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Shannon’s Delta blues

Decision could be ‘as fool-hardy as Heathrow’

BUSINESS interests have said they are “appalled” at news that transat- lantic routes are to be cut from Shan- non this winter.

Warning that transatlantic services are “vital for the future of the mid- west’, Ennis Chamber of Commerce chief executive Rita McInerney said that they were “appalled to learn of the intention to cut routes to the U.S. from Shannon. No other region in Ireland is as dependent on invest- ment and industry from the United States as the mid-west’, she said.

“The removal of connections to New York JFK and Chicago O’Hare Airports, can only lead to uncertain- ty with regard to the future of foreign direct investment in the region and will also serve to threaten the reten- tion of the existing U.S. industry.

“The Shannon Region is home to many US companies employing thousands of people, directly and indirectly, who require direct links to the major cities in the US. These jobs are now under serious threat with this announcement.”

“The mistreatment of and lack of commitment to Shannon Airport by Government 1s counteractive to their

supposed policy of Balanced Region- al Development within the country. It continues to fail to protect strategic

air links,’ Ms McInerney said. Ennis Chamber President Guy Flouch, said “At a time when local

businesses, the Chamber and other representative bodies are seeking to increase inward investment into En- nis and the Atlantic corridor, this de- cision is another short-sighted exam- ple of how the country continues to refuse to think outside the box.

“Not only will industrial growth in the mid-west benefit the region but will have an enormously positive impact on a balanced development of the country’s economic infrastruc- MUTKOMB DO CONloI ete

“The Government and Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, as the ma- jor stakeholder in Aer Lingus, should meet urgently with the Chairperson of Aer Lingus Colm Barrington to encourage a more far-sighted ap- proach – with reference to the recent decision and strategic planning – that will benefit the business of Aer Lin- gus as well as that of the mid-west and Ireland’, Mr Flouch said.

VILLAGES, I think are the most interesting and unique of all human shelters. They have a character and personality you don’t get in cities or towns, which are by their very nature private and impersonal, and certainly the same degree of human contact and cohesion never obtains.

But like everything else on this planet, villages have felt the wind of change blow harshly up and down their single streets. In many cases, it can be called progress, but that also demands a price and, while it 1s an in- disputable fact that standards of living have vastly improved in the developed world, it is also a little sad to see some of the changes that have taken place to accomplish this.

Where are all the great characters that lit up our impressionable youth with their antics: sometimes hilarious sometimes eccentric, but never dull? The box in the corner of the room has supplanted their entertainment. Imag- ine one of them coining in now while ‘Coronation Street’ or “Fair City’ was holding the room spellbound. His en- try (a nightly and very welcome fea- ture then) would be a very unpopular interruption now and he’d be told to “whist up’. A house I knew in my youth had a wind-up gramophone and whenever the spirit moved the woman of the house (which it frequently did) she’d wind it up, put on the McNul- ty Brothers, Delia Murphy or some dance music on an old 78 and a half set lifted the gloom of the hungry ‘30s and ‘40s, even though the cot- tage kitchen floor seriously restricted movement, with no room for fancy steps or pirouettes, but it didn’t curtail enjoyment, homemade, unsophisti- cated and spontaneous.

My own village, Cooraclare, where I was baptised and confirmed, has changed but not, in my view, as seri- ously as other bigger centres of popu- lation. In my far-off youth, the Sugan City had an array of characters from the creamery to Ryan’s Store on the Kilrush Road.

Dennis Horgan was the creamery manager – an onerous and well re- garded job then, now only a memory. He was a Kerryman and a most inter- esting and colourful man who knew and lived football. Mary Ellen and Sinon Considine owned a fine shop across the road and on Sunday morn- ing before Mass it would take Moss Keane to battle his way to the counter. Tom Mac moved in from Dromelihy and set up a nice little shop with his wife, Mary, under the Old School. Tom was an all-round man of many parts, combining business acumen with a natural ability on the stage. Gura, fada buan thu, Tom. Can you still sing Rowledum Randy, Tom?

Brock’s pub dominated the street; Mick on his grey house was a feature of the road to Kilrush: both very well turned out. The pub, later bought by Tom Doherty, became the Own Pride Inn (a great tracker mat I almost had at stud).

Jacky Mclnerney, a postman and a lovely man we affectionately called Jacky Nutty, looked after our bicycles and sold us my first Rudge in 1939. He and his red terrier, Bully, were on our team as we set out to make life miser- able (and short) for Raynard in Lios

a tSeabhach, Burnpark or Campbell’s grove in Dromelihy. The Guards in Tudlows on the Danganella road re- moved the tongue and gave you half a crown. Powertul!

John Joe Conway, affectionately known as Bully, with no threatening undertones, delivered telegrams for Martin Joe Doherty, the soft spoken and most agreeable postmaster. John Joe ran a small shop opposite the chapel gate and every Sunday morn- ing before Mass the ‘Man from the Clochar’ laid out his stall of seafood. Fresh fish, seagrass with a lovely salty flavour, baimeachs in a tank of brine, periwinkles and a seagrass called Slamhcan that was boiled with ba- con instead of cabbage (often scarce in a late spring). He did a roaring trade and your greyhound (a sixpenny piece) went a long way with the long- gone “Man from the Clochar’.

Next to the Chapel gate was D’arcy’s. One of whose girls was the mother of TD and Senator, Brendan Daly who later served with distinction as Min- ister for Defence. Then there was Tubridy’s pub. Three of the Tubridy boys gave great service to the parish football team. Martin, Tom and the youngest, Shamashin, who when he donned the black and amber Number 11 gansey never took a backward step from any opponent. He emigrated to

London and died there, still a young man. Leaba imeasc na Naomh duit, a Sater UeerNnuee

The sable-clad carpenter, Micko Carey, did all our building and car- pentry work and was a master crafts- man and a family friend. His son, John, played football for the village at Number 6, with distinction for many years and he and his wife were a thorn in the side of the track bookmakers with their very successful kennel of racing dogs. His brother, Stevie, won a very competitive Irish Coursing Oaks in Clonmel with his very fast bitch, Lady Item. The local coursers suitably fined the Clonmel bookies and celebrated accordingly.

Across the road, on the elbow of the village, was Meades where my neighbour, John Connell, with whom I sometimes went to Mass, stabled Fanno. I often went down to the river- bank to watch and listen to the sound of running water (which | think has a soothing, calming effect) as the river made its way to Doonbeg Castle and the ocean.

Mitchel Lillis always kept and drove a good horse and his lifetime inter- est was the local and county football team. He lived for the game and fit- tingly his son, Mickey, won senior championship medals in Clare and Laois, when he went on to win a Na-

tional Club Championship with Port- laoise. A great day for the Lillis family and the Sugan City. Mitchel’s cousin, affectionaxely known as Solas, was a top-class musician and entertained many an appreciative audience with his distinctive style on the accordion. Another great Milesian supporter was postman Frank O’Brien, whose broth- er Pana was a nationally acclaimed football star, having played for Clare, centre-back in front of Jamsie Foran and Micko Connole in goal in the 1917 All Ireland final, when Wexford won the third of their four in a row. Frank wrote and sang the beautifully evocative ‘Around the Chapel Gate in Cooraclare’, in which he proclaims proudly his love for and pride in his native place. Frank emigrated to Chi- cago to join Pana and sadly died far away from the Sugan City. A lovely and very talented man.

George Russell’s forge was down by the water’s edge at the bridge. We of- ten congregated at its gable-end with the blue-head worm, when the river was in flood. Inside, many discussions went on, with customers and some of the village’s retired workforce settling the world’s problems, while George worked at his bellows and anvil mak- ing sweet music and watching “the river fret and foam”. George is long gone to God and his profession is now

history: in a village where sweet an- vil-music rang out from three forges serving the needs of the local hinter- land, even the physical evidence of the forges is gone, mo lean!

Dan Irving, who taught for many years in the village school, acted as secretary when Irish coursing people met in Clonmel and set up the ICC when they decided to secede from the English coursing governing body, post 1916. A lovely, gentle gentleman, he was married to a sister of Con Col- bert – one of the heroes of the 1916 period. Sadly she died young. Her son was called Con after his executed uncle. Con was an army officer, post- man and later owned Maria Frawley’s pub. John Thomas Cassidy lived up towards the top of the village and was for a while my next-door neighbour when he lodged with Mrs Connell in Tullabrack from where he cycled to Moyasta National School where he taught for many years. An interesting and precisely spoken man who was our guest almost nightly.

I have walked a village Ulysses from the Creamery to the bridge and have mentioned just a few of the colour- ful characters who walked its street. They and many, many more who have slipped through the widening fissures of an 83-year-old memory don’t de- serve to be forgotten. They were an integral and active part of the village scene and were, like the plucky lit- tle man from Tarsus, “citizens of no neon ae

I look back with pride on the Sugan City and its environs and will always remember the happy days of boyhood when I cycled up and down with my dog, Sam

Townies trounce [Tones at home

SIXMILEBRIDGE must have been watching Clarecastle’s battling win over the Blues only two days previ- ous as this was almost a mirror 1m- age of that game. In what was an- other bruising derby, both sides were understrength but after making the Superior start just as they had done against the Magpies, Newmarket faded badly in the second half, only scoring two second half points to again fall to a four point defeat.

A glut of second half dismissals typified a touchy neighbourly con- test as first Anthony Kilmartin and Declan Morey saw the line in contro- versial circumstances just after half- time before Martin Murphy followed late in the game for an off the ball incident involving Wayne Kennedy. Aside from that, the quality was not of the highest standard as both sides repeatedly wasted good scoring op- portunities and for almost fifteen minutes mid-way through the sec- ond half, it appeared that neither side

wanted to win it. That Sixmilebridge finally prevailed came down to the greater need as the home side had not won a game all season and were rooted to the bottom of the Division 1 table.

However, for Newmarket, it was another fine display from Bernard Gaffney that kept them ticking over until the final quarter as the former county player hit all but three of their eleven point total while the Bridge’s main protagonists were midfielder Danny Morey and corner-forward David O’Connor, the latter who turned this tie decisively towards the Bridge with four second half points from play.

It was the Blues who began bright- est though, with Gaffney hitting four early points to give his side a 0-4 to Q-1 lead by the ninth minute. The Bridge battled back though, drawing level by the 19th minute and from there until the break the sides went blow for blow to go in at 9 points apiece, with the only other notable incident an injury time effort on goal

by Declan Morey that just flashed by Kieran Devitt’s left post.

The second half began in dramatic fashion, with a large brawl breaking out near the sideline after Anthony Kilmartin had produced a high chal- lenge on Declan Morey and after things calmed down, referee Ger Hoey decided to dismiss both play- ers. That incident upped the intensity another notch as points from Gaffney and Dominic McMahon were bet- tered by three good passing moves that ended with David O’Connor points for the Bridge.

However, at 0-12 to O-I1 to the home side by the turn of the final quarter, the game entered it’s most fallow period with a plethora of wides on both sides only heighten- ing the tension. In the 55th minute, Newmarket were reduced to thir- teen when Martin Murphy received a straight red and taking advantage of this, the Bridge finished strongly with O’Connor, Christy Griffin and Danny Morey completing the scor- ing to give them a much needed win

and cap off a thoroughly disappoint- ing week for Newmarket.

Blues beaten twice in the same week

2006 GRAND National winning trainer Martin Brassil has led the tributes to Tom Costelloe, the legen- dary Clare horse trainer and dealer who died on Sunday. In a remark- able career in the horse racing indus- try Costelloe put six winners of the Cheltenham Gold Cup through his Newmarket-on-Fergus stable as well as training the winner of the Irish Grand National.

“He had the biggest supply of horses going into England for a long number of years,” Brassil told

a | wouldn’t be surprised if 10-year-olds were involved (in drug abuse).”

He said that drugs are widely avail-

able.

“In the past, it was always thought that heroin was available just in the larger cities but there is no such place as a quiet place any more,” he said.

“Drugs are available in the most ru- ral parts of Clare as much as in Lim- erick city,’ he said.

‘The big need in the mid-west is to have a drug detox service based in all the main centres – Limerick, Ennis, Nenagh.

“The Health Service Executive (HSE) has plans for it, but in the cur- rent economic climate, it may be put on the long finger,’ he said.

Mr Duffy said that the spread of drugs is linked to the increased de- mand.

“It’s a supply and demand issue. If there was no demand, there wouldn’t be need for supply. It’s the people who create demand who create the supply,” he said.

“l’m concerned there are people out there who should know better, who are stoking up the demand side which leads to misery,’ he added.

‘People who dabble in recreational drugs think that a let-off at weekends is to dabble in drugs. They have to bear in mind that the consequences

of that leads to problems,” he added.

“We have a very high tolerance of drugs. Social acceptability doesn’t allow it,” he said.

While gardai in Clare have repeat- edly expressed concern about the increased availability of heroin and cocaine, Mr Duffy said, “I couldn’t say it’s one or the other. Someone who starts on soft drugs graduates up along.”

Services, like Bushypark addiction treatment centre in Ennis, have been provided in an effort to help people get off drugs, such has been the spi- raling use.

WHILE election fever swept through the county on Saturday, this crunch tie had a fever of it’s own, namely the fight to avoid the drop from the top division.

The polls weren’t favourable for e1- ther candidate entering this game. St Joseph’s had only one win from their four outings while Inagh/Kilnamona were turned away from every door, not having tasted a competitive vic- tory in nine months but with only half the Clare Cup campaign com- pleted, there was still ample time to canvas for points.

Like a bloody battle for the final Seat, it was aclose run affair and even ended in controversy as St Joseph’s had a last minute goal ruled out for a square ball, a score that would have handed them both crucial points.

Both sides were without key mem- bers of their squad, with the home side shy of seven of the team that started against Clonlara in the cham- pionship the previous weekend along with county senior Tony Carmody who didn’t play that game while St

Joseph’s were missing eight from their win over Sixmilebridge. As a result, the quality suffered in what was a scrappy seesaw affair before Inagh/Kilnamona eventually edged the contest with a superior finale to top the poll.

At 0-2 to 0-2 after eleven minutes, contrasting finishing finally sparked the game into life, with St Joseph’s goalkeeper Paul Madden produc- ing a excellent diving save to deny Shane Griffin while down the other end only three minutes later, full-for- ward Seanie McMahon was more ef- ficient, latching on to a Colm Mullen pass to pull past the onrushing Ea- mon Scanlon to give his side an early advantage.

Inagh/Kilnamona_ didn’t panic however, and even though a plethora of wides followed for the remain- ing 18 minutes of the half, the home side still managed to come within a point of St Joseph’s by the break with points from David Hegarty and Shane Griffin.

Inagh/Kilnamona built on that re- newed confidence on the resumption, grabbing a crucial goal after only two

minutes when Joe Griffin shrugged off two challenges before slamming the ball to the net from close range.

However, within ten minutes, that advantage had been overturned, this time with Mullen the finisher, gather- ing a Paul Morrissey ball inside to hit to the net from close range, putting his side 2-4 to 1-5 ahead.

It should have inspired St Joseph’s but similar to the first half, they were not to score for the final 18 minutes of the half and while they tallied up the wides, Inagh/Kilnamona slowly chipped away at their two point lead. They cancelled it out by the turn of the final quarter through substitute Sean Arthur and Joe Griffin be- fore taking up the ascendency with a Gannon Free in the 50th minute and an Eugene Cullinan point only a minute short of the hour.

It looked to have secured Inagh/Ki- namona the seat but like any good election battle, there was almost a twist in the tale when St Joseph’s produced one final attack up the right, going from Mullen, through Mike Cullian to Damien Kennedy in the corner and when he flashed

his shot across the square, substitute Shane O’Grady dived in at the back post to flick it over the line. However, the celebrations were short lived as the presiding officer Tom Stackpool deemed it to be a square ball. St Joseph’s appealed for a recount, how- ever, the returning officer’s decision was final as Inagh/Kilnamona were deemed elected on the final count.