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SO near and yet so far for the lady golfers of Ennis as competition specialists Royal Portrush denied them glory in the final of the All-Ireland Ladies Senior Cup on Saturday.

It was a heartbreaking defeat for Ennis —a final hurdle defeat in front of a home crowd on a Woodstock course that took its place among the elite championship courses in the country.

And, it was an outrageous save from Naoimh Quigg on the 17th that won the day for Portrush. She stroked in a treach- erous 30 feet putt from off the back of the 16th green to win the hole, before closing out her match with Munster golfer Pamela Murphy on the 17th.

Earlier Irish champion and the Europe- an number nine, Tricia Mangan, got En- nis off to the best possible start by beating Helen Jones on the 14th green.

Gemma Hegarty got Portrush’s first point with a 4/3 win over former Munster player Maura McNicholas. Then came Naoimh Quigg’s heroics that gave Por- trush a 2-1 lead.

Hopes of an Ennis comeback rested with veteran Valerie Hassett and rookie Sarah Cunningham. Hassett, who will represent Ireland in the European Senior Team Championship this week, put up a brave showing against Maura Diamond before succumbing on the 16th.

It was the crucial rubber for Portrush and secured them a third successive All- Ireland Senior Cup crown. It meant the final match on the course between 15- year-old Sarah Cunningham and Steph- anie Meadow was called in. They were all square after 14.

Munster champions Ennis had reached the final in fine style, beating the Cur- ragh in the morning semi-final thanks to sterling displays from Tricia Mangan, Sarah Cunningham and Valerie Hassett. However, the final was just one match too far for a team that has done Clare golf so

proud in 2005.

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CLARE County Council has refused planning permission on a further attempt to rejuve- nate Liscannor Bay Hotel.

Now, the promoters of the enterprise has appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanala, in order to make the hotel more attractive.

They are seeking to develop additional 20 suites aimed at accommodating families.

The Council refused plan- ning permission, stating that the proposed design, by rea- son of its scale, mass, bulk and overbearing impact, would be injurious to the vis-

ual amenities of the area and therefore be contrary to the proper planning and sustain- able development.

The developers state: “The proposed development con- stitutes the provision of an extension to existing hotel fa- cilities in Liscannor. The fam- ily accommodation units pro- posed, will provide a boost to the tourism sector at this loca- tion and will help the village and region compete for what is becoming an increasingly discerning market.

“The tourist numbers have been falling in recent years and, in order to allow the area to compete effectively, addi-

tional facilities and diversifi- cation must be encouraged.

“The further development and consolidation of the ex- isting hotel will also be a ben- efit to the local community in terms of trickle down eco- nomic gains and the fact that the hotel facility will be avail- able as a local centre”.

The appeal states that the proposed development does not remit refusal for the rea- sons stated, but complies with the principles of proper plan- ning and sustainable develop- ment.

A decision is due on the ap- plication in December.

WEST Clare cyclist Vincent Glesson fin- ished ninth in this years All-Ireland Time Trial Championships.

The Kilrush man finished eight in the same race last year and had been hoping to improve on that result. Gleeson cov- ered the 25 mile course 1n 55.33 minutes, almost two minutes better than his pre-

vious personal best for the distance. The race took place in Carlow on the main Carlow to Kilkenny road.

The time trial was won by David Mc- Cann from Belfast, riding for the Giant Asia team. He clocked a time of 50.13 minutes.

McCann will go on to represent Ireland in the World Championships in Madrid on September 22.

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A CLARE family, whose brave little daughter died last week, are determined to make other families aware of the great work done by the Jack and Jill Foundation.

Olivia Quinn, or Lily as she was known to her family and many friends, was a bubbly, gentle little girl. She knew what she liked and Sao USrD UNAM BH Coxe MOSER (en

When she was four months old, doctors told her parents, Claire and Flan, that their first-born girl had progressive neurological problems and was blind. She would also suf- fer from intractable seizures, which meant they could not be treated with medication. The prognosis was not good.

What the doctors didn’t know was that the four-month-old baby had already developed a steely determ1- nation and had a gentle, but strong, soul to deal with all the tribulations life threw at her.

When her little sister Roisin was born, she loved to hear her cry and play, and when her little brother

Daniel made his appearance, she was equally delighted. Olivia was well-aware that she was the apple of her father’s eye and laughed at her mother’s loud kisses.

Although she suffered from se- vere disabilities, Olivia went out with her family regularly, once even taking a trip to Lourdes with her father and granny.

Despite her determination and happy demeanour, the little girl from Ballyea just outside Ennis, had a lot of battles to fight through- out her five and a half years on this earth. Likewise, her parents worked hard to care for her at home.

The Quinns maintain that her life and theirs would have been so much more difficult without the support of the Jack and Jill Foundation.

The charity provided counselling to the family and paid for a nurse or carer to come to the house to help care for Olivia. Although the organisation only provides serv- ices for children with disabilities up to the age of four, 1t came to the Quinn’s aid again towards the end of their beloved daughter’s life, just

over a week ago.

The organisation offered to pro- vide a nurse for Olivia for eight nights, a Godsend to the couple who had grown used to getting up numerous times every night, for over five years.

“When the Jack and Jill Founda- tion rang to say they would provide an expert nurse for eight nights, I burst out crying,” Claire told

CONSTRUCTION work on Ennis’s_ long-delayed €24 million flood defence system is expected to commence in [PA veteyeisatcmmnb eaten

As the Gulf States in the United States struggled to roa} 0) oom ALO ME NO CoMmB ENON O:CeLmmEO)E Hurricane Katrina, Ennis Town Councillors heard how irretrievable damage has al- ready have been done to the town’s flood plains.

Cllr Donal O’Bearra (GP) said, “What has happened in New Orleans has shown that you cannot mess with nature. Ennis had severe flooding in 1995 and 1999 and every winter it is something that we worry about.”

Cllr O’Bearra said that Ennis had already made the same mistakes as New Or- leans in allowing housing be built on flood-plains.

He said, “New Orleans didn’t have the proper flood

defences in place, so it is 1im- portant that the government ensures that there is adequate protection for Ennis”.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said that the delay in putting in place the defences was “unacceptable”’.

He said, “As a resident of Mill Road at the time of the 1995 and 1999 floods, we were told on both occasions that the council would be treating the issue with urgen- cy, yet we are now 10 years on and no relief system has been put in place.”

Cllr Flynn claimed that the “unacceptable delay at cen- tres such as Clonmel, Kil- kenny and Carlow receiving flood defence works is more evidence of the lack of prior- ity that the Fianna Fail-PD Government is giving to En- TN

He said: “At the moment, what is going on is only a pa- per exercise and I will only believe that work will com-

mence on the flood defences when I see a contractor on site. Of course, the delays in commencing the scheme has resulted in the cost of it dra- matically increasing.”

In a report to councillors on the issue from the council’s executive, they were told that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and planning documents were substantially completed.

The report states, “It is envisaged at this stage that

exhibition — the planning process used by the Office of Public Works — will com-

mence on October 3 next. The project will be on exhibition in the Council’s headquarters for a period of four weeks to facilitate members of the public who wish to make sub- missions. All going well, the target remains to be in a posi- tion to commence construc- tion work some time during the third quarter of 2006.”

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IFA National Livestock Committee Chairman John Bryan said factories are having to pay €2.52/kg for beef.

“Tighter supplies and an increase in demand means €2.52/kg has been paid by all the main factory outlets this week.”

Mr. Bryan said most factories are quot- ing €2.46/kg for R grades and €2.35/kg for O grades. However, they are having to pay €2.52/kg to get supplies.

The IFA livestock leader said heavy continental steers along with beef heif- ers are extremely scarce with prices of

up to €2.30/kg paid to secure supplies.

‘Following the recent visit to Egypt by the Department of Agriculture and Bord Bia, the stage 1s now set for an immed1- ate resumption of the beef trade. Posi- tive changes to the age limit, testing and veterinary inspections, opens the way for a resumption of trade. It is essen- tial the factories proceed immediately as Ramadan commences early this year on October 4th” he said.

According to the IFA livestock leader the EU market for beef has also im- proved as the end of the holiday season approaches. “Beef prices in the UK have stabilised and prices in all the ma-

jor markets across Europe are up, with most well above the €3.00/kg mark for prime cattle,’ he added.

In France, R3 grade steers are mak- ing €3.41/kg incl. VAT, R3 bulls are making €3.11/kg and R3 heifers are at €3.60/kg.

In Italy, R3 bulls are making €3.43/kg and heifers are at €3.85/kg. Young bulls in Germany are making €3.06/kg. In Spain, R3 bulls are making €3.06/kg and heifers are making €3.16/kg.

Mr. Bryan said the market for cow beef has also improved with prices of €2.10/kg to €2.24/kg being paid.

AA Ireland has rolled out a new state-of- the art technology across its patrol force to assist with diagnosing car faults even quicker at the roadside for its 270,000 members.

With a total of 110,000 breakdowns to attend to per year, the technology should further improve AA Ireland’s 80 per cent roadside repair rate and reinforce its ‘Go- not-Tow’ policy.

The €75 million investment by the AA in the UK and Ireland means that AA Ire- land’s patrols will be kitted out with diag- nostic equipment in specially re-enforced

laptops.

Designed by the AA, the VIXEN (Ve- hicle Inspection crossed with Electronic Notebook) notebook enables patrols to diagnose vehicle faults quicker at the roadside.

The system uses CRYPTON vehicle service information combined with a knowledge database of experience learned in the field by AA patrols, allowing AA staff to collate and share knowledge.

“VIXEN represents years of research and development for the AA,” explains public affairs manager Conor Faughnan.

“This major investment is a revolution-

ary step in the diagnosis of automotive faults and is the greatest single leap in patrol communications since the adop- tion of the two-way radio in the 1940s. It is, quite simply, the future of roadside assistance.”

As technology has advanced cars are now increasingly reliant on computerised ‘brains’ — the Electronic Control Module or ECU — to regulate their ignition, trans- mission, anti-lock brakes and other vital systems.

A plug-in device allows the AA Patrol to interrogate this electronic ‘brain’ to discover what the problem is using the VIXEN system.