It’s getting towards the end of the year again and in the motor industry, that means it’s time again for the Irish Car of the Year and Irish Van of the Year awards. This is the 40th year of the awards, which are again supported by long time sponsor, Continental Tyres. The overall winning car and the category winners will be announced at a black-tie ceremony at the Powerscourt Hotel, Enniskerry, on October 27. This year, 33 of Ireland’s leading motoring writers will get together to vote for what they believe to be the best on the market. For the first time, the field of contenders has been expanded to encompass facelifted cars too, so any car introduced in the last year is in with a shout. Voting jurors, who have spent the last twelve months familiarising themselves with everything on the market, will vote in a number of categories. Each juror has 25 points to allocate in each category, …

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See our special feature on Summer Camps for children.     Click here to read online.

Our videos, taken on Sunday afternoon, clearly show that the flood walls around Ennis, built a few years ago at great expense, are allowing water to leak through onto the streets. This first video is around Bank Place, below the bridge. It clearly shows water seeping through at the bottom of the wall. Next, it’s the same story at the Mill wheel, near the Maid of Erin roundabout. Finally, two videos showing the level of the water in the river.

Concerns have been raised in Ennis regarding the  effectiveness of the flood defences in the town, completed over the past few years,  particularly around Abbey Street car park. This afternoon, the Fergus rose to very high levels and water appeared to be getting through the newly built walls, which were designed to hold back floods. Council workers are currently examining the situation. With storm Desmond to continue overnight, further rain and a high tide will only exacerbate the problem. More on Storm Desmond and how it’s affecting Clare here. [doptg id=”86″]

2015’s weather is finishing off with a bit of a flourish with Storm Desmond reaching Clare, causing high winds and lots of flooding. Our pictures show some of the devastation, particularly in West Clare. An emergency number, 1890  252 943, has been set up to allow members of the public to report flooding, blocked roads or fallen trees. More on Storm Desmond and how it’s affecting Ennis flood defences here. [doptg id=”87″]  

Kerry native, Maureen Cronin, is rapidly approaching her 100th birthday but she comes into the ‘Champion offices without fail every Thursday. She comes in to drop in her unique poetry and to have the chat. Hear Maureen tell her story on ‘The Local Eye’ on RTÉ 1 this Thursday evening at 7.30pm.

The third episode of the RTÉ 1 TV series, ‘The Local Eye’, airs this Thursday at 7.00pm. On this episode, the cameras follow Crusheen story teller, Eddie Lenihan. Check out the clip below and don’t forget to tune in.