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TWO east Clare organisations have been awarded cash from the De- partment of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs under the Pro- gramme of Grants for Locally Based Community and Voluntary Organi- sations 2006.

The grants of €5,100 for the Scar- iff-based Alpha Project and €1,812 for the East Clare Community Co-op were announced by Minister Tony Kileen, who said that “it 1s impor-

tant that the voluntary effort of lo- cal community groups throughout County Clare is recognised.”

The Alpha Project aims to provide education for adolescents whose needs are not best met by the conven- tional exam-based system.

The 15 participants in the pro- gramme take part in hands-on learn- ing with projects such as building a Yurt – a traditional hut-style shelter – for use as a chemistry lab as there wasn’t room in the project’s accom- modation to practice chemistry.

By doing so, they not only got to study chemistry but learned the nec- essary physics to construct the dwell- ing properly.

A spokeswoman for the project said they are “delighted to get the grant. We don’t as yet get funding from the department so this will be important for buying equipment and training.”

On the list of things likely to be bought with the grant money are sewing machines, and equipment for physics and chemistry.

The project has 15 students and

next year, it’s hoped that 15 younger adolescents will come on board.

Of the first intake of students to eraduate from the alternative learn- ing system, all have gone on to some further form of education or training, including Leaving Cert studies and FETAC courses.

The other east Clare grant went to the East Clare Community Co-op, an umbrella organisation for communi- ty groups based in Scariff. The co-op could not be contacted for comment PLO OUI B DO Blom

TWO Clare developers have told Clare County Council that searches for a protected butterfly on lands they intend to develop in Clarecastle turned up blank.

Developers Sean Lyne and Nowel Connellan said that the Marsh Fritil- lary butterfly was sought out during fieldwork on the site. The council had put the development on hold, cit- ing concerns about the EU protected butterfly.

The developers state in a submis- sion to the council that, “a special visit was made to look for flying adults on a sunny day in June when the insects were seen elsewhere in Clare. None was found.

‘The butterfly did occur on the site of the Clareabbey link road and cat- erpillars were translocated in 2004 before constructed began. The new site is SOO m to the north of the link road, but south of the Bunnow River. The development will not have any impact on the survival of the species there.”

The submission also reveals that the developers have agreed to pay landowner, Michael Lyons, €1.175

million for a 2.35 acres site at Ske- hanagh, Clarecastle.

They still intend to construct a link road to the Ennis by-pass that will facilitate businesses from the Quin Road area.

The council told the developers last year that it wasn’t favourably dis- posed towards the development, due to the location of the proposed link road.

However, the developers have stat- ed that: “The applicant is the major- ity land owner within the area and will accommodate almost half of the length of the road on his own land and that the applicant has agreement with other land owners within the area in place that allows the delivery of the full length of the link between Quin Road and Skehanagh rounda- xe) Ul a

“This allows the council to avoid a lengthy compulsory purchase or- der process in order to obtain the land and provides the opportunity to submit a Part 8 Roads and Services application, which could speed the delivery of the link road.”

A decision is due on the application later this year.

THE CHERRYTREE’S Chef de Cuisine, Mark Anderson, was one of a chosen few to take part in a top cookery competition last week.

The chef who has been delighting diners on the shores of Lough Derg in Killaloe/Ballina, was short-list- ed in the hugely popular Féile Bia Chef’s Competition 2007.

Mark was chosen from the 40 en- tries that were received. The aim of the competition is to encourage chefs to support artisan producers by sourcing the maximum of authentic and freshly available produce and highlighting this on the menus.

As part of the competition, profes- sional chefs were asked to submit a copy of their restaurant menu.

The six shortlisted chefs from all over Ireland took part in a cook-off in Athlone, Co. Westmeath.

Mark’s dish of choice for the com- petition was noisette and chop of spring lamb, wild mushroom boudin, Shallot ‘tarte tartin’, slow roasted garlic puree pomme fondant with tarragon infused jus.

The dishes were reviewed by the judging panel which consisted of food writers Marilyn Bright and Georgina Campbell, Lorcan Cribbin, Commissioner General, Eurotoques Ireland and Maire Dufficy, Bord Bia Food Advisor.

Mark Donohue, the head chef in The Oak Room Restaurant, Adare Manor was the winner on the night but the Cherrytree chef said it was a “very enjoyable experience” to have

been shortlisted to take part. This was not the first time that Mark was shortlisted. “It’s always good to see what other people are doing in their restaurants,’ he said.

As a member of the Bord Bia group of restaurants, The Cherrytree is committed to using the best of lo- cally produced produce wherever possible.

“We’re committed to using quality Irish products. That was our inten- tion from the start. We source local products as much as possible and all our meat is traceable. If you order lamb, I can tell you what field it was grazing in,’ said Mark.

And, he added, the restaurant 1s fortunate to be based in east Clare, where there are increasing numbers of producers growing and farming

organically and selling their produce on.

The Cherry Tree Restaurant was opened by proprietor Harry MckK- eogh in February 2000 and Mark has been with the establishment since its opening.

He won the ‘Georgina Campbell Chef of the Year’ Award in 2006 and together with his team in the kitchen, Mark changes his menus monthly to use the best of local ingredients, many of them organic.

Mark, 33, is originally from Clon- mel, County Tipperary.

HOUSE buyers are being warned to be wary when shopping around for a mortgage after a study revealed that more than one in three independent brokers dealt with less than half the lending institutions.

37 per cent of Ireland’s independent mortgage brokers deal with less than half of the mortgage lenders in the market, according findings from a re- cent survey conducted by Lansdowne market research on behalf of the mortgage division of IFG.

According to Iggy Duffy, Mortgage

Manager of IFG Mortgages, Ennis, “Mortgage brokers with less than 6 agencies out of 13 are describing themselves as ‘independent’ when, in fact, they are restricted in the choices they can offer a potential mortgage customer. Not all brokers have the capacity to offer a comprehensive

choice to their clients. Many have a restricted range of lenders and there- fore product offerings”.

He added that on the upside, “in- creased competition in the mortgage market has afforded consumers the benefit of a wider variety of products from which to choose.”

“The 6 ECB interest rate hikes in 2006 and late 2005 have impacted heavily on mortgage holders, first time buyers in particular,’ Duffy added.

The figures show that 40 per cent of mortgage applicants now choose to deal with a mortgage broker.

A FISH which is threatened with extinction, could be saved by a new plan to increase its numbers in Lough DOyse

The humble Pollan could repay the favour by breeding in large enough numbers to make the lake more at- tractive to anglers.

The scientific co-ordinator of the study, Dr Fran Igoe, a marine bi- Ologist with the Shannon Regional

Fisheries board says a new scheme will try to solve why stocks of once plentiful Pollan in Lough Derg have declined.

If the Tipperary Leader Group car- rying out the research are successful, “it will hopefully restore the once ac- tive Pollan commercial fishery in the lough”, Dr Igoe said.

The fish species is found only in Ire- land’s five large lakes, and stocks in Lough Derg, Lough Ree and Lough Erne have seriously declined.

The situation has become so bad that a Local Area Species Action Plan has been drawn up by the Clare Biodiversity Forum.

Dr Igoe explained that the neces- sary steps include investigations into the possible impact of hydro-power, pollution and non-native organisms on fish numbers.

Eleven angling clubs which use the lakes and the Lough Derg Sub-Aqua club will be supporting the research.

“This is very significant as there is

no other animal except perhaps the Irish hare, that comes close to this kind of uniqueness when it comes to our wildlife heritage in Ireland’, said Dr Igoe.

Competition for food, the impact of water quality and a study to see where the fish spawn will all be part of the investigation.

Universities in Ireland and Canada as well as experts with the Irish Char Conservation group will be working with personnel involved in the study.

GARDA resources during the Wil- lie Clancy music festival last year were “grossly inadequate” as just six gardai were on duty on a night when 1,700 people were in the town.

That was the view expressed by a judge, who heard details of an assault case in court last week.

Judge Joseph Mangan made the comments at Kilrush District Court, in the case of three men who were

charged with assault, arising out of a series of incidents in Miltown Mal- bay on a night in July last year.

Two of the three were convicted, while a charge against the third ac- cused was dismissed. Brian Sexton (18), of Spanish Point, Miltown Malbay, was convicted of three as- sault charges. David Halley (22), of Woodfield, Ballynote, Kilrush, was convicted of a charge of assault, causing harm. A charge of assault against David Kelly, of High Street,

Kilrush, was dismissed.

Sergeant Joe Hehir told the court the incident happened during Willie Clancy week. Judge Joseph Mangan asked how many patrons were in the town that night and was told there were between 1,000 and 1,700.

He then asked, “How many gardai?” and was told there were six.

The judge said, “Sergeant Hehir has stated there were up to 1,700 patrons in Miltown Malbay on this night. S1x gardai on patrol in that situation

is grossly inadequate. It’s not fair to the people of Miltown Malbay and it’s not fair to the majority of patrons who went there to enjoy themselves and, above all, it is not fair to the six members of the gardai,” he said.

He imposed a three-month deten- tion sentence on Sexton and fined Halley €500. He fixed recognisances in the event of an appeal, for both young men. Halley’s solicitor Eu- gene O’Kelly told the court his cli- ent thought his friend was in trouble

on the night and went to rescue him. “He didn’t go to Miltown to cause trouble,” said Mr O’ Kelly.

Sexton’s solicitor Joe Moloney said his client came from a decent family and his mother was in court with him. Judge Mangan said, “Mr Sexton instigated and initiated all of the trouble on the night. If it weren’t for him, there wouldn’t have been any trouble. His words and his ac- tions led to mayhem on the night and he has to face the consequences.”

ENNISTYMON is shaping up for fashion today with all and sundry getting ready for the Ennistymon Annual Fashion Show which takes place in the Falls Hotel this evening at 8.30pm.

The show will feature a range of smart and casual wear for both women and men with clothes from a number of local shops on display. The evening will be hosted by Alo- ma McKay and all the models on the night will be local.

The fashion show is the main fund- raiser for the Ennistymon Agricultur-

al Show, which takes place in July. As in previous years, more than half of all the money raised will go towards a nominated charity, this year being the Friends of Ennistymon Hospital.

“All the four local boutiques — Noinin, Cloie, Off The Rail and Savanna — have all donated some lovely outfits for the evening,’ said co-organiser, Susan Harvey.

“Barry’s Mensware, the new men’s shop in Ennistymon, is involved as well, as is Mona Cheri from Ennis, who will have a range of hats, party and debs dresses on show. The Bridal Emporium in Miltown will have a couple of wedding dresses, bridesmaid

dresses and tuxedos at the show.”

A large portion of the proceeds from this year’s event will go to the Ennistymon Hospital.

“They are looking at putting in a new kitchen and some of this money will go towards that,” she continued. “They do a lot of good fundraising work up there and are always making improvements. The charity side is a very important part of the event. It is really nice to be able to give to the different local charities.”

Tonight’s event is the first official engagement of this year’s Ennisty- mon Show, which takes place on Sat- urday 2 and Sunday 3 of June.

“We have been getting the prize list together and have been sending it out to a lot of different people and especially to the schools,’ continued Susan.

“We have sent it to more than I5 schools in the locality and the youth section is a very important part of the show. We will have a few new events in this year’s show and the best dressed dog competition will return after being such a success last year.

“We are looking forward to a good show and hopefully it will be one of the best in years.”

For more information, call Mau- reen on 065 7071487.

aA so MOL comtleroMW AIIM (oo. instigate legal action against the Irish Farm Film Producers Group (IFFPG) for the organisations failure to collect more than 3,000 tonnes of farm plastic Jake eemwe-utey

Kilrush man, Jackie Whelan is to send solicitors letters to Sean Campbell of the IFFPG and Portlaoise based contractor Robert Walker demanding €1,000 per week compensation in return for their failure to remove the plastic.

Whelan was contracted to collect farm plastic from the IFFPG in 2005 and 2006. Despite collecting 600 tonnes in 2005 and close to 3,000 last year, only 300 tonnes has to date been removed to date.

Under his agreement with the IFFPG the plastic mountain was to be com- pletely removed by Robert Walker last September.

‘No one ever came to take this plastic from 2005, every last bit of it 1s still in my farm. In 2006 I was contracted by the IFFPG to collect the plastic again.

Clare County Council were helping by setting up collection points and every farmer in the county was given the chance to get rid of the backlog of plas- tic,’ said Mr Whelan.

“The IFFPG told me that all of the plastic would be taken away by last September and that has not happened. I will be sending solicitors letters to the IFFPG and to Waters telling them that I will be charging them €1,000 each a week to store that plastic from April 1.”

A spokesperson from Clare County Council confirmed yesterday that they

had paid 30 per cent of the overall fee for collecting the plastic to Robert Walker but were holding the remaining omen m tie elmsetem einem st-lemeonB ioe moved from Mr Whelan’s premises and recycled.

‘The council understands that there are issues in the onward processing of the plastic collected given the very sig- nificant volumes that were brought to the various collection points through- out the county. This is a matter for the contractor to address. The financial arrangements on the contract are such that Clare County Council will not be paying the contracted sum until such time as all plastic collected has been re- cycled,’ said a council spokesperson.

Contractor Robert Walker told

THE 220 people who attended the Ennis Chamber Annual President’s Dinner in Dromoland Castle on Fri- day night heard a spirited defence of Shannon Airport from Chamber President John Madden.

Mr Madden called on all public representatives and election candi- dates to secure from the Govern- ment the promised debt-free status for the airport, along with the nec- essary marketing budget to allow the airport to succeed in an Open Skies environment.

He said he is hopeful that airport staff will accept the revised restruc- turing offer. He stated that if the restructuring package is agreed, Government must then guarantee that Shannon is properly and rapidly constituted as an independent entity with debt-free status, as promised in crystal-clear language by the former Transport Minister, Seamus Brennan.

“The marketing plan proposed by the Mid West Regional Authority must then be agreed by Government. This includes the provision of €44 million for marketing the airport and a further €9 million for route devel- opment,’ he added.

He also said that the Chamber is actively promoting the concept of a Festival Co-ordinating office for En- nis, and expressed concern about re-

cent closures of businesses in Ennis.

Guest speaker was Mary Ann O’Brien, of Lily O’Brien’s Choco- lates, who was awarded the title of Image Businesswoman of the Year this February.

Ms O’Brien spoke about the work of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation,

which she and her husband Jonathan Irwin set up to provide help for fami- lies with children up to the age of four who have severe developmental delay and require extended care.

The Foundation, a registered char- ity, raises money to provide care and acts as an advocate for the families.

The inspiration for the Foundation came from their son Jack Irwin, who was born healthy in 1996, but suf- fered an invasive trauma two days later. There were no services to care for him, and the family looked after him at home with the help of many JGuLOILO KS

In the past 10 years, the Foundation has helped over 700 children. Cur- rently it is assisting eight children in Clare and 11 in Limerick.

Auctioneer Philip O’Reilly spoke about the work of Gorta, the Free- dom from Hunger Council of Ireland, which his company 1s supporting.

Mr O’Reilly then held an auction to raise funds for both charities. In the space of a few minutes, the eight items donated by local and other companies were disposed of for €6,500.

TRIBUTES were paid last week to Mary O’Loghlin, former teacher and musical inspiration at Scoil Mhuire in Ennistymon, who retired from teaching last June. Mary returned to Scoil Mhuire one last time last Fri- day, where she was presented with a painting to mark her retirement.

Over the last three decades, Mary has been heavily involved in the mu- sical development of Scoil Mhuire. She has inspired countless musicals and recitals and put many students on the course to a lifetime of musical enjoyment.

“Mary was ahead of her time. She exposed us to a variety of musical

styles. She crossed musical bounda- ries, experimenting all the time, and I think that this was her most precious attribute,’ said a former student.

“No-one was better at finding, ex- pecting and demanding brilliance. Thank you, Mary, for the lifelong love of music — the welcome release from the books and the precious school memories.”

As a young teacher, Mary arrived in Ennistymon with a vision of a school which nurtured musical talent of the young.

“The magnitude of Scoil Mhuire’s musical achievement under her lead- ership is well known — year after year, her utter fearlessness in taking on enormous tasks, or at least tasks

that seemed enormous to the rest of us, was quite amazing,’ said Scoil Mhuire teacher, Mary O’ Flaherty. ‘As the absolute excellence of the end-product was of paramount im- portance to her, she demanded the highest standards in musicals which could only have been described as amazing. Though there were a few hell-raising moments for us of little faith, the students followed her with doe-eyed devotion and delivered out- standing performances.’ Throughout her career, Mary had a dedication which was recognised by all the students who learned under her. Indeed, months after her retire- ment, she 1s still involved with the musical development in the school,

helping to prepare the school choir before they sang at a tribute night to Irish Olympiad, Ronnie Delaney, in Dublin last December.

“We practiced in school, at her home and in dingy backstage rooms,’ continued one former student.

‘At competition, when she appeared before the choir, it was without sheet music. She had the uncanny ability to control the entire choir with one hand.”