News

THE Clare Champion’s Owen Ryan has been nominated for mental health charity Headline’s media awards for 2020. Owen’s article, The Importance of being Jamie, highlighted the experiences of Shannon’s Jamie Walsh, who after years of depression and inner torment has now embraced his transgenderism. Jamie, the son of local councillor Donna McGettigan, told Owen of his hopes for the future and the positivity he has gained from being able to be himself. The article has been nominated in the Mental Health Journalism Local Print / Online category for a single print or online news report or feature, published in a regional or local news outlet, that deals with stories, topics or issues in, about or related to mental ill health. Reacting to the nomination, Owen said, “I’m very pleased that the article has been shortlisted. It’s Jamie Walsh and Donna McGettigan’s story and I’m very grateful to them for sharing it. It is great that there is so much more …

EIGHT incidents involving the killing of birds of prey have been recorded in Clare over a ten-year period, a new report on the unnatural deaths of raptors reveals. The study was carried out by the Raptor Protocol (Recording and Addressing Persecution and Threats to Our Raptors), which involves the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Veterinary Laboratory Service and State Laboratory and published earlier this month. Incidents in this county included the poisoning of a White Tailed Sea Eagle at Lough Derg in East Clare in October 2017. Some of the other incidents recorded in this county concern the killing of peregrine falcons in the Loop Head area. The findings have prompted government to announced the setting up of a new unit within the NPWS to address wildlife crime. Nationally, a wide range of causes of death for the raptors are listed. These include poisoning, persecution, fence, road and turbine collisions. Some of the incidents would have had …

GARDAÍ are driving home a message to car owners urging greater vigilance when it comes to securing their vehicles. This follows a recent spate of thefts from vehicles across the county. Cars have been targeted by thieves in various locations including Ennis, Sixmilebridge, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Ennistymon. According to Clare’s Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks, “A number of cars have been broken into over the past week and all the cars were unlocked.” Between 10pm last Monday night week and 10am on Tuesday morning loose change was taken from a car parked on Shanaway Road, Ennis. In a separate incident, between 3am and 4.20am last Wednesday there was a report of a male interfering with cars on Carmody Street. Face masks were stolen from one unlocked car. A male was apprehended, arrested and charged and brought before Ennis District Court on Wednesday morning. In the Moyard Estate, Ennis on the night of October 22 a sum of money was stolen …

A BURSARY in memory of a young Caher musician and teacher will be boosted this year by an online performance and fundraising challenge, running over the next fortnight. Eimear Noonan died tragically after a fall while out running in Annonay in the south of France, were she worked at Font Chevalier Primary School. The passing of talented musician in November 2017 prompted her family to set up The Eimear Noonan Music Bursary to support others in their musical studies. The Carpe Diem concert, also became an annual event, held in November, in Eimear’s memory. Covid-19 restrictions have meant that a formal gathering this November isn’t possible, so instead, Carpe Diem has gone virtual and singers and musicians across the county are being invited to share their performances on social media between November 1 and 15. Performers are asked to post a video of a performance to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok, using the hashtag #CarpeDiemSingAndPlay. They can then nominate others …

SUPERMACS’ owner Pat McDonagh has lodged the newest planning application in a long-running attempt to develop a motorway service station on the outskirts of Ennis. A planning application has been lodged with Clare County Council for the proposed development at Kilbreckan, Doora. This is the fast-food chain’s fourth application for a Barack Obama Plaza style development adjacent to Junction 12 of the M18. Details of the proposal include the construction of a service station building with convenience shop, food court, staff facilities, canopy, fuel facilities, parking and circulation space, children’s play area, picnic area and access provision. The development application also includes plans for infrastructural works, public lighting, signage, landscaping, internal fencing, electrical substation, 16 electric car charging points, roof mounted solar panels, storm water runoff, petrol interceptors and attenuation system, on-site wastewater treatment plant including access road, pumping station and connection to public foul sewer, drainage improvement works, underground fuel storage tanks, rain water harvesting system, connection to public …

WITH pubs closed again due to the Level 5 lockdown, the fear is some will never be able to reopen their doors, according to the Clare Vintners Association. Clare VFI chairman Darragh McAllister said it was a “kick in the guts” for those businesses that had spent a lot of time, effort and money during the first lockdown preparing for a chance to trade under new restrictions. He also raised fears of a rolling lockdown scenario and whether publicans would even get the badly needed boon of a window around Christmas to make up for lost trade during the year. “It’s very disappointing and it’s a real kick in the guts after such a short opening, “There was a lot of work done in the six months we were locked down to get ready for the restrictions after we reopened. People went to a lot of expense and trouble in anticipation of that. “We only had it for two weeks …

THE number of nursing homes with Covid-19 outbreaks in the Midwest stands at 20, according to the most recent update from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC). As high rates of community transmission spill over into enclosed settings, the number of outbreaks in this region has risen steadily since July. However, clusters of infection in private houses, of which there are 155 in the Midwest, account for the largest number of clusters. Last week, a major outbreak at the nursing home in East Galway sparked concern about the capacity of the sector to cope with a second wave of the virus. The Nightingale Nursing Home in Ahascragh had 25 cases among 27 residents, with only one nurse and one carer available to cover at 72 hour period because of positive cases among other staff. Councillor Ann Norton, director of the Clare Crusaders in Barefield, was sharply critical of the response of the Health Service Executive (HSE), saying that they had …

CLARE is among the counties hardest hit by the economic fall-out of the pandemic, a new report from the Central Bank and the Western Development has found. This county, along with eight others along the western seaboard, comprise what is called the Atlantic Economic Corridor (AEC). The research highlights the reliance in this county on very small businesses in sectors like tourism and cautions that this could affect economic recovery into the longer term. It also finds there are fewer job opportunities arising in Clare for those whose employment has ended due to Covid-19 restrictions. The report entitled, ‘The Regional impact of COVID-19: Western Region & Atlantic Economic Corridor,’ underlines the crucial role played by policies such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) in supporting household incomes and firms this county. “A concentration of jobs in consumer-facing sectors such as tourism and accommodation mean that workers in these counties have been adversely affected by …