WHEN West Clare-based Crack’d Spoon Theatre Company take to the stage in Glór for two nights on April 15 and 16, the group will be heavily reliant upon the Daly family to entertain the audience.Mick Daly directs The Salvage Shop by Jim Nolan, while his daughters Siobhán and Blainagh, play Rita Shanahan and Katie Tansey respectively. However, all of the actors in the play have significant performances to their credit, most notably Alan McNamara, who recently moved to West Clare. Alan has been acting professionally for more than 15 years, with a CV that includes a two-year run as Lar in Fair City, film roles in Durango, Flick and The Black Suit. He is also a member of Cata Isle Mime Theatre Company in West Clare and is a professional percussionist, who has performed in America and Ireland.Alan’s role as Stephen in The Salvage Shop is supported by Simon Latham, (Costello) a familiar face in community theatre and by Dave …

CLARE County Council shouldn’t provide any more Traveller accommodation until all existing unoccupied dwellings and halting sites are fully utilised, according to a local councillor.

The 2010 All–Ireland Junior Chess Championships will be held in Ennis, over a three-day period, from Friday, April 9 until Sunday, April 11. The championships will be staged in the Auburn Lodge Hotel and are organised by the Irish Chess Union. The event has never before been held in Clare.Children from as young as five up to 19 will be travelling from all parts of Ireland to compete at the event, with each aiming for a national title.Last year, the tournament was held in Kilkenny, where Clare secured one All-Ireland title. Hiram Wood-Hennessy from Carrigaholt finished joint first in the U-10 age group.This year, the Kilkenny cats want to make an impression in Clare and they are determined to take home a title or two. So far, there are bookings from Derry, Donegal, Kilkenny and Dublin, as well as a large entry from the local chess community.Great chess is expected and the Clare chess community is also planning to showcase …

AER Lingus recorded an operating loss of €81 million in 2009, the airline revealed this week.

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan has defended the controversial €10 air travel, which Ryanair claim is behind its decision to slash services from Shannon.

THE race for the 2010 Intermediate hurling league title got underway at the weekend when there were five games listed for decision.Inagh-Kilnamona had eight points to spare over Wolfe Tones whom they defeated on a score of 0-15 to 0-7.The winners were always comfortable in this one and went in at half-time 0-7 to 0-3 ahead. They stepped up a gear in the second half and some excellent points from Jimmy Carmody, Seán Arthur and Brian Hehir left the game beyond Wolfe Tones. Best for Inagh Kilnamona on the day were Brian Arthur, Brian Hehir and Jimmy Carmody. Meelick opened their season with a comprehensive victory over Corofin. Meelick were cautious going into the game as Corofin were winners of the Junior A Championship last year. The winners were 0-10 to 1-2 ahead at half-time. The introduction of Kenneth Keane worked well as he set up the goal for Adam Sherlock. There were further fine scores from Andy White, Kenneth …

RYANAIR’S spring/summer schedule commenced at Shannon this week, with the axing of most of the carriers flights.

FOLLOWING on from their reunion gig at the West County Hotel, Ennis in January 2009, Stockton’s Wing are taking to the stage in Clare again at the end of April.Paul Roche, Maurice Lennon, Mike Hanrahan and Tommy Hayes will be the band’s line-up for the gig, augmented by a few surprise guests on the night.“We’ll be performing all our old favourites and anything really that the crowd want us to play. We feel that the music we play still has the same relevance for people, because traditional music is very strong still, especially in Clare,” Paul said.“We were overwhelmed by the reunion gig last year and the level of support it received and it certainly encouraged us to come back with another gig this year in our hometown. We are really looking forward to the show again. Last year’s reunion was a mighty session that went on well after the show officially ended. So many friends and family came out …