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ON April 6, 2009, the A&E unit in Ennis closed, with politicians promising a new centre of excellence at what was then known as the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick. Fifteen years and on those promises have never been fulfilled, with the A&E at UHL now regularly setting unwanted records for the worst overcrowding in the country. Horror stories about the hospital abound and this week Clare Senator Timmy Dooley has called for an emergency to be declared, while independent TD Michael McNamara has demanded that the incoming Taoiseach take the lead on resolving the dire situation at UHL. Mr McNamara said that he doesn’t have much faith in the Government to resolve a crisis that has been worsening throughout its time in office. “There are possibilities, but do I see those possibilities being exploited or utilised by the Government? I don’t. I don’t want to play politics with this but the reality is that there is a problem …

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly (FF) has announced a range of new measures aimed at alleviating overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick including opening the Acute Medical Assessment Unit in Ennis on 24 hour a day basis. Minister Donnelly visited University Hospital Limerick (UHL) today where he met with management, including Regional Executive Officer Sandra Broderick, the Health Service Executive (HSE) CEO Bernard Gloster, as well as consultants and other clinical leaders. UHL has consistently the highest number of people waiting on trollies for admittance to a hospital bed in the country. In 2024 to date, 17% of those who waited on trollies did so at UHL, a hospital which has 6% of Emergency Department attendances, and 6% of attendances of those over 75 years. “This continued problem is not acceptable to me as Minister, and it most certainly is not acceptable to the people of this region,” said Minister Donnelly. “In an effort to alleviate the problem I have …

NEW paintings of iconic Ennis scenes have gone on display at the West County Hotel. They were painted by Cathal Butler, and he explained that they follow on from earlier pictures he painted of famous Clare locations. “Initially I did ten and as you walk into the foyer they are on the right and left hand sides. They are of places like Bunratty Castle and Loop Head lighthouse,” he said. “Then I did another five recently, which are of Ennis itself.” The idea for the Ennis scenes came following a competition, where people were invited to send in photographs from the town. Cathal then selected his favourite five photographs whcih were then turned into paintings. As well as the paintings, Cathal has further plans and wants to create an interactive exhibition that can be used to promote the Banner abroad. “There’s a group called The Pub Runners, an American group, who are in Ireland at the moment on a tour. …

Uisce Éireann is working to restore water supply to customers in parts of Ennis following a burst this morning. Efforts are being made to maintain water supply to as many customers as possible, but the burst, which occurred early this morning, is impacting some customers in the Lifford Road and Tulla Road areas of Ennis. Repair works are progressing and are estimated to be completed by 5pm this evening, however, it may take a number of hours following repairs for normal water supply to return to all customers, especially for those on higher ground or at the end of the network. As per best practice, most homes and businesses will have on-site water storage to provide a backup source of water for sanitation purposes. “The repairs are being conducted as quickly and as efficiently as possible to minimise disruption and restore the water supply to homes and businesses. We understand the inconvenience an unplanned outage can have on our customers …

A talented Cratloe jockey, who enjoyed a “fairytale” Cheltenham victory, features in a new television series on RTE One. Mark McDonagh (22), who rode a winner at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, appeared on the fourth episode of “My Uni Life”, and will return on the seventh episode on Friday, March 29. This new series shines a spotlight on a diverse range of students and staff with interesting subject matters. The programme-makers contacted the Sports Department at the University of Limerick where Mark was studying Accountancy and Finance and the sports scholarship student was put forward by Noreen O’Connell. Filming took place at UL, Michael Hourigan’s yard in Patrickswell, and a race in Wexford Racecourse. Mark rode his first winner at the Cheltenham Festival on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Banbridge in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, the last race on the final day of the 2022 meeting. His success meant that all seven races on the day were won by …

A new community group has just been established in North Clare whose aim is to preserve and protect the delicate ecosystem in Liscannor Bay. The group, which is called BannerGleo: Liscannor Bay Association, formed in the wake of a series of high profile threats to the bay, including incidents of pollution in the water off Lahinch and Liscannor as well as the Inagh River. The association aims to take a community-led approach to improving the management of the bay by organising projects such as voluntary beach clean-ups, but also by seeking funding from state agencies to help monitor and protect the water. The association was recently awarded a grant by Community Foundation Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to create the first ever biodiversity action plan for the entirety Liscannor Bay. BannerGleo aims to bring together experts, the local community and local land-owners to complete a comprehensive assessment of coastal biodiversity in the bay, and establish and important …

More than seven out of ten people living in the Crusheen area are travelling to work by car, according to preliminary research carried out by consultants appointed by Clare County Council. It has also emerged there has been a 50% increase in population to approximately 5,800 in the Crusheen area over a 20-year period since the 2002 Census. Mark O’Connell of Repucon Consulting outlined its initial work on the preparation of a Socio-Economic Study on the benefits of reopening the Crusheen Railway Station on the Western Rail Corridor at a recent Killaloe Municipal District meeting. Mr O’Connell told the meeting the consultants have seen what projects like this can do for rural regeneration and help the social and economic fabric of communities. The consultants plan to adopt an evidence-based approach by consulting with people in the locality of which about 4,500 people are older than 15. This will involve extensive community research, linking in with all the various community groups …

THE popular TV series Raised by the Village is back on RTE 1 and episode 2 features troubled Dublin teen Alex come to stay on a dairy farm in Tulla with the Hayes family. It airs this Sunday night, March 31, and Maureen Hayes says she got her family got involved after she saw a post on Facebook, looking for participants. “I had seen the previous shows and I thought it was a lovely thing to do for a city kid to bring them down and give them a baptism of fire on a dairy farm,” she said. “I always thought when I was younger that I’d like to be an emergency foster mother. It never materialised but I have four children of my own and I thought this would be an opportunity to give a child an opportunity and a different perspective on life.” Her own children range in age from 12 to 19, and they had a few …