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A cheque for almost €6,000 has been presented to Pieta House, the proceeds of the Keep’er Lit tractor run, which took place in Kilmurry on December 17 last year. It was organised by 16-year-old Shay O’Sullivan from Kilmurry. “We’re very proud of him and he’s a very driven fella,” said Shay’s sister Shauna this week. “When he came up with the idea we just said we’d get behind him if he was willing to do it. He put in an awful lot of work. There were sponsors’ prizes and everything on the night. “The weather hampered it a little bit, it was frosty weather so he didn’t get the turnout that he deserved. But he did great work, he raised close to €6,000 for Pieta House,” she added. The tractor run began at Sixmilebridge mart, then went through Newmarket and Quin, going back through Kilmurry and back into Sixmilebridge. There were around 75 participants on the night, and Shauna said …

RATES and their impact on small and family-run businesses were in the spotlight at the January meeting of the local authority with Clare’s newest county councillor called for their reform.  Tabling his first motion since being coopted to the local authority, Councillor Tom O’Callaghan called on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to amend the Valuation Act to ensure rates are based on the profits a business makes, rather than the size of its premises. He urged that this be done before the revaluation process, currently being conducted, becomes effective from January of next year.  “I believe very strongly our focus needs to be on protecting the viability of the small to medium family-run business, through County Clare, especially in the heart of our towns and our rural villages,” he told the chamber. “Any support, reduce costs is needed and very much appreciated.” The Ennis district member outlined the spiralling costs of credit for small businesses and highlighted …

Refugee and migrant rights organisation Doras has expressed grave concern about moving more than 80 international protection applicants into tents in Knockalisheen, Meelick. As sub zero temperatures returned in Clare, Irish Refugee Council chief executive officer, Nick Henderson said it is a matter of real concern that refugees find themselves back in this position in Ireland, which is one of the richest countries in the EU. Notwithstanding the accommodation challenges, he said that placing refugees in tents is not acceptable. “This is disappointing, given Minister O’Gorman’s assurances in December that tented accommodation would cease to operate,” said Doras CEO John Lannon. “Less than four weeks later they’re back in operation. As a result, it’s very difficult to be optimistic about the government’s response to the need to provide stable and safe accommodation for refugees.” “We’ve seen the tents. They’re cold and damp. People have to go outside to get to the toilets. They certainly don’t meet people’s basic needs. And …

WITH the 25th West Clare Mini Marathon set for January 29 in Kilkee, Willie and Mary McGrath, the driving force behind its main beneficiary, reflected on how the event has developed since humble beginnings in 1999. That year’s event, organised by the McGraths and others saw fewer than 25 people take part, bringing in £7,394 for the West Clare Cancer Centre. “It was trial and error to see would a mini marathon in West Clare work on the last Sunday in January, which is maybe not the best time of the year!” Willie laughs.  On the night of January 31, 1999, no one was expecting the fundraiser to still be going in 2023, but Willie said the first mini marathon had been a success and people wanted it to happen again. “From the first event, on that Sunday evening it looked as if it might go somewhere. The feedback was beginning. People were asking why runners? Why not accommodate walkers …

THEY may be taking to the stage a little later than they hoped, but the cast and crew of the Cloughleigh Amateur Drama Group believe their latest production will be certainly worth waiting for. The local drama group had planned on bringing the acclaimed Jimmy Keary comedy ‘Mother Knows Best’ to the stage of the Cloughleigh Community Centre back in 2021, however Covid meant those plans were put on hold. Now they are back in action and rehearsing hard in preparation for four nights of shows at the hall in Davitt Terrace on Friday, January 27, Saturday, January 28, Friday, February 3 and Saturday, February 4. Willie Crowley of the drama group told The Champion,“We had been hoping to do this play in 2021 but because of Covid we had to put it on hold. “We had actually just done our second play, ‘Nobody’s Talking to Me’ two weeks before everything was shut down, we were very lucky in that. …

CONTROLLING the water levels on the River Shannon and the Head Race Canal continues to be a key aspect of Ardnacrusha Power Station, according to an experienced retired electrician. Looking back on his 44-year stint in Ardnacrusha, Francis Moloney (73) from Clonlara has outlined other statutory obligations staff fulfilled, apart from vital electricity generation. In the winter time, he recalled during high water levels Ardnacrusha was responsible for maintaining certain levels on the River Shannon. “People working up along the Shannon in places like Killaloe and Portumna would report what the water levels were to staff in Ardnacrusha where they are logged to determine the input into the River Shannon, which dictates what generation is going to be done at a particular time. “If the levels in the River Shannon go above the statutory level, you commence spilling of excess water down the Old River Shannon where people like Bertie Poole would operate the gates at Parteen Weir on behalf …

A SHANNON man is preparing for the toughest foot race in the world through the Sahara Desert to raise awareness and funds for sudden adult death syndrome treatment. Matthew Halpin will take on the six-day, 250km Marathon Des Sables through the famous desert where he will potentially face 50 degree temperatures. It’s happening in April and Matthew is doing it to commemorate his late friend Kevin Hayes, and to raise funds for Heart House, which is a free family heart screening clinic at the Mater in Dublin.  Thirty-two years of age, Matthew now works for MeiraGTx and moved back to Shannon last October after a decade in Cork.  Speaking about his late friend Kevin, he says, “I was in college with him in UL, I did industrial chemistry, he did industrial biochemistry. In UL you go on work placement in third year and we were both placed in Eli Lily in Cork, we lived together down there. We really bonded …

Doonbeg scoring machine David Tubridy recently called time on his inter-county career after 16 seasons — a remarkable commitment to the Clare cause that saw him straddle five generations of management in the county from Páidí Ó Sé’s time through to Colm Collins’ stint. He spoke to Joe Ó Muircheartaigh about his treasured time in the saffron and blue.   DECEMBER 30 and Colm Collins was making a few end of year calls — Happy Christmas, Happy New Year and all that, but apart from the festive pleasantries, there was also the business of the call. Manager to player stuff. David Tubridy knew it was coming, but that didn’t make it easier, because with the ring-tone would come the realisation that his ‘make your mind up time’ had landed. Finally. Make his mind up on whether to pull the plug on a way of life since 2007, or make his mind up to go again and turn 16 years into …