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GARDAI say the seizure of 900 rounds of ammunition, a pistol and silencer at a house in Shannon is linked to dissident republicans.

The discovery was made at rented accommodation in the town last

Wednesday.

Among the haul were some 300 rounds suitable for AK47 assault ri- fles and the others were for use in a pistol.

“Because of the type of bullets found, we are happy the firearms and ammunition was in the posses-

sion of dissident republicans,” said a Garda spokesman.

Three people, two men in their 40s and a woman in her 30s, from the Shannon area were arrested in connection with the seizure.

They were detained at Ennis and Shannon Garda Stations, before be-

ing released without charge. A file is being prepared for the DPP.

“We cannot rule out the fact that a criminal element might have got hold of them from dissident repub- licans,” added the spokesman. who said investigating gardai were satis- fied the pistol was not used recently.

THE residents of an up-market private hous- ing estate in Ennis are demanding that walls Surrounding their estate be raised, before a scheme of social housing is built next door.

The Bishop’s Court Residents’ Association also want security lighting to be fitted and for certain houses to be allocated to people with a “proven good record” on housing.

They want the wall built up to eight feet high and have demanded Ennis Town Council car- ry out the extension, before proceeding with plans to build the more affordable homes.

The council’s €10 million plan will see 66

houses and 16 apartments on lands that once formed part of Bishop Willie Walsh’s West- bourne estate.

Mountain View residents have also ex- pressed concerns over the plan, though they stress they are looking forward to welcoming their new neighbours.

In their submission, the Bishop’s Court Residents Association state, “under no cir- cumstances is there to be any access to West- bourne Estate via Bishop’s Court estate and green areas.”

After a residents’ meeting which was at- tended by a garda, the residents demanded that security lighting be fitted to the rear of

homes, 34 to 41 in the Bishop’s Court estate.

Their submission states, “these houses are backed by the green and wooded area; an area where there is concern that unsocial behav- iour may be ripe. This is highlighted in Crime Prevention Officers’ report.”

The residents also want the council to carry out certain repairs “should anti-social behav- iour become an issue.”

They say because houses 23 to 38 in the proposed development “back on to an exist- ing mature estate, the council should allocate these houses to tenants with a proven good record in local authority accommodation”.

The Mountain View residents’ submissions

question “the wisdom of such a high concen- tration of social and affordable housing in the Watery Rd area which already has a very high number of developments of this type.”

“We would have thought it would have been more prudent to break up the units of social and affordable housing between a number of different developments so as to avoid the kind of social stigma which some people might wrongfully attach to a large development which consists only of this type of housing

Councillors are due to make a decision on the application at a monthly meeting before the end of the year. There is no recourse to An Bord Pleanala.

A CLARECASTLE man, who gardai de- scribed as “a nuisance” has been jailed for a month, for stealing alcohol from a shop in Srey ebEse

Father-of-one Alan Kerins (21) of 25 Church Drive, Clarecastle, pleaded guilty to stealing one slab of Heineken – valued at €45.60 – from Statoil, Limerick Road, Ennis on November 15, 2004.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told Ennis District Court that the accused left the shop without paying for the cans, got into a taxi and went home to Clarecastle.

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said Ker- ins had significant difficulties around drink and admitted he had a “bad record.”

Kerins told the court he had been in contact

with the probation service within the past two months. Judge Mangan said, “You waited un- til the court case was coming up,” to which Kerins replied, “I’ve been trying to see Mary King [probationer officer] for a long time be- fore this.”

Inspector Kennedy said, “I always like to say something positive about persons like Mr Kerins. In Mr Kerins’ case, I really can’t say anything positive about him and his behav- iour. He’s a constant offender. I’d love to be able to say, give him a chance. As far as the State is concerned, he 1s a nuisance, a rascal, a continuous offender and I have no confi- dence in what he says.”

The court heard no compensation had been paid for the stolen drink.

Judge Mangan imposed a one month sen- tence and fixed recognisances.

idea three years ago. Every kind of reality TV show had been done except a sports one. We came up with a plan, worked on it for six months and went to Chelsea with it, who were very keen,’ explained Damien at his family home in Inch on Monday. Originally from Ennis, where his Father

managed Lifford soccer club, Damien moved to London when he was fourteen. He had pre- viously worked with his brother Justin’s tel- ecommunications company before taking the plunge and entering the glamorous world of Premiership football.

“T went to the Ennis National School and Flannans. My parents left Ennis when I was fourteen. My father used to manage Lifford, so the person who comes second in the com- petition will get a twelve-month deal with Lif- royce nae

Young footballers from across Britain, Ireland, Europe and Africa were among the 20,000 that took part in the summer trials. The remaining, lucky 12 are currently secluded away in a Surrey mansion near Chelsea’s state- of-the-art training complex. Chelsea’s discern-

ing boss, Jose Mourinho, will have the final say on who makes the grade. A regular at Stam- ford Bridge, Damien 1s keen to stress that this is what will give the show credibility.

“There is no public voting to get rid of peo- ple, this is a really credible show. We’re not getting rid of the fat kid, or the small kid, or the skinny kid, or whatever. It is purely down to the Chelsea academy staff saying he is good enough or not good enough. Chelsea don’t need the money from phone lines. ” The club are currently funded by billionaire Russian ty- coon Roman Abramovich.

Damien is hoping that the show will be a big success and already has one eye on bringing the format around the globe. He also plans on entering the potentially lucrative world of foot- ball agents.

A NEW group for people who have suffered strokes is being set up in the mid-west.

A Killaloe couple who are establishing the group say younger sufferers particularly find it difficult to access services or get help towards rehabilitation.

Hazel Ross, who suffered a stroke eight years ago when she was 48 years old and her husband, Tom Clifford, found that getting the services she needed was “extremely difficult.

“There just aren’t enough professionals to deal with the number of people who have strokes and those there are, are largely con- centrated in the geriatric services,’ said Tom.

While 120 people have strokes in Clare eve- ry year, younger victims can get rehab care in

Dublin.

“People as young as seven have had strokes and medical advice is that rehabilitation should begin as soon as 48 hours after a stroke.

“People can regain a lot of their abilities but if there are delays, then damage can be per- manent.

“Information and support for carers is very poor and there is no central source of infor- mation on issues such as funding for aids or housing,” said Tom.

The pair will launch the group will be on Tuesday Oct 18 at 7.30 pm at the Greenhills Hotel, Ennis Road, Limerick.

Speakers on the evening include, survivors, consultant physician, Prof Declan Lyons of St. Camillus’ Hospital, therapists and local politi- cians.

THE Irish Lourels Classic at Curra- heen Park Cork took centre stage for greyhound people over the weekend. The second round heats were held on Saturday night the here the banker of the night Student Pass duly obliged and progressed to the next round.

The dog is trained by Owen MckK- enna for Claremen Cathal O’Doherty and Vincent Meaney and was available at odds of 10/1 to win the classic before the weekends racing. Deerfield Mover, who finished third in heat was bred by Gerry Burke of Miltown Malbay and is now owned by Bryan Dalton of the USA.

Dalcash Sweettea, owned by Patrick Meade of Miltown Malbay, got Clare owners off the mark in Galway on Thursday night. Housed in box three the winner, who was making his first outing, recorded a winning time of PEt

Race 7 on Thursday nights card was heat 3 in the Texaco Retailers A4 over 5S25yds. Here Mary Jones of Scariff had a welcome change of luck with Fossabeg Sparkie winning in a time of 29.42.

Rockmount judge owned by Shane Flanaghan advanced to the next round after filling second spot in heat in heat 4,

The feature race on Friday nights card in Galway was the final of the A5 Tote Stake where Now It’s Nancy owned by Eimear Lillis and Ian Kelly came up trumps. Prize money of €800 went to the Cooraclare winner. Baby LLeyton, owned by Bertie and Mary O’ Doherty of Clarecastle had to settle for minor prize money after finishing third in the Croi Buster Final. Next Friday night’s card is a benefit in Aid of Fianna Fail. There is a big entry of Clare dogs in all the race, heats for which have been held over the past number of weeks.

There is some decent prize money going to stake winners and managers are expecting a huge attendance.

THE Minister for Community, Ru- ral and Gaeltacht Affairs Eamon O Cuiv has called on farmers to face up to the fact that farming as a profes- sion 1S going to continue to decline in the future. Speaking at the Nation Ploughing Championships last week Minister O Cuiv called for radical and broad rural development policies. According to the Agrivision 2015 Report, it 1s estimated that by 2015, there will only be 105,000 farmers in Ireland, of whom only 40,000 will earn their full-time living from farm- ing. This compares to 225,000 farm-

ers in the 197/0’s.

“The recent European Negotiations were a watershed in European Rural Policy with a clear shift from a pre- dominant focus on agricultural in- come support to a new integrated ru- ral development approach with special emphasis on the rural environment and rural economic development out- side the farm gate,” said Minister O Gina

‘For the first time significant funds have been clearly ring-fenced for gen- eral rural development. Because of our unique situation we are very well placed to play a significant lead role in developing the new rural Europe.”

The Department of Community, Ru- ral and Gaeltacht Affairs will shortly be engaging with the wider rural community in relation to this plan and seeking submissions to it. The Min- ister urged people to think outside of the box and to take a full part in the most radical realignment of rural pol- icies that has ever taken place at both European and national level.

Minister O Cuiv added that a ma- jor part of this radical programme for rural renewal is the Government’s Decentralisation Policy, where it was consciously decided to focus decen- tralisation in a special way on smaller towns and rural communities.

THE IFA National Treasurer, Pad- raig Walshe has thrown his hat in the ring to become the next president of the organisation and has written to every IFA branch in Clare, canvass- ing for their support.

In a personal letter to the chairmen of all IFA branches in the county, Mr Walshe said that the new challenges facing Clare farmers demand a radi- cal new approach from the IFA in its dealings with the government, the EU and with all sectors of the food processing and retailing industry.

Mr Walshe, who is a beef and dairy farmer from Laois, also said

that his top priority as President of IFA will be to ensure a level playing field for farmers in the market place and in the operation of EU and na- tional schemes.

‘Farmers are being subjected to an increasing level of regulation which is unnecessary and unjustified and 1s putting them at a major competitive disadvantage relative to their coun- terparts in other EU states,” said Mr AWAD ates

‘Tam determined to eliminate the police-state mentality within our government departments and at EU level, which implies that farmers cannot be trusted to produce safe, quality food.”

Mr Walshe claims that more than 20 years of experience at the highest level in farming organisations puts him in a strong position to lead the IFA with commitment, energy and enthusiasm. He is a former President of Macra na Feirme and has served in a large number of senior positions in the IFA at national and county level, including National Chairman of the Dairy Committee.

“IT will also build new relation- ships with the processors, marketers and retailers of food with the aim of clawing back the margin that has been transferred from farmers into the supermarket bottom line,” he Loyal paLetsrem

Mr Walshe’s competition for the job will come from Raymond O’Malley from Louth and Rory Deasy form Roscrea. Both Walshe and O’ Malley ran for the presidency in 2001 when they lost out to the out- going president John Dillon.

Each of the 950 IFA branches in the country will be asked to elect the new IFA president when the election is held in early December. The suc- cessful candidate will be elected for two years with the option to run for a second two year term afterwards.

Traditionally, IFA presidents seek- ing a second term run unopposed for the position.

THIS weekend saw a huge increase in the pulse rate of doggie people with the opening of the coursing season and a meeting in Liscannor. The main focus on the track however was the final of the Tote Retention stake at Limerick on SP TMUU Ker Nyap eu rca ale

Despite a big entry of Clare dogs in the first round heats there was no Clare representatives in the final. Victory went to Galdare Romeo, owned by PJ Fahy and Dermot Cox of Glenamaddy and trained by Paul Hennessy.

This valuable stake was worth €10,000 to the winner. There was a very good run by Redzone Run in Race 9 over 300 yds. The dog, which is owned

by Kathleen Carroll of Newmarket on Fergus, came in with a winning time of 16.45 seconds.

Three Clare dogs will be in the final of the Galway Tote A5 stake after win- ning place finishes at the Galway track on Thursday. Drinking Solid, owned by Sean Allen of Shannon, finished second in the first semi final, Cricket Player owned by Janet Downes of Killaloe finished second and Now It’s Nancy owned by Eimhear Lillis and Ian Kelly of Cooraclare finished third in the sec- ond semi final.

Going to traps also this weekend at Galway for the final of the Buster 525 stake will be Baby Leyton owned by Bertie and Mary O’Doherty of Clare- castle. The dog is handled by Johnie

Burke of Tubber and finished third in the semi final.

Supporters of Fianna Fail are turning out in big numbers for various stakes presently underway. Also at Galway the finals of these stakes are set for Friday night, October 14. Glengall Lad, owned by Joe Longe of Ballyea continued his good run with another win in Race 10 on Thursday night.

Sharon Sexton of Mullagh , who owns Sharon’s Bonus – the winner of Race 4 on Friday, will be hoping to capture some of the Fianna Fail prize money.

Other Clare winners over the past weekend were Burrow Twilight owned by Patrick Cronin and Niall Heaney of Ennis, and Clonreddan Tina owned by Thomas Keane of Cooraclare.

WHILE some might feel it’s a classic case of ‘closing the stable door after the horse has bolted’, Clare County Council nonetheless last week issued the second edition of its ‘Clare Rural House Design Guide’, aimed at setting higher stand- ards for rural housing design.

According to the council’s planning office, these design guidelines will make it very clear that housing develop- ment in rural areas needs to be of a high quality and should complement rather than dominate its surroundings.

The new rural house design guide takes account of new national guide- lines on sustainable rural housing. Liam Conneally, Acting Director of Planning with the Council said “it is the princi- ple aim of the new House Design Guide to create a clearer understanding of the components of good house siting and design. Without a well informed public it 1s difficult to achieve the high qual- ity building design that the landscape of Clare deserves”.

Conneally commented that “the land- scape of County Clare is one of its greatest natural assets and the achieve- ment of a high quality built environ- ment in the county is important to its physical and economic well-being. We all share in the responsibility to achieve this end; local authorities, design and building professions, building industry, chents who commission buildings and the community itself,”

He emphasised “the new House De-

sign Guide recognises that contempo- rary design can develop interesting and attractive buildings that contribute to the landscape character of the county.”

He stated that “the guide does not pre- scribe design but draws to the attention of applicants, architects, builders and their agents the benefits of drawing on traditional design elements in the design of new buildings and to give special consideration to siting, materials and orientation in the design process.”

Responding to the launch of the De- sign Guide, Liscannor based architect Alex Russell commented, “in the ideal world the proper profession would do the proper job, and there wouldn’t be any need for planners to impose design parameters. However, in the context of Clare, where a broad range of people think they can design, and have had a go at doing so in the past, with disastrous consequence, the council obviously felt that the need had arisen to produce such parameters”’.

Russell views the guidelines as a “kind of rescue mission’, although he concluded, “for large swathes of the county, they arrive, after the event”.

Russell aired concerns that the guide- lines seemed to be misguided in that they are directed towards the visual look of a house and also relied on a cer- tain interpretation of traditional archi- tecture. He suggested, “it would be bet- ter to guide in terms of proportion and scale and the arrangement of the build- ing, rather then prescribing in terms of visual or aesthetic appearance”.

Paul Conway, partner at Leahy and Conway Architects, Ennis said, “ a number of rural counties have produced House Design Guides in recent years. Considering the extremely poor quality of siting and design of much of what was built throughout the countryside over the past few decades, these guides have, at least, been well intentioned, though some are more successful than others.

He continued, “The new Clare De- sign Guide is aimed at the ‘user’, whom I understand to mean the people who will live in the houses. It is a reason- ably good effort, with new sections on modern design, conservation and an improved section on sustainability, and most professionally qualified architects will welcome it. A lingering concern re- mains as to how it will be operated by the planning authority, with the danger that it will be used as a rule book where the ‘good’ examples illustrated are to be badly copied without reference to the particular siting or circumstances, and an innovative design is reyected because it does not match one of the approved models”.

Conneally, for his part encouraged members of the public and house plan designers to use the design guide when preparing planning applications for one-off houses in the county.”

The House Design Guide is available at libraries throughout the county and at the offices of Clare County Council, Unit 1, Westgate Retail Park, Kilrush Road, Ennis at a cost of Eurol5 per

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