East Clare

KILLALOE councillors are to receive a briefing on progress with the proposed greenway from Limerick to Scariff/Tuamgraney, after the cathaoirleach of the district described local people as “perplexed” about the matter. Councillor Pat Hayes sought details on the current status of the project, which he said has potential to link East Clare into key tourism trails across a wide geographical area. Updating district members, Senior Executive Officer (SEO) Morgan Lahiffe said the parties involved were hoping to appoint consultants to look at potential routes for the 41km trail. “Clare County Council is working together with Limerick City and County Council, the ESB and Waterways Ireland,” he explained. “Waterways Ireland are the lead agency on this and the hope is that consultants would shortly be working on route selection options. The steering group will include this local authority and we hope that the consultants will be reporting back by the end of 2021. I have asked Waterways Ireland for the latest …

EARLY medieval characters linked to Inis Cealtra will be given a new lease on life at the interpretive centre being developed in Mountshannon, to illuminate the role of the island as a pilgrimage destination and place of religious devotion. Consultants working on the Inis Cealtra project have been outlining what they believe are relatable themes and stories that will engage a wide variety of visitors with the history of the island. They have also promised that the exhibition space will promote the entire East Clare area. Earlier this month, Tandem Partners held a workshop on Zoom, which was attended by over 25 people including politicians, community leaders, tourism and hospitality providers. Those taking part heard how characters, including The Queen of Munster, Gormlaith, will form part of the narrative used to tell the story of Inis Cealtra and its significance in early medieval Europe. According to records, Gormlaith was a powerful woman whose marriage alliances included Brían Ború (976-1014) High …

ONE THOUSAND homes in East Clare received a Poetry Day surprise on Thursday (April 29), courtesy of Scariff Post Office and University of Limerick (UL) Arts Officer, Patricia Moriarty. Across the county boundary, a further 1,000 homes will have what Patricia described as “a side serving of poetry,” with their deliveries from meals on wheels services in Limerick. “Every year, Poetry Ireland produces Pocket Poems, where poets create work that’s printed on postcards,” Patricia explained. “Last year, because of the pandemic, they didn’t do the print run, but I had the mad idea during lockdown to ask Scariff Post Office to deliver 500 postcards to those cocooning if I could get 500 printed. “I left the destination of the cards up to the delivery staff, because they know the people on their route. One of the poems was about a woman breast-feeding at night and the postman delivered it to a young mother locally. “I got a lovely text from …

NATIONAL honours in a competition to raise awareness of how the European Union works have gone to St Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla. Leaving Cert students Liam Boyce and Eoghan Kinsella won the 2021 Model Council of the European Union at a virtual event last week, beating strong competition from teams around the country. The theme of this year’s debate was highly topical as EU Member States actively look into ways to co-ordinate their health policies to respond more effectively to global pandemics and emergencies such as Covid-19. For the Model Council, each school team plays the role of a particular members state and must research the issues for the country they are representing. Liam and Eoghan were assigned to represent The Netherlands and, as part of their advance research, they held a virtual meeting with Ambassador Adriaan Palm. Mrs Lorraine Glynn, who coached the team said the school is delighted with the win. “In preparation for the debate the …

THE SEANAD has heard claims of potential health and safety concerns at an East Clare school, if it loses a teacher and has to reduce the number of classroom available to its pupils. The plight of Clooney National School, where pupil numbers are at 73, six short of the 79 needed to retain four teachers, was raised by Senator Timmy Dooley. The Fianna Fáil member made an appeal on behalf of the school on the basis that removing a teacher would mean 73 children would have to be taught in three classrooms instead of four, making the application of pandemic health guidelines more difficult. Senator Dooley added that small schools deserved greater protections in order to support the rejuvenation of rural Ireland. “At a time when we are trying to keep children apart we are cramming them into three rooms as opposed to four, which does not make sense,” Senator Dooley told Minister of State Josepha Madigan, who addressed the …

A TULLA grandmother said she cried with relief when Gardaí told her of a major breakthrough in the long-running investigation into a spate of thefts at the local graveyard. Carol Hoey was one of a number of people contacted by Gardaí after most of the stolen items were discovered during a search, last week, in Ennis. Last September, the family was devastated when the grave of Carol’s late mother and that of her baby granddaughter were disturbed, and several items of sentimental value taken. The incidents were among more than 20 reported to Gardaí since January of last year. “I cried when I got the call from the Garda here in Tulla,” Carol told The Champion. “We can be sure now that our loved ones can rest. It feels great to have some kind of closure. At last, we can go to visit the graves without having a pain in our stomach and holding our breath in fear over what …

A CALL has been made for an extension to the footpath opposite the GAA pitch in Kilkishen, in the interests of safety. The motion was tabled by Councillor Alan O’Callaghan, who told a meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District that the current situation is causing inconvenience for pedestrians. “If the council could cover this with black top, that would be great,” he said. “It’s not very long or wide and a small amount would go a long way. As it stands now, people with buggies still have to come out onto the road and that’s a situation that can’t continue.” In a written response, Senior Executive Engineer (SEE) Niamh Madden noted that the allocation for works to footpaths in the district has been significantly reduced for this year. “The footpath in question is currently a gravel footpath and should funding become available throughout the year, the Killaloe Municipal District will consider surfacing this pathway,” the reply said.

EFFORTS are being made to ease congestion caused by traffic accessing popular water-based activities at Bruach na Sionna in O’Briensbridge. The issue was raised by Councillor Tony O’Brien at the Killaloe Municipal District meeting, when he asked for action to be taken. “€200,000 has been allocated for water-based activities which is welcome,” he said. “At the moment, there are parking issues in the area, especially for households on the lower side of the bridge who have difficulties getting out onto the road. It’s great to see the action on the water but the residents are being discommoded and that’s the last thing we want. There is a carpark there and we need more people to be using that. I would be hopeful that with dialogue between Waterways Ireland and other stakeholders, there will be a solution in the near future.” Seconding the motion, Councillor Joe Cooney said that he had also been contacted by people experiencing difficulties getting in and …