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NORTH Clare’s Naomi O’Connell has reinforced her position as the most promising young singer in Ire- land, claiming first place and a bur- sary for €10,000 at the inaugural Count John McCormack competition at the Feis Ceoil over the weekend. Naomi is a former student of Mary

Immaculate Secondary School in Lisdoonvarna and soloist with the Lismorahaun Singers.

She won the award after completing a 20-minute programme, including songs in three different languages, and an interview in front a panel of judges.

“When I was given the award, I started crying. I know it is one of

those really corny things to go and do, but I couldn’t help it. My mother was here with me and my two teach- ers. It was just so happy,” said Nao- rape

Aside from the actual singing, each candidate was judged on their re- sponses to a series of judges’ ques- tions.

“They asked me about myself and

what I have done. I told them about winning the Veronica Dunne com- petition and what I had done with the prize money for that,’ she con- tinued.

“It was good that I was able to show them that I would be using the bur- sary for continuing my studies and that I wouldn’t be going out buying myself a car. They asked me where I saw myself in five years and I told them that, at that stage, I would like to have studied in France and in Italy and spent a year in America.

“I need to find the best teachers to continue my studies with. I have been so lucky with my teachers so far, with Archie down in Clare and Mary in Dublin.”

The John McCormack Bursary is sponsored by the [AWS Group and is run as part of the Feis Ceoil.

“People who put money into the arts like this are fantastic. We Just wouldn’t be able to do this without Wetoene

“T really couldn’t believe it, I’m over the moon. I felt really happy when I had finished singing. There was one piece which was a real Everest to sing, but it went so well,” she said.

“One of the judges told me after- ward that she knew how hard it was to sing that piece and I had sung it re- ally well. It was a great compliment,

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she said ‘I stopped the whole room’.

SIPTU representatives at Shannon Aerospace Ltd have reacted angrily to suggestions in a national news- paper that they have resisted efforts aimed at bringing about efficiencies in the company.

In a statement, union representa- tives said that the union and it’s mem- bers in SAL “accept we are in a com- petitive business. With this in mind those members have always worked for greater efficiency in the past and

towards the future through the pres- ently sought LEAN manufacturing structure in the organisation. This LEAN structure has been highlight- ed by management as the future of SAL and is in no way being resisted by SIPTU. On the contrary, union representatives have participated at the highest levels that the company permitted, in the design and model- ling of the proposed system.”

In a published interview last week, SAL’s managing director, Martin Kaiser, 1s quoted as saying that the

future of the company could be at risk, putting a question mark over the jobs of 700 people employed there.

In a statement on behalf of the company, a spokeswoman said that it recognised that SAL was “facing a most difficult situation in Shan- non and this can only be resolved by management and employees working together. We are keen to do that and are actively involved with SIPTU in this process.”

The SIPTU statement said that union representatives had engaged

with management over pay and costs since October 2006. It continued that, “Martin Kaiser MD is quoted as stating that agreements currently in place ‘may have been right 15 years ago…’ The agreement present- ly in existence was negotiated by the present management team headed by Mr Kaiser in SAL, as recently as Oc- tober 2002.”

Union members at the Shannon air- line servicing company voted for in- dustrial action in Aug 2006 in pursu- ance of the final two phases of the SP

National Wage Agreement, due since May 2005. These phases were paid when the members accepted changes to rostering guidelines. “While the pay increase thus achieved by agree- ment and brokered by LRC, applied to all staff at Shannon Aerospace, only the SIPTU members gave up anything in return,’ the statement said.

Councillor Madeleine Taylor-Quinn has urged all parties to engage “in meaningful negotiations which will preserve the jobs at Shannon.”

TRANSITION year students in Clare will be taking a step back in time to learn a craft which was part of everyday life for our forebears – in the language which they would have spoken while working at it.

An Irish language course in stone- wall building for the students is just one of the events organised for biod1- versity week in May by the Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA) based in Capparoe.

Biodiversity Week runs from May 20 to 27. The week celebrates the continual work of the ISSA and other

conservation organisations in Ireland preserving traditions that are part of our heritage.

As part of the week the ISSA will be running a course on rare potato varieties and traditional growing techniques will be held for primary schools.

Courses for the general public in- clude the native tree course on May 19 and 20, which will help partici- pants identify native trees and the many uses of timber.

The introduction to garden design course to be held on May 23, will help participants to plan an edible sus- tainable garden for a rural or urban

home, school or community garden. Enquires and booking of courses can be made by phone or email.

The big event of the week, Biodi- versity Day will be celebrated on Sunday, May 20, at ISSA centre.

The day will include local, fresh produce and stalls, workshops on native fruits, vegetable seed process- ing, rare Irish grains, planting an or- ganic garden, bee keeping, and rare poultry.

There will be plenty of fun for the younger visitors including nature walks, wildlife drawing, the Kerry bog pony and Kerry cattle.

Booking is essential for Biodiver-

sity Day.

The cost is €15 for adults and €30 for families (four people). This also includes a return shuttle transfer from Scariff town.

People needing special assistance or wheelchair users may park at the centre. Check out the Seedsavers website www.irishseedsavers.ie for more information.

A CLARE County Council official has moved to dispel suggestions made by a Shannon councillor, alleg- ing misappropriation of money.

Last week, Councillor Gerry Flynn (Ind) alleged that money relating to a Neighbourhood scheme in Shannon, which involved the felling, removal and planting of trees, was “misap- propriated” or “wasted”.

At a Shannon area meeting last Tuesday, Cllr Flynn addressed Ger Dollard – who is the Shannon Town manager – and said, “You took your eye off the ball and money was wast- ed. The money was taken out of the town. It’s an absolute disgrace what you let happen to this town.”

However, Mr Dollard said he hadn’t a notion what the councillor was talking about and said he was “talk- ing absolute nonsense.”

In a subsequent statement issued by Clare County Council, the allega- tions were rejected as “wild.” It stat- ed that Cllr Flynn’s statements were

“misleading.”

Mr Dollard said the cost of the project increased from €59,000 to €97,000, because there were addi- tional works involved, which were sought by the local community.

‘The main area of additional cost arose from the removal of timber residues off site.

‘This was not proposed as part of the scheme, but following consulta- tion with residents and councillors, a separate tender process was under- taken,” he said.

Mr Dollard said that Cllr Flynn was fully aware of the reasons behind the difference and that it was “mischie- vous” and “misleading” of him to suggest that the council had handled the situation wastefully.

Development Officer in Shannon, Padraig Mac Cormaic, described the councillor’s attack as “over the top and inaccurate”’.

He said that Cllr Flynn’s claim that the council had not been forthcom- ing in progress reports on the scheme was completely unfounded.

SHANNON airport worker’s lobby eroup, SIGNAL has called on the Minister For Transport to immedi- ately sign over the €53 million in funding promised in the wake of agreement on Open Skies.

The money is to support a five-year action plan to sustain transatlantic air services at Shannon following the end of the stop-over.

The money would be split between a tourism promotional fund of €44 million and a route support fund of €9 million.

A spokesman for SIGNAL said that it is “critical that Minister Cul- len sanction the €53 million plan. He must act as quickly as possible to demonstrate confidence in the re- gion.”

Fine Gael TD Pat Breen has claimed that Aer Lingus Heathrow landing slots serving Shannon were in danger of being sold off, following weekend speculation that the airline’s 23 pairs of slots were now worth up to €700 million.

Deputy Breen said that with Heath- row being “the most important trans- atlantic gateway in Europe, with 40 per cent of European-US traffic, it is vital that Shannon receives an as- surance from Aer Lingus chief ex- ecutive Dermot Mannion that the existing slots serving Shannon will be retained.”

Deputy Breen said that while Man- nion recently re-stated his previous verbal commitment that 400,000 passengers would be put through Shannon annually “there has been no mention of new services, expan- sion of existing services or the mar- keting of existing routes through seat Sales. Indeed, direct services have been cut back since yesterday with the rescheduling of the daily Boston direct service through Dublin”

Independent Deputy, James Breen, warned that the agreement will lead to “cherry picking” by airlines.

“In the immediate aftermath of the announcement of Open Skies Aer Lingus announced new routes to San Francisco, Orlando and Washington. Significantly all of those new routes

will operate from Dublin Airport. Dublin Airport is to be the subject of a €2 billion investment while Shan- non struggles to receive even a few million to overhaul the existing ter- minal’, he said.

And Fine Gael election candidate, Madelaine Taylor-Quinn said that “it is critically important that Shan- non airport gets control of its own destiny and is not dictated to from Dublin, and I am calling on the Taoi- seach and the Minister for Transport to make a clear and unequivocal commitment that Shannon will be handed over debt free immediately.”

Indenpendent MEP Marian Harkin said that the transitional arrange- ments in the Open Skies Agreement are “virtually worthless for Shannon Airport

TWO courses in acupuncture will be on offer at a college in Shannon, starting next month.

Representatives of the College of Medical Acupuncture and Tradition- al Chinese Medicine were in Shan- non over the weekend, to promote its part-time courses, which lead to a licentiate in acupuncture with full professional qualifications.

One of the courses is a one-year course, designed for medical doc- tors, physiotherapists and dentists. The other course runs over three years and is for non-medical, nurs- ing and complementary health prac- titioners.

The courses will start at the end of

April, at the college’s office at Bal- lycasey Park in Shannon.

The college runs courses all over the country, but its office in Shannon is the only centre it actually owns. It is located adjacent to Sang Man’s practice – he lectures on the courses – in Ballycasey. Mr Man is the presi- dent of the Chinese population in Ireland.

The other lecturers on the course are Bruce W Du Ve, John O’Bourke and Eilin Ni Riordain, who all have a huge amount of experience in this area, on an international level.

According Ms Ni Riordain, there has been a huge growth in interest in this particular area over the years.

“We started off in Barrington’s Hospital in 1994. Since then we have

set up a practice in Galway and Ath- lone and in Merrion Square, Dublin,” she said.

“Three years ago, we decided to buy a property and we bought a place in Shannon. The Chinese Ambassa- dor did the official opening for us at Wee ND OOeMMMEC)OLomy-BLOM

The building in Shannon has three classrooms and courses have been run there over the past three years.

“We try to keep class numbers to around 15 or 20. We have doctors, dentists and physiotherapists, tak- ing the one-year course. In the other course there are shopkeepers, thatch- ers, teachers and accountants. We have had a range of professions,” she said.

“This is growing at such a rate it 1s

incredible. The physiotherapists are using it in the hospitals. People are seeing amazing results from this,” she said.

As part of the course, students are invited to visit China, for periods ranging from between one and three months, to the Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is affiliated to the college here.

The courses cost €3,500 and fur- ther details, and a prospectus, are available by phoning 090 9678202.

RURAL communities in Clare are being offered a chance to win a new EU Competition valued at €50,000. Shannon Development, in partner- ship with Failte Ireland, is promot- ing a new EU competition, the Eu- ropean Destinations of Excellence, to identify the Best Emerging Rural Tourism Destination in each of the Member States.

The competition is open to any town, district, village or area in Ireland with a population of up to 10,000. Entrants must represent an area which has defined geographic boundaries, is primarily rural, but can include urban areas, and must have undertaken tangible marketing activity promoting approved opera- tors.

The winning destination in Ireland will receive a prize valued at an es- timated €50,000 which includes an

energy and waste audit, an energy and waste management plan, a three- year marketing plan and a DVD of the destination.

The winner in each member state will have their area promoted on the international stage.

“This is a unique opportunity for communities around County Clare and the Shannon Region to compete for a major award which will not only enhance the physical infrastructure of their community, but also supple- ment promotional efforts,” says John Quinlivan, Shannon Development, Regional Development Manager- Orie

Full competition details and an ap- plication form are available at www. shannonregiontourism.ie/eden — or www.failteireland.ie/eden or call Siobhan King Clare Tourism Of- ficer, Shannon Development, at 065 6895004. The closing date for appli- cations is Friday, April 13.

THE Ennis based Mangan’s Whole- sale group marked 75 years in busi- ness with a business breakfast at the spectacular Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre on Monday when many of the company’s long standing customers, business friends and community rep- resentatives attended the event.

Mangans Wholesale is a major play- er in both the retail and foodservice sectors and pioneered the growth of symbol store development as far back as 1967 with the launch of the Mace brand. In the intervening years, the Clare company introduced the high- ly successful Xpress Stop and Vivo brands. More than 250 staff are em- ployed throughout the country with over 80 of them based in Ennis.

The Ennis Cash & Carry on the Kilrush Road, managed by ‘Tom Downes, is the hub for operations throughout Clare and the surround- ing counties with deliveries to a wide variety of independent retailers and the fast growing foodservice sector.

Managing Director, Terence Man- gan outlined the history of the busi- ness which was founded by his father and uncle in Kilmihil in 1932 and evolved from a local food distributor to a nationwide outfit that includes 8 cash and carries and delivers to all parts of the country. He highlighted

some indicative examples of the com- pany’s ongoing progress including the recent opening of a convenience store at a Luas station in the Dublin commuter belt and the acquisition of a foodservice distribution business in Galway.

Guest speaker at the event was Mick O’Dwyer who spoke about his approach to management, cur- rent trends in sports science and the similarities between managing a top class sports team and running a small business.

Chief Executive Peter Foley out- lined the special promotions that would be available to customers. Further events planned for the year include a charity cycle and a pro- motional offer for regular cash and CVU MONO) No ie

He acknowledged the long service of the extraordinary loyal and cus- tomer focused sales team including Charles Smyth, Malcolm Reeves and Michael Breen.

The event was rounded off by com- pany Chairman, Gabriel Mangan who noted the substantial changes in customer needs since 1932 and the key decisions that were made at the ruta alm Ob elem

He thanked the company’s custom- ers many of whom had seen their businesses develop over the same WE Seles

BANK otf Ireland has revealed it does not intend to install a new 24-hour ATM in Newmarket-on-Fergus, to replace the one which closed earlier this year.

The closure of Halpin’s garage marked the end of the 24-hour ATM, which had been located there. While there are two ATMs in the village, both are located inside business premises and are not available after whe 00

Locals have expressed frustrations on the issue in recent weeks and a

letter from Bank of Ireland, to a staff officer with Clare County Council, has infuriated local councillors.

The letter from Relationship Man- ager Eileen Hannon, dated March 12, stated, “Presently Bank of Ireland are not planning on installing an ex- ternal ATM in Newmarket-on-Fer- ous. However, reviews are constantly taking place to consider urban devel- opment and population increases in specific areas.

“Should the position change dra- matically in Newmarket-on-Fergus, then Bank of Ireland will certainly reconsider the appropriateness of an

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The letter stated that while the bank is committed to providing ap- propriate banking facilities, includ- ing AIM services to its customers, the manner in which that service 1s provided has changed, “with a great- er emphasis on installing in-store re- tailer ATMs, which are becoming the preferred choice of the general public as they appear to offer greater personal security to users.”

Local Councillor Pat McMahon (FF) said, “The letter states the pre- ferred option is internal machines. The two that exist at the moment are

running out of money early.

“What do you do over a long week- end, or any weekend? I refute totally the motion they are making about the preferred choice. I’m talking about 9pm, until those shops open in the morning,’ said Cllr McMahon.

“It 1s ironic, with the massive amount of growth in those two areas, here we are, one of the major banks are refusing to provide a service. Thanks be to God, we have com- petition,’ he said, adding that other banks are looking at the possibility of installing an external ATM in the village.

CLARE County Council has set aside warnings from one of its execu- tive engineers against a €60m hous- ing development in Clarecastle.

The engineer had pointed to fears that water shortages in the area could temporarily shut down the Roche Ire- land plant. An Taisce also objected to the scheme.

However, the council last week granted planning permission to Sean Lyne and Noel Connellan for 244 residential units on a 25-acre site on the Kildysart Road outside Clarecas- ate

The two undertook to upgrade the infrastructure in the area. Work will not start on the project until the two businessmen construct a temporary waste water treatment facility.

An internal memo released with the decision on Friday revealed that Executive Engineer, Sean Considine stated last July that “developments like the one proposed cannot be al- lowed to proceed with the ongoing scenario present”.

Mr Considine had received a phonecall from Pat O’Shea at Roche Ireland that day over the inadequate water supply for the plant.

The inadequate supply, according to Mr Considine, “could have serious consequences as the factory could be temporarily closed down by morn-

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Mr Considine said, “The water supply in the Clarecastle area is very insufficient and has been for some years now…the water received at the moment for Clarecastle equates only to the equivalent usage of five years ago and this is clearly not adequate to sustain current development, nev- er mind future development.”

In its submission, An Taisce stat- ed, “This very dense development is premature as neither of the pub- lic services are at present or in the near future able to supply these new OMe bbe reace

“The water is undrinkable and a new system is being proposed but will not be ready in time for this de- velopment and the sewerage is vastly overloaded. We strongly recommend that this is either delayed or with- drawn until the services are adequate or at least planned to be adequate.”

In a letter to the council, a consult- ant for the two businessmen agreed to the development of a temporary waste water treatment plant at Clare- abbey.

The letter states, “Ennis Town En- gineer, Tom Tiernan has confirmed that there has been a significant delay in procuring the new plant at Clarea- bbey, which was due to start in 2005. It is estimated that, at a minimum, the works will not be completed for at least three to five years.”