The Clare People Archive

A GROUP of 16 Australian high school students will say “G’Day”’ to Spanish Point today (Tuesday) at the end of their visit to St Joseph’s Sec- ondary School to celebrate 21 years of the county’s twinning with Clare Valley down under.

School Principal, Mary Crawford said that the 11 day visit was a mas- sive success after seven years of let- ters and emails with Clare Valley High School.

‘The sixteen students and five staff got on wonderfully on their stay in Ireland. The weather was so good and they had a fabulous time meet- ing everyone and travelling around.”

The students stayed with local host families and attended some classes at the school as well as visiting re- gional attractions.

“They did a lot of activities. We ran some classes on Irish history and culture. They did t-shirt print- ing and celtic design with our own art students. We held a set dancing

workshop too. Clare County Coun- cil organised a banquet in Bunratty Folk Park and the Ennis Lions’ Club gave them a tour of Ennis. Minister Tony Killeen welcomed them offi- cially. Everyone was very involved,” said Ms Crawford.

St Joseph’s also helped some of the Australian students to trace their Irish roots and one student found Clare relatives back to the early nineteenth century.

The group, which included five high school staff, travelled to Gal-

way, Connemara National Park, Kylemore Abbey, the Burren, Ailwee Caves and the Cliffs of Moher.

Most of the students were aged from 14 to 16 years old and Ms Crawford said that some of St Joseph’s second and third year students hope to visit Clare Valley in the next two years.

“They think it’s great. We hope to send some of our students in the fu- ture if they want to go.

‘The Australians are already plan- ning to come back in two years time,” she added.

THE first series of afternoon tea dances in west Clare has been a huge success so far with a fourth dance planned for the month of May.

The dances, organised by the Kil- rush Family Resource Centre and funded by the HSE, give people an opportunity to travel to other parish- es for fun and entertainment.

Viv Rooney, community worker with the resource centre, said that all ages are welcome at the events.

“We have had up to 50 people at- tending the dances and they are open to everyone. Anybody who wants

to dance a set or enjoys a waltz can come along. We hold them on the third Sunday of the month and they move from parish to parish so we can get around to every community, ” she said.

She added that the idea to stage the dances came from a conference cel- ebrating active senior citizenship in mauers

“A lot of people said what they would enjoy doing at weekends. Sunday can be a long and lonely day and one of the things suggested was a dance in the afternoon. We applied to the HSE for funding and that will cover six dances. We are hoping that

it will eventually sustain itself,”

Ms Rooney said that the dances are more than a single event because they promote community activity and involvement.

“People at a loose end are getting out and meeting each other. Mostly women attend and you’ll hear them asking now ‘Are you going? Can I give you a lift?’ They can meet old friends and neighbours or people they went to school with.”

Dances have already been held in Kilrush, Moyasta and Kilkee and the next event will be on May 20 in Downes’ Pub, Bealaha. There will be a bus provided for the first time

on that day.

“We are hoping for good weather. There is a small cover charge and we provide tea and scones. Anyone who comes along really enjoys it. It 1s im- portant to keep this facility running and supported,’ she said.

The tea dances are part of just one local service provided by the Kilrush Family Resource Centre. There are various projects, classes and group meetings on in the centre every week.

For more information on the sun- day afternoon tea dances you can contact the centre on 065 9052173 or email to vivrooney @kilrushfrc.ie.

NEWMARKET Celtic have saluted a local stalwart that has been with the club through good times and bad.

For years Paddy Shanagher spent every moment of his spare time tak- ing care of the old Newmarket Celtic pitch with great care and commit- ment in all sorts of weather.

Every club has people like Paddy. Men who work tirelessly behind the scenes, often without recognition for their efforts.

He could often be seen early morn- ing or late at night working away pre-

paring for the fixtures for the coming weekend.

With the famous old hill there was always was hard work to be done. This job was often carried out in poor weather conditions making it near impossible. But Paddy never failed to deliver a top class job.

And when the work was done, Paddy could be seen on the sidelines cheering on Newmarket teams from schoolboys up to juniors.

Last Sunday was a day to remem- ber for the club and for Paddy in par- ticular. Goalkeeping legend Packie Bonner and FAI Chief Executive

John Delaney were in town to of- ficially open the newly developed McDonough Park. It marked New- market’s return home and none were prouder than Paddy.

The old place has been given a facelift. The famous hill so long a eraveyard for the ambition of visiting teams down the years is gone.

In its place are two full size pitches and a training area. The clubhouse, which was opened 17 years ago, has also been fully refurbished. In total €300,000 was invested in the pro- eau beauentee

Some things don’t change though.

Paddy is still as committed as ever to his role with the club.

Club member Brian Cronin paid tribute to Paddy,

“Because of everything he has done, the former players and com- mittee of Newmarket Celtic are in- debted to Paddy Shanagher’s com- mitment down the years.”

SECONDARY school students in Shannon have benefited from the de- livery of a personal and social devel- opment programme, which has been offered by the local youth service.

Youth workers Cathal Dillon and Thomas O’Hara have linked in with students at both St Caimin’s and St Patrick’s Comprehensive School in the town, in offering the pro- eramme.

The twelve-week programme 1s Open to non-examination year stu- dents, and runs for an hour, once a week.

In all, 20 young people from Shan- non will complete the programme,

which deals with topics including family, friends, authority, loneliness and communication.

The programme offers young peo- ple opportunities to discuss and ex- plore issues, that are important to them. It is carefully designed to assist the young people in their personal and social development, by discuss- ing topics of importance to them such as relationships, friendship and trust. This also helps them to enhance their communication skills and build their self-confidence.

On completion of the programme, the young people will receive certifi- cates at an assembly where parents are invited to go along and experi- ence a taste of the programme for

themselves and see the presentations designed by each group also.

Youth worker Cathal Dillon said the group is working well together and everyone is enjoying the pro- eramme.

“The group work together bound by a contract which they come up with with the tutor at the beginning. They share their experiences and thoughts on the topics at their own level. There is no pressure put on people. Over the weeks the group gel together and trust and friendship is built up and com- munication improves. This allows the eroup to feel comfortable and speak freely about topics such as friendship and loneliness, towards the end of the program. The group also get the op-

portunity to question two visitors to the group. The first visitor 1s a youth worker and the second someone who works with people who may be lone- ly. This gives them an opportunity to enhance their communication skills and see how they react to meeting new people,’ he said.

“The whole thing is enjoyable and interesting. I’ve got to know some of the people from my school much better. One thing I think everyone thinks is how the exercises put per- sonal life into a different perspective, which can be very informing. I think everyone enjoys it and I’m definitely glad I chose to try it,” said student Garry McKee, who is taking part in the project.

A RESIDENTS Association in Shannon is proposing that a skat- ing rink, bowling alley, cinema and community centre be built in the Oyaee

Members of the Cronan Residents Association are calling for politi- cians to support their plan, which, they say will benefit the young people of the town, who they ar- gue, currently have few pastime

options.

Chairman of the Residents group, Jim Duffy says the young people of Shannon have nowhere to socialise, and this must be addressed.

“We met Tony Killeen (junior minister) and we put forward a list of issues. We felt that he, as a min- ister Should address this,” he said.

He said that residents are hopeful of meeting Minister Killeen again over the next fortnight, to again ad- dress the issue.

“These are facilities that most towns have. Where do the 14 – 18 year olds in Shannon go? They have nowhere to go,” he said.

“It would be tremendous if we get two out of the four facilities,’ he rn em

“Let’s start planning it. The job of politicians is to pursue it. We need to get the land and money. There is plenty of land in Shannon. The GSCeh orm sbeelesel mm KM COVUBDOTSMRU NMEA elos Roms Km: lot of money in Ireland. Why not

give it to Shannon? We would in- tend to meet all politicians on this issue,’ said Mr Duffy.

He said that while locals in his housing estate, Cronan, are happy with progress made on issues relat- ing to footpaths, lights and litter bins, one other outstanding issue is causing huge concern.

“We also want answers relating to the availability of the ambulance in Shannon. It still isn’t here,’ said Mr Duffy.

A GROUP of people living in a housing estate in Shannon have ac- cused their local Residents Associa- tion of failing to be democratic and has asked the town council to refuse to make grants available to it.

In a letter addressed to Shannon Town Council and signed by 21 Cro- nan residents, it 1s claimed that the Cronan Residents Association 1s not representative and does not hold public meetings.

Those who signed the letter stated that several people living in Cronan have endeavoured to join the com- mittee, but have been refused entry. They say that they have called for an AGM, on several occasions, but this

request was not granted.

“We would feel Cronan deserves a residents committee that engages with the issues in our area 1n a posi- tive manner,’ stated the letter.

“We can only assume that the com- mittee does not want other residents to have a say in their area,’ added the letter.

The letter also stated that the group has not produced financial state- ments. “It is not our aim to allege financial impropriety, but we believe that a Residents Association com- mittee should be seen to operate in an open and honest manner in all matters,’ it stated.

“We request that you refuse this committee, of the Cronan Residents Association, further funds or grants

until this committee submits a fi- nancial report to an Annual General Meeting of an open and accountable Cronan Residents Association,’ it added.

Following receipt of the letter, Shannon Town Clerk Tomas Mac Cormaic wrote to the Chairman of the Residents Association, Jim Duffy.

He has asked him to furnish the council with minutes of the AGM, showing that the officers have been democratically elected. He has also requested a financial statement which has been adopted by the members.

“It would also be helpful if the council could be informed of the method used to notify residents of the time and place of the general

meeting and if the council could be given a list of the members showing that the association is representative of the majority of residents in the Cronan estates,” said the town clerk, in the letter.

The Chairman of the Residents As- sociation Jim Duffy told

KILLALOE and O’Briensbridge are the next two areas in east Clare which will benefit from the local authority’s cash for playgrounds scheme.

Clare County Council has set aside ۤ3,000 for the two areas, both of which had applied for grant funding under the scheme.

A meeting of Killaloe area council- lors was told last week that the prob- lems which have dogged the grant- ing of planning permission for play facilities in Parteen and Meelick are Aledo Ob

Planners met with the developers to discuss concerns about public light- ing and other matters.

The councillors were told that both schemes can now move ahead and it’s expected that work should begin be- fore the end of June.

The meeting heard that proposed sites had been identified in both ar- eas. Area engineer, Sean Lenihan, said that there is “strong community support” behind each proposal, with a local group pushing for the facility.

Killaloe councillor, Tony O’Brien, said that the “two projects are com- mendable. It’s great to see _ that communities are willing to be- come involved and undertake these projects”.

Councillors were asked how they wanted the available money divided. Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald said that it

should be given equally to both com- munities.

But, he added, he would “like to see the planners meeting with the developers and getting it right from the start, unlike Meelick and Parteen and one and a half years on, there are still no playgrounds in these areas”.

Community and Enterprise Admin- istrative Officer, Catherine O’Hara, said that the local authority is en- couraging all community groups to ebgage in the pre-planning process.”

She added that the grant, while it assists communities to provide fa- cilities, “never covers the entire cost which is usually more in the region of €120,000. It’s just a contribution towards it”.

Cllr O’Brien asked that should one or other of the groups being unable to draw down the grant, because of something unforseen such as a site falling through, that the money should then go to the remaining eroup and not out of the area.

The planning stumbling blocks holding the Parteen and Meelick fa- cilities back were resolved last week at a meeting organised by local coun- cillor, Pascal Fitzgerald, between planners and members of the two Loy eaveenlAKoieky

Almost €500,000 a year is divided between six electoral areas in the county and nine playground develop- ments are due to be part funded this yeasr from the 2006 grants scheme.

PUMPS which would help solve the drought being experienced by Killa- loe residents have yet to be hooked up because there are technical prob- lems with the power supply needed.

Local councillors were told that after years of difficultites in getting water suppies to either end of the town and to homes up Convent Hill, new pumps have been bought which would bring water as required.

But the positioning of the pumps

was incorrect for linking them up to the necessary power supply, Sean Lenihan of the council’s engineering department told Killaloe council- lors.

Cllr. Tony O’Brien expressed con- cern that there are “a number of new housing developments coming on-stream in Killaloe and we are brining them on without address- ing what is a major deficiency in our infrastructure. People living in the town have no water. It is incumbent on Clare Councty Council to supply

water and the council needs to pro- vide the pumps which were prom- ised in 2005”.

The engineer told councillors that it is “just a logistical problem with getting the electricity connected up. We have to take some responsibil- ity in that the location given to the ESB may have been slightly in error. They are looking at it and coming back to us”.

Meanwhile, the members of the Killaloe area council were told at a meeting last week that the authori-

ties are to look again at the timing of the traffic lights in Killaloe.

Councillors complained that there were massive tailbacks and delays over the May and Easter bank holli- day weekends.

Officials told the members that what is needed in the long run to solve the town’s traffic problems is for the new bridge to be built. The problem is the volume of traffic and at the lights, the number of move- ments that have to be catered for, councillors heard.

A CROSS which has been the loca- tion of numerous accidents is to be tackled — but the necessary safety measures will not be up for funding until next year.

Councillor John McInerney had put a motion before the the Killaloe area committee asking that something be done to reduce the dangers at Clancy’s Cross.

He told the meeting he was “not happy’ with the rate of progress on

the matter.

“IT put a motion down about this as far back as 2004 and myself and Councillor Pascal Fitzgerald organ- ised a protest at this location in De- cember. Why is the lining only going down now? It should have been done since 2005. At this rate it will be 2008 before anything is done.”

The councillor told the meeting that there have been “numerous accidents at this site — are we to have a serious accident before something is done?”’

Councillor Pascal Fitzgerald de-

scribed the cross as a “blackspot. There has been another accident there this year and I’m concerned that there will be a very serious crash”.

Senior Engineer, Sean Lenihan, told the meeting that a scheme of safety measures will be designed this year and put in for funding next year.

He said that enquiries to the gardai showed they supported the council- lors claims that the cross has been the scene of many accidents.

‘Everyone is of the same mind on- this one,” he said.

He also told members that the road design office “is under serious pres- sure but | am pushing this one as a priority. All of the measures that might improve matters of safety will be looked at and considered,’ he Sr HKGe

He added that in terms of putting lining on the road, a meeting is being held with the contractor this week.

The senior engineer added _ that sometimes it is “easier to get funding for a project than to fit a small job in but I will do all I can to get it done”’.

in response to a Freedom of Information request show that the gardai concerned received €478,000 — an average pay out of €23,900 each.

The single greatest generator of overtime payments was the opera- tion at Shannon Airport last year to prevent any further incursions the Department of Justice stated that

the bill for the Shannon operation was €1.25 million.

“It 1s most unfortunate that there is a large amount of gardai tied up on duty in Shannon because of a few people who have made threats over the security of the airport,” said Councillor Madeleine Taylor-Quinn GaCoF

“These gardai would be far better used on the highways and byways of OFT ione

Cllr Taylor-Quinn said that the high overtime payments resulted from the failure of the current Gov- ernment to recruit the promised ad- ditional gardai for the force.

“It would be far more prudent to recruit the additional gardai rather than be paying out these sums in overtime,’ she said.

Nationally, the Government paid out over €100 million in overtime. The €102.6 million overtime bill in 2006 represents a 32 per cent in- crease on the €77 million spent on Garda overtime in 2005.

Operation Anvil last year led to sig- nificant overtime costs, according to a Department of Justice spokesman. The operation commenced in Dub- lin in May 2005 and was rolled out across the country in January 2006 targeting gun culture.

“Operation Anvil has been highly successful,” he said.

In Dublin, the operation resulted in 54,526 checkpoints; 6,250 arrests in connection with murder, seri- ous assaults, burglary, robbery and other serious offences; 26,497 drug searches; 1,543 firearms searches; 643 firearms seized or recovered; 10,520 vehicles seized and stolen property to the value of €17.2 mil- lion recovered.

A Garda’s payscale goes from €24,551 to €44,116 after 17 years service; a sergeant’s salary scales from €44,543 to €51,281, while an inspector can earn from €51,571 to