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A DIFFERENT take on that Modest Mouse album: good news for people who like good news. Yes, the Funk- tion Room — the North Clare disco/ social night that pops it’s head up sporadically, like a meercat on the prairie — is back. Funky tunes and vinyl records are the order of the ab hea al

This time, it brings its nomadic ways to Lahinch, specifically roam- ing to the Claremont Hotel this Thursday, September 10. As has be- come the custom, Tokin White Boy will provide the backbone to the night. Afterall, Tokin is the resident DJ. But there’s also flesh on those

bones, in the form of DJ R Steady, guest for the evening and travelling all the way from Cork.

The designated charitable cause 1s Aware, the national organisation that provides support through depression to individuals affected by the condi- tion, as well as concerned family and friends.

“Over the past few years, we have focused on a number of causes local- ly and throughout Clare,” explains Roisin Ni Ghairbhith, one of the or- ganisers of the event. “Last time, in June, we raised in excess of €1,000 for Friends of Ennistymon Hospital. This time we’re raising funds for a great cause, Aware. The night also coincides with Daisy Day, Aware’s

annual largest fundraiser. That takes place form September 10 to 12 so it all ties in well.”

A night of upbeat tunes and funky music are promised, along with a dance off, which is sure to draw a niche crowd. “The dance off is some- thing we’re all looking forward to,” continued Miss Ni Ghairbhith. “So, in setting the right atmosphere, we want people to dress up and dance their tights and socks off. It’s going to be fun and it’s going to a worthy charity.” Aware offer a number of services in Clare and beyond, includ- ing support groups across the coun- try, a loCall helpline open 365 days a year (1890 303 302), email support service and free information service.

The organisation also works to cre- ate greater public awareness of the nature and impact of depression via its secondary schools awareness pro- gramme, Beat the Blues, and other community awareness programmes.

‘‘Aware relies on public support and fundraising for more than 80 per cent of its funding each year,” added Miss Ni Ghairbhith.

“So come out and support this great cause.” Doors for the Funktion Room open at 11pm this Thursday at the Claremont Hotel, Lahinch. Ad- mission €8.

THIS was a repeat of last year’s coun- ty final that was played in Cooraclare — conditions were much more benign on that occasion, but the result was the same as the standardbearers of senior football in the county record- ed a nine-point win.

However, the margin of victory flat- ters them somewhat — a brilliant dis- play by Aoife Davoren between the sticks and a forward line that availed of their chances much better than the Gaels was the difference between the sides.

The Gaels had the edge in the first half, but only managed to build up a Q-7 to 1-3 interval lead when playing with the gale. County intermediate star Majella Griffin was their main scoring threat in the half and landed three points, but it was Sonya Ma- her’s goal that gave the champions a real tonic when playing against the strong breeze.

And once Niamh O’ Dea (2) and N1- amh Keane chipped in with points, they were well on the way to frank- ing last year’s county final form against their very keen rivals from Kilkee and the peninsula beyond.

West Clare Gaels adopted a sweep- er policy when playing against the wind in the second half — to coun- teract this The Banner Ladies started shooting from distance, with county

intermediate captain Louise Henchy first to profit when landing two long range points early in the half to edge The Banner 1-5 to O-7 ahead.

When Naomi Carroll added two

points and Louise Henchy followed up with a goal in the 40th minute from a free kick it was The Banner’s day — they had maximised their scor- ing chances while West Clare Gaels

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A Katie Geoghegan goal from a penalty gave them renewed hope of getting back into the game put once Niamh Keane goal effort was de-

flected to the net for The Banner’s for their third goal they were in cruise control.

Their storming second half display was crowned when Sonya Maher soc- cer a brilliant individual effort near the end, while Katie Cahill rounded off and industrious display with a couple of points, with Naomi Carroll also on the mark before the end.

Locals mourn loss of tragic teen

AFTER a very impressive perform- ance in this semi-final, Sixmilebri- dge progress to yet another Minor A hurling final. From the throw-in the men in yellow and blue always seemed to be the likely winners of this entertaining encounter.

It was Conor O’Gorman of Clare- castle who opened the scoring with

a well taken point. However, it did not take long for the “Bridge to re- spond. In the following five minutes two wonderful points from the excel- lent Alan Mulready, an effort from Timmy Crowe and a cracking goal by corner-forward Jamie Shanahan stole the lead from the Magpies and left the score at 1-3 to 0-1.

They never really looked back from this lightning start, even though with

eight minutes on the clock Clarecas- tle were given some hope when cen- tre forward Niall Quinn picked out Aaron Considine with a well judged pass. He then bypassed a number of Sixmulebridge defenders and blasted the ball into the net. Clarecastle cer- tainly were not preparing to give up without a fight.

For the next 20 minutes or so the ‘Bridge restored their dominance on

the scoreboard with four of their for- wards contributing to a seven point haul. Clarecastle managed to grab another three points and this left Sixmilebridge leading 1-10 to 1-4 at ne Vee abe tlon

Only for a number of missed frees and some poor long-range shooting this margin could have been far big- ger. The second-half continued as the first with Clarecastle unable to con-

tain the fast and tricky forwards of their opponents.

Between the 37th and 47th minute they secured another five scores and confirmed their hold on the game. Even though they did not score again until injury-time from a °65 taken by Jamie O’Gorman the end result was never really in question.

The final chance for Clarecastle came when they were awarded a 20m free. The crowd’s excitement increased as the Magpies’ netmind- er Jamie Coughlan ran up the field almost Davy Fitz-like, hoping that he could turn this placed ball into a much needed goal.

Unfortunately for him the ‘Bridge were never going to let the sliotar cross their line again and with this failed attempt Clarecastle’s partici- pation in the Minor A hurling Cham- pionship ended for 2009. Sixmileb- ridge march on after this eight-point victory and now only Kilmaley stand in their way of adding another title to their trophy cabinet.

THE biggest sports story in Clare this past generation undoubtedly oc- curred a few poc fadas away from Cusack Park last Tuesday – the day the old champ Muhammad Ali land- ed another knockout blow as Ennis and Clare welcomed him home as one of their own.

Hard to beat “The Greatest’, but the Clare Under 21 hurlers could land their own knockout blow to mighty Kilkenny on Sunday by adopting

as their own the mission statement of Muhammad Ali and the Alltech Group that were behind “The Great- est’ decision to raise the banner for his Irish ancestry.

OW atctamenvicKy (Oye Mniecincseeles el mpechercamelecam pe Ennis on more than one occasion last Tuesday as Alltech’s president, Dr Pearse Lyons, plugged the worldwide educational fund being promoted jointly by Ali and his biotechnology company.

“We want young people to be the best they can possibly be at whatever

they do,” said Dr Lyons to nods of approval from Ali.

Apply that theory to the Clare Un- der 21 hurlers and they have a chance of making their own piece of sport- ing history by landing a first ever All-Ireland Under 21 title.

That’s what it could take to win the title – Kilkenny are going for their fourth All-Ireland title in seven years and their 12th in all. Hurling in Kil- kenny has never had it so good.

Save the three outstanding per- formances of the Clare Under 21s

this term, Clare hurling never had it so bad at adult level.

However, being the best they can possibly be would make it Clare’s greatest hurling year since ‘98 when the curse of Jimmy Cooney’s whistle came between the county and anoth- er All-Ireland.

Or could it have been Biddy Early up to her old tricks again – the same day Muhammad Ali was in town, another one of Clare’s finest, Edna O’Brien, was on RTE telling the world how around 100 years ago

one WB Yeats was seen wandering around Feakle looking for Biddy Early and the meaning of it all.

Maybe Yeats had the curse lifted back then that helped Clare land the All-Ireland in ‘14. Maybe by talk- ing about it, the ‘Country Girl’ from Tuamgraney has lifted the modern day curse.

Something that could bring Mu- hammad’s mission statement of Clare being “the best they can pos- sibly be” alive.

It would be a great knockout blow.

IF Electric Picnic was the entertain- ment highlight of the weekend, then this was it’s antithesis. Contrary to traditional derbies between this pair and the perilous consequences for the loser, this was far from electric and can only be considered a picnic in the manner that Scariff served up this victory on a plate for local rivals Tulla.

Perhaps that is a little unfair on the 2007 champions who were certainly up for this encounter and could only beat what is put in front of them, but even though they eventually eased to victory, they still had too many poor misses to call this an emphatic per- formance.

On the flip side, Scariff looked woe- fully disinterested and in what was arguably their worst showing in re- cent years, have hit a worrying sticky patch at the worst possible time. The same old failings that have hampered their championship hopes against In- agh/Kilnamona and Clonlara resur- faced, with a lack of firepower and an inability to break even in the midfield sector frustrating them once more.

They started brightly enough, grabbing the opening two points of the afternoon through Damien O’Grady and a Ross Horan free but that was as good as it would get for Mark McKenna’s side over the hour. Instead, three unanswered points from Andrew Quinn (2) and Danny O’Halloran edged Tulla in front for the first time and despite being pegged back through another Horan free soon afterwards, Tulla slipped through the gears to hit another five points without reply in eight minutes to establish a 0-8 to 0-3 advantage.

Scariff were only to score one more point for the remainder of the half, inevitably through Horan but by that stage, they were really up against it,

now trailing by 0-10 to 0-04 at the break.

On the restart, Scariff’s new mid- field pairing of Conor McNamara

and Michael Scanlan fared a little better and it allowed Ross Horan to pull a point back in the 36th minute. However, Tulla soon regained su-

premacy and along with a plethora of wides, they slowly killed off any hopes of a Scariff fightback with further points from Kieran Brennan, Andrew Quinn (2) and the lively Raymond Stewart by the turn of the nUOE Nae [UE Du nom

By now, the fight was all but quenched in Scariff and it allowed Tulla to ease up to their first victory of the campaign, with the 11 point final margin probably flattering to Scariff overall.

Tulla now march towards the Sen- ior B championship whereas Scariff face the slippery slope of a relegation dogfight. Totally contrasting outlooks that’s a bit like comparing Electric Picnic to the the annual Roscommon Lamb festival.

EMER O’Reilly, the straight-talking manager of the EBS in Ennis, ad- vises those considering a self-build project or property purchase not to be afraid to ask for money.

‘People are taking everything they hear on the radio and in the media at face value and they think none of the financial institutions are lending. Well, I have news of my own, we are most definitely lending at EBS, so please come and talk to us, if you are in the market for a loan,’ invited ioe

EBS Ennis, which had _previ- ously been housed in shared offices with Philip O’Reilly Property Plus, opened its standalone branch, located at Central Buildings, Abbey Street, last October with Emer O’Reilly, who has an impressive track record in banking and finance, at the helm.

Emer finds it frustrating that peo- ple are so reluctant to seek advice about loans. “I know that people are afraid to cross our threshold to seek finance, but those who do are invari- ably pleasantly surprised.”

She added, “We all know that the days of the 100 per cent mortgages are gone, but if buyers have saved a deposit and they can show that they

have been in continuous employment for 24 months, not even necessarily with the same employer, then there is no reason why their application for a mortgage will not be taken ser1- ously.

“With interest rates so low and it being a buyers’ market, with lots of bargain properties to chose from, it is a good time for those first-time buy- ers in employment to consider taking out a mortgage.”

Emer pointed out that apart from low interest variable mortgages, people who want some certainty can choose to fix their mortgage for one, two three, four, five or 10 years. Many of those who have taken out mortgages in recent months have opted for a five-year fixed term, sim- ply because they want to know where WSToAYAREDOLOB

The EBS team works closely with Clare County Council to help those who qualify for Affordable Hous- ing to acquire the necessary finance. Said Emer, “On the plus side we take lone parents allowance and social welfare payments into account as regular income. In fact they are of- ten vital when assessing affordable housing cases.”

According to Emer, EBS is the only financial institution offering struc-

tured financial support to those pur- chasing affordable housing.

“We are also helping people to fi- nance self-build, one-off housing projects. We are facilitating them in the purchase of the site and provid- ing the actual finance of the build. We don’t just provide the money, we also are able to give sound advice. Because EBS has a strong record in financing self-builds, we know the cost of construction and are able to recommend engineers and reliable builders etc.”

Now almost a year since opening the new EBS office, Emer reflected, ‘Because we are in a more promi- nent site, we have succeeded to at- tract more customers. In fact our in- vestment base is up a very healthy 40 per cent.

“The pace of life has slowed a lit- tle, and our excellent team, who are really on the ball and who take time to get to know their customers, are able to give our customers what they need — good, honest-to-God advice, be it about savings, pensions or mort- gages, at no charge.”

COSTELLOE Estate Agents has an attractive family home on its books, located at Abbeyville off the Limer- ick Road (opposite the West County Hotel), which has just been further reduced in price to €215,000.

No 50 Abbeyville is a four-bedroom semi-detached property offering 1,292 sq ft of internal accommoda- tion. This appealing house comprises an entrance hall, living room, kitch- en/dining room, utility and en suite bedroom all on the ground floor.

Upstairs, there are three bedrooms, including the en-suite master bed- room, together with the family bath- room.

Finishes include a mix of timber, tiled and carpeted floors, a qual-

ity fitted kitchen with integrated electrics, fitted wardrobes in the bedrooms, quality tiling in the bath- rooms, painted doors, skirting and architraves and quality coving in the reception and living rooms.

Externally the property features a walled lawn and parking area to the front, with an enclosed south facing IKoreU ESE DRO CCINMAWA LOOMS: DRO CCIOMCI OCLC

The house was recently redecorat- ed and is on the market in ‘walk-in’ condition. It will appeal to a family as it offers plenty of space and is very close to all key amenities, including schools, in Ennis town centre. It 1s also just a few hundred metres from the bypass interchange on the Lim- erick Road.

For full details contact Costelloe Estate Agents contact 065 6821299.

ENNIS-based auctioneering firm Philip O’Reilly Property Plus is to launch a new nationwide property sales process to facilitate vendors who urgently need to sell their prop- UAE

Branded as Immediate Sales, the new concept will have its own dedi- cated website, www.immediatesales. ion

‘The process is designed to accom- modate and assist vendors who, for a variety of reasons, want a quick sale despite the current market condi- tions,” explained Philip O’Reilly.

He continued, ““We have developed a process to facilitate and identify reasonable expectations in the cur- rent difficult property market.”

Immediate Sales is not for the ven- dor who can bide their time to see if things improve and has the luxury to wait and negotiate a price that suits

them. Instead, the Immediate Sales process is designed specifically for those with a genuine desire or need to sell right now.

‘How it works is that we will con- sult with clients regarding their needs, and if appropriate, the expec- tations of their lenders will be ad- dressed. Where a sale is identified as the appropriate solution, then the subject property will be included in the Immediate Sales process and featured on the new website, due to launch at the end of this week.”

Philip O’Reilly added, “This new website site will only accommodate property in the appropriate category and will be a resource for potential purchasers who are in a position to purchase at this time.”

Properties priced to achieve an im- mediate sale can be viewed from Fri- day on www.immediatesales.ie.

For further information, contact Philip O’Reilly on 065 6844448.

LIAM Daly of Property Partners Joseph Daly and Associates, Ennis, this week warned owners of second properties not to get hit with a fine for late payment of the new property FD. @

“The new €200 annual charge has been introduced on Irish residential property on non-principal private residences payable by the owners of these properties under the Local Government (Charges) Act 2009. The charge applies mainly to owners of private rental property and holi- day homes. However, it also applies to vacant residential property unless newly built but unsold,” said Daly.

He explained, “Liability to pay the charge is determined by ownership of a relevant property on the “liabil- ity date” and July 31, 2009, has been set as the liability date for the current

year.

Payment of the charge for this year is due by September 30. If payment of the charge is not made by Octo- ber 31 this year, a €20 late payment fee will apply for each month or part of month during which the charge is us} oy-Blee

Liam Daly observed, “We have found the majority of our clients are aware of the second homes property tax but are not aware of the fine.

‘“There’s enough pain in having to pay the €200 tax in the first place, especially in light of reduced rents and BER Cert costs. You want to avoid getting hit with an additional €20 fine for every month after Oc- tober that you haven’t paid because it could add up”.

For more details of how the Second Home Tax may affect you, contact Property Partners Joseph Daly and Associates on 065 6893257.