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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.”

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.

A TWO-WEEK jail term has been handed down to a woman was got involved in a scuffle at Ennis court- Ce) btstes

Mother-of-three Margaret McDon- agh (29), of Dun na hInise, Ennis, was charged with engaging in threat- ening, abusive or insulting behaviour at Ennis Courthouse on January 12 last. Ennis District Court heard that the accused was involved in ex- changes, described as “scuffling and shouting” at the courthouse.

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client’s maiden name was Mongan and she has married a Mr McDonagh.

“Her parents house was burnt down in Shalee Drive. There was a lot of difficulty between them and

other families. My client spoke out. She shouldn’t have shouted. She shouldn’t have roared. She would maintain they had been under se- vere provocation all day. The entire Mongan family and who they were married to and their children upped sticks and left Ennis. They moved to Cork. They live in caravans on the side of the road. Their entire lives were turned upside down as a result of what had been ongoing. She was at the end of her tether,’ she said.

“She told the other side of this dispute exactly what she thought of them. Unfortunately it wasn’t in very nice English,” added the solicitor.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a 14-day prison sentence and directed the state to inform the HSE of the or- der. He fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.

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