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Over the past 48 hours, almost €5,000 has been raised locally to help support North Clare woman, Helga Himmelsbach. Helga, whose husband Jerry O’Connor lost his life in a road traffic collision outside of Ballyvaughan last year, has been struggling to come to terms with his loss in recent months while also attempting to continue her life in North Clare. On top of her grief, she has just found out that she needs a new roof on the house she and Jerry shared together. In more normal times, Jerry would have done much of the work to repair the roof himself, and Helga is struggling to fund this enormous and unexpected bill. A number of her friends have come together to set up a GoFundMe page to support the necessary repairs to the roof. The campaign has got off to a great start with a large number of people pledging money to help with the repair works. Ms Himmelsbach, along …

Clare councillors have called for a comprehensive framework to regulate burials, exhumations, and burial grounds at Clare burial sites, and are asking the Minister for Rural and Community Development to update the outdated legislation that governs burial grounds. Councillors Pat Hayes (FF), Mary Howard (FG), Cillian Murphy (FF), Pat Burke (FG), Shane Talty (FF), Joe Killeen (FF) tabled a joint motion at the March meeting of Clare County Council requesting the local authority to ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys (FG) to update the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878 and the associated rules and regulations for the Regulation of Burial Grounds Act, 1888 to provide a comprehensive framework to regulate burials, exhumations, and burial grounds. “A recent review of burial ground management in Clare referenced the need for updated and consolidated national legislation to support the oversight and management function of this essential service at local level to bring it in line with current burial ground …

The stage is set for a group of talented youngsters from Knockanean National School in Ennis who have qualified to perform at the National Concert Hall in Dublin early next month. The school has been chosen as one of just six national schools from all over Ireland to take part in the final of the Walton’s RTÉ Lyric Music for Schools Competition, which takes place in Dublin on April 8. Guided by teachers Amy McEnnis, Conor O’Loughlin, Tina Gavin and Louise Conheady, the young musicians and singers crafted a five minute long musical video together, which combines a number of existing songs and tunes to explore the theme of ‘Music Moves’. The school has a rich tradition in music and the arts and the successful group was made up of 63 students from the school’s music club and choir. According to second year teacher, Amy McEnnis, the children did much of the creative work for the composition themselves, with the …

Sinn Féin’s chances of winning a seat in the Killaloe Electoral Area have been boosted by the entry of Dr Martina Cleary to the Local Elections race. The chairperson of the Clare Pyrite Action Group Dr Martina Cleary has been announced as Sinn Féin’s candidate in the East Clare constituency. Dr Cleary is the founder and chair of the group since 2020 and successfully lobbied for a Defective Concrete Block Scheme for Clare homeowners affected by the pyrite issue. This included the securing of half a billion euros in funding for Clare and Limerick families. In a statement issued to The Clare Champion, Sinn Féin stated the Crusheen resident will continue her campaigning work but hopes to also tackle many other issues when elected. Dr Cleary is a Teachers Union of Ireland rep at the Technological University of the Shannon, where she is a lecturer. When asked why she became involved in politics, Martina said she has always been unofficially …

Today we are covering a particularly important trend – financial scamming. This article focuses on you, and your personal finance and highlights the critical issue of protecting your money from scammers. In Ireland, as in many parts of the world, financial scams have become increasingly sophisticated and prevalent. Protecting personal finances from scammers is a critical concern for individuals. Awareness is the first line of defence; understanding the common tactics used by scammers, such as phishing emails, fake websites, and fraudulent phone calls, can help individuals remain vigilant. It’s also essential to keep personal information secure, be cautious when sharing sensitive details online or over the phone, and regularly review bank statements for any unauthorized transactions. Additionally, using strong, unique passwords for online banking and other financial services, and enabling two-factor authentication where available, can significantly enhance security. MONEY MULES None of us ever think we will be a victim to fraud. However, it is more common than you think …

NEW Zealand boy who made an appeal through The Clare Champion for help in bringing her son home from rehab, has thanked the community in County Clare for its support. Monday, March 18 marked six months since Tadhg Giles first became ill with an influenza A infection, which resulted in encephalitis leaving him severely cognitively impaired with inflammation in his brain. The young boy was treated in hospital at Auckland but, when his period in rehabilitation care ended, the family were faced with moving him back home without adequate and appropriate medical support. As their home was not suitably adapted for Tadhg’s new needs, they were required to extensively modify their home with the local health board offering limited support. However, with the combined help of their family, friends, and the Irish community in New Zealand, they were in a position to make the required modifications for a safer home for Tadhg to live in. Speaking to The Clare Champion …

RESIDENTS of one of Ennis’ most historic housing estates have been left “hugely disappointed” with resurfacing works carried out by the council last year in what has been described as a “cheap job”. Calls have been made for an inspection of the works at Hermitage to be carried out and for remediation works to be scheduled “urgently” as the estate prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary this year. The concerns of residents were highlighted at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District by Councillor Mary Howard (FG) who said, “The residents are not happy with the resurfacing works completed in parts of the area last year. They believe it to be uneven, thin and flimsy and they have noticed ponding and pooling of water throughout the area.” Concrete roads in Hermitage were covered with a Ralumac surface last year after local concerns were raised over the deterioration of the road surface. Paddy Tiernan, A/Senior Executive Engineer, outlined to the meeting …

MORE flooding at Ballycar means the Ennis-Limerick railway line has closed once again, potentially for the next couple of months. Local councillors this week slammed the long standing failure to tackle the flooding issue. “If it was outside Dublin, it’d be fixed,” said Councillor PJ Ryan (Ind) at Tuesday’s Shannon Municipal District meeting. Councillor Pat McMahon (FF) said a government minister had visited the area nearly 40 years ago, and it was anticipated that something would be done at that time. Several of the councillors said that they had received a huge amount of calls about the issue, with many people who rely on the service annoyed at the disruption. In a statement on Monday, Iarnród Éireann said, “Flood waters have risen significantly at Ballycar on the Limerick to Ennis railway line in recent days. As a result, the line between Limerick and Ennis is now closed, and services are suspended, until further notice.” It said that bus transport will …