IN a targeted operation on Monday, officers from Revenue’s Customs Service at Shannon Airport seized 70,000 cigarettes with a retail value of €33,600 and a potential loss to the Exchequer of €28,500. The Sept Wolves cigarettes were concealed in a shipment of electrical goods which had arrived via airfreight from China.  There was also a seizure of of the same cigarettes a couple of weeks ago. If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding the smuggling or sale of illegal cigarettes or tobacco, they can contact Revenue in confidence on free phone number 1800 295 295.

  THE  Burren made history this week after it was awarded a European Diploma of Protected Areas Award, the first of its kind in Ireland. Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, accepted Ireland’s first ever ‘European Diploma of Protected Areas Award’ on Friday from the Council of Europe for the sustainable management of the Burren. Professor Michael Usher, Chairman of the Group of Specialists for the European Diploma of Protected Areas, presented the award to Minister Deenihan in the Michael Cusack Centre, Carron. Created in 1965, the award recognises the work being undertaken to conserve some of Europe’s most outstanding natural and semi-natural areas. To date, 72 diplomas have been awarded and are held in 28 European countries. On July 10, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to award the European Diploma for Protected Areas to the Burren. This recognises the European significance of the area, which has remarkable natural values, a …

Suzuki are bringing a brand new Crossover onto the Irish market. The SX4 S-Cross goes on sale in mid October, priced from €19,995. The new car is available in a choice of two or four wheel drive and with either a 1.6 litre petrol or diesel engine. In 2WD trim, the diesel engine emits just 110g/km of CO2, equating to 4.2 l/100 km. All models get seven airbags, ESP, tyre pressure monitoring, DRL, bluetooth, cruise control with speed limiter, air conditioning, heated door mirrors and a space saver tyre. GL+ trim gets spoked alloy wheels, dual zone climate control, front fog lamps, rear privacy glass, silver roof rails and silver skid plates. Top of the range GLX gets front and rear parking sensors, ALLGRIP 4WD, leather upholstery, a world-first double sliding panoramic sunroof, electric retractable mirrors, 17” alloys, HID projector headlamps, headlamp washers and LED DRL. Both 1.6 litre engines, whether petrol or diesel, produce power of 120 bhp, although …

KILKISHEN reverberated to the sound of wild cries on Sunday afternoon as young and old gave vent to the traditional Clare Shout.  

CLARE senior football champions Kilmurry-Ibrickane are out of the 2013 title race. At Kilmihil on this Sunday evening they suffered a one point loss to Éire Óg in a quarter final tie that produced some great excitement, writes Seamus Hayes. The game was delayed for over half an hour in the opening half whilc injured Eire Og midfielder Darren O’Neill received attention. At half time the town side led the title holders by the odd point in five. Éire Óg had the better of the early second half exchanges and opened a nine point lead, 2-5 to 0-2. The champions refused to go down without a fight, however, and they dominated the last quarter hitting eight unanswered points. In the final minute, Ian McInerney’s free to level the game rebounded into play off the upright. Earlier today, Lissycasey booked their quarter final spot with a one point win over Ennistymon in a tie that required extra time. The final score here …

Clare 2-28 Antrim 0-12 UNPRECEDENTED times for Clare hurling. A second successive All-Ireland under-21 title, and a third in five years, has given Clare fans reason for celebration but for the majority of the players the celebrations will be put ice for another few weeks. On Sunday, its back to training for 14 of the squad, as they turn their thought to Saturday week’s senior final replay against Cork. Clare dictated matters from beginning to end at Thurles, as Antrim were routed. It was a total mismatch. To their credit, however, the Ulster champions never gave up. Apart from the opening five minutes, when the sides when players were settling in, Clare had their third All-Ireland under-21 title wrapped up midway through the opening half when they had a six point lead. Antrim were clearly struggling to keep with them. Seven minutes from half time, the opening goal came from corner forward Davy O’Halloran and four minutes later his Éire Óg club-mate …

THE most telling moment in Thurles on Saturday evening was when hundreds of determined Clare youngsters, mostly under the age of 10, lined up four or five deep on both sidelines in Semple Stadium. It should be noted that they leaped over the hoardings with a minute or two still left on Colm Lyons stopwatch, determined to position themselves in the scramble for photo opportunities and autographs. It underlines the depth of interest engendered in the children of Clare when Podge Collins is still on the field at 7.30pm, well over an hour after the game finished. It’s likely that Antrim were well up the road towards Belfast and the famous Glens, by the time the Clare players eventually made the dressing room. Perhaps that’s where the real value in Clare’s facile win was. It gave an opportunity for the children of the county to storm onto Semple Stadium, surround their heroes and make sure that they didn’t get away …

  DESPITE the fact that Clare were raging hot favourites to retain the under-21 All-Ireland hurling title, Clare joint manager Donal Moloney said there was never any question of them taking things for granted. “This had to be done for the team of 2010. We were so disappointed we didn’t win the All-Ireland minor title in 2010. There were the guys that started all the change; that started the revolution for us,” he said as he watched team captain, Paul Flanagan accept the All-Ireland trophy from GAA president, Liam O’Neill. “We should cherish these times. We have a lot of very, very good players and we have some outstanding players.  No matter how hard people work at underage hurling and no matter how hard the clubs work, you won’t always have as crop like that. A new generation has come and  some of them are exceptional. Hopefully, the hard work will continue. These could be a very special few years …