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Gardaí will prepare a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions after three people were arrested in connection with a road traffic collision in East Clare on Tuesday. A man and two male juveniles have since been released without charge. They had been detained following the collision at Newline, Killaloe which left a woman and two children requiring treatment in hospital. It’s understood the three males fled the scene after the collision. The crash occurred at around 11.30am on the R463 Killaloe to Limerick road at Newline close to Shantraud Woods in an area where roadworks are currently being carried out. It’s understood that a car attempted to overtake a truck and collided almost head-on with an oncoming vehicle carrying French tourists. Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Killaloe station responded to the incident along with Gardaí and National Ambulance Service paramedics. A woman and two children were transported to University Hospital Limerick. There injuries are reported …

International Women’s Day will be celebrated around the world tomorrow, March 8. Ahead of this event, The Clare Champion profiles two Clare women who have been making waves in the world of politics, feminism and environmental activism in recent years. In February of 2020, Violet-Anne Wynne (Ind) became just the forth woman in history to be elected to Dáil Éireann. She followed in the footsteps of Brigid Hogan-O’Higgins (FG), who was elected in the Clare-South Galway Constituency in 1969, Madeleine Taylor-Quinn (FG), who was first elected in 1981 and Síle de Valera (FF) who was first elected in the Clare constituency in 1987. Bridget Ginnity, meanwhile has been working in Clare communities for years. After spending years promoting women’s participation in science, she has turned her attention to the environment where she is active across a number of important issues. Ahead of International women’s day, Violet-Anne looks back on a busy four years in Dáil Éireann. “I feel pride that …

A NEW book by Mary Immaculate College academic and Kilshanny resident, Dr Sarah O’Brien, tells the stories of Irish immigrants in post-Famine America. Of Memory and the Misplaced draws from 30 memoirs written between 1900 and 1970 and shows the prevalence of intimate and taboo themes in ordinary immigrants’ writing, such as domestic violence, same-sex love and famine-induced trauma. Combining literary and historical theory, Of Memory and the Misplaced highlights voices that have traditionally been silenced and offers a rare and unexplored collection of primary source autobiographical texts to better understand the experiences of Irish immigrants in the United States. “In the early twentieth century, memoir-writing was a craze in the US. It became fashionable for older people to write down their life stories,” she said. “Luckily, some of the memoirs written by Irish emigrants during this era survived. They offer a rare glimpse into the remembering mind of those who left after the Famine. “The memoirs I write about …

THE Grand Marshall of this year’s Ennis St Patrick’s Day parade will be two time Grammy award nominee, Ennis’ very own Maura O’Connell. Clare County Council are extending a warm welcome to all to gather in Ennis to celebrate our national holiday on Sunday, March 17. Maura, of ‘Tumbleweed’, ‘De Dannan’ and ‘A Woman’s Heart’ fame, released her first solo album ‘Maura O’Connell’ in the early 1980s which was an eclectic mix of genres. Moving to Nashville in 1986 Maura went on to have a very successful career in the US releasing albums with Jerry Douglas and Béla Fleck and sharing the stage with many top artists such as Dolly Parton, John Prine, James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, John Oates, Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt. Joining this year’s parade will be a delegation from Ennis’ twinning town in Germany, Langenfeld. The Mayor of Langenfeld Frank Schneider and members of the city administration and twinning committee will participate in the …

A FORMER Direct Provision resident is once again throwing her hat in the ring for a chance to become a member of Clare County Council. Nigerian born Amanda Major has lived in Clare for 20 years and became an Irish citizen in 2015. She confirmed this week she will be running in this year’s Ennis Municipal District local elections as an Independent candidate. In 2019 she unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat on the council as an Independent gaining 200 first preference votes. And in 2022 she was among four local Fianna Fáil candidates vying for a seat on the local authority left vacant after former Ennis councillor Mark Nestor announced he was leaving politics to join the priesthood. Announcing her candidacy this week she said she made the decision “due to the urgent need for change and the crucial role that voting plays in shaping the future of our community.” She said, “In recent years, we have witnessed significant challenges …

It has been a long and exciting road for Lahinch twins Julie and Branwen Kavanagh on their way to Altarwise. The duo, who make music under the name Twin Headed Wolf, began creating their debut album way back in 2013, and after more than a decade of off-and-on recording, mastering and remastering, Altarwise will meet the world this week. This is an album like none you are likely he hear this year. The songs are much more than individual, musical expressions. The Lahinch singer-songwriters have crafted a world for every song to inhabit, with textures and characters unique to that particular place and time. “This album got lost in time a bit. We started recording it back in Clare with Simon O’Reilly, we had so many mad things that we wanted to include in the album. We wanted [to record] wheelbarrows in doors and old pianos and things like that, so it took a long time to get the sound …

The first industry endorsed marine mammal observer (MMO) training programme which aims to train young professionals who are seeking fulfilling careers in marine ecology and sustainable energy has been completed by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB). Five applicants who took part in industry-approved training courses recently successfully completed the course and it is hoped these professionals will be key components in the delivery of offshore wind projects over the coming decade. Ireland has a unique capability for such delivery given its prime location which will enable the country to take advantage of the potential of offshore wind. Support for the programme was provided by the Kilrush-based Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) along with the Marine Mammal Observer Association, and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology. Participants in the initiative took part in MMO training provided by IWDG and spent two nights onboard the research vessel, Celtic Mist at Kilrush followed by a half-day at sea. Qualified MMOs …

The increase in the volume of red tape and bureaucracy involved to comply with environmental agricultural schemes has been criticised by a new Clare farm leader. Veteran IFA East Clare member, Stephen Walsh was unanimously elected unopposed as the new Clare IFA chairman following the organisation’s annual general meeting in the Woodstock Hotel, Ennis on Monday night. In an interview with The Clare Champion, Mr Walsh warned the form filling that is required for farmers has got a hundred times worse than when former IFA President, John Dillon railed against the bureaucracy farmers had to endure. “Someone is going to have to have a look and find out what is this all about. We have to get professionals now to fill out our forms. There are so much criteria and red tape if we make a mistake it is too serious,” he said. “Farmers have to pay farm planners up front. We were promised money under the ACRES scheme last …