The Clare People Archive

KILRUSH town councillor Collie Sweeney (Ind) believes it is time for owners of derelict buildings in the west Clare capital to clean up their ATOR

Cllr Sweeney told the March meet- ing of the council that the time is right to get owners to clean up these derelict houses or the council will use its power under the Derelict Sites aoe

When the town council adopted the Kilrush Town Development Plan it was agreed that derelict sites would be receiving special attention during

the lifetime of the plan.

Cllr Sweeney said that he noticed that the Tidy Town’s report for Kil- rush also pointed to the negative im- pact of the derelict sites.

“This is a warning call only to owners of derelict sites to do some- thing about them. This council has been ignoring this issue for far too long,” he said.

Senior Staff Officer with Kilrush Town Council, Siobhan O’Keeffe confirmed that there are now five sites on the Kilrush Town Council Derelict Sites Register.

Under of the Derelict Sites Act 1990, each local authority is obliged

to maintain a Derelict Sites Register.

In November 2005, Kilrush Town Council submitted a nomination form to the Department of the En- vironment, Heritage and _ Local Government for the entire Kilrush Town Council boundary area to be prescribed as an Urban Area by the Minister under section 21 of the Der- elict Sites Acct.

In November 2007, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government confirmed this nomination.

The nomination of an Urban Area means that Kilrush Town Council can now charge or levy a derelict

sites levy on the owner or occupier of any of the derelict sites entered on the Derelict Sites Register where the market value has been determined.

“It 1s now proposed to prioritise the five entries on the Derelict Sites Register, proceed to determine the market value of each site and impose a derelict sites levies on the owner or occupier to take any other action as possible under the relevant sections of the Derelict Sites Act.

“Over the next three months a com- plete audit of sites in the town will also be carried out and sites will be added or removed from the register as appropriate,’ Ms O’ Keeffe said.

WEST Clare will have its own Las Vegas on the plains of Moyasta this April – for one night only.

Poker enthusiasts from around the county and country are expected to descend on the small west Clare vil- lage for its first ever-major Charity Poker Classic.

While poker classics may have been held in Clancy’s Bar before, they have never reached the scale of the one organised for April 11 in aid of the Cahercalla Hospice Fund.

Depending on the success of this inaugural classic, organisers hope to

make this an annual event and mark it as one of the biggest fundraisers from the area for the popular char- ity. The official opening of the €2.7 million extended Hospice Unit in the Garden Wing at Cahercalla Commu- nity Hospital and Hospice took place last month and the ongoing fundrais- ing events are necessary to keep the unit functioning to its full capacity The multi-million euro extension 1s providing a state of the art hospice unit with 10 private rooms, social space looking out on gardens, a fam- ily room providing overnight accom- modation and a kitchen serving the

hospice facility.

Employing a staff of 120, to under- pin the expanded free hospice care and make up the shortfall in running a non-profit community operation, fund raising requirements will now rise to € 500,000 per year.

Ten further beds are being pro- vided for the nursing home and the seven beds, which previously served as hospice, now become step-down hospice beds.

Since coming into community ownership in 1995 the hospice has provided for more than 1,000 termi- nally ill patients.

The Charity Poker Classic in Mo-

yasta will take place at Clancy’s Bar Moyasta on Friday, April 11, from 8pm sharp.

Prize money is €/7,000 pro rata with a 70 per cent payout guaranteed on the night. Tickets are €100 each and the competition is limited to 100 players. There are no buy backs. There will also be spot prizes and a raffle on the night and food will also be served. Michael Talty will be the master of ceremonies.

Further information on the poker classic 1s available from Michael Garrihy, proprietor of Clancy’s Bar at 087 9978769 or M Haugh 065 90 Pee

THE 16th Annual Frank Gallery Basketball Tournament was played in Ennistymon over the Easter week- end and produced some top class entertainment and plenty of excite- ment, with no match won by more than three points the tournament.

The event is held annually in memory of the late Frank Gallery, a leading member of the Claremont Admirals National league club on the 1980s.

Since the 50th anniversary of the club in 2005, the format has been teams representing past and present club members bringing together

a mix of veteran male and female players as well as the up and coming younger players.

The teams are called after loca- tions in the town and Lahinch where the game was played and survived from 1955 onwards. This year com- petition was contested by the Sluagh Hall Suns, the Market House Mob, the Scout Hall Skins and the Town Hall Terriers.

The opening game set the tone with Vinnie Leigh’s Sluagh Hall Suns edging out Tony Gallery’s Market House Mob 31-29. Next up were the Scout Hall Skins captained by Mark Wankel who faced off against Travis McDonough’s Town Hall Terriers.

The Terriers looked to be comfort- able with as much as an eight point lead mid-way through the third quar- ter. However, a series of turnovers opened the door for the Skins with Stephen Leigh and Mark Wankel combined for nine points to push the Terriers all the way. The Terriers eventually made the final with a tight two point win.

The third place game provided a spirited showing for both teams with the Mob looked favourites until vintage performances from Stephen Leigh and captain Mark Wankel gave the Skins a two point victory.

The final produced another heart stopper with the defending champi-

ons the Sluagh Hall Suns challenged by the Town Hall Terriers. Despite a spirited fight by the defending cham- pions, it was to be the Terriers day and they won out 30-27 victors in the Nee

Presentations were made at the Tournament Buffet in the Falls Ho- tel. The Winner of the Most Valuable Player Award was Stephen Leigh, a veteran of the 1982 Claremont Ad- mirals team. This award was spon- sored for the original Tournament by Frank Gallery’s colleagues at Mon- eypoint ESB Station The Frank Gal- lery Cup was presented by Tony Gal- lery to Travis McDonough the Town Hall Terriers captain.

NORTH Clare is the only place in the world to see a production of Me and My Girl this year. The Arthur Rose musical, which was revisited and updated by Stephen Fry in the SQs, 18S the choice for the 35th annual musical of the Ennistymon Choral NYere ei As

Plans are already well advanced for an American company to bring the show to London’s West End next year, so this Ennistymon Society 1s the only other group who will be eranted the rights to the romantic comedy until the end of 2009 at the earliest.

The story is about a cheeky Cock-

ney lad in the 1930s who discovers that he has inherited a fortune. But will he abandon his Cockney love Sally for the more glamorous Lady Jacqueline Carstone?

“It’s a romantic love story and a comedy. It’s similar in a lot of ways to Pygmalion or My Fair Lady. It’s a love story but with a twist. In a lot of musicals it’s a love at first sight situation, but in this story it builds throughout. It’s a question of will he or won’t he 1n the end,’ said Maureen King Browne of the Ennistymon Choral Society.

“It’s a very funny show and the cast are having such a ball while they are going it. The music is great and there are some very good songs in it.

The real show stopping songs will be well know to most people like the Lambert Walk and Leaning on a Lamppost.”

This years musical is directed by Peter Kennedy and produced by Mary Madigan. Some of the main performers include Michael Mc- Cormack, Meave Curry, Mary Kelly, Caroline Kennedy, Sinead Black- well, Mark Mulqueen, John Morgon, Jimmy Considine, Ailish Lawlor, Jerry Wheeler, Caroline Kinch.

“We will have almost 50 people on stage at one time or another through the production and more than 25 helping out behind the scenes. So yes, it’s a major operation,” contin- ued Maureen.

‘We have been working hard at this since October and everyone involved has really given it there all. We have students taking part from the CBS and Scoil Mhuire in Ennistymon and Mary Immaculate in Ennistymon.

“We have people involved from as far north as Ballyvaughan and as far west as Miltown. Everyone is always welcome.”

Me and My Girl takes place in Slu- agh Hall in Lahinch each evening from April 3 to April 6. To book contact 7071828. Tickets are €15 and €10 concession.

PEOPLE from north Clare and south Galway are being offered the oppor- tunity to get some free, and possibly life saving, advice on the dangers of cancer. On Monday, April 14, the Community Information Service mobile unit will be in Ballyvaughan with a trained nurse on board from llam and 3pm.

Access to the mobile unit is free to all and has been organised by the Marie Keating Foundation and the Ballyvaughan Medical Centre.

“We will have a trained nurse here all day who will be answering ques- tions and talking to anyone who

wants to come along and have a few words. The nurse will have some prosthetics to show how important early detection really is,” said Ailish Lawlor of the Ballyvaughan Medical Centre.

“This is aimed at men and women of every age. Anyone from the gen- eral community who would like to learn more about how best to guard against cancer should come along.

“In fact, this month the Marie Keating Foundation is focusing on prostate cancer so we are hoping for a large turnout of men.

“This type of facility 1s especially important for people in a rural area where it may be a little bit more dif-

ficult for people to get this type of medical screening.”

The trained nurse will speak to locals in the strictest of confidence and will also be able to provide take- home information leaflets and infor- mation on each of the key cancers to be aware of.

The nurse will also provide advice on healthy lifestyle options and work with prosthetic teaching aids to high- light the importance of early detec- nO

The Marie Keating Foundation which was established in 1998 fol- lowing the death from Cancer of Marie, mother of Ronan Keating. The foundation aims to raise aware-

ness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and early detection in reduc- ing the risk of cancer.

The foundation was established in1- tially to try and bring an end to breast cancer but has since widened it’s fo- cus to a number of different types of cancer in both men and women.

They focus predominantly on can- cers that can be prevented through lifestyle changes and early detection and their stated ultimate goal is for a future free from cancer. The founda- tion offers this drop-in service free of charge to the public.

For more information contact Bal- lyvaughan Medical Centre on 065 ira iUeRy

PARISHIONERS in Kilbane have taken to the highways and byways, raising cash to rennovate their much- loved nineteenth century parish church.

St Mary’s Church, Kilbane was built in 1845 by Fr John Burke and has seen generations of parishioners, baptized, married and sent on their final journies.

Above the main altar hangs a life- size crucifixion scene by the famous Italian painter, Cleato Luzi.

But while it has a special place in the hearts of the parishioners, the stone-built church — which is a pre-

served building – has seen better days and now needs a complete renova- nt)

But the work will cost money so parishioners have been organising all sorts of fundraisers.

“People of the parish and even outside the parish have been very Supportive,’ said Kilbane Pastoral Council Chairwoman, Mary Burke.

Mary was one of the organisers of a 10k fundraising run and walk on Easter Monday, which roused enor- mous enthusiasm and support lo- cally.

“Everyone got involved. Sgt Gerry Mulqueen walked the route in uni- form and looked after guiding the

traffic, our parish priest, Fr John Bane, cut the ribbon to start the 10k. Water for the runners and walkers was sponsored by Pat Walsh and Pat Meagher and Gunnings provided re- freshments in the form of Mars bars and water. Micke Ryan and Billy McInerney came along with a horse and trap and picked up the stragglers. We had wonerful co-operation and camaraderie,’ said Mary.

Seamus Bridgeman was the first runner over the finishing line and first walkers were Patricia and Fan- chea Moloney along with Sinead and Emer Mullane.

78 people signed up to do the 10k but almost 100 actually took part,

raising much-needed funds. The youngest walkers to finish the route were Anna-Lee Marsh (7) and Catri- onal Millane (8).

And despite their Trojan efforts, it’s unlikely that the parishioners will be sitting still for long. The fundraising committee have organised a dance on Friday, April 11, at the Lakeside Hotel in Killaloe with music by PJ WZ iitwet ene

TEN years ago, a coach teaching youngsters the fine art of wielding a hurley would be shouting encourage- ment to Paddy, Michael or Colm. The game is Still the same but in Scariff, some of the names have changed and youre as likely to hear cries of “come on Dieter’, as “come on Pat”’.

The young students of the Raheen Wood Steiner School are coming to grips with the sliotar for the first time and help is needed in keeping them safe and sound on the field. Steiner school parent, John Donaldson, is one of the people organising training for the students and he is appealing for anyone with gear and particularly helmets to donate to contact him or

the school.

“When we started the training ses- sions we weren’t sure what the inter- est would be but the response was fantastic,’ said John. “We had 20 kids to start with and that’s risen to 50 now. But their safety is very 1m- portant and we have very little in the way of gear. We can only put as many children on the field as we have helmets for.”

The school doesn’t have resources to buy helmets and strip but John believes there are probably helmets gathering dust in homes all over Clare. “It’s a lot to ask parents to buy helmets for all their children at the Start, with some of them bound to drop out along the way,” said John.

“I think there must be spare hel-

mets in homes where children have given up or grown up and we would love if people could donate them to us. Or if there is a commercial spon- sor who would like to help or anyone who has some strip lying around, we would love to hear from them. We want to bring the game to the chil- dren and not leave any child out but it’s a catch 22. We can’t let them on the field without helmets,” he added.

The school doesn’t have its own playing pitch, but, said John, “Scariff GAA have been very good to us, let- ting us use their pitch for training.” Anyone who can help with kit or sponsorship should contact John on 086 3761807.

After many years of waiting and campaigning, the Raheen Wood

Steiner Primary School in Tuam- eraney has been granted provisional recognition by the Department of Education and Science from next September with Lifeways Ireland Ltd based in as patron.

Commenting on the announce- ment, Pearse O’Sheil, spokesperson for Life-ways, said, “The parents who have worked hard to provide this education for their children over the past number of years are delight- ed that the State now recognises and supports the choice they have made. We would like to take this opportu- nity to thank all those who worked so hard to help establish and sustain the schools and who supported us in our efforts to gain recognition from the department.”

SHANNON workers leaving the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) have won their battle to secure travel concessions into the future.

The dispute between the SAA and SIPTU threatened to disrupt the ac- ceptance of the €36 million survival plan for Shannon last year.

However, the issue was parked after both sides agreed to refer the matter to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and the restructuring plan proceeded.

Last year, SIPTU members voted in

favour of the survival plan, but found out only after discussing their sever- ance package that they would forfeit their travel concessions, which al- lowed them a small number of free flights each year and reduced fares on Aer Lingus.

The matter could not be resolved at the LRC and was referred to the Labour Court.

According to the Labour Court rec- ommendation, SIPTU argued, “The long standing custom and practice of travel concessions for voluntary retirements was formalised into an agreement in 2000 through discus-

sion and agreement with the trade unions at the time.

“There was also voluntary retire- ments in 2002 and 2003 where mem- bers retained their travel concessions. On another occasion a number of in- dividuals left the company but were advised directly by management before they accepted that in these particular circumstances the travel concession would not apply.

The union also argued, “The man- agement negotiating team never once mentioned the issue of travel con- cessions. It was never referred to in the LRC proposals document which

was the subject of explanatory meet- ings prior to balloting. The issue over travel concessions only became known to staff after one to one in- terviews for the Voluntary Severance Scheme.”

In response, the SAA argued, “This was a once – off voluntary severance package which was negotiated in de- Oe

The onus was on the Union to seek to include such matters as travel con- cessions.

“Severance arrangements involve the end of the employment relation- ship including benefits in most cas-

oe

The Labour Court recommendation published last year but only brought to light now, states, “the court is of the view that as there was no com- mon ground on the issue during the period of the negotiations; in the circumstances outlined, the Staff Travel Concessions should continue to apply.

“Furthermore, the court recom- mends that in the event of discussions on future severance terms taking place, the issue of Staff Travel Con- cessions should clearly be addressed in the course of those negotiations.

NUMBERS at Gaelscoil Mhichil Chiosog on the Gort Road are set to double over the next number of years as the school is set to embark on ma- jor expansion plan thanks to funding from the Department of Education.

The school which will celebrate 25 years in existence next year is set to receive €240,000 from the Depart- ment, enabling it to construct new classes and move from a one-stream to a two-stream school.

“The grant will help us build two new classrooms and start the process of moving from a one-stream to two-

stream school,” says principal, Donal O hAiniféin. “At the moment we have one class for junior infants, one class for senior infants and up along. Over the next eight years because of the demand, we will have two classes for each year. We will start by tak- ing an extra junior infants class next year, so after a period of eight years we ll move from having 200 students in the school to having around 400. “You need to ensure when you go from one-stream to two-stream you have enough pupils. We need to be taking in 54 or 55 junior infants next year. That is a challenge for us. We turned away about 25 students last

year. That’s a failure on behalf of Gaelscoil na hInse. Now we hope to change that,” he added.

And, as part of encouraging more people to consider a gaelscoil as an education option for their children, Mr O hAiniféin has highlighted the need for an awareness programme for parents.

“We need to get it across to people what a Gaelscoil is — it’s an all-Irish primary school that’s open to every- body. People don’t realise that going to Gaelscoil is a choice they have.

‘People have a lot of baggage con- cerning Irish, which has been be- stowed upon them by our education

system. Some of them have very bad memories of the Irish language and they blame the Irish language. Ninety five per cent of the parents don’t speak Irish. The vast majority of parents want something different for their children.

‘In the mind the Gaelscoil 1s in Cois na hAbhna, where it started in 1993 and stayed until 1998. There seems to be a deficit of communication re- garding what is a gaelscoil. The main deficit 1s regarding the new Irish. The Poles, the Lithuanians, people form Africa, they don’t realise that the Gaelscoil is an option for them,” he ANOeloxen

COIS na Abhna, Ennis, will be the venue next week for the launch of ‘Flame on the banks’, the second solo album from acclaimed musician Maeve Donnelly.

The album, a collection of Irish and international fiddle music, 1s a col- laboration between the Quin based musician and Canadian guitarist Tony McManus.

Paidi O’Leonaird, presenter of TG4’s popular trad music series Ar- dan, will launch the album and will be joined on the night by some of the best-known names in traditional muSIC.

In spring of 2006 Maeve and Tony

toured Quebec and Ontario, and in spring of 2007 they toured the East Coast of the US. The CD “Flame on the Banks” was recorded last August in Ireland.

Originally from the village of Kylemore Abbey near Loughrea in East Galway, an area steeped in tra- ditional music, Maeve has been play- ing the fiddle since the age of five.

In 1976 she was the youngest of 25 musicians invited from Ireland to perform at the Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife in Washington DC.

During this tour, Maeve and her friends, Maighread Ni Dhomhnail, Sean Corcoran and Eddie Clarke re- corded the album, “Sailing into Wal-

poles Marsh”.

Maeve is also featured on a compi- lation album of compositions of the late fiddler Ed Reavy.

As a founder member of the group Moving Cloud, she recorded and toured in North America playing at such prestigious venues as the Mil- waukee Irish Fest, the Lincoln Per- forming Arts Centre and the Wash- ington Irish Festival.

Her solo debut fiddle album simply titled “Maeve Donnelly” was wel- comed with rave reviews.

After a long period playing in a eroup, Maeve is excited to be work- ing on a solo project.

She said, “Trad music I suppose, 1s a very niche market. We’re expecting

it to be a good night.

“There will be plenty of musicians there. I am looking forward to a nice night of atmosphere and music. It’s an open night, no invitations; eve- ryone is welcome to come along. I toured a lot with Moving Cloud, so I’m kind of anxious to get this solo project going.”

The launch of Maeve’s self titled solo debut album, Maeve Donnelly drew huge crowds to the Old Ground. She is hoping for a similar response eheee bee

“It was great, I think there was about 1,000 people packed into the big room upstairs. We should have another good night in Cois na Abh- na’.