CHILDREN aged from nine to 12 years of age are invited to take part in the inaugural Guaire Magazine Children’s Writing Competition. The theme for the inaugural competition is ‘The Loop’. Tonii Kelly, Guaire Magazine editor, said, “Gort is home to Coole Park, which, in the 20th century, was the cradle of the Irish Literary Revival and the foundation of the Abbey Theatre, through Lady Augusta Gregory. With such a history, it is only fitting that Gort should be home to the next generation of young writers and poets through the establishment of the children’s writing competition.” In order to encourage young authors to take part in the competition, Guaire Magazine and Gort Library, with sponsorship from the local Lions Club, will be running a number of creative writing workshops with internationally recognised children’s authors. The first workshop scheduled is for Saturday, October 7 at 3pm, with Debbie Thomas. Debbie is the writer-in-residence with Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin. She …

THERE will be an opportunity to go back to your roots in The Old Ground Hotel next week. The Clare Roots Society’s next meeting, on Thursday, September 21 at 8pm, will focus on tracing ancestors and beginning family histories. According to John Bradley of the society, “The desire to delve into the history of your family can be triggered by various events, a marriage and the joining of two families, a new baby bringing a new generation and new grandparents, retirement and the need to fill your leisure time or the more challenging discoveries. “Whatever triggered an interest in the subject, it is always wise to start with the known facts and verify these by obtaining the proof in the civil or church records. “Everyone starting their family history these days instantly turns to the internet. It is essential, however, that a new researcher knows where to look. “Maybe you have encountered a barrier in your genealogy research and you …

IN the week of the first anniversary of his wife’s tragic death, Bernard Lucas has said he definitely senses her presence when he is on a call-out with Doolin Coast Guard. On September 12, 2016, Caitríona Lucas died, while on board a Kilkee Coast Guard rigid inflatable boat, during a search for Lissycasey man David McMahon (RIP). At 4.30pm this Saturday, a plaque, in memory of Caitríona, who lived with her husband and children in Liscannor and was originally from Ballyvaughan, will be unveiled at the Doolin Coast Guard Centre. The public is invited to attend the ceremony. “It would be great if people come along and see what we do,” Bernard Lucas told The Clare Champion this week. “People might not have seen the new rescue centre since it opened and this could be the opportunity to do that. They can see what we do and the gear that we have,” he added. Since Caitríona’s untimely death, Bernard has …

THE county council has been asked to outline its vision for Shannon’s future, following the recent rejection of an application for planning permission by Aldi. There has been local anger at the rejection of the application, which people hoped would help revitalise the town and help towards giving it a conventional streetscape for the first time. At this week’s Shannon Municipal District meeting, Councillors Mike McKee and Gerry Flynn both put down motions regarding local development, while there was very widespread annoyance among the members regarding it. At Tuesday morning’s meeting, Councillor McKee said he had been amazed with the decision to give the Aldi proposal the thumbs down. “I was stunned with the reasons given and I couldn’t understand the logic,” the Sinn Féin representative said. He claimed that the development would have “taken away the stranglehold SkyCourt has on retail in Shannon”. Councillor McKee said that he hopes Aldi appeal. “I hope they appeal and are successful. For …

Gardaí are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a man in his early 40s, whose body was discovered in the Gallows Hill area of Ennis today (Friday) at approximately 10am. It is understood that the body was discovered by a passer-by, and it was close to a tree and a side wall at the edge of a green area, which has a pathway running through it. The man had been living locally. Locals were stunned upon hearing of the death. “It’s a lovely quiet area, we’re very surprised to have something like this here,” said one woman. At present the scene is sealed off, while the body has been removed. The scene has been preserved for a technical examination and the Offices of the State Pathologist has been notified. Investigating Gardaí are appealing for witnesses, in particular any persons who were in the vicinity of The Turnpike Road/ Gallows Hill are in Ennis between the hours of 10pm on …

September is synonymous with GAA and Croke Park, and the All-Ireland final weekends. Today Friday), Michael Lyster took a break from commentating on the finals to discuss World Heart Day on Friday, September 29. The RTE Sunday Game presenter wants all of Ireland to unite and Stand Up to Heart Failure. Heart Failure is a debilitating, life-threatening condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood around the body because the muscle of the heart become too weak or too stiff to work properly2. However, with access to timely diagnosis, appropriate medical management and follow-up services, a patient’s prognosis can be significantly improved. It is estimated that 90,000 people live with the condition in Ireland1. Due to Ireland’s ageing population, heart failure is set to increase dramatically, leading to an increase in hospitalisations from heart failure of more than 50% over the next 25 years3. Campaign ambassador Michael Lyster opened up about his own experience with heart failure at the …

AN emergency housing unit for homeless people is set to be established in Ennis. Clare County Council is searching for a property in the town for the unit, director of service Liam Conneally has confirmed. At a meeting of the Strategic Policy Committee (SPC), Mr Conneally said a bid was made for a property last year but it proved unsuccessful. A second option was considered but the cost of the fit-out was higher than anticipated. The council has now increased its bid for the first property. SPC member Dermot Hayes said, “Homelessness has more than quadrupled and it’s tragic to see so many houses lying idle.” Mr Conneally acknowledged that the acquisition of a property “has taken a lot longer” than anticipated but he said it would be operating as soon as possible. In terms of location, he said the unit “has to be central”. Trade union representative Tom Guilfoyle urged the council to borrow money to allow more houses …

A brace of stamps released by An Post today (Thursday) celebrates Ireland’s National Ploughing Championships, which kick off in Tullamore next week. The €1 stamps, designed by Ger Garland, are accompanied by special stamp sheets and First Day Cover envelopes and are available at main post offices, the stamp counter at Dublin’s GPO or online at www.irishstamps.ie. Horsepower in both its forms serves to illustrate the ploughing championships. The first features Eamonn Tracey from Carlow, who has won seven consecutive national ploughing titles and two back-to-back world titles. Traditional, horse drawn ploughing, is represented by Kildare ploughmen, Godfrey Worrell and his son, Darren, with their Irish draught plough horses, Sally and Larry. While ploughing has been a feature of agricultural life competitive ploughing has a long and distinguished history. The first recorded ploughing match was held in Wexford in 1816 and the first inter-county ploughing contest took place in 1931. That event arose out of the friendly wager between Denis …