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Clare County Council is set to become a major player in the pro- motion of tourism in Clare, as part of a shake-up of regional tourism SB uC R EN KeNE

The Government overhaul of the current structures is aimed at ad- dressing the growing imbalance between visitors to Dublin and the west of Ireland.

Under the changes, the coun- cil will, for the first time, have a strong voice on issues such as product development. The council will become an integral part of the tourism planning of the region by way of participation on the Re- gional Tourism Partnerships and strong links at executive level.

The plan also states that council will be in a position to assist in the funding of particular initiatives led by the regional tourism centre.

OU stomata mecca Oye VeeMbCe RUD RoKIRYa08| pose a threat to Shannon Devel-

opment’s future role in promoting tourism.

The report commissioned by Failte Ireland and carried out by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, contains a dedicated section on the Shannon region.

‘The Shannon Development eco- nomic development role has influ- enced the tourism activity under- taken by the agency in the region, with a strong emphasis on product development as a response to mar- ket failure.

“In line with overall thrust of the recommendations, which favour the integration of national and re- gional tourism policy, considera- tion should be given to the integra- tion of the Shannon tourism region into the proposed revised regional Structure.

“It would be important, however, to ensure that the strategic tourism capability built within the Shan- non Development over-time is not lost to the region.

“As a potential future ‘gateway’ to the west of Ireland, this knowl- edge and know-how should be har- nessed to manage the flow of visi- tors to and through the region.”

This week, Tourism Minister, John O’Donoghue told the Dail: “At the end of July, I indicated to Failte Ireland that I was satisfied it should proceed with the proposed revision of regional tourism struc- tures on the basis of the PWC and ‘Travers reports.

“An implementation group is being established to assist Failte Ireland in implementing the rec- ommendations. Mr. Finbarr Flood has agreed to chair this group and has already begun his work. Failte Ireland expect that changes will be seen in the regions by the middle of next year.

“At a time of overall national tourism growth, I remain con- cerned that the issue of regional spread should be proactively and energetically addressed.

INDUSTRY and opposition politicians have slammed the agreement which will see the Shannon stopover grounded from April 2008.

IBEC — which represents 500 busi- nesses, employing 50,000 people in the region — has branded the announcement that a deal has been cut to phase out the stopover as “a black day for the west.”

IBEC Mid-West Regional President, Mr Damien Clancy, added that the impact on industry, business and tourism would be devastating given that Government has not outlined measures to minimise the negative effect of this decision.

“The harsh reality is that, under Open Skies, US-Shannon flights could easily be reduced from 50 to 7 per week with an equivalent drop in US passengers of up- wards of 500,000 per annum as airlines seek to consolidate their Irish operations

for cost reasons,” he said.

Beginning next November, the number of flights serving Shannon will be re- duced to one in four on all scheduled routes. “This drastic reduction in serv- ices outlined by Minister Cullen will no doubt have a significant impact on invest- ment and jobs in Shannon and the greater West of Ireland region unless action is taken to plan for this change,” the IBEC President said.

Mike Halpenny of SIPTU, the union representing workers at the airport, says the deal is a disaster. “The big problem is that it’s a poor deal, not just for the air- port workers but also for workers in the industrial estate and the backward link- ages. And this has all been done without even the courtesy of an impact study.”

Joe Buckley of the Shannon Signal eroup said that it was “an appalling day for Shannon.” He added that, while the

Government had neglected to carry out any impact statement before the deal, in the US, a bill is moving through congress to examine fall-out for American indus- try in the Mid-West.

Fine Gael TD Pat Breen has criticised the one-in-four deal for Shannon over an 18-month-period as a drip-feed solution. He said, “This is a sellout of the West. It is a ridiculous sop which takes no ac- count of the threatened effects of an Open Skies agreement on the airport.”

But the plan has received a welcome from tourism interests and from the Lim- erick Chamber of Commerce, who said that “Open Skies could offer opportuni- ties and Shannon Airport’s business plan does make provision for its advent but it is now critical that they get their cost structure in order to attract carriers and compete on transatlantic business by of- fering lower landing charges.”

A LONE Clare fisherman, reported missing late last Wednesday night in Galway Bay, was found safe and well, stranded on an island, in the early hours of Thursday morning. The 43-year-old from New Quay in North Clare went fishing at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon and was due home at around nightfall. When

there was no sign, his wife raised the alarm and reported him overdue at around Ilpm. A major sea and air search was launched soon after- wards.

The Aran Islands and Galway Bay lifeboats, along with volunteers from the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard, rushed to the scene and began a water-based search in the area of New Quay. Shortly af-

terwards, the Shannon-based Irish Coastguard helicopter, which is equipped with specialist search and rescue thermal imaging technology, joined the search.

The man was located a short time later by the chopper crew as they carried out a low level sweep over Deer Island in Galway Bay, about two miles north of New Quay.

According to a Coastguard

spokesperson, “The helicopter crew spotted the man on Deer Island waving his hands in the air but for safety reasons did not immediately attempt to airlift him. It appears he got caught in some bad weather and sought shelter on the island”’.

The presence of large colonies of birds on the island prevented the chopper crew from immediately airlifting the man to safety. It was

feared that if disturbed, birds could fly into the chopper’s engines and scupper any rescue bid.

The pilot decided instead to await the arrival of a lifeboat which used spotlights to illuminate the area so that an airlift could safely take place.

The man was taken to safety short- ly before 2 am and was reported to be safe and well after his ordeal.

THE founding chairman of the Shannon Status Committee, which lobbied to keep the Shannon stopover, has expressed his support for the controversial Open Skies policy. Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen expressed his absolute confidence that Shannon Airport will continue to “grow and prosper in the exciting new era of EU-US Open Skies”.

The Corofin TD was founding chairman of the committee as Clare County Council Chairman in 1989, and led the local FF revolt when Shannon was under threat 12 years ago. But he sup- ported Minister Martin Cullen’s decision this week, pointing out that none of the other 24 EU states has managed to negoti- ate an interim arrangement similar to Shannon’s.

In response to queries that he had changed his stance over the last decade, he said, “When full “Open Skies’ finally arises in 2008, it will be close to 20 years since the start of the ‘status’ campaign. At that time, unemployment hovered at close to 18 per cent. It is now, at 4.2 per cent, one of the lowest in Europe.

“Our debt-to-GNP ratio was 125 per cent and completely out of control. It is now a comfortable 30 per cent. And growth was

virtually at stagnation point, compared with today’s healthy five per cent,” the Minister of State added.

“Shannon has weathered the storm and the unprecedented success enjoyed by the new independent airport authority proves that Clare’s airport is fully capable of winning new business against all comers. I believe that the improved relationship with the new Aer Lingus management will greatly benefit Shannon, and US carriers using the airport have been more than happy with their load factors and want to retain their share,” he said.

“The new airport board, along with a revitalised and re-fo- cused Shannon Development, must continue to expand and build the marketing focus on the West of Ireland in the US, UK and European markets. And the completion of a first-class road and rail infrastructure must be delivered by Government.”

He claimed that the same “prophets of doom’, who foretold that the rabbits would overrun the runways in the 1940s and predicted closure of Shannon in the °90s, are “‘at it again”.

‘Their predictions are as inaccurate now as they were then”, Minister Killeen remarked, “and, as always, it falls to those of us who were prepared to take a stand in difficult times to pro- vide positive support so that Shannon can benefit from exciting new opportunities.”

WHEN Gerry Sweeney left the pier in New Quay early JETS MA WV(crebslonree-himmaeleu sper reamm el tle did he know that he was about to face into the ordeal of his life.

Gerry had spent the early hours of Wednesday morning laying keep tanks and, as the weather began to worsen, he moved his boat to the Flaggy Shore. As he laid his final tank he lost his footing and plunged into the freezing water. Fail- ing to get back on deck, he had no choice but to hold on as the tide swept the boat out to sea.

“T had no choice but to hold on to the boat, take shelter from the weather and hope that it would drift out towards Deer Island,” he said.

As the boat drifted farther out to sea it became clear to Gerry that the boat would not reach Deer Island. He had no choice, he had to swim.

‘The hardest part was hold- ing on for the last 20 minutes. Leaving the boat I was fairly weak, I just decided to give it one last push.”

After making it to Deer Is- land, Gerry knew he had to find some shelter before the

storm worsened. Too weak to stand, he crawled to the top of Neo EDITOR

“When I got on to the island it was blowing force seven. I knew there was a mound of rocks on the top of the island. I had to get some shelter,’ he said.

Returning home after 10 pm, Gerry’s wife Martina knew that something was wrong.

COMA ACCU MANE KBE 0 MEO) the hob and that was unusual. I drove down to the pier and raised the alarm,” she said.

“It was a ferocious night,” said Gerry. “I knew that there were people out looking for me. They were risking every- thing by going out there.”

In force nine winds the Aran Galway Life Boat joined the search but it was the Shannon coast guard helicopter which finally spotted the stranded and weak fisherman.

“The first two times they flew over me,’ he said. “I put my life jacket back on so that they might see that.”

Visibility was so poor that the rescue teams could not even see the island and used the light of his life jacket to navigate. Just after 2 am, Ger-

ry was winched into the heli- copter and flown to safety. As he winged his way to Shan- non, the rescue teams joined

his family to celebrate.

“T would like to thank the Valentia coast guard, life boats from Galway and Aran,

the Doolin Coast Guard, the Shannon Helicopter crew and eround staff and all the locals who lent their support,” he

said. “They all came regard- less of the weather.”

SOME 300 delegates from all over Ireland and Europe will descend on Ennistymon later this month for the 17th annual SET eM Kees Oencouoleer

The conference, which is or- ganised by the Clare Tourism Council in conjunction with Clare County Council, takes place in the Fall’s Hotel from November 24 to the 26.

The conference, which will be chaired by north Clare County Councillor, Flan Garvey, is the only one of its kind in the Republic and of- fers interested parties the op- portunity to come along, plan and discuss how tourism can be developed and marketed in Ireland. This year’s con- ference will focus on quality and value for money in Irish tourism and is entitled *Posi- tioning Tourism – Quality or Price?’ “Everyone who talks about tourism in Ireland at the moment the first thing the mention is the price. Some

will say it’s too high and some will say it’s good value but value for money is a big thing,” said Paddy Maher of the Clare Tourism Council.

“One major thing is the idea of over regulation that we have here in Ireland. We will be discussing whether things gave gone over board com- pletely or whither we on track 2 UO0 NON Smee

The conference will open on Thursday evening with a spe- cial presentation for the win- ners of this years tidy towns competition.

After winning the national title, Ennis will be the central attraction for this but Ruan will also receive an award for being the most improved vil- lage in the county this year.

The main business of the

conference will begin on Sat- urday when the lectures will commence. Topics include; Tourism as an Economic Generator, Tourism and the Environment and Compet- ing through People. After the lectures the floor will be open to a question and answers ses- sion for all the delegates.

The Clare Tourist Council organised its first national

tourism conference in 1989. This two day event took place in the West County Hotel in Ennis and was called ‘The Tourism Explosion – Implica- tions for Ireland’.

Atl MERCO)INKoneICcmEEENCOMmE IETS foundations for future the conferences and over the years they began to attract more and more people from a wider spread of locations.

The annual conference has grown so much that not only does it help inform local peo- ple about best tourism practic- es, it also has become a valu- able revenue for the area with some 300 delegates and their families offering a boost to north Clare in the off season.

“The conference has been based in Ennistymon for the last number of years and we are very happy with the facili- ties on offer there,’ continued Mr Maher. It has a direct ef- fect on tourism in the area and could contribute as-much- as €250,000 over the three or Ane

ONE of Ennis’ oldest institutions will close its doors for the last time tomorrow.

The ESB Store in Carmody Street closes on Wednesday after over 40 years in business. Since the mid six- ties the store operated as a retail out- let for electrical goods and provided a bill paying service for customers.

Speaking on Monday in an empty store, staff were sad to be saying farewell to the shop.

“I feel sad really as it is the end of an era. It was a good place to work. There was camaraderie among the staff,’ said Marian Barry, who has worked there for over 30 years.

Last March ESB announced that it had sold the retail division of the company to the Bank of Scotland

(Ireland) (BSOI) for €120 million, resulting in the closure of all its out- lets nationwide.

A shrinking market share and in- creased competition from national and international retailers were the reasons given by management.

BSOT have also acquired the ESB’S retail loan book, which means that customers who had deferred pay- ments on electrical appliances can

make their repayments to BSOI while customers can now pay their electrical bills at An Post branches. Under the deal, ESB staff were given the option of working with BSOI.

The store currently employs five people and while some staff mem- bers have decided to avail of the opportunity others will continue to carry on working with the ESB at their offices in Station Road.

NINE craftsmen and women from the north Clare area have teamed up to put together one of this years biggest craft fairs, and just in time for Christmas.

The fair, which will take place in the Lady Gregory Hotel in Gort on Saturday and Sunday November 26 and 27, is being organised by the Clare Crafts Association. The fair will feature a wide range mate- rial some with a slight Christmas detosealen

One of the more interesting items on show will be a range of hand- made goat’s milk soap which is made by Janis James from Bally- vaughan. The soap, which is made in a variety of Celtic designs, uses goat’s milk because it has the clos- est PH level to human shin and acts as a moisturiser.

Also taking part in the exhibition will be Leueen Hill from Curren- rue who specialises with artistic work featuring Burren flowers. Leueen’s range includes _ water- colours, colour photopicture and handmade silk paper, all inspired by the Burren flora.

The crafts fair will also feature the jewellery and woodcarvings of Kinvara man Sam Beardon; the jewellery of Jamie Storer from Doolin; the leather work of Tony McFadden from Ballyvaughan; the jewellery of Frank Murphy from Ardrahan; the fused glass work of Gerry Ruane from Tubber; and the photography of Lisa Thielan from Lisdoonvarna.

The craft show will run each day between llam and 6pm.

A 24-YEAR-old Cooraclare man has been charged with the murder of Ann Walsh, whose body was discovered in the grounds of a church in Kilrush in August. Raymond Donovan, of New Houses, Cooraclare, was charged with murder last Friday.

Gda Michael Ryan told Ennis District Court that he formally arrested and charged Dono- van with the murder of Ms Walsh, contrary to common law, at Toler Street, Kilrush, on Au- gust 24.

In reply to the charge, the accused said, “I didn’t mean to do it”. He agreed that he under- stood the charge and caution.

Donovan had previously been charged with intentionally or recklessly causing harm to the

23-year-old woman, on the same date. Judge Leo Malone withdrew that charge on the re- quest of Inspector Kevin Moynihan.

Donovan, who was making his seventh court appearance in connection with the death of Ms Walsh, a native of Pella Road in Kilrush, was remanded in custody.

He will reappear again in court tomorrow (Wednesday).

But his trial will not go ahead until late next year at the earliest. There is currently a ten- month waiting list for murder trials at the Cen- tral Criminal Court in Dublin, although this is significantly shorter than had been the case in the past.

A spokesman for the Courts Service told

A letter, written by a Lebanese woman, which praises the efforts made by Irish soldiers in the Lebanon was the high- light of the commemoration day which took place in Ennistymon last week.

The day, which was organised by the North Clare War Memorial Committee in conjunction with the Irish Lebanon Veterans, began with a special mass in Ennistymon Church. Following the mass Limerick piper and Irish Army Captain, Michael Egan led the memo- rial parade through the town.

The parade travelled down Main Street and Parliament Street before

coming to a halt outside the commemo- rative plaque at the old cemetery on Church Hill.

A short prayer service will be held at the plague for all Irish soldiers who died in the service at home and all who were lost during peace keeping opera- tions, especially those who died in the Lebanon.

“The letter is something that I think every Irish peace keeper who served any time in the Lebanon should see or hear about,” said event organiser Ger- ard O’Halloran.

The parade was attended by a number Clare County Councillors as-well-as the Mayors of Clare and Limerick.