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Breaking News

Clare Voters Are Likely To Reject Two Referendum Changes

Early indications suggest Clare voters have voted No in the two Referendums on Friday. In total, 98 out of the 177 boxes have been opened in the count centre at Woodstock Hotel, Ennis. The preliminary turnout is expected 45%, which is subject to change once all the votes are counted. Counting staff are currently reconciling the number of votes in every box with the number recorded by the presiding officer to make sure they tally. Staff will start counting all the votes when the reconciling process is completed. It is expected that a final result will be announced after 3pm this afternoon.       Dan Danaher

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Concerns over staffing levels at Ennistymon Community Hospital

Concern has been expressed about the cessation of respite care at Ennistymon Community Hospital for two separate five-month periods due to staffing shortages. Councillor Liam Grant (GP) has expressed his disappointment that staff shortages have led to the ending of respite services from August 2022 to January 2023 and from August 2023 to January 2024. The palliative care bed and five respite beds are currently available for admission. Councillor Grant asked for a comprehensive report on the services provided at Ennistymon Community Hospital and HSE plans for future development at an HSE West Forum meeting. The Green Party Councillor also requested figures for how many beds are available for long-term, respite and palliative care, the occupancy rate and whether were there any staffing issues affecting what the hospital can provide. Welcoming the submission of an application to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to register six new beds, Councillor Grant said he hoped staffing issues don’t arise at the …

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Community laments passing of Frank Custy

Frank Custy, one of the major figures in Clare traditional music, passed away last week, with his funeral taking place on Sunday and Monday. As a teacher Frank inspired many young people to take up music and Toonagh National School where he worked became renowned for its promotion of traditional Irish music and singing. Among those who learned music at the school were Sean Conway and Mary Custy while Sharon and Gary Shannon also learned their trades during classes organised outside school hours. Frank was also a hurler, and won a Harty Cup with St Flannan’s in 1957. He was the goalkeeper on the Ruan hurling teams that won senior county championships in 1959, 1960 and 1962. He was also a selector when the club reached the 1988 county final. A tribute to him published on social media by Ruan GAA Club lauded his contribution to the community, “Frank was synonymous with life in Toonagh for over half a century. …

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Fresh start for Ballymacraven River in Ennistymon

The groundwork has been laid for a major restoration of the Ballymacraven River in North Clare, which was devastated by pollution last year. The Restore Ballymacraven River Association hosted a public meeting in Ennistymon last Friday, and outlined their plans for the river for this year, and into the future. The river, which is a tributary of the Inagh River, was the site of a significant water pollution event in May of last year, with thousands of fish and other wildlife being killed. Earlier this year, Uisce Éireann were fined €10,000 for the incident, which threatens the viability of the river’s population of Atlantic salmon and eels among other species. Local community group, the Restore Ballymacraven River Association, now plans to help restore the waterway, starting with the area around The Glen in Ennistymon. The first step is to remove a large number of invasive trees from the river bank and replace them with thousands of native trees. This will …

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Barefield’s Miss Ireland has already placed in the top 10 for talent at Miss World

Miss Ireland, Barefield’s Dr Ivanna McMahon is captivating audiences at the Miss World final in New Delhi, India this week. Her performance on the harp secured her a top 10 placement for talent, ensuring her a spot to perform at the esteemed Miss World ball this weekend. With her display of talent, Ivanna is poised to make a lasting impression before the final selection of Miss World on Saturday night.  Ivanna also placed as a finalist in the public speaking challenge this week and stood out as one of the most highly educated and articulate contestants this year.  The 29 year old was crowned Miss Ireland 2022 and now finally she will get her moment on the world stage and represent Ireland at Miss World.  The competition was due to take place in 2023 but was postponed as a knock on effect of the pandemic.   Ivanna has already been spotted as a contender for the world crown by international …

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File being prepared for the DPP follow East Clare collision

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 …

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Meet the Clare changemakers ahead of International Women’s Day

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 …

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Kilshanny author delves into the memoirs of our famine immigrants

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 …

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