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PREVENTING crimes such as bur- glary and theft across the county will be one of the priorities for Garda Community Safety Week, which takes place throughout this week.

The theme of the week’s nation- wide campaign is ‘Older Adults in the Community’. The purpose of the theme is to focus on the positive con- tributions of older adults in the com- munity, particularly through their involvement in various community partnerships and crime prevention initiatives, operated in partnership ede mee:NuOreNB

“It is recognised that older people can be targeted. However, the impact can be reduced if crime prevention advice is actioned,’ said the crime prevention officer in Clare, Sergeant Joe Downey.

“Every effort should be made by all to take all necessary precautions to secure their property and protect themselves from any form of attack. The main focus of this week is on burglary, theft from cars and theft from shops,” said Sgt Downey.

He pointed to advice in helping to prevent burglaries, thefts from cars and thefts from shops. These in- clude fitting quality security locks, installing intruder alarms and mark- ing valuable property so that it can be positively identified if stolen and later located.

“Form Neighbourhood Watch, Community Alert or Business Watch

eroups for your area. Be a good neighbour and report any suspicious behaviour to the gardai,’ advised Sgt Dre atlas

A number of specific points should be remembered in an effort to prevent thefts from cars, he said. These in- clude locking all doors and windows, fitting an immobiliser or alarm and avoiding parking in isolated places.

Thefts from shops can also be pre- vented, by taking various measures. “Making it difficult for customers or professional thieves to take goods can greatly reduce the incidents of theft,” said Sgt Downey.

“Installing CCTV systems will

help to deter thieves. The cameras should be highly visible, with warn- ing signs on display. A camera should be placed to record all who enter the shop. Access to the recorder should be strictly controlled.

‘“High-value goods should be in di- rect sight of the counter staff, while staff should always be encouraged to be observant.”

Garda Community Safety Week runs through until next Sunday, Sep- tember 27.

CRICKET is a game that doesn’t hold up much comparison to the game of hurling. In fact, it’s not even a distant relation of the national game at full tilt but there was some- thing very cricketlike about the man- ner in which Smith O’Brien’s – after taking the game to the group leaders in the opening quarter to lead by I- 5 to 0-3 – seemed happy to declare and let Kilmaley do the batting for the remainder.

That was the most bizarre turna- round in a match that had only mi- nor relevance to the overall champi- onship as Kilmaley looked to keep their unbeaten run ticking along and possibly even top the group while a positive result of any kind for the Killaloe side would ensure their sen- ior status for another year.

However, after a fire and brimstone Opening quarter that seemed to rattle Kilmaley, Smith O’Brien’s held a five point lead but somehow were not to

score for a further 34 minutes and by the time they took up their innings once more, Kilmaley were practi- cally out of sight.

Kilmaley could even afford to pre- vail without the vast influence of Colin Lynch and it was one of those changes Conor Clancy that provided the perfect target up front. Producing the type of performance that earned him two All-Ireland titles, Clancy’s paw was seemingly a ball magnet, repeatedly set up scores for others and slow to start, Kilmaley will be thankful to Clancy who was a con- stant thorn in Smith O’Brien’s side. Still, the Killaloe side were up for this game and after pushing into a 0-4 to 0-2 lead by the 12th minute, two from Liam Walsh, a stroke of fortune earned them a crucial goal only two minutes later. It came after goalkeeper Seamus Hurley fumbled a handpass whilst burstting out from goal and Shane O’Brien stole pos- session to hit to an empty net via the stick of John Clohessy.

Ken Kennedy and Pat Aherne Swapped points soon afterwards to give Smith O’Brien’s a 1-5 to O-3 advantage but that was a good as it would get for Smith O’Briens who began to fade and it allowed Kilma- ley to gain a foothold in the game. Alan Markham upped his game at centre-back, midfielders Conor Mc- Mahon and Stephen McNamara be- gan to dominate their sector while up front Conor Clancy, Diarmuid McMahon and Kenneth Kennedy got some much needed supply and they slowly turned the screw through Kennedy, McNamara and Conor McMahon to trail by only two at the break at 1-5 to 0-6.

The second half only reaffirmed their control as four successive points put them in front by 0-10 to 1-O5 by the 4lst minute. However, what sealed the victory was Kenneth Kennedy’s 43rd minute goal, inevi- tably broke by Clancy to Diarmuid McMahon who pulled through for the full-forward to turn and kick

past the onrushing Mark McInerney. Kilmaley were now rampant and de- spite further points from Diarmuid McMahon and Alan Markham, the damage could have been far greater only for a pelthora of wides.

Smith O’Brien’s finally broke their scoring duck in the 5lst minute through a Liam Walsh ’65 but Kil- maley were not about to let their ad- vantage slip at this stage and tacked on late points through Kennedy, Clancy and John Clohessy to lead by 1-16 to 1-07 by the 58th minute.

Shane O’Brien finished strongly with a brace for Killaloe and Pat Vaughan earned a late penalty after being stopped by substitute Sean Hehir but before the effort could be taken, Liam Walsh saw red for a needless stroke on John Clohessy. O’Brien’s penalty was saved, Kilma- ley prevailed and now approach the quarter-finals in bouyant mood as group winners as well as being the only side outside of Newmarket to remain unbeaten in the championship

so far. Even their frustrating cricket- score of wides had been halved.

AN INFORMATIVE gathering at Shannon library for voluntary and statutory service providers in the south Clare area is to take place on Thursday, October 1, at 10.30am.

This is a joint initiative between Shannon Public Library and Clare Adult Basic Education Service.

The information morning presents

a rare opportunity for the voluntary and statutory service providers of south Clare to meet, become ac- quainted, learn and become updated about each other’s services and work. Several groups work for the benefit of the community in this area and it is important that the good work they do is known to residents in those parts of the county.

The event will be facilitated by

librarian Carmel Daly, along with Maire Dempsey, of the adult learn- ing centre in Shannon.

This will be the seventh annual in- formation morning of its kind.

“It has proved valuable to all the service providers who attended in the past, whether from education, health social, financial or other departments or interests,’ said Ms Daly.

Afterwards, participants are more

easily able to contact fellow opera- tors in the area and better serve their community as a whole.

If your voluntary or statutory or- ganisation is interested, or if you wish to make a recommendation, or seek further information, please contact Maire Dempsey at the Shan- non Adult Learning Centre on 061 364595, or Carmel Daly in Shannon library on 061 364266.

FEARS have been raised that the Royal Air Force (RAF) have been secretly using Shannon Airport to transport goods and possibly weap- onry to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Photographs taken earlier this month by the Shannon Watch organ- isation show a number of contain- ers clearly marked property of RAF waiting to be loaded onto a Omni Air International plane in Shannon.

The containers were also marked property of Brize Norton, increasing speculation that their cargo inside was bound for conflict in Afghani-

stan or Iraq. The Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire is one of the main staging posts used to transport troops, weaponry and equipment to various war zones.

It is also home of the RAF’s strate- gic air transport (AT) and air-to-air refueling (AAR) forces. It is the most important British military base for maintaining the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

‘This raises further serious ques- tions about Shannon’s role in the oc- cupations of Iraq and Afghanistan,’ said a Shannon Watch spokesperson.

“What might an American civilian plane – that looks like it is carrying

US troops – be doing with RAF con- tainers? Is Ireland now part of the re- supply chain for all of the belligerent NATO forces around the world? And if so, is it being done with our gov- ernment’s approval or without it?”

The incriminating photographs were taken in Shannon Airport in the morning of Saturday, September Dee

According to a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs, British military aircraft rarely land at Shannon Airport and no and offi- cial landings have taken place so far in 2009.

Permission for the landings by

foreign military aircraft are usually granted provided that the aircraft is unarmed, carries no arms, ammuni- tion or explosives, and does not en- gage in intelligence-gathering, and that the flight in question does not form part of a military exercise or ey oro lnleyee

According to Shannon Watch, pro- testers are normally removed from the airport when they attempt to photograph Omni Air International planes at Shannon Airport.

However, they say that on the day in question last Saturday no attempts were made to remove the photogra- phers from this part of the airport.

FOR saffron and blue supporters it was a venture into the unknown — a first All-Ireland Under 21 final for them as well as for Clare as a hurl- ing county.

And, as with all dawns there was excitement — it was new and some- thing different and that’s why Clare Supporters out-numbered their Kil- kenny counterparts by two or three to one.

It was 1995 and ’97 all over again — and like those years Clare support- ers expected.

“We’re definitely going to do it,” said Michael Brennan from Killaloe beforehand.

‘“We’re not up here just to make up the numbers and become anoth- er mouse killed by the Cats. These players have bottle and that’s what will win them their medals. Kilken- ny won’t know what has hit them.”

James Murphy from Ennis was more cautious, but still confident. “It’s going to be a tough one. There is no denying that. There are two great teams fighting for this honour and I can’t see more than a couple of scores separating them at the end. It might even be a draw. Clare by one or two I’d say!”

Murphy nailed it and seconds after the final whistle, he and thousands of others were storming the field. “Amazing, absolutely unreal,’ ex- claimed Barry Corbett from Cloon- OMe “It was a brilliant performance from all of them but especially Tuo- hy and the full-back line. Conlon up front as well. The serious discipline the whole team showed entitled us to this win,’ he added.

He echoed the thoughts of all eve- ryone in saffron and blue, as the Clare Shout, for so long silent ech- oed around Croke Park for the first time in a dozen years.

“The Cats couldn’t stop Clare making history. Great win,” roared Stephen McNamara from Kilmaley, before more Clare Shouts again ech- oed around him.

And, like 95 there was talk of Bid- dy Early too — the curse that’s been a crutch to bear in recent years was banished once more.

And, in its place was a bright new era with a nod to the past achieve- ments of Clare teams made by Inagh farmer Tom Mackey when he pro- claimed loudly to everyone around him that “there’ll be no goats milked for the week”.

Ennis will be made for walking

WITH threats of “you will never get your hands on the cup’, talks of changing handicaps and discus- sions of one team’s inability to play in windy conditions, the “Friendship Cup” tournament began with good humour on Wednesday last.

The friendly jibes were given and taken well as a group of west Clare golfers took on the Americans in the first of the friendly competitions to be held in the county.

The brainchild of one of the found- ers of the Ibrickane Golf Society, which was formed in 2007, the com- petition forges links with a New York golf society – Cuchulainn Golf

Society.

Last year the team of golfers took their good humour banter to North Carolina for the inaugural competi- ntOyee

This year the American team, made up mostly of Irish Americans, are experiencing west Clare hospitality and for the first time ever all of the members played Clare courses.

Incoming captain of the Ibrickane Golf Society, and the captain of the Clare team, Evan Talty from Quilty explained that the competition and the arrival of the ten members of the New York team has captured the im- agination of the locality.

“It has got a lot of local publicity. A lot of people are asking about it and

showing an interest,’ he said.

Current captain of the society and founding member of the group Eoghan O’Loughlin paid tribute to the local businesses who also got be- hind the event and saw its potential.

‘Next year we will have up to 15 or 16 going with us, there is such an in- terest in it now. It will probably reach a team of 20 coming back and over alternative years,’ he said.

Paddy Cartel, Treasurer of the Cu- culainn Society added, “We are life long friends through this.”

Cavan-born Paul Donoghue paid tribute to the hospitality the group has received since arriving in west Clare. “The Bellbridge has been very good to us,” he added.

Sean Clarke was equally posi- tive about his visit to west Clare. He maintained that the group even brought the fine weather. “From the time we lived here we remembered that there was always good weather in September when we had to go back to school, that is why we picked September to come.’ Usually the Americans play golf from the begin- ning of April to the end of October.

The Ibrickane Golf Society is al- ready planning the return trip state- side next year to defend the cup.

NEWMARKET Celtic move up to second in the Premier league ta- ble after defeating holders Bunratty last week. After a good win against Rock Rovers the previous Sunday, Newmarket were full of confidence coming into this match. Therefore it wasn’t much of a suprise when they got off to a fantastic start. In the opening five minutes, they managed to grab the lead. John Paul Healy the Newmarket midfielder provided the goal scoring finish. This was the end result of some very direct build up play that Bunratty just could not seem to cope with. Their defence obviously were still not fully awake and warmed up but unfortunately for them Newmarket were not planning on hanging around. They wanted to press home their power and strengths from the very kick off. Bunratty now really had it all to do. Going behind so early meant that attack now had to be their best form of defence and they had to try and pull one back. However their negative position got even worse when Newmarket dou- bled their advantage after 20 min- utes. Again the goal was the result of some lapse defending. A deep cross

into the box failed to be cleared and after a number of attempts to get the ball away, it was deflected by John Ryan into his own net. This was Bun- ratty’s final nail in their already half lowered coffin. For the remainder of the first half, both sides had half chances but nothing really material- ised as Bunratty went in at half time

with it all to do. The second half con- tinued in a similar fashion. Bunratty tried to exert as much pressure as possible with an effort by Pat Twom- ey being one of the best chances they managed to create. Unfortunately for him and his team, his first control let him down and he could not punish the Newmarket defence. Newmarket

did not sit back either with Healy and Feeley in particular looking the most likely to increasing their lead even more. As the game came to a close Bunratty really tried their hardest but it was not going to be their day. Newmarket had sealed this win after an excellent opening period and they never looked back from this to inflict defending champions Bunratty to their first defeat of the season.

AS PHASE two of the Fibre Op- tic Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) for Kilrush is about to be- gin, Cllr Ian Lynch (FG) said the town council must be ready to mar- ket this new facility and get “a head of the game” in attracting new busi- nesses to the town.

It is hoped that the broadband sys- tem will be up and running and ready for marketing by March.

While the completion of phase one has been completed for some time now, progression on phase two had been delayed while awaiting the ap- pointment of an appropriate compa- ny to manage the phase.

The announcement that elnet “Tel- ecommunications Company of the Year 2009” has been appointed by

the Government to manage, main- tain and market Phase 2 of the pro- gramme has been met with a warm welcome from the town councillor.

‘“MAWNSs plays a pivotal role in the delivery of high speed broadband to regions throughout the country at a time when the advancement of a knowledge economy has never been more important,” he said.

Broadband is to data transfer what a motorway is to a road. The fibre optic broadband cable installed in Kilrush will provide the means to move information and other data in big volumes and at high speeds to re- cipients around Ireland and all over the world.

“The ready availability of broad- band services, to enable ‘always on’ high-speed connections with high capacity, 1s very important for both

business and domestic customers,’ said Cllr Lynch.

“Tt is towns with reliable, fast con- nectivity to the outside world that will lead the way in attracting in- ward investment and creating more jobs in the future. These broadband fibre rings about to be provided pave the way for such connectivity,’ he added.

“Having $made — considerable progress with the installation of fibre networks, Kilrush must now push on to avoid playing ‘catch-up’ continu- ously with other towns in the tele- communications area.’

“The proactive response towards the MANs by Kilrush Town Council is an extremely positive step in en- suring Kilrush can be marketed as a commercial town and to potentially attract new business to the town,

making the town more attractive to, not only businesses within the IT sector but also manufacturing, health care and education.

‘Because of the Kilrush Metropoli- tan Area Networks (MANs) Kilrush is now well placed to meet the tel- ecommunications needs of bigger businesses and institutions, and 1s better able to compete on an equal footing with other locations in the country to attract new businesses to the town and indeed county,’ said Cllr Lynch.

The Fine Gael councillor is encour- aging Kilrush Town Council to coin- cide a marketing campaign strategy in conjunction with the planned elnet marketing campaign to ensure maxi- mum publicity and promotion to encourage possible future business investment in the west Clare town.

BRIDGE Celtic were the victors af- ter this one sided Premier Division clash against Lifford on Wednes- day last. The final tally of five goals tells it’s own story and portrays how dominant the Bridge team were over their Ennis counterparts. They took the early initiative and attacked from the kick off. After a few chances they finally found their goal scoring touch through Ger O’Connell on 20 minutes. They did not have to wait as long for their second however as O’Connell scored again a few sec- onds later when Bridge won posses- sion back from Lifford’s kick off. He slotted the ball home confidently and now really set up Bridge to push on and ensure this win as early as pos- sible. Lifford were stunned but they did get a chance to get themselves back into the game. They were awarded a penalty and Roberto Pinto stepped up to take the kick. His ef- fort however was unsuccessful and

this became a huge turning point in the game. Instead of pulling back a goal they really missed their oppor- tunity. The significance of this miss increased when ten minutes later

Bridge found their third goal. The dangerous Shane Byrnes was the pro- vider and the insurance goal had now been found. Then three became four when Trevor Howard scored a crack-

ing volley just before half time. This was becoming a landslide victory and the prospect of more goals must have sent Lifford in at half team really fearing the worst. In fairness to this Lifford team, they did manage to re- store some pride. They scraped back two goals, with Ryan Boyle’s finish in particular providing the Lifford fans with something finally to cheer about. Suddenly had hope of a mirac- ulous come back been moulded. Un- fortunately for Lifford, Bridge now felt they had conceded enough goals and decided they wanted to score a few more. They only got the one though. Dave Hickey wrapped up his team’s goal scoring in the middle of the second half after a great period of well controlled passing. Burke in the Lifford goal had no chance and sadly for him had to pick the ball out of his net for the fifth time. The threat of any possible fight back had now been neutralised for good. Bridge contin- ued to attack but some credit must be given to young centre half Darren

O’Neill who gave his all throughout the game but his efforts alone were not enough to prevent Bridge Celtic maintaining their unbeaten start to the campaign. Lifford now really have to go back to the drawing board as with three losses from three, their prospects for the season are already looking very bleak.