Musical and geographical borders will be crossed at next Sunday’s Coole Music Orchestra Festival, which takes place in Gort Community Centre from 1pm.Ten youth orchestras from North and South will be participating in the festival including the Ulster Youth Jazz Orchestra under the baton of Ken Jordan and from nearer to home, the Galway Youth Jazz Orchestra under the direction of John Fleming. The award-winning Ulster Youth Jazz Orchestra was formed in 1993 by Ken Jordan after a series of summer courses held in the Crescent arts Centre, Belfast. They have performed all over Northern Ireland and have also toured Austria, Holland, Germany, France and Belgium. The band has performed at the School Proms in 2000 and 2004 and in 2002, they won the BBC Radio 2 National Big Band Competition.The Galway Youth Jazz Orchestra was the first jazz orchestra to perform in the IAYO Festival of Youth Orchestras in the National Concert Hall. It has performed a number of …

A LOCAL woman who spent over five years in a Magdalene Laundry could receive up to €150,000 in compensation under the terms of a national redress scheme proposed by a new lobby group.Margaret Joyce (67) from Ballina, Killaloe, is one of the 400 women who have applied for inclusion in the Magdalene Redress Scheme, which will be structured by Mr Justice John Quirke, who has been given three months to submit a report on how to proceed.If Mr Quirke accepts the general terms of the scheme proposed by the Magdalene Survivors Together (MST) group, Ms Joyce could receive up to €150,000. The group  presented its proposals to Justice Minister Alan Shatter and Junior Minister for Mental Health Kathleen Lynch at a meeting in Dublin last week.The proposal includes a payment of €20,000 for each year that a woman worked without wages in a Magdalene Laundry and a lump-sum payment of €50,000 each for psychological damage. The maximum amount paid to …

CLARE County Council may be willing to take over two Ardnacrusha housing estates, apart from the operation and maintenance of the sewerage treatment plant, according to a local county councillor.Residens in Keelgrove and Ballyglass have already met South East Clare councillors to make a case for the public taking in charge of these estates.A liquidator was appointed to Keelgrove Construction Limited last November, presenting householders with a new challenge when it comes to dealing with maintenance issues in the estate. There are in the region of 150 houses in total between the two estates.Senior executive engineer Hugh McGrath explained the local area office and the planning department are assessing the implications of a public takeover taking into concern the value of planning bonds.While he said the council would like to be in position to take over at least a portion of the estate, Mr McGrath pointed out the council had to go through a statutory procedure to ascertain the full …

THE Shannon Parish Mission will take place this year from May 20 to 24 and it will be led by Sr Briege McKenna.Sister Briege is known around the world and parish priest Fr Tom Ryan said Shannon is very lucky to have her coming. “This year, 2013, our parish is the only one in Ireland that will have her for a parish mission. Prior to that, she will be in America and after Shannon, she’s going to Poland.”He outlines some of her background. “Briege McKenna was born in Armagh and as a teenager she joined the Poor Clare Sisters. She developed rheumatoid arthritis and her order sent her to their house in Florida so she would benefit from the heat there. At the age of 24, she was miraculously cured at the celebration of mass. Later on, she developed a ministry of healing and of caring, recognising the presence of the Eucharist, prayer and the sacrament of reconciliation. “She has …

ACCOUNTS filed with the Companies Office by Intel Shannon Ltd show it recorded pre-tax profits of well over US$5 million in 2011.The Director’s Report states there was an operating profit margin of 9.1% in 2011 compared to one of 9.0% the previous year. “The profit on ordinary activities before taxation amounted to US$5,421,647 compared to a profit of $4,194,961 in the previous year. After a credit to taxation of $30,606 (2010: charge of $217,373) a profit of $5,452,253 (2010: profit of $4,967,588) is transferred to reserves,” the report also stated.The profit on ordinary activities, multiplies by Ireland’s 12.5% rate of corporate tax came to $677,706.  The average number of people employed during the year was 217, five more than the previous year.More than three-quarters (173) of them were working in research and development, with the remaining 44 in management and administration, including sales and marketing.The company spent $19,368,760 on wages, almost $2.4m more than in 2010. There were also social …

European Union protection directives prohibiting the location of largescale wind turbines on raised bog has raised serious questions about plans for a €100m 45-turbine project in West Clare, a local lobby group has claimed.

ESB Wind Development will have a second chance to address environmental concerns over its proposed €30 million windfarm development at Moneypoint Generating Station.Clare County Council recently refused ESB Wind Development a 10-year planning permission to construct five wind turbines with a maximum overall dimension of 152m from ground level to the tip of the turbine blade in the upright position.The company has appealed this refusal to An Bord Pleanála, who will now be asked to adjudicate the application and it will be expected to examine its potential impact on the largest resident bottlenose dolphin population in Europe following previous objections submitted to the local authority.In its refusal, the council stated that one of the objectives of the Clare County Development Plan was to afford the highest level of protection to all the designated Natura 200 sites in accordance with the relevant directives and legislation.The authority claimed the Natura Impact Statement (NIS), which was received by the planning authority on November …

AT the February meeting of Kilrush Town Council, Fine Gael councillor Ian Lynch requested support for legislation on Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, which would help to identify people in cases of cyber bullying. “Where any case of cyber bullying is reported and found to be true, the IP address from which the bullying has occurred could be suspended and in more serious cases that legal action may be taken against perpetrators,” he said when asking that the Government introduce legislation to prevent cyber bullying.“We are in an age now where  the world is now a  small place, the internet has provided us with information at the click of a button and we can stay connected 24/7 to people anywhere in the world. However, the effects of abusing this technology are never as evident in the cases of suicide caused by bulling. We have to take a stand on this and with immediate effect. The Government must introduce legislation that prevents …