Gardaí in Gort are appealing for assistance to identify the body of a man who was found washed up on the shore at Aughinish, Kinvara on Sunday evening last. At approximately 8.50pm on Sunday gardaí responded to a report that the body of a male was found washed up on the rocks at Aughinish. A local doctor was called and he was pronounced dead at 10pm at scene. The man is of now still unidentified. He is described as between 50 and 70 years, approximately 5’7″ in height, reddish hair, receding hair line and blue eyes. His clothing and a number of items found on his person are described as follows: · Blue Marks and Spencer easy care pyjama, top & bottom · Grey Boss V neck jumper, regular fit · Grey pin stripe trousers and jacket with Irish Action Autism badge. Black belt with brass buckle · Pair of black Mark and Spencers trouser braces · Grey Debonham and …

The stretch of waterway from Limerick city to Parteen Weir has been closed to navigation due to continuing infrastructural deficiencies as a result of the winter storms and subsequent flooding. The navigation remains closed and users are advised to stay clear of the damaged facilities in the area. Waterways Ireland has limited resources and has had to prioritise its interventions in those areas of greatest need and use. Following inspections of the floating breakwater and the waiting jetties a number of design solutions have been advanced to repair and re-instate the infrastructure. Works are commencing this week and it is expected that navigation in Limerick will be re-opened in three to four weeks.

The finance manager of the world famous Dromoland Castle hotel has settled her High Court action aimed at preventing her purported dismissal. Orla Horgan applied to the High Court for an injunction preventing her employer, Dromoland Castle Holdings Ltd from terminating her employment as finance manager. She claimed she was being made “a scapegoat for fraud at the Five Star hotel” due to suspicious transactions carried out by another employee in the finance department which she had “nothing to do with”. Her lawyers had previously secured permission from the High Court for service of the proceedings at short notice on her employer. The matter returned before Mr Justice Paul Gilligan at the High Court today (Tuesday). Oisin Quinn, SC for Ms Horgan, said the action had been settled and could be struck out. Mark Connaughton, SC for Dromoland, said his side were consenting to the case being struck out. No details of the settlement, which are understood to be confidential, …

Shannon Musical Society took home two of the three awards they were nominated for at the Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS) annual music theatre awards, which were held in Killarney at the weekend. The society, which staged Legally Blonde this year, scooped the Spirit of AIMS award, the Jan Canavan Trophy, for the Delta Nu sextet as well as the Mary Kitt Trophy for Best House Management. Commenting on the portrayal of the Delta Nus, the judges said the “the joint effort from the director, the choreographer and the stage manager saw six highly talented young performers not only act, sing and dance brilliantly as a team but their choreographed scene changes were a superbly original and creative feature of the show”. Karen Barrett of the society was also nominated for the Mary Kelly Award, which is a special award for the great contribution a person has given to a society. There were 11 nominees in this award category and unfortunately Karen lost out on the overall award. The society have recently announced that their show for next year will …

Watch footage from last weekend’s runway run at Shannon, which was ably led by Marty!

Virtual reality (VR) experiences along the Wild Atlantic Way can now be accessed publicly via apps or on desktops. Launched by Fáilte Ireland,  the tourism promoter also unveiled is a new 360° views of the Wild Atlantic Way, which will add another level of immersion when visitors research the destination. Already the first of the 360° videos promoted publicly, Surfing at the Cliffs of Moher, has generated 150,000 views amongst potential visitors. Fáilte Ireland recently piloted VR as a potential sales tool at ITB Berlin, one of the world’s largest tourism trade fairs with 10,000 exhibitors from 187 countries and territories and with approximately 100,000 international trade visitors and members of the public in attendance. Following on from the successful demonstration to the international trade, Failte Ireland are now giving everyone the chance to view the experiences for themselves. A number of exciting activities (surfing under the Cliffs of Moher; sea stack climbing; beach horse riding; and cycling along the …

A North Clare business-woman, who has been at the fore of the international success of retail chain Penneys, is to retire after 37 years. Boston’s Breege O’Donoghue is group director of new markets and business development with Primark Stores and will continue in the role until September. However, the company confirmed on Monday that the Clare woman will retire later this year. Ms O’Donoghue was educated by the sisters of Mercy in Gort before going to night classes and graduating from University College Dublin with a degree in commerce in 1972. Over the course of her career, she completed many short programmes of study including at Cornell University, Harvard Business School, London School of Economics and International Language Schools in Germany, Spain and France. Ms O’Donoghue began her career in hotel management with the Great Southern Hotel Group, before leaving to set up Penneys’ human resources department in 1979 and working as a board member to develop the Primark brand …

Few people celebrate the summer solstice these days but a special event will take place in Shannon to mark it this occasion. “Shannon Mental Health Association and SkyCourt Shopping Centre are combining to hold a summer solstice event to promote positive mental health. It’ll be in the Food Court at SkyCourt on Monday, June  from 9pm until around 11.30pm. There will be music and entertainment and refreshment. “The idea is to promote good mental health. The solstice has been identified by Mental Health Ireland nationally so the Shannon branch is having this local event. People will be given cards and they can write their wishes for their mental health and well-being on them for the coming year,” Tony McMahon, PRO of the Shannon Mental Health Association, outlined. Tony added, “It’s a social event, a sort of a get-together, a celebration of mental well-being. There won’t be anything therapeutic but there will be information available about Mental Health Ireland.” Speaking about the Shannon …