Lifestyle

FIONA Staunton has given her heart and soul to scouting in Ireland and this week she reflected on the life changing effect it has had on her. On the day when scouts past and present gathered to celebrate the opening of the new scout hall in Ennis, some of the biggest cheers and warmest tributes greeted Fiona as she accepted a special award for a lifetime of service. “I’m humbled and I’m emotional. It’s nice to get an acknowledgment from your friends and your peers and people who mean a lot to me. We’ve put an awful lot of work and effort into this, particularly over the past two years”, Fiona told The Clare Champion. Now chairperson of Ennis Scouts, Fiona’s links with the organisation go back to a time when women were not allowed to be involved. But her love of the great outdoors and the support of fellow scouts would see Fiona go onto become the first female …

THE opening of the new €500,000 hall secures the future of scouting in Ennis and further enhances the group’s international reputation. That’s according to deputy leader of Ennis Scouts, John Egan, who has thanked the local community for their support of the project. At Saturday’s official opening, John said the facility starts a new chapter in the history of Ennis Scouts. “It’s fabulous to have it. There is a long tradition of scouting in Ennis. Today was like a family reunion. It was great to have everyone involved, from the youth members and all the people who have given their lives to scouting in Ennis. “It doesn’t matter if you are in scouting for a day or a lifetime, we appreciate the help that you give,” John told The Clare Champion. Ennis Scouts currently caters for 150 members and the new hall has already seen the group host scouts from across Europe. John said, “That’s about at our capacity with …

A MOCK wedding that took place in Scariff 11 years ago, will end in ‘divorce’ next month in Mountshannon. The novel events are part of a fundraising campaign spearheaded by Shay O’Neill and Niamh Waterstone. The ‘wedding’ raised €12,500 for cancer services, and it is hoped that the ‘divorce’ will generate around €10,500 for Raheen Community Hospital. The comedy night, which takes place at Cois na hAbhna in Mountshannon on October 1, will also pay tribute to the memory of two East Clare women who worked at the Tuamgraney facility. Members of the families of the late Maria Bugler and Annette Turner, both of whom were from Mountshannon, are also involved in the fundraiser which will support dementia services. “Maria was great craic,” Shay said. “She was one of the bridesmaids at the mock wedding. She and Annette are really missed. We were thinking about them. I got in touch with their husbands about this idea and they were delighted. …

MULTI-AWARD winning radio station, Scariff Bay Community Radio (SBCR) makes a welcome return to the FM band, after renewal of its broadcasting licence. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has given the popular station a licence for the next 50 weekends, which means it will be available on air (88.3FM and 92.7FM), as well as online (scariffbayradio.com). In recent weeks, the voluntary team have been out and about broadcasting from locations around East Clare, as well as from their studios in Scariff. The ultimate goal for the station, which has been honoured for its Trojan efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic, is to secure a ten-year licence from the BAI for its popular weekend programming. As the BAI is restructured, the application process has been paused, but hopes are high that it will be back on track in due course. Fundraising for the important work of the station is ongoing. The annual church gate collection in parishes around East Clare takes …

CHAIRMAN of the Mike McTigue Memorial Group Nicholas Rynne is a grand-nephew of the world champion and said he was aware of the fighter from a fairly young age. “There used to be a picture of him in the old Flan’s bar in Ennis, my father would often be asked about him as well. “We became more aware after the book about him came out, A Bloody Canvas: The Mike McTigue Story, written by Andrew Gallimore. We started to get more inquisitive as we grew up,” said Nicholas. There is a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for the memorial to McTigue. The GoFundMe has a target of raising €20,000 and will be the main source of funding, with one or two other local fundraisers set to take place also. On the idea for the memorial, he said, “Kevin Rynne and myself were talking about three years ago and we decided that we should do something for the centenary …

PROBABLY unknown to most younger readers, Kilnamona’s Mike McTigue is one of Clare’s all time sporting heroes, having won the World Light Heavyweight Title in 1923. With the centenary approaching, the world champion’s namesake Michael McTigue is going to create a new monument to one of Kilnamona’s most illustrious sons. Michael is actually a distant relative of the boxer, while locals Nicholas Rynne, Kevin Rynne and Antoinette McCormack are grand nephews and a grand niece of the man who took the belt. With the Civil War raging around Dublin, McTigue won the title on St Patrick’s Day, 1923, with a points victory over Senagalese fighter Battling Siki. Unlike today when there are numerous belts and four major sanctioning bodies, in 1923 there was just one world champion. At light heavyweight, McTigue was the man. The story of the fight is worthy a book in itself, with Siki having recently become the champion against the odds; McTigue being an outsider but …

MIKE McTigue beats Battling Siki was the headline of the lead story  in The Clare Champion the week after the Kilnamona man took the World Light Heavyweight title on St Patrick’s Day 1923. Sub-headlines read ‘Clareman’s wonderful display’ and ‘Triumph of brain over brawn’. The paper had pictures of the two fighters across its front page, while the lead story described the excitement and anticipation that gripped the county, as people waited for news from Dublin. “Ennis was agog with excitement on Saturday evening, anxiously awaiting the result of the fight between Battling Siki and Mike McTigue for the light heavyweight championship of the world and the heavyweight championship of Europe. “Large crowds arrived from the most distant parts of the county and from 8.30pm onwards, rumours and counter rumours with regard to the result of the contest filled the air. (See rather grainy footage from the fight on YouTube link below) “The suspense was almost unbearable and great was …

CLARE will enjoy exposure to millions of Americans when it is featured early next year in a popular travel programme on the PBS network. American TV presenter Samantha Brown will showcase the Banner County and Limerick in her award-winning travel programme, Places to Love which runs on PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). An episode filmed here will air early next year to millions of people across the United States during prime time on the network. Tourism Ireland invited Samantha Brown to film at a number of locations around Clare and Limerick for one 30-minute episode of the latest series of Places to Love. The programme showcases lesser-known spots and haunts in different destinations. Filming was supported by Fáilte Ireland. Samantha and her film crew have been capturing lots of great footage at places like The Burren Perfumery, The Burren Smokehouse, King John’s Castle and Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum. Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America, said: “Tourism Ireland …