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THE coveted Mr Ireland title has made its way to Shannon.

Kamal Ibrahim (23) has achieved the honour, having fought off compe- tition from nine other finalists, at the Strand Hotel in Limerick last week.

He has now won the right to com- pete in the Mr World competition in Korea in September, while he has also secured a €25,000 contract with a top modelling agency in Dublin. A native of Thomondgate in Limerick, Kamal currently lives in Shannon with his Polish-born girlfriend, An- eta, who is an airhostess with Rya- ene

Kamal was born in Limerick, but his exotic looks are due to his mother hailing from Italy and his father from Nigeria.

Kamal works as a security supervi- sor in the Trinity Rooms in Limer- ick. He has also modelled with the Celia Holman Lee agency in Limer- ick for the past five years. Up until six months ago, he also worked as a recruitment consultant.

He thoroughly enjoys modelling and was thrilled to win the Mr Ire- land title. He will now avail of a

€25,000 contract with John Comp- ton modelling agency in Dublin.

He represented Clare in the Mr Ire- land competition, but did not rate his chances of winning the contest.

“I entered only four weeks before it started. I wasn’t in it to win. I was

in it for the experience. However, as I learned more about it, it changed and I was preparing myself for it,” he said.

“The competition was based on physique and looks, while character and personality were important,” he added.

Participants had to model three dif- ferent outfits and engage in a ques- tions and answers session with the judges. Everyone was judged on a points-based system and Kamal was the outright winner in the end.

As he savours the success, Kamal will now prepare for the Mr World

contest. He will spend four weeks in Korea for the competition. “I am go- ing to be training to get into shape. There will be a lot more gym and a lot more dieting. There will be a lot of work with my agent with regard to public speaking,” he said.

He is optimistic about his chances of success in Korea.

“IT am over the moon. I am really focused on what it is I want to do. I have every intention of going to Mr World and winning it and bringing it back,” he enthused.

THERE was some good signs for the local construction industry last week with the news that Cleary Develop- ments has just signed one of the larg- est construction deals of the year.

The company, which was found- ed my Miltown Malbay man John Cleary Snr, is to build a new private hospital in Cork for Sheehan Medi- cal – the group who own the Black- rock Clinic in Dublin and the Gal- way Clinic.

Cleary already employ some 80

people in the development with a further 90 subcontractors due to be brought on board in the coming weeks. With such a big project, the positive effects will be felt as far away as Clare.

‘The company was founded by my father, John Snr, who came from farming stock outside of Miltown Malbay,” said John Cleary Jnr.

“The company has been grow- ing well over the years and we have completed developments totalling around 250 to date. This projects is a major contract for us and will see the

construction of a 1,400 square foot hospital in Cork.

“The company has it’s roots in Clare and we are always looking to provide opportunity for Clare-based businesses and builder whenever we can. We have a number of people from Clare working for our compa- ny but, as well as that, we try to use Clare contractors whenever we can.

“Ennis Lifts for example have been contracted to provide all the lifts for this hospital – a contract which is worth in the region of €400,000. Whelan’s were also heavily involved

in the early stages of construction, and provided all the pre-cast con- crete work in a contract worth more Were oe mpsesbelONe

“We still have a house up in Mil- town Malbay, and we are always up there at the weekend to go fishing or just enjoy the area.”

Besides creating almost 160 jobs during construction, the new hos- pital will also create 350 new posi- tions when the hospital is officially opened next April. This will consist of at least 75 doctors on site with some 100 ancillary staff.

AFTER a long road, the Feakle- based Clare Accessible Transport (CAT) service has revved up and moved to their new base.

The new state-of-the art building is on the site of the old creamery and the CAT are delighted with the move.

“We were very glad to have the premises in the main street in Feakle to get started but we’ve outgrown it.” said CAT’s Laura Ward. “The new premises is fully accessible for peo- ple with a disability; we have a com- munity meeting room and training centre and we can now develop our IT and communications systems, as broadband has arrived in Feakle, just when we made the move.”

And now that broadband is avail- able to the service, they are develop- ing their website to give out infor- mation about CAT and make route planning easier for clients.

‘Just log on to catconnects.ie and search you town or village to see what routes are going your way.”

The service – which has charitable status and is funded by the Rural Transport Programme, the HSE and the Community Service Programme – now has 3,500 who also support it with the fares they pay.

They are making 3,000 passenger trips a month all across Clare, and now cater for a broader range of people than ever.

30 per cent of our passengers are under 25 years of age and we cater for tourists as well,” said Laura. ““We get emails from Japan and Italy, lots of places, booking trips. We want to support tourism through sustainable transport.”

On the road for seven years, CAT provides flexible transport for any- one who wishes to join. The service is free to travel pass holders and 1s reduced for under 16’s.

There are also ‘fare zones’ depend- ing on how long a journey is and the fares vary accordingly.

Now employing 21 people, full- and part-time, the service has expanded

into the MIDAS – Mini Bus Driv- ers Awareness Scheme – training for community drivers.

“It’s a mobile service which teach- es best practice and safety for people who drive groups,’ said Laura.

Becoming a member of CAT is easy and not expensive.

“You can email Clare Accessible Transport at ourbus@catconnects.ie,

call on 061 924375 or low call 1890 687287 or just turn up at Dunnes Stores and get a membership form from the driver,” said Laura. All CAT buses are wheelchair accessible.

THEY came from Holland, the UK, ths USA and even Japan to hear the music in the air in Feakle over the last week. The Feakle Music Festi- val enjoyed sell-out events and big crowds supporting the workshops and enjoying the sessions.

A musical adaptation, by Sean Tyrrell, of the famous poem “The Midnight Court’ composed by Brian Merriman, performed fittingly on the shores of Lough Graney, went down a treat and later that evening there was a second concert with re- nowned musicians Tony Mac Mahon and Steve Cooney.

The musical style of east Clare was what brought musicians and music

lovers from all over, and many were returning for the umpteenth time to enjoy the festival programme and the beauty of the area.

This year the festival celebrated the role of dance and particularly the influence of dance teacher Kathleen Moloney from Glendree.

And one of Ireland’s foremost com- posers, Shaun Davey was on stage for the Friday night recital in the parish church.

“It was a good week and people turned out in good numbers. The festival is as much a_ draw as it’s ever been and every year there’s something more to enjoy,” said lo- cal publican and festival committee member, Gary Pepper.

WASN’T the most polished perform- ance but as expected Kilkee saw off the challenge of St Joseph’s with plenty to spare on Saturday.

Despite looking comfortable for long stretches, Kilkee found them- selves mired in a struggle midway through the second half when David O’Brien’s goal cut the Blues lead to just two points.

St Joseph’s had struggled to create and convert scoring opportunities all afternoon but were suddenly thrown a lifeline with O’Brien’s goal. They didn’t avail of it. Instead Kilkee re- sponded perfectly by reeling off four straight points.

Lissycasey’s destruction of Miul- town later in the day served to halt Kilkee’s progress to the knockout stages. But a positive result next time out against Miltown should see the Blues through.

They may not have been firing on all cylinders but the fact was that Kilkee didn’t need to. Barefield brought plenty of athleticism and aggression but a poor performance was marked by a recurring failure to properly execute basic skills. Too many handpasses, kick passes and decent chances went astray.

Ger Fanning was effective raid- ing forward from defence and David

O’Brien was the pick of the forwards but apart from that there was little to cheer about St Joseph’s display.

Once they had ironed out the kinks in their passing, the Blues greater class shone through. David Russell and Michael O’Shea were quietly effective while Kevin Larkin and particularly Noel O’Shea turned in assured performances.

The Blues were comfortably into their stride with points from Michael O’Shea, Chris Williamson and Noel O’Shea putting them 0-3 to 0-0 ahead by the 8th minute.

Colm Mullen converted a free for St Joseph’s first score three minutes later before Paul Dullaghan blast- ed a point from a tight angle. PG O’Donnell’s failure to convert from dead in front of the posts was com- pounded in the 24th minute when David Russell took Barry Harte’s pass and buried a goal.

Mullen hit a free but Kilkee ended the half 1-5 to O-3 ahead with points from Michael O’Shea and Barry Je Nate

Points from Mullen and David O’Brien were cancelled out by terrif- ic scores from Williamson and Noel O’Shea. Kilkee’s lead was shaved from five points to two in the 42nd minute when David O’Brien collect- ed a low pass from his brother Chris- topher to poke to the net.

But the goal served only as a prelude to Kilkee’s best spell of the game. Fitzgerald, Larkin (2) and Noel O’Shea were followed by a goal from Fitzgerald in the 58th minute. St Joseph’s hit three late points on the trot but by that stage, the game was well and truly up.

THREE out of every 10 farmers in the protected Burren region intend to wind up their businesses and stop farming over the next number of years.

This is according to the first ever major survey of farm activity in the area, published this week by the Bur- renBeo Trust. The survey, which was compiled from more 240 individual interviews undertaken over the last year, shows that only 72 per cent of interviewees intended to continue farming in the area into the future.

The survey also showed that only a

small amount of farm families, just under 8 per cent, gained directly from the millions of tourists who visit the area every year. While tourism was an issue which divided the respond- ents, most respondents agreed that a way should be found to share the spoils of Burren tourism amongst all the people of the area.

There were many positive elements to the survey with the farmers large- ly agreeing that farmers needed to be involved in any future planning about the Burren area and that farm- ers were central to the projection of the fragile Burren environment.

“One of the BurrenBeo Trusts core

objectives is to engage farming fami- lies and local communities in the de- cision-making processes affecting the Burren,” said Brendan Dunford, founder of BurrenBeo and head of the BurrenLIFE farming for conver- sation organisation.

“This objective derives from our conviction that any future manage- ment plan for the Burren must be built on real and meaningful local in- put, enabling the people of the Bur- ren to play a greater role in defining, participating in, and benefiting from the sustainable future development of their landscape. It also addresses one of the most common complaints

from Burren farm families — that they rarely have any real say in how their region is being managed.

“The findings of the survey are very positive and a cause for great optimism. Burren farmers are proud to live and work in the Burren, are appreciative of the area’s unique at- tributes and are anxious and enthusi- astic about being involved in shaping the future of this place, their home.”

The survey was coordinated by Kathy Walsh and undertaken in partnership by the Burrenbeo Trust in conjunction with the Burren IFA and with the support of the Heritage Council.

BISHOP Willie Walsh has described one of Clare’s best known GAA fig- ures, Fr Michael McNamara, as a great priest and a man who worked miracles that perhaps we don’t rec- Oya nV Aon

A priest for 40 years and a former coach to the senior Clare hurling team and County Board chairman, Fr McNamara (64) died suddenly ETI MSY IRUIROE NAM (cle) ©

At a packed St Peter and St Paul Cathedral Church in Ennis last Tues- day, Dr Walsh led the tributes to his friend who served as parish priest to the parish of Doora-Barefield.

Bishop Walsh described as a dev- astating blow that “Fr Michael’s 40 years of generous and wonderful priesthood has come to a sudden end”’.

“All of us who are privileged to know him are deeply saddened. We will miss him greatly, but he will be missed most of all by his family whom he loved so much and from whom he received so much love.”

Describing Fr McNamara as “a truly good priest. We pray that this generous life may inspire all of us to try in our own frailty to walk in his footsteps.

“There is a sense of incredulous-

ness, a sense that it has happened too soon, despite 40 years of generous and wonderful priesthood, there is a sense that Fr Michael had so much more to give.

“There have been so many lovely tributes paid to him in recent days. Maybe the loveliest one came from a family who had to part with one of their lovely daughters after a long illness five years ago. Both parents said to me on different occasions ‘we could never have survived that time without the love and support of Fr Michael’.

Dr Walsh described Fr McNamara as “a man of many parts”.

“He was first of all a people’s man. He had a wonderful interest and capacity to relate to everyone, the young, the old, rich and poor, the close friends and the casual ac- quaintance. He was happy and he was at ease with people. In spite of the heavy burden of work in recent years, he always seemed to have time to chat and indeed always seemed to have plenty to chat about.

“Somehow, you always felt good after a chat with Michael — he saw only the good in each one of us. That is what made him such a community builder to which you the people of Doora Barefield will testify.

“He was a man of the people. He

was a family man. He had an ex- traordinary attachment to his family and to his native Kilmaley

“Michael was a man of faith. Michael was a man who was always comfortable with his faith.

“A priest friend who occasionally holidayed with Michael and shared a room said that he never went to bed without kneeling at his bedside to pray and didn’t get up without kneel- ing and praying at his bedside again — there aren’t many of us who can make that claim.”

Bishop Walsh also recounted how, each Thursday, he and a group of priests would meet for a prayer meet- ing.

“Michael was the most loyal mem- ber of us all. We met for an hour or so and we prayed and chatted about the readings. He had that extra in- sight into those readings and how they might apply to our lives today.”

Describing Fr McNamara as “a man truly of faith — a man of hope of joy’, Bishop Walsh said he could never recall Michael in bad form — “even if the situation seemed hope- less, he always seemed to see the hopeful part.”

THERE has been a huge increase in the number of cases coming before the Employment Appeals Tribunal and multiple job losses are poised to ensure this trend continues.

That’s according to Gearoid Howard, a Shannon-based solicitor who specialises in employment law.

He said that employees are becom- ing increasingly aware of their rights in the workplace, and as a result, the Appeals Tribunals workload has in- creased significantly. It takes up to 40 weeks for cases to be heard, on

average, while the vast majority of cases are swung in the favour of em- ployees.

“A lot of the time, people feel they have been selected unfairly for re- dundancy. That accounts for a lot of cases before the Employment Ap- peals Tribunals. At the moment I am being asked for advice from people about that from employers and em- ployees,”’ said Mr Howard.

“Times are tough. Employees are becoming a lot more sophisticated and educated than they used to be. They are looking for their avenues of redress. It is very difficult from an

employers’ point of view,” he said.

The trend, traditionally, for disgrun- tled employees was to take cases to the Employment Appeals Tribunal, but this has changed somewhat. “

The usual avenue was the Employ- ment Appeals Tribunal, but more often than not now people are going to the Equality Tribunal,” said Mr Howard.

The Appeals Tribunal calculates what the winner in a case is entitled to, through a mathematical computa- tion. However, the Equality Tribunal is not subject to the same limitations. ‘That is the stark reality for employ-

ees,’ said Mr Howard.

As the number of cases before tri- bunals is increasing, Mr Howard has noticed one trend. “In my own expe- rience, the success rate is 95 per cent for employees,” he said.

“Many years ago, an employer would have only come to me when they received a date for a tribunal, but now I am finding I am being ap- proached earlier in the process. Em- ployers are aware of the process,” he added.

The downturn in the economy has played a critical role in the increase in demand for tribunals of this na-

ture.

me WTKom ELON MNO Com Iloroems Kem MED OMB Ele past. You could leave one job today and get another tomorrow. The eco- nomic climate has changed dramati- cally and competition for jobs is phe- nomenal,” said Mr Howard.

He said that cashflow problems have also filtered through and create huge issues. “I have employers who have let people go months ago and they are still waiting to receive re- bate from the social insurance fund. When it turns to the Government to refund, that refund is taking a very long time,” said Mr Howard.

RE-EXAMINING Ireland’s — eco- nomic past to help map a path for the future is the main theme of this year’s Merriman Summer School, details of which have been announced.

Now in 4lst year, the majority of events planned for this year’s school UUM olom sos C MMOGs OMe ODOM eRe semAtlE gust 16 to 22.

The programme features talks from some of the country’s leading politi- cal, social and cultural commenta- tors including historian, Diarmaid Ferriter; Tom Collins, Professor of Education at NUI Maynooth; and Emily Logan, Ombudsman for Chil- Chore

However the main focus of debate at this year’s school stems from the publication fifty years ago of the First Programme for Economic De- velopment.

Put together by Sean Lemass and TK Whitaker, the programme was a blueprint for development that set out to address the many problems that the Irish State faced at the time.

Much has changed in the mean- time and yet Ireland faces a new set of challenges and the impact of the deepest economic recession to hit the world in almost a century.

Diarmaid Ferriter, historian and writer, will offer an insight into the context of half a century ago to set the scene for the rest of the school, which will look to the future. Tom Collins will consider the imperatives of educational policy, while Emily Logan will reflect on the State’s poli- cies and priorities towards children.

Maureen Gaffney, psychologist and commentator, will consider the so- cial development of the country and the impact of the changing context.

Noel Dorr, former Secretary Gen- eral of the Department of Foreign Affairs and well known at Merriman Schools, will look at the issues that face Ireland in shaping its foreign policy in a world whose centre of gravity may be changing signifi- OFT Naas

Brigid Laffan, Principal of the Col- lege of Human Sciences in UCD,

will address the issue of Ireland’s place in Europe and, specifically, its place in the EU.

John McHale of the Queen’s Uni- versity in Canada, but soon to be- come Professor of Economics in NUI Galway, will reflect on the fu- ture focus and direction of economic policy.

This year will see the return of all the regular features, including: sem1- nars, in Irish and English; ‘Renew Your Irish’ with Eoghan O hAnl- uain and Cuirt an Mhean Lae; the

mid-day poetry reading begun at the 2005 bicentennial school.

This year’s poets include John F Deane and Enda Wyley. There will also be set dancing workshops with Betty McCoy and Johnny Morrissey, the school tour and Club Merriman, with dancing and singing ‘til late. The director of the 2009 Merriman Summer School is Bob Collins.

THE curtain falls on the Riches of Clare concert series in Ennis tomor- row (Wednesday, August 5) with organisers already looking ahead to next year.

Stephen Madden (banjo), Paul Mad- den (accordion), Maria O’Donnell (piano) and Sinéad Heagney (fiddle) will perform in a free concert from Ipm to 2pm. This will be the eighth concert to have been staged at the Clare Museum since the series began in June 10. This is the fifth time that the series has been staged in Ennis

and at venues across Clare.

The final concert takes place in Feakle next Wednesday, by which time seventy musicians will have taken part in 16 concerts in nine different venues. The eight-week residency in the Clare Museum, En- nis, featured traditional musicians from and based in County Clare on Wednesday afternoons.

Tony Linnane, Jim O’Connor, Shane Mulvey, Siobhan Peoples and Maeve Donnelly, Kieran Kissane and Stephen Madden were among the musicians who performed in En- nis during the series. There was also

a performance from the Kilfenora Ceili Band, who this year celebrated the band’s 100 year anniversary.

Supported by the Clare Arts Office, this year also saw the series go on tour around County Clare with Fri- day afternoon concerts taking place in Scariff, Kilfenora, Corofin, En- nistymon, Shannon, Lisdoonvarna, Sixmulebridge and Feakle.

Finola Ryan, one of the series co- coordinators, said that the concerts had drawn good crowds.

“We always had done concerts in different venues around Clare but this year we decided to hold

them over two weeks which I think helped,’ said Finola

‘“They’ve been really good and the crowds seem to have been as big as last year, if not a little up on last year.”

Finola said that performances had once again been of a high standard.

“Tt’s hard to pick a highlight but I suppose the concert by the Kilfenora Céili Band stood out. That was a good one but honestly they were all of a really high standard. We’d be hoping to do it again next year, but it depends on budgets and things like that,’ she added.