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ALMOST €60 million in funding was allocated to Irish forestry plan- tation holders for 2007, representa- tion one of the largest payments ever made in the history of the state. Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, Mary Wal- lace, made the announcement last week of €57 million to be allocated to the 15,000 forestry plantations na- tionwide. This is the annual forestry premium payment under the Forest- ry programme of the Department of Agriculture and Food. With the aver- age size of forestry holdings being in the region of eight hectares, and the average payment per forest-owner will be approximately €3,800. “New planting of forestry is vital

to sustain the forestry sector into the years ahead and it is important that the package on offer is most attrac- tive to landowners,” said Minister AWETEE Teron

“I was particularly pleased there- fore that planting grant levels have increased in some cases by up to 25 per cent in the last two years, while the annual forestry premium paid to farm foresters has increased by 15 per cent, with a new maximum pay- ment of up to €574 per hectare per annum.”

In addition to this the newly intro- duced Forest Environment Protec- tion Scheme (FEPS) providing a top up grant of €200 per hectare bring- ing the €574 per hectare to €774 per hectare per annum. This scheme was designed to encourage the establish-

ment of high nature value forestry on farms that participate in REPS.

“Properly planned forestry is one of the most environmentally friendly end-uses to which we can put our land, directly affecting the sequestra- tion of carbon from the atmosphere. Forestry in Ireland already delivers a significant range of environmental goods in addition to its timber out- jouulm

“I believe that every landowner should seriously examine forestry as a land use option taking into account the returns, both short and long term, and how it would fit in with their cur- rent enterprises and activities.”

Meanwhile, Minister Wallace also warned forest owners about the risk of forest fires in the coming weeks. Every spring in Ireland, several hun-

dred hectares of forests and wood- land are destroyed by fire.

Recent good weather conditions indicate a serious risk of forest fires over the next few days and weeks.

‘Forest owners have a duty to make themselves aware of these threats and to take appropriate actions to se- cure the safety of their forest invest- ments,” she said.

“The highest risk period occurs between February and June, when eround vegetation is dead and dry following winter. The areas at high- est risk from wildfire tend to be lo- cated adjacent to or within moorland areas. Prolonged dry periods and seasonal high winds in spring help create ideal conditions for wildfire to spread quickly through highly flam- mable moorland vegetation.”

THE people of Kilmurry Ibrickane are planning to buy the election, and the news is unlikely to lead to any controversy or tribunal.

The plan is all legal and above board – as the election is the local mayoral election and buying the position 1s all part of the fundraising for the Leon XII celebrations later this year.

The Leon Committee in Quilty are moving full steam ahead with a number of projects in the run up to the centenary celebrations of the Leon XIII rescue.

The main event of the year, the Leon festival, will be held during the last weekend in September. One of the highlights of the festival will be

the open currach racing competition, with teams from Connemara and Kerry providing strong competition for the local crews who are practic- ing hard. Some of the local people, including their priest, never even sat in acurrach before they started train- ing for the event.

Another part of the build up to the festival is the Mayor of Kilmurry Ibrickane and Deputy Mayor “elec- tion”.

Once elected both dignitaries will act as the official representatives of the area for the centenary year.

With attendance of other dignitaries from far and wide already confirmed for the festival, the new mayor and deputy will be responsible for pro- viding the Céad Mile Failte.

The Leon Committee are now look- ing for nominations for the office.

All nominations are to be placed in the official nomination boxes by April 15. The nomination forms and nomination boxes are located in shops in Kilmurry Ibrickane and anyone can enter.

Once nominated the candidates must buy their way into office, with the help of friends and generous pa- triots.

The “election” will be decided by the number of tickets each candi- date sells for the June Bank Holiday weekend fundraiser in the Quilty Tavern.

The candidate who sells the most tickets will be elected the Mayor of Kilmurry Ibrickane for one year.

A comedian and live music have been lined up for the fundraiser on June 2, before the mayor is presented with the chain of office.

The official mayoral candidates will be announced in the local media and will start selling tickets as early as April 16. The funds raised will go towards the running costs of the OORT Ee

Full details are available from members of the Leon Committee or on official nomination forms in- Store.

THE Association Secondary Teach- ers in Ireland (ASTI) 1s today to be- gin legal action against the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, over the appointment of a school manager at Seamount Secondary School in ree

The Rescue Seamount Campaign and the ASTI last week accused the

minister of acting illegally by ap- pointing a school manager, instead of replacing the board of management at Seamount.

Both groups have accused the edu- cation minister of acting unlawfully in her decision to allow the board of management to be dissolved. Last Tuesday, they gave her seven days to withdraw her approval.

“This issue is not about the future

of the school. Even if the school is only opened for another 5 years, it is essential that there is a board of management,” said Jane Joyce of the Rescue Seamount Campaign.

“It gives parents a stake in how the school is run. When we sent our children here, we did so on the un- derstanding that there would be a board of management and that is not the case. This is not what we signed

up for,” she added.

The Rescue Seamount Campaign and ASTI have received separate legal advice suggesting that the min- ister has acted unlawfully in her de- cision to allow the school’s trustees, the Sisters of Mercy, to dissolve the board.

Responding, a Department of Edu- cation spokeswoman said that Minis- ter Hanafin acted lawfully in accord- ance with the 1998 Mercy Act.

“The Mercy Order, as patron of Seamount College, notified the min- ister of its decision not to appoint a new board of management when the term of office of the outgoing board expired,” said the spokeswoman.

“The Education Act 1998 provides that a patron may, subject to the ap- proval of the minister, appoint any person or body of persons as the patron thinks fit to perform the func- tions of a board of management.

‘As the patron had decided not to appoint a new board of management, the minister has, at the request of the patron, conveyed the necessary ap- proval, under section 16 of the Edu- cation Act, for the appointment of a manager to perform the functions of the board of management.”

The future of Seamount College has been in doubt since the Sisters of Mercy announced its intention to phase out the school over a period of five years, last October.

The Rescue Seamount Campaign has been appealing for the Sisters of Mercy to give them more time to ne- gotiate the construction of a new co- education school by the Department of Education in Kinvara.

THE people of Kilrush and west Clare have raised €4,500 for Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin after a local boy spent months recovering in the hospital’s leLerwermbnsy Le

Kyle Carmody suffered severe burns last November when his pyja- mas caught fire while playing in his Kilrush home.

More than 12 per cent of the five year-olds little body was burnt, in- cluding half of his chest and under his arm as a result of the accident.

The brave little boy endured treat- ments, which included the removal

of the burnt skin and skin grafts, be- fore being discharged from hospital POM EVILUE Dae

As a result of his treatment and care, Kyle’s parents Flan and Tanya wanted to give something back to the hospital, and organised a fundraiser for Sunday, March 25.

The couple have been amazed by the support that the fundraiser re- ceived and will now donate €3,500 to St Ann’s ward in the Burns Unit at the children’s hospital.

The remaining €1,000 is to be do- nated to the hospital’s physiotherapy Weenie

“We would like to thank all the people who supported the event and

thank people for the wonderful spot prizes,’ said Flan.

He paid tribute to local artists Patrick Roche and Morgan Roughan who gave their services free of charge at the special fundraiser held in Tubridy’s Bar Cooraclare.

‘People are great, there is so much going on and they still support this,” he said.

The relieved father also paid trib- ute to the treatment his son received, and the dedicated professionals that continue to help the young boy back to health.

‘We have seen first hand the serv- ice Kyle got. No money could buy that service. Nurses don’t get paid

half enough,” he added.

‘Doctors and nurses can only work with what they have. From the time he got burnt in Kilrush, we saw how fast they can work with what they have.

‘People that do this work see it as a job, but for parents like Tanya and I, it means a lot to us. That is why we like to do something to give some- thing back.”

Kyle has returned to school in the Gaelscoil. He has his dressings changed three times a week and con- tinues to have regular physiotherapy.

Kyle’s parents continue to sing the praises of the medical staff in Ennis, Crumlin and now in Kilrush.

TWO Fianna Fail councillors are keeping their fingers crossed that a little-known oil company may strike it lucky in remote Siberia. According to Clare County Coun- cil’s Ethics Registrar, Cllr PJ Kelly and Cllr Michael Kelly both have shares in PetroNeft Resources plc. The registrar shows that Cllr Kelly purchased 8,/50 shares, at 32 cents a share, last October, following a con- versation with his Tubber colleague. The registrar doesn’t say how many shares Cllr Michael Kelly has in Pet- ronNeft, but it does state that Cllr

Kelly also has shares in Providence Resources, the Gresham Hotel, Bal- timore Technologies and a pharma- ceutical company called Alltralel. Cllr Michael Kelly was unavailable for comment yesterday. However, Cllr PJ Kelly said that buying the shares was like betting on a horse. “After a chat with Michael, I said that I would take a chance. For the amount of shares I bought, I won’t be getting rich from it,” he said. According to the chairman’s report from the most recent accounts of Pet- roNeft, Mr G. David GaMer said, “It is 18 months since the concept of Pet- roNeft Resources plc was developed

and started to become a reality. Now the company is fully structured and funded, has a clearly defined path to production from the two proven oil fields and has an exploration sched- ule to expand the reserve base.”

The chairman’s statement said that the company was to set out a fast- track to purchase a licence for “one of the best packages of known oil fields and prospects to became avail- able in the West Siberian Oil and Gas Basin in a long time”.

The licenced area is extensive at 4,991 square kms, setting up the potential for a ‘core area’, with long- term production and an extensive ex-

ploration base for future discoveries.

The statement went on, “The first year of the company’s existence has been an exciting time. The next 12 months promises to be equally excit- ing. “By July of 2007, it is hoped that the company will be able to take the decision to begin field and infrastruc- ture development, leading to produc- tion in 2008.”

The only other councillors to have shares in companies are Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG), who has shares in Ballycasey Dev Ltd and Cllr Oliver Garry (FG), who has shares in Ab- bey Contractors Ltd.

COLLEAGUES and friends of Shan- non Town Clerk Tomas MacCormaic gathered last week, to mark his 25 years in his job.

Tomas joined with his colleagues for a night out, under the pretence that the reason for the celebration was the birth of his granddaugh- ter Aoife. Aoife is the newly-born daughter of Tomas’ son Padraig, who works alongside his father at Shan- non Town Hall.

“They decided they would catch me out. The Town Manager Ger Dol- lard raised a glass and said ‘Every- one knows why we are here, except one person…that was me,” laughed Tomas.

A native of Kilkishen, Tomas first began working in Shannon 54 years ago. He worked in the duty free sec- tion of Shannon airport and with tex- tile company Lana Knit for a number of years.

“T cycled in to Shannon for my first three years working in Shannon,’ he recalled.

He and his wife Eithne (who passed away in 1994) had nine children and the cost of rearing them prompted Tomas to take up a part-time post as Town Clerk, in 1982.

“T did it initially to supplement the income. Now I am doing it as a hob- by. I enjoy it tremendously. I wouldn’t do it otherwise,” he said.

“I go to the States every year, with the mayor, as a representative and I

go to different parts of the country. I love it. There are occasions when you have bad days, but there are not Kolo meek DALVOvMnAal sss MMB A oMCT-BLCE

Tomas is very outgoing and his fa- vourite part of the job is mingling with people in Shannon.

‘The best part is working with the community. You feel as if you are doing something with the communi- ty. All of my nine children are living and working in Shannon,” he said.

‘I have seen several changes over the years. The biggest change was in 1959, when Shannon Development was formed and industry came to the place. Before that, it was just the air- port,’ he said.

“The take over by Clare County Council three years ago was a huge

thing for the town and for the coun- cil. Ideally the town should have been given full town council status, like Ennis and Kilrush,’ he said.

Tomas leads a very busy life. He enjoys around of golf and is very in- volved with Wolfe Tones GAA club. He is a former chairman of the Youth Council and has been involved with various residents associations in Shannon over the years.

Tomas was presented with a piece of Genesis, in the form of an owl, to mark the milestone, which he proudly displays on his office desk at Shannon Town Hall.

CLARE’S most prolific jockey, Ki- eran Fallon issued a battlecry this week when he said he was raring to go with the weeks ticking down to his return to the racecourse in June. The six time champion jockey will be allowed race in Britian in early summer having failed a drugs test in France last year.

At present, his licence has been suspended pending a corruption case set to be heard in the autumn.

In the interim, the Clare man is keeping himself fit and ticking over. The break from competitive action may even have sharpened his desire and could prolong his time in the saddle.

‘Towards the end I wasn’t riding as sharp as I can,” he said. “I rode some bad races. In a way, this time might work to my advantage. I had started to feel a little bit bored. I was only concentrating on the big races.”

His omission from the sport at

the moment isn’t the first time he’s courted controversy. In 1994 he was banned for six months after pulling another rider from a horse but his time away has always driven him on to further success. Since then, he’s had major wins on Kris Kin, Ouya Board and Alexandrova.

He said once he gets back to racing he’s going to appreciate the experi- ence a lot more for his absence. “I’m not using any energy now,’ he add- ed. “Maybe because of that I might get an extra year or two more than I would have done had I been going all over the place.”

Fallon concedes that there were moments when he began to worry.

“T was worried at the start,” he said. ‘For one, I didn’t think I would have a job. But now I feel I have so much to look forward to. I have really good people around me and I can’t wait to get back in June.”

He hasn’t long more to wait and racing will be more colourful and competitive because of him.

THE skeletal remains of what ap- pears to be at least six individuals, possibly dating back to pre-Christian times, have been discovered during the archaeological monitoring of 1m- provements to a local water network outside Newmarket-on Fergus.

The remains and up to four further possible burials have also been de- tected during monitoring of ground works for a water reservoir at Barn- hill. Clare County Council has sus- pended work on the affected part of the site subject to the issuing of an excavation licence later this week.

An initial assessment of the area

has been undertaken by osteologist Camilla Lofqvist who concluded that the remains appeared to represent at least six articulated skeletons, with another four possible burials.

According to Eoghan Kieran of the Moore Archaeological Group, ani- mal bone was also detected in con- nection to the burials but no datable finds were recovered. Some of the burials were laying in an East-West direction, which may indicate Chris- tian burial. However, burials in all different directions were represented on the site, possibly indicating a pre- Christian date.

The archaeological landscape around Barnhill wood and New-

market-on-Fergus exhibits several features from the Bronze Age, Ear- ly Christian period and onwards. There are several Fulachta Fiadh, ringforts and Anglo-Norman castles in the vicinity, as well as the largest known hillfort in Ireland, Mooghaun hillfort. This trivillate fort is located in the grounds of Dromoland Castle and is dated to 1260-930BC.

The site, which covers an area of ap- proximately 20×30 metres, had been cordoned off pending completion of the archaeological excavation and to prevent additional disturbances.

A 2003 report commissioned by the Heritage Council reporteded that some 15-20,000 individuals were ex-

cavated from archaeological sites in Ireland from 1989 to 1998. The New- market-on-Fergus find is somewhat different, however, as the burial site was not marked.

To archaeological specialists, all such skeletal discoveries constitute a valuable historical and scientific resource, inscribed with evidence of the working life, living conditions, diet, traumas and diseases of past generations.

RESIDENTS in Drumgeely will meet with Shannon council officials today, in an effort to find answers to questions regarding the local com- munity hall, which was destroyed by fire four months ago.

The blaze totally destroyed the derelict building last November. The hall had been the property of Shan- non Development until 1992 but was taken over by a private company then, which sparked mixed reaction.

The fire brought to an end con- troversy which had raged over the years, as locals were concerned that the hall was taken away from them.

The Drumgeely Residents Asso-

ciation now wants to know what the future of the hall will hold.

They have requested the meeting with council officials and council- lors in the Shannon area. They are concerned that the site has been in a poor state since the fire gutted the olepelennerce

They say that it is not safe and a valuable site is left in a disused State.

Chairperson of the Residents As- sociation, Beatrice Keville said they just want answers.

“We are very unhappy that the remnants of the fire are still there. The major part has been cleared, but there is still debris on the site,’ said Ms Keville.

“It had been lying unused for years and is such a shame,” she said.

‘Four months on, the site has not been totally cleared and is again derelict. The residents wrote to the gardai expressing concern about the fire and asking for information. They were told “investigations were ongoing”, nothing has been heard since,” she said.

She said that some locals would love to see the area converted into a tennis court, which it was previously used as.

“We are hopeful they will let us know what is happening. It has been going on for sO many years, and is in a state of limbo,” she said.

“Something has to happen. We

asked them at the last meeting, but we got no reply. The only thing we have been told is that it is privately owned,” added Ms Keville.

“Before shops and schools were built in the then new town of Shan- non, Drumgeely Community Hall was where these and social needs were met. Drumgeely was the first residential area of Shannon and was a thriving place, with a great com- munity spirit. There was an active tennis club, one of the first sporting clubs in Shannon,” she said.

Prior to last year’s fire, the hall had been damaged by another fire, in August 2001.

Only the annex was left standing ANAK amo etelme pales Ce(oyNlm

LONDON in the league — not the game to set football pulses racing for Paidi O Sé or anyone associated with Clare. It meant this game was always going to be the undercard in the inter-county doubleheader at headquarters. ;

And so it was for Paidi O Sé who must have taken a few seconds out during the game to reflect life on the undercard when he has been used to topping the bill for over 30 years now.

Such was life in Cusack Park in a game that was nothing more than a fixture to be fulfilled for Clare, a game to try and rack up points and

goals to boost their scoring rate.

That’s what happened in this mis match. Clare could have won by 20 points but had to be content with a 13-point advantage when Chris Donnellan — brother of All-Ireland winner Michael — flashed home two goals in the final minutes.

It bothered Paidi, but not unduly as he reflected afterwards on a mis- sion accomplished. “Good win, good win,’ went his opening gambit.

“It was a very difficult game to prepare for. It was a game we had to win, score difference came into the equation as well but we didn’t look PAM LOTT MAA

“Certainly they didn’t play well in the second half and I can understand

that. It’s a difficult game to play. You have a game put away at half time and you go out and try to do it again in the second half and that was dif- ficult.

“We just wanted to get the game out of the way and play our remain- ing game, hoping that we can beat Longford,’ he added.

Longford in two weeks time in Pearse Stadium. Paidi’s successor as manager of Kerry, Jack O’Connor, went up there three years ago and came away with nothing. In victory over London, Paidi put it up to his players.

“The whole thing rests on the Longford game now,’ he said, “‘and that’s going to be good for the team. We just have to go out and win the bloody thing now and give us a chance to stay up.”

With that Paidi was away, still standing with Longford to come. With the long journey to Ventry ahead of him, he didn’t stay for all the hurling game, to find out that his footballers are the only Clare team still standing in the league.