The Clare People Archive

And while the watery skies might have tried to flood the festival out, there was still a lively interest in free boats trips on the river, courtesy of Waterways Ireland.

The outdoor market carried on bravely, and one thing that the weather couldn’t ruin was the music and the craic that was evident in the pubs in the town.

Unusual skills were one aspect of the festival that visitors found fasci- nating, regardless of the weather.

A two-man Donegal-type currach was built over the festival weekend

to give the public a chance to see this ancient Irish tradition in action.

By the 1970s and ‘80s, currach fishing out of west Clare was dy- ing out and the traditional wooden hull covered by hide or canvas and painted with tar was replaced by fi- bre glass. Recognising the need to protect its heritage, local fishermen and boatbuilders decided to build a local-style currach and pass on asso- ciated skills including the language and terms that go with it. Six boats were built over a two-year period with the help of a LEADER-funded programme and were made avail- able to regatta clubs along the Clare coastline.

In the week running up to the festi- val, another currach – this time a west Clare type – was constructed by by 23 young people from west Belfast and east Clare as part of an initiative funded by the Leargas Causeway Youth Exchange Programme, and with the support of Waterways Ire- land. The young people also took part in a range of other activities aimed at promoting integration, exploring diversity and building relationships. “The Scariff Harbour Festival is es- pecially proud to give a new genera- tion of young people, both north and south of the border, an opportunity to learn these skills and hopefully to carry them with them for a lifetime,” said Mike Rodgers, Chairman of the Harbour Festival Organising Com- nap LAKoten

I SUPPOSE a common sight in many villages and small towns is a few of the senior citizens who have “borne the heat of the day” for many years, rambling the quiet lanes around the outskirts, somewhat like the char- acters in the British TV show “Last of the Summer Wine’. Well, our vil- lage, way back in the last Century had such a group who were promi- nent whenever the weather suited such leisurely activity.

The group varied in number from four to five and by their disparate make up spawned many a humorous anecdote. The Master — long retired but in good health as he approached 80 probably had the best attendance record. A quiet erudite man he was also the least confrontational mem- ber: while giving his opinion he never openly contradicted any of his peers.

Matt was an ageing, sable-clothed parish clerk who took his church du- ties very seriously and indeed had a serious view of life in general. His conversatism often caused heated debates and proof positive had to be 100% positive.

Foxy Pa, the village 60 something artful dodger, was the third mem- ber and was an erratic attender — his presence was dependant on fiscal conditions. If he was in funds, he was elsewhere: usually where there was a counter and some sawdust.

Mike, who lived alone at the edge of the village had been in England

and had served in the army — a fact which he did not advertise, but which was broadly accepted as being driven more by hunger than political con- viction.

John, who worked in London in one of the most upmarket homes for the mentally disturbed upper class, had retired to a nice tidy cottage by the river’s edge and promised to “hus- band out life’s taper at the close” in the Sugan city which he had left as a boy.

This July evening the five had walked nice and easy up to the Can- on’s gate and were now resting by the little bridge near the creamery. Foxy had gone over to Mary Ellen’s for five woodbines and when he rejoined the group they were in deep discus- sion about a very rich and unmarried neighbour who had recently died. They debated who would greatly benefit from his death and wondered which of his many neighbours would be left the farm in the will. Foxy dis- lodged one Woodbine, assumed an air of great gravity and pronounced “T hear he made no will at all, at all, he died intestine.’ John, who was quite articulate and accurate in speech winced visibly “Oh Jesus, Pa, | eaemucbuseme

As they sat on the window-sill of one of the village pubs soaking up the comforting rays of a declining sun, they waited for Matt’s return after he rang the Angelus bell. The bell-ringing had directed their think- ing towards a religious subject. They debated aspects of the Old Testament

and wondered as to how many off- spring Adam and Eve had produced. The master opined that the Bible didn’t provide much information on the subject. Matt was adamant — Cain and Abel and the old fellow Methusalah were the only siblings mentioned — the Good Book had spo- ken and that was that. It didn’t seem to solve the burning question at all, but until the Bible indicated other- wise Matt was adamant; John soberly disagreed and submitted that without a female input the human race would never have got off the ground. Foxy Pa was the unlikely one that broke the deadlock “You know ‘tis like a dream to me that there was a few lit- tle girls in it that went to America an they young.” A local habit.

A week of fierce South Westerly gales and terrible downpours had scourged the Peninsula and had con- fined the strollers indoors. Saturday had relented and the Master had read in The Irish Press that the gales had done much damage: as they ventured down the village the weather was the only topic. Matt had heard in an an- cient Philco that much damage had been done along the coast and many strange events had occurred due to high tides. A whale had been washed up somewhere. Matt didn’t rightly know where, but Foxy Pa had it all solved. “Iwas ayther Tullamore or Atklone an’ I’m thinking twas Ark- ey none

The master’s forbearance overcame his Geographic knowledge and he declined to comment.

A NEW facility to help small busi- nesses manage their staff and em- ployment law obligations in the current economic climate has been introduced by the Shannon and Dis- trict Chamber of Commerce.

Through their affiliation with Chamber HR, the Shannon Chamber is offering the new product, created to assist employers with five staff or less, at a cost price of €84 per month (excl. VAT) over a fixed payment pe- riod.

The contract provides the same level of cover as the standard Cham- ber HR product, in terms of access to the 24-hour human resources advice service and insurance indemnity. The indemnity funds the defence of employment litigation claims and settlements/awards where appropri- ate, if advice is taken and followed, including claims for unfair selection on the grounds of a redundancy dis- missal.

“Given the current economic cli- mate, coupled with the introduction of the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) and the other many changes in employment law, it is essential that businesses of all siz- es are compliant with current and fu- ture legislation. Even the most finan- cially-robust business may face hefty awards or fines,” explained Helen Downes, chief executive, Shannon and District Chamber.

The Chamber HR service will be offered by the Chamber network across Ireland, including Shannon and District Chamber, and cham- ber members will also be entitled to use the BusinessWise facility, an exclusive online service for employ- ers to keep track of the day to day management of their workforce and the ongoing, recurring obligations. SU ia ster Nem Ese aie

THE Labour Court has dismissed a claim by SIPTU that catering workers at Shannon Airport can retain a meal allowance as part of the €36 million restructuring deal at the airport.

The deal was reached between the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) and SIPTU two years ago and the dispute that came before the Labour Court concerned the interpretation of the part of the agreement relat- ing to a meal allowance for workers formerly employed in the catering olor busesoelm

This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of

a Conciliation Conference under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission before the matter was referred to the Labour Court.

A hearing in the case was held at the end of June and the union ar- gued that catering staff are histori- cally the lowest paid staff in Shan- non Airport and, in accepting the restructuring agreement, the union did not concede the ending of the meal allowance.

SIPTU also stated that it did not agree with the wording of the clauses dealing with the meal allowance in the restructuring agreement.

The union also pointed out that the agreement was accepted on a “with-

out prejudice” basis, which meant that they could re-enter this claim once re-structuring was completed.

In response, the SAA stated that the workers received compensation of €16,000 under the agreement and in the current challanging financial cli- mate, no additional payments could be conceeded.

The SAA also pointed out that the concession of the claim could result in the unravelling of the entire agree- ment.

The matter came before the Labour Relations Commission in 2007, but it could not be resolved and was re- ferred to the Labour Court.

In its ruling the Labour Court stat-

ed, “The union maintained that all persons re-deployed from the cater- ing department should be covered by any further follow-on claim regard- less of the position they were re-de- ployed to, whereas management hold the view that any claim which might be made must be confined to those not re-deployed to higher paid posi- Wey etsy

“Having carefully considered the submissions and the written clauses in the agreement, the court is satis- fied that the agreement restricts any further claim to those not re-de- ployed to higher paid positions and, accordingly, upholds the interpreta- tion held by management.

Tourist tax hits Shannons Spanish link

FOUR hundred lucky Clare people will next month get the chance to win a luxury BMW 320 while at the same time help a very worthy charity.

North Clare man Michael Guthrie, who has just returned from the island of Pemba in Tanzania, has decided to auction his car in an effort to help build a major church and school for the children of the island.

Michael, who along with 15 other volunteers joined Ennistymon char1- ty workers Pat and Neilus O’Doherty in Pemba last month, is hoping to raise €20,000 for the project.

Only 400 tickets, priced at <€50 each, are available for this raffle, making the chances of winning bet- ter than in most other raffles of it’s kind. “Whatever money I raise is going to go to the school and church project. We were over there working on it last month and we think with €20,000 we could probably afford to complete the whole first floor of the building and maybe more,’ he said. “The people over there have not- ing at all and the only way that they will ever be able to make a better life for themselves and their children is through education. And that is what we are hoping to help with.” The island of Pemba contains al- most 400,000 but is largely ignored by the Tanzanian government. Local children have virtually no access to education and unemployment on the island is almost universal. “We all had a very good time out there and worked very hard. The people, especially the people out there for the first time, learned an awful lot,’ said Pat O’ Doherty. “Work on the foundation had al- ready started, but we put in a few weeks of really hard work and made some great progress in a very short time. The workers had been stand- ing bare-footed, mixing the concrete with their shovels when we arrived. “We managed to but a cement mixer on the mainland and had it brought onto the island which totally revolutionised the work. The people out there are so poor and have so lit- tle work. ‘Each day people arrive at the site to look for work. We would pay them what we could and they would work all day helping to dig the foundations. They were so eager and happy to get whatever work they could get.” Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact Michael at 086 Soh eed ee

THE hard work of walking and fund- raising all paid off last week when the organisers of the Broadford 10k were able to present cash raised by the event to one of the good causes involved.

At a presentation night, at Danny’s Bar, a cheque to the value of €5,030 was handed over to the Mid Western Cancer Foundation.

“It was because of the success of the people who participated in the Broadford 10k, last April, that we

were able to donate this cheque,” said Geraldine Mullins of the organ- ising committee.

The Mid Western Cancer Founda- tion works to support and improve services and facilities for patients suffering from cancer, and their families. Committee member, Liam Ryan has been one of many patients that has needed this service and care from the highly trained staff at the foundation in Limerick Regional Hospital. The Easter Monday walk and run was the second organised for Broadford, and numbers doubled on

the first year.

“We were very pleased and we’re hoping that the numbers will contin- ue to grow year on year,” she said.

The route is a particularly beautiful one; starting in the village, going to Kilbane via what is known locally as the High Road, past the church and back down the route know locally as the Low Road.

“Everyone enjoyed it and said how nice it was. The runners found it quite challenging but they said the loved it,’ said Geraldine.

The first event was held solely for

the Broadford parish funds, and this year the Cancer Care unit was added to broaden the appeal of the event and to raise more money for another good cause.

“We felt that everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer,’ said Geraldine.

Now the organisers are hoping to grow the numbers by getting a web- site going and getting the athletics clubs involved.

“We will be working on it from September, when people are back off their holidays,’ Geraldine explained.

THE curtain falls on the Riches of Clare concert series in Ennis tomor- row (Wednesday, August 5) with organisers already looking ahead to next year.

Stephen Madden (banjo), Paul Mad- den (accordion), Maria O’Donnell (piano) and Sinéad Heagney (fiddle) will perform in a free concert from Ipm to 2pm. This will be the eighth concert to have been staged at the Clare Museum since the series began in June 10. This is the fifth time that the series has been staged in Ennis

and at venues across Clare.

The final concert takes place in Feakle next Wednesday, by which time seventy musicians will have taken part in 16 concerts in nine different venues. The eight-week residency in the Clare Museum, En- nis, featured traditional musicians from and based in County Clare on Wednesday afternoons.

Tony Linnane, Jim O’Connor, Shane Mulvey, Siobhan Peoples and Maeve Donnelly, Kieran Kissane and Stephen Madden were among the musicians who performed in En- nis during the series. There was also

a performance from the Kilfenora Ceili Band, who this year celebrated the band’s 100 year anniversary.

Supported by the Clare Arts Office, this year also saw the series go on tour around County Clare with Fri- day afternoon concerts taking place in Scariff, Kilfenora, Corofin, En- nistymon, Shannon, Lisdoonvarna, Sixmulebridge and Feakle.

Finola Ryan, one of the series co- coordinators, said that the concerts had drawn good crowds.

“We always had done concerts in different venues around Clare but this year we decided to hold

them over two weeks which I think helped,’ said Finola

‘“They’ve been really good and the crowds seem to have been as big as last year, if not a little up on last year.”

Finola said that performances had once again been of a high standard.

“Tt’s hard to pick a highlight but I suppose the concert by the Kilfenora Céili Band stood out. That was a good one but honestly they were all of a really high standard. We’d be hoping to do it again next year, but it depends on budgets and things like that,’ she added.

RE-EXAMINING Ireland’s — eco- nomic past to help map a path for the future is the main theme of this year’s Merriman Summer School, details of which have been announced.

Now in 4lst year, the majority of events planned for this year’s school UUM olom sos C MMOGs OMe ODOM eRe semAtlE gust 16 to 22.

The programme features talks from some of the country’s leading politi- cal, social and cultural commenta- tors including historian, Diarmaid Ferriter; Tom Collins, Professor of Education at NUI Maynooth; and Emily Logan, Ombudsman for Chil- Chore

However the main focus of debate at this year’s school stems from the publication fifty years ago of the First Programme for Economic De- velopment.

Put together by Sean Lemass and TK Whitaker, the programme was a blueprint for development that set out to address the many problems that the Irish State faced at the time.

Much has changed in the mean- time and yet Ireland faces a new set of challenges and the impact of the deepest economic recession to hit the world in almost a century.

Diarmaid Ferriter, historian and writer, will offer an insight into the context of half a century ago to set the scene for the rest of the school, which will look to the future. Tom Collins will consider the imperatives of educational policy, while Emily Logan will reflect on the State’s poli- cies and priorities towards children.

Maureen Gaffney, psychologist and commentator, will consider the so- cial development of the country and the impact of the changing context.

Noel Dorr, former Secretary Gen- eral of the Department of Foreign Affairs and well known at Merriman Schools, will look at the issues that face Ireland in shaping its foreign policy in a world whose centre of gravity may be changing signifi- OFT Naas

Brigid Laffan, Principal of the Col- lege of Human Sciences in UCD,

will address the issue of Ireland’s place in Europe and, specifically, its place in the EU.

John McHale of the Queen’s Uni- versity in Canada, but soon to be- come Professor of Economics in NUI Galway, will reflect on the fu- ture focus and direction of economic policy.

This year will see the return of all the regular features, including: sem1- nars, in Irish and English; ‘Renew Your Irish’ with Eoghan O hAnl- uain and Cuirt an Mhean Lae; the

mid-day poetry reading begun at the 2005 bicentennial school.

This year’s poets include John F Deane and Enda Wyley. There will also be set dancing workshops with Betty McCoy and Johnny Morrissey, the school tour and Club Merriman, with dancing and singing ‘til late. The director of the 2009 Merriman Summer School is Bob Collins.

THERE has been a huge increase in the number of cases coming before the Employment Appeals Tribunal and multiple job losses are poised to ensure this trend continues.

That’s according to Gearoid Howard, a Shannon-based solicitor who specialises in employment law.

He said that employees are becom- ing increasingly aware of their rights in the workplace, and as a result, the Appeals Tribunals workload has in- creased significantly. It takes up to 40 weeks for cases to be heard, on

average, while the vast majority of cases are swung in the favour of em- ployees.

“A lot of the time, people feel they have been selected unfairly for re- dundancy. That accounts for a lot of cases before the Employment Ap- peals Tribunals. At the moment I am being asked for advice from people about that from employers and em- ployees,”’ said Mr Howard.

“Times are tough. Employees are becoming a lot more sophisticated and educated than they used to be. They are looking for their avenues of redress. It is very difficult from an

employers’ point of view,” he said.

The trend, traditionally, for disgrun- tled employees was to take cases to the Employment Appeals Tribunal, but this has changed somewhat. “

The usual avenue was the Employ- ment Appeals Tribunal, but more often than not now people are going to the Equality Tribunal,” said Mr Howard.

The Appeals Tribunal calculates what the winner in a case is entitled to, through a mathematical computa- tion. However, the Equality Tribunal is not subject to the same limitations. ‘That is the stark reality for employ-

ees,’ said Mr Howard.

As the number of cases before tri- bunals is increasing, Mr Howard has noticed one trend. “In my own expe- rience, the success rate is 95 per cent for employees,” he said.

“Many years ago, an employer would have only come to me when they received a date for a tribunal, but now I am finding I am being ap- proached earlier in the process. Em- ployers are aware of the process,” he added.

The downturn in the economy has played a critical role in the increase in demand for tribunals of this na-

ture.

me WTKom ELON MNO Com Iloroems Kem MED OMB Ele past. You could leave one job today and get another tomorrow. The eco- nomic climate has changed dramati- cally and competition for jobs is phe- nomenal,” said Mr Howard.

He said that cashflow problems have also filtered through and create huge issues. “I have employers who have let people go months ago and they are still waiting to receive re- bate from the social insurance fund. When it turns to the Government to refund, that refund is taking a very long time,” said Mr Howard.