TWO All-Ireland senior hurling championship winning managers participated in the launch of the West of Ireland’s first Age Friendly Strategy. Ger Loughnane and Davy Fitzgerald, accompanied by the Liam McCarthy Cup, joined more than 300 people at Treacy’s West County Hotel in Ennis for the launch of Clare’s Age Friendly Programme. The multi-agency initiative has been prepared by the Clare Age Friendly County Alliance Board and Clare County Development Board, with the support of the National Ageing Well Network. Among the actions contained in the plan is an expansion in the number of Voluntary Housing Schemes for older people. The programme also seeks to make pedestrian crossing times more age appropriate, support the development of community gardens, provide more shelters and better lighting in bus shelters, and host of an annual celebration of the contribution of the county’s older musicians and artists. The newly launched programme has been developed in the context of the growing international awareness of the need …

One thing is for certain, a Clare hurler will walk away with the accolade of Young Hurler of the Year as the three nominees for this year’s award are Tony Kelly, David McInerney and Podge Collins. In fact, both Kelly and Collins are also short-listed for the Player of the Year award with their only rival being Cork goalie, Anthony Nash. A total of 13 Clare players have been nominated for All-Stars in the 2013 GAA GPA  Awards announced on Wednesday night. The two that didn’t get nominated from the team that started last week-end’s All-Ireland final replay are defenders Cian Dillon and Patrick O’Connor, both of whom were solid all season if not spectacular. There are just 13 survivors from last year’s list of nominees and the final selection will be voted on at a judges’ meeting on Wednesday, November 6, with the awards banquet at Croke Park on Friday, November 8. Hurling All Star nominations Goalkeepers: Anthony Nash …

WIN, lose or draw, Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council will host a joint homecoming event for the Clare senior hurlers and their management in recognition of their hurling exploits this season. The homecoming will also celebrate the success of the Clare U-21 hurlers in winning back-to-back All-Ireland titles and the squad, along with their management, will also be introduced to the crowd at Tim Smythe Park, formerly known as The Fairgreen, on Sunday night. Entertainment will commence at 6pm and both teams are expected to arrive at 7.30pm. The homecoming event will be broadcast to worldwide audiences on the Ennis App and on www.ennisapp.ie. Public parking arrangements and traffic restrictions will be in place. Road closures will be in place from 4.30pm to 12 midnight  at  Steele’s Terrace/Newbridge Road from College Road to Kelly’s Korner Roundabout, at New Road from its junction with Tulla Road and Newbridge Road, at Dr Daly Road from its junction with New Road …

GARDAI are continuing their investigations following a significant seizure of firearms and explosive components in South-East Clare. A substantial amount of what is believed to be dissident explosives, ammunition detonators, a variety of firearms, CS gas containers, magazines and balaclavas were taken from a wooded area in Meelick on Friday evening. An army bomb disposal team was called to examine the area before it could be declared safe. The items, which included recently manufactured devices for detonating explosives were taken away for a Garda forensic and technical examination. Gardai have been investigating links between dissident republicans based in Dublin and Limerick and have had significant successes in the past year since a new group, terming itself the “New Real IRA” and including former leading members of the Provisional IRA, emerged. The Garda Special Detective Unit has been searching for a dissident arms and explosives manufacturing operation for over a year and the indications are this find marked a major breakthrough …

A community mediation service has been established in Shannon which will help people resolve their conflicts in a non-adversarial manner. The new service, launched by Mayor of Shannon Greg Duff, will be provided by a panel of volunteers that have completed an extensive state-approved training under Tricia Hayes, a mediator and facilitator with a Masters in Conflict Resolution. Ms Hayes has been a practitioner in this area since the early 90s and the course objective was to develop the essential core knowledge and skills essential to the practice of mediation. Community mediation is to help parties involved in a dispute to reach an agreement acceptable to both sides.  The process starts when a pair of mediators talks to each party separately to hear their view on the situation.  Next the parties are brought together in a meeting at a neutral venue. The mediators will ensure that everyone is heard. The benefits of mediation are that it is an independent and …

CLARE County Council is a finalist in the 10th annual Engineers Ireland Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Employer of the Year Awards for 2013-2014. Clare County Council, which has a long and successful record of CPD, has been shortlisted for its achievements in using in-house expertise, local knowledge and innovation to develop the Clare County Flood Forecasting System (CCFFS). The system has proven highly successful and is being replicated by a number of organisations throughout the country. Dublin City Council, Dromone Engineering Limited, global healthcare company Abbott Ireland and PM Group are among other leading organisations shortlisted for the awards. Engineers Ireland director general and chartered engineer, John Power said, “Every year we are hugely impressed by the quality of entries and the organisations’ commitment to CPD. This year is no different. The shortlist reflects companies that have demonstrated how the strategic use of CPD enables tangible business transformation, helping to establish Ireland as a centre of excellence for engineering. “I …

WITH autumn now upon us and dark evenings prompting a more sedentary lifestyle, Shannon Chamber has enlisted the help of sport and recreation expert, Dave Mahedy, Director of Sport and Recreation at the University of Limerick, to help members and business people generally to prepare a personal programme for a healthier lifestyle. Mr Mahedy will deliver a presentation, entitled ‘Fit for Work, Project Me: A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body’ in GECAS Shannon next Tuesdayevening  from 5.30pm to 7pm.   The event is being run by Shannon Chamber, with the support of GECAS, as part of Chamber Week, which runs from  September 16 – 20 nationally. Making the announcement, Shannon Chamber’s chief executive Helen Downes said, “Summer is a time for the outdoors and exercise comes naturally but it’s difficult to find the routine as we head into winter. It’s easy to fall into a sedentary pattern, yet exercise is so important for our well-being, it relaxes and stimulates …

Ennis came agonizingly close to repeating their feat of 2005, that of being crowned national tidy towns champions. They came up two marks shy of Moynalty in Meath, this year’s winner’s on 316 marks, but there was some consolation for the Ennis contingent at The Helix in Dublin on Monday when the county town retained its title as Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre. It’s the fifth time that Ennis has taken the honour and for their troubles they were presented with a trophy and a cheque for €5,000. Ennis also picked up a further award, a gold medal, its 13th in as many years, when adjudged winner in the category for centres with a population in excess of  25,000 people. Ennis, which finished joint third place overall, was marked against strict adjudication criteria and beat off stiff competition from other large urban centres such as Kilkenny City. The Clare county capital has previously won the award in 2006, 2008, 2009 …