The Clare People Archive

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’.

THE efforts of four Ennis teenagers were recognised this week as Eddie McCarthy, Martin Molloy, Brian Mc- Donagh and Seamus Higgins from the Cloughleigh area, were awarded An Gaisce awards.

Eddie and Seamus are studying for Leaving Cert Applied at the Clare Youth Service in Ennis and Martin is preparing for Junior Cert at En- nis Community College and is also involved in projects with the Clare bolts mero a’s (een

The awards represents further en- dorsement of the work being done at Clare Youth Service after Minister of State Pat Carey held discussions with staff and students there over the

weekend.

The awards, which were presented to the young people by Minister of State Tony Killeen and hurling leg- end Davy Fitzgerald, recognised the personal challenges undertaken by the young people involved in four ar- eas – community, skills, physical and adventure.

“The young people really had to challenge themselves to achieve these awards. It requires commitment each week to work on the four sections and while the president’s award leader can guide and encourage the partici- pant, the real work is up to the young people themselves,” said Patrick Mc Mullin of Clare Youth Services.

Two of the young people Brian Mc- Donagh and Eddie McCarthy were

presented with silver awards. This was their second award as they were previous recipients of the bronze Gaisce. Seamus Higgins and Martin Molloy received bronze awards.

The young people hiked across the Burren, helped run programmes for younger members of their group and assisted in residential weekends.

They also worked on a community farm in France assisting in the feed- ing and care of the animals as well as helping to build traditional French ovens.

There was also the small matter of skill – for this, all the recipients com- pleted various stages of the British Horse Society riding tests and stable management programme. For physi- cal activity, the young people in-

volved themselves in achieving vari- ous levels in kayaking and canoeing.

An Gaisce or the President’s Award is an inspiring adventure into per- sonal development for young people aged between 15 and 25 years. The awards aim to cultivate personal development and encourage young people to set and accomplish their own personal challenges.

In reality it achieves much more – instilling confidence, encouraging team effort, inspiring dreams and fostering friendships.

THE work done by Glor na hInse has been described as an exemplary model for others to follow.

Speaking on Saturday in Glor, when the Ennis Glor na nGael com- mittee was presented with first prize in the Irish Langauge Awards, Glor na nGael manager Nora Welby said, “This committee enjoys widespread Support in the community and em- ploys a highly effective means of planning. The committee’s approach to its work is an exemplary model that would be useful for other commit- tee’s involved with Glor na nGael”’.

Ms Welby praised the work done in providing Irish language classes for adults. She said, “Among the many achievements of the Irish language community in Ennis is the strong gaelscoileanna movement and over- coming challenging obstacles to pro- vide Irish classes for adults”.

Cathal Goan, Director General of RTE, was present to make the pres- entations at the ceremony.

The local Glor na nGael commit- tee in Ennis received €50,000 and a trophy, in national recognition of its achievements in promoting the Irish language in County Clare dur- ing 2007.

Second place was awarded to Rath Cairn in the Meath Gaeltacht, whose committee received an award to the value of €12,500.

Ms Welby added, “Youth provision also impressed the Glor na nGael adjudicators with Féile na hInse, the publication of a CD and the organi- sation an Fhéile Scoildramaiochta in Ennis ensuring provision for young people. Glor na hInse has a highly effective publicity strategy.”

On top of first place in the compe- tition, Glor na hInse won the Public Services Award, €700, sponsored by Gaeleagras na Seirbhisi Poibli.

She continued, “The committee

works closely with the state sector to encourage the provision of services through the medium of Irish. The li- brary received particular praise from the adjudicators on account of the Irish language resources its offers. There is also excellent cooperation with the County Council’s Irish lan- guage officer.

In total, Gl6r na nGael announced prizes amounting to more than €150,000 at the event in Ennis on Saturday.

Glor Shionna received national rec- ognition on Saturday night. The Irish language group won Duais Chonradh na Gaeilge, worth €2,000.

THE staff and management of Hali- fax Insurance in Shannon have spent the last few months working that bit harder. It’s nothing to do with trying to increase profits or even combating the downturn in the economy, instead the group have been working their fingers to the bone to raise money for three very deserving charities.

And on the evidence of this work, they all deserve great big raises. Last Thursday the insurance company presented cheques totalling €34,000 to three charities.

The Irish Cancer Society were given €17,000 to continue their good work while Limerick’s Milford Care Centre received €8,500 and depres-

sion charity Aware receive €8,500.

The company’s charity committee introduced the challenge to Halifax Insurance Ireland Ltd and organised, promoted and encouraged colleagues to get involved in the events through- out the year. Each and every member of Halifax in Shannon was involved in some way or another in the fund- raising push.

The committee came up with a wide variety of events and activi- ties ranging from the sublime to the slightly ridiculous. Senior managers served tea and coffee to everyone at their desks, people washed cars, and the IT team sold their own desserts and produced a world class recipe book.

Other colleagues faced the bitter

cold of the Atlantic on St Stephen’s day while more than 20 others were sponsored to lose weight on the beach body challenge. They even held an Xtra-Factor night with their very own version of Louis, Simon and Sharon.

“This money will go along way to- wards helping us to create and deliver innovative programmes for the care of people with cancer, to fund can- cer research and to provide education and health promotion programmes independent of government policies,” said Kevin Delaney of Irish Cancer Society who collected a cheque for a AUC OF

“We are so proud of our employees for all that they have achieved,” said Caroline Holmes, Senior Manager

HR and Chair of the Charity Com- mittee.

“We have set all of our departments a challenge for 2008 so we can see how high we can raise the bar.”

Halifax Insurance Ireland Ltd was voted one of the top 50 companies to work for in 2007 and were awarded overall winner for Training and De- velopment by the Irish Institute of Training and Development (IITD) in February 2008.

DUCHAS na Sionna’s first newslet- ter highlighting aspects of the herit- age of Shannon town and its environs should have safely arrived in every house in Shannon by now. Those who did not could still pick up one of the remaining copies at the Sean Lemass Library at Shannon.

The formation of the Duchas na Sionna group was initially inspired by a wish to dispel the widely held belief that Shannon was built and developed on some marshy waste- land where nothing of any value or

significance existed prior to modern development. The group was formed by representatives of various other organisations based entirely in Shan- non like the Shannon Archaeological and Historical Society who produce the annual journal “The Other Clare’, Club na Sionna and the Shannon Wetlands Group and representatives of some local branches of national organisations such as Birdwatch Ire- land and Comhaltas Ceolt6oiri Eire- ann.

The current newsletter outlines many of the projects being under- taken by Duchas na Sionna which

will be of interest and significance to residents of Shannon. There are explanations on the historical ori- gins of the names of several local housing estates. There are facts and figures on the extent and signifi- cance of many of the historical and archaeological sites which still exist in the area. There is also an outline of the project to clean up and restore the The Shannon Wetland site which will, with time, revert to it natural state aS a wet meadow and provide a unique amenity and wildlife haven within the urban setting of Shan- non town. The _ restoration of this

wetland site has been supported and sponsored by The Heritage Council of Ireland, and the newsletter itself, which is produced on a fully bilin- gual basis, has been sponsored by Clare County Council.

The work of Duchas na Sionna and its members has been sadly over- shadowed in recent times by the sud- den and untimely passing of Oliver O’Malley who passed away unex- pectedly on Ash Wednesday. Oliver’s many generous and selfless contribu- tions to various aspects of commu- nity life in Shannon will stand as a lasting testament to his memory.

AN exhibition that highlights so- ciety’s dependence on forestry has opened in the Sean Lemass Public Library.

The ‘Wood of Life’ exhibition is a traveling, hands-on, interactive ex- hibition on the social, economic and environmental importance of the world’s forests through education for sustainable development.

The exhibition is aimed primarily at pupils from fifth and sixth class and second level students.

Run by Just Forests, the exhibition has been a big hit in galleries and li-

braries around Ireland. Just Forests was founded in 1989 in response to global deforestation, making it one of Ireland’s longest established non- governmental organizations. The eroup works solely on global pover- ty-related and tropical forestry/tim- ber issues from a local development perspective.

Just Forests uses society’s depend- ence on wood and the on-going de- cline in global forests as a tool to establish links between the loss of terrestrial biodiversity, development, conflict and poverty.

Tom Roche, spokesperson for Just Forests, said one of the key features

of the exhibition is interaction be- tween the public and the exhibits.

He said, “Its not a typical exhibi- tion. It’s very much hands on, we want people to touch the exhibits. There is an activity sheet that peo- ple can fill out. It’s very much aimed at kids and we’re hoping that all the schools in Shannon will get the chance to come down.”

With the exhibition booked to run in venues around Ireland until May 2009, Tom believes that given the current climate, people are keen to learn about environmental issues.

He said, “We have been touring the exhibition for a while now, but there

are new elements to it. It is an envi- ronmental exhibition and though it we try to explain how important it 1s to manage forests. We have to con- sider why forests are so important in our lives. It is very topical at the mo- ment, because of all the debate about eae oy VM c-v meen be lcame

In association with Just Forests and the Wood of Life Exhibition, Coillte, the Irish Forestry Board has agreed to donate 10 native trees to all schools that visit the Wood of Life Exhibi- tion. Interested schools can forward details to woodlife @justforests.org

‘Wood of Life’ runs in Shannon un- til April 4.

A SHANNON priest who left the parish to minister to the poor in Ec- uador has led the first ever Easter celebrations in his new parish of El Bautismo del Jesus.

Fr Colm Hogan decamped from Shannon to work with the communi- ties in Ecuador who are leaving their homes in the county and living in wooden huts on the outskirts of the city in the hope of better employment opportunities.

But the Shannon curate is already making his mark, having led a con- eregation in the first ever Easter cel- ebrations in the community of the poor and now he’s planning to build a church there.

In letters back to his former Clare parish, Fr Colm explained that they have had to cope with monsoon rain- falls since the beginning of the year, in a place with no running water and no toilets.

“Some days the roads to my par- ish are impassable, there are huge craters, not potholes, developed in the mud roads and the roads that were tarred have either collapsed or just washed away. In all honesty the mud tracks on my brothers farm at home are in much better condition,’ he wrote.

Fr Colm is working with people who are living on the outskirts of a city which is steeped in wealth while his parishioners don’t even have a minimum wage.

“I was chatting to one guy today who is a mechanic in a garage in the city centre, and for 45 hours work every week, he takes home $80, his lunch break each day is ten minutes. Many of the families in the parish where I am based live in straw huts with no sewage or water facilities and basically only one big room, for families of up to ten people. Nights of heavy rains destroy such homes very easily.”

But despite their poverty, the people have “great dignity” and have made him welcome, Fr Colm and his pa- rishioners have now begun work on a small chapel which will hold about 100 people.

‘Much more facilities are needed in time, a central church location, a

parish house to live in, development of some of the schools which are in terrible conditions, a medical clinic and who knows what more,” Fr Colm Said.

There are two accounts open to support Fr Colm’s work, an account in Shannon Credit Union which can be accessed through the Shannon parish office beside St John and Paul Presbytery and the Fr Colm Hogan Ecuador Relief Fund account. The account number 1s 04613076 and the sort code is 93-22-72-AIB Birr.

LOCALS in Gillogue near Clonlara will meet tomorrow (Wednesday) night to discuss ongoing concerns they have with the operators of an enterprise centre which is the cause of heavy traffic passing their homes on a daily basis.

The 323,000 sq ft former Burling- ton plant was sold by Shannon De- velopment in controversial circum- stances in 2006 and is now home to several companies including a heli- copter maintenance facility.

Local residents are concerned about safety in the locality, especially with dozens of trucks and other vehicles using the narrow road on a round- the-clock basis.

“As long as the factory was in op- eration, going back many years, we always had concerns about safety, especially along the road where we live which is the main access route to the facility. Now that the plant has changed hands, we still have a number of concerns,” a residents’ spokesman said.

A second meeting due to take place on Thursday has been postponed. Residents were expected to meet the facility’s owners as well as officials from Clare County Council but a spokesman for the plant said that a consultant’s report commissioned by them would not be ready and that they had to postpone the meeting.

The manager of the facility, Brian Whelan, said, “We will do all in our power to alleviate the concerns of locals. When we took ownership of the plant, we promised locals that we would sit down with them and we have already had one meeting. We have already committed to contribut- ing towards the construction of a foot- path and other associated road repairs from Larkin’s Cross to the plant.”

Local councillor Paschal Fitzgerald (Lab) said he had met with the op- erators and local residents and was hopeful that both sides could come to a satisfactory resolution.

The original sale of the former State-owned property at Gillogue was halted early in 2005 after local residents, politicians and business interests expressed concern about the manner in which the sale was being conducted.

Shannon Development pulled out of a deal after the State’s spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Au- ditor General, reviewed the proposed sale. Late in 2006, Shannon Devel- opment finally accepted a tender be- lieved to be worth around €8m from two mid-west-based businessmen for the purchase of the former factory and 27 acres of land. The company retained 89 of the 116 acres at the site although it had originally intended selling all the land, along with over 300,000 sq ft of buildings, for just €3.25m.

“NAPPIES should not cost the earth” is the message being delivered by Clare County Council ahead of an unusual event aimed at encouraging parents to think about the alterna- tives to disposable nappies.

A Real Nappy Day will take place at Dunnes Stores Foyer in Ennis on Wednesday, April 9, from llam to 3.30pm, when real nappy suppliers will speak about their products and

their benefits for parents, babies and the environment.

A real nappy is one that is washable and is used over and over again. Sig- nificant advances in real nappy tech- nology mean modern parents need not return to washing nappies, safety pins and folding.

Research shows that by using real nappies, parents can save over €1,000 on the cost of keeping a baby in disposable nappies and at the same time protect the environment by di-

verting a huge amount of waste from going to landfill.

According to Joan Tarmey, Clare County Council’s Environmental Awareness Officer, “There have been amazing advances in technol- ogy, even in the past five years. Real nappies come with poppers or velcro for quick and easy fitting, are incred- ibly soft and comfortable, and are available in lots of cute styles, shapes and colours. So, you get many of the benefits of disposable nappies, more

money in your pocket and you are helping the environment.

“Using real nappies helps prevent up to 2.5 tonnes of waste being gen- erated. So that’s good news for the environment. But you can buy your entire real nappy kit for 2.5 years for about €300.

“The same amount of money would only buy 12 to 16 weeks of dispos- able nappies. So it makes economic sense too.”

The upcoming information event in

Ennis will also feature the launch of the new Limerick/Clare/Kerry Real Nappy Voucher Initiative. There are 10 €150 vouchers to be won by par- ents of babies of 18 months or under who agree to participate in surveys at three, six and 12 months once they start using the real nappies.

Entry forms for the vouchers will be available on April 9 at the real nappy event in Ennis and will be ac- cepted until April 17, after which 10 lucky winners will be drawn.

NINETEEN members of Clare County Council claimed over €30,000 each in salaries and ex- penses last year, new figures released yesterday show.

Overall, the 32 members of Clare County Council received €1.37 million in salaries and expenses in 2007.

The figures released by the council show that former mayor Cllr Flan Garvey (FF) claimed the highest amount, netting over €45,000 dur- ing 2007.

Cllr Garvey was followed closely behind by the current mayor, Cllr Pa- tricia McCArthy (Ind) who claimed €43,631.

They are just two of 19 councillors that received over €30,000 in sala- ries and expenses last year.

The figures also show that it cost 228,585 to fund councillors’ travel to conferences all over Ireland and some overseas activities as well.

Mayors receive an annual allow- ance of €27,000 per annum. Both Cllr Garvey and Cllr McCarthy re- ceived €13,500 each last year.

Councillors receive a salary of €16,/52 after tax, while they also

receive monthly allowances to attend statutory meetings.

These allowances range from €6,000 to €7,500 each year.

Senior members of the council who are chairs of its Special Policy Com- mittees (SPC) receive an additional allowance of €6,000 each.

These members, Cllr Joe Arkins, Cllr Pat Hayes, Cllr PJ Kelly, Clir Ri- chard Nagle, and Cllr Tommy Bren- nan also attend meetings of the coun- cil’s Corporate Policy Group (CPG)

The policy group is involved in drawing up the agenda for each month’s council meeting.

The figures show that Cllr McCa- rthy also received an allowance of €4,500 through being chair of the County Development Board from January to September 2007.

Cllr Brian Meaney (Green) and Cllr Bill Chambers (FF) shared an allowance of €9,000 for being dep- uty mayor.

For the first time last year, council- lors were able to claim a maximum of €600 for usage of mobile phone Viste Reon

The allowance is to represent 50 per cent of total vouched mobile phone costs associated with a councillor’s public duties.