Recently appointed consultants for the design and delivery of the new county library in Ennis visited Áras Contae an Chláir to meet with representatives of the Municipal District of Ennis and key stakeholders in the flagship project. Clare County Council hosted the meeting which represents the commencement of the stakeholder consultation stage of the project. The process of consultation will continue up to the final design later in 2016. The proposed €8.6m project will see the new library building developed at the site of the existing Glór facility on The Causeway Link providing a new county library for Clare to replace the existing De Valera Library on Harmony Row. Earlier this year, Clare County Council was allocated a €3 million capital grant towards the cost of the proposed project under the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government’s Capital Funding Programme for Public Libraries. An additional €1 million in EU funding was also allocated from the Southern Regional Assembly’s …

The Mirazozo luminarium, a giant art installation featuring caverns for members of the public to explore, will be a colorful focal point on the Ennis landscape during Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. The structure, designed by Alan Parkinson of the company Architects of Air, is being brought to Active Ennis Tim Smythe Park by Clare County Council. The structures designed by Alan having been visited by more than two million people in 43 countries around the world at iconic locations such as the Guggenheim in Spain and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Inspired by Islamic architecture and natural geometry, Mirazozo features winding passages of small domes inspired by repeat forms found in the bazaars of Iran. Inside the spaceship-shaped structure is a multi-coloured world of bright luminous green, red and blue stripes of light forming bouncing patterns of colour on the walls of five interlinked domes. Monica Meehan, Community and Tourism, Clare County Council said the 158 ft. by 94 …

Two people were treated in hospital following separate accidents at the Cliffs of Moher. Emergency services were alerted around 10am yesterday after an Italian visitor suffered a serious leg injury after falling. The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard and a HSE ambulance and rapid response advanced paramedic unit were sent to the scene and the woman was transferred to hospital for treatment. A short time later, rescue teams were called out to a similar incident involving an Australian woman, who suffered a fall at the popular cliff trail. The woman was taken to safety and transferred to University Hospital Limerick.

A woman was rescued from the sea off Liscannor yesterday after she got into difficulty while kayaking. Four kayakers had set out from Liscannor Bay when one of the group fell into the water after her craft capsized. She was unable to climb back onto the kayak and the alarm was raised. The Shannon based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, and the Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard were alerted. The crew of the fishing boat Gillstiffen that had been in the area at the time diverted to the area and located the kayakers. The woman, who had been in the water for a time, was taken on board by the fisherman and take back to Liscannor Harbour. The incident came just days after a father and son ghad to be rescued in Galway Bay after their inflatable kayak capsized. They were located by the crew of Rescue 115 after they climbed onto an anchored boat and waited …

Galway 2-17 Clare 0-17 Clare’s dream of adding the All-Ireland senior hurling championship title to the national league crown won earlier in the season is over. Before an attendance of 31,690 at Semple stadium in Thurles yesterday, they went under to neighbours Galway on a day when the Tribesmen’s aerial supremacy proved decisive. Clare failed to match Galway’s physicality and can have no complaints with the result. Joe Canning, not for the first time, proved a key figure in Galway’s victory, the Portumna man’s goal twenty seconds into the second half putting the winners ten points clear and leaving Clare with a mountain to climb. A Conor Cooney goal after fifteen minutes helped Galway to a 1-10 to 0-6 half time lead after they had played with the aid of a fresh wind. It was a lead they deserved as they had dominated the exchanges in a majority of positions. Clare recorded the opening score when Tony Kelly converted a …

A LANDMARK building in the heart of Ennis has come onto the market, with a price tag of €2.25 million. The flagship store in the Carraig Donn Group on O’Connell Square has been put up for sale as a retail investment, with the existing occupier’s lease running until 2026. The tenant is not affected by the sale. Paddy Darmody of selling agents, Sherry FitzGerald McMahon, Ennis, is expecting a lot of interest in the property. “It’s a landmark building, with a tenant who has 38 other shops in the country, with plans to open three more this year and a strong online presence. With a current annual rental income of €155,000, the sale of this property offers the superb opportunity of acquiring a prime, easily managed retail investment, at a time when returns from cash and other investment vehicles are at an all-time low,” he said. Mr Darmody pointed out that the building is situated in a prime location in …

MID West Simon, who operate food banks in Ennis and Kilrush, said double income families are increasingly availing of their services. In addition, 550 people in the county are having some or all of their food supplied by the food banks. Mid West Simon general manager, Jackie Bonfield, told The Clare Champion that families with students about to attend third level are amongst those who are now using food banks and she is encouraging people in similar circumstances to also do so. “In recent months, we have had a number of double and middle income families, with both parents working, getting in touch with us. This is particularly relevant at the moment because families who have teenagers about to start at third level are feeling the financial strain. People who are finding it difficult to manage rent, mortgage repayments and other bills are often double income families,” Jackie Bonfield revealed. “We have recently secured food with long shelf-life and we …

The Clare senior hurling team to play Galway in tomorrow’s All-Ireland quarter final is unchanged for that which started against Limerick in their last outing. It is Andrew Fahy (Whitegate); Oisín O’Brien (Clonlara), Pat O’Connor (Tubber), Cian Dillon (Crusheen); Jack Browne (Ballyea), Conor Cleary (Miltown St. Josephs), Brendan Bugler (Whitegate); David McInerney (Tulla), David Reidy (Éire Óg); Colm Galvin (Clonlara), Podge Collins (Cratloe), Tony Kelly (Ballyea); John Conlon (Clonlara), Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg), Aron Shanagher (Wolfe Tones na Sionna). The game throws at 4.00 pm in Semple Stadium in Thurles By Seamus Hayes