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THIS Thursday, over 30 cyclists from Clare will take on the Malin to Mizen challenge for the Clare Cru- saders charity. The group will depart Ennis on Wednesday evening to be- gin the cycle at 10am in Donegal on Thursday morning.

On Friday, they cycle from Sligo to Kinvara and Saturday sees the group wheel into Clare. From there, they continue to Tralee on Saturday evening before taking off on Sunday morning for the final leg of the trip to Mizen Head in Cork.

In total, the group will cover in ex- cess of 400 miles over the course of the four days.

“We’re hoping that everybody will come out and support the cyclists as they pass through Clare on Satur-

day,” said Ann Norton of the Clare Crusaders.

The Clare route and times for The Malin to Mizen Cycle have also been confirmed this week. The group Wheel out of Kinvara at 9.30am on Saturday morning before arriving into Ballyvaughan at 10.15am. They continue to Doolin and are expected to arrive there at 11.30 before stop- ping in Liscannor for 45 minutes at 12.15. From there, they reach Lahi- nch at 1.15pm before arriving at Mil- town (2.15pm), Quilty (2.45pm) and Kilrush (3.45pm).

They then continue the trip by the Killimer Ferry before cycling to Tralee that evening.

“The Clare Crusaders was formed in 2005 by Howard Flannery to help parents and families of children with special needs achieve a better qual-

ity of life,’ explains Ann Norton. “In 2007 we opened our first clinic where we provide a variety of serv- ices to over 120 children with special needs in the areas of Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down Syndrome and a vari- ety of other conditions. All children are welcome and the services pro- vided include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physi- otherapy and special education. Due to the increasing demand for our services, this year we opened a larger clinic in Barefield.”

Next week, you can follow the progress of the Crusaders cyclists when four of those taking part will document their experience for The Clare People.

To keep up to date with the cycle, log onto the Clare Crusaders website and to sponsor the charity.

SHANNON Airport has suffered a 19 per cent drop in transatlantic traf- fic for the first six months of the year as the recession impacts on the air- port’s long-haul routes.

Figures from the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) confirm that overall passenger numbers dropped by 7 per cent to 1.4m with the airport unlikely to hit 3 million passengers a year for the first time since 2004.

A spokeswoman for the SAA said that while airport management was disappointed with the decline, the results are better than those being experienced by many international airports worldwide.

The 19 per cent drop in transat- lantic traffic for the first six months follows a 19 per cent drop during the first six months of last year with the introduction of the ‘open skies’ re- gime on the US routes.

The number of US passengers trav- elling through Shannon dropped from 262,858 to 212,915 compared with the 325,438 who travelled on the routes in the first six months of 2007 before the recession and the in- troduction of open skies.

The numbers are expected to drop further in the second half of 2009 as carriers such as Aer Lingus and Delta reduce their services to the US

over the winter months.

Airport Director, Martin Moroney said that while the figures were dis- appointing, a reduction was expected because of open skies.

“Transatlantic services have been affected by the economic downturn, but we have worked extremely hard to retain them through the provision OLN e-VENCOMOloa/esOjeeeloNlmnNes TEA Loe

“Tt is vital that transatlantic servic- es continue to be successful as it is a very important segment of our traffic and a major contributor to both in- dustrial and tourism development.

‘European traffic showed a decline of 3 per cent mainly due to are- duction in services offered by tour operators to the traditional sun des- tinations, because of the economic Abn sers ites

“Traffic on the London routes re- mains the same as last year, though this may increase when Aer Lingus increases its service to Heathrow. Traffic on UK regional routes 1s down by 8 per cent and is expected to decrease further in the remainder of the year.

“We will be introducing efficien- cies and cost savings in our operation while capitalising on the introduction of full US pre-clearance on July 29 which will assist in attracting more business including British Airways and corporate jets’, he said.

THE Clare Under 18s booked their place in the All-Ireland semi finals with a great win over Galway in Ard- rahan on Wednesday evening.

This was a very tough and physical game but Clare looked sharper from the start and their first touch was ex- Aes

Clare opened the scoring with a fine point from Ogonnelloe’s Roisin O’Brien in the second minute and Aishling Hannon added to this with another point a minute later.

The sixth minute saw Galway’s Laura Mitchell send a dropping ball into the Clare square which was saved by goalkeeper Ailish Consid- Tne

Roisin O’Brien was causing a lot of problems at the edge of the Galway square and was fouled in the Galway square for the games first penalty in the 10th minute.

Chloe Morey stood up to the park and sent the ball in low and hard which the Galway goalie Helen Campbell saved and put out for a “45. Shonagh Enright’s “45 just went left of the post and wide.

The 17th minute saw Galway get their first score of the game when Ni- amh McGrath pointed.

This was cancelled out when Roisin O’Brien was on target again with a pointed free a minute later. Galway’s Christina Brennan sent a dropping ball into the Clare square which was

caught by Chloe Morey who sent the ball up the field to Katie Cahill whose shot just went left of the post in the 19th minute.

The last seven minutes saw Galway coming into the game and the Clare backline under a lot of pressure.

A clearance from Niamh Martin which came to Niamh McGrath saw Galway get their second point of the game in the 23rd minute.

Rebecca Hennelly added to this with another point with 5 minutes to go. Roisin O’Brien was on target again from a pointed free after she was fouled.

Clare went in at the break a point ahead and the second half saw Gal-

way edge ahead with Niamh Mc- Grath pointing from a free and Fi- nola Keely pointing from play in the first three minutes.

Clare got a free after a foul on Lou- ise Woods, which Roisin McMahon took. She sent the ball into the Gal- way square and after a scramble, the ball came to Roisin O’Brien who sent it across the Galway square to Aish- ling Hannon who goaled in the 34th eOBUSLUL en

Roisin McMahon added to this when she pointed from a free after she was fouled in the seventh minute of the second half.

A Roisin O’Brien shot on goal was saved by Helen Cambell who put

it out for a “45 in the 42nd minute which Clare’s captain Roisin McMa- hon converted to a point.

Rebecca Hennelly had her second score of the game when she pointed in the 44th minute to leave a goal be- tween the teams. Roisin McMahon added to her scoring tally when she pointed from a free after Katie Ca- hill was fouled in the 46th minute.

Galway got their final score of the game when Amanda Lynch pointed after a pass from Rebecca Hennelly in the 49th minute.

Clare’s Katie Cahill put the game out of Galway’s reach when she go- aled in the 50th minute after a great run up the centre.

Louise Woods had the final score of the game when she pointed in the 59th minute after a great run up the centre.

Galway weren’t finished yet and Finola Keely sent a great shot in on Clare’s goal which was caught by Ailish Considine and cleared.

Injury time saw Galway get the second penalty of the game but Ail- ish Considine was up to the task and brought off a great save for the final action of the match.

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 jury in the trial of a County Clare teacher accused of sexual as- sault was sent home last night after it failed to reach a verdict on eight counts of abusing two boys.

The 38-year-old man, who can not be named for legal reasons, was last week acquitted of ten counts of sex- ual assault against a then ten-year- old boy. The jury, at Dublin Circuit Court, will resume deliberating this (Tuesday) morning, having already deliberated for almost four hours.

The man pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of sexually assaulting the

three boys on dates between Septem- ber 2002 and June 2004.

Last week, Judge Patrick McCartan directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty on eight of the counts against one of the boys, due to lack of evidence.

On Friday the jury reached its not guilty verdict on two further counts of sexual abuse against the then ten- year-old boy, following fifty minutes’ deliberations.

The principal of the school where the accused worked told the jury the man had “proved to be a good teach- er’ after joining the school.

The three boys who alleged that

they were sexually assaulted by the man denied during cross-examina- tion that they “misinterpreted” tactile or friendly gestures made to them by the accused.

A now 15-year-old boy told Ms Mary Rose Gearty BL, prosecut- ing, that the accused man taught him while he was in third class and dur- ing that time the accused had stuck his hand down the back of his trou- sers and inside his pants.

He said he also recalled it happening the next year when he was in fourth class after he received an injury on the football pitch. He said he recalled the man’s hands being “cold”.

A second boy, also aged 15, told the court that the accused had put his hands inside his pants and touched his bum during lessons at the ac- cused man’s home. He said this hap- pened “once or twice a lesson” for about two months in April and May Auer

A now 17-year-old boy said that while he was taking lessons at the accused man’s home, the man began lifting up his jumper and later put his hands inside the back of his pants “at the back”. He said this happened in the six months between January and June 2004 and occurred “sometimes twice a lesson”.

A NUMBER of people arrested in connection with a feud between a number of families in Ennis have been released without charge.

The arrests were made last Wednes- day, in connection with damage to two houses in the town in recent weeks.

A house in the Westbourne area and another house in John Paul Avenue were damaged in separate incidents in recent weeks.

Windows on the house in John Paul Avenue were broken last Thursday week, while a car parked outside the premises was also damaged.

The men arrested were questioned at Ennis Garda Station throughout the day on Wednesday. A file will be sent to the DPP, who will decide whether charges are to be brought.

These were the latest arrests by gardai investigating several inci- dents in Ennis town over the past few months.

In the early hours of June 13, a hand

grenade was thrown through the glass panel of a house on Childers Road, Seer ateaee

The army explosive ordnance dis- posal team was brought in to deal with the device. A controlled explo- sion was carried out on the device at a nearby quarry. The grenade was live, but was faulty and did not detonate and the family that was in the house at the time escaped injury.

Two weeks ago, three men were ar- rested in connection with the grenade attack. The three, aged 26, 30 and 35,

were detained at Ennis Garda Station and questioned at length, before be- ing released without charge. A file on this will also be prepared for the Dye

The investigation into the various incidents has been intense and sever- al gardai are part of the investigation team, which is headed by Superin- tendent John Scanlan of Ennis Garda Station. Gardai have carried out house to house enquiries, several statements have been taken, while examinations have also been carried out.

There have been many allegations over the past few months, including claims of intimidation, assaults and damage to property.

The feud has left residents in the Cloughleigh area of the town saying they are living in fear.

At a public meeting in the town re- cently, fear was expressed by locals that there would be further violence. Gardai have pledged to continue to investigate the incidents and say they will continue to have visible presence in the Cloughleigh area.

THE multi-million euro retraining package for Dell workers and com- panies affected by the 2,000 layoffs at the computer company could be in place before the end of the month.

European Commissioner for Em- ployment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Vladimir Spidla, con- firmed in an official visit to Shannon and Limerick last Friday that the proposal was being fast-tracked by the EU Commission.

Spidla, who was accompanied on much of his trip by An Tanaiste Mary Coughlan, also announced that the total funding applied for from the European Globalisation Fund could run into more than €20 million.

As well as meeting with Dell em- ployees in Limerick, the Czech com- missioner also toured the FAS train- ing centre in Shannon, where some of the proposed retraining funds could be invested. There he met with representatives from IDA, Enterprise Ireland, FAS and Shannon Develop- ment.

“T can’t tell you yet what the out- come of this application is. But I am committed to processing this ap- plication as quickly as possible,” he said.

‘And as I’ve said before, as long as the application meets the criteria set out in the regulations, we will look at it favourably.”

Commissioner Spidla also visited the Moyross area of Limerick as part

of his tour.

“We are committed to making our societies more inclusive, and helping everyone into work and out of tough situations, in particular the most vul- nerable,’ he said.

‘I know the situation in Moyross is tough. Getting a better understand- ing of the situation right here, on

the ground, will inform my thinking when, with my colleagues in Brus- sels, we’re working on what are the best ways out of the crisis. I deal not only with employment issues, but so- cial issues too.

“We are striving not only to get people back into work, but also to improve housing, access to education

and provide specific help for vulne- ble groups such as young people.”

Diesel spillage runs into trouble

ALITTLE-KNOWN Shannon-based aircraft engine leasing firm employ- ing just 22 people made a pre-tax profit of $72.3 million in 2008.

Accounts filed to the Companies Office, show that US-French owned Shannon Engine Support Ltd in- creased its turnover last year by 17 per cent from $139m to $163m. Pre- tax profits dropped by 14 per cent from $84m to $72m to the end of December last.

The drop in profits was related to a 33 per cent increase in direct oper- ating costs from $68m to $91m and this was, according to the directors, due to the investment of $284m dur- ing 2008. The company had accumu- lated profits of $380.4m at the end of 2008 with total shareholder funds at owen

Shannon Engine Support Ltd leas- es engines to 140 airlines around the world and is a subsidiary of CFM, which is a joint venture between US giant, General Electric (GE) and the French-owned engine manufacturer, Snecma.

The company’s directors report that the Shannon operation had another successful year in 2008, even though the overall business environment and general market outlook deteriorated during the year as the global eco- nomic slowdown worsened.

“Demand for the company’s prod- ucts as measured by the utilization of its engine assets remained strong throughout 2008, but is expected to be softer in 2009, as the global econ- omy continues to slow down.

“The financial condition of the commercial airline industry is of particular importance to the com- pany and in the current global down- turn, the company expects reduced demand for its engines.”

“It is expected that the company will continue to expand its portfolio of engine assets during 2009, and that it will continue to be well posi- tioned to benefit from any upturn in the aviation sector.”

No dividend was paid last year.

Of the 22 people employed at Shan- non, seven are in customer support, Six in financial, five in administra- tion and four in marketing. Staff costs increased by 34 per cent from $2.8m to $3.8m.

The directors state that the com- pany’s operating profit decreased by 3 per cent after a significant rise in direct operating costs and the weak- ness of the US dollar versus the euro during the year.