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FIFTY years is a long time to spend at any one activity, but few have passed the half-cen- tury milestone with more commitment than twin sisters Philomena and Annette O’Dea, otherwise known as Sister Celine and Sister Ann-Marie. The twins recently returned to their home in Ballygannor, near Kilfenora, for a holiday and a very special surprise Mass

to mark the golden jubilee of their vocation.

In 1955, aged 19, the sisters joined the nuns in Mallow following the sudden death of their mother, Lilly. Left behind in Ballygannor was their father John and 11 brothers and sisters, including Kitty, who later gained fame with the Kilfenora Ceili Band and Jack, who cur- rently resides in the old homestead with his wife Margaret.

After spending six months in Cork, the twins were moved to London where they were officially welcomed into the nuns in separate ceremonies. In all their years as Nazareth House nuns, they have never been stationed in the same convent and only see each oth- er on holidays. Sister Celine first returned to Ireland in the 1960s and gained national prominence when a story of the kindness she showed towards teenage mother Wanda Machnicha and her son made front page news Kom aets

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THE local tourism industry has been told to cut its prices after being accused of not doing enough to promote new routes into Shannon Airport.

Making the charge, Chief Executive of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary said, “If there is anything we would complain about at Shannon, it is a per- ceived lack of support for Shannon Airport from the local tourism interests.”

In Shannon to announce Ryanair’s 17th route from the airport to Malaga, Mr O’Leary said, “It is time for all tourism interests, who have done lots of bleeding, whinging and complaining over the last 10 or 20 years, to get off their arses and start supporting Shannon Airport.”

Mr O’Leary’s call to the tourism industry was echoed by Director of Shannon Airport, Martin Moroney who said, “The tourist sector should wake up and get out there and organise them- selves right across the West of Ireland and capi- talise on Ryanair and other carriers using Shan-

non as a gateway.”

Mr O’Leary added, “Shannon will almost dou- ble in the space of two years. No Irish airport has ever done that before, no airport will ever do it again. We need, through this first difficult winter, the support of all the tourism industry, not to have the tourism industry here looking for handouts.

“It 1s time that the tourism industry down here stopped f**king sitting there with the cap out say- ing ‘we need the Government to fund this or we want a subsidy for that’. In the next three months, we are spending €1 million advertising Shannon in 15 different countries and giving away 200,000 seats. We know that we can deliver the numbers. Now we’ve got to give people a reason to come here in the Winter.”

Mr O’Leary added, “Shannon and Ryanair are delivering passengers. We need the hoteliers, res- taurants, pubs and everybody else to do their bit, drop the prices for the Winter and send the visi- tors home all happy.

“The West of Ireland is fine in the summer. The sun is shining and all the rest of it. The West

in the middle of winter, when it 1s cold, wet and dark, you really have got to persuade people to come here.

“This winter, we have all recognised, 1s going to be the hardest time for us. We are trying to op- erate 17 routes into an airport with a surrounding population base of less than 500,000 people.”

Mr O’Leary expressed confidence that Rya- nair will reach its two million passengers out of Shannon in three years instead of the five origi- nally agreed with the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA).

The Ryanair Chief Executive revealed that the establishment of the new route to Malaga stemmed from a phone call from SAA chairman, Pat Shanahan, after the collapse of EUjet who op- erated the route.

‘The new route, which wasn’t planned by us, is a by-product of how good the partnership is between Shannon Airport and Ryanair. Shannon will call us up and say ‘can you try to do some- thing’ and we’ll try to do something for Shannon if we can at all.”

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CONCERNS have © been raised over the use of money raised from the sale of Ennis Information PC’s.

At a meeting of Ennis Town Council last Tuesday, mem- bers requested a review of the documentation of the agree- ment with Ennis Information Age Services.

According to Ennis Town Mayor Cllr Frankie Neylon the Council had been given assurances that as a share- holder in Ennis Information Services, no decision on the use of funding would be taken without consultation between EIS and the Council.

“When I was on the board of EIS I was told that €1.1m of the money raised from the sale of computers would be ringfenced for the commu- nity. There is now €750,000 left and I would like to know why decisions on spending were taken without the con- sent of the Council,” stated Seyler

He went on to add that he would be seeking legal clari- fication for his position on the

board after receiving a phone call from some one saying that he “could be destroyed” if he spoke to the press about matters pertaining to the work of the board.

“I don’t know whether it 1s going to be done by scud mis- Sile, or the biro, but I will be seeking legal advice on what exactly my position is,” said Mr Neylon when contacted ONY TAU Ke rh YA

Ennis Information Age Services ceased trading in August with the loss of six jobs after it emerged that fur- ther funding would be needed for it to continue.

While Cllr Neylon praised the work the company had done in making Ennis an attractive location for new businesses to set up, discus- sions about the closure of EIS should have been more inclusive. At the meeting on Tuesday Cllr Tommy Bren- nan (Ind) requested a copy of the agreement that was signed before any money is spent stating that the coun- cil had been the only body to invest money in the scheme and therefore had a duty to

the public. The issue of ob- taining an injunction against any planned expenditure was also raised. Cllr Johnny Flynn(FG) stated that he sup- ported the idea of seeking le- gal advice to halt any spend- PITSMMSBUMOMeesecvecLbNOBLATapesl@yelentA

As part of the Information Age project homes in En- nis were offered the chance to purchase computers at a reduced price when Ennis was named Irelands Infor- mation Age Town in 1997. Over 4,000 computers were installed in homes at a cost of 260 pounds each.

“There is a tremendous desire among community members for this money to be directed towards commu- nity projects and in particular towards young people” said Cllr Peter Considine (FF) on Tuesday.

A meeting of Ennis Age Information Age Task Force was expected to take place on Wednesday, but Ennis Town Manager Tom Coughlan has requested on behalf of the council that it be postponed in order for members to re- view documentation.

MERCEDES C180

THE newly appointed Bishop of Galway, Dr Martin Drennan, and Minister for State at the Department of Education and Science, Sile de Valera were in Lahinch on Friday to officially open a major new €350,000 develop- ment in the Scoil Muire primary school.

The school, which is currently attended by 118 pupils, received funding from the Department of Education to construct three new state of the art classrooms as-well-as revamp much of the existing facilities.

The space left vacant through the new construction has been transformed into a library, computer room and two resource rooms for special education teachers.

Speaking at he launch Minister de Valera paid tribute to all those involved in the project and the important role that schools play within the community.

“T want to congratulate the board of management and all those associated with the school because they have re- ally worked tremendously well with the Department of Education.

‘The department was able to supply €350,000 for the refurbishment and the new classroom here but really it was because of the dynamism among the community and the board of management that helped to put all of this together,” she said.

“The importance of a school isn’t just for the children and indeed the parents and the teachers, but really a school is the hub of a community and it’s wonderful to see SO many young people here celebrating what is a very important day for the whole of the community.”

The campaign to expand the school began in 1999 but it was not until January of 2004 that good news was forth- coming. School Principal Kevin Glynn and the chairper- son of the board of management Fr Tom Culloty met with officials from the Department of Education in Tullamore and negotiated the sizeable grant.

In addition to this €24,000 was donated by local man Tom Kavanagh towards developing computer facilities for the school. The school now boasts five full-time teachers as well as two special education teachers, a visiting rural co-ordinator and a resource teacher for children from the traveller community.

Earlier this year the students of the school raised some €3,000 for the victims of the devastating tsunami that hit south east Asia. A boat was purchased and christened ‘Lahinch National School, The Banner, Ireland’ and do-

nated to help in the relief effort.

In the past the school has also raised money for a varie- ty of charities including Bothar and the Special Olympics. The school also has a strong sporting tradition and music and art are also a central part of both curricular and extra curricular activities.

THE State has applied to the District Court to secure the medical records of the man charged in connection with the death of Ann Walsh in Kilrush last month.

Raymond Donovan, of New Houses, Co- oraclare, is charged with intentionally or recklessly causing harm to the 23-year-old woman at Toler Street, Kilrush, on August 24. He is currently in custody at Limerick Prison.

His solicitor, Tara Godfrey, had previously expressed concern that he had not seen a psychiatrist at the prison, after he had spent

more than a week there. However, the court was told last Friday week that he had been assessed, but the report on that assessment was not available to the court at that stage.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told Ennis district court last Friday that Kilrush Supt Joe McK- eown — who is leading the investigation in the death of Ms Walsh — 1s seeking to ob- tain the records in respect of Mr Donovan.

Ms Godfrey said, “I would have to ask, be- cause of the seriousness of this case, why the State is seeking such records?”

Judge Joseph Mangan adjourned the ap- plication until Friday, when the accused is again due before the court.

AN English company made moves this week to secure the go-ahead for a ‘Wellness’ destination Spa hotel near Killaloe.

Last month, Clare County Council refused planning permission to Unfinity Ltd of Worces- tershire, England, to develop a destination spa 28-bedroom hotel on 37 acres of land near Kil- laloe.

The local authority refused the application on three grounds, ruling that the proposal would seriously injure the amenities of the area; that the additional traffic movements would inter- fere with the safety and freeflow of traffic on local roads and that the development’s scale, siting and design would fail to integrate into the rural landscape.

However, the company has now lodged a comprehensive appeal to An Bord Pleanala in a fresh bid to kick-start the project.

In the appeal, the company explains the con- cept behind its development. It states: “The proposal is aimed at a niche market known as ‘Wellness’ destination spas.

‘The destination spa’s sole purpose is to pro- vide guests with lifestyle improvement and health enhancement through professionally administered spa services, physical fitness, edu- cational programming and on-site accommoda- Beer

‘The location 1s a critical part of the guests’ experience, where peace and quietness is the primary consideration and provides a distinct contrast to the busy urban environments most of the visitors will be used to.

“Wellbeing holidays account for 15% of the European holiday market but facilities of this nature are very uncommon in Ireland. The con- cept behind this tourist product is a purpose built spa designed by internationally renowned consultants.”

In their appeal, the company state: “The de- cline of agriculture has deprived the rural com- munity of valuable public, social and economic Services.

“In order to address this concern, the Develop- ment Plan observes that the long-term sustain- able development of rural community can only be achieved through the provision of alternative employment opportunities.

“The proposed development represents an opportunity for the creation of employment op- portunities and inward investment to address rural decline in the surrounding area.

“Whilst agriculture is declining as a source of employment for rural people, the need to retain rural communities is still a major concern for the Council. It is our view that the proposal can be justified on planning grounds in reference to these objectives.”

A decision is due on the appeal in December.

THE Shannon Airport Au- thority (SAA) has told Shan- non Development that it will no longer contribute towards the funding of future tour- ism marketing campaigns.

In a policy shift for the low-cost airport, Director of Shannon Airport, Martin Moroney, said this week, “we are now delivering the Seats; the tourism bodies should be delivering the pas- sengers.”

Mr Moroney revealed that the SAA Board recently re- jected a concept put forward by Shannon Development, to continue pooling financial resources to market the West of Ireland.

This year, the SAA con- tributed <€100,000 towards a €1 million fund to market the West of Ireland in the UK. Shannon Development contributed €100,000 to the JaUU ATO Dmr-W(Oyetcammr‘sleMe)H elo) mm-bexes 0c cies along the western sea- board. “We shouldn’t be expect- ed any longer to contribute financially to these cam- paigns. They are campaigns for tourism and should be confined to tourism. Any request from any organisa- tion in the future will be re- jected on the basis that it is the tourism sector’s job to promote tourism. “We contributed €100,000 to the campaign this year. But our model now is getting in the airlines, building our facilities and over the future, driving down our charges. Mit lmehmeltlamessrletdmeerieec oLULSCOyO MUM Aaomner-DENE “If anything, they should be offering money to help us develop the airport and get- ting more airlines in. “We're saying no, we’re not contributing, we shouldn’t be expected to. It might have made sense before when we were a bit weaker, but not now, when we are providing all the seats.” Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said, “I was disturbed to hear that Shannon Development was in with the Board of Shan- non Airport looking for money the other week. That is not the way tourism busi- ness is going to be developed in this region. If that is what Shannon Development is up to, the sooner they are dis- banded the better.” At spokesman for Shannon Development said that the company was disappointed at Mr O’Leary’s reported comments and said _ they didn’t reflect the company’s tourism promotion efforts.