COMMENT THESE are dark times. Most people reading this will have been affected in some way by either rising unemployment, a decreasing salary, redundancy or reduced Government services. It is hardly surprising therefore, that a secondary piece of legislation being quietly prepared by the Government will not be to the forefront of people’s minds.  

A large and enthusiastic crowd turned out for county senior hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald’s boxing fund raiser for the Clare hurlers in the Queens Hotel last Friday night.Davy was involved in a similar venture in Waterford when he was manager of the Decies and felt he might replicate the sell-out boxing show and raise funds for the Clare training and coaching programme. The players went about their tasks through the past few weeks and with the help of the coaches and fighters in the Ennis Boxing Club they honed their skills and sought to condition themselves for the ring. “A visit to the dressing room for a pre-fight appraisal left me wondering if the combatants were beginning to doubt their invincibility and if, perhaps, they were wishing that they were preparing for a league game or an All Ireland play-off,” said Ennis boxing coach, Colum Flynn.“Some looked bemused and listened intently to the pre-fight instruction from the coaches but it …

A CLARE senator is calling for teachers to be better trained in the area of special needs education. Senator Martin Conway made the call after attending an international conference on the Rights of People with Disabilities last week.

RACING fans in the Mid-West are in for a real treat this weekend with the County Clare Hunt Point-to-Point meeting at Belharbour on Sunday set to attract huge crowds to the popular Burren venue. This well-appointed track on the lands of Dermot and Jennifer Linnane has been the subject of very favourable reports from owners, trainers and jockeys alike since what was the old Quin meeting moved there back in 2002 and this is reflected in the interest that has been generated on the build-up to this year’s fixture.Regional secretary, Frankie Ward, has been very busy handling the entries for the six-race card which kicks off at 1pm.The first race is a four-year-old maiden over two and a half miles, which will be followed by the always popular confined maiden. Half an hour later, it will be the turn of the five-year-old geldings to strut their stuff with a similar event for six-year-old geldings next on the list. The penultimate …

THE North Munster Schools Cross Country Championships were held in very cold weather conditions at Salesian Secondary College, Pallaskenry, County Limerick where Clare athletes dominated all eight races. Aisling Kelly (Spanish Point) won the minor ladies with Elaine Shannon (Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon) taking the bronze medal. In the minor boys, gold went to Eoin Looney (Spanish Point) with Jamie Roche (St Flannan’s) taking the silver medal.Niamh Markham (St Flannan’s) won the senior ladies’ title, while Laura Egan (St Michael’s, Kilmihil) captured the bronze medal.In the minor girls’ 1,500m, Aisling Kelly (Spanish Point) and Elaine Shannon (Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon) took command from the start. In heavy underfoot conditions, Aisling took control with 600m to go and held the lead to the finish line with Elaine Yelverton (Newport) just getting in ahead of Elaine Shannon with Sharon Egan (St Michael’s, Kilmihil) fourth.The team title went to St Michael’s, Kilmihil on 34 points followed in second by St Flannan’s on 39 points and …

THE Bunratty Chess Festival was first held as a small, modest, local chess tournament in 1994 with just 62 players and certainly no chess masters in attendance.

EDITORIAL  

THE road from Doonbeg to Kilkee was filled with hundreds of cancer care fundraisers last Sunday as the 14th West Clare Mini Marathon and walk wound its way along the 10km trek. The walkers and runners were bussed to Doonbeg, with the walk starting at 1pm and the run an hour later.The mini marathon committee spent close to €150,000 in 2011 and running costs are expected to reach a similar level in 2012. The mini marathon has raised more than €1.2m since the event was first held in 1998. A minibus service, funded by the committee, currently operates from West Clare to Limerick five days per week. The bus brings patients to Limerick for cancer treatment, while taxi services, again supplied by the mini marathon committee, operate from Kilmihil, Miltown and Ennistymon.The West Clare Cancer Centre is open Monday to Thursday from 11am to 2pm and on Saturdays from 2pm to 3pm. The centre, which is located just off O’Curry …