore the “Biocycle” unit to serve seasonal toilets, guard rails along the south- ern steps, a new ramp to the northern part of the beach to replace existing steps in place in the near future.

Further back the peninsula in Car- rigaholt, on the north side of the Moyarta river plans are in place for ramped access to the beach.

With the support of the local devel- Opment committee the council plans to erect a barrier at the entrance to the pier. The local authority also plans to repair and restore low walls, shrub beds and picnic areas, and de- fine and mark parking spaces.

Repairs and restoration works at

Glasheen Cove, Doonaha are to be completed before the end of the year.

The council has planned short stretches of new footpath to link the car park with existing paths and steps inside the stonewall, as well as providing suitable information and signage at the cove, the picnic area is to be extended and a viewing plat- form provided.

At Brew’s Bridge in Kilrush, the council is to demolish the shelter and replace it with a new, more transpar- ent one.

The derelict swings are to be re- moved and seats installed, with the railway embankment landscaped.

, it is simple, pa- tients can’t survive without dialysis”. Ms Eustace was reacting to news that there was no longer any room in the Haemodialysis Unit of the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limer- ick, to treat new renal patients who require the life-saving treatment.

While the HSE has sourced tempo- rary additional capacity in Tullam- ore, Tralee and Galway to accom- modate the immediate needs of new renal dialysis patients from Clare, Ms Eustace said this means long, stressful journeys for already very ill patients.

Ms Eustace explained that as many as 30 people in Clare are receiving dialysis three times a week.

For many pre-dialysis patients who will eventually need the service, it will mean needless hours on the

Key-Neb

The Irish Kidney Association has suggested that the dialysis unit in Tullamore be moved to Limerick When the hospital closes and it be- comes obsolete.

A new 17-station dialysis unit has already been accounted for in Tul- lamore’s new hospital.

The CEO of the Irish Kidney As- sociation has met with the HSE to discuss moving the 10 modern ma- chines to Limerick to raise the dialy- sis station capacity there almost 1m-

mediately from 11 to 21. The Health Service Executive promised to con- sider the proposal.

“The National Hospitals Office (NHO) has already had initial dis- cussions with the renal unit in Tul- lamore in relation to this matter and will evaluate transferring this unit once it is freed up in Tullamore,” a spokesperson for the HSE said.

He said the NHO had met with re- nal unit personnel in Limerick in re- lation to the current capacity issues at the unit.

“Several options have been ex- plored with the HSE and discussions are ongoing with a view to finding a solution that provides patients with the most appropriate access to the Tos MTA Lew MLO enict- 9 AVA

“The medium-term plan is to in- crease the number of dialysis stations in Limerick from 11 to 25.

“This will require additional capi- tal infrastructure and proposals are being considered as part as the HSE Capital Plan,’ the spokesman con- cluded.

CARERS in east Clare can now meet up regularly with others in the same situation with the set up of a local Support group.

The second meeting of the group, open to both current and past car- ers, will be on Thursday, June 14 at 7pm in the East Clare Community Development’s (ECCD) premises in Scariff.

Teresa Hickey, a carer for nine years and secretary of this local

branch of Caring for Carers, said that the group is a response to the needs of carers in the area.

‘“T noticed that there was no support eroup for people in east Clare and so carers had to go to Ennis for meet- ings. I called Susan Hogan of Caring for Carers, she came out for an open meeting and we just went from there. We will now have monthly meetings with guest speakers and get sugges- tions from members for what they would like to do.”

She added that the eight people

present at the first meeting elected Sean Connell as chairman and Cath- erine Patience as treasurer.

“We have secured financial support of €1,200 from Caring for Carers with the option of more money from ECCD if needed. We will use that to provide things such as manual or computer training, first aid, arts and crafts- anything people want. We have only started but we are very de- termined to keep it going because it is SO important.”

Ms Hickey outlined some of the is-

sues affecting carers.

“Carers want their role to be rec- ognised in society. Most would be caring full time and are isolated because of this. This is a rural area and they might not know who else is a carer, let alone meet with them. Government support has improved but the means test for carers allow- ance 1s still a huge issue. We can now collaborate with Ennis’s lobby group as well.”

For further information, contact Teresa on 087 9709121.

THE chickens and ducks of Clare can once again sleep soundly in their coup as the latest Bird Flu Scare has passed. Following a week on high alert, the Department of Agriculture and food last week announced the revocation of a ban on the participa- tion of poultry imported from Great Britain in bird gatherings in Ireland. The ban, which was introduced on May 25 in the immediate aftermath of the confirmation of an outbreak of low pathogenic H7N2 Bird Flu near Corwen in north Wales, mirrored similar moves in Northern Ireland.

The departments of agriculture, north and south of the border, have been working together to create an all-island strategy for dealing with the problem which has, to date, been NA ECLECC OSI EUTE

Last Wednesday’s decision to lift the ban follows the revocation of a ban in Britain on gatherings of ducks and chickens introduced following the outbreak in Wales.

The Minister for Agrigutlure and Food, Mary Coughlan, confirmed that her decision was taken after consultation with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in Northern Ireland, which

also confirmed the revocation of its ban.

During the period the ban was in place, the Department of Agriculture and Food maintained very close con- tact with DARD and the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in Britain, par- ticularly in relation to the possibility that poultry purchased at a market in Cumbria on May 7, which had a con- nection to the H7N2 outbreak, might have been imported to Ireland.

From inquiries made, no connec- tions were established between the Cumbria market and the importation of poultry to Ireland.

“On the basis of information from DARD and DEFRA and the passage of time since the market in Cheshire, we are Satisfied that the Welsh out- break of low pathogenic H7N2 avian flu no longer posed a threat of the introduction of the virus to Ireland and that any risk of an outbreak of avian flu in Ireland remained low,” said Mary Coughlan.

“It is appropriate that the precau- tionary ban now be lifted. My of- ficials will continue to work closely with their colleagues in Belfast, Lon- don and Brussels and will maintain the all-island approach which has worked so effectively to date.”