The Clare People Archive

AN 82-year-old woman died af- ter falling and cutting her leg, the Coroner’s Court in Ennis heard last week.

Joanna Talty died at her home near

Kilkee in September 2007. County Coroner Isobel O’ Dea returned a ver- dict of accidental death caused by hy- povolemic shock, due to hemorrhage associated with a cut to the leg.

Ms Talty’s body was discovered near the gate of the garden of her

house by her daughter-in-law, Mary Talty. In her deposition to the court, Mary Talty said she had called to Joanna Talty’s house after she had heard the phone ringing out.

Ms ‘Talty’s son, Patrick Talty, told the court that he had visited his moth-

er the day the incident occurred.

He said, “I remember Friday, De- cember 28. I was with my mother in the garden in her house. I went milk- ing the cows at 2pm. I didn’t see her NA Coy mn o0t- |

Garda Mary O’Neill told the court

that when she was called to the house, she saw the body of Joanna Talty in an enclosed garden. She said Ms Tal- ty had suffered a cut to the leg.

Ms O’Dea and Inspector John Galvin both extended their sympathy to the family of Joanna Talty.

THERE have been obituaries aplen- ty, but Kieren Fallon has vowed to re- turn to racing despite being handed down a worldwide ban of 18 months by French racing’s regulatory author- ity, Galop.

And the controversial but gifted Ballinruan man has looked to fellow legend Lester Piggott for inspiration as he faces into a suspension that will keep off the track until August 2009.

A defiant Fallon spoke about his fu- ture in the sport after his 18-month suspension for failing a dope test at DISFUAS UN CoM EO UEAU MeO NNER MSELere by France Galop.

“It’s just a little setback,” he said. “It’s not a tragedy. Far from it. There’s no doubt [ll bounce back.

It’s very silly of people to talk of re- tirement. I’m young at heart and have many years left. I’ use the duration of the ban to get back on track, and when I do come back I’l! be stronger, both mentally and physically.”

“Jerry Bailey’s career didn’t take off until he was 40, and some of the best American jockeys have come back from drugs bans to compete – and win – at the highest level.

“In Britain, Lester Piggott returned to win a Breeders’ Cup at the age of 54. ’’m 42 – but I don’t feel it. I don’t have many miles on the clock – I’ve been riding good horses for the past 10 years – and I can ride until I am mae

Ironically, Piggott’s comeback was prompted by then Ballydoyle maes- tro, Vincent O’Brien who coaxed

him out or retirement after he served a jail sentence in England for tax evasion.

Now, current bearer of the flame in Ballydoyle, Aidan O’Brien and his paymasters, Coolmore Stud, are re- maining tight lipped on Fallon’s fu- ture as stable jockey.

“This is a personal matter for Ki- eren and for us there is no change. We will continue to use the best available on the day, as before,” Coolmore spokesman Richard Hen- ry revealed after the suspension was handed down.

In December, Fallon was cleared of race-fixing charges that had stopped him racing for 17 months in Britain after a judge threw out the case for lack of evidence. Now, Fallon has spoken for the first time on the ordeal

Omit elem eclebecmser-le

‘From the very first day after my arrest, the three years leading up to the trial were a nightmare for me. But when you consider that my life has been effectively been on hold since September 2004, I’m sure I can get through another 18 months, and hopefully I can turn it around.”

IN THE greater scheme of things this year, the merit of the McGrath Cup has yet to be valued. By the time the championship comes around, if Clare have bounced out of Division 4, maybe we’ll look back at this cold and wet month of January and say the tournament provided the perfect launch pad for Frank Doherty.

On the flipside, should Clare linger along the fat midriff of the lowest rung on the ladder, the McGrath Cup will drift into the shadow of insig- nificance.

Time and results will tell and for now, all we have are the past four games to linger on. Without Cork or Kerry competing, the competition was open up for the likes of Clare to take advantage and that’s what

they’ve done. As Frank Doherty has been saying since the UCC game at Miltown just after Christmas, com- petitive games are worth any number of training sessions and reaching the final was more important than win- ub bayean |

But the manner in which Clare overcame Limerick, Doherty says, was of huge significance.

“I’ve seen us play a lot better than that and maybe the occasion got to lads, maybe there were some nerves, but we showed spirit there at the end. And maybe that’s a spirit that wasn’t there before. I’m delighted for the lads that we won because the opportunity of getting silverware doesn’t come about too often. It’s a great result be- cause Limerick had their homework done, they stopped us playing down the middle but we hung in.”

Doherty was speaking out in the middle of the field and at his back Michael O’Shea was lifting the Mc- GCre-tism Other

Just after the final whistle sounded, Doherty clambered onto the pitch, slapped his players and told them it would be the “first of many.” It’s that positive thinking that has seeped into the attitude this year.

“This win is going to stand to lads,” he said. ““We’re unbeaten in ’08 and that’s something we’ll take. You saw a good crowd of supporters showing up here and they saw a team with heart and soul. Maybe it wasn’t the greatest game, but Clare can play better. Four games in four week- ends might have taken its toll, but we freshened things up. Colm Dillon came on and livened things.

“I thought we dominated things in

the second-half and drove at Lim- erick. We got the bit of luck, David [Tubridy] is a cool customer and he knows where the net is. We practice penalties and if we don’t get another for the rest of the year, then it’s al- ready paid off.”

And the incident that led to that eae IAYAs

“Ah,” Doherty smiles, “the ref had a great game. Fair play.” Enough said.

At the other end of the field, Mick- ey Ned O’Sullivan stands beneath the dressing-room balcony and has a different opinion on the penalty. O’Sullivan is one of football’s great thinkers and you can imaging him dissecting the incident — and the wider implications it might have on football — on his long drive back to Kenmare.

“T didn’t think it was a penalty,” he

says straight up. “It was very, very unfair. Football 1s now becoming about referees and it should be about players. I mean, that [the incident that led to the penalty] was a 50-50 ball.

‘“That’s how we coach a goalkeeper to come out for a ball. My job is to coach and I’m not going to criticise the referee, but it was a mickey- mouse decision. We train hard and it’s difficult to lose like that. I won’t blame the referee though — we had our chances and we didn’t take them.”

He drifts back to the dressing room, the incident still swirling in his head. O’Sullivan has seen enough though to realise that a McGrath Cup doesn’t make a spring.

Doherty realises that too. He knows Clare have just reached the foot of the mountain. Getting to Base Camp One is the next step.

THREE wins out of three at Coora- clare and it didn’t take long for talk to spread of the possibility of mov- ing the league opener against Carlow back west.

In all probability, that game will be played in Cusack Park as expected, but on Monday evening, definite confirmation from the county board wasn’t available.

“We’ll wait and see what develops with the venue over the week,” said

Frank Doherty after the game. “Co- oraclare has been a happy hunting ground for us lately and I’ve always been of the opinion that if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it.”

If the Carlow or any league game was to be moved to Cooraclare, then the grounds are well capable of hold- ing any potential crowd.

For the past three weekends, the traffic flow has been superb, the pitch has been up to standard given the time of year and with plenty of parking space, it could cope with any

following that the footballers would bring.

With an estimated 1,200 people at the McGrath Cup Final on Sunday, things ran seamlessly again and the professional attitude to hosting county games is down to two dozen volunteers who show up and lend a aE DaXe mM RcsAbU EDU AYA

No reason why the field and those who tend it shouldn’t be rewarded with a league game there this year. In their own interests and in the in- terests of Clare football.

AS THE crowd filtered out of Co- oraclare and the emotion of a late penalty faded, it was easier to draw a clearer picture of the game. Some improvements, some things to work One

James Hanrahan, Clare selector and a link to the great days of Clare football, provided a slice of the half- empty/half-full reaction.

A good finish, but a below par per- formance.

“Tt didn’t look like we were going to do it at the end, and I’m pleased that we dug out the win. But we had a lot of possession and we didn’t use it. That was very frustrating.”

As expected, Limerick provided a bulkier challenge and Hanrahan says the step-up was noticeable.

“It was a lot more physical. It goes to show that there’s a big difference between colleges and inter-county. The lads were up against older fellas who were a lot stronger and at times

it took us a while to get going.

“We played bad but we won. That’s all you can say really and it might be character-building to do that, but there’s no way we’ll win if we play like that against Carlow next week. Carlow are going to be a major step- up in class again and we have to 1m- priove from today. We struggled at times, but defended well.”

He returns once more to the clos- ing stages of the game and Clare’s refusal to give-in

“We haven’t been under pressure in the last three games and we were under fair pressure today. We came through, which was the main thing. The lads kept battling – that was promising — but we won’t get carried AE Ale

LAST YEAR, Clare travelled to Dr Cullen Park in the league opener, played well. When Carlow moved through the gears in the second-half, Clare responded and came home e100 MAA n OE

It was Clare’s highlight of the year

and already, even without the league beginning, they’ve eclipsed last year’s achievements.

On Sunday, Carlow come to Ennis in the reverse fixture and Clare will expect a similar performance and re- sult to that of 2007. Crucially, they will also expect and should continue their winning habit throughout the

league.

Despite Carlow’s draw with Dublin in the O’Byrne Cup and despite Paul Bealin’s introduction and a fresh at- titude in ther panel, Clare won’t have any serious reservations about the Carlow challenge. Dublin took them down at the weekend in the O’ Byrne Cup replay with a weak side and had

eight points to spare in the process.

The starting 15 against Carlow will hold the most interest from a Clare perspective. The back four should remain the same from the McGrath Cup final and Niall Considine — who wasn’t available for selection on Sun- day — should come in at wing-back, possibly at the expense of Jimmy yeah

Gordon Kelly has done enough at centre-back to keep the jersey. He’s been one of the county’s most con- sistent players over the past two years and he provides the spine Frank Do- herty needs.

During the McGrath Cup campaign, Clare have tried to coax a handful of players back onto the panel. So far, they haven’t budged but a slice of success in January will provide more bargaining power.

Garry Brennan will push for se- lection on Sunday, but the feeling is that Clare will stay with the midfield of Darragh Kelly and Frank O’Dea — though O’Dea picked up a knock to the back against Limerick.

Clare need Brennan and one other player pushing for a second midfield spot while Brennan also provides an option closer to goal. David Russell, of course, would provide the pres- ence needed in the middle but he was used effectively against Limerick — in his first start of the year — as, es- sentially, a third midfielder. Joe Hay- es could have used him more from his kickouts and whenever he did, particularly late on, Russell revelled. Though he’s been with the panel for less than a month, he already looks fit and sharp.

If Clare need some competition for

midfield places, then they also need two more forwards of inter-county standard. Michael O’Shea is an ob- vious starter on the 40 and Stephen Hickey has held his place throughout the McGrath Cup.

David ‘Tubridy has one corner locked up and Rory Donnelly might get the other. If not, Hickey could move to the corner, opening other options out the field.

The real decision comes at full-for- ward. Before Sunday, the feeling here is that Timmy Ryan was ahead in Clare’s pecking order but once more, Colm Dillon came on and made an immediate impact.

While both provide obvious pres- ence and height — thus increasing depth and penetration — they each bring different qualities to the table. Dillon is arguably better in the air and has a strong relationship with Tubridy. Ryan is the more rounded footballer but still lacks match sharp- ness. It’s a close call, but Ryan will Start.

Sean Collins, Keith Whelan, Fintan Conway, the Larkins and John Hayes will also have contributions to make and Doherty hasn’t been afraid to make fast personnel decisions during elses. 00a len

It’s a dog-eared cliché to state that Clare must win their home games, but a five from five start to the season is within Clare’s grasp.

DIFFERENT year, different Clon- lara performance but the same Jim Gully. As ever, the Clonlara manager was his animated self on the sideline as he watched his charges take on Galway side Tommy Larkins. Yet for the first time since possibly the semi- final against Killanena in 2006, his post match mood was one of under- standable disappointment yet im- mense pride in his players.

“We’re definitely disappointed by not winning it but I don’t think we can have any excuses. I think the bet- ter team won, I don’t have have quar- rels about that. I thought even in the first half we were very lucky to be six points apiece at half time. They had all the hurling done and I even said to the boys at half time that I thought the wind was going to suit them play- ing into it in the second half because it would have stopped the balls from going wide.

“In fact they killed the game well by slowing it down and we never got to the pace of it. I never thought we were in a comfortable position where we were going to drive on. Maybe the time we got the goal that was dis- allowed, we might have drove on af- ter that but I think our heads dropped and they definitely got a wind from it.”

Clonlara never really reached the lofty heights of previous games. The spark that ignited inspirational per- formances against Killanena, Car- rgitwohill and Lorrha just wasn’t there and even though the supporters stayed on to the bitter end awaiting another comeback, it never really materialised.

“I thought with ten minutes to go that it was going to take an unmerci-

ful effort to get out of it because we weren’t creating chances which was different for us. In past games, we al- ways had a forward running through and maybe they would get the ball to him but that wasn’t happening to- day. Apart from that one chance that was disallowed, I don’t think we ever threatened their goalkeeper and that was worrying me.”

The loss of Donal Madden was cer- tainly a factor on Sunday. Having got

seven points in their last outing in the Munster Final against Dromin-Ath- lacca, his influence from both open play and frees was crucial to Clon- lara all year but while Gully agreed, he wasn’t making any excuses.

“We knew we were coming in here under fierce pressure without Donal Madden but they were missing one or two of their fellas as well. I think probably the experience of being there two years ago, they knew how

to kill the game. Tommy Larkins played like a senior team today, we probably didn’t and we were just that little bit more naive.”

It may be the end of the road for their All-Ireland challenge this year but with a senior championship to look forward to, Gully now feels his side can make an impact at the highest level of Clare hurling, seeing last year’s successes as a huge learn- ing curve for his players for the year

ahead.

“We are definitely looking forward to playing senior. As I said to the lads inside, from a management point of view, I would gladly swap playing in the All-Ireland final on Saturday week to be in the county final next September. I would gladly swap it all but from the players point of view, from the day you are born all you ever want to do is play in Croke Park. That was their chance and that’s why I feel so sorry for them today but we ll definitely be looking at giving the Clare senior championship aright good go this year. We have a good, lively team and they will learn from today and from what happened last year. I think we proved today that we are no flash in the pan either. I mean we put it up to Tommy Larkins who were there two years ago and it came down to a puck of a ball really. We can play better than we did today, that would be my reading of it.

“But It has been a real rollercoast- er and I am just delighted to have played a small part in it and I’m sure I speak for Niall (Hogan) and Kieran (Whelan) as well. It 1s just a pleasure to work with those lads and It been a fantastic year and hopefully now this year we can drive on, make it count and be up there with the best of them.”

Accepting second best is not in Jim Gully’s vocabulary. The rest of the county beware.

A TOP level meeting is going ahead this week to prioritise key tourism marketing actions which are needed immediately and will now be pos- sible as the Government has an- nounced €3 million in funding to meet Open Skies.

Commenting on the Government announcement of the fund, a Shan- non Development spokesperson said, “It is good that we have certainty and commitment for a dedicated fund which will allow us to move forward

without delay and use the funds to implement a top-class North Amer1i- can tourism marketing campaign. As part of the implementation group for the allocation of the funds, Shan- non Development will meet early next week with the other appointed representatives to prioritise a set of key tourism marketing actions which will be undertaken immediately.” The plan, which will result in an an- ticipated €15 to €20 million over the next few years, will be implemented by tourism interests in the region. It incorporates investment in infra-

structure and tourism development in the mid-west, as well as a forward- working plan for the autonomy of Shannon Airport.

This plan was drawn up in consul- tation with a number of Government departments and pays regard to a re- port entitled ‘Mid-West Tourism and Economic Development Plan’ which was submitted by a group under the aegis of the Mid West Regional Au- thority, taking in Clare County Coun- cil, Shannon Development, Shannon Airport Authority (SAA), SIGNAL and IBEC.

Responding to the announcement, SAA Chairman, Mr Pat Shanahan said that the marketing fund is a sig- nificant development in meeting the challenges brought about under the new Open Skies era.

“Shannon Airport Authority wel- comes the Government commitment to invest in a major tourism market- ing strategy to stimulate tourism traf- fic into the west of Ireland through Shannon in the post-Open Skies en- ab KO)eNeelssOLm

“We look forward to working with tourism agencies to ensure the return

from this funding is maximised,” he Sr nKOe

Meanwhile, Clare Deputy, Timmy Dooley also welcomed the funding, stating that Clare will reap economic rewards from commitments outlined in the plan.

“T am delighted that, following a series of discussions with colleagues such as myself in the mid-west, Transport Minister, Noel Dempsey TD and Arts, Sports, and Tourism Minister, Seamus Brennan TD, have come forward with a plan as compre- hensive as this.”

“A GOOD result in miserable condi- tions.” Two days after the game, that’s Anthony Foley’s concise reaction to Saturday’s victory over Wasps, a re- sult that saw the reigning champions dumped out of the competition.

It was one of those old Thomond nights when Munster rolled out the red carpet for an esteemed visitor be- fore devouring their reputation with 80 minutes of controlled rugby.

The achievement didn’t end with the scalp of Wasps and Munster didn’t rely on their home record to see them through. Effectively, it was the bonus point secured against Cl- ermont Auvergne that catapulted Munster to their tenth consecutive

appearance in the knock-out stages of the competition.

“It was great to get all the points be- cause we went into the game with a lot of permutations in our heads. Bo- nus points, the winning margin. So we had to keep our eyes on a number of different things and to succeed on all fronts was a great achievement.

“It was a real cup atmosphere, a winner takes all thing. Thomond has seen a lot of those over the years and we ve got a lot of experience in those battles and we never doubted our- selves on Saturday.”

Munster’s composure impressed Foley. The full force of Wasps was met early on and the home side con- trolled the momentum.

‘“We’ve come to learn that playing

against any English side there’s a big 20 minutes in them from the start. They’ll throw everything at you and you’ve got to cope with that. Then they’Il come out in the second half and give it everything for the ten minutes after the break.”

Foley is asked if the ground, in the process of a major facelift, lost any of the character and tenor that dappled the place in the past and dismisses the theory immediately.

“Not a chance. It’s a great ground. The atmosphere was terrific and the kick off time was better than the Sunday games. Saturday evening seems to suit the crowd. There was a great buzz around the stadium and you have to think that as the stadium develops, the spectacle is just going

to be get better and better.”

Munster now face Gloucester at Kingsholm Stadium at the beginning of April and in between, they play just six matches with four of those going ahead during the Six Nations. When he looks at the pool of clubs still left in the competition, Foley reckons it never mattered who Mun- ster faced next.

“There are seven other teams ca- pable of winning the tournament. A few teams have never been at this stage before, so there’s going to be some extra excitement.

We’ll have some time off between now and then and there’s the Six Na- tions in between, so there’s going to be a lot of free time and we’ll have to handle that. You’d prefer to be play-

ing games, to stay together and that’s something we’ll have to deal with.

“But for now, you’ve just got to be happy with a quarter-final. To come away from Thomond with that place secured was the target. We knew go- ing into it that we wouldn’t have a home tie and we wouldn’t have an easy passage. It’s the old story – there are no easy games in the last rounds of the Heineken Cup.”

IN THE space of twelve months, K1i- eran Kelliher has seen Clare exit the McGrath Cup at the first stage and make the final of the competition. He’s the only arm of the manage- ment team that links the 2007 season and the progress this year is clear to him.

“It’s an achievement getting to a final and the lads played some good football out there. We got a great start with the goal almost right after the throw-in, but they seemed to go into that comfort zone again.

“We were sliced open a couple of times and that was worrying. Joe Hayes made a couple of great saves but if CIT had taken those opportun1- ties, they’d have been back to two or three points. We’d have been forced to start over again and establish out lead.”

The McGrath Cup, as always, has been used by Clare as a springboard to the league, a vehicle for establish- ing the best 15 come early February. But it’s been more than just a compe-

tition to blow early season cobwebs eee

The preparation has been ongo- ing since mid-winter and the fruits are showing. Still, Kelliher believes some more work is required.

“You have to say that CIT caused us some problems. They ran at us through the middle and we’ll have to tighten that up. If we’re going to com- pete with the county teams come the league, we’ll have to make sure they don’t get the goal chances that CIT got. Simple as that. But we’re still us- ing the McGrath Cup to look at play- ers in different positions. Nothing’s decided on yet and the team is still open.”

So far, 23 players have been used, discounting Greg Lyons, Garry Bren- nan and John Hayes who were each involved for their college. The pool of talent, Kelliher says, is increas- ing and improving. Fitness levels are high and competition for places is rising.

‘““We’ve wanted to have a look at as many players as possible and we’ve done that. We still haven’t stopped

looking and that’s the message we want to send out.”

One of those to resume training in the past fortnight was David Russell. He was named to start wing forward, was replaced on the starting 15 by Kevin Larkin but eventually made an appearance with 12 minutes left.

“This was David’s second week back and it’s been a big plus for us. He’s a strong player, a team player.”

Sunday is Clare’s fourth game in a month and it brings added incentive.

‘“There’s only four or five lads in- volved this year who already have a McGrath Cup medal. They’ll want to finish the competition on a high note, but we won’t take too much for eranted against Limerick. They’re the first county side we’ll have met.”