Breaking News

    An Ardnacrusha third-level student scooped €3,000 as part of a prestigious prize to help her academic pursuits. Eva McMahon (21) was one of the three University of Limerick students from the Faculty of Science and Engineering who received prestigious awards from Regeneron Ireland. Ms McMahon, Kate Storan from Dooradoyle and Anna Feenan from Carrigaline were presented with their awards at a special ceremony in Regeneron’s Industrial Operations and Production Supply (IOPS) facility in Raheen, Limerick recently. Students from the University of Limerick were given the unique opportunity to compete for awards in Quality Control, Manufacturing, or Engineering, depending on their specific field of study. The students were tasked with the exciting challenge of developing a project based on a topic provided by Regeneron. They presented their work to a group of business representatives, followed by an interactive question and answer session, allowing them to engage directly with Regeneron colleagues. The three award winners received a paid internship at …

MORE than €10 million is needed to complete the Ennis Northern Inner Relief Road, Clare County Council has confirmed. Clare’s Oireachtas members are now set to be invited to a special meeting of the Ennis Municipal District to hear first hand about the need for funding for projects in the county capital including the completion of a route connecting the Gort and Tulla roads. Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, Councillor Mary Howard (FG) described the link as a “necessary piece of infrastructure” for the development of the town and alleviating traffic issues. The councillor pointed out that, over the last number of years, the council has been planning for the future of the town including the upcoming introduction of a town bus service, cycle lanes and other projects. She requested an update on the status of the road planned through the grounds adjacent to Our Lady’s Hospital, linking the Gort Road with the Tulla Road. …

Ennis actor, Kelly Gough, will star in the Irish television premier of a new feature film in the Irish language later this week. Tarrac, which was written by Eugene O’Brien, tells the story of Aoife Ni Bhraoin, played by Gough, who returns home to Kerry when her father becomes ill. Her father, Brendan ‘The Bear’ O’Briain, played by Lorcan Cranitch, is in recovery following a serious heart attack and Aoife must return home to look after him. While at home, Aoife is forced to face the grief of her mother’s death, which she has been ignoring for years. A lot has been left unsaid between Aoife and her father and this must be rectified before Aoife can truly start to heal. While all of this is happening, Aoife reconnects with a group of rowers who form an all-female rowing team. Against all odds, the team decides to take on the high-stakes Naomhóg rowing competition. Set on the Dingle Peninsula, the …

Ballyvaughan’s finest, Mort O Loughlin, has been chosen to be the grand marshal of this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade in Fanore. Mort, who last year retired after 55 years of service as the local notes correspondent for The Clare Champion, has been a huge supporter of the parade over the years. This year, the local organising committee could think of no one more fitting to oversee this year’s event. “We have always had a great relationship with Mort. He has been a great supporter of the parade for many, many years and gave us great coverage in The Champion, both before and after the parade so we are delighted to be able to honour him,” said Anne Pilkington, co-organiser of this year’s parade. “That is really what this is about, it is about honouring him and thanking him for all the support that he has given to us over the years. “He came to every single parade that we …

Clare County Council has been asked for answers to a number of questions in relation to its approval in June 2021 of a €10 million loan for Ennis 2040, with the council confirming a total of €2.2m has so far been advanced to Ennis 2040 to fund the work programme underway. At the March meeting of the local authority, Councillor Tom O’Callaghan (FF) called for a discussion to be allowed in relation to the council’s approval of a loan for €10 million. The details he requested were to include the cost of the loan and it’s duration, the schedule of loan repayments by the DAC, the list of assets owned by DAC currently, as well as the purpose of loans and if the council has guaranteed all liabilities. He also questioned whether the council is financially liable in any event of unfortunate financial misadventure. Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling, said he was concerned about the public focus …

The Covid 19 pandemic had a massive impact on the lives of North Clare woman, Aoife Corry, and her American fiancé, Tom Jorgensen. On March 13, 2020, then American president Donald Trump signed an executive order which, among other things, made it impossible for the couple to return to America together for 14 long months. It was a time of great uncertainty for everyone, but also a time when creativity was almost forced to blossom. Later this week, the world premier of Homestead, a film made by Aoife and Tom, will take place at the Los Angeles Irish Film Festival. The short horror film, which was shot over two days in Corofin in 2021, is a reflection of the isolation felt by so many people during those long days of lockdown. “We were stuck. Trump signed an executive order which meant that we couldn’t go back to America at that time. We ended up in Ireland for 14 months,” Aoife …

AHEAD of International Women’s Day last Friday, representatives of Shannon Airport Group paid a visit to some younger members of its local community to deliver an important message about gender diversity. Students from St. John’s National School in Shannon were asked to draw three different job roles in Shannon Airport; a fire fighter, a police officer and an engineer. Research has shown that children start to form perceptions of gender roles from as early as two years, with such perceptions typically fully formed by the age of seven. During this lesson, over 70% of children in the classroom, aged between four and eight, depicted male representations of fire fighters, police officers and engineers in their drawings. At the end of the lesson, there was a surprise waiting for the children, when they were told that they were going to meet the people they had drawn working at the airport in real life. Much to the children’s surprise, three female employees …

PREPARATIONS are almost complete for this weekend’s St Patrick’s Day parade in Shannon. Niamh O’Callaghan is involved in running the parade and outlining the details, she said, “We are going by usual route. The parade is starting at 2pm this year and we have lots in store. I’m really hoping that we get people to come out and support us. Ethan Casserly will be MC on the day, while this year’s Grand Marshall will be Richard Parks.”The Scouts in Shannon are celebrating 60 years this year. When Richard was a child he was in the Scouts and he has been part of its leadership for 30 years. He kind of retired this year and he’s our Grand Marshall,” said Niamh. Some local organisations will be recognised also. “We’re honouring the fire brigade for all that they do in Shannon and the surrounding areas. We have the Organ Donor Association coming down to give some information. When Dylan Coady Coleman died …