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PLEAS have gone out to Clare Coun- ty Council to put safety measures in place at a school before a car ploughs into a child.

In a chilling warning to the local authority, principal of Scoil Mhuire National school in Meelick, Dan Gra- ham, said it will be “too late when a four-foot coffin is being lowered into the ground and people are laying flowers on the roadside. Something is always done after a tragedy but that will be no comfort to a child’s griev- TbOrcap ec Ree DOA VAM

The entrance to Scoil Mhuire Na-

tional School is situated on a deadly bend, where cars regularly slam into rele emelealss

Some years ago, a driver was killed when his car went out of control and hit the front gate of the school.

The tragedy happened during the summer when there were no children around but Dan fears that a similar tragedy “is waiting to happen when children, staff and parents are walk- Tbeycaelel mae

“The road is used as a rat-run by motorists rushing to work and throughout the day. All it takes is for a five-year-old to step out and, between the poor visibility and the

speeds these cars are doing, that will be it. Over.”

The school’s request for a lollipop lady has been turned down. “I’ve been here 23 years and this needs to be tackled now. It’s urgent and if there is a fatality, then the council will be responsible,” the principal said.

Dan says he cannot understand why neighbouring Parteen National School “has all kinds of safety mark- ings and precautions, which is what should happen. Yet they are on a side road and we are on a very busy main road and we can get can noth- ing done”.

Local councillor, Cathal Crowe, 1s

a teacher at the school, which has 15 staff and 146 pupils.

He is calling on the local authority to put a footpath and safety railing in front of the main gate.

‘Almost three years ago, flashing lights were erected approximately 100 metres either side of the school gate. These lights tell the law-abid- ing motorist to slow down but they do very little to protect the school chil- dren and passing pedestrians from speeding cars,” he said.

“I feel that a footpath running the length of the bend and linking the school to the church would go along way to making the road safer for all.

ALLEGATIONS that the family of an Ennis heroin addict have been intimidated by a drug dealer were made in court yesterday.

The claim by an Ennis solicitor came in the case of Cathal Mulcaire (25), who was sentenced to four months in jail, after he pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis resin, for

sale or supply, on May 25 last year.

Ennis District Court was told that Mulcaire, of Apt 1, Chapel Lane, En- nis, brought a bar of cannabis resin – valued at €1,750 – on a bus from Limerick to Clare, with the intention of exchanging it with a dealer for four bags of heroin.

His solicitor Tara Godfrey said the incident arose from her client’s ad- diction to heroin.

“My client would have gone to Limerick for the bar of cannabis, to give to his suppliers for the purposes of getting the four bags of heroin,’ said the solicitor.

“He obtained this bar of cannabis, not for the purpose of supply, rather it was to get the heroin which he craved so badly,” she added.

Garda Stephen Hession told the court the accused co-operated with

the investigation, but did not tell gardai who the source was.

Ms Godfrey said, “My client was in fear in relation to the source. The people who were to have received this bar visited his father, his brother and his elderly grandmother. His father eventually came up with the money and had to pay. The entire family were intimidated.”

Judge Joseph Mangan asked Inspec-

tor Tom Kennedy, prosecuting, was that the first time this allegation had come to the notice of the Prosecution. Inspector Kennedy said it was.

The judge asked, “Can I take it it will be fully investigated?” and was told it would be.

He jailed Mulcaire for four months, to run consecutively to a ten-month term he is currently serving for an- other offence.

CLARE’S four Fine Gael general election candidates are confident that between them they can bring home two seats for their party.

At the weekend’s Ard Fheis, Councillor Joe Carey raised the is- sue of Open Skies when he spoke on a motion on regional develop- eetoolm

He told a packed room that the present Government were using a “scattergun” approach to regional development.

“Did anyone ask Dell or any of the multinationals in the west whether they will stay in Ireland when Shannon no longer has year round daily flights to the US after Open Skies? This Government is giving no supports to Shannon,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cllr Pat Breen says that his party’s emphasis on health and law and order issues at the con- ference comes from the feedback from the electorate.

“Just look at Ennis General Hos- pital. We still don’t know whether were going to have a 24-hour A&E department. We’re told plan- ning permission has been lodged, but it’s obvious nothing is going to be done before the election.”

The Clare councillor added that he is “looking forward to the elec-

tion campaign” and said he is con- fident of Fine Gael taking two seats in Clare.

Cllr Tony Mulcahy said that he believes Fine Gael are now ready to provide “credible opposition” to the Fianna Fail/PD coalition.

Cllr Mulcahy also believes that Shannon is among the important issues in Clare and wants to see Shannon supported into a position where it can break away debt free.

“Once there is an agreement in place with the unions what is vital in securing European business is an early morning and late evening connection with Dublin. We need same day accessibility. I don’t see why Shannon could not avail of a re- gional grant for that route under the Public Service Orders funding.”

Madeleine Taylor Quinn said it was “a most energetic, enthusiastic and positive Ard Fheis”.

She added that Enda Kenny gave “a commitment by Fine Gael to bring our public services up to the standard of the economy, its lays out exactly what the people of Ire- land can expect from a Fine Gael Government”.

The Fine Gael leader believes it is time to end the era of broken prom- ises, and for politicians to step up to the line and take responsibility for their actions in Government.”

production.

“It enabled the musical society to make the gesture to the college, one that constitutes a huge contribution to the culture of music there and to the experiences of the students in- volved,’ a spokesman for the college Sr AKOe

“The east Clare region boasts a rich heritage of music-making that has been carefully nurtured and handed down from generation to generation, so that it is still intricately woven into the fabric of life in the area,’ the spokesman added.

“The college is endeavouring to continue this tradition.”

This is bourne out by the fact that music 1s an integral part of the cur- riculum at the college. Up to fifty students currently study the subject at either Junior or Leaving Certifi-

cate level.

And “Music World’, the college of music founded in 1999, which pro- vides tuition in a variety of instru- ments, continues to thrive, with more than 100 students of all ages taking part in the various programmes on offer.

The 265 students, their teachers and support staff returned to their newly refurbished building on February 12 after being in temporary accommo- dation on site for the past 18 months.

The €2.5 million roof replacement and general refurbishment was un- dertaken for health and safety rea- sons after an asbestos roof began to leak. Said Sean Daly, principal, “We had buckets in the corridors gathering the rainwater. It called for a complete redesign of the roof, and

we were very lucky to have Terri as the architect. The way it has been designed has brought so much more light into the building.”

As well as replacing the roof, the school has replaced all the floor cov- erings. The practical rooms have been refurbished and re-equipped, and all the furniture has been replaced.

As an added bonus, the school gained an extra car park, when the temporary car park created while the work was ongoing was turned into a permanent one.

THE 37th Anniversary of the Kil- murry Ibrickane/North Clare Ath- letic Club and the Michael Egan Me- morial four mile road race attracted a very big turnout of athletes.

Gerry Ryan, Galway City Harriers, retained his title for the third year in a row and ran three seconds faster than last year with a time of 19.42 minutes. In the ladies race Veronica Colleran, Ennis Track Club, record- ing a big win in 24.04 minutes.

Over 100 competitors went to the start and over the first mile Seamus Power, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, led out with Gerry Ryan, Gal- way City Harriers, on his shoulder. SSCA ootlMmOebne lcd cMmOloMBEDuciMm DODD (omBDD 5.05 minutes with Dermot Galvin, St John’s a few metres off the lead.

Gerry Ryan made his way to the front and turning off the Miltown Malbay Road he began to pull away from Power.

Ryan was always looking to make a big move and he went through the two mile mark in 10.10 minutes, the three mile mark in 15.15 minutes.

With the wind to his back and all down hill to the finish he put in a blistering last mile to take this title for the third year 1n a row with a time of 19.42 minutes.

Seamus Power ran a good race to finish second in 20.06 minutes, with the 2003 champion Galvin, St John’s, making a great recovery over the fi- nal two miles to take third place in 20.30 minutes.

Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare won the team title and the Michael Egan Shield with Seamus Power, Donal Howley, James Kenny, Tho- mas Garrahy coming in for a total of 47pts.

The masters O40 title went to Pat Nugent who finished in the top ten with a time of 22.05 minutes.

The O45 title went to TJ Whyte, Tuam, in 22.51 minutes and a close second was James Kenny, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, with Michael Quinlivan, Tulla, third.

The O50 title went to the man in top form, Eugene Moynihan, Mar- ian. Hew was ninth overall with a winning time of 22.00 minutes. The O55 title went to Martin McEvilly,

Galway City Harriers, with Roger Rush, Tuam, winning the O60 title.

Donal Howley, Kilmurry Ibrick- ane/North Clare, once again pro- duced another big performance in the junior mens race to cross the fin- ishing line in 13th place.

The ladies race is always very com- petitive with over 30 ladies going to the start.

Veronica Colleran, Ennis ‘Track Club, set out at a very fast pace and went through the first mile in 6.06 minutes. Moving along nicely as they made their way into a slight head wind Sue Garrahy, Kilmurry Ibrick- ane/North Clare, Marian, Burke, St Mary’s, Ann Murray, Mayo, Sharon Rynne, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, were all working hard.

At the two mile mark Colleran had gone well clear and had the rest of the field strung out behind her.

Colleran produced a strong per- formance from start to finish to cross the finishing line seven seconds faster than 2006 with a time of 24.06 min- utes with the master O40 Munster road champion Sue Garrahy taking second place in 26.57 minutes. Third

was Marian Burke in 27.18 minutes.

Ann Murray, Mayo, captured the masters O35 title ahead of Michelle O’Mahoney, Kilmurry Ibrickane/ North Clare, and Hilda O’Connor, Ennis Track Club.

Rose Enright, St Mary’s, won the O40 title in 28.20 minutes from Marie Fennessy and Christine Or- gan, both Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare.Maura Falsey, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, was the lead- ing masters athlete O45 with Hannah Kelly and Bernie Kelly, both Galway City Harriers, second and third. The O50 title went to Cushla Murphy He- hir, Marian.

The junior ladies race saw Sharon Rynne, Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare, running her first ever four miler, produce a professional per- formance with a winning time of 27.56 minutes from Becky Hand, Dooneen.

Kilmurry Ibrickane/North Clare ladies team placed well to take the team title with a total of 26pts. Sue Garrahy, Sharon Rynne, Michelle O’Mahoney, Maura Falsey scored for them.

CLARE’S Green Party election can- didate Brian Meaney has slammed Fianna Fail this week claiming the ruling party is dipping into green policy in a bid to secure easy votes ahead of the upcoming election.

He branded what he termed Fianna Fail’s “new found interest in envi- ronmental issues” as a “cynical at- tempt to court the electorate at the A CoAYoraln el ele) en uae

Councillor Meaney then reiterated his party’s stance at national level saying, “Fianna Fail can try to steal our clothes, but they’ll never fit”, and pointed out that exactly a year ago Taoiseach Bertie Ahern addressed the Dail and said, “I am not respon- sible for the state of the planet”.

“It’ll take more than Dick Roche offering to change the light bulbs to convert Fianna Fail to the green agenda. Members of Fianna Fail must realise that their Party requires

root and branch reform 1f it 1s to seri- ously address environmental issues. For ten years they have ignored the need for change, and now with ten weeks to an election, Bertie Ahern is attempting to hoodwink the elec- Keyes Koni

He highlighted a number of local issues that he says show the current Government have not got green pol- icy at heart.

“Under Fianna Fail’s watch the En- nis CIE freight yard was allowed to

close and this further clogs up our roads. Not only that, Ennis Town Council is still pumping raw sew- erage into the Fergus which is no longer considered worth fishing in by serious anglers. The water in En- nis is unreliable and we have regular boil notices. There is not a metre of cycle path in Ennis and we’re the tenth largest town in Ireland. How can the two Finna Fail TD’s in Clare allow this to happen?”

He said that while the Green Party

welcomes a move towards green policy at all levels, he feels recent declarations by Fianna Fail are merely symptoms of “chameleon- like behaviour rather than conver- sion to the cause. In the space of a year we have watched Bertie Ahern mutate from republican to social- ist, and now he’s going through his environmental phase. One can only be deeply cynical about his attempt to wrap the green flag around his

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YOUNG SONGBIRDS from Crat- loe National School are raising their voices with children from all over the country to perform in a gala concert. On March 26, more than 350 chil- dren gathered in St Pauls Church in Dooradoyle to practice their songs for the National Childrens Choir. Under the stewardship of conduc- tor Eileen Fitzgerald, the children

hit the high notes with pieces from Beethoven, Mozart, the musicals, Sean nos and even a bit of Abba thrown 1n.

Seven primary schools from coun- ties Clare and Limerick are involved and joining them are Cratloe pupils, Jack Kearney, Maria Sheahan and Gillian O’ Donovan.

All the hard work culminates in a Show in the Concert Hall at the Uni- versity of Limerick.

This year, the childrens’ sweet me- lodious sounds will be heard on May pay

Collette Davis on piano and the Dolmen Quartet are providing the instrumental accompaniment.

The National Children’s Choir has been in existence since 1985. Chil- dren from all parts of the country in fourth, fifth and sixth classes are free to join the choir, where they learn a specific repertoire, and participate in

a regional concert. The objective has always been to foster a love of choral singing among primary school chil- Clone

Also taking part in the gala con- cert are St Pauls National School, Dooradoyle, Tineteriffe National School, Cappamore, Ballylanders National School, Ballyvaughan Na- tional school, Scoil an Spiorad Nao- imh, Roxboro and Murroe National School.

SEVEN first round heats of the Oran- more Maree Soccer Club dominated Thursday’s card where the perform- ances here were very good for this event.

John Sloyan’s Ballycrissane Lass was the fastest of the first round here as she really put on a good perform- ance when running away with heat Web ustee

Nearest on the clock again was the Davy Curtin trained Tom And Gerry who took the last heat of the night in the 11th race. Corker Man in trap three was the early leader but Tom

And Gerry in trap five was always a danger and taking the lead off the last bend this well bred fellow pow- ered on from here to beat Corker by over six lengths in a time of 29.19 seconds. The slow starting Flans Fancy was back for third.

Heat one kicked off in the fifth race and here the Martin O’Brien trained Hotfoot Lorrimer made all to get the ball rolling in this stake. Breaking well from trap three. Hot- foot was chased all the way by trap one Carhue Charmer and trap two Pinegrove Glory, but he was never in any trouble and galloped on to beat Carhue by three and a half lengths in

a time of 29.48 seconds. Pinegrove was just under two lengths back for Wen bKee

Another trap to line effort from Gort came about in heat four as the Noel Mullins trained Malbay Bart in trap two put another career best run to take this one.

Coming away well this fellow shot clear of trap four Salthill Swirl early on and ran on from here to beat him by six lengths in a time of 29.32 sec- onds. The slow starting Pony Mile in trap one was just under two lengths oy: 1O) Qu KO MmnOvE KOE

Evans Machine in trap three came away fastest in heat five and led early

but went slightly off at the second bend where trap one Connemara took over and led down the back straight. Trap five Riverside Spice was third here with Evans in front of him in MUD M OMAR BDA TeAKO Stakes

On the run off the last bend Evans made a go back at Connemara but the Sean Hunt trained tracker held on and took this by half a length in a time of 29.69 seconds. Evans was second with Riverside staying on for third.

A pups 525 saw the Paul & PJ Coon- ey owned Lantern Legacy just held on for this one. Taking the lead by the first bend from trap five Lantern

was followed all the way by Twins Allo who made an effort to get up on the leader on the run for the line but Lantern held on to beat Twins by a neck in a time of 29.94 seconds.

A real close one came about in the second race as the Peter Divilly owned Crafty Presento in trap three took this one albeit in slower style. Botox Blue was the leader most of the ways from trap six followed by Crafty and Waterlane Style in trap four. On the run to the line four of them formed a line and in a good finish Crafty got up there to pip Wa- terlane by a neck in a time of 30.28 seconds.

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.