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DOORA-BAREFIELD native, Martina Molo- ney, is to become the first female County Manager in the history of Galway, it was an- nounced last week.

The 47-year-old mother-of-two began her county council career as a clerical officer in Ennis and was, most recently, county manager in Louth for the last three and half years.

She is also a former director of services with Galway City Council and has some 20 years of experience working for local Government.

Although the appointment was announced last week, Ms Moloney is unlikely to begin work in Galway until later this summer.

She must also be ratified by the elected members of Galway County Council at their meeting later this month and will not be of- ficially appointed in her position until May.

Ms Moloney’s late husband, Jimmy Hick- ey, 1S also originally from the Ennis area. The pair met while they both worked for the county council in Ennis. Jimmy passed away in 1991.

“IT am excited about the challenge of being back in Galway and one of my main aims will be to do my best to help improve the county’s capacity to attract and accommodate new in- dustry,” she said.

“There is new main route through east Gal- way to Dublin, the many issues regarding the N17 and N18 and of course I am familiar with the Claregalway situation.”

While her career working with local authori- ties started out in Ennis, she has since got a lot of experience around the country.

She worked with councils in Limerick City, Donegal and North Tipperary before moving to Galway City and then to Louth.

SHANNON Airport could see an additional 100 extra military flights every month with an expansion of services by Omni Air International, one of several airlines contracted to carry US military personnel for the Pentagon.

While the new services were not ex- pected to start until next month, two Omni Air flights arrived at Shannon on Saturday afternoon prompting calls from anti-war group the Peace

and Neutrality Alliance to call for campaigners to step up their protests at Shannon.

Former Irish Army Commandant and well known anti-war campaigner Ed Horgan said the passage of US troops through Shannon is becom- ing accepted custom and practice because not enough Irish people care about the killing of ‘foreigners’ in places such as Iraq.

News of the expansion in services by Omni Air will, however, be a sig- nificant boost to the airport after the

biggest carrier of US military per- sonnel for the Pentagon pulled out last year.

World Airways shifted its military technical stops to Leipzig, Germany citing economic reasons.

With the loss of World Airways, there has been a dramatic drop in US military traffic at Shannon.

Almost 15,000 more troops passed through the airport in January 2006 than in the first three months of this year combined.

26,817 troops stopped off at Shan-

non on 268 flights in the first quarter of this year, representing a drop of almost 77 per cent on the figures for 2006.

The Dublin Airport Authority, which still governs Shannon, has al- ready warned that Shannon Airport should not rely on the military transit nee nelen

DAA Chief Executive Declan Col- lier said that Shannon’s losses are “only slightly camouflaged by the military transit traffic which is not a sustainable business.”

Shannon has earned an estimated €8m a year for the past six years from US military traffic and its loss- es would be far greater if it did not have the military business.

A spokesperson for the Shannon Airport Authority confirmed that Omni Air are putting a programme of flights through the airport from next month.

This new business is expected to see up to 100 flights a month carry- ing as many as 10,000 troops.

MICHAEL Considine was an ani- mated figure on the Gaelic Grounds sideline on Saturday afternoon.

It was a combination of trying to get his team going, exhorting them to ereater heights and venting his anger at some of the decisions that didn’t go his team’s way.

The latter is something that Con- sidine was thinking about after the game – the injustice done to Clare twice in the first half when they were playing catch-up after Limerick scin- SD UE-lenerea eva

“T’m not making excuses but I thought the refereeing was a dis- grace, said Considine about Mau- rice Condon’s handling of the game.

‘The decisions that went against us were unbelieveable. Gary Leahy was pulled up by the referee after he took a free, while Enda Lyons should have been awarded a penalty. He was defi- nitely pulled back. When those things gO against you it makes it harder. We needed scores badly at that stage but didn’t get them,” he added.

However, the refereeding aside, Considine admitted that it was a very disappointing display by his charges after they play some fantastic foot- ball in the drawn game three days previously.

“We were flat, very flat,” he admit- ted. “The start killed us, to concede 2-3 of a start to Limerick meant we were chasing the game and it was al- ways going to be very hard to come oye) que ueyeemset.le

“But we battled hard and I can’t fault the lads for the effort they put in the game. They got it back to four

points with four minutes remaining which showed the character that’s in this side,” he added.

This character will be needed in spades on Wednesday when they re- turn to the Gaelic Grounds to take on a Tipperary side that went down by 3-7 to Q-10 in their opening round tie in Limerick.

“lve watched the DVD of Tip- perary’s game against Kerry last Wednesday. They are a typical Tip- perary team – they’re big and strong and will be very hard to beat. We know that they will be hard to beat, Tipperary teams always are at under- age level,’ said Considine.

‘“We’re hopeful that the lads will lift it now but it’s crazy that they’re being asked to play a third cham- pionship game in seven days. The GAA have established a committee to look into player burn-out yet they wouldn’t consider putting back this game by a few days.

“But were going to get on with it. We have injury worries that we carried into Saturday’s game, Dav- id Connole has a rib injury while Michael McDonagh has ankle trou- ble. Your midfield is crucial and we ll just have to wait and see how they are on Wednesday.”

Clare’s preparations for the tie started after their defeat on Saturday when they had a pool session in The Bunratty Shannon Shamrock Hotel. “We’ll have another pool session be- fore Wednesday and then take our chance,” said Considine. “If we can get over Tipperary, we have Water- ford to look forward to and we could yet reach a semi-final against Cork. That’s what we have to aim for.”

AS the summer sunshine has been making itself feel very much at home in recent weeks, businesses 1n north Clare have been dusting them- selves off in preparation for the tour- ist deluge that the next few months will surely bring.

One business’ which probably doesn’t need too much of a spring clean however is Kennedy’s Centra on Church Street in Lahinch.

The shop has just been awarded an Excellence Ireland National Hygiene Award for it’s ongoing commitment to hygiene and food safety.

The award, which was presented by Minister of State at the Depart- ment of Agriculture and Food, Mary Wallace, is the highest independent verification of hygiene standards and food safety in Ireland.

“It is very important that such achievements are acknowledged and applauded and so become an incen- tive for others to strive to reach the same high standards,’ said Minister AWE TEE Teron

“These awards acknowledge the ongoing year-round daily commit- ment throughout the Centra stores. The Musgrave SuperValu-Centra eroup has a well-deserved reputation

for high standards as well as being a huge supporter of the Irish food in- dustry with over 75 per cent of goods sourced from Irish suppliers.”

Throughout Ireland the Cen- tra group invests in the region of €350,000 annually in its hygiene programme.

“The Hygiene Mark indicates that a business has the highest standards of hygiene and safety in Irish industry and complies with all Irish and Euro- pean legislation,’ said Martin Roper, Technical Director, Excellence Ire- land Quality Association.

‘The retail market currently leads the field in compliance in the Irish

food sector, so consumers can be re- assured whenever they see the EIQA Hygiene and Food Safety Certificate displayed.”

Centra have a total of 400 stores in the Republic of Ireland, employing 12,000 people, with stores independ- ently run by local owners.

“Being awarded the highest ever number of National Hygiene Certifi- cate awards highlights the fact that the Centra retailer is consistently achieving the highest retail standards in the country. Hygiene is number one when it comes to customer care,” said Donal Horgan, Centra’s Manag- ing Director.

IARNROD Eireann has apologized after commuters were left stranded in Ennis yesterday.

The scheduled 6.45am service be- tween Ennis and Limerick did not operate as planned forcing passen- gers to make their own travel ar- rangements.

A mix up in driver rostering has

been identified as the reason for the no-show.

Passengers were offered a place on a min-bus hired from a local tax1 firm after larnrod Eireann were un- able to locate a bus to bring passen- gers to Limerick.

However, many had already paid for taxis in order to catch a connect- ing train leaving Limerick for Dub- lin. Subsequent train services ran

as normal throughout the rest of the Cr MA ;

A spokesperson for larnrod Eire- ann apologized to customers for any inconvenience caused.

“We do apologise to passengers for what happened with the mix up. It was an unusual situation that I can’t remember happening before.”

He explained a mix up in the roster- ing of drivers was the reason for the

nen p.qnel oy

“It appears there was mix up in ros- ters and that there was no driver there in the morning. Inspectors in both stations contacted both Bus Eireann and local coach operators but weren’t able to get a bus at such short notice.

“They managed to get a mini-bus from a local taxi firm, but by then some people had made their own ar- rangements. That taxi left Ennis at

oer: 100 a

He added there was no further dis- ruption to services during the day.

“It was just the one service in the morning that was affected. Normally we have a back up arrangement in place either with our sister company Bus Eireann or with local operators. But it was particularly difficult to get one at that hour of the morning at such short notice.”

THE massive increase in the local population has paved the way for the establishment of a new creche which is due to open in Corofin in the com- TP OTSMR ets) Oe

The Butterfly Kisses Childcare Centre, which will cater for up to 20 children as-well-as offering an after school care service, will host an open day next Saturday, April 21.

The purpose built facility, which is located in the Laghtagoona Es- tate, will then open for business on Monday, April 30. The créche is owned and operated by Ken and

Olga O’Malley, who are a long es- tablished provider of childcare in County Clare.

“Corofin’s landscape has changed in recent years with many couples opting for a less hectic way of life in this idyllic country setting,” said Olga.

“We believe that the childcare cen- tre will be a valuable asset to the community in supporting its contin- ued development. Great work is been done as we have seen with the recent opening of a public playground.

“We look forward to offering the very best in childcare into the future and supporting the development of

that all important foundation to the future of this community, its chil- elo

The créche itself is 250 square me- ters in size and includes two main rooms, Little Treasures which caters for children up to 18 months and fea- tures a remote viewing sleep room and the Adventure Room which ca- ters for children up to school age.

The project was made possible through the support of a number of agencies including the Clare County Childcare Committee, the Clare En- terprise Board and the Health Serv- ice Executive.

“We are very excited to be involved

with this venture in Corofin, having family in the area. The clear need for such a centre in the community makes it all the more exciting. We are very proud of the way the build- ing has evolved from a blank canvas to what we see now,” said Ken.

“We would especially like to thank local Minister Tony Killeen for his support of this project in his com- munity. We would also like to thank Cronin Nagle Construction for work- ing with us to build such a centre to this exceptionally high standard.”

For more info contact 6831834, 087 6780253 or omalleyken@hotmail. ore) on

THE council’s practice of leaving eravel margins on the side of roads Where they have acquired land for road improvements is providing an opportunity for illegal parking, a lo- cal councillor has claimed.

Cllr Joe Cooney told a meeting of Clare County Council last week that

the practice of leaving such land open gives carte blanche for illegal park- ing and in some cases, dumping.

“IT had asked that Clare County Council maintain and fence off all waste ground which the council ac- quired for road improvements on the sides of roads throughout the county. I’m not happy with the reply,” he Sr HKOe

In reply to his motion before the council, officials told Cllr Cooney that “in many cases, on relatively mi- nor road improvement schemes, ad- ditional land is acquired to make the road safer by just providing addition- al sight distance. In these situations it would not be appropriate to erect any fencing as this would interfere with the available sight distance. In other

cases the improved section can have CBN Arc Da rca eneeCcoOlMmrstseMmAeCoMB Koni UOLMmOerelI a lay-by remains.

‘There are a number of such lay-bys around the county and in many cases they have been treated to discourage unauthorised parking. Where prac- tical, in carrying out re-alignments nowadays we endeavour to return the by-passed section of road to agricul-

tural use.”

The officials added that if there were any specific locations where action 1S needed, these would be as- sessed on an individual basis.”

Cllr Pat Hayes said that the illegal parking of Travellers caravans in some areas 1s becoming a problem. ‘In one place there were 15 caravans parked along the side of the road.”

that the third phase of the scheme is not expected to be complete until “late Slubeeeetoi uae “Notwithstanding contractual is- sues Clare County Council accepts that remaining sections of the project will be behind schedule,” he said. He said that section two – the Clare Road to Lahinch Road section — 1S now expected to be open in early

summer 2007. Section 3 — the Kil- low interchange to Clare Road – is now expected to open in late summer 2007 and this represents the entire scheme.

The original completion date for the scheme was April 11 but this was revised in negotiations between the council and the contractor GAMA Construction to allow for the open- ing of the eastern portion of the by- pass ahead of schedule.

Negotiations have continued be- tween the two with the council now resigned to a completion date in Au- AUB

The 97-page contract for the Ennis

bypass project states that if the con- tractor does not complete the con- tract on time, the contractor will pay delay damages to the council for not completing the bypass on schedule.

However, it is not known if the re- cent negotiations between the coun- cil and GAMA have resulted in the contract being revised to remove the threat of penalties.

The contract allows for an exten- sion of time of completion of the works, but only under certain cir- cumstances.

Acceptable problems include excep- tionally bad weather conditions and unforeseeable shortages in the avail-

ability of staff or materials caused by any delay or attributable to the council, council staff or the council’s other contractors on the site.

The contract states: “These delay damages shall be the sum stated in the ‘Appendix to Tender’, which shall be paid for every day which shall elapse between the relevant time for completion and the date stated in the taking-over certificate.”

The extent of the damages payable to the council is unspecified as the relevant appendix is not available.

Damages are only payable in the case of a justifiable delay or contract omsepeercleleee

MORE potential problems for farm- ers in relation to the N18& Ennis by-pass emerged this week as lo- cal farming leaders put pressure on Clare County Council over what they described as roadside fencing. During a meeting with Clare Coun- ty Council officials the chairperson of the IFA in Clare, Seamus Murphy, expressed his concern for motorists if the problem is not rectified in the

near future.

“Under the terms of the National Roads Agreement which was negoti- ated by IFA with the National Roads Authority, all local authorities are required to construct ‘stock-proof’ fencing,’ said Mr Murphy.

“However much of the fencing along the new motorway remains unfinished and a significant number of gates still have to be erected.

“As the grass grazing season starts again many farmers are about to let

their livestock out in the fields. Clare County Council must immediately inspect all roadside fencing and gen- eral accommodation works and en- sure all livestock are fenced in and motorists using the new N18 Ennis by-pass are not put in danger.”

This is not the first standoff be- tween Clare IFA and Clare County Council over work on the bypass. Earlier this years a group from the farming organisation met with rep- resentatives from the local authority

and the main contractors, GAMA Construction, to discuss a number of farms which had been flooded as a result of run off waters from the by- eee

The main section of the Ennis bypass opened earlier this year, on budget and ahead of schedule. The rest of the project, including link roads into different parts of the town, are due for completion this week to meet the project deadline of April ae

SHANNON ‘Town Council has been urged to mark the 1916 Rising, fol- lowing commemorations in Ennis, Killaloe and Kilrush over the week- end.

All but one of the town’s councillors agreed at their meeting last Tuesday that the event should be recognised.

Shannon resident Sean O Nuanain raised the issue in a letter to the Town Clerk, Tomas MacCormaic, last week.

Mr O Nuanain, who is involved in various groups in the town and is the current Cathaoirleach of Club na Sionna, pointed out that there was no

annual event to mark 1916 in Shan- non, in contrast to most towns in Ire- land.

“IT would request Shannon Town Council to consider initiating such a ceremony, sooner or later,” he said in the letter.

The Mayor of Shannon, Cllr Tony McMahon (Lab) said he believed the town should acknowledge the com- memoration each year.

A number of other councillors agreed with this view. However Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said she didn’t agree that the event should be commemorated every year in Shan- non.

“I don’t have any difficulty in com-

memorating events from 1916 in ar- eas where events happened… This needs a lot more thought than just agreeing to do it,” she said.

Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) said, “It is very important we recognise the Easter Rising. I don’t think there would be anyone sitting around the table if it wasn’t for the struggle in years gone by.”

Cllr Sean Hillery (FF) said the re- quest by Mr O Nuanain should be sent to Clare County Council for consideration. Cllr Mike McKee (Ind) disagreed with this, saying it was the town council that was asked to mark the event.

Cllr Sean McLoughlin (FG) said

something should be done to mark the commemoration, but that “time is against us”.

Shannon Town Clerk Tomas Mac- Cormaic said if an event was to take place, it would need “dignity”.

“It would be very disappointing if there were five or six councillors out there and a flag being raised,” he SrHKGe

Cllr McCarthy criticised her fel- low councillors after some of them said the event should be marked over Easter when the rising took place on April 24.

The councillors agreed to meet this week, when the possibility of mark- ing the event would be discussed.