East Clare

PLANS for a significant housing development in the village of Tuamgraney are being considered by the local authority. Developer Michael Pearl is proposing to demolish an existing pumping station and build 52 houses in a mix of bungalows and two-storey units, on a 3.96 hectare site on the Dock Road. A detailed planning report has been submitted by Hassett Leyden and Associates outlining plans for six four-bedroom detached houses; 22 three-bedroom, semi-detached houses; 14 two-bedroom semi-detached houses; and ten two-bedroom semi-detached bungalows. The average housing density will be 13.13 units per hectare. The application outlines that Tuamgraney is designated a ‘service town’ under the Mid-West Regional Planning Guidelines 2010-2022. Under the current County Development Plan, the site has three zoning types – residential, low-density residential and open space. In terms of the design concept, a mix of house types is proposed “to achieve a good mix and varied appearance of buildings”. A “large quiet open space at the back of …

A SCARIFF-BASED health psychology expert is about to launch a new online platform to promote wellbeing in the workplace. Award-winning entrepreneur Lorraine Lynch has teamed up with psychotherapist Áine Connaire to establish the Business Psychology Academy (BPA). The duo have combined their expertise working with individuals, organisations and entrepreneurs, to create the online education platform to provide training, workshops and consultation. The premise is that, in today’s post-pandemic climate, psychology’s place in ensuring our workplace does not have negatively impact our mental health, has become more important than ever. Having won Enterprise Ireland’s Startup of the Year and Network Ireland’s Businesswoman of the Year in 2021, Lorraine is a passionate advocate for the benefits of addressing wellbeing at work. Employees are not just people who work in companies, in Lorraine’s view, they are people with families, interests, problems and aspirations. To be treated on this level, as a human with many facets, is what many people are now in need …

STELLAR performances lit up the stage at Scariff Community College recently as East Clare Musical Society (ECMS) returned after a two-year pause. With a three-night run, ‘A Night at the Musicals’ showcased a wealth of talent and brought together familiar faces and new voices in a highly entertaining feast of musical theatre. The previous show, held in early 2020, saw tickets sell out in record time, just before the outbreak of the pandemic. While the dust had gathered during two difficult years of Covid, a revitalised cast and crew produced one of the most vibrant and eagerly-awaited show in recent times. Led by musical director John O’Brien with the accompaniment of Anne Cullen and Steve Lawrence, ECMS welcomed songbird Vashti Curran back to the stage from a very successful year-long residency performing cabaret in Germany. Also taking to the stage were other highly talented singers, most of who graced the stage in the 2020 show. Among them were Paul Conroy, …

A SAFE haven for those fleeing the trauma of war is what one Whitegate woman is hoping to create, using her own experience of working with refugees. Didi Driscoll worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the early ‘80s and has seen first-hand the trauma that war brings. “I’m not political,” she told The Champion, “but I know that war is terrible and it’s terrible especially for women and children. In the refugee camps in Somalia, we were delivering food to almost one million people. “The truck drivers would come along, shouting in Swahili and Somalia, telling us and all of the refugees to run away, and to keep running from the conflict. People fleeing Ukraine have no choice but to flee.” Her work in those refugee camps, for which the UNHCR won a Nobel Peace Prize, has given Didi unique insights, as has her aid work in the Caribbean nation of Haiti. She is now hoping …

THE month of May will get off to a sweet start in Ennis next Monday (May 2), as Mike Hanrahan and five choirs take to the steps of the Courthouse. At 3pm, the Stockton’s Wing legend will sing alongside Cantare, The Really Truly Joyful Gospel Choir, Ballyea choir, Front Line Choir and a new choir, Inis Soul. The event, entitled Bealtaine Voices with Mike Hanrahan is part of a month-long celebration of creativity in older age, and is supported by Clare County Council and Creative Ireland. Songs will include ‘Dreams’, ‘On Days Like These’, ‘May the Road Rise to Meet You’, ‘Clare My Heart My Home’, ‘Celebrate’ and Stocktons Wing classic ‘Beautiful Affair’. More details are available on Bealtaine.ie. Meanwhile, Mike has teamed up with Gavin Glass for to release ‘Spindrift’ – the second song from a series of works created during the past two years called Songs from The Box Room, which will be released in the autumn. With …

SINGER-SONGWRITER John Spillane has just been unveiled as headline act for the Mountshannon Arts Festival this summer. With the welcome return of in-person events, the hugely talented Corkonian, is set to captivate audiences from well beyond East Clare, when he performs at St Caimin’s Church. Rooted in people, place and story, John’s music transports the listener, and his live performances have thrilled audiences around the world. The award-winning musician, songwriter, performer, recording artist, storyteller, poet and dreamer will perform within the hallowed historical walls of 18th Century Church of Ireland on Saturday, June 4. Mountshannon Arts Festival Chairperson, Mel White, said the committee is delighted to have secured such a talented and popular performer to headline this year’s event. “John’s music is a reflection of Ireland today, and we are honoured to have him performing in Mounshannon,” she said. “And not only that, John is also hosting a song writing workshop where he will help participants lose whatever inhibitions and …

WAR and spiralling costs have put the focus firmly on our dependence on fossil fuels and accelerated the pace of the hunt for alternatives. In East Clare, a pilot project looking at the potential of ‘biomass’ is nearing a conclusion and exciting results are set to boost the case for the use of organic matter, like rushes, as fuel and fertiliser. The Biomass to Biochar project, headquartered close to Mountshannon, is a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. It has been investigating the treatment of biomass created from rushes to turn it into what is called ‘biochar’. a charcoal-like substance which can work as a fertiliser. Briquets for domestic use have also been developed. Farmers are paid to supply rushes and can qualify for carbon credits. Not only that, but the urgency of investing in carbon removal, in the interests of the climate change, has …

AN APPROVED housing body has lodged an application to build 11 social houses and two apartments in Mountshannon. The Council is currently assessing plans from Inis Housing which provides homes to eligible individuals and families in the Mid-West region. The application outlines plans for houses of varying size and design and a single building containing the two apartments. The site, which is three quarters of a hectare, is close to St Caimin’s Church of Ireland on Main Street. Architect Miles Sampson has told planners great lengths have been taken to produce “a considered and well-developed design that fits in with the surroundings”. An indicative decision date of May 19 has been given.