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A MAN who failed to abide by a court order to sign on daily has been refused bail.

Patrick Ballard, of Rossbracken, Shannon, appeared in court last week, accused of assaulting a garda in Shan- Wteyee

Ballard previously appeared on charges relating to the stealing of cig- arettes, alcohol and clothes in Ennis and Shannon.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told Shannon District Court that he was objecting to bail.

He said that in February, the accused had been ordered to sign on daily, but had failed to do so in recent weeks.

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client was a “troubled young- ster”. Sergeant Dermot O’Connor said he accepted that.

Ms Godfrey said her client was “*vul-

nerable”. The sergeant replied, “His mother and members of An Garda Siochana dealing with him are vulner- able as well”.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy said the accused was “committing crimes all over the place. Society has to be pro- tected”.

Ms Godfrey said the duty of the State to the accused has not been car- ried out. She said the probation serv- ices were to carry out a report and this concluded that prison was not a suit- able place for her client.

The judge replied, “The State is not in locus parentis to Mr Ballard. He has responsibilities.”

Ms Godfrey said her client has been ‘led astray” by people who are unde- sirable.

The judge noted the accused had breached his bail and remanded him in custody for a week. “I want to see a psychiatric report,’ he said.

ENNIS Town Council are to write to the government requesting a change in the current rules on displaying election posters in urban centers.

Members opted to do so after de- ciding against adopting a policy that would have seen posters be given a designated area.

The proposal was put forward by Green Party councillor Donal O’Beara and follows a similar sys- tem to one used in France.

Proposing the motion, Cllr O’ Beara called for “the council to adopt a sys-

tem of providing a designated area of panels for posters would avoid the cost, litter potential, inequality due to differing means of raising finance and waste associated with traditional postering. It would continue the pro- motion of elections and democratic system and assist Ennis Tidy Town’s OKO) a ae

Prior to the general election cam- paign, Ennis Town Council wrote to all candidates requesting they refrain from erecting posters within the town. The request was made in light of the town’s success in the an- nual Tidy Towns competition.

Cllr O’Beara added, ““We’ve taken a step forward with the current sys- tem. I think we should take it to the next level and lead the way on this”.

Town manager Tom Coughlan sug- gested more information would be required before the policy could be fully adopted.

“We make informed policy deci- sions but we can’t advise here be- cause we don’t have the full informa- nln

“[’m not opposed to the proposal. I would have to know whether it is possible to do it and I don’t know if we can do it or not.”

Cllr Tatwoo Matthew (Ind) stated more information would be needed. Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said ‘Everyone has respected the current system, if it is working so well why change it”.

Cllr Peter Considine (FF) proposed that the walls be multi-functional “There is a growing cult of graffiti walls in towns and cities that are used by artists. You could set aside two or three panels for it. If we are doing this we might as well go the whole hog”. Town Clerk Eddie Power said problems could develop in enforcing the policy.

A MAN who called gardai “paedo- philes” did so because of a previous incident, a court has heard.

Maurice Walsh (57), of Finian Park, Shannon, appeared in court last week, charged under the Public Order Act.

Shannon District Court was told the accused called gardai “paedophiles and c****s” and accused one garda of setting him up for drink driving, on March 3 last.

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said the accused’s wife is deceased. This date would have been her 50th birthday. He drank too much alcohol and became emotional, she said.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy asked, ‘“What’s his problem with gardai?”

Ms Godfrey replied, “I think it’s his problem with the world at large.”

At that stage the accused addressed the judge.

“What have I got against the gardai? Four years ago, I was inside in Ennis General Hospital, having two operations carried out and while I was having the operations carried out, gardai arrived at my house with a search warrant, on the pretence I was after stealing a Kawasaki motor- bike from Sixmilebridge,” he said.

The judge told him that was a mat- ter for the Garda Complaints Board. The accused said he had made a complaint, but the garda officer who investigated it found there had been no wrongdoing.

The case was adjourned for a Pro- ley 1h(O0 Ke) Lam

SHARON Shannon returns to north Clare early next month for a spe- cial once-off concert in support of Ennistymon’s Mol an Oige Steiner school.

The trad legend will play an inti- mate concert at the Falls Hotel and Spa Resort on Thursday, June 7, along with her sister Mary and Jim Murray on guitar.

Renowned in the past for taking on causes such as animal welfare, the Ruan musician has joined the likes of the Frank and Walters in putting on support concerts for the school.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have

Sharon coming up and putting on a concert. It’s areal boost for the school to have someone of her calibre who is willing to get behind it and help,” said Mary Fahy of Mol an Oige.

‘There is a great buzz around about it already, even the young kids are getting excited about it. Tickets are selling out so quickly and we would advise people to get theirs sooner jel elo) mm Oe- DOM Esl Kos ie

Also appearing on the night will be vocalist and guitarist Jack Maher, Eoin O’Neill, Quentin Cooper, Tara Connaghan and Jon O’Connell from The Walls.

All proceeds from the concert will go directly to the Mol An Oige

primary school, which does not, at present, receive any government funding. The school instead relies heavily on fundraising events and donations to cover the costs of run- ning the school.

‘Numbers are good at the moment. We have 40 children attending which is all that we can accommodate.

‘Numbers are high for next year and the year after already. The local community is really getting behind the school,” continued Mary.

‘Fundraisers like this are essential for wages, for classes and for equip- ment.

“We have had a lot of donations from local businesses, and local

craftspeople have been doing a lot of work at the school for free.

‘The fundraising is essential. We wouldn’t be able to survive without it.”

Tickets, as a cost of €25, can be bought in Ennistymon from the Falls Hotel itself, Daly’s Bar and Unglert’s Bakery as well as from the Celtic t- shirt shop in Lahinch.

Custy’s music shop in Ennis and Record Rack (065 6820769) will take credit card bookings.

The Falls Hotel has accommoda- tion on offer on the night and can be contacted on 065 7071004 for all overnight booking requirements.

POLITICAL graffiti artists have tar- geted some 50 General Election post- ers in the north Clare area in an act of political ‘jamming’.

The effected posters, which are di- vided indiscriminately across all po- litical parties and candidates, feature a pair of false cartoon eyes stuck on the candidates’ faces, as well as the words “Obey Me’ embossed on their Ke)Ko store OMOmonvne

Jamming is a form of graffiti in which the artist targets public adver- tisements or political posters in order to express a political or moral point.

The posters are located in the Lahi- nch, Ennistymon and Inagh areas but

a number can also be seen on the In- agh Road in Ennis.

The process of jamming has become more commonplace in Irish elections in recent years. The most high-pro- file recent example of jamming took place in Cork City during the 2002 local election.

On that occasion, brown paper en- velopes were attached to hundreds of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael election posters in the centre of Cork City on the night before the election.

A Cork-based anarchist organisation later claimed responsibility for this stunt which was part of its ‘anti-elec- tion’ campaign. To date, no-one has claimed responsibility for the north Clare jamming.

According to the Head of Psychol- ogy at the University of Limerick, Tony Cassidy, the graffiti is actually a positive sign.

“It does represent some disillusion- ment with the state of politics in the area, but it is actually a quite positive thing that people are willing to put that much time and effort into mak- ing a political statement,’ said Dr Cassidy. “It shows a level of disillu- sionment with the system, but it also shows that the people involved have a will to make their voices heard. It is quite a positive thing in that respect.”

Meanwhile, Fine Gael candidate Pat Breen has described as “politically motivated” the destruction of his bill- board in the outskirts of Kilrush just

hours after it was erected.

The €60, eight-by-four-foot bill- board, which was erected on Saturday evening, was discovered on Sunday in an adjacent field.

The board, which was promoting Fine Gael’s commitment to accident and emergency services in Ennis with a picture of Breen’s head, had been de- faced with the TD’s mouth cut away.

Deputy Breen told

MEP Sean O Neachtain was in En- nistymon on Friday to meet with the staff and students of Scoil Mhuire in Ennistymon. The Galway-based MEP was in town to examine the European Studies projects of some 40 students of the school.

O Neachtain is the latest in a series of MEPs to have visited the school in recent years, with Dana and Brian Crowley also paying a visit.

“At the start of the year, we re- ally didn’t know all that much about European studies or how the EU worked. At first we were introduced into the basics of how the parliament is divided and how there is so much

peace between the counties now,” said Hannah O’Brien, from Lahinch.

‘But we were also introduced to the cultural side of it and were allowed to decide what topic we wanted to take on for ourselves.”

The projects ranged from politi- cal issues such as immigration and economic matters to more cultural topics.

“My topic focused on the develop- ment of film in three countries — France, Italy and Spain,” continued Hannah.

“We were given loads of choice as long as it had some connection with the EU. Some people chose more politically-orientated subjects, like for example the inclusion of Turkey

in the EU. If you were good at mu- sic, you could branch off into that or horse riding, whatever, as long as you looked at the cultures of the different countries.

‘“T looked at the beginnings of film, and how things like religion and war effected them. I also looked at the progression to modern day and how European film is now standing up to big Hollywood films.”

Sean O Neachtain was elected as a MEP for the north and west region in 2004. He currently sits on commit- tees for fisheries, transport and tour- ism and is a substitute on the com- mittee on the budget.

“I guess I wouldn’t have known who Sean Neachtain was this time last

year,’ Hannah continued. “Now we know what he looks like at least. No, we also know a lot more about the work he does and how it all works. We all definitely have a better idea of it now than we had coming into the year. I see how Ireland has benefited so much in term of funding and how the EU has promoted so much over there.”

DOONBEG will play host to Irish and international musicians over the June bank holiday weekend when the eight International Jazz Festival comes to town.

The popular annual event attracts as many as 2,000 visitors to Doon- beg with its mix of swing, dixie and jazz and this year’s programme will suit all tastes with performers from Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, England, Guatemala, and Ireland.

Committee member, Philippa Sea- grist, said that the festival has gone from strength to strength over the years.

‘It has been a slow process but we

are getting a good reputation. The festival is not about heavy jazz but a lively jazz mix. We are just final- ising the last details now and we’re hoping for lovely weather like the last Whit weekend,” she said.

Philippa added that all the events are free despite the “miniature” budget and most will take place nightly in local bars before a hoped for “spill” of the crowd onto the streets for the final day.

The festival will officially open in The Igoe Inn on Friday night and there will also be a Saturday after- noon jazz ‘jam’ session.

The festival will have many high- lights this year including Edith van den Heuvel and Dany Schwickerath

with songs from The American Songbook, as well as modern jazz tunes from Horace Silver and Th- elonious Monk.

Manu and his Latino House is a showcase of international musi- cians who have joined with Manu Ramirez from Guatemala to make an exciting Latin-Dance fusion with Afro- Caribbean influences. They have appeared at the Gaiety Theatre Latin Club, The Temple Bar Music Centre, Half Moon Club and the Cork Jazz Festival.

The Portobello Jazzband from London will bring the flavour of New Orleans to west Clare with their six piece Dixie Band.

Flying the Irish flag will be The

Jazzberries a Dublin based duo who have been entertaining their audiences since 2002, playing jazz standards and swing as well as mod- ern tunes with a jazz twist.

The East Coast Jazz Band from Arklow are an exciting five-piece band playing popular jazz, bossa and blues and have appeared at the Cork Jazz Festival for the last 10 Nerd ase

Local band Skazz will be enter- taining with their unique mix of jazz, reggae and ska, fresh from be- ing voted ‘Best Band’ at Cork’s Bal- lydehob Jazz Festival. Limerick’s David Irwin Trio and Spilt Ends will also make highly anticipated appearances.

FORGET the general election, it’s the European Union that has been cap- turing the imagination of students in north Clare over the past few weeks.

Mary Immaculate Secondary School in Lisdoonvarna and Scoil Mhuire in Ennistymon have taken part in a number of exciting interna- tional events all centered around Eu- rope Day and the 50th anniversary of the EU.

First came Dublin, and a mock sit- ting of the European Council featur- ing the fifth-year students from Mary Immaculate.

The students, who were the only

ones from Clare chosen to take part, were asked to represent the Europe- an Commission on the day and pre- sented a report on global warming and terrorism.

Thirteen students from Mary Im- maculate were then joined by 12 more from Scoil Mhuire for a Eu- ropean trip to take part in the Euro Schola programme.

The students, along with teach- ers Marian O’Callaghan, Mary O’Flaherty and Helen Cleary, joined 650 students from every corner of Europe who took over the EU Parlia- ment in Strasbourg for a day.

“We found the discussion very good, especially in term of the dif-

ferent languages,’ said Marian O’Callaghan from Mary Immaculate Secondary School in Lisdoonvarna.

‘Each student received a certificate and this was the first time that they were printed in Irish. Later in the af- ternoon, there was a mini quiz with questions in all different languages.

‘The students had to go around and try and communicate with people from other countries to find out what the questions meant.

‘There was an Irish question so we were very much in demand from the 0) ates mi AUCOCo LAS

“Fifth-year student, Daniel Col- lin, then addressed the parliament in Irish, which was a very proud mo-

ment for all of us.”

Ennistymon’s Aisling Geraghty was also given the chance to address the Parliament.

“We went over as acting MEPs for the day. We were broken into dif- ferent groups, discussing different topics. The group I was in was En- vironment, Energy and Transport,’ she said.

“IT was chosen as president of my committee and had to report back to the parliament in the evening. It was scary, but it was a brilliant experience as well. I was asked questions from the house and it was really exciting. It would give you a real insight and wake you up to that sort of career.”

THE Kilrush Family Resource Cen- tre will hold a day-long conference on all aspects of family health from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, May 26.

All interested parties can attend the free event, which will involve half- hour talks about everything from nutrition to sexually transmitted in- fections.

Development worker Viv Rooney outlined the speakers and topics lined up for the day.

“A representative from the HSE who is going to talk about healthy eating and cessation of smoking will attend. There will be a breast checker and someone from the Marie Keat- ing Foundation talking about cancer awareness. Staff from the Red Rib- bon Project will be there to address sexual health. We have two women from the Shannon Youth Service looking at relationships and STIs Koren

There will also be a public health nurse giving an update on their ac-

tivities in Clare, a spokesperson from Clare Haven will talk about the ef- fects of domestic violence as well as speakers on family planning, repro- ductive health and complimentary health.

Ms Rooney said that this is the big- gest event of its type staged by the family resource centre and it has been in the planning stages since January.

“This event is part of our three year plan because we wanted to do something around the area of health awareness and promotion. We all

talked about it and decided a confer- ence would be a good way to do it. It will be a great day – very interest- ing. There are lots of different talks and we will change topics quickly so that we can cover a snippet of every- den eetoaa

Numbers are not strictly limited but booking is needed, ideally before Spm on Tuesday, May 22 (today), so that lunch can be provided for every- one on the day. For information con- tact Kilrush Family Resource Centre on 065 9052173.

DUBLIN’S RDS belonged to the transition-year students of Gort Community School last week. Some 20 students and two teachers from the school made the long trek to the capital to take part in the National Young Social Innovators Showcase.

The journey was well worth it, how- ever, as the school saw off competi- tion from almost 400 other schools to win their category and come sec- ond in the overall competition.

The students presented a project based on the work they have been doing in highlighting issues around HIV and AIDS over the past year.

“Each school had a stand, the kids would man the stand and students

from other schools and judges would come and visit the stand. It is like a Young Scientist competition for so- cial issues,’ said teacher, Carmel Neylon.

“We thought that we were getting on well because the judges kept com- ing back for a second and third look. They especially liked the links that we made with outside partnership eroups, people like Aids West, Aids Partnership Africa and all the vari- ous projects that the students have undertaken on an ongoing basis, things like World Aids Day.

“We are also now selling pins with all the profits going to AIDS chari- ties. They organised workshops for other students in the school to make them aware of HIV/AIDS, to make

them and the wider community aware and got politicians involved as well.”

The project grabbed national head- lines last year when a photo-shoot was organised featuring almost 100 students spelling out the word HIV.

“It has really opened their eyes. They would have known of HIV/ AIDS, they probably would have known how people become infected but they would not have known the huge numbers of people who die in different countries every day. This is partly because there is a stigma at- tached to it and that is why it is not being tackled properly,’ continued Cr Turtoe

“The wider community was a big focus. It wouldn’t have been as effec-

tive if we had started it just here in the school. One the biggest achieve- ments of the project is the creation of a mural, which will be put up in the community as a long-term reminder of the project.”

Meanwhile, the school’s debating team reached the final of the Concern National Debating Championships for the second year in succession last week. The team — which included Kate O’Connor, Emma _ Fogarty, Danielle Cuffe and James Mahon — was coached by Sr de Lourdes Fahy and Caroline Meagher and lost out narrowly in the grand final.