Regional

CUSACK Lawn man Joe Dillon has landed himself a job after proving to a potential employer what he was capable of.Joe, who has an intellectual disability, has a wealth of experience of working in a catering environment and was keen to find work in Ennis. He went to Clare Supported Employment Service (CSES), a FÁS-funded agency that provides a free and innovative recruitment service for job-seekers with a disability and businesses in County Clare. Joe wanted to explore employment options that might be open to him. Employment facilitator at CSES, Lorraine Hughes soon got a good idea of his capabilities, skills and interests and approached Hillary Davis, owner of Barney’s Kidzclub, Ennis, to discuss the potential of an unpaid work trial for Joe.Keen to give Joe an opportunity to show what he could do, Hilary gave Joe his chance to shine by taking him on as a general assistant in her children’s activity centre, café, deli and sandwich bar. As …

JULY 22 of last year was an emotional day in Shannon as workers at Element Six were told that 370 of them were to lose their jobs.As it turned out, only around 160 jobs were ultimately lost but it has been a traumatic 12 months for many people who were hit by the fallout.Ruairí Price lost his job and has been out of work for a little over six months now.“To tell you the truth I’m glad to be out of it. I don’t have any regrets and I don’t miss the place,” he says.After being let go, he went back to work at Element Six for around three weeks on a temporary basis but he claims he is still waiting for part of his redundancy payment.He is still a bit uncertain about what the future will hold for him. While he has considered emigration, he is also looking at going to college.“I had a FÁS interview lately and I’ve …

ROSIE Byrne has returned to Shannon after spending some time volunteering in a Belarussian orphanage. She travelled with her 18-year-old daughter, Ruth, and they had been due to go to Goradiche, which is supported by Shannon, as its Jubilee 2000 Parish Project.“When we were en route to Goradiche, we got a text to say that the orphanage there was closed to volunteers because of an infection so we were re-routed to another orphanage under the Burren Chernobyl umbrella, Cherven. We were based in Minsk and travelled there daily,” she says.Rosie had already been to Goradiche on four occasions and said that she was struck by the differences between it and Cherven.“I couldn’t help comparing the two orphanages. Cherven is a more modern building, it’s better equipped, so from that point of view it’s streets ahead of Goradiche but you still have kids who are in need of love and attention and they need loads of volunteers. Cherven wouldn’t have as …

AN Bord Pleanála this week overturned a decision by Clare County Council granting planning permission for a 26-pitch campsite and associated buildings in North Clare.Last year, Aiden Fitzgerald of Ballyvoe, Doolin applied to the local authority for permission to erect a 26-pitch campsite, service building, office, shop, store and café, recreation room, bureau de change, two retail units with overhead apartments, playground, bin store and associated works.Clare County Council granted permission for the development in February subject to 28 conditions, one of which required a special contribution of €35,000 towards the provision of footpaths. A document with the file showed that the council plans to purchase land and build a footpath from Fitz’s Cross to Fisher Street and that the €35,000 would be a small percentage of this.Mr Fitzgerald appealed the condition, pointing out that as part of the development, he is building a footpath along the public road in front of the site on his land and as such …

WEST Clare Fine Gael Councillor Gabriel Keating has been advised by Morgan Lahiff, executive engineer, Clare County Council that a biannual speed limit review, which is being undertaken by the local authority, will include a busy section of the road at Moyasta in West Clare.“There were a number of fatalities on this section of road at Moyasta and it is a very dangerous junction. The local school, local public house and the West Clare Railway are all located at this particular section of the road and in the interest of safety, I raised this matter at our recent area local meeting,” Councillor Keating said. “I have now been advised that that a biannual speed limit review is underway and that this section of the road at Moyasta will be put forward for consideration in light of recent events. During the public consultation process of this review, submissions will be invited from the general public and I would urge people who …

THE Rineen Ambush Commemoration Committee is appealing to relations of people who took part in the Rineen ambush to attend their next meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, August 17 at 8.30pm in the Armada Hotel, Spanish Point.The 90th anniversary of the ambush, which took place on September 22, 1920, will be marked on September 26 next. In the meantime, organisers want to hear from descendants of anybody who participated, while they are also looking for photographs, memorabilia or artefacts connected to the ambush. Events on September 26 will commence with mass in Moy church followed by a guard of honour, which will be inspected by Minister for Defence Tony Killeen. All who attend will then gather at the Rineen ambush monument, where the national flag will be raised. The group will then adjourn to the Armada Hotel, where an exhibition of memorabilia will be staged, followed by lunch. Anybody with relevant information or who would like to attend …

Kinvara will host its inaugural flag day in support of the RNLI at the weekend. The event is aimed at the whole family and Dominic Gallagher, one of its organisers, is hopeful the community can raise a significant amount of money for the charity. “The RNLI is a great organisation. It has always been close to my heart. “It doesn’t get money from the Government so fundraising is vital to keep it going. “We have a huge number of volunteers taking part and we are hoping to make this an annual event,” Dominic stated. “People often take the RNLI for granted. “The old motto is the RNLI always answer the call, they always go when they are called, no matter what the circumstances. Other countries don’t have organisations like the RNLI. It is a most professional outfit made up of brave men and women and we are lucky to have them. “We are a seaside community and a lot of …

Fine Gael TD Ulick Burke this week expressed reservations about the allocation of between €10m and €12m for South and East Galway flood relief works.“Whilst I welcome the announcement, I am somewhat sceptical that this amount will be made available on the ground within the two-year time frame indicated by the minister,” deputy Burke stated.He made his comments after Minister at the Office of Public Works, Martin Mansergh, announced that he expected to spend between €10m to €12m over the next two years on schemes in the area.“The greatest fear now is that we will have another report gathering dust on the shelves and as yet, no meaningful works have occurred in South Galway, nothing on the Dunkellin River Basin and little in Ballinasloe,” Deputy Burke remarked.Last December, a Humanitarian Aid package of €10m was announced by the Government to assist families throughout the country who were affected by the flooding. “As at February last, only 718 payments had been …