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FURTHER consultation between residents and Clare County Council will be required before Clarecastle will have its playground.

Residents are again to be consulted in order to identify the most accept- able site for the construction of a playground.

Opposition still exists to two sites – the People’s Park and Church Drive – identified in a surveyors report.

An area to the rear of Madden’s Terrace was also ruled out due its proximity to the river.

The April meeting of councillors in the Ennis Electoral Area also heard no land available either side of a sec-

tion of the N18 bypass.

Describing the exhaustive debate Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said “*“We are smothered with consultation. Ye’re playing out half and flyhalf with this, passing the buck”.

Catherine Early, Clare County Council, outlined to members the concerns of residents.

She said, “We have been told there is no NRA land available near the bypass. Any unused land would be sold back with the first offer going to people who previously owned the land. The north side we have been told is a flood plain, the south side is a water course. Towards the left there is no land available. Regarding the People’s Playground there seems

to be problems regarding access and the height of the adjacent wall. There are issues of safety and public liabil- ity. We were told that there is a cer- tain level of harassment when people VEstoam A bom O)-0 8 Oe

The secluded location of the Park was identified as another safety con- cern. Local councillor Bernard Han- rahan (FF) stated residents would be opposed to siting the playground in a green area near Church Drive.

“That is the only green space in that area. I wouldn’t be in favour of it. It’s used now by kids to play hurl- ing and football. If it that was built up it would lead to people congregat- ing there and noise”’.

Fellow Clarecastle councillor Joe

Carey (FG) suggested the compila- tion of a list of all publicly owned sites in the area.

Councillor Brian Meaney (GP) said, “Church Drive could be progressed through siting and design and good consultation with the neighbour- hood”.

Cllr Peter Considine (FEF) said. ‘There has to be visibility and com- promise. People will always find problems. If the wall is the only problem that is easily got rid of”.

Town Manager Tom Coughlan called for a timetable to be estab- lished and for one of the proposals to be put forward for public consul- tation under the Part VIII planning DEO TE

IN an astonishing pre-election move, the Labour Party last week declared virtual war on Irish farmers through the publication of a new bill on the controversial issue of hill walking.

The bill, which among other thing proposes automatic access to land that is 150 metres or more above sea level, was proposed by party spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ruairi Quinn, and prompted outrage from the farming organisations.

The former party leader subse- quently accused the farming organi- sation of failing to read the bill prop- erly and of a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction.

“This is ridiculous. All the major

stakeholders are working through Comhairle na Tuaithe to solve the problem of access. It is important that the Labour Party realise that this 1s- sue 1s far more complicated and sen- sitive than the bill would suggest,” said the ICSA’s sheep vice chairman, Gree mOsebenr-vanter

“It is fine for Labour to say that people should be able to access the countryside, and most farmers are hugely tolerant of this, but to give them the right is a completely differ- ent matter. People who own land, and have paid for it, are entitled to refuse access if they want to, and the idea that they would have to appeal to An Bord Pleanala to uphold their prop- erty rights is ludicrous.”

Meanwhile, the IFA’s Hill Farm-

ing Committee Chairman, Neilie O’Leary, said the Labour Party’s draft bill was a clear contravention of property rights and will have wider implications for property ownership throughout the State.

“The Labour bill is tantamount to nationalisation and I’m amazed by the presumption of rights of access over private property. I’m particular- ly disgusted by the Labour Party’s at- tempts to trample on the livelihoods of hill farmers by trespassing on their property, which in many cases is their sole source of income,” she Sr HKGE

“IT would like to see Ruairi Quinn legislate for public access to his front garden on Sandymount Green, or Liz McManus for her front garden on the

seafront in Bray.”

Responding to the criticism, Deputy Quinn, described criticism to the bill as short sighted and ill-informed.

“Some of the criticism is so wide of the mark as to suggest that the farm- ing representatives have not read either the Bill or the accompanying documentation we _ published last week,” he said.

‘The whole purpose of the Bill is to allow the tens of thousands of people who go hill walking in this country reasonable access to upland areas while at the same time ensuring that farmers are not exposed to undue risk in terms of public liability issues.”

A MAN found with two bags of heroin and a number of syringes in a brown envelope told a court that he didn’t know what was in the envelope when it was given to him.

And the man found holding the drugs had been previously convicted of dan- gerous driving in an accident in which his girlfriend was killed, the court

heard.

Brian Green of Corrovorrin Avenue, Ennis, pleaded guilty to possession of the drug before Ennis District Court.

Judge Joseph Mangan heard that the heroin had a street value of about €50.

The defendant’s solicitor, Tara God- frey, said her client “was given the en- velope by another person. He wasn’t aware of what was in it when it was handed over. He was pulled by the

Gardai five minutes later.”

The solicitor told Judge Mangan that the 31-year old had “‘never had any op- portunity to train at anything before, Now he has an opportunity to train as a scaffolder”’.

Godfrey said that of seven previous convictions which her client had, one was for dangerous driving.

“It caused the death of his girlfriend and he has never fully got over it. He’s

attended Narcotics Anonymous,” she ree

Judge Mangan adjourned sentencing until July 13 to allow a probation report be prepared but he told the probation officer that he wanted more than a re- port.

“Unless he is willing to undergo a thorough course, including assessment and treatment, he’s looking at a custo- dial sentence,’ the judge said.

GENEROUS support from surround- ing parishes as well as the home par- ish, and from parents, staff, students and businesses has culminated in the blessing and formal opening of St John Bosco Community College oratory in Kildysart.

The formalities were conducted by Bishop of Killaloe Willie Walsh who congratulated all concerned with the undertaking which he said will ben- efit generations to come. Its use for class Masses and other liturgical and spiritual exercises was warmly wel- comed. The facility is to be perma- nently open to students and staff.

Fergus Costello, the liturgical art- ist, designed a plan for the room at an estimated cost of €12,000. A fund- raising campaign, explains college chaplain and teacher Deirdre Con-

vey, was launched right away and “got wonderful support”.

A tabernacle carved from bog oak, a Madonna and Child, the crucifix and a water feature form the main focus points of the sacred space.

While the college’s building plans included the oratory at the start of construction a few years ago, there was no cash from the Department of Education and Science for furnish- ing or other equipment.

Students took a prominent part in the special liturgy devised for the blessing ceremony, which was devised by Deirdre Convey and at- tended by teachers, students, parents, board of management members, priests from the catchment parishes, Salesian sisters and people from the local community and surrounding parishes.

John Kelly spoke words of wel-

come, while Bernie McNelis was soloist. Caitriona Coffey played the harp and Laoise Sutton the concer- tina. Emer Greene delivered a piece titled “The Dream’, Caitriona Mc- Mahon read intercessions and Emer McCarthy a series of blessings.

Six students representing the catch- ment parishes led a candlelight pro- cession that preceded Bishop Walsh to the oratory for its blessing. They were Marion McMahon, Kildysart; Conor Mullins, Lissycasey-Ballyna- cally; Laoise Sutton, Cranny-Cool- meen; Brid O’Connell, Labasheeda- Kilmurry McMahon; Aoife Smith, Ennis, and Laura Daly, Clarecastle- Ballyea.

Bishop Walsh said that setting aside a special space in a school or college was a “very strong statement about the ethos and values system to which the academy subscribes”.

Marion Coughlan Flynn, college principal, said that the finalisation of the room that was now the oratory proper “was due principally to Deir- dre Convey who travelled Munster to see other oratories and eventually choose Fergus Costello, the liturgi- cal artist, having been so impressed with his work that she had seen at first hand. He has now done a mar- vellous job in the college”.

She especially thanked all who had contributed to various fund-raising events to get the oratory furnished and completed. They now had a very special place to withdraw and reflect.

AN Ennistymon man who was jailed last month for life for murder has been jailed for four and a half years for a firearms offence.

John Collins (51), of Francis Street, Rathealy Road, Fermoy, County Cork, and who is originally from En- nistymon, was found guilty in March of murdering boxing coach John Ma- hon, in Cork, on February 12, 2006.

At the Central Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday (Monday), Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins 1m- posed two four-and-a- half year jail terms, to run concurrently, for possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Darotee Counsel John Edwards, SC, told the court that his client has had a long history of alcohol abuse and the case re- lated to a “long-standing grudge”’.

“Mr Collins was not normal in the sense as we accept it. He was not thinking in a normal way,” said Mr Edwards. He said his client was “frank and forthright” in his state- ments to gardai.

“Whatever was going on in his head, it was not a case that he set out to cause hurt and upset to the deceased’s family or indeed to cause hurt to the deceased. Something overtook him. It 1s all to do with his

drink problem,” he said.

‘He is remorseful. He cannot turn back the clock. In all the circum- stances I would ask you to be as leni- ent as you can in this case,” he said.

Mr Justice O’Higgins said it was difficult for the court to divorce the charges faced by the accused yester- day with the murder charge.

He said to Collins, “You have been convicted of murder. You have been sentenced in relation to that. In some ways, the knowledge of the back-

eround makes sentenc- ing more difficult. The possession of a fire- arm 1S a very serious offence and carries a penalty of 10 years,” he said.

He said there were a number of mitigating factors involved, in that Collins co-oper- ated with gardai and showed gardai where

the firearm and ammu- nition were.

He said he was also taking into account that Collins was a “chronic alcoholic”’.

“In all of the circumstances, I have to deal specifically with these charg- es on their own merits and not in as- sociation with the murder charge,” said the judge. He backdated the sen- tence to February 2006.

A BUSKER who got arrested after his bodhran was stolen in Ennis told a judge he was “sorry for enjoying Pad- dy’s Day”’.

Ralph Perkins of Rinbow Cottage, Cadamstown, Birr, was before En- nis District Court on a Public Order Charge after being arrested during the

festivities in the town on March 17.

He told the court, “All I was doing was playing and busking and because I didn’t move on immediately the garda told me to, he shackled me and I was arrested.”

Perkins told Judge Joseph Mangan that he believed the guard was “out of order. I wasn’t doing any harm. I was just enjoying Paddy’s Day.”

The defendant added that he “missed a session” because of being locked in a cell after being arrested.

Perkins said that he had earlier had his bodhran stolen while playing on the streets of Ennis.

“All I said to him (the garda) was, why don’t you do your job and find my bodhran?”

Judge Mangan said that “what con-

cerns me, is how you plan to celebrate NM Cle gener: hae

The garda due to prosecute the case against Perkins was not in court.

Asked by Judge Mangan whether he would like to apply to the court for a direction, Inspector Michael Gal- lagher said he would. Judge Mangan struck out the charge against Perkins, who bowed and thanked the court.

A KILRUSH town councillor has called for the embargo on recruit- ment under the FAS Job Initiative Scheme to be lifted.

Councillor Tom Clyne (Ind) said that 15 people in Kilrush, who are employed under the scheme, have grave concerns regarding the future of the project.

The programme provides full-time employment for people over 35, who are unemployed for five years or more, and in receipt of social welfare payments over that period.

The main purpose of the pro- gramme is to assist long-term un-

employed people, in preparation for work opportunities, through train- ing.

Basic work carried out under the scheme includes grass cutting, stone building, litter gathering, flower pot- ting and bedding and painting.

“We recently lost two employees from the scheme and now the viabil- ity of the scheme is a great concern to the employees who remain on it. If it is the Government’s plan to phase out this scheme, it will have a knock- on effect on the extended families of the 15 people who stand to lose their jobs,” said Cllr Clyne.

“Over a long number of years, Kilrush has encountered social and

economic decline in the form of population loss and erosion of its in- dustrial and service base. Kilrush is now suffering from considerable so- cial disadvantage in the form of high unemployment,’ he added.

He pointed out that despite these negatives, the town is progressive, mainly due to the input from FAS over the past number of years.

“It still has considerable poten- tial to develop through the people employed on the Job Initiative Pro- eae 00000 ComMmN OLomnCT-BLOD

“IT am asking you as a council for help and support to change the proc- ess regarding the recruitment under the FAS scheme,” added the council-

oe

Councillor Tom Prendeville (FF) endorsed this fellow councillor’s motion.

“FAS have been very good over the years, with the Tidy Towns, the Walled Garden and the maintenance of local cemeteries etc,” he said.

“FAS stood by the Council and the people of Kilrush in the very dark days. The hand of FAS is every- where. We wouldn’t have the Vande- leur Walled Garden, were it not for FAS,” he said.

He proposed that a copy of Cllr Clyne’s motion be sent to all County Councillors, along with Junior Min- ister Tony Killeen.

LIFFORD played the Tipperary League in an under 16 friendly over the Easter break and it was the Clare side that emerged victorious on a 1-0 scoreline.

Lifford took the lead in the first half through Toni Lagan. Naomi Carroll hit a rasper of a shot which the keep- er parried. Lagan was lurking in the area and was quickest to react. She pounced on the loose ball, making no mistake from close range.

Lagan and Lifford came close to doubling their lead a few minutes later. She was one on one with the keeper who made a good save.

Captain Cathy Hayes and Niamh O’Dea were outstanding at the heart of the Lifford defence — in the cen- tre half and sweeper positions re- spectively. Laurie Ryan, Caitriona Hennessy and Ashling Darcy were equally as outstanding for the away side.

THE Republic of Ireland schools

team participated in the Celtic Na- tionals Schools’ Championship fea- turing Scotland and Wales and fin- ished in top spot.

There was Clare interest in the form of Naomi Carroll who started against Scotland and come on as a 35th minute substitute against Wales. Maria McMahon also made the squad but had to withdraw due to injury

IRELAND have failed to qualify for the Elite Phase of the under 19

Championships after losing to France in their final group two match.

It started off brightly for the Irish, recording two 1-0 victories over Por- tugal and then the Netherlands with Aine O’Gorman and Diane Caldwell netting the all-decisive winners.

Ireland faced France in their final eroup encounter and with France’s superior goal difference Ireland knew they needed to take all 3 points. De- spite putting in a brave performance they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat, both of the goals coming in the first half.

Each of the group winners takes their place in the finals in Iceland along with the best runners up. Ire- land completed their group in second place with six points and were denied the latter spot by Italy, who qualify with 7 points.

Jennifer Critchley of Lifford was on the squad and played a part in all three games.

She was in the starting line up against Portugal and the Netherlands and she came on as a half time sub- stitute in the game against France.

THE Catholic Church is set to be- come one of the main local players in property development and specu- lation in the county if its ambitious rezoning plans are realised.

As part of the review of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan, the Killaloe Diocesan Trust has made submissions in relation to six sepa- rate properties it owns in Ennis.

If the diocese is successful in its plans, it will add millions of euro onto the value of its various land

holdings.

The most ambitious proposal re- lates to the site of the Ennis resi- dence of the Bishop of Killaloe.

The trust is seeking to have the eight-acre site rezoned from ‘other Settlement land’, which allows lm- ited development, to ‘mixed use — residential, commercial and retail’ and retain the ‘open space’ section.

In the planner’s response, it points out that the site is an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) and the dwelling, Westbourne House, is a protected structure.

With the proposed relocation of Ennis National School and the con- sequent rezoning last year of 85 acres of diocesan-owned land, the diocese stands to realise €30 mil- lion.

In its submission, the Diocesan Trust has requested the council to retain the rezoning of the site at Ashline.

The trust has also requested the council to rezone lands at Station Road, containing the Old Burren cinema, the Maria Assumpta Hall, the Scout Hall and some open space

in the vicinity of the Cathedral to one of the council’s strategic *Pro- posal Sites’. The land is already Zoned community and town centre and the Diocesan Trust is seeking that the ‘Proposal Site’ be zoned to include community, office and com- mercial uses.

The trust is also seeking that the site at Cloughleigh Primary School be rezoned from community to another ‘Proposal Site’ to include community, office and commercial tone

In response to the rezoning re-

quests, the council states that the land at Station Road, including the Scout Hall and the Maria Assumpta Hall, is within the town centre boundary and the proposed uses are appropriate to town centre zoning.

In relation to the Cloughleigh Pri- mary School site, the council’s plan- ners state that “although land in the Western Residential Development Area is earmarked for a new school, in reviewing the plan, it may be ap- propriate to consider whether the community use of the site should be KoA eB UOLore Mae

TOWN councillors in Kilrush felt “snubbed” when they were left off the invitation list for the official launch of the CCTV cameras in the John Paul housing estate.

That was according to Councillor Colie Sweeney (Ind), who last week said he was entitled to be told why he and his fellow councillors were not asked to attend the switch-on of the cameras in February.

He said that the town clerk, town manager and local superintendent were all invited, as was the Mayor, Cllr Stephen O’Gorman. However he said many of the elected members

were unhappy they were not aware it was taking place.

“Many of the elected members felt snubbed and slighted when we were not invited to the official launch of the CCTV initiative. Can you offer us an explanation why we were left off the official list of invitees?” he asked, at the monthly meeting of Kil- rush Town Council last Thursday.

“I was under the impression that this council represented all the areas of Kilrush. I really am at a loss for words to know why all the elected members failed to get invited to a town council initiative?” he added.

Town Clerk Fiona Mooney said the event wasn’t so much a launch,

rather a press event. Superintendent Joe McKeown, who was head of the Kilrush garda district at the time, was invited along for the photograph opportunity.

“They have been live since Decem- ber,” she said.

She pointed out that councillors were sent a letter, in the aftermath of the event taking place, apologising that they weren’t invited.

Cllr Sweeney replied, snubbed, living in the area.”

Ms Mooney said there was no in- tention to snub anybody and mem- bers will be sent press releases in advance of future events.

Cllr Tom Prendeville said he was

“IT felt

asked by locals in the town why he had “kept away” from the opening, after photographs of the event ap- peared in the local media.

He said he accepted that the town clerk is “‘a busy lady” and that she did not intend to cause offence.

“It 1s very important that public representatives would be _ treated with the utmost of respect. I know it was an oversight. It appeared as if we stayed away,” he said.

Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind) said, “It was a bit embarrassing to be deputy mayor and not be invited, but sure we will get over it. It was an oversight.”

Cllr Sweeney then said he accepted it was an oversight.