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INDEPENDENT councillor Patricia McCarthy has taken issue with the wording of a motion proposed by Sinn Fein’s Cathy McCafferty, in re- lation to community grants, at Shan- non Town Council.

In a motion before the council last week, Ms McCafferty — a newly- elected councillor – called for the community initiative fund to be fully transparent and that public consulta- tion be part of the process.

However, Independent councillor Patricia McCarthy said she had dif-

ficulty with the way the motion was worded. “It implies the system we had wasn’t transparent. It has stood the test of time. It is based on the principle of providing community services for all of the community. It is disingenuous of people to 1m- ply something unethical was _ tak- ing place. Remember, this is a town council initiative,’ she said.

Cllr McCafferty replied that she had not intended to imply this. “At no stage in my proposal did I attempt to make a slight on the councillors that are here or have been here for a long time. We represent the public. I feel

it’s very important to have members of the public present at any forum,” she said.

The Mayor of Shannon, Cllr Sean McLoughlin (FG) said meetings in relation to community grants are generally held in committee.

Earlier in the meeting, Cllr Mc- Cafferty asked did the chairpersons of the MPCs (municipal policy com- mittees) reflect the full representa- tion of the council, according to the guidelines. Her query came after Mike Fleming (FG) and Mary Bren- nan (FG) were appointed chairper- sons of the two MPCs, at the AGM

of the council last month.

She pointed out that under the guidelines, the political represen- tation of the council should be re- flected. “It would appear to me that the appointment of two from the same political party or same political grouping is contrary to guidelines,” She said. However, the town man- ager Bernadette Kinsella said it was a matter for the council “to make the necessary appointments so long as they do that by majority decision’.

“To the best of my recollection there wasn’t any counter proposals on the night,” said Ms Kinsella.

LIKE the drawn game a week pre- vious, this was another game where the conditions had a big bearing on the outcome. A strong gale blew for most of the hour of football and play- ing with the wind, St Joseph’s took the initiative in the opening half.

From early on, Colm Mullen buzzed about and he struck over the first score of the game after four minutes. He followed this up with his sec- ond score of the game and wedged between these two scores was a fine point by Paul Dullaghan.

Ballyvaughan did manage to rally and a point from James Hynes looked like it would keep them in touch. Still, though, St Joseph’s continued to take the game to their opponents. Once more, they had a solid display at midfield from Mark Hallinan and Mark Rafferty and slowly, as the half edged on, they took control of the game.

By now, Enda Lyons had also set- tled into the rhythm of the game and was putting in a solid performance while John Heavey — playing his sec-

ond game of the day — was also con- tributing well and picking up plenty of possession.

When Paul Dullaghan added St Joseph’s fourth point of the game — to be followed quickly by a free from Enda Lyons — a decent gap had be- gun to emerge and St Joseph’s went in well ahead at the break on a score- line of 0-6 to O-1.

With the wind, though, it wasn’t as if Ballyvaughan were out of things and they looked like rallying as the second half got underway but never really looked like clawing back the deficit.

When Keith Whelan picked up his second yellow card of the afternoon Ballyvaughan had the wind and nu- merical advantage but they began to waste an amount of possession and shots began to drift past the post.

Substitute Jason Walsh knocked over his side’s fourth point of the game on 48 minutes and if Bal- lyvaughan were going to make the final, they needed to press ahead in the last ten minutes. They failed to do so and finished those 12 minutes without a score.

The game was put beyond doubt a minute from time when St Joseph’s substitute and Clare minor Cathal Nolan came on and crashed home the only goal of the game.

THE youth service in Shannon co- ordinates a wide-ranging programme for young people in the town. One of its initiatives, the Shannon Music Project, 1s currently looking for local adult volunteers who have a keen in- terest in music.

The scheme organises music events, workshops and performances for young people aged between 15 and 25 in Shannon.

The project is particularly inter- ested in recruiting volunteers who have specific talents in drums, song writing, sound engineering or guitar.

A practice space can be booked and equipment is available for practice sessions. Times are agreed with the youth workers in advance.

Every school term the music project committee plans and organises mu- sic events in the Respond Building in Rineanna View. The main events organised are bands nights where lo- cal Shannon bands and guest bands from other music projects showcase

their musical talents in front of an audience of adoring fans.

There are also acoustic nights at the Kick Back Café. For those looking for a quieter night out, the Shannon Music Project Acoustic nights are also an attractive option.

Anyone interested in playing at an acoustic event can just simply put their name forward on the night. Ad- mission is only €3 and there is free tea/coffee and biscuits served at all acoustic nights.

The youth service actively organ- ises events for young people in the town. It opened its exam café again this year at The Respond Commu- nity Building, Rineanna View dur- ing the examinations. This was the fourth year of the café and students were very enthusiastic about it.

Last month, the youth club hosted a group of young people from Omagh, who were visiting as part of an ex- change. The group was enjoying a break in Clare and were also treat- ed to a reception by Shannon Town Council.

FRANK Doherty stepped down as Clare manager in the immediate af- termath of his side’s defeat to Done- gal in Ballybofey on Saturday night.

The Galway man, who led Caltra to an All Ireland club title in 2004, an- nounced his decision to the players in the dressing room, thus ending his two-year tenure as manager of The Banner.

“I had a good chat with the lads, thanked them all for the effort and the 100 per cent they’ve given me for the last two years,” he said, as play- ers silently filed by, heads bowed reflecting on another championship consigned to the history books.

“We did our best and introduced a lot of young lads to the squad and I think it will be onwards and up- wards for Clare. I will never have a bad word to say about Clare. I will be watching results from here and be hoping they get out of Division Four. It’s not going to get easier, if anything it will get tougher.

“The fact of the matter is that eve- ryone in Clare should be putting their shoulder to the wheel and making themselves available to be involved with the county. That new manage- ment team will have a great opportu- nity going forward if that happens.”

Clare were the raging underdog on Saturday night against a Donegal side that was expected to win handsome- ly, despite just stuttering through the last couple of weeks.

However, Clare can feel aggrieved not to have forced extra-time. David Tubridy found the back of the Don- egal net for a second-time (having netted a penalty in the first-half) late on, but he was somewhat harshly pulled back for picking the ball di- rect from the floor.

“I thought David Tubridy was un- lucky,” said a despondent Doherty after the game. “I asked him (referee, Martin Higgins) beforehand what he was going to be strict on and he said

that he really wanted the foot beside the ball.

“David Tubridy picked the ball off the ground with his foot, stuck the ball in the back of the net and he pulled him back. Little things like that didn’t happen today.

“That was a bit of a shock to the system. From where I was I thought it was a legitimate goal and where everyone else was, but there you go.

“We needed the rub of the green. We needed a ball to bounce at the right time at the right stage during the game and that was critical. We needed to be a bit cuter when we got possession on the ball, not to be turned over as much. Donegal, in their own backyard, are a serious team for anyone.”

Clare were down five players from their Munster semi-final defeat to Limerick, but despite this and the long journey they put on a commend- able showing.

“We lost by three points after a long journey with a weakened side. Treo mA (oa as cOlU(C MO) mnelemE-leKm- nw told them,’ Doherty continued.

‘At the end of the day, it’s not about being proud and losing, it’s about be- ing proud and winning. It was there and it was in the melting pot.

“T wouldn’t say that we could have taken the game, but we put up a good show against Donegal, a Division One team. We had a couple of good chances in the game. Frank (O’Dea) had a good chance in the first-half when the ‘keeper kicked it out and it lashed over his hand, otherwise it was an open goal.

“I’m not being disrespectful to any- one here, because we were five points down, threw a couple of points over the bar to get it back to three. We had a couple of opportunities at the end, but in the end it was probably wee bit of quality that we lacked.”

MEASURES to curb anti-social be- haviour in the vicinity of St Aidan’s primary school in Shannon have been suggested by gardai. Crime Preven- tion Officer in the Clare Garda Di- vision, Sergeant Joe Downey visited the area recently, in the wake of con- cern being expressed about young people converging on the area and drinking alcohol.

Sgt Downey, in a letter to the mayor of Shannon, Cllr Sean McLoughlin and the principal of St Aidan’s, Ger Loughnane, made a number of rec- ommendations on assisting in curb- ing anti-social behaviour.

“The area is surrounded by ma- ture trees, which are of such height and width that they are obstructing good natural surveillance on the area and are providing cover for people engaged in criminal behaviour,” he wrote.

He suggested that all trees sur- rounding school property should be pruned upwards to a minimum of two metres, to assist natural surveil- lance from pedestrians, nearby hous- es and passing motorists. He said that a number of trees at the eastern edge of the school, back to where the first public light is situated, should be removed to allow for a clear line of sight through the right of way.

Public lighting in the area should be

upgraded, to high pressure sodium lighting. “This will add vitality to the area, enhancing its attractiveness and reassure and reduce the feeling of vulnerability to those using the place for recreational purposes,” he said.

He recommended that all local au- thority property should be subjected to good housekeeping and all bushes should be pruned to allow for good natural surveillance, while gaps should be closed off.

‘The pedestrian routes should have a good open aspect, be well lit and give a good level of surveillance. The pedestrian should be able to view the full length of the path on entry, rather than negotiate blind corners or recesses,’ added Sgt Downey.

Some of the boundary fences should be repaired and the top railing should be constructed of such material and design that it would discourage peo- ple from sitting on them.

He also said that barriers should be put in place to prevent children from exiting alone and in an unsafe man- ner, given that the school borders public roads. He said that regular pa- trolling from gardai by car, bicycle and on foot is important as it would ensure a high visibility presence in the area, and prompt attention to re- quests for Garda assistance by mem- bers on duty is also essential.

AN award winning film by the Coen Brothers a couple of years back was titled “No Country For Old Men’.

It purported to demonstrate a ruth- less, consuming determination to achieve a goal. I was reminded of it at Cusack Park on Saturday evening. We had too many old and tired Jae NaLeisy

Old ideas, old hurling, and old fail- ings. Both on the field and off it. No ruthless determination to change them. Once again the management stood idly by whilst the game slipped away. After a quarter of an hour it was in Gort and well on the way to Galway. Almost a replica of the Gaelic Grounds against Tipp.

After the events of this year all faith has evaporated. Of course there was never much justification for having any faith in the first instance. No evi- dence that when the going got tough and real knowledge and understand- ing of how games should be won was required.

No inspiration was forthcoming and it is now past the time for genu- ine Clare GAA people to realise that at senior inter-county level Clare hurling is a bit of a joke.

The approach to the NHL was full of arrogance, ignorance, and nonsense. Every league game must be taken seriously. Teams are built and honed there. When did you last hear Brian Cody say that the league, or any game, was unimportant and that Kilkenny’s focus was just on the championship?

Instead we had talk about present- ing ourselves well and restoring pride in the jersey. Clare hurling does not

deserve this kind of nonsense that has nothing to do with winning games.

All year we had failure in man- management and selection and a failure to compromise and sacrifice the managerial ego for the common good. The Quinn and O’Connell epi- sodes demonstrated this. At the 12th hour Nicky O’Connell was brought into the panel. On Saturday evening he was listed at No 30 and neither played or introduced.

Back to 2007 for a moment. Then the manager, who had led the team to a win over the Tribesmen at Cusack Park, and on to the All-Ireland quar- ter-final against the eventual finalists Limerick, was shamefully shafted.

It’s a long road that hasn’t a turning. We await with interest what will be done now after the most disastrous year ever in Clare senior hurling. It was a year in which the team was rel- egated to Division 2 and taking part in the Relegation Championship.

We can now prepare to wear the jersey with pride and present our- selves well in this hell-hole. Should Clare hurling followers continue to live with a system that has brought this situation about? Isn’t it time that this Clare managerial setup took a look at itself and do the decent and honourable thing?

A brief look at the game.

Clare had so many positional switches that instead of confusing Galway they seemed to be confused themselves. Midfield was so crowded that neither Griffin or Vaughan could function to real effect.

If the intention is to make space for players who can hurl then it is surely counter productive to crowd that space yourself. Though he was

no great shakes in the first half it was astonishing to see Griffin planted at centre forward after half time and dispatched to the line after a couple of minutes. It smacked of complete panic.

At the end of the League I warned here that most of the Clare defend- ers that I had seen were off the pace for championship hurling. James McInerney and Pat Donnellan apart, the Clare defence was outran all evening.

Cyril Donnellan ran Brendan Bu- gler ragged and put away a hatful of scores. Bugler must learn that deny- ing his opponent scores is the key to defensive play. Philip Brennan, who saved the Banner from an even big- ger thrashing, can hit long ball and it was pathetic to see a plethora of short puck-outs in the first half. Where were all those supposed giants in the Clare attack who should be able to field the ball in the clouds? Another myth of Clare hurling.

Ollie Canning mopped up the Ban- ner attack at his ease. In the time that they were on the field Barry Nugent and John Conlon scored three points. Surely they should have been in from Wetomce-v ames

Several clear facts emerged from Saturday evening’s debacle. The first is that Clare hurling, apart from the obvious sideline failings, 1s very un- derskilled.

Until we remedy this we won’t compete at the highest level.

NORTH Clare is reeling this morn- ing following a series of unrelated accidents which claimed the lives of two men in the space of just three hours on Sunday evening.

An 81-year-old man, named locally as Mickey Conroy, died on his farm in Tubber on Sunday evening when his tractor jolted forward unexpect- edly, fatally injuring him.

According to locals Mr Conroy was an expert mechanic and a lover of all

things mechanical and was showing his tractor to a farm visitor when the accident took place.

Gardai are investigating the incident and a seprate inquiry is expected to be launched by the Health and Safety Authority in the coming days.

Mr Conroy is survived by his wife and four daughters who all live in the area.

Just three hours earlier a French national lost his life in nearby Bal- lyreen in Doolin when he lost his footing and fell into the ocean.

The man was fishing off the rocks in Ballyreen at the time. The alarm was raised by his family shortly after Spm and the Doolin Coastguard and the Shannon-based Coastguard Heli- copter were on the scene in minutes. He was taken from the water by the Irish Coastguard helicopter and air- lifted to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick where he died a short time later.

The man is a French national but has been living in Birr in County Of- faly for a number of years. Gardai are

delaying naming the man until his family in France can be contacted.

Eight members of the Doolin Coastguard were preparing to be transported by the Coastguard Hell1- copter to help search for a 4/-year- old man on Inis Oirr when the alarm was raised in Ballyreen.

The man, from Derry, was on a family holiday and was last seen around 10pm on Saturday evening. Members of the Doolin Coastguard were on Inis Oirr yesterday to assist with the ongoing search effort.

Meanwhile, another man died on board a transatlantic jet which was forced to divert and land at Shannon Airport on Friday morning.

Silom Coase N (ctl a WN Usb Ne aUPUOLEIAY SKS travelling from London to Atlanta, Georgia when the crew contacted air traffic controllers at Shannon re- questing permission to land there.

A passenger who suffered a sus- pected heart attack was pronounced dead at the airport before his body was removed to the Mid Western Re- gional Hospital in Limerick.

WHEN the dust had settled and the rain had dried up, Mike McNamara felt he knew where Clare fell down in their quest to get past the challenge of Galway.

Openly, McNamara cited a higher work-rate from the eventual winners as the main difference between the two sides.

“We thought the big difference was that their work-rate was probably higher than ours. But then as you have seen with this Galway team, they have moved towards a strong work ethic. It’s probably paying divi- dends and it remains to be seen will it pay the final dividend.”

According to McNamara, Clare had put in enough foundation over the past few weeks to merit a strong- er showing on Saturday.

“We had looked good for the last couple of weeks. Training was really, really superb and they were playing really, really well. Because of that I would have thought that a big per- formance was on the cards today. But we seemed to struggle in key areas and we seemed to get the match plan wrong. We tried to adjust as we did against Tipperary and the adjustment

went well against Tipp but today it didn’t go quite as well.

“When I looked at the scoreboard with five minutes to go, I think it said 1-15 for Galway and 1f somebody had told me that this morning I would have thought we would have been on the right side of a win.”

Given the conditions, McNamara felt the wind changed directions dur- ing the game which didn’t exactly help Clare.

“The breeze went the other way for the second half for some strange reason. I don’t know, the breeze actu- ally changed at half-time which can happen in this type of weather. We actually had a very happy dressing room at half-time. Maybe we were not playing as well as we would like but yet we were well in the game. They [Galway] were poorish in the first half as well – they had a lot of bad wides and so had we. So I don’t know really.”

Speaking in broader terms, McNa- mara pointed out that Clare must now look at the structures in place with a view to ensuring the county remains competitive in the future.

“We will have to look at the whole structures and why our level of con- sistency 1S so poor. We have loads

of fellas who drop their heads when they shouldn’t. We need players who should be able to contest with the best and aren’t contesting with the best so we will have to look at the whole area really.”

He was also critical of the fact that Clare must now face into a relegation battle this weekend.

“T don’t know what they [GAA hi- erarchy| are doing really. When you are out of the championship, you are out of the championship so what the hell are they doing? I know all those lads want to do 1s go away from their hurleys for a week or two. They are more disappointed than anybody else and most of them are disappointed in the way they played. And then someone comes in and makes the big announcement that we are up again 1 Cop.4 Mets), eae

Hopefully, for Clare, the Wexford game will produce the one competi- tive win that the county has been seeking for the entire season.

THE nineteenth annual South East Clare show is all set to go again in Bridgetown and preparations are now almost complete for what prom- ises to be a great family day out on July 26.

The first show was in 1990 and the event has only missed one year and that was because of foot and mouth.

At the launch of this year’s show on Friday, the main sponsor, Tom Marsh of Marsh quarries in Broadford was on hand to do the official duty.

“Now highly regarded among the show fraternity, the South East Clare show has a place in the top ten shows in the country,’ said Show Secretary, Pat Duggan.

Catriona Bourke of Yarfield in Clonlara is in charge of the 22 classes in the horse show, including five All Ireland qualifiers and the Limerick Lady Champion 200 qualifier. There will be three driving classes under the supervision of Pat Hayes.

Helen O’Neill will be looking af- ter the working hunter/performance working hunter/show hunter ponies, show riding and side saddle classes, as well as the local pony and lead rein classes.

There are 24 classes in all and this section has attracted huge interest every year.

Show jumping is in the capable hands of Davnet Kiernan O’Brien and there are big entries also expect- ed in this section, which has sixteen ES

Conor Hayes is in charge of the cat- tle section, which has 27 classes.

The dog show portfolio will be looked after by Jim Lonergan and this year there are 13 qualifiers, in- cluding the Gain Dog Food All Ire- land Championship qualifier.

At the launch on Friday was one of the beautifully preserved vintage cars, which will form a new section in the show this year, looked after by enthusiast, Joe English.

Secretary of the ladies section, Bernie English is looking after the home baking section of the show as well as flower section, while Mary Speight will deal with the horticul- tural section.

There is plenty of fun for the youngsters as well, with dodgems

and swings, as well as nine classes including Little Miss, Bonny Baby and children’s fancy dress.

Of course, the judges will be watch- ing out for the best dressed lady.

When show-goers get worn out from the various classes and need refreshment, there are full catering facilities on site.

“The show committee is most ap- preciative of the land owners, the Moynihan and Keenahan families. Without their help it just couldn’t go

on. The committee would also like to thank our sponsors and particular- ly the main sponsor, Tom Marsh, for all they have done,” said Pat.

CLARE County Council has re- neged on a near quarter century old promise to provide a home for Clare Camogie at Doora. The local author- ity gave a commitment in 1985 that the Clare Camogie Board would be given stewardship of a pitch in Doora once all remedial work on the former landfill had been completed.

However, at Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council it was revealed that any pitches developed at the site would be open to a number of sports and managed in a similar way to the development at Lees Road.

A motion on the issue was put forward by Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) and Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) at Monday night’s meeting.

‘The Camogie Board does not have call on any pitch in the county. They have fundraised for different clubs at different times but once it comes to organising a fixture it’s a different Situation,” said Cllr Arkins.

“My understanding was that they would have their own pitch and it was our hope that the Clare Camogie Board would have a home to call their own. They can’t keep playing second fiddle to clubs like this for- ever.”

Speaking on the motion Cllr Hayes called on the local authority to hon- our “the commitment that was given to the Camogie Board”’.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (IND) who was present for the 1985 decision called on the local authority to re- consider their options.

“What is outlined here in not what was agreed by the council on the day. Lees road was never mentioned at the time — it didn’t even exist at the time. The agreement was made was for a ground for their exclusive use in Doora,” she said.

The council proposal involves the development of two pitches on Zone 1 of the old dump in Doora. A pro- posal to include ladies football as part of any compromise deal was also shelved on Monday.