The Clare People Archive

THE Tourist Information Office at Killaloe has become the latest cas- ualty in the cuts which are seeing tourism attractions and facilities all over Clare shut up shop early.

The office on the bridge would nor- mally continue to provide services and information for visitors until the end of September, but it has been an- nounced that the facility will now close for the winter season much ear- lier than that.

It is the latest in a number of early closures, with Craggaunowen’s “The Living Past Experience’ closing several weeks earlier than normal and Bunratty Folk Park bringing in weekday winter opening times in September.

And this week, Killaloe councillor, Tony O’Brien (FF), called on Clare County Council to negotiate with Shannon Heritage to try to keep the tourism office open.

“This 1s a serious blow to people involved in tourism in east Clare,” he told a meeting of councillors for the Killaloe area.

‘We need the opening of that office extended, not curtailed.’

Smaller visitor numbers and a sea- son which is petering out early are the factors being blamed for the early AON Kee

Shannon Development’s Nandi O’Sullivan said that the move is “just good business sense. It’s a little bit quieter and there isn’t a need to open for an extra half hour. But the attrac-

tion will remain open at the week- end.”

Last month, when it was announced that Craggaunowen was to shut up shop early, a spokesman for Shannon Heritage said that a number of factors had affected the decision. “Easter came almost three weeks early this year so we had in fact opened that bit earlier. It is a challenging year gener- NO AA

To combat dwindling tourism num- bers, Shannon Development, in con- junction with the tourism and travel trade has been involved in a number of strategies to get more visitors into the region.

One plan has already seen 20,000 additional bed nightsbrought to the region. This involved negotiating working partnership arrangements with 15 travel operators in the US, including 13 tour operators sell- ing dedicated Ireland holiday pro- grammes in the US market.

The organisation is also working with Tourism Ireland and other tour- ism authorities on the €3 million Discover Ireland’s Wonderful West campaign.

Included in the campaign are US print, radio and online advertising with carriers.

THE allocation of almost €140.000 to two historic town projects in En- nis and Kilrush will enable the town councils provide a range of tourist signage, including orientation, in- terpretive and information boards, along the designated

historic trails.

€112,760 has been allocated to the Ennis Historic ‘Town Trail and €27,080 to the Kilrush Historic Town Trail under Failte Ire- land’s Historic Towns Initiative.

Welcoming the al- location, Munister of State Tony Killeen (right) said the initiative is aimed at the develop- ment of a series of historic walking trails in up to 100 towns around the country and the grants would assist in maximising the tourism potential of Kilrush and Ennis.

“T hope that funding will enhance the overall experience of those who visit Kilrush and Ennis. Clare 1s for- tunate to possess so many important heritage sites. Therefore, we must do everything possible to make them more accessible to members of the local community and visitors to the

respective towns.”

The Historic ‘Towns Initiative forms part of the Tourism Product Development and Infrastructure sub- programme of the National Develop- ment Plan 2007-13. It is also a com- ponent of the Tourism Infrastructure Fund, which supports local authori-

ties and other infra- structure providers to develop facilities for RO) UONMEUG MEE KEYEIe ing and cycling routes, jetties and moorings, angling stands, and ac- cess paths to areas of environmental and sce- nic interest. The funding was also welcomed by Deputy Timmy Dooley who said that the historic town trails were very popular with tourists in other parts of the country and should lead to more tourists coming to visit Clare.

“Tt will also be good news for any businesses along the trail and will help provide an extra boost to the local economies. I hope that other Clare towns will also be considered for other historic trails and I plan to raise this with Minister Cullen and the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism,’ Deputy Dooley conclud- ed.

FEARS were raised yesterday that Clare County Council may not be able to furnish the debt entered into in order to construct the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience. Responding to a motion put forward by Cllr Martin Conway (FF), the lo- cal authority revealed that visitor numbers at the world famous tour- ism site have dropped by more than

14 per cent all ready this year.

This represents a year-on-year drop of almost 100,000 visitors during August, June and July this year.

Questions have now been raised concerning the local authority’s abil- ity to furnish the debt should the cen- tre struggle to break even this year.

“The Cliffs of Moher has suffered badly because of the global down- turn. In May of this year there was a year-on-year drop of more than

5,000 people. In June that drop has risen to 34,000; more than 30,000 in July and 25,000 in August. This is a massive massive drop of 14 per cent,” said Cllr Conway.

“IT am concerned about this for a number of reasons. Last year the visi- tors experience just broke even. Now with the downturn in the economy and especially in tourism, is there a plan in place to deal with this situ- ation?”

“IT am also very concerned that this is the start of a serious downward trend and I would like to know what the directors are doing. Are they re- marketing this more for an Irish or UK visitor rather than for the Ameri- can visitor?

“Is there a contingency plan to deal with the new private park and ride facility? If that is built 1s there a plan to deal with the financial implica- tions of this? I would hope that we would give this private company stiff competition and seriously consider lowering our prices to make parking very competitive at the cliffs.”

Groresvaaternlebercameyemm seu immosCOla (erm Ovens Joe Arkins (FG) raised questions both about the local authorities abil- ity to furnish the borrowing under- taking as part of the Cliffs of Moher project and the future viability of this Nur

In response, a spokeswoman from Clare County Council said that they were monitoring the situation.

‘The trend here reflects what is hap- pening nationally and internationally at the moment,’ she said.

“We have revisited the marketing strategy and we are looking at under- taking a number of joint promotional initiatives. We are looking at promot- ing the cliffs in France and Germany through the Clare Tourist Forum and also in America.”

A SPELL in a detention centre is frightening a 16-year-old Ennis boy, his solicitor has claimed.

The boy, who cannot be named be- cause of his age, had an eight-month sentence confirmed at Ennis Circuit Court in July, for breaking into a bed and breakfast and kicking two car wing mirrors in Ennis last Feb-

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He appeared before Ennis District Court last Friday, where he admitted a charge of burglary and also plead- ed guilty to public order offences.

Inspector John Galvin told the court that the boy created a nuisance of himself while gardai attended to the scene of a house fire in Clough- leigh, Ennis, on July 2 last.

‘He refused to leave the area. He

encouraged other youths to start chanting ‘“f*** off’ to the guards,’ he said.

Referring to the burglary offence, he said a shop was broken into and valuable items – including a camera, laptop and jewellery – were taken, on May 27 last.

“The accused admitted his role in the burglary,” said Inspector John GPT bane

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said the circuit court had confirmed the eight-month sentence, after not- ing the boy had failed to maintain contact with the probation services.

“It was very sad circumstances for me as a Solicitor to have my client having a district court sentence of eight months confirmed,’ said Ms Godfrey.

“Spending eight months in St

Patrick’s Institution is frightening him. He is very unhappy there. It’s a terrible place for him to be,’ she Sr HKOe

She asked the court not to add to the eight-month term the boy is serv- ing. Judge Leo Malone imposed a four-month term and said it was not more lengthy as the goods that had been taken from the shop were re- Oho Keren

A VERDICT of accidental death has been recorded in the case of a Dublin man who died after being struck by a car in Kilkee last January.

Stephen O’Reilly had been out for a night in the west Clare town when the accident occurred in the early hours of the morning of January 30, 2007.

22-year-old Mr O’Reilly was struck by acar driven by one of his friends. He died at the scene. County Coro-

ner Isobel O’Dea expressed her sym- pathy to Mr O’Reilly’s family and many friends saying his death was a ‘sad and tragic outcome of a holiday weekend in Clare”.

Richard Whitley, a friend of Mr O’Reilly’s who travelled to Kilkee with him recalled the night the acci- dent occurred. He said that after the group had returned from the pub to their accommodation on O’Connell Street, Kilkee, Mr O’Reilly gave the keys of his car to another friend, Denise O’ Reilly.

‘IT saw Stephen’s car coming down the road. It sounded like Stephen Shouted ‘Come on’,’ said Mr White- M4 ‘He stepped out onto the road and the car hit him. He hit the wind- screen. I asked him to squeeze his hand if he could hear me. A doctor that was passing said he was dead.”

Terry O’Reilly, the deceased’s fa- ther, identified his son’s body in the mortuary on January 30. Garda John Convey described the scene of the accident.

“I noticed a green Honda civic parked on the incorrect side of the road, facing towards Kilrush. There was a person lying on the road. There was a small pool of blood near the head. Doctor Ellis pronounced him dead at 1.15pm.”

Dr John O’Callaghan carried out the post mortem on Mr O’Reilly at University College Hospital, Galway. He found that the cause of death was multiple injuries including a frac- tured skull consistent with injuries sustained in a road traffic accident.

Advising the jury of five men and one woman, Ms O’Dea said the ap- propriate verdict was one of acci- dental death. The foreman of the jury expressed his sympathy with the O’Reilly family. Inspector John Galvin expressed sympathy to the O’Reilly family on behalf of the Clare Garda division on the “sad, tragic and untimely death of a young man”. Terry O’Reilly thanked the gardai, members of the rescue serv- ices and the Clare public for their Support.

COMPARISONS _ between – staff costs at Aer Lingus and Ryanair are “not realistic” a Clare councillor has warned.

Figures published in newspaper re- ports last week suggested that airline staff were earning an average salary of £83,000.

Newmarket-on-Fergus Councillor, Pat McMahon said that the figure was produced by dividing the wage

bill of Aer Lingus by the number of staff employed.

“This is on a par with calculating the average pay of a Microsoft staff member by including Bill Gates for- tune in the calculation,’ Cllr McMa- hon said.

The councillor said that airline staff had contacted him to voice their fears that the publication of the figures 1s part of a plan to soften up Shannon for further cuts.

Cllr McMahon said at a meeting of the mid-west regional authority that comparisons with Ryanair were last made when Aer Lingus announced they were moving the Heathrow slots to Belfast, pointing to Ryanair’s costs at Shannon while citing bigger profits to be made in Belfast.

According to the councillor, Aer Lingus staff believe that jobs and remaining services are “constantly under threat”.

“Decisions on Shannon are be- ing made in Dublin and Cork with- out Shannon having an opportunity to speak up and make its case,’ the councillor said.

THERE are now only four spaces re- maining in a draw to win €100,000 cash back on your new home.

Drumquin Construction and Ley- den Auctioneers are offering 15 entrants the chance to win the cash back, while one runner-up will get €20,000 cash-back and all other participants in the draw will receive a weekend away.

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Gort Leamhan is a high-quality development in the suburbs of Ennis

town. The area of Roslevan is beside exits to the Ennis bypass and pro- vides easy links to Shannon, Limer- ick and Galway.

The houses themselves are a mix- ture of three-bedroom townhouses, four and _ five-bedroom semi-de- tached and five and six bedroom de- tached homes.

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lake and amenities, and a low density development in a prime location. The houses are energy efficient and their heating systems are aimed at making the houses greener. To achieve this the houses have the high- est levels of insulation, High Effiency fully Modulated System installed, gas boilers and Solo Conservo Rads which have energy saving software and continually adjust heat delivery to ensure no wasteful overheating. To find out more information about this development contact Drumquin construction on 065 6864788 or email phdrumquin@eircom.net or contact Leyden Auctioneers on 065 6820555 or email info@leyden.ie.

ENNIS came within a whisker of recapturing the glory of 2005 last night with a stunning performance at the 2008 Tidy Towns Awards. With 300 points from a possible 400, the county capital came within just three points of overall win- ners Westport, with the Mayo town claiming the title for the third time in less than a decade.

There was a number of huge con- solations for the Ennis Tidy Towns committee however, with the town

winning the the awards for Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre as well as claiming the National Le Gaeilge Award. Ennis last won the award for Tidiest Large Urban Centre in 2005, when they also won the overall na- tional award.

Indeed, there was good news all around the county last night with Lissycasey topping the poll for the Best New Entry and both Ennis and Kilrush winning gold medals.

In addition to this Ballynacally won a Silver medal while Kilkee and Mountshannon both took home

bronze medals.

Regional accolades were awarded to Ennis for Best Presented Bring Bank, Labasheeda Community Pride for the Notice Nature project, the Ennis Tidy Towns Committee for their Map of Recycling Loca- tions and the Holy Family Senior National School in Ennis for the Mid-West School Award.

In the county awards, Ennis took first place overall, followed by Kil- rush and Ballynacally, while Kul- laloe won the Endeavour Award for Orcs

CLARE manager Fintan McNamara felt this defeat more than most. The Killanena man along with Maura Sheedy and Eamon O’Loughlin have been with this side for four years now and has witnessed their development at first hand as they reached their first ever All-Ireland final.

It wasn’t to be however as Kilkenny, just as they had done two years ago at Under 16 level, proved too strong for the Banner girls but as he consoled each player at the final whistle, he spoke of his immense pride in his players despite defeat.

“Kilkenny were flying it today and they had their homework done on us but the girls gave it everything and

that’s all I could ask and I’m very proud of them for that.

“They got a lead on us and even- tually when we got into the game it rather evened out. I think in the sec- ond half we got the start we wanted and I thought we were getting on top at that stage and things were begin- ning to turn.

“But they got a lucky goal again and

I think that flattened us and pushed them on again.”

From a Clare perspective, the biggest aspect was the use of two Kilkenny backs to mark Clare’s top-scorer Carina Roseingrave, a tactic that McNamara admitted they ToLtIeTs am NeUUbE AYA

“T think Kilkenny had two players on her for nearly the whole game.

They had their homework done on us and fair play to them.

“We thought we had enough to counteract that but you have to credit GU antine

“They weren’t going for three-in- a-row for no reason but as I say I’m proud of the girls to get there and I couldn’t ask for any more. We’re dis- appointed but we’ll be back.”

WHERE David Fitzgerald and Kil- kenny are concerned, the Sixmile- bridge man has had no luck what- soever this decade. Just look at his track record. The senior All-Ireland final of 2002, the quarter-final replay defeat of 2004 and the semi-final loss in 2006 that was to be his last championship game in the saffron and blue. He did return this year to a heroe’s welcome in his native Sixmi- lebridge in March, again against the Cats but it was the same result as Richie Power (2) and Eddie Brennan grabbed three goals to narrowly sink the Banner.

The ‘Kilkenny factor’ followed Fitzgerald into management as well

as WIT edged out his LIT side after extra, extra-time in the Fitzgibbon Cup Final with Ballyhale Shamrocks forward Eoin Reid grabbing the de- cisive winning goal after twice drag- ging his side level earlier on to send the game into extra-time.

That streak continued on Sunday as Kilkenny claimed their third suc- cessive Minor A camogie title at the expense of Clare and while trainer Fitzgerald admits that Kilkenny deserved the win, he still feels that there is a lot of potential in this Clare side.

“They were the better side alright on the day. I don’t think we played to the potential we can play to and may- be the day got to us or whatever but certainly Kilkenny have won three

All-Irelands and are a fantastic team. There is more in our girls for definite and we showed that in patches there today.

“Listen, the referee wouldn’t have made a difference at the end of the day but she was an absolute disgrace out there. We wouldn’t have won the game but all you want is fair play at the end of the day and she wasn’t acer

“In saying that, I have to hold my hands up and say that I am delight- ed with our girls. They battled well and we came back and probably the second goal killed us. We were ab- solutely just battling back to within five points and we were unlucky not to get a break for a goal but they got one up the far side of the field and

that was it. The game was over after Were

Despite his obvious disappoint- ment, the two time All-Ireland win- ner is adament that these players are destined to lead Clare camogie to the next level.

“Let’s be honest, Kilkenny were winning senior All-Irelands a few years back for fun. Clare are Jun- ior. A lot of these girls are coming onto the Junior team and they will bring Clare up to senior, I’m posi- tive of that. And we will be compet- ing at senior level in a few years if they are handled properly. And that’s very important that they are handled properly and not overtrained or over- worked. These girls deserve to play in their own age group and given a

right chance at that, that’s very im- portant and they will progress then WAC oo mn ee: |e

Fitzgerald has the perfect opportu- nity this weekend to quash his Kil- kenny hex when his Waterford side take on Kilkenny in the All-Ireland senior hurling final. A game that has the Sixmilebridge man buzzing with anticipation.

‘“Let’s see what happens this week. I’m looking forward to it and I’m more motivated than ever. You can’t say what will happen because you are standing on the sideline and you are helpless so let’s see. We are not given a chance but you never know.”

After his luckless past against Kil- kenny, it’s almost become a personal mission.