The Clare People Archive

SHANNON company, Peach Re- cruitment, will give local people a run for their money to benefit four charities with their third annual 10k run in the town on Sunday after- noon.

As this is the last time that the company will organise the Peach 10k Shannon run it is hoped that this year’s event will raise over €35,000, to reach an accumulated target of € 100,000.

Derek Barrett, Managing Director of Peach Recruitment, said that the event has been enormously success- ave

“The first time around we raised

€38,000 and over the past two years this event has raised in excess of €65,000 for charity, which is a phe- nomenal achievement for a locally organised event. For many partici- pants, this is the perfect opportunity to contribute to charity work on both a local and national scale. Our ab- solute priority for the run will be to raise as much awareness and money for each nominated charity as possi- ble. People are extremely generous,” he said.

This year’s nominated charities are local branches of Multiple Sclerosis and Children with Special Needs as well as Milford Hospice in Limerick and Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Dublin.

The company ensures that money raised locally stays locally.

‘We have supported lots of differ- ent charities but they are all chosen because people have been involved with them in some shape or form. For example, there is funding available for multiple sclerosis but not enough and we’ve specifically asked that the money will be spent on physiothera- py in the Shannon area,’ he added.

Runners can also nominate their own charities and they are asked to register with the company so that an official record can be kept of dona- tions.

Mr Barrett hopes that another eroup or company will keep carry- ing the 10k torch.

“We decided to finish up because we felt that we had dipped into the same well for three years running. We all help with stewarding and or- ganisation and people dig deep. Now someone else has a chance to get in- volved and contribute to charity.”

The Peach 10k Shannon Run will start at 1.30pm from Wolfe Tones GAA Club (where changing facili- ties will be open) and will continue around Shannon town before return- ing to the club for refreshments.

People can print off registration forms from www.peach.ie or call into the office in Peach House for forms and sponsorship cards. For further information telephone O61 362000.

THE Midwest could be staring down the barrel of a €42 million bill for polluting unless we clean up our act.

A leading renewable energy asso- ciation has claimed that the Midwest is living beyond its means, in terms of its impact on the environment.

Renewable Energy Skills (RES) has based the claim on figures from the European Environment Agency showing that Ireland currently has a carbon footprint of 5.0 global hec-

tares per person, more than double the global average.

The ecological footprint or carbon footprint is an environmental ac- counting tool that measures the land area required to support an individ- ual, business, community or nation, providing for its needs and absorb- ing its wastes.

It is quantified by calculating the land area required to produce the re- sources needed and dispose safely of wastes produced.

Cllr Johnny Flynn, Chairperson of RES and Ennis town councillor said

that “energy emissions in Clare are above the Kyoto target by 300,000 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide.

“This figure could rise to over 490,000 tonnes by 2010 leaving the county to face a bill of over €17 mil- lion in carbon levy.”

Meanwhile, Limerick county and city energy emissions are above the Kyoto target by 409,000 tonnes of CO2. By 2010, Limerick could be 713,000 tonnes over and face a bill of over €25 million in carbon levy.”

Meanwhile, the Limerick Clare Energy Agency, said that a number

of target actions aimed at reducing carbon emissions were included in the recently launched Government White Paper.

“Some of the targets for renewable energy production will be well with- in the abilities of coastal counties such as Limerick and Clare,’ said Pat Stephens, Manger of LCEA.

Mr Stephens, who has worked in building services design and energy management for more than 15 years and in the construction industry for more than 25 years, added, “to achieve our national targets, some

local targets will have to be more ambitious.

‘This includes the provision of bio- mass firing at Moneypoint generat- ing station by 2010 and ten per cent biofuels penetration by 2020.”

Other targets outlined by the Lim- erick Clare Energy Agency include the use of Pure Plant Oil (PPO) in local authority and public bodies ve- hicle fleets, a review of the National Building Regulations in 2008 and the introduction of smart metres for all electricity consumers over next five years.

AS STAFF at Parteen National School were getting to grips with fit- ting to their recently delivered new pre-fab classroom, there was more good news deliver for the school.

Education Minister, Mary Hanafin, has approved another prefabricat- ed classroom for the school which should be ready by the time the next influx of pupils arrives in Septem- ber.

The local school has seen numbers swell in recent years, as Parteen and Arnacrusha underwent a_ building boom and young families bought homes to move into the area. As part of the long-term plan to expand facil- ities, a prefab classroom was brought on site two weeks ago and was last week being fitted out for teachers and pupils to use. Local councillor, Cathal Crowe, brought a deputation from the school’s Board of Manage- ment to a meeting with Minister Wil-

lie O’Dea two weeks ago.

“Following that meeting both Min- ister O’Dea and I made the case to Minister Hanafin that Parteen Na- tional School was in urgent need of additional classroom accommoda- tion,’ Cllr Crowe said.

“IT am very aware that the school has an high enrolment. due to the extensive development that has tak- en place. This community is one of the major growth areas in south east Clare and it is vital that the school

is in the best possible position to ca- ter for all the children in the catch- ment area. If the locality continues to grow Parteen may well be in line for a new school building, but the most important thing for now is that an immediate classroom is provided to deal with the short term deficit,” he added.

Cllr Crowe said he would continue to communicate with the board of management to see what the schools needs will be into the future.

SUMMER arrived with a bang last week and it was the perfect weath- er for getting out an about in the woods.

And the people who turned up for the workshops run by CELT – the Centre for Environmental Living and Training – were down in the woods to learn almost forgotten skills which can still be put to good use.

The east Clare-based national en- vironmental charity had a big line-up of traditional skills training courses on offer for their Weekend in the Woods event.

Qualified and professional tutors were on hand with courses in every- thing from basket weaving to natural oluunCenbanen

Eager students got to try their hands at wood carving, blacksmith- ing, greenwood-furniture making, gate-hurdle making, silversmithing, dry-stone and lime-mortar_ wall- ing, tipi making, sugan chair mak- ing, thatching, leather shoe making, bushcraft, felt-making, coppersmith- ing and learning herb lore.

Youngsters under 14 got stuck in too and had a go at various wood- vA

“These skills have been around for

centuries, yet have taken on a new relevance in today’s world with the threat of increasing oil prices and the effects of climate change,’ a spokes- man for CELT said.

“Also, for many people, this is a great opportunity to connect with nature as well as learning a new skill and meeting people from all walks of life and all corners of Ireland, and usually a good few overseas visi- Key ace

Almost on hundred participants turned out and more than a few lo- cal people took advantage of the good weather to come and admire the work.

The workshops were held in Bealkelly Wood in Tuamgraney, Bealkelly is a sustainably managed native Oak woodland by the shore of Lough Derg. The event was being partly subsidised by funding from the Heritage Council. CELT runs regular educational and environmen- tal events. Further information 1s available from the website at www. celtnet.org, email info@celtnet.org or telephone 061-640765.

KILLALOE residents are to be- come part of a bigger family after a visit from representatives of a city in Wisconsin which wants to make the Clare town a sister town.

Representatives of The Shamrock Club in New London, Wisconsin ar- rived in the lakeside town last week to put forward plans for the two towns to twin.

The group have been liaising with Clare County Council for several months to see whether there would be a welcome for the proposal here. They made contact with Clare Coun- ty secretary, Marie O’ Neill and Kil- laloe councillor, Tony O’Brien, who is a member of the twinning com-

mittee on the council.

“I was delighted to hear that New London was interested in twinning with Killaloe and to be involved with the plan. I believe it will be a very good fit. It will be good in every respect for both communities, culturally, educationally and for visitors,’ Councillor O’Brien said.

Twenty six per cent of the resi- dents of New London claim Irish descent, and the city changes its name to ‘New Dublin’ once a year for the week coming up to St Patrick’s day, to celebrate the big- gest Irish festival in that part of the United States.

Local groups gathered in Crotty’s Bar in the town to welcome the visi- tors and to hear more about the pro-

posed twinning.

Visiting delegates, Larry and Carrie Katerzynske and David Sar- na were introduced by Councillor O’Brien and they told the gathering that the Irish festival attracts 3,500 people to watch the parade. While visitors eat their way through 1,600 Ibs of corned beef, bars and restau- rants earn up to one tenth of their income for the entire year from the autor

The group decided to look at twin- ning with a Clare town. Carrie said “because myself and Larry have come here many times on holiday. Killaloe and New London have a lot in common with boating, fishing and the agricultural aspects”.

With the plan in place, the Wis-

consin community and Killaloe would enjoy exchange visits from schools, industry and dignitaries as well as signs being displayed to an- nounce the twinning.

The group arrived in Killaloe to be given a helicopter tour and the following day, met with the mayor of Clare.

Thanking all those who had turned out to meet them, David Sarna told the welcome gathering that “Irish people are undoubtedly the most friendly people we have ever met. People here are willing to take time out to smell the flowers, to talk and to be interested in others. I believe that although our two communities are separated by many miles, we will find we have a lot in common”.

CRUSHEEN residents are prepared to “stand in front of the diggers” in order to prevent the construction of a controversial 3G phone mast at Bal- hyd bb aTer

A second meeting between rep- resentatives of 3G and locals is due to take place this Thursday, May 10, but to date the telecommunications company has failed to contact locals ~VoOltlmnatem neler b bares

“We went to Dublin and met 3G al- most two weeks ago now. They were supposed to make contact with the landowner and make arrangements

with us for a meeting this week and none of this has happened,’ said lo- cal resident, Corrina Rosengrave.

“Our next step is to wait and see if any contact is made over the next few days. I’m prepared to stand in front of the diggers if I have to and do whatever it takes. That mast is not going up here,” she added.

Residents have made a number of complaints about the mast, which received full planning permission from Clare County Council, includ- ing alleged problems with the site notice before planning permission was granted.

“As far as we can see there was no

site notice put up at all on the road. We live across from where the mast is planned, there are eight of us in the house and 3G are trying to say that all of us are blind,’ continued Cor- unt

She repeated her resolve to stop the joarcki im oXoseetoamo) UO DL

“It overlooks our house and that of our neighbours, it overlooks a field where young lads are playing every day of the week. We knew nothing about it until it was too late.”

The mast issue will be on the agen- da at the monthly meeting of Clare County Council, which will take place next week.

“The biggest problem that local people had with the whole thing was the lack of knowledge and consul- tation,” said Councillor Pat Hayes (FF).

“That is something that we will be addressing at next Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council,’ he said.

Cllr Hayes claimed that 3G had failed to comply with planning con- Chiao) rte

“One of the main issues was the failure of 3G to comply with a number of conditions of their plan- ning. They had to agree about traf- fic management with the council and that wasn’t done,” he said.

THE Shannon Rail Partnership has appealed to the Minister for Trans- port to ensure that the Shannon rail- link goes ahead after a feasibility study endangered the project.

The draft study into the €240 mil- lion rail-link has predicted that there will be a significant operating deficit in the early years of the service.

The locally-based Shannon Rail Partnership has written to Minister Martin Cullen after he confirmed that the initial study results were very poor.

The study stated: “in the early

years there would be significant defi- cit on the operating account, but with a buoyant air travel market for the whole 30 year period, revenues could potentially cover operating costs, taking a longer term view.”

Minister Cullen is now awaiting a fresh examination of the proposal by consultants, who have estimated the cost at €700 million.

The partnership believes that the cost of the project is €240 million and has now written to secure the minister’s support for the proposal.

In the letter, the partnership said that the region is at a “critical point” in its future development.

“A positive decision on proceeding with Phase 1 of the Shannon Rail Link proposal is critical if we are to secure the full potential of the re- gion. This phase is very achievable,’ UMNO B

The partnership welcomed the recommendations from the report and in particular that to be success- ful and to achieve competitive travel times it needs to be a direct service “designed and built to the highest technical standard”.

The partnership welcomed the pos- sibility that the project could be de- veloped in phases for reduced costs.

The draft feasibility study also

anticipated that there would be “‘ad- verse environmental and severance impacts, particularly where the line runs through Shannon town.”

However, he partnership responded by adding that “Now is an opportune time to eliminate this issue as a Mas- ter Plan is being prepared in rela- tion to TC2 in Shannon town centre and by including plans for rail, and reserving land for its development, these issues can be avoided in ad- EN acon

The Shannon Rail Partnership re- ferred to various mid-west develop- ments including the regeneration of the Shannon Free Zone in the letter.

ENDA Kenny arrived in Ennis on Saturday — his second visit to the town inside two weeks — with a flurry of energy. He bounded from his cam- paign car and high-tailed it to the top of O’Connell Street.

He was due to land at 12.30pm but Kenny was 25 minutes late and the crowd, gathered in expectation of a showdown with ‘Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, had largely dispersed.

They were following in the footsteps of the Fianna Fail leader who himself landed beneath the O’Connell monu- ment at Kenny’s expected time of ar- UAE

But those who did linger to see the national face of Fine Gael witnessed a man in the middle of one of the most intense campaigns. He’s been twisting through the country like a Tasmanian Devil, shaking hands and rubbing flesh. Trying to out-Bertie the Taoiseach.

You wouldn’t think it. Kenny looked fresh and casual as he grabbed a mi- crophone. A blue, unbuttoned shirt in contrast to the sharp suit of Ahern.

He got down to business almost im- mediately, setting out his vision for what he expects will be a Fine Gael- led government once the election is done with. There was a youthful zest to much of what he said.

More than once, he appealed to the young people of Clare to get out and get involved in the campaign.

“Enjoy it,’ he said. “Use your power to change this Government.”

Then he focused on the Govern- ment he wants to send packing, say- ing at various points that they were incompetent, indecisive, remote, removed, conceited, smug, arrogant and uncaring.

“We offer the people of the Banner a unique choice of candidates here,’ he said. Then, he named out the four who form the Fine Gael ticket, going through each one, presumably in the

order that he expects them to poll.

“We’re led by Deputy Pat Breen and young Joe Carey here in Ennis. And my colleague of many years, Madeline Taylor-Quinn, and also the man pictured across the motor- way coming up from Limerick, Tony Mulcahy.”

He moved into the crowd, flanked by his local supporters, and got to know the people who he says will bring two Fine Gael seats to Clare. He posed for photographs with kids. He skipped down O’Connell Street and took a right into the Market area before stopping at coffee shops, hair- dressers, bookshops, bookies and in- SLD ech eleromrereco nL Ae

The Fine Gael whirlwind was blow- ing through town.

He was asked if the decision to run with four candidates in Clare was a wise one, particularly given the open criticism of the policy by his front runner, Deputy Pat Breen.

“We have very healthy competi-

tion internally in the party in Clare and this has given us a chance to get around to every single voter in the county. I know that all these people are going to get to every house in the county and explain why they have to change this Government.

“But I don’t know what the people of Clare will do at the end of the day and it’s all going to depend on trans- fers. As far as I’m concerned, if the people of Clare return two Fine Gael TDs, Pl be absolutely thrilled.”

It was a day when the sizzle of poli- tics could have taken off in Clare, just like the good old days, but Ken- ny’s late arrival ultimately saw that it wouldn’t come to pass. No face-to- face. No gunfight.

“T heard you had a visitor just be- fore I arrived,” he said. “I’d love to have had a showdown here with Ber- tie, it would have been great excite- ment and we’d all have been talking about it for days. But, of course, we would have won it [the showdown]

hands down and maybe if I shook his hands here, I might be saying good- bye to him.”

He walked on, 1n a small circle of the town and returned again to where the day had started an hour before.

“IT am not one to stand on this Square in Ennis, where many speech- es were made over the past 80 years, by many more notorious than I, but I am not afraid to say to the people of the Banner, we will accept responsi- bility for our actions when we are in Cred crasbeelosel me

It was his parting shot.

Just before he left for Galway, a eroup of young Eire Og fundraisers rattled a box of coins close to him. OST eNVARe UCN ea macCocomn soles pOMEcI BOD ECLMmOLU LIN Ie was alerted. Joe Carey began to push a €5 note into his hand, by way of a donation.

Kenny ignored it, fished in his pock- et and pulled out a crisp €20 note. He plopped it in the box, flashed a smile and then he was gone.

A MAJOR insurance company has admitted that the wording of its mo- tor policies could be misinterpreted and is not clear on what type of driv- ing licence a motorist requires to be certain of being insured to drive a vehicle.

The revelation came at Tulla Dis- trict Court, when two men were prosecuted for a number of motoring aoe ;

Mohamed Salem, of Carrig An O1r, Ennis was driving a lorry which was stopped by a garda, at Moymore, Tulla, in January.

Mr Salem was charged with driv- ing without insurance and a driving licence, not having the correct road tax and with having a bald tyre. His employer, Mr Gerard Clune, former- ly of Clune Murphy Construction, was charged with five offences.

Garda John Ryan said when he stopped Mr Salem and demanded production of his documentation, he tendered a Libyan driving licence.

Defending solicitor Sse bs Loughnane said AXA’s insurance certificate stated that a driver with a

“full driving licence” was insured to drive the vehicle and that Mr Salem’s Libyan licence was sufficient.

AXA _ Insurance _ representative Paul Quinlan admitted the wording of the policy could lead to misin- terpretation. He said AXA did not verify what driving licence was be- ing submitted when an application for cover was made but that the “in- tention would be a full Irish driving licence”.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy agreed that the wording could be misinter- preted. He said that if Mr Salem had an accident, technically he would not be insured but in a civil action, the insurance company would be held li- able. The Judge said however that un- der the provisions of the Road Traf- fic Act, under which the proceedings were taken, a driver must hold a full Irish driving licence.

He acquitted Mr Salem on three of the four charges, but convicted him on the bald tyre charge and fined him €100.

Judge McCarthy convicted Mr Clune on all five charges and fined him €1,250. Recognisances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

THE trial of three people charged with the manslaughter of Kildysart father of five Vincent Hehir last year 1s set to go ahead at Ennis Cir- cuit Criminal Court in June. Inspector Michael Gallagher in- formed Ennis District Court on Friday that the relevant books of

evidence had been served on each of the three accused and that the Director of Public Prosecutions had ordered that all three stand trial for the alleged offences in the Circuit Court.

The three men, Michael Bryan Finn (33), of Ennis Road, Kildysart, Noel Murphy (22), of Crovraghan, Kildysart, and Mark O’Connor (18)

of Rosscliffe, Ballynacally, Ennis are each facing a charge of man- slaughter, arising out of the death of the Mr Hehir on September 6 Tie

Mr Hehir died in hospital three days after being found unconscious outside a pub in Kildysart. He had travelled to Kildysart from Ilford in London to visit his family and

collect his five children, who had been on holiday with his parents for the summer. Mr Hehir managed the popular Black Horse Pub in [I- OKC

Judge Aeneas McCarthy remand- ed all three men on continuing bail and sent them forward for trial to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on June 19.