The Clare People Archive

FIGURES released this week show that a total of 80 million litres of milk quota was offered for sale as part of the third Milk Quota Trading NYo tesa elon

Of these, more than 66 million litres was successfully traded, mak- ing it the highest proportion of quota sold to date under the lifetime of the controversial scheme.

Of 66 million litres traded, some 49 million litres was sold on the ex- change at prices ranging from 12 to 45 cent per litre, while 17 million litres was sold through the priority

pool at the maximum price of 12 cent per litre. “I am delighted that the third Trading Scheme has continued the trend established by the first two. Sixty and seventy per cent, respec- tively, of all quota offered for sale on the first two exchanges was sold, and today the volume traded has ex- ceeded 80 per cent,” said Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan.

“IT am _ particularly pleased that the improvements made in recent months have borne fruit, with many more sellers successfully disposing of their quotas after opting to accept one or two cent per litre less than their original offer prices in order

to match the Market Clearing Price. “This has been especially beneficial to producers in the northern half of the country. I am also pleased to note that quota is now being acquired by Category | producers in Co-op areas where access had previously proved oNbeerere Diam

Minister Coughlan also took the Opportunity to express her satisfac- tion with the operation of the Milk Quota Trading Scheme and to look to forthcoming challenges.

“IT think it has been clearly demonstrated that the ‘Trading Scheme has been a very effective tool in the allocation of quota to

active and committed dairy farm- ers, and will continue to be so in the future,’ she added.

“We must now look to new chal- lenges, and 2008 will not prove wanting in this regard. While much attention will focus on price and market trends, I look forward to dealing with the challenge presented by the commission’s proposals on the Health Check and the proposed quota expansion from April 1, 2008 and to working with the sectors to achieve the best possible outcome for Ireland.”

Details of the next exchange will be announced early in the New Year.

MAYOR of Clare Cllr Patricia Mc- Carthy was guest of honour at the last Kilrush town council monthly meeting of 2007.

The Kilrush native thanked the town councillors for affording her the honour. “We all remember where we come from and | am very hon- oured,’ she said.

Describing her as “a fine lady and politician” mayor of Kilrush Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind) said *“*“We are very proud of you here in Kilrush.”

The councillors all paid tribute to the mayor’s handling of the “Shan- non Crisis” and Aer Lingus’s plans to move the Heathrow slots to Belfast.

“IT admire Patricia for the stance she has taken on Shannon Airport and the hospital. Patricia is always at the forefront to put up a fight,” said veteran Cllr Jack Fennell (Ind).

‘For this year we couldn’t have had a better mayor,’ said Cllr McMahon fey itete

“I don’t think anyone could have done a better job.”

Cllr Deirdre Culligan said, “I was so proud of you down in O’Connell Street Limerick at the Shannon pro- test and to see you speak.”

Fellow county councillor Tom Prenderville (FF) also paid tribute to the Shannon councillor and mayor.

“You have been a marvellous am- bassador for County Clare,” he said.

“She has never forgotten her roots. I remember Patricia in Clare County Council in full voice in defence of Kilrush.”

“Patricia McCarty is one of those people who could size up something and go in and fight and it may not al- ways be the popular thing.

‘She was a great loss to Kilrush and I would love to have worked beside her in the Kilrush electoral area.”

“I know Sissy Roughan (former chair of Kilrush Town Council) would have been very proud.

“I love her to bits and not only be- cause we were classmates but because she has great honesty,” he said.

“I don’t recognise myself in half of what has been said because I can

be very stubborn and very thick and very argumentative,” said Mayor McCarthy with a laugh.

She told the councillors that Kil- rush was a great example of a town in transition.

While it was a bustling market town in her youth, the closure of the West Clare Railway hit the west Clare capital hard, but things have improved in the last year.

“It is good to see it coming to the fore again and people investing in the town.”

“There was an element that took control of Kilrush for a while. I am glad that has being reversed and the community had now taken back con- trol.”

THE people of Miltown Malbay were celebrating last week.

Against all the odds they have built and developed a thriving family re- source centre and library during the past 15 years, and on Tuesday they celebrated the extended opening hours of the library.

Local musicians gathered to cel- ebrate in traditional west Clare style – with a few tunes.

As they played they tapped their feet in unison on the wooden floor laid by the late Willie Clancy, who was part of the community praised for its volunteering achievements.

Retiring county librarian Noel Crowley told those gathered in the

library, “If ye hadn’t put a gun to our head we would never have come in here. It was ye’re vision and suc- Te

He told the group that on the day he met the founders Cllr Christy Cur- tin and Michael Mahoney in the then derelict vocational school.

“Every window in the place was broken,” he said.

He told of a hole in the ceiling that a council worker proposed could be rectified within a drop ceiling of £6,000.

The local people had other ideas and working to a tight budget em- ployed a local plasterer to fill the hole for £300.

This he said was an example of a community working together and

volunteering to make a project a suc- TS

With the assistance of the county council, VEC and the HSE the com- munity have provided a centre with a library, youth reach, art classes, Clare VEC, social worker, money advice and budgeting service, home help organiser, community welfare officer, social and family affairs of- ficer, elderly care service, mini bus, dental team and child health practi- tioner.

The Spraoit Family Resource Cen- tre is also due to open early next year on the site.

Clare County Manager Alec Flem- ing said that he was amazed at the number of people volunteering to work on the project.

“In the 20th century it is getting harder and harder to get people to volunteer in the true sense of the word.”

Cllr Curtin said that the resource centre was still campaigning for a full time manager.

‘We have been to the ends of the earth trying to get support for fund- ing for a manager,’ he said.

“Our management is on a shoe SOME tTae POM UN leet la cone ;

“We will ask Eamon O Culiv to come down here and show him what a value for money model the West Clare Resource Centre is,” he said.

THEY’RE bending it like Beckham in O’Briensbridge!

The ladies of the Celtic Ladies soc- cer club held their foundation night in Darby’s Pub in O’Briensbridge last week.

The club was the brain child of Becky Bowers, Naimh_ Byrnes, Karen Murtagh and Statia Byrnes, who started recruiting in August of this year.

At the first AGM, John Slattery was elected chairman and team manager, Becky Bowers is secretary and Niamh Byrnes is the treasurer. Jack Byrnes and Luke Turner are the trainers with Pat Crotty also helping out.

To kick start finances, the ladies and friends tackled a few fund rais- ing ventures. “We wish to thank all who have worked with us on this so far – we’ve got great support,” said Jack. The club currently has thirty eight ladies on the panel and they have been training diligently since September.

“The improvements in_ fitness and skill levels have been huge and everyone is really enjoying it,’ said FToe

The ladies held a club seven-a- side recently, the final of which was played on December 5.

The competition was such a suc- cess that it’s now planned to hold it every play year.

The awards to the winners were

presented by Jim Mooney from the Limerick Ladies and School Girl Sroyenveavlaraes

Every lady present was also pre- sented with a foundation medal to celebrate the occasion.

The winning captain, Nuala MckK- eogh gratefully accepted the win- ners trophy from Jim and made her acceptance speech in Irish.

The winning team was Collette Flemming, Norma Hartnett, Shirley Conway, Caroline Fortune, Sarah Doyle, Emma Hickey, Statia Byrnes.

The player of the tournament award went to veteran centre forward Statia Byrnes who accepted the trophy.

“The club is now official with this date as its foundation date,’ said ire

“We wish to thank all those people who donated spot prizes for the event, the Bridge Celtic soccer club for do- nating the trophies and Jim Mooney for taking the time to present the tro- phies. We also wish to thank Heatons of the Crescent Shopping Centre for donating a set of gear.”

The ladies are now getting to grips with the workings of the league in Limerick and they are looking for- ward to playing in the league next season. “The future craic looks good. We’ve had a great start and we’ll certainly be back next season. The players are already talking about it. Watch this space,” said Jack.

SOMETHING prominent has been missing from the grounds of Scar- iff Community College. It’s the An Taisce Green Flag for environmental awareness.

Continuity on the award was bro- ken during the period of re-roofing and other structural updates on the buildings. Now, however, the Green School committee has reconvened to resume full activities, hoping to re- gain the green accolade that slipped because of the limitations placed on the schools activities while renova- tions were under way.

The committee is involved in rais-

ing awareness about the three r’s: reduce, reuse, recycle in the context of the college. Its modus operandi to make the college more environmen- tally friendly is to concentrate on an issue a month. For instance, during October the emphasis was on out- door recycling.

Thirty-five people make up the green committee – students’ repre- sentatives from first year to Leaving Certificate, teaching staff, non-teach- ing staff and the college caretaker. Recently, a parents’ representative was invited to join them.

The Scariff college was one of the first secondary academies in the county and the first under Vocational

Education Committee control to achieve ‘green’ status.

Last month the emphasis was on the area in front of the main build- ing. A tree dedicated to deceased past pupils and another to deceased staff were planted.

There was also a ‘green code’ com- petition in which a student comes up with a slogan.

This month the committee visited the Mr Binman recycling centre as well as mounting a campaign to reduce Christmas packaging. Aine Purcell, Green-School Co-ordinator, says that ongoing projects include paper recycling, composting and plastic bottle recycling.

The aim of the Green-Schools pro- gramme is tO move from environ- mental awareness in the curriculum to environmental action in the school and wider community. As with any environmental management system, a structure is required to help it run smoothly. Pilot testing showed that a programme embodying seven es- sential elements provides a structure successful in achieving this aim.

These elements range over the adoption of a green code, environ- mental review, action plan, forming and involving, curriculum work and monitoring and evaluation. Hopes are high that the green flag will soon be flying again in Scariff.

TWO east Clare organisations have been given grants by Environment Minister, John Gormley for their role in promoting eco-friendly practices.

The two were among a list of or- ganisations countrywide which re- ceived a total of €600,000 in pay- ments under the 2007 Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund Grants.

The Centre for Environmental Living and Training (CELT) was awarded €1,145 for their Biodiver- sity Awareness Programme 2008

The programme provide tutors,

information and appropriate sites where native woodland species can be studied, planted and monitored.

Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA) Ltd were awarded €1,115 for their “Celebrate Food” project.

The ISSA project aims to raise awareness of some of the issues con- cerning food security from the envi- ronmental cost of industrialised food production.

Agenda 21 is a programme which aims to promote initiatives which help build sustainable communities.

Other organisations in Clare which benefited from the grants were the Clare Association of An _ ‘Taisce

which received €1,167 for the Kuly- ana Project. Kulyana is an Hawaiian word meaning both privilege and responsibility.

The Clare Association of An Taisce with the Limerick/Clare En- ergy Agency will initially give talks and then will carry out a project in five villages or towns in the county aimed at their becoming aware of energy saving and recycling to com- bat climate change.

Another grant of €325 goes to Michele Castiaux for her geology workshop.

The workshop is “aimed at mak- ing children environmentally con-

scious citizens who will understand the importance of our geological re- Se] I Kee

Tom Varley Heritage in Inchicro- nan, Crusheen was awarded €1,080 for his “Community Development, Landscape and Settlement” project.

The scheme aims to encourage pub- lic participation in the development of the parish of Inchicronan and the surrounding area.

The School Book Exchange pro- gramme was awarded €500.

Available on www.schoolbookex- change.ie, the programme allows families all over Ireland to re-use their used college and school books.

THE Brothers of Charity set up its Shannon branch two years ago and the move has improved the lives of several people.

Prior to its establishment in Shan- non, its service users travelled to En- nis every day and worked together as a group. Now, the 11 service users from Shannon and surrounding areas are afforded the opportunity to work individually towards ensuring their

aims and goals in life are realised.

“We support people in an individual way and that fits into our plans,” says the organisation’s Project Co-ordina- tor, Helen Minogue.

In response to the changing needs of its service users, the Brothers of Charity have re-focused it priorities.

‘We have stepped away from deliv- ering services as a group to a Service focused on individuals. We have to be much more flexible now than in the past.

“Instead of having one central building, we have an office in the Re- spond building and an apartment in Ballycasey and we are in the process of buying a house for respite,” says Ms Minogue.

“In opening the centre in Shannon, the service users are not going away from their local community on a dai- ly basis anymore. Times have moved on. We use the facilities of the com- munity to facilitate the service us- ers,” she adds.

“We try to help people realise their own dreams. Some want to travel abroad on holidays, while others want to go into the workforce.”

John McGuire’s success story in running his own wood business has been a direct result of the fantastic support offered by the Brothers of Charity in Shannon. But he is not alone, aS each service user benefits through the organisation’s individual- ised system in ensuring they achieve their own personal goals in life.

JOHN McGuire is lapping up the at- tention. The compliments are flow- ing and the man at the centre of it all smiles, shyly.

It is one year since John set up his own business and a mulled wine and mince pie reception for his friends and colleagues marks a milestone in his life.

The 37-year-old set up his own business “John’s Woodwork Shop’ at the Ballycasey Craft Centre a year ago. He specialises in assembling wood products, from rocking horses and chairs to cribs, birdhouses and purpose-built kennels.

John’s business has grown consider- ably since its inception and this is not unexpected. What stands out how- ever 1S the fact that John has fought the odds to progress in an industry he dearly loves.

The Quin native suffers from mus-

cular dystrophy, a progressive muscle wasting disease. He also suffers from mild learning difficulties and uses a wheelchair.

However his enthusiasm evidently shines through, thus ensuring his dream of operating his own business is fulfilled.

John was thrilled to have had the opportunity to display some of this fine works at the pre-Christmas craft fair, which was held at the Sean Le- mass Library in Shannon a fortnight ago.

He says that running his own busi- ness is “a dream come true” and has been working in the area of wood for 15 years. He tells me it would take him just two days to assemble a pur- pose-built dog kennel.

He was particularly thrilled to have been commissioned to do work for Eircom in Ennis.

The company sought a number of containers for monkey trees and John

designed and made the containers.

Such has been the demand for his woodwork that John is optimistic he will expand and recruit employees in the future.

John set up the business with the support of the Brothers of Charity in Shannon, where he is a Service user. While he purchases his own mate- rial, the day-to-day running of the company is backed by various bod- ies including Shannon Development, Friends of the Brothers of Charity in Shannon, staff at Ballycasey Craft Centre and ECAT (East Clare Ac- cessible Transport) which transports John to work from his home in Car- rigoran every day.

Julie Dickerson and her team at GE in Shannon gave time voluntar- ily to get the unit cleaned out prior to John setting up his business there last year.

A number of individual workers with the Brothers of Charity, includ-

ing Dermot Maguire and Trish Dil- lon also play a key role in John’s suc- IS

‘The business has really taken off in the past few months and John’s personality has also changed. He has grown in confidence as the business has advanced,” says Trish Dillon.

Brothers of Charity project co-or- dinator Helen Minogue says, “John was always interested in setting up his own business. He didn’t want to be an employee.”

Brothers of Charity team leader Tim O’Neill says, “John had a vision. He had a dream and he had people around him to help him achieve erehee

WATCH your wallets folks, there’s pickpockets about as the staff and students of Mary Immaculate Sec- ondary School in Lisdoonvarna make final preparations to host their first musical.

The ultimate pickpocketers’ tale, Oliver! opens today in the school with two matinée and three evening performances taking place. With a long tradition of Christmas pan- tos in Mary Immaculate, this year the school decided to go one step further.

“This is our first musical at the school, usually we do a Christmas panto but this year we said we would

try out the musical and see how it Lele

“We have got a couple of first years who sing with the Lismourahaun Singers and we have a bit of talent in the senior classes, so we thought Ol- iver! would be a good show to look at because it has such a good mix,” said teacher Mark Mulqueeney.

“The idea is to establish it this year and maybe take it on then every second or third year. It’s a fairly big undertaking so we wouldn’t do it every year.

“We had been getting requests from parents to put on a show and when the talent is there you have to go for it. There is a great mix of male and female characters in Oliver! so it was

a really good show for us.”

The show will star Brendan Schol- und, Peter Lynch, Mark O’Donnell, Aishling Clancy and Evelyn Linnane in a production which combines tal- ented students from every age and class in the school.

“T was involved in our panto last year, when I was in transition year, and I got roped into auditioning this year because of that. It’s a good thing to do, a lot of fun,’ says Aisling Clancy from Kilfenora, who plays Fagan.

“Fagan looks after the runaway pickpockets, he trains them in what to do. They steal stuff for him and he sells it off. He’s a rogue but he’s a bit of a likeable rogue.

“IT feel grand about playing a male character. I played one last year for the panto so I don’t mind — you just have to wear a beard. I’d love to car- ry on with musicals beyond this, it’s something I’m interested in.”

The show takes place over three nights from Tuesday, December 18 to Thursday, December 20 in the school hall from 8pm. To book, you can contact the school on 065 7074266.

WITH Christmas drawing near, a number of high-profile artists are featured in exhibitions around north Clare this week, hoping to offer punt- ers the perfect Christmas present.

The Courthouse Gallery in Ennisty- mon is hosting a special Christmas exhibition entitled “Small Works’, which features the work of a number of well-known Clare artists.

The exhibition will include prints, photographs, drawings and sculpture from the likes of Richard Sharpe, Barbara Roder and Finola Graham.

“This exhibition is a really great opportunity for people to purchase an artwork for Christmas among the

large selection on display, which will bring joy to you or a loved one for many years to come,” said Kathryn Comber of the Courthouse Gallery.

The exhibition will continue from 12 to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday, until December 21.

Meanwhile, Kenny’s Lahinch Art Gallery will host an exhibition by Irish artist Philip Gray until Janu- ary 10. Gray was this year’s winner of the highly coveted Fine Art Trade Guild ‘Best Up and Coming Artist Award 2007’ in the UK this year. The exhibition will include a number of recent works.

Widely exhibited in multiple for- mats, Gray captures the imagination with scenes familiar to many. The

west of Ireland and sea and land- scapes in sunrise and sunset are sub- jects which create a contemporary appeal.

Gray’s passion and insistence on perfection never wavers, as can be seen in each of his compositions, the sheer beauty and impact of his 1m- ages regularly stop people in their WRG ep

He has achieved international suc- cess as an artist and his work is a celebration of both what he sees and feels and a wish to share the beauty and diverse emotion of life itself.

The Ballyvaughan Christmas market will host its last weekend of festivities and fun this weekend. Or- ganisers are hoping for one last good

weekend before the specially made German Christkindl wooden huts get put away for another year.

Back in’ Ennistymon, Noinin, Aficionado and Crosbies in the Square are continuing to pool their resources in promoting the shop lo- cal campaign this Christmas.

Aficionado is a mothers, babies and gift boutique which provides mater- nity-wear, children’s clothes up to the age six years and a collection of nursery accessories.

Noinin fashion boutique stocks funky wear to formal wear and Cros- bies supplies a great selection of un- usual Christmas decorations, home accessories and cotton rugs, to name but a few.