A community mediation service has been established in Shannon which will help people resolve their conflicts in a non-adversarial manner. The new service, launched by Mayor of Shannon Greg Duff, will be provided by a panel of volunteers that have completed an extensive state-approved training under Tricia Hayes, a mediator and facilitator with a Masters in Conflict Resolution. Ms Hayes has been a practitioner in this area since the early 90s and the course objective was to develop the essential core knowledge and skills essential to the practice of mediation. Community mediation is to help parties involved in a dispute to reach an agreement acceptable to both sides.  The process starts when a pair of mediators talks to each party separately to hear their view on the situation.  Next the parties are brought together in a meeting at a neutral venue. The mediators will ensure that everyone is heard. The benefits of mediation are that it is an independent and …

ALTHOUGH he has lived and worked in Nottingham since 1966, the love of golf Michael Rush picked up in his native Lahinch has had a profound effect on his life. Now almost 72, Michael or ‘Smiley’, which he says he is better known as, was the centre of attention at Lahinch Golf Club earlier this month when the exploits of the 1963 All-Ireland Junior Cup winning team were recalled at a golden anniversary celebration. Lahinch Golf Club won the same competition in 1961 but according to Michael, the cupboard has been bare since. “I wasn’t even in Clare in 1961, I was in London. My brother, Tommy, was part of the 1961 squad. He was a radio officer and he won a vital game but he had to go back to sea and he missed the last two rounds. When we had won it twice, you think, ‘this is easy enough’. You could think different now. Lahinch hasn’t won any …

CLARE County Council is a finalist in the 10th annual Engineers Ireland Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Employer of the Year Awards for 2013-2014. Clare County Council, which has a long and successful record of CPD, has been shortlisted for its achievements in using in-house expertise, local knowledge and innovation to develop the Clare County Flood Forecasting System (CCFFS). The system has proven highly successful and is being replicated by a number of organisations throughout the country. Dublin City Council, Dromone Engineering Limited, global healthcare company Abbott Ireland and PM Group are among other leading organisations shortlisted for the awards. Engineers Ireland director general and chartered engineer, John Power said, “Every year we are hugely impressed by the quality of entries and the organisations’ commitment to CPD. This year is no different. The shortlist reflects companies that have demonstrated how the strategic use of CPD enables tangible business transformation, helping to establish Ireland as a centre of excellence for engineering. “I …

THE GAA has confirmed the referee and match officials for the All-Ireland senior hurling final replay between Clare and Cork on Saturday week. James McGrath from Westmeath will be in charge and this will be h is second senior assignment, having taken charge of last year’s replay between Kilkenny and Galway. The Turin clubman refereed the All-Ireland minor final in 2009 and the All-Ireland U21 final in 2010. James was in charge of the Munster senior final when Limerick beat Cork on a day when Pat Horgan was controversially sent off. That decision was subsequently overturned on an appeal. He also refereed Clare’s first round game with Waterford as well as the meeting of Offaly and Waterford in the qualifiers. Offaly’s Brian Gavin, who was in charge of the drawn game, will be the standby referee with Johnny Ryan (Tipperary) as the other linesman. The sideline official will be Alan Kelly (Galway).  

SsangYong are making a comeback in Ireland. They have already launched the Korando, earlier this year and that model has now been joined by the Rodius, which is being launched at the National Ploughing Championships this week in Co Laois. The Rodius is a full seven seater and this time around, it’s powered by Ssangyong’s own diesel engine, a 2.0 litre unit producing 155 bhp. At this stage, let’s deal with the elephant in the room. The old Rodius – in fact all Ssangyong’s – were hideously ugly. They looked ungainly from all angles and faces that not even a mother could love. Happily, the first time I saw a Korando, I didn’t know what it was until I got closer and I thought it was a very good looking design. The same can be said for the Rodius, which has a distinctly upright, almost American inspired look. It’s going to be one of the largest MPVs on the Irish …

Olympic hero David Rudisha and his coach Cork man, Brother Colm O’Connell visited North Clare on Tuesday speaking at Ennistymon’s three secondary schools. The Kenyan is the fastest man in the world at 800m holding the current Olympic and World Records in the distance and the Olympic gold medal. In hushed tones, Mr Rudisha spoke to the assembled young people in Ennisymon CBS, Ennistymon Vocational School and Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon as part of a brief tour of the area visiting locals Neilus and Pat O’Doherty. Mr Rudisha spoke about the impact Br O’Connell had on him. “From the time I went into his training programme I knew I would win because I was in a good training programme and everything was there for me. I was being beaten at the age of seven. I knew disappointment but I worked hard and I knew that I could improve. Someone told me change what you can and accept what cannot be changed,” …

FEARS  have been expressed that the owners of wells and boreholes in Clare will be hit with registration fees under proposed new legislation. Councillor Pat McMahon expressed concern about the implications for hundreds of private wells if, as expected, new legislation is introduced to licence the use of all water from private sources to comply with EU requirements. The Newmarket Councillor has also warned that the new national water agency Irish Water will not show any leniency towards genuine hardship arrears cases in the county. He claimed at a council meeting on Monday that he was informed by a senior council official there would be “no deals” for anyone in arrears, regardless of whether they presented a strong case. The Fianna Fáil Councillor also sought clarification about whether the new legislation will apply to existing and or new wells and boreholes in the county. His concern was shared by Councillor Michael Kelly, who stated that people who had sunk bore holes and wells had already incurred considerable …

A MAN in his twenties has died following a road traffic collision in Sixmilebridge in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Gardaí in Shannon are investigating the single vehicle crash, which occurred at approximately 4.30am on the Sixmilebridge Road to Shannon, and are appealing for witnesses. It is understood that the car collided with a wall and the man, who was the only occupant, died following injuries sustained in the crash. He has not yet been named and his body has been removed to the University Hospital Limerick where a post mortem will take place on this afternoon. Anyone with information is asked to contact Shannon Garda Station on 061-365900 or the Garda Confidential Line 1-800-111-666 or any garda station. Investigations are continuing.