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THE sponsored slim for Chernobyl has reached the half way stage and so far has proved very successful.

All funds raised over the eight-week period will go towards the Beschanagovichu orphan- age in Belarus, which is home to 170 chil- dren.

Since the Slim-In began four weeks ago, participants have been meeting regularly to discuss their progress and have benefitted from the advice of a number of guest speakers

who have attended the meetings.

On November 2 Carmel form Carmel’s Health Shop spoke about products on the mar- ket that can aid weight loss while Take 30 Wo- mens Fitness have allowed participants to use their facilities for the weigh-in.

Future speakers include Brian Moore from the Hypnotherapy Clinic in Ennis and Dr Travis McDonagh of the Advanced Chiro- practic Clinic, who will offer advice on fitness and nutrition.

Organizers would like to thank all partici- pants for the commitment shown so far.

AN “EXCEPTIONALLY violent” Lithuanian man kicked and punched two gardai repeatedly as they tried to arrest him. Daryus Simkauskas (35), of 5 Aidan Park, Shannon, was convicted of assaulting two gardai and committing two public order offences, on October 2.

Gda Pat Broderick told Ennis Dis- trict Court he received a report of a domestic dispute at the home of

the accused. He went to the scene, where he saw five people. The part- ner of the accused, a woman in her thirties, had severe bruising to her right hand and said the accused had inflicted the wound. The accused had a lot of drink taken, became ag- gressive and started shouting.

‘IT asked him to leave the house. He did leave, but very reluctantly,’ said Gda Broderick.

Mr Simkauskas was then directed to leave the area, but tried to get in

the back gate. As Gda Broderick and Gda Conor McKeon were ar- resting him, a struggle ensued.

“He got away from me,” Gda Bro- derick said. “He took off his jacket, put up his hands and started throw- ing punches at both of us as we tried to affect his arrest. Fortunately, none of his blows landed. All three of us ended up on the ground”.

Gda Broderick was kicked to the back of the head and Gda McKeon kicked into the stomach. The ac-

cused was held down on the grass and handcuffed, but continued to kick out. Other gardai then arrived and it took five of them to put the accused into the personnel carrier.

‘He was exceptionally violent and it was a frightening situation to be in,’ said Gda Broderick.

Defending solicitor Caitriona Carmody said her client accepts his behaviour was completely un- acceptable. He moved to Ireland in October 2004 and currently works

at Shannon Aerospace.

Judge Leo Malone said the ac- cused’s behaviour was “outrageous’”’. He imposed a one-month sentence for the assault on Gda Broderick and suspended it on condition Mr Siumkauskas keeps the peace for two years. He remanded the accused on bail to appear again in January, to ascertain if he is suitable for com- munity service. Judge Malone im- posed fines totalling €450 for the two public order offences.

A RELIGIOUS order has contradict- ed claims by a Whelan Group-owned company that a quarry has been op- erated on lands at Cahercon since the early 1960s.

Currently, long-time opponents of the Whelan Group, the Kildysart Ex- plosives Factory Opposition Group (KEFOP) and Cairde Chill on Disirt Teo are objecting against Clare County Council registering a quarry operated by Staleen Property Co Ire- land Ltd at Cahercon, Kildysart.

The quarry has been and it con- tinues to be used by Shannon Explo- sives Ltd, the company behind plans to develop a €6 million explosives factory at Cahercon and CW Ship-

ping, the company currently operat- ing the controversial lease at Caher- con pier.

In September, the Council gave notice that the quarry was being reg- istered as part of the process under Section 261 of the Planning and De- velopment Act where the Council re- ceived almost 200 applications from quarry owners across the county.

In its statement, the Council stat- ed that planning permission has not been granted for the quarry and the Council is considering imposing conditions on the operation of the quarry.

However, KEFOP and Cairde Chill on Disirt Teo have lodged sub- missions with the Council objecting to the quarry being registered.

Supporting their opposition is Provincial of the Salesian Sisters, Sr Nora Ryan, contradicting a claim by Staleen that a quarry has always been in operation at the location prior to October 1964.

The quarry is on the 200 acres of land purchased by Managing Di- rector of the Whelan Group, Paddy Whelan from the Salesian Sisters for an estimated €1.2 million in 2002.

In her statement to the Council, Sr Ryan states that the Salesians lived at Cahercon House from 1962 to 2002 and “no part of the lands was used as a quarry for any commercial pur- pose during the time of the Salesian sisters.”

Former teacher at Cahercon, John McNeilis states in a submission that

‘the impression has been created that there was a quarrying operation car- ried out at Cahercon in the past, while it was owned by the Salesian Sisters and that up to 15,000 tonnes of mate- rial per annum left the quarry.”

He adds, “I was a teacher in St John Bosco’s Secondary School, Ca- hercon 1977 until its closure in June 2002 and I can clearly and categori- cally state that there was no such business in operation and that there was no commercial quarry in exist- Salerer

“During my 25 years working in Cahercon, I never witnessed a lorry load of gravel or stone leaving the property. Small amounts of mate- rial for use on the farm owned by the Salesian sisters was the only ‘quar- rying’ done.

In his submission, solicitor Michael Nolan on behalf of Cairde Chill on Teo states: “This was not a quarry prior to 2002 and I enclose a photo taken in October 2002 indicating the state of the lands at the time.”

“The area in question, is located, within an area which has been desig- nated visually vulnerable. My clients accordingly object in the strongest possible terms to the proposal to is- sue a licence for this quarry within the context of the Planning and De- velopment Acts.

On behalf of KEFOP, Brian Doyle States, “We are of the view that the Cahercon quarry was not in use prior to the Whelan Group purchasing the property in July 2002 with the excep- tion of use for domestic purposes by the Salesian Sisters.”

A RULING in the case of a Lisdoonvarna-based nXe)re group, accused of employing non-nationals without valid work permits in two of its ho- tels, will be made tomorrow (Wednesday).

In the first case of its kind in Clare last month, Ennis District Court heard from members of the Garda immi- eration bureau that 14 people, ranging in ages from 21 to 39, were employed at the Imperial and Hydro Hotels in Lisdoon- varna, without valid work permits, in September 2004.

The accused were William

O’Sullivan (manager of The Hydro), Geraldine Whyte (manageress of The Imperial), Marcus White, and The Hy- dro and Imperial hotels. The five accused denied a total of 36 charges against them.

The White Hotel Group ac- countant, Robert Hurley, told the court that people with- out work permits would not knowingly be employed. He said directions came from on high.

After hearing evidence over two days, Judge Joseph Man- gan dismissed the charges against Mr O’Sullivan and Ms Whyte, saying there was no evidence that either were

officers of the two defendant companies.

Defending solicitor Eugene O’Kelly said there was no evidence that Marcus White actively consented to the em- ployment of such people.

Inspector Michael Gal- lagher said two non-nationals were discovered “physically working” at one of the hotels.

Judge Mangan queried Whether there was evidence that Marcus White was direc- tor of both companies when the searches took place.

He adjourned the case to give the State the opportunity to prove he was director on WerLI@EcT oR

SPEAKING in the Dail in 1947, Fine Gael leader James Dillon famously forecast that rab- bits would over-run the runways in Rineanna.

Fianna Fail folk scoffed at the very sugges- tion — it would never happen, they roared, for Shannon was a wonder of their world, a Fianna Fail airport.

They were the great defenders of Shannon Airport — defence that manifested itself on many occasions down the years. It’s as if there was a wall around Rineanna to keep at bay in- fidels who were out to undermine the jewel of

Irish aviation.

In the fifties, the Government of President Harry Truman wanted to annul an agreement that ensured Shannon had to be used as a stopo- ver for transatlantic traffic into Ireland. Fianna Fail said no.

The stopover threat was there again in the early seventies and the Shannon Airport Action Committee circled the wagons to great affect.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Clare’s first political citizen, Dr. Paddy Hillery, fa- mously told a delegation of airport activists in the Old Ground Hotel that the party would al- ways safeguard Shannon Airport.

Fianna Fail were true to this principal in

Paddy Hillery’s time, but not in our time of the ‘90s and early millennium. All because, under Fianna Fail’s watch, Shannon Airport has been dealt two of the biggest blows in its eight-dec- ade history.

The great Fianna Fail defenders have let their suard down — the great Shannon Wall around the sacred cow that was the airport has come tumbling down. The former hub of the aviation world is not a jewel in the Fianna Fail crown anymore.

And all this in the space of a dozen years. Minister for Transport Maire Geoghegan Quinn said in October 1992 that the compul- sory stopover was not “up for negotiation” and

‘“wouldn’t be back on the political agenda”’.

Eight months later, her successor, Brian Co- wen, showed how empty this promise was when he abolished the compulsory stopover.

Now comes the decision to end the bi-lateral agreement that allowed one-for-one transatlan- tic flights into Shannon and Dublin.

And again, it happened under Fianna Fail’s watch. That wall has come tumbling down al- right — the night and day watchmen that were Fianna Fail activists defending the stopover in their own control tower are not what they used to be.

Now, they can only hope that rabbits don’t over-run Rineanna’s runways.

that when big matches, at- tracting large crowds, take place, ‘There is an issue there in relation to the parking. It is becoming quite an issue. People are just throwing cars on footpaths. We have to real- ise that where there is a pitch, there

will be a certain amount of conges- tion and there is limited parking. . . .but people are getting blocked in and there is a danger for children living in the area,’ said the resi- eleim

Wolfe ‘Tones chairman ‘Tony O’Connell said there were stew- ards in place during last week’s fi- nal, but that stewarding is difficult when large crowds attend games. He said a bigger crowd that an- WCen Oye IKeLOMr-LH Ro sLOlorO MMO CoMeE-BOOTOMMUA ONTO D was arranged for Shannon at short notice.

“If the Council want to talk to us, we will talk to them, and also to the residents and gardai. We will talk to everybody and I am sure we will get a resolution,” said Mr

O’Connell.

Cllr Greg Duff, who raised the issue at a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week, said Clare County Council should take meas- ures to “curtail dangerous parking” in the vicinity of the pitch.

He said while he is happy to see fixtures allocated to the Shannon pitch, the parking issue should be addressed by officials of the club, gardai and the Council. ;

He said parts of Gleann an Oir, the estate close to the GAA pitch, were almost blockaded off, during the intermediate hurling final.

“When people are _ bringing crowds in, they should bear some of the responsibility,” said Cllr Duff.

Cllr Sean McKee said some cars

parked “half-way across people’s driveways,’ and drivers showed “scant regard for people who live there.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy said may- be it was time all partners involved should come together, so that resi- dents would have access to their homes, during matches.

Shannon Mayor Cllr Tony Mulc- ahy said a meeting should be set up between gardai, residents associa- tions, club representatives and the Town Council, to resolve the prob- one

“T’d suggest if we don’t get a meeting before Christmas, we should get one after . . .to get a traffic management plan in place,” said Cllr Mulcahy.

DOOLIN is no stranger to tragedy – the vul- lage made famous by the Russell brothers and known the world over has made the headlines for the saddest of reasons down the decades.

As the pall of gloom and depression descend- ed on Doolin over the past week, memories of similar tragedies in the popular tourist resort were revived. All of these drowning tragedies took place on the notorious Tra Leathan.

A priest named Fr. O’Keeffe drowned there

in 1923, while in 1959 two German tourists perished.

However, it was the horror story that un- folded on July 31, 1983 that sent shock waves all over Ireland and beyond. Eight young men lost their lives when they were swept out to sea while bathing at Tra Leathan.

Events began to unfold at 4.30pm when a large number of swimmers, having ignored the danger signs posted by Clare County Council in the area, got into difficulties. The combina- tion of the tide going out, rough seas, strong

undercurrents and shifting sands made condi- tions treacherous. Screams for help were heard as a number of people were swept out to sea. Those who managed to scramble ashore, and a watching crowd of about 70, could only look on helplessly as Tra Leathan claimed eight more lives. All of the dead were from outside the county and in the area for the weekend. A mas- sive operation involving the Army, Navy, Air Corps, Gardai, Civil Defence and volunteers was mounted to retrieve the bodies.

The dead included three brothers, James (25),

John (21) and Edward (19) Doran from Borris in Carlow; James Murphy (17) from Borris; Michael Murphy (22) and Colm Keyes (21) from Portlaoise; Denis O’Sullivan (30) from Sneem, Co Kerry and John Paul Leahy (19) from Kilmallock.

A veil of depression descended on north Clare and beyond after the tragedy. It was the worst maritime disaster in the county since nine lives were lost when the

A CLOSE friend and colleague of Martin Griffin, who died in last Monday’s tragedy, has been speaking about the talented young tradesman whose funeral took place in Ennis on Saturday.

“Martin Griffin was one of the most infec- tious characters and the hardest working lad I

have ever met in my life,’ said John O’ Donovan of the Adalta Group, for whom Martin worked as a carpenter on the restoration of Coolreagh House at East Clare Golf Club in Bodyke. “My heart is breaking, it is just so hard to believe,’ Mr O’Donovan continued. “Martin Griffin was the most infectious individual. He was always happy and laughing and had an amazing smile. He was multi-talented and a gifted craftsman. He was a registered sub-con-

tractor and boy, did he work hard.”

Mick Doran, whose body was recovered early yesterday, also worked for the Adalta GSrxeltiey

Joe O Callaghan from Tulla, worked with his friends on the Bodyke project but for a different Coelseleree

Speaking of the two men who worked for

him, Mr O’Donovan said, “It is very difficult to

speak about these lads in the past tense but they were fierce hard workers. They were also great pals of mine and they were only working on my own house the night before they travelled to Doolin.

“They worked all day until 8.30pm and the craic we had was something else. Martin worked with me for the past six or eight months with his brother Michael. My heart felt sympa- thies go to both their families,” he added.

LAST Thursday was a busy day for the ICMSA in Clare as two separate elections were held in the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon.

In the North Clare area Richard Devereaux of Ennistymon was elected as chairman while Mau- rice Harvey, also of Ennistymon, was elected as secretary and as a National Council member.

Martin McMahon of Broadford was also re- elected as the County Executive Chairman with Padraig Haugh of Moyasta securing the position of secretary. Interestingly, the Vice-Chair of the County Executive will be held jointly by Thomas Shannon of Lissycasey, Richard Devereaux, and Mark Clune of Feakle.

The President of ICMSA, Pat O’Rourke, ad- dressed the meeting and covered three main top- ics in his presentation. He began by criticising

the readiness of some co-ops to cut milk price for short-term considerations.

In this regard, he singled out for his particular criticism, the position adopted by Glanbia who had cut the price paid to their suppliers by 4 cents and had planned to cut it by 10 or 11 cents. Mr O’Rourke also pointed out that this decision com- pletely ignored the underlying strength of dairy markets, with returns from SMP and Casein re- NeNDNem OM asnbU Tee

‘Farmers are very tired of being the first to feel the heat whenever a co-op was faced with even the most transient of commercial challenges,” said Mr O’Rourke.

The issue of animal medication was also open for discussion and Mr O’Rourke said that the IC- MSA had met representatives of the dairy co-ops in Abbeyleix just over a week ago and all were agreed that the new rules on animal medicines,

insofar as they related to dairy farming, should be tied into the Dairy Herd Certificate.

The dairy co-ops also agreed that prescrip- tions for intramammaries should last for one year rather than the six months that the Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, has proposed. This would link the operation on mastitis control programmes at co-op level directly to the Dairy Herd Certificate.

‘At present all dairy farmers must submit dairy herd certificates annually and the linking of new rules on prescription and the Dairy Herd Certifi- cate would have many benefits and would consid- erably reduce the amount of paper work and costs involved,’ continued Mr O’ Rourke.

Mr O’Rourke concluded by calling for the Irish Government to exercise a veto on any attempt by Commissioner Mandelson to coddle British ex- porters at the expense of Europe’s farmers.

CLEAN drinking water must be supplied to the residents of En- nis in the event of another boil notice being issued.

That was the call being made last night by members of Ennis Town Council who are seeking a guarantee from the County Man- ager that more will be done for the residents in the event of an- other boil notice being imposed on the water supply for Ennis and its surrounding environs.

“It is so serious at this stage that a guarantee should be sought” said Mayor Frankie Neylon at Monday’s meeting. Cllr Neylon went on to add that providing a suitable solution can be arrived at, a temporary water filtration system should be installed while the town waits for a new €13 million water treatment facil- ity due to be constructed in two years time.

The Council was debating the issue following a motion tabled by Councilors Donal O’Beara (GP) and Johnny Flynn (FG),

calling for the continuing un- acceptable quality of Ennis drinking water be declared an emergency and that the County Manager use his available pow- ers. “The supply is unsuitable for the weakest in our society, that is children and the elderly, while others can take their chances if they want, is the approach sug- gested by the Council. This is totally unacceptable” said Cllr O’Beara.

Also present at Monday’s meet- ing were members of the newly- formed Campaign Committee who were protesting outside En- nis Town Council about the poor quality of the water supply. The committee was formed after a public meeting was held in En- nis on November 2 to discuss the contamination of the Ennis wa- ter supply. It is composed of lo- cal political representatives and members of the public.

Town Engineer Tom Tiernan said that the council was cur- rently reviewing a number of proposals concerning temporary water filtration systems for the town’s water supply. He said that the Council is treating the prob- lem very urgently but that any solution must be appropriate for the Ennis supply.

Mr. Tiernan stated that the er- ratic nature of supply in Ennis imposes extra complications on any solution and that there very few examples of successful 1m- plementation of temporary wa- ter filtration systems around the world. He revealed one of the proposals before the Council is a Russian system that has yet to be used outside the country and that any proposed project would cost between €600,000 and €1m.