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CLARE’S championship challenge came to a grinding halt on Satur- day as an experienced Wexford side eased to a comfortable victory in east Clare. Essentially this was a straight semi-final play-off as both sides had started the day on level points in the eroup, the 2007 All-Ireland champi- ons led from start to finish and gave Clare another hurling lesson of the standard required at the top level. Wexford’s smooth interplay and scoring ability up front were the main differences between the sides and Clare, aside from a gritty second quarter, were never allowed to settle into their stride. The margin could have been greater too only for anoth- er superb display from centre-back Deirdre Murphy who never threw in the towel at any stage and in truth, the entire defensive unit coped admi- rably considering that the game was predominantly played in their half. Clare were also tactically naive, especially in the first half with the aid of a stiff breeze that blew to- wards Tuamgraney as they opted to use Claire Commane as a third mid- fielder. While it did work to an extent as the Corofin player gathered a lot of possession, it also took away any threat close to goal as the majority of Clare’s supply went straight down the centre to the spare Wexford player. In a period when Clare were firmly on top and battling to get back into the game, this was hurling suicide and seemed an impulsive tactic to Wexford’s bright start of five un- answered points. Also if Clare had

rehearsed it beforehand, they would have surely been drilled to play eve- rything down the wings and keep the ball away from the spare player at full-back.

Clare did manage to score their only three scores of the game through Sharon O’Loughlin (2) and Fiona Lafferty during this period but with the majority of the forward line below par, essentially they needed a goal to instill some belief but in truth, it never looked like coming due to Wexford’s extra defender.

Instead, Wexford simply soaked up the pressure, weathered the storm and tacked on a brace of points before the breakthrough to lead by O-7 to O-3. With the stong breeze to come, Wex- ford would have been quite content

with their lofty position but it was only when Michelle Hearne weaved through the Clare defence for Wex- ford’s first goal in the 39th minute that Clare’s heads finally began to drop. The home side received sev- eral warning signs on the restart with Josie Dwyer’s pull going just wide of the post, Katrina Parrock’s effort grazing the top of the crossbar while Una Leacy’s shot was saved by Clare goalkeeper Denise Lynch. However she could do nothing about the goal as Parrock attracted several defend- ers before offloading to Hearne who shipped a tackle before rifling to the net from close range.

That goal sucked the life out of Clare’s challenge and for the remain- der, it was damage limitation stuff

for the home side who rarely got out of their own half. Five more points would be added before Wexford’s second goal, a carbon copy of the first as substitute Lenny Holohan played in the unmarked Parrock to goal in the 56th minute. Clare prayed for the final whistle but had to en- dure a brace of Kate Kelly points first before realising that eventuality as Wexford march on to a semi-final meeting with defedning champions Cork.

Hardly the way Clare would have wanted to end their campaign but it was never expected to be anything other than a difficult first season back at the top level.

How they actually take those les- sons on board will be much more

significant for Clare’s long term de- velopment.

THE death has occurred of one of Ireland’s most respected medical professionals, Dr Harry Counihan.

A former chairman of the Rich- mond Hospital, Dr Counihan was the son of Molly and Dr JH Counihan, a former GP in Ennis. His uncle Dick was also a doctor in Kil-

Mets ep

Born in 1918, Dr

Counihan was educat- ed at Clongowes Col- lege and UCD medical school and in 1946, was appointed consult- ant phyisician to the Richmond — Hospital. He was a founder mem- ber of the Consultative Council of Tuberculo- sis at a time when the condition was rampant in Ireland.

In an extensive and distinguished medical career, Dr Counihan was also a former President of the Royal Academy of Medicine and the Irish Tuberculosis Society and Vice Presi- dent of the Medical Council at its in- auguration in 1974.

As well as making an important contribution to the health service in Ireland, Dr Counihan also played a key role in developing health serv- ices in Iraq.

In the early 1980s, he became med- ical director of the Parc-run Ibn Al- Bitar Hospital in Baghdad.

He was a founder member of the Rehab institute and in 1999 was named as one of the People of the ETc lye tlie

Dr Counihan was also actively in- volved with the Irish Medical Or-

ganisation and worked as editor of the Irish Medical Journal.

Dr Counihan died peacefully at St Vin- cent’s LORRY Hospital, Dublin, sur- rounded by his family and in the excellent care of the staff.

He was the beloved husband of the late Eileen and loving fa- ther of Mary, Claire, Joan, Henry, Eileen

and the late Michael, Catherine and Jane; loving grandfather of Matthew, Martha and James (McGann), Neil, Tom, John and Joe (Bailes), Conor, Rachel and Alice (McKinney), Clodagh and Harry (Counihan), Roger, Georgia and Rosie (Kelly).

He will be sadly missed by his sis- ters and brothers; Sr Mary (Loreto), Dr Frank, Roger, Honor and Ruth, daughter-in-law, sons-in-law, nieces, sister-in-law, extended family, rela- OAVor er LGM BU (ONO KS

CONFUSION reins over the final Cusack Cup relegation spot after Liscannor failed to show for their play-off with Shannon Gaels on Sat- urday, citing the reason that score difference should be used to decide promotion and relegation issues.

At the March meeting of the Clare County Board, it was agreed that the score difference rule would be implemented for league competi- tions. However, when both Shannon Gaels and Liscannor finished their Clare Cup campaigns on four points, the county board arranged for a rel- egation play-off to be played even though Liscannor had a superior score difference of 26 points.

The fixture was scheduled for last Saturday at Quilty but only Shannon Gaels fielded. Referee John Brew began proceedings and subsequently awarded the Gaels a walkover.

However, speaking to

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.

SOURCES at Element Six have thrown doubt on the company’s ex- planation for why it is shedding the jobs in manufacturing.

The company announced last week that it is to close its manufacturing and distribution activities in Shan- non while retaining positions in high Skill areas such as R&D, Global Cus- tomer Services and Group support.

In a statement, the company said that the “decision is the result of a comprehensive strategic review of

Element Six’ global manufacturing operations to improve cost competi- tiveness and secure the group’s long- term future. The Shannon operation is the highest cost manufacturing site in the Element Six Group.

“Despite a series of cost reduction programmes in the past few years, continued production at the Shannon site is no longer sustainable or viable, and the primary business it serves is loss-making. The current economic downturn has simply served to exac- erbate these challenges.”

But sources at the company argue

that there will be no savings in real terms for the company by moving manufacturing to South Africa.

“There are skilled workers here who can turn out better and more work per hour than can ever be ex- pected if the company moves to South Africa, where workers don’t have the skill and experience of the Shannon workers.

“How can there be savings if they are getting less productivity and poorer quality?” one source asked,,.

He added that while workers who were on short time have now been

brought back on to the payroll full- time pending the talks between man- agement and unions on Wednesday, “we have been on half time and half wages for a long time now.

“There’s €10 million worth of business on our books at the moment and, even with that business, we had people on short time. We had way less than that in the past and we were still working full-time.

“We even had a bonus scheme up to March of last year. People do not accept that this is a means of saving money for the company.”

A SPECIAL musical event is set to take place in Teach Cheoil in Kilrush on Saturday, August 8. It comes with news that renowned soprano Regina Nathan will make an appearance at the Grace Street location.

Performing French and Irish show pieces, she will be accompanied by Padhraic O Cuinneagain and the event kicks off at 8pm.

It’s something of a coup for the west Clare venue to secure the sing- ing voice of Nathan and her career in Opera, concert and recital has taken her from her native Ireland across Europe, and as far as Kuala Lumpur and New York’s Carnegie Hall.

She has appeared in opera at Ma-

drid’s Teatro Réal, Brussels’s La Monnaie, the Hamburg Staatsoper, Opéra de Genéve, Luzern Stadttheat- er, Israeli Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera de Nice, Opéra de Nantes, Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Opera Zuid, Stadttheater Giessen, as well as Opera Ireland.

Nathan has sung major lyric so- prano roles throughout her career. Her repertoire ranges from the title role in Cavalli’s “La Calisto’ to the world premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage’s “The Country of the Blind’ for the Aldeburgh Festival/English National Opera. Regina has ap- peared as Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, Moore’s Baby Doe, Gluck’s Eurid- ice, Verdi’s Violetta, Bizet’s Léila, Offenbach’s Antonia and Amelia in

Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera’. Her portrayal of the role of Puccini’s Cio Cio San in ‘Madama Butterfly’ for Opera Ireland and at the Stadttheater Giessen was hailed with critical ac- claim as was her role of Cleopatra in Handel’s ‘Julius Caesar’ and Norma in Bellin’s ‘Norma’.

“IT have worked with conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Edo De Waart, Kent Nagano, and Frans Bruggen. Mahler’s Eighth Sym- phony has taken me to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, London’s Royal AI- bert Hall, and the opening concert of Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall; Mahler’s Fourth Symphony and Mo- zart’s Exsultate Jubilate to Brussels and Israel, and Rachmaninov’s The Bells to London’s Royal Festival

Hall.”

A devoted recitalist, Regina’s talents also embrace everything from classic Lieder to traditional Irish song. She has enraptured audiences throughout Ireland, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, the Théatre du Chatelet in Paris and famously with Placido Domingo in a sold out audi- ence at Dublin’s Point Theatre. Her recordings include Britten, Complete Folk Song Arrangements (Hyperion), Mahler’s Symphony No.8 (BMG), Donizetti’s Maria de Rudenz (Op- era Rara) and of course Faith of our Fathers, alongside Frank Patterson. She has also recorded two solo CDs,

A MAN who was taken into custody for arriving in court half an hour late was found not guilty of theft by order co) rei Le rexes ;

Judge Sean O Donnabhain told defendant Patrick Murphy (20) of Tiermanna, Mullagh that he had “no right to keep the members of the jury waiting.” The judge ordered him to be taken into custody when he ar- rived at llam for a case which was due to go ahead at 10.30 am.

Mr Murphy told the judge that he had to “thumb a lift” into court and that was why he was late.

He was before the circuit court on a charge of stealing a mobile phone valued €200 in Mullagh on January 4 last. But when the case was due to start, Stephen Coughlan, BL for the State, asked that the woman who made the complaint about the theft, Fiona Hoey, be called.

Mr Coughlan said that she had not been seen in the court and was not answering her mobile, although she had been contacted by gardai. As she was the only witness for the State in the case, the judge directed the jury that he should be found not guilty.