News

St Anne’s Community College has captured a remarkable rugby double, winning the Munster Girls Senior and Junior Cup finals in Musgrave Park, Cork on Wednesday.   Having won the Senior Cup last year, St Anne’s retained the title for the second successive year thanks to a 17-5 win over Ardscoil Mhuire, Limerick, who defeated their junior team in last year’s cup decider. To crown a glorious day for the Killaloe secondary school, their junior side mauled Coláiste Ide, Dingle by 47-0. This is the second successive year St Anne’s qualified for the Munster Senior and Junior Cup finals. St Anne’s defeated Clonakilty and ISK Killorglin on route to the senior final. Ard Scoil Mhuire Limerick and Colaiste Pobail, Bantry were defeated by St Anne’s on their way to the junior decider. When coach Grace Kearney set up rugby in St Anne’s back in 2015 there were very few girls playing the sport. She is thrilled to see girls winning the …

CLARE musicians are seeing their dreams come true this St Patrick’s Day as they perform on one of the world’s most famous stages – Carnegie Hall. Cratloe siblings Seón, Mateo and Mary-Kate Ruiz as well as Ruby McKenna from Ogonnolloe are playing at the New York venue as part of a performance by the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland. Speaking to the Clare Champion ahead of jetting off to New York 21-year-old Seón, who plays alto saxaphone with the orchestra, told us he was “very excited” to be taking to the stage at the prestigious venue. “For us this is a real highlight, to be playing Carnegie Hall of all places in New York. From taking lessons in the Limerick School of Music to progressing to the CBOI and to now be performing internationally in New York, it’s very exciting”. His brother Mateo is 17 and plays first violin while Mary-Kate is 14 and plays double bass with the orchestra. …

GARDAÍ have made a fresh appeal for witnesses to a road crash in West Clare which claimed the life of an 83 year old nun last week. Cecilia Keating, known as Sr Claire, was laid to rest at the weekend having lost her life after a road collision last Tuesday afternoon at Bella, Kilkee. Sr Claire was originally from Lower Fierd, Cross and had been living in Castletroy, Limerick. She was a member of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Australia and Ireland. Making a renewed appeal for witnesses to the road collision Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks expressed appreciation on behalf of Kilrush Gardaí to those who have already come forward. She outlined, “At approximately 4pm on Tuesday last, March 7 a fatal road traffic collision occurred at Bella, Kilkee. Two vehicles collided head-on and one of the drivers a lady in her mid-80’s tragically received fatal injuries. The road was closed for a …

KILRUSH native Mick Clancy is firm believer that his glass is always half full. “Sometimes I think that someone has stolen my glass, and put a smaller one in its place,” he laughs, “but still, to me, the glass is half full.” Such resilience in the face of a Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis is just one of the reasons why Mick is successfully battling the odds and working to help others with the same disabling neurological condition.”There’s an expression we use a lot in Ireland and it’s ‘never trouble trouble, until trouble troubles you’,” he remarks. “That’s the way I see it, because there’s no point in worrying about what you can’t change.” Diagnosed with a rare type of MND in 2016, Mick has adapted as best he can, staying active and participating in research and fundraising with the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA). Always a physically fit and powerful man, Mick was born and raised in West …

A GRAND finale to a musical initiative to honour to young musicians will be held on March 11 in Gort.  The Eimear Noonan Music Bursary Award was established five years ago by the family of the inspirational young musician, who died in France in 2017. A Carpe Diem concert was also held annually in Eimear’s memory. That event was originally conceived by Katharina Baker and Fiona Buckley of Coole Music to honour Eimear’s memory and celebrate her participation in the School of Music, particularly in her role as leader of the Youth Orchestra. On the night of Saturday, March 11 at 7.30pm in O’Sullivan’s Hotel, Carpe Diem Forever, will offer an opportunity to celebrate Eimear’s memory and legacy, the music she made, and the many emerging young players that she supporter and inspired.  “The initiative was originally conceived of to remember our Eimear, but later included another young musician friend, Eli Murray, who died suddenly from Juvenile diabetes in 2019,” …

THE varied experiences and achievements of Traveller women will be discussed as part of a panel taking place to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 in Mna Ag Gaire Women’s Shed in Ennis between 10.30am and 2pm. Women’s Collective Ireland – Clare, the Clare Traveller Community Development Project and Clare Local Development Company are hosting the celebration of this important date for women across the globe. There will be music with Mary Keenan and Yvonne Ketwa, refreshments and food with people invited to bring something to share. Guest panellists include Bridget Mongans; Primary Health Care Project Clare; Mary Connors from New Ross, recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Traveller Movement for her outstanding contribution and dedication to highlighting and achieving human rights of the Traveller Community; Nancy Power coordinator of the National Traveller Money and Budgeting Service which works to reduce poverty, discrimination and financial exclusion from what is considered mainstream and accessible for many in …

A NEW grant scheme to remediate homes with defective blocks have been described by a Clare activist as “onerous, prohibitive and almost logistically impossible” to engage with, in its current draft form.  Draft regulations on the updated grant scheme have been circulated to action groups in Clare, Donegal, Limerick and Mayo, as well as to local authority members. Writing to the Councils, the Minister for Housing called for “good faith constructive engagement” on improving and strengthening the regulations. Minister Darragh O’Brien also expressed the desire to issue final regulations in March “to get the badly needed new scheme up and running”. Commenting on the draft document, which runs to 133 pages, Dr Martina Cleary of the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) described it as “impenetrable”. “There are prohibitive, up-front costs placed on homeowners before they can progress through the different stages of the grant application,” she said. “Certain phases of the process are time-limited for the applicant who could be …

AN INDIAN dinner takes place at Scariff Community Coop next Tuesday February 28 to support relief work in Turkey and Syria. The event is being organised by Didi Ananda Prama to support a colleague she worked with in Haiti after the earthquake there. The aim is to support a team to set up give mobile clinics in Turkey and to work with children to trauma relief through games and stories. Dinner will be vegan and gluten free. Tickets are €25 and can be purchased at Scariff Community Coop, or by calling Didi on 083-3983833 for reservations. The meal can be sit down or take away. All welcome.