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FURTHER details have been an- nounced about the Clare league’s plans for summer soccer.

In a statement the CPSSL say that summer soccer will allow children to have a safer, more enjoyable and cer- tain sporting experience. The ben- efits of switching to summer soccer have also been outlined.

These include; increased playing Opportunities for all; more enjoy- ment for players, parents, volunteers, coaches, managers and referees; chil- dren and families have more enjoy-

able soccer experiences; designated fixture days and timetables; minimal fixture disruption; increase in over- all training and playing standards; increase in volunteers as playing sea- son will be shorter.

According to the league the bad weather experienced during October, November, December 2006 and Jan- uary 2007 influenced the decision.

“It 1s true that the weather experi- enced this winter has led to the can- cellation of most fixtures during this time. This has led to immense frus- tration amongst coaches, parents, and most importantly, the children,

but the decision to play summer soc- cer was made at an AGM in 2005. This decision was ratified at the 2006 AGM. Besides the cancella- tion of fixtures, one of the principle reasons to play in the summer is so that children can train and play in weather that will make it safer and more enjoyable.

“Playing in the summer will also mean that children no longer have to play in slippery mud baths. This will lead to improvement in playing conditions and improve safety and enjoyment.”

There is also full agreement be-

tween all parties on the joint sched- uling of soccer and Gaelic games.

“The fixtures programme has been drawn up and agreed by CPSSL, Bord nOg Peil and Iomaint, so that with local co-operation between the various sports, each code will have fixtures on designated days. It has been agreed not to arrange fixtures on days that have been allocated to other sports.

“It 1s hoped that local co-opera- tion will mirror this arrangement with regard to training and challenge matches.”

The statement continues, “It will be

up to clubs at local level to make ap- propriate arrangements.

“It is understood by those who are involved in management and coach- ing that a child’s sporting ability will improve by playing different sports and mutual respect will need to be given to the needs of all in the com- munity”.

Each club in the CPSSL will hold an information evening in it’s region to further inform players and par- OLE

They will also give a detailed out- line of the season structure and lo- cally agreed arrangement if any.

A JUDGE has refused to grant bail to an “out of control” young drug addict who has admitted several bur- glary charges, as he feared he would immediately re-offend.

Gerard O’Connor (18), of Chapel Street, Killaloe, pleaded guilty to more than 20 charges, including bur- glary and criminal damage of vari- ous business premises in Killaloe, between September 2006 and Febru- ary 2007.

Garda John Mulvihill told Shannon District Court that the burglaries were for the accused’s personal gain, “to feed his alcohol or drug habits”.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy said, “I cannot understand how someone with this amount of charges is still at large.”

Defending solicitor Daragh Hassett pointed out that the accused was in custody, having been arrested last

week.

Mr Hassett said his chent “went on a rampage with others and caused serious disharmony. He was stealing, breaking into premises and caus- ing damage at will, until the gardai caught up with him.”

“He has got seriously and heav- ily involved rhe) erat nea since his mid- teens,’ said deTomro) een KO)

He said the accused was “out of con- trol”, smoking cannabis and taking speed, while he was Ko repsew ame B ie! the offences.

“He was, to

some extent, relieved to be caught,” he said.

Garda Mulvihill agreed that the ac- cused did not have a lot of guidance from home and that he had devel- oped a serious drug problem.

Mr Hassett said his client required

treatment aI Bushypark or an equivalent unit, without delay. He said he had been assaulted twice during the past week in St Patrick’s Institution, ““be- cause he is from WeomeOltbe LOM Ae Judge McCa- rthy said he was not willing to release the ac- cused on to the streets “to com-

mit more crime, until I am satisfied there is a place for him in Bushypark and that he is prepared to take that re) e-Nerome

He said he had no doubt but that the accused would re-offend, if granted ey nee

“I have a duty to this man and [| have a duty to society so that it is not affected by this man’s criminal be- haviour,’ said the judge.

“This is the real world. I’ve no doubt if I release this man, he is going to do the same thing again tonight because he needs money for drugs,” he said.

The judge remanded the young man in custody to Limerick prison for a month. He ordered that a Pro- bation report be carried out, with emphasis on residential placement for substance abuse.

THE Burren is proving to be a happy home for the most unusual of resi- dents. Not native to Ireland, and ex- tremely rare in most of the country, the Slow Worm, or Anguis Fraglis, has taken up residence in the lime- stone and rock of the Eastern Burren.

Despite its name and appearance, the Slow Worm is neither snake nor worm. It is, in fact, a legless lizard and was introduced to Ireland some- DUOC DOM UNM ER MOONRETA YA

One such lizard was discovered by a group of locals last week and brought to fascinate the children of Carron National School before being

released into the wild.

“IT was walking down the road with a cow when | came upon the Slow Worm. They like to lie out on the rocks and on the stones and soak up the sun. This is possibly why he was lying out on the road, he was soak- ing up the sun,” said local man Wil- lie O’Reilly who found the unusual reptile.

“We came across another one a couple of years ago in and around the same area. They are not natural to Ireland but were introduced from abroad at some stage in the past. For some reason, they seem to like the area around the east of the Burren.

The Slow Worm is native to main-

land Europe and is usually found in grassy areas and woodlands. It is unknown how the lizards came to Ireland and why they have a strange fascination with the Burren.

“If they get caught by a bird, they can let off their tail and escape. The bird can still feel the tail in their mouth so they don’t come after the Slow Worm. Their tail can then grow back. This one had more of a stump rather than a tail so it looks like he had to shed his tail recently enough,’ continued Willie.

The Slow Worm, discovered in the Burren, was just eight inches long but they can grow to as long as 18 inches. After being given a tour of

Carron National School, the lizard was released back into the wild in a townland know as Glencolumbkille, beside where he was discovered.

Although they are often mistaken for snakes, these Slow Worms have small eyes with eyelids that blink and a notched tongue rather than a forked tongue.

A fully-grown adult can live to about 30 years in the wild and up to 54 years in captivity.

THE amount of litter on the prom- enade at Clare’s premier beach resort has been slammed as “an absolute disgrace”.

Green party election candidate, Cllr Brian Meaney was speaking at last week’s Special Policy Commit- tee (SPC) for the Environment.

“The amount of litter at Lahinch is really shocking and is an absolute disgrace.

“Great care and attention should be given towards ensuring that Lahinch has a positive image. The county council is charging a premium for people to park their cars in Lahinch and that money should ensure that the council keeps the resort clean,” he said.

Chair of the SPC, Cllr Patricia Mc- Carthy (Ind) said, “The issue of lit- ter is out of control right across the county.”

Cllr McCarthy said that the weath- er was particularly good over the past four weeks, but that the council’s summer staff were not in place.

Cllr Meaney said, “If we had clean streets, people would be less likely to throw litter on the streets.”

The council’s Director for the En- vironment, Ger Dollard said, “Clare County Council doesn’t put down lit- ter. It cleans it up and the community needs to take on the problem of lit-

os

Mr Dollard said that litter bins had been placed at all beaches in Clare now.

He also confirmed that the contro- versial ban on dogs at the county’s beaches would be re-introduced on Ait stou e

The council would not shy away from imposing fines on those found flouting the the ban. No fines were imposed throughout last summer.

Mr Dollard said that enforcement “will be up a bit higher” than last summer, although he stated that peo- ple wouldn’t be fined for the first of- fence.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said that continuous offenders would be fined.

Anyone found on a beach walk- ing their dogs on Clare’s beaches between llam and 6pm will face an on the spot fine of €125, or a fine of €1,270. The fines apply even where dogs are controlled on a leash.

GREEN Party leader Trevor Sar- gent was in Ennis this Thursday to lend support to local candidate Brian Meaney, even though it would ap- pear the leader remains at odds with the Clare councillor on the issue of American troops using Shannon Airport.

In March last year, Cllr Meaney didn’t win any popularity contests at the party’s conference in Kilkenny when he declared he was not op- posed to the use of Shannon Airport by American troops.

He said at the time that he was nev-

er in favour of “the coalition of the willing” going into Iraq but believed that the armies must stay to help pre- vent a civil war in the area.

This week, when challenged about the economic importance of the American troops using Shannon Airport, Deputy Sargent said, “the Nazis in Germany would have said the same thing.

“I think you have to have a level of respect for human rights which will underpin a sound economic future, because if you accept a low standard of human rights then it quite simply gives the message of accepting low standards in general.

“Our policy is that fundamentally the law has to be upheld. Our oppo- sition to the way American troops were sent to Iraq was based on the fact that it was an illegal occupation. We insist on high standards overall and we do not accept corporate do- nations,’ he added.

Ironically, it was at the same March 2006 conference that deputy leader Mary White proposed that the Green Party be allowed to receive such do- nations. She was defeated.

Deputy Sargent also said that there was a lot of misunderstanding about the Green Party and asked Clare vot- ers to look anew at its policy.

“Other parties paint us into a pi- geonhole that is not correct,’ he said. “I was at a meeting with Brian (Meaney) in Ennis and many farm- ers were attending and were very in- terested in the whole area of energy crops and the need for diversity in farming. That is why the Green Party is very much at one with farmers.”

“They have been let down by many parties in the past and it is not sur- prising that they are sceptical about anybody in politics, but I ask them to look a fresh at the Green Party be- cause our interests tie in very closely with farmers.”

Sargent said he was hopeful of Green success in Clare and even placed a bet in a local bookies, back- ing Cllr Meaney.

CHILDREN, teachers and parents connected with Mol an Ojige, En- nistymon’s new Steiner School, gath- ered in Lahinch on Friday in an at- tempt to spell out exactly what they need from the Department of Educa- nee

Some 7/0 people helped form a giant human chain on the sand of Lahinch beach spelling out the letters SOS, Support Our School.

The school, which is located be- side Data Display in Ennistymon, has been attempting to gain official recognition from the Department of Education for the past two years.

“All of the children and the parents, teachers and friends of the school gathered on the strand at Lahinch beach to form a human chain spell- ing out SOS, support our school,’ said Roisin Ni Ghairbhith.

“We feel that now is a critical time

for our school. We received a posi- tive recommendation and approval from the New Schools Advisory Committee. Minister Hanafin then said that under the circumstances she would allow more time to get a new patron for the school and so we did. We received the new school advisory committee’s seal of approval two weeks ago So now we are waiting for approval of our new Patron to secure recognition from the Department of Education.”

Mol an Oige succeeded in obtain- ing a new patron in the last couple of weeks. Lifeways Ireland have agreed to act as patron for the school following indications from the New School Advisory Committee that the VEC would not be suitable patrons. Lifeways Ireland is a Clare-based pre-school and education specialist. The registered charity and Limited Company contains a wealth of edu- cational experience including lectur-

ers from Mary Immaculate College in Limerick and a number of primary – and second-level teachers.

“We want politicians to raise our school as an issue in the run up to the election. We want people to support the school by raising it as an issue When politicians call to the door- steps. We need and deserve to get departmental recognition this year,” continued Roisin.

“Department recognition would be a huge help for the school. We would get state funding to help pay the staff, we would be able to apply for grants, we would not have to raise all the money for the running of the school by ourselves and most important we would not have to charge any fees, nominal and all as the existing ones are. Every school has to raise money but it would be a huge benefit to get some help from the department. We have always wanted our children to attend a recognised school within the

Department of Education. That was always our aim.

“We have done absolutely every- thing that has been asked of us. We are really hopeful that we will get recognition from the department sooner rather than later.”

Sharon Shannon will appear in a fundraising concert for Mol an Oige on June 7 at the Falls Hotel in En- nistymon. Tickets, at a cost of €25, are available form the Falls Hotel, Daly’s Bar and Unglerts Bakery in Ennistymon, the Celtic T-shirt shop in Lahinch, Custy’s music shop and Record Rack in Ennis.

All proceeds go to the school.

yesterday. She emphasised that any

urgent problems would be addressed.

“If there is any emergency, we will deal with it. There will be night levels of staffing in areas such as accident and emergency. Work is already un- derway, in conjunction with the man- agement in Ennis, to ensure that all essential services will be maintained,” she said. “We are still hopeful, even at this late stage, that the strike can be averted. It is designed to put further pressure on the HSE but at the same time minimise the inconvenience to patents.”

Ms Fogarty criticised the HSE for extending its planned pay cut to in- clude fourth-year nursing students.

“This has been designed to scare us off. They are looking to break the un- ion,” she added.

Meanwhile, the INO yesterday an- nounced the suspension of all over- time by their nurses from this Friday in retaliation to the HSE pay cuts.

ENNIS Chamber of Commerce yes- terday (Monday) had its say in the General Election campaign with the launch of its manifesto.

It outlined issues of concern to the Ennis business community using feedback from its members.

Chamber President Michael Evans took the opportunity to express his disappointment with the level of re- sponse the chamber received from the candidates when the manifesto was sent to them and a meeting re-

quested four weeks ago.

‘To date, we have met with Timmy Dooley, Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Brian Meaney, Pat Breen and Brendan Daly. We have received written re- sponses from Tony Killeen and James Breen as well as commitment for a meeting from Murt Collins.

“As the representative organisa- tion for business in Ennis, we can provide the candidates with a forum for important issues to be addressed. Strong businesses provide guaran- teed employment and are the only sector of society paying rates – both

commercial and water – which in En- nis accounts for over a third of the town council’s finances,” he said. Rita Mc Inerney, CEO added, “En- nis Chamber plans to meet with the four newly-elected Clare representa- tives immediately after the next gov- ernment is formed to emphasis again the issues of the Ennis Chamber manifesto and to receive firm com- mitments to action on the issues.” Among the issues highlighted were Shannon Airport, Ennis hospital, water in Ennis, the bypass, CCTV AVOCGMbOUBeAKinae GA bKes

IS it just me or is it starting to get crowded in here? Greek officials were in Clare last week to dot the I’s and cross the T’s for the twinning of the town with Shimatari in Greece.

Ennistymon is already twinned with the Pozzo Leone in Italy and this second twinning, or ‘tripleting’, takes place as a result of the Italians’ relationship with Shimatari as well as through the work of Clare County Council, Clare Tourism Council and Project Ennistymon.

A group from Shimatari, including the town’s mayor Evagelos Georgiou

with his wife Stella, were in Clare this week visiting the sites and get- ting to know the local people. Aside from Ennistymon, the group also visited the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren as well as parts of west and east Clare.

“Twinning encourages co-opera- tion between these old cultures. It also encourages people to visit areas of the world that they would not have known about otherwise,” said Mayor of Clare, Flan Garvey.

“Another big part of the programme is to encourage students to take part in the exchanges and visit other coun- tries. Twinning here in Clare has al-

ways had a good track record and we have always succeeded through our schools.”

Shimatari is a seaside town some 60 miles south of Athens, with a popu- lation of 8,500 people. The twinning could lead to more visits and ex- changes between the two towns.

A group of schoolchildren from Shimatari have already visited En- nistymon and the Vocational School is looking at making the return jour- ney in the future.

A delegation from Ennistymon will travel to Shimatari later this year, Where the final formal declaration will be signed.

‘It also makes people aware of plac- es that they never would have heard of before. It helps tourism grow and develop back and forth. It’s a great opportunity for us to show off what we have to offer,” continued Flan.

“It is of great benefit to the local tourism economy. When these peo- ple visit here, they spend money on food, drink and accommodation. It is an ongoing thing and something that will continue to grow as the years go on.

“Signing up to the twinning just copperfastens the programme and ensures that it will continue long into som RU IRUD Rome

THE Clare Junior football team trav- el down to Dungarvan this weekend with limited optimism following dis- rupted preparations due to injury and club commitments.

Clare have been struggling to get players together to get good qual- ity challenge matches recently after been hampered by a long list of casu- alties. Injury to Thomas Madigan in

last Saturday’s O’Gorman cup add him to Clare’s treatment table which also includes Brian Troy, Eoin Cur- tin (finger), Danny Lynch (hand) and Brian Curtin who sustained an in- jury playing for Clare in last friday night’s challenge match against Cork. Cusack, Garry and O’Gorman cup games also limited Clare’s ability to assemble for training and challenges. Nevertheless, Clare managed to play Limerick twice as well as Shannon

gaels and Cork in the run up to this game and had a final challenge game against Eire Og last night in order to make final adjustments for the big game on Sunday.

Waterford on the other hand, look to be quietly confident ahead of Sun- day’s Munster championship game. Senior Manager John Kiely also manages the junior side and he has been preparing the two sides togeth- er in order to get the best out of his

players.

Waterford have a total panel of 30- 35 players and it is felt that the junior team will be made up of the second string of this squad. Asked about the challenge of Waterford, Clare junior manager Micheal McDermott reck- Oy iTere Mm Aer: MmOA WE: TKou CORO MMA OOM Olomm EDO UN fit and extremely competitive. I thnk they have won two junior all-Irelands in the last ten years and any match down in Dungarvan will be a diffi-

cult match but hopefully we’ll do it”.

McDermott judges Clare’s prepara- tions “in the could be better catego- ry’ but he is hoping that some of his injured list could be available.

He admitted, “We haven’t picked our team yet but we will sit down to pick a team on Wednesday or Thurs- day night and see who we have that are free from injury. But hopefully we ll have a team that will be good enough to beat Waterford.”