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CLARE leading lights such as Brian Lohan, Martin Donnelly and Fr Har- ry Bohan are just some of the people from the Banner lending their names to the Yes to Lisbon campaign.

Clare For Europe, a new independ- ent group of Clare men and women campaigning to ensuring a repeat of the Yes vote in Clare in the forthcom- ing referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, will launch its campaign tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Westpark Busi- ness Campus in Shannon.

Clare For Europe is comprised of leading figures from business, farm- ing, the arts and sport, who believe a Yes vote is in the best interests of this county and key to the future of WeemeO LUNN BAYA

Well-known names from across the county, including Brian Lohan, estate agent and former Clare hurl- ing star, leading Clare businessman Martin Donnelly, Managing Direc- tor of M. Donnelly and Co. Ltd, Fr Harry Bohan, long-time campaigner for rural development, Katie Verling, arts administrator, Michael Vaughan, hotelier, and the Clare leadership of the IFA are all throwing their weight behind the campaign.

Promising a vigorous campaign, Clare For Europe Co-ordinator, Michael McNamara, an unsuccessful candidate in this summer’s European election, said that this was a crucial time for the mid-west region and, in- deed for Ireland as a whole.

‘We need to vote Yes to secure jobs and our economic recovery,’ he said. “Being at the heart of Europe has been central to the development of Clare. Our main industries – agricul- ture, tourism and our manufacturing

base – are all dependent on us re- maining at the heart of Europe. Now more than ever, we need to build on the best partnership this country has ever had; our membership of the SOR

Clare was one of only nine con- stituencies that returned a Yes vote in the last Lisbon Treaty election in June 2008.

Meanwhile, European Movement Ireland, the organisation that ex- plains the work of the European Un- ion in a jargon-free way, launched its ‘Just the Facts’ campaign for the Lis- bon Treaty. By circulating a series of easy-to-read factsheets and hosting a range of events, this campaign aims to encourage a factual and balanced debate in the run up to the referen- dum, without telling people which way they should vote.

Andrea Pappin, Executive Direc- tor of European Movement Ireland, said, “I think we’re all tired of the shouting matches which were all too prevalent last year. This time, it’s es- sential we all get to grips on what we are being asked to vote on, and that means cutting through all the guff and getting to the real truths.”

FOR 50 years, John Allen has been involved in some way or other with the Scariff Show. And he and others who have been involved for all those decades are delighted to see that the show will celebrate its 65th birthday this year by going from strength to strength.

86-year-old John has been presi- dent, manager and chairman, and his son Tom has been involved as secretary before his daughter-in-law, Joanne, took that task on.

John – who is now still involved in the show and is also now the long- est serving member of the National Show Society – says there are many people who got stuck in early on and are still involved.

“It’s a great show and the commit- tee and the people who support are a lot of its success. There is great involvement from people. People like John Blake, the vet – he’s been involved since day one and is still 2100 Une

One of the biggest changes John has seen recently is in having to raise sponsorship for the show. “For a long time, we didn’t have trouble getting sponsors but it was that bit harder this year.”

One of the important show sec- tions is the All-Irleand Yearling Filly Championship and the Giblin brothers of Irish Sports Netting have stepped up to the mark to sponser this section and the Irish Show As- sociation have also come on board, promising €100 for each entrant in the competition.

The Scariff Show Society will cele- brate the milestone birthday this year on Saturday, September 5. Staged every year at Fossabeg, the 65th birthday show is expected to draw record crowds and entries. There’s something for everyone at the show, with an indoor section as well as sec- tions for horse, ponies and sheep.

There will also be a Most Appro- priately Dressed Lady competition, kindly sponsored by Karena’s; a Most Appropriately Dressed Child

competition, sponsored by Bane’s Gift Shop; and a Bonny Baby com- petition, sponsored by the Dunphy Allen School of Irish Dancing. There will also be a dog show, pony and horse jumping and many trade stands and activities for young and old on the day.

And just for the fun of it, there will be bungy bull, giant slides, kids

Sumo, costume characters, laserzone, hotshots football and pony hops, novelty races and hurling penalty shoot-outs, while face and nail paint- ing and temporary tattoos will add colour to the day.

Entry forms for all the competi- tions will be available from Bane’s Gift shop, Scariff Post Office, Scar- iff Library or online at www.scariff-

Sate wacrerne

“Even if people don’t enter any of the competitions, we really hope they will come along and support the show on the day,” said Joanne Allen. “We are conscious that there are many demands made on the community throughout the year. However, the committee appreciate that the area has kindly supported us in the past

and would greatly appreciate its con- tinued involvement with the Scariff Show Society. We hope to see you all on Saturday, September 5,” she said.

THE energetic Shannon Flyers Spe- cial Olympics Club is making acome back after its summer break in a new location.

The athletics club, which previous- ly used the Shannon Leisure Club as its base, will now meet every week at the hall in Newmarket-on-Fergus.

Chairman of the club, Frank Fit- zgerald said the new location will be open to all and encouraged potential members to come along and see the fun and training for themselves.

The athletes train every Saturday from 10am to llam.

They will continue using the hall in Newmarket-on-Fergus for this train- ing until next year, and will then move to outdoor training.

For the last number of years the club has undertaken it’s summer training in Lees Road, Ennis.

In its fifth year, the Shannon Fly- ers club is going from strength to strength and is looking for more ath-

letes for its prize-winning club.

The 15 athletes currently members of Shannon Flyers did the town and county proud last year, returning with numerous medals from the re- gional games in Cork.

Roisin Fitzgerald and Colleen Mulcahy even went on to secure a place on the Munster team and will take part in the All Ireland Games next June, in Limerick.

The athletes at the Shannon Flyers Special Olympics club train for vari- ous athletic events including various distant running, the short put and the long jump.

As well as the 15 athletes the club also has more than 20 volunteers, in- cluding coaches and helpers.

The mission of Special Olympics Ireland is “to provide year-round sports training and athletic compe- tition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with an intellectual disability, giving them continuing opportunities to de- velop physical fitness, demonstrate

courage, experience joy and partici- pate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendships with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.”

With more than 11,000 athletes participating in 12 sports through 402 clubs, supported by 100 commu- nity networks and 18,000 volunteers, Special Olympics Ireland is now one of Ireland’s largest community and

voluntary organisations, reaching 27 per cent of persons with intellectual disabilities all over the country.

TRIBUTES have been paid in the last week to well-known west Clare musician Peadar Crotty.

The Moyasta man died suddenly on Wednesday morning, August 19, just hours after he chaired a meeting of the Nell Galvin Festival Committee.

The 69-year-olds unexpected pass- ing was a shock to family and friends, among them some of the county’s most revered musicians.

Peadar’s popularity in music circles was clear following his burial when 20 musicians gathered in the local public house and played in his hon- o)ine

It was, however, as a husband, fa-

ther and kind neighbour that the committee chairman and farmer will be missed most.

Secretary of the Nell Galvin week- end, and long-time neighbour of Mr Crotty’s, Mary Haugh paid tribute to his kind and placid nature, and a su- perb since of humour.

‘He was one of the best neighbours anyone could be blessed to have,” she PALO

‘He was ideal as chairman for the Nell Galvin. He never lost the cool, and if things were tense he always had a funny word.”

Fellow musician Murt Collins de- scribed the death of Peadar as “an awful loss and a loss to the festival as well.”

Peadar, a talented player of the concert flute and tin whistle, played regularly with Mr Collins, Bernie Keane nee O’Halloran and Bernie Eustace in pubs and at events around the county.

A keen singer, Peadar was also one of the musicians to grace “Blondes” in Miltown Malbay on a regular basis with other local musicians, including the last Michael Mahoney and Gerh Collins who also passed away in the past year.

A regular member of the choir at Lisdeen Church, one of Peadar’s proudest achievements was to play for the former American ambassador Jean Kennedy-Smith in the Phoenix Park.

Peadar Crotty came from a family steeped in Irish traditional music and dance.

His father Tommy played the fiddle, as did his grandfather also Tommy, who was well-known for dancing the “orange and green’. Peadar’s brother, the late PJ Crotty, was also a well re- nowned musician.

He is survived by his wife Jose- phine (O’Brien), sons Brian and Ger- ard and two sisters Bridget Leonard and Maura Clohessy.

THE Lismorahaun Singers will this week begin their new season and have invited anyone interested in becoming involved to come along to open and friendly rehearsals at the Town Hall Pavillion Theatre in Lis- doonvara.

Rehearsals will take place each Sunday in September from 6.30pm and anyone with any interest in tak- ing part is warmly invited to attend.

The Lismorahaun is Ireland’s most successful amateur choir but is also unique as it is Ireland’s foremost “teaching choir”.

This means that it welcomes new members of all ages who have little

or no singing experience.

“We are starting our new season on the first Sunday of September and that would be a good time for anyone who had been thinking of joining the choir to come down and have a look,” said choir founder, Archie Simpson.

‘Over the next six months or so we will be doing a programme of mu- sic which the choir has done before, revisiting the songs which the choir has done over the first 10 years of its existence. In the run up to Christ- mas, we will be doing a number of concerts for various charities; which should be great.”

The choir will also be going over to London next year to sing with the London Symphony Chorus at the

Barbican Centre.

‘The idea of a choir from the mid- dle of nowhere being invited to sing in the Barbican in unbelievable,” continued Archie.

“It’s another aspect of the choir. The last trip we had was over to Venice, which was great great fun. Things like that bring a great social aspect to it. We would really like to get some young people involved, es- pecially some more young boy.”

Indeed, one of Lismorahaun’s first members, Peter O’Donoghue, will next year sing in Carnegie Hall in New York at the invitation of Frank Patterson’s widow, Eily Patterson.

According to Peter, he would never even have started singing if it hadn’t

been for the Lismorahaun Singers.

“Everything that has happened to me is down to the choir. When I joined I had never sang before in my life – I had no idea whether I could sing or not,” said Peter, who was just ten when he joined the choir.

‘IT remember there is a funny vid- eo of me trying to sing when I was younger, and I hadn’t a note in my head. But thanks to the Lismorahaun I now have a music degree and am going places as a singer; it’s funny how things work out.”

THIS weekend twin festivals will showcase all the best things about the town of Gort. From Thursday to Sunday the Ri-Ra Festival and Ri-Vibe Youth Festival will run side by side – offering a host of events for young and old.

The festivals have been organised by an off-shoot of the local Cham- ber of Commerce who were looking for a way of showing off all the good things about the town.

“T first came into the Chamber of Commerce 18 years ago and the is- sues then were water and sewage

and the same issues are being kicked around today,’ said Austin McIner- ney of the Gort Chamber of Com- merce and Five Star Events.

‘We had a meeting to find out what we could do ourselves to rectify this situation and promote what is best about Gort and the word that kept coming up again and again was fes- ME

‘Two or three days later the local curate, Fr Frankie Lee mentioned to me that he had an idea for a Youth Festival. And that is where the Ri- Vibe came from.”

The festival, which will be pre- sided over by the newly elected King

of Gort, King Guaire Piggott, will bring together events hosted by lo- cal group including the Wild Swan Theatre Company, Coole Park and a number of sports organisations.

The Ri-Vibe festival will also see the best of local musical talent taking to the stage and the Cannon Quinn Park, all leading up to a performance by The Blizzards on Sunday evening. The highlight of the festival will be The Peasants’ Ball, which will take place in the Gort Community Centre on Sunday night.

“The Peasants’ Ball should be a great occasion. There will be enter- tainment and some good food and

we are encouraging everyone to dress down – or even to dress as peas- ants. King Guaire will also be there to treat his people on the evening.

“The Ri-Vibe Festival will take on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday and except for Sunday night, when the Blizzards are playing, will all be eusonee

The festival will also include a performance from Andy Irvine, the Irish Ballroom Dancing Champion- ship, a tag rugby blitz and a festival discount scheme in the local shops. To book tickets go to Coole Proper- ties or from Minihans SuperValu in Gort or email riratix@gmail.com.

Confusion over O’Grady family ties

AN ENNIS woman is calling on Clare County Council to get to the bottom of the true lineage of Mu- hammad Ali before the great man arrives in Clare next week.

Mary O’Grady, whose father Christopher O’Grady met the boxer in Shannon Airport in 1960, claims

that she is the true local relation of Ali and deserves to meet him when he is given the freedom of Ennis next Shiloh

“Christopher O’Grady was born in 1912 and all of his family came from the Turnpike area of town. His father and his grandfather, all of his rela- tions came from that area, they were the first O’Grady’s in the town of En-

nis,’ she said.

“I think that it is a total mockery that we can proceed with this when a cloud hangs over the thing. I am liv- ing in the town of Ennis for the last 64 years and my father and my uncle were the only two O’Grady’s as far as I have ever seen.”

Amazingly, Christopher O’Grady, who is now deceased but used to

work in Shannon Airport, actually met Muhammad Ali when he was on the way back from the Olympics in 1960. This is long before the connec- tions between Muhammad Ali and the O’Grady’s of Ennis were discov- elen

‘He always loved Muhammad Ali. When he saw him, he said that he reminded him of his brother John. Except that he was black he said that he looked just like one of the family,” she continued.

‘He has a great big dimple on his chin as well, which 1s just like every- one else has in our family. Wouldn’t it be an awful hypocrisy if we all get excited over this and a mistake 1s ine T-\e lone

Although Christopher O’Grady passed away in 1999, he had learned of his possible connection to Ali be- fore his death.

‘He used to laugh about it and won- der at how strange it was that he had met him all those years before,” con- tinued Mary.

“I don’t want to blow anything out of proportion here but all I am saying is what I know. Only one person will be allowed to shake his hand and say ‘welcome to Ennis, I’m your relation and we are very proud of you’ – I just want to make sure that it is the right person.

‘He [Christopher O’Grady] always loved Muhammad Ali. I remember all the stories he used to tell and even the picture of him which we hung up around the place.”

OH to be in the Corofin dressing room at half-time!

Let’s just say that Seamus Clancy would have had plenty of ammuni- tion to fire a few volleys or more to- wards his players.

They’d just had the advantage of a strong breeze in the first half but 11 lamentable wides had contributed to them kicking away what should have been a very healthy half-time lead.

Instead, Corofin had to contend themselves with a slender I-1 to O-3 advantage after a very forgettable 30 minutes of football.

And, even accounting for all this profligacy Corofin were grateful to be ahead – a Colm Clancy goal which opened their account in the IIth minute and a point from distance by Brendan Keane was all they had to show for 30 minutes.

It scarcely seemed enough against a Kildysart team that motored well enough into the wind. Gerry Kelly followed up where he left off against Clondegad when opening the scoring after eight minutes with a point from play – indeed Kelly was Kildysart’s only scorer in the half.

He chipped over a free in the 14th minute in response to Clancy’s goal, while a good point from play in the 23rd was Kildysart’s positive re- sponse to Brendan Keane’s 16th minute point for Corofin.

However, that’s were all the posi- tivity ended from Kildysart’s point of view, and presumably it’s where Seamus Clancy came into his own in the dressing room when lashing out a few home truths about his side’s first half performance.

They were obviously listening in- tently because they pummelled a dreadful Kildysart side into the sub- mission from the opening seconds of the second-half.

It’s true that the wind seemed to ease up considerably, but still the va-

garies of the weather couldn’t alone count for Corofin’s rejuvenation and Kildysart’s capitulation.

Corofin stormed forward from the throw-in. Twice they could have go- aled in the opening five minutes, but instead had to content themselves with points from a Damian Ryan free and an effort from play by John Keane, whose influence on proceed-

ings grew as the game progressed. The pattern of the early stages con- tinued almost uninterrupted for the rest of the game – Corofin were dom- inating all over the field, from the brilliant Eamonn Malone at full-back through to John Keane and Colm Clancy in the full-forward line. Clancy set up Damian Ryan for an- other point in the 43rd minute to put

Corofin 1-4 to 0-3 clear as Kildysart struggled to get the ball out of their own half.

Further Corofin points from John Keane and Ryan’s third of the hour put them 1-6 to 0-3 ahead entering the last ten minutes and killed off any hope of a Kildysart comeback.

The will wasn’t there among the Kildysart players everywhere – they

were already through to the semi- final stages thanks to earlier wins over Michael Cusack’s and Clonde- gad. This game clearly didn’t mean eel Uhes om Kem satsseeF

It meant everything to Corofin though as they at last found some of the winning form that swept them to this title three years ago.

Kildysart, for all their second half failures, did at least manage to reg- ister a couple of points near the end from Cian Cleary and Christy Clancy, but the fact remains that they’re now going into the semi-final stages on the back of a terrible display.

Corofin, meanwhile, are on the up after a 30 minutes in which they answered all the questions posed by their awful first 30 minutes.

It all meant that Clondegad’s 2-15 to 1-8 win over Michael Cusack’s was academic – they were out of con- tention for 2009.

WHAT a week it has been for O’Callaghan’s Mills. Seven days earlier, they ambushed county cham- pions Clonlara in the senior hurling championship to keep their qualifica- tion hopes alive and they needed all of that fighting spirit here as well to hold off a stubborn Kilmurry Ibrick- ane outfit.

Niall Donovan, Jonathan Lyons, Gerry Cooney, Declan Donovan, Patrick Donnellan, John Cooney, Conor Cooney, Brian Donnellan and Fergus Donovan were all part of that hurling triumph a week previous but in terms of influence and more sig- nificantly scores, it was Brian Don- nellan who stood out from the pack again to inspire the Mills latest vic- rays

In contrast, a luckless Kilmurry Ibrickane had no such leadership and while they have run all their group opponents close, the fact that they have no points on the board doesn’t reflect kindly on their efforts. They deserved better from those three games but not enough firepower and a failure to turn their possession into scores combined to twart them again ie) Ken

Instead, with the game in the bal- ance at 1-6 to 1-6 entering the final minutes, the Mills superior fitness bore fruit and it allowed them to sneak home with late points through Brian Donnellan and James Murphy to earn at least a play-off for their side, depending on the final group game between Cratloe and St Bre- ckan’s.

In saying that, for long periods of

that second-half, it seemed as if the strong breeze that blew towards En- nis was of little benefit to the Mills who found it difficult to pepper the posts. In fact, both sides played better against the conditions, with the Mills taking the game to Kilmurry I[brick- ane’s second string early on. Brian Donnellan picked off 1-1 as early as the eighth minute while Kilmurry Ibrickane misfired at the other end. They did finally settle though, kick- ing four of the next five points, two from Patrick Hogan to get to within deComecubevnecleneee

And what cemented their comeback was a flowing passing move in the 24th minute between Colm Donnel- lan and Paul O’Dwyer that attracted the defence and it allowed him to pop the ball inside to the unmarked Aid- an Moloney to billow the left corner of the net.

Again, however, the west Clare side switched off, giving the Mills re- newed hope and by the break, they were level after two Brian Donnellan frees left the half-time score 1-4 to eae

It should have spurred the east Clare side on for a rousing second period with the wind at their backs but they were surprisingly flat on the restart and it was Kilmurry Ibrick- ane who took up the mantle to take a two point lead once more after Paul O’Dwyer and Aidan Moloney pointed frees. It had to take two of their imports, Paul Lynch and substi- tute Padraig Hickey to get the Mills back on level terms by the turn of the final quarter and set the game up for a tense grandstand finish.

Conor Cooney rattled the post; at

the other end, Paul O’Dwyer should have goaled but found goalkeeper Emmet O’Brien in defiant mood to produce an outstanding point blank block and as the game petered out with a scoreless ten minute period, it seemed neither side wanted to win 1

Then with only three minutes re- maining, Brian Donnellan converted a free and only two minutes later, James Murphy went on the overlap to push the Mills two clear and al- though Kilmurry huffed and puffed in search of a goal, their efforts ulti- mately proved fruitless.