THE deadline for paying the €100 household charge is almost at hand and those involved in the campaign against it are still hopeful of success. Chris Quinn has been heavily involved in the Mid-West campaign and feels it can be resisted. “If enough people stand together, they’ll make it unworkable as it has been so far. They will have to eat humble pie and say ‘that didn’t work’.”He says they have had a variety of responses from the Clare public. “Genuinely, it’s mixed. We were at a few parades around the county on St Patrick’s Day and quite a few people said to me that they had paid it but now they regretted paying it, more often than not. Most people said they hadn’t paid it and they won’t pay it. Some people said we were a holy disgrace but, at the same time, still hadn’t paid it themselves. I think people are sitting back and waiting to see what …

BUSINESSES in Clare are set to lose more than €2 million in the next three years if a replacement organiser is not found for the Etape Hibernia cycle event, which was cancelled last week.The Sky Ride Etape Hibernia, Ireland’s first closed-road mass-participation cycle event, was held in Clare in August 2010. It was held again last year, with further races due to take place this summer, in August 2013 and in August 2014. Over the last two years, it brought more than 3,000 participants and thousands more supporters to the area, as well as generating €2 million for the local economy. However, IMG Challenger World last week pulled out of organising the 84-mile event for the remainder of its projected five years, saying losses made continuing the event “unsustainable”.A statement from the company said it “invested significant resources and funds in launching the event. However, after recording losses in the first two years and the projection of a greater deficit …

THE Clare Ploughing Association will hold its annual ploughing match this Sunday in Newmarket-on-Fergus. The annual event, which marks the association’s 51st year, will kick off at noon at Ralahine.Speaking about the event, the association’s PRO, PJ Ryan said the survival of ploughing in the county “is exceptional” given that Clare would be classified as a non-tillage county.The annual ploughing match will feature horse ploughing, a senior and junior category, vintage ploughing and loy digging, which is done with a spade. In addition to the competitions, there will also be a display of vintage farm machinery and tractors and plenty of activities. According to PJ, the horse ploughing section is not only very competitive but is very attractive to watch and usually draws a young crowd, as it is a rare activity nowadays.“All these horse ploughmen are very proud of their animals and the plough and they are very attractive. Then we have a class for vintage ploughing, which is …

THE proposed deferral of the controversial €3.1 billion Promissory Note payment due on March 31 has been welcomed by Clare Deputy, Michael McNamara.Finance Minister Michael Noonan announced in the Dáil on Wednesday night that the Government is negotiating a new deal on the Promissory Note, which was due following the payment of €40bn into the now defunct Anglo Irish Bank, until 2025.Minister Noonan stated the final details of the plan still have to be worked out and put to the ECB for its approval on Thursday.If the new deal is approved, the Government will issue a new bond to the ECB, which can be redeemed in cash and will not have to be repaid until 2025.The first payment, which was roundly criticised by economists and public representatives, was made last year and another €3.1bn was scheduled to be paid at the end of the month.Fears were expressed that the Government would be forced to pay this huge sum of money, …

GARDAÍ from Killaloe, Ennis, Sixmilebridge and Shannon were deployed to Tulla on St Patrick’s Day after “a fracas” erupted at a public house.The incident, which occurred at Doran’s Bar on the Main Street, is believed to have involved a number of people who were socialising there.Units from the four garda stations attended the scene and are investigating the matter as a breach of the public order. No formal statement of complaint from an injured party was made at the time of going to press but gardaí confirmed they are carrying out further enquiries.Anyone with information is asked to contact Killaloe Garda Station on 061 620540.  

Teachers and board of management members from rural schools throughout Clare will participate in another protest march in Loughrea this Saturday.They will be joined by their colleagues from, Galway and Roscommon to highlight the unfair treatment of small schools including Gaeltacht, Island and minority religions and overall Government plans for draconian education cuts.This protest will commence at the Old Railway Station at 2pm and proceed through the town to the Office of Minister of State at Department of Education, Ciarán Cannon, where a petition will be handed in at about 3pm.  Speaking at a recent community meeting, Sean McMahon, the Clare and Tipperary representative on the INTO national executive, warned current Government policy “will lead to the possible amalgamation/closure of many schools and will make it very difficult for others to survive”. He criticised the impact of the budget, particularly on schools of four or less class teachers. “In this, the 90th anniversary of independence, we are still not cherishing …

WHEN Clare led by a point with over 50 minutes played, a six-point defeat did not appear to be on the cards. However, a strong finish by Fermanagh, in which they outscored Clare by 1-5 to 0-1, saw them collect all three points. This was their first win of the campaign in a game played Kinawley, County Fermanagh last Sunday. Clare are still in fourth place heading into their final group game at home to Kerry on April 1, while Fermanagh have moved up to leave Tipperary at the bottom. With the top four teams going through to the semi-finals, Clare appear to have booked the fourth spot ahead of the final round, provided Mayo beat Cavan in their last game. Should Clare lose to Kerry and fifth-place Waterford defeat Tipperary, the Déise would be tied with Clare on nine points but Clare would advance due to the fact that when they met in the opening round, victory went to …

Ennis is set to be one of three centres to take part in a pilot group to develop the Irish language. In an acknowledgement of the local efforts in promoting Irish, Minister of State with responsibility for the Gaeltacht, Dinny McGinley, will visit Clare this Thursday taking in the west and the county town and is expected to reveal more on the pilot project.Speaking on the visit, Minister McGinley said Clare has an important role to play in advancing the aims of the 20-year strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030. “As it already has a strong Irish speaking population, it is one of the areas with the potential to make substantial progress during the term of the strategy. The Irish language community in Ennis, along with their counterparts in Carlow and Clondalkin, will shortly participate in a focus group with officials from my department and Foras na Gaeilge. The aim of this focus group is to inform the development of …