[caption id="attachment_67582" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The Cliffs of Moher"]
CLARE CLIFFS ON VERGE OF WORLD RECOGNITION
The final push is on to make the Cliffs of Moher one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has backed campaign, which could bring tens of thousands of additional visitors to the region each year, the Clare Champion reports.
"This is a major promotional boost for the campaign," said Clare TD Pat Breen.
"The Burren and Cliffs of Moher were recently awarded the UNESCO Global Geoparks status and it would be the icing on the cake for the Cliffs of Moher and for tourism in general in County Clare if the Cliffs of Moher is named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature on Nov. 11," he said.
"Over 345,000 visitors have enjoyed the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience in the first six months of this year alone and it is a magnet for attracting tourists from all over the world," Fine Gael's Breen said.
"The Cliffs of Moher will succeed if everybody gets behind the campaign, with over one billion voters ultimately making the decision as to who the eventual Seven New Wonders will be. So I would appeal again to anybody who has not already cast their vote for the Cliffs of Moher to do so immediately," he said.
The president of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, Noirin Flynn, has offered her union's support to the campaign.
"All school children in the county are encouraged and indeed expected to vote," said the North Clare secretary of the union, Michael O'Connor.
More information can be found at www.new7wonders.com.
MEATH COLLECTOR WAS 'FUN-LOVING, GREGARIOUS'
The Canadian buyer of the head of a saint died on the day he bought it, the Meath Chronicle revealed last week.
In May of this year, the severed head of St Vitalis, a 14th century Italian monk and hermit, was put up for auction in Duleek by Oldcastle auctioneer Damien Matthews.
Billy Jamieson spent €3,500 on the artifact. The tribal art collector and macabre-museum owner was found dead in bed on July 3, which was also his 57th birthday.
The head never left for Jamieson's Toronto residence and auctioneer Damien Matthews now is awaiting instruction from Jessica Jamieson, his widow, on what the estate wishes to do with it.
"Billy was a lovely man with a genuine love of history. His aim was to bring the past alive and create an interest with the younger generation. His television programs were very, very popular in both Canada and America," Matthews said.
He said that he had become friendly with Jamieson and found him "gregarious, fun-loving and someone who was young at heart."
The auctioneer could not reveal who the previous owners of the head were, but alluded to deaths in mysterious circumstances. "Maybe there is a curse on the ownership of the head; it could be a case of the next buyer beware," he said.
According to reports in Canada, friends believe Jamieson died of a heart attack. He was a modern-day treasure hunter with established an international reputation His collection boasted an eclectic variety of ethnographic material, including shrunken human heads and war trophy skulls, weaponry, ancient Egyptian and Peruvian mummies, and a unique collection of curiosities.
In 1999, he purchased the entire contents of the Niagara Falls Museum, Canada's oldest museum, which opened in 1827. The collection included nine unidentified Egyptian mummies. While negotiating the deal, Jamieson and Egyptologists began an investigation that would eventually lead to one of these mummies being identified as the missing Egyptian Pharaoh, Ramses I.
KILDARE COUNCIL SEEKS FUNDING FOR GHOST ESTATES
Only five ghost estates in Kildare could qualify for funding under the Public Safety Initiative, which is funded by the National Asset Management Agency, for unfinished private housing estates with serious public safety concerns, the Leinster Leader reports
The council has confirmed that, while there are no plans to demolish any of the ghost estates in Kildare, funding is being pursued for five estates to the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government to address issues such as road subsidence, derelict sites, fencing off unsecured and hazardous areas, capping of pipes, installation of street lighting, closing off access to upper floors, and in one case to complete the estate.
The application status on the funding for the five estates is currently still "under consideration" by the Department.
TIPPERARY POL UNHAPPY WITH DUBLIN 'ARROGANCE'
North Tipperary Councilor Seamus Morris has slammed a Dublin City Council presentation on its Lough Derg water extraction plan as an "arrogant display," the Nenagh Guardian reports.
Executive members of the Dublin council, including Dublin City Manager and Terryglass native John Tierney, last week briefed members of North Tipperary Council Council on their plan to use Lough Derg water to bolster dwindling supplies in the capital.
Following the presentation, Sinn Fein's Morris said he is not satisfied that important questions relating to the plan were answered, and he claimed Tierney and fellow Tipperary native Derek Grant of RPS Consultants were "wearing Dublin jerseys at the meeting."
LIMERICK COMMENT UPSETS COUNCIL
A councilor drew gasps from the chamber Monday night when he said: "What's the point in having a meeting about Shannon Airport? It's a dead duck."
The Limerick Leader said that Labour's Gerry McLoughlin, the former rugby international, made the comment during a discussion on local taxes.
After being criticized by other councilors, he said he'd been misunderstood. He was making a point on what should be emphasized when making representations on local taxes to a government minister.
