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RESIDENTS in Shannon are be- ing asked to get involved in a major clean-up of the town.

The local Tidy Towns committee has just put together a plan for the year and is optimistic that everybody will play a role in keeping the town Ore

Its members are particularly ap- pealing for people to take control of the litter problem, which has cost the town vital points in the national Tidy Towns competition in recent years.

Adjudication for the Tidy Towns competition will take place twice during the summer and hopes are high that Shannon will improve on last year’s success.

Chairperson of the Tidy Towns committee Tess Barry said every person in the town has an important role to play.

“We are asking the residents to clean their own areas. The residents associations are wonderful and they get behind the Tidy Towns. Every- body has a role to play,” she said.

‘However, we have a big litter problem. We are trying to address it at the moment. We are very wor- ried about the cans and bottles being thrown around the park areas. Peo- ple are littering indiscriminately. It is quite bad. If people would just put them into bags and pick them up, we would be delighted with that,” she Cr HTOR

She said that the committee is de-

lighted to hear that additional money has been made available for the up- keep of footpaths, along with the provision of lighting in the town, this year.

The imminent opening of the re- cycling plant – in Smithstown – this summer is also being welcomed.

“The residents are eagerly await- ing this. Hopefully we will have the sculpture at the town centre rounda- bout shortly. It will compliment the area,’ said Ms Barry.

Shannon Town Council has in- creased the resources for cleaning the town. Under a FAS scheme, a cleaner was available for 15 hours last year and this has been doubled to 30 hours this year.

“She is doing a wonderful job,”

said Ms Barry.

Staff at McDonald’s restaurant also helped out with a clean-up last Neto) ©

Owner of McDonald’s, Kieran Mc- Dermott said he takes every opportu- nity to support the local community.

‘When we were approached by the Tidy Towns committee for support, we were delighted to assist and came up with a novel approach of provid- ing staff and expertise, rather than money. We paid our staff members to assist in the weeding and prepara- tion of flower beds around Shannon. The feedback from the Tidy Towns committee has been so positive that we have decided to expand the initia- tive for 2008 and also to make this an annual event,” said Mr McDermott.

KILRUSH estates are to get new stone-carved placename plaques where there are developments with- out name plaques.

The news was delivered to a meet- ing of Kilrush Town Council last week by marketing and development officer, Siobhan Garvey as part of her report on activities to improve the en- virons of the town. The stones would compliment the many activities and hard work being undertaken by the Tidy Towns supporters, she said.

Among the steps which the town council would be taking to support the Tidy Towns efforts this year was continued support of the town clean- up, which takes place this year on May 26, from 10am to noon. The town council will provide gloves, bags and skips for the effort.

“This year, we’re going for gold in the tidy towns,” said Ms Garvey.

The town council, in co-operation with the Tidy Towns committee and the chamber of commerce, 1s also producing a 10-step guide to con- serving this summer.

THE killing of Liam Moloney was “meticulously planned and_ ruth- lessly executed and was followed by a cover-up”.

That was according to the Prosecu- tion Counsel Tom O’Connell, SC, in his closing speech to the jury on Friday.

He said he was “inviting” the jury to bring in a verdict of guilty of mur- der.

“The Prosecution has established beyond all reasonable doubt that An-

thony Kelly killed Liam Moloney, with the intention of killing him.

‘He lured him to his place of death by telling him a lie, that Liam Molo- ney would be introduced to the fic- tional Swedish woman, Anna Fred- erickson,” said Mr O’Connell.

He said the accused believed that Mr Moloney kept money in his flat. After he had killed him, he went straight to the flat and took around €600, before returning to his Kerry home.

“The motive, beyond any doubt, was to enrich himself, by stealing

Mr Moloney’s money after he had killed him,” he said.

He said that the accused later “‘dis- posed of every single item that might connect him with the killing’. These included Mr Moloney’s mobile phone and keys, Mr Kelly’s own clothing, along with an axe head, padlock and meat cleaver.

He said that the burglary was “cen- tral to the case”. He told the jury it was demonstrated during the trial that the accused was “unreliable” and had a history of lying but that he did not have a history of mental

illness.

Defence Counsel Brendan Grehan, SC, in his closing speech, said “there is no other issue in this, other than the issue of diminished responsibil- Aa

He said that if the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act — introduced for the first time last year — had not been in place, his client “would have no op- tion but to plead guilty to murder”.

He said in reality the killing was “brutal” and “a frenzied attack” which were the actions of “some- body out of control”.

He said the jury could conclude that the accused was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the killing and that substantially im- paired his judgement.

“The appropriate verdict is man- slaughter. I invite you to return a ver- dict of manslaughter,” he said.

Mr Justice Paul Carney told the jury that the defendant does not chal- lenge he did what is alleged.

However, he said the question, was he suffering from a mental disorder at the time, is “where the battle- ground is”.

PROPOSALS to develop a cricket eround in Shannon have been given the backing of councillors in the ie)”a0

Last week, a representative of the Munster Cricket Union Executive committee wrote to the town clerk Tomas MacCormaic, regarding the provision of a facility.

In the letter, Chris Thomas said there are more than 200 people of numerous differing communities within Ennis and Shannon, who have a keen interest in playing the game.

He said that the town council has offered the use of a facility at the back of the comprehensive school,

for playing cricket.

“I believe the area is formally iden- tified as RB and zoned for commer- cial/residential use. Unfortunately, in its current status, the area 1s not suit- able for playing the game and those wishing to use the facility do not in- dividually have the resources to pro- pose and undertake the development of same to an appropriate level,’ he Sr HLGe

“We would like to propose the de- velopment of the area into a safe and maintained facility that will serve the purposes of interested groups and the recreational demands of the greater community,’ added Mr Tho- Te TeIse

He said he believed the proposed

development would have a positive impact on the surrounding environ- ment and its current uses and would serve the needs of those who are keen to play cricket, following the success of the Irish cricket team in the recent world cup.

Councillor Tony Mulcahy (FG) said the group “obviously want to put down a more permanent structure in the area. We have to try to accom- modate all sport”.

He said it would be “pointless” to kit out an area which is zoned com- mercial/retail and said that there is a big open green space in the Cuil Cais area, which may be suitable for ule com

Independent

councillor Patricia

McCarthy said the area between Tra- daree Court and Cill Cais would be a suitable area.

“We sometimes forget we had a cricket club here many moons ago,” she said.

Cllr Greg Duff (Labour) said that councillors should be supportive of the proposal. “We should take posi- tive action to show we are welcoming of every community and support,” he said.

Shannon town manager Ger Dol- lard said it was “good to see such a positive proposal which is well thought out. Perhaps there are other locations which could be looked at. The all-weather pitch is not used at the moment,” he said.

THE future of the Irish sheep indus- try hangs in the balance this week as continued low prices offered by factories 1s on the verge of causing a mass exodus from the sector. The IFA has called on factories to up the price offered per lamb by as much €10 per lamb as a matter of urgency. Speaking following a _ meeting with the lamb factories in Dublin on Thursday, IFA National Sheep Committee Chairman, Henry Burns, said on sheep farmers need a price increase of €8 to €10 per lamb from the meat factories over 2006 price

levels just to stay in business.

‘Unless the factories are capable of returning a viable price to farmers for lamb, above the costs of produc- tion, the sector will continue to de- cline. Farmers are not going to sub- sidize lamb production by eroding their single farm payment,” he said.

‘Factories and agents talking down prices and trying to buy lamb cheap- er are acting highly irresponsibly and inflicting further damage on an already difficult situation.”

An IFA National Sheep Committee delegation led by Henry Burns met with representatives of Meat Indus- try Ireland including Kepak, Irish

Country Meats and Dawn Meats on the excessive cuts in lamb prices last week.

With production costs for spring lamb running at €90 to €100 per head, Burns commented that the meat factories know and accept that farmers cannot produce lambs at un- viable prices below the costs of pro- duction.

He continued that the IFA put the economic facts very strongly and clearly to the meat factories. “The meat plants accept that lamb prices must rise in order to restore viability at farm level,’ he continued. “The factories indicated they expect pric-

es to stabilise for the month of May. Last year lamb prices were in the or- der of €4.50/kg for most of May.

‘The factories said all of the main retailers will complete the changeo- ver to spring lamb this week and this should drive consumption and boost demand.”

He continued to say that Bord Bia have brought forward to this week a nationwide radio advertising cam- paign on Radio | and 16 local sta- tions, which should also increase domestic demand and that there was a major level of responsibility on the factories to stabilise the market and ee (one

THE jury in the trial of a man, accused of murdering hackney driver Liam Moloney, will retire to consider its verdict today.

Anthony Kelly (54), a native of Ruan, has denied murdering the father-of-four, at Portlecka, Ruan, on February 11,

2005.

Mr Moloney, who was sepa- rated, died af- ter sustaining 17 blows to the head, while his throat was cut from side to side.

The accused has admitted the killing, but says he was of dimin- ished responsibility at the time.

A judge and jury of seven women and five men has heard evidence in

the case over seven days.

According to the Prosecution, the accused carefully planned the killing and lured Mr Moloney to his death.

It claims that the accused’s mo- tive was robbery, as he went straight from the scene of the killing to Mr Moloney’s flat and stole money.

The defence, how- ever, has claimed that Mr _ Kelly suffered from a mental disorder at the time and this diminished his re- sponsibility.

At the outset of the trial, Kelly pleaded guilty to six other charges, including rob- bing Mr Moloney and taking his car, on the same date.

REMEDIAL works, costing €4.5 million, will be carried out on 100 lo- cal authority houses in Shannon.

Forty-eight houses in the Inis Ealga area and 53 former Shannon Develop- ment houses will be upgraded, under a Clare County Council scheme, the details of which have just been an- nounced. The work on the dwellings is likely to start later this year.

The cost of the works to the Inis Ealga homes will come to €2.4 mil- lion, while work on the former Shan- non Development homes will cost €2.1 million. The project will be

funded by the Department of the En- vironment, Heritage and Local Gov- ernment.

The scheme is being carried out un- der the Government’s policy of ‘de- livering homes, sustaining communi- ties’, and will be delivered as part of the overall regeneration and develop- ment of Shannon town.

The remedial works to the Inis Ealga houses will involve both inter- nal and external improvements. The houses, which were built in 1984, will be rewired. Smoke alarms will be in- Stalled in the kitchens and bedrooms, while the kitchen units will also be replaced.

Clare County Council’s housing staff Nora Keane and Tony McNama- ra outlined details of the scheme, at a meeting of Shannon ‘Town Council FNM isle .@

Mr McNamara said that the propos- als are a result of surveys which were carried out over a number of years.

“We hope to be going to tender as soon as possible. There are some is- sues in relation to fencing at the back of Inis Ealga,” he said.

He said that 15 kitchens will be re- placed, which are of poor or average fey sTebialeyer

Independent councillor Patricia Mc- Carthy said he would welcome the

investment in the houses and asked When the work is likely to com- nates (een

Ms Keane said the best case scenar- 10 will be a start date of October.

Cllr McCarthy said that down- Stairs toilets should be installed in the former Shannon Development homes.

Independent councillor Gerry Flynn said he had hoped Rossbracken houses would also be improved and pointed out that the schemes are “fabulous”’.

A number of councillors expressed concern that houses in ‘Tradaree Court were not included under the current programme.

BEEF factories are coming under increasing pressure to increase the price being offered to farmers with a farmers’ ‘hold back’ now a serious possibility.

The IFA National Livestock Com- mittee Chairman, John Bryan, com- mented last week that in over two years he had not witnessed as much anger against the meat factories in the severe way they had blackguard- ed winter finishers this spring.

“The factories’ latest moves this week to cut prices was a real kick in the teeth to winter finishers who have

endured losses of in excess of €100 per head this winter,” he said.

‘At a time when prices were rising in our main market in the UK, it was a scandal that Irish factories were at- tempting to cut prices. It is an even bigger scandal that some factories are importing cattle and telling their farmer clients that they must cut the eon

The UK market is returning the equivalent of €3.24/kg (116p/Ib) or 95 per head more than Irish prices. The IFA livestock leader commented that winter finishers had provided an all-year-round beef supply at very high costs to enable factories to serv-

ice high-priced consumer markets. The response from the factories now is to take advantage of the situation for their own gain.

Meanwhile, the ICSA beef chair- man Robin Smith has warned that midlands farmers may be tempted to hold back their cattle until prices steady a bit. “Prices in the mid- lands are back a penny this week, to €2.80/kg for Os and €2.94/kg for Rs. Yet when you look towards Donegal, better prices are available. These signs of hope from Donegal may very well encourage other farm- ers to hang on a bit longer.”

The ICSA has also laid the blame

for the low prices square at the feet of the EU.

“The low prices being quoted to Irish farmers over recent months is a direct result of EU negligence,” says ICSA President Malcolm Thompson. “Over 270,000 tonnes of Brazilian beef were imported into the EU last year, and this sub-standard product is having a huge effect on Irish beef prices. However, this figure is likely to be up substantially in 2007. In March, for example, Brazilian beef exports globally were up 33 per cent year-on-year. The USDA has also forecast a significant increase in Bra- Zilian beef exports.”

ANTHONY Kelly never knew anything about his father and was brought up in an atmosphere of se- crecy, the trial has heard.

Mr Kelly was brought up by his maternal grandparents and he in1- tially believed that his birth mother was his sister. His family was very secretive about his father.

His grandmother told him the story about who his mother was when he was aged seven.

The Director of the Central Mental Hospital, Professor Harry Kennedy, who gave evidence for the prosecu- tion on Thursday, provided a history of Mr Kelly.

“I note a history of Mr Kelly’s up- bringing in an atmosphere of secre- cy,’ said Professor Kennedy.

He said that Mr Kelly’s mater- nal grandfather was a cobbler, who worked in Ennis, and the family lived in Ruan.

His birth mother moved to the UK after Mr Kelly was born and she

married there and had two sons, who are half-brothers of the accused.

Mr Kelly fell out with an aunt who lives in Ennis, as she refused to give him the keys of the family home in Ruan, when he returned from the US a number of years ago. He has con- tact with another aunt, who lives in Ore

The trial was told that Mr Kelly went to school in Ruan, where he got on well with teachers and class- mates, with the exception of the headmaster, who he described as as orbs ae

He worked in the United States during summers and moved there after sitting his Leaving Certificate.

He was a superintendent in charge of buildings.

He married a woman from Para- guay and they had two children. They later separated.

While in America, he developed a problem with crack cocaine.

In 1994, he faked his own kidnap- ping, in the hope he would extort money from his aunt’s husband, the

court heard.

He was convicted of fraud and was sentenced to 20 months in jail.

While in prison, he got treatment for his cocaine addiction and he was later deported back to Ireland.

In October 2004, his former wife informed him that his daughter was pregnant. This shocked and devas- tated him and he began to drink very heavily.

‘He would fall into a stupor in the afternoon,’ said Professor Kennedy.

“After October 2004, he felt he was not the same person. He was in a period of depression. He has a lot of blanks in his memory around this time because of his heavy drinking,” he added.

He moved his mattress in front of his television in his Kerry home and continued drinking a bottle of alco- hol every day…“the biggest bottle I could get”’.

He drank a bottle of Bacardi eve- ry day, but did not drink the night before he drove to Clare and killed Liam Moloney.

FINE Gael TD Pat Breen has called on the Government to fix a date to which they will commit to for the rollout of CCTV for Ennis following four years of broken promises.

Deputy Breen said CCTV had orig- inally been promised in 2003, then in 2004 and again in 2006.

Ennis has been included in the latest roll out of the scheme announced by the Department of Justice in April.

Deputy Breen said a firm timetable for the installation of CCTV in Ennis must be set out.

“What I would like to know 1s the answer to a simple question, when does the minister expect that closed circuit television system will be op- erational for Ennis?

“The latest promise on this critical deterrent to crime is that over €7.5m has been provided in the Garda Vote for 2007 for CCTV projects for 17 areas including Ennis, but no com- pletion date is being provided. Can the minister or the country’s Oire- achtas members even make an elec- tion promise on this?”

Minister McDowell gave an assur- ance in 2003 that “planning for the

installation of a CCTV system for Ennis is scheduled to commence later this year [2003]”, and in 2004 “that planning for the installation of the CCTV systems in Phase 3, in- cluding Ennis, is scheduled to com- mence later this year [2004]”.

The closing date for tenders issued by An Garda Siochana for CCTV systems passed on April 24. En- nis is one of nine towns along with Drogheda, Tallaght, Mullingar, Wa- terford, Portlaoise, Kilkenny, Sligo, Castlebar, included in the scheme.

Deputy Breen added that last year he was assured by the minister that a

CCTV system would be running “in priority locations, including Ennis, by the end of 2006”.

“It seems to be beyond the remit of this minister and this Government to give a clear commitment to a firm timetable for any substantial project.

“CCTV is a crucial plank in fight against anti-social behavior, vandal- ism and street violence. It is totally unacceptable that we can have this approach to the most basic projects.

“The whole affair again exposes the Government’s failure to project manage even when it is for a rela- tively modest project.”