Ennis

CLARECASTLE Show makes its return this weekend offering a fantastic level of prize money and a wonderful day’s entertainment and diversion for all the family. And, what’s more, after an absence of two years the boutique show in the Clarecastle GAA grounds on Sunday, August 7 will be free to enter. The move to make entry to Clarecastle Show was made by the board of the Society as a gesture to the people of Clare and beyond who had endured a lot over the past two years. Clarecastle Show Chairman Michael Slattery explained, “Entry to the show is free, a decision taken by our board because of the stress and strain people have been through caused by Covid and the escalating costs of everything. “Perhaps a day at the show in the fresh air amongst friends will compensate for the difficulties of the Covid years.” Speaking about what makes the Clarecastle Show special he said, “We do not compare. Clarecastle …

AN alliance of local activists and environmental groups is to hold a public meeting in Ennis this Wednesday evening to highlight opposition to the proposed data centre near the town. The meeting will take place at 7pm at The Copper Jug Bar and Café (Courtview, Lifford, Ennis) to convey the group’s “deep concern” about plans by Art Data Centres Ltd. to construct a data centre on the Tulla Road, Ennis, which, they claim, will consume as much electricity as 200,000 homes – more than in Clare and Limerick combined. A spokesperson for the group said, “The plans to build one of the largest data centres in the country here in Ennis brings with it an additional threat to the health of people here as the plans include a gas burning plant that will only make the air quality here worse than it already is, leading to asthma and other respiratory problems.” Ruairí Ó Fathaigh, industry expert and Futureproof Clare member …

BIODIVERSITY measures introduced as part of Ennis Municipal District’s grass cutting operations have resulted in “excellent outcomes” the local authority have insisted following criticism of the service. Councillor Mary Howard told a recent meeting of the council she has received “numerous complaints ranging from grass not being cut to cutting done badly and grass not collected”. The council acknowledged receipt of two complaints relating to grass not being cut within contracted areas, saying these have been addressed. Contractors working on behalf of the Ennis Municipal District cut 75 acres of grass a year with a budget of €80,000 allocated for the task, with council officials describing the contractors as “highly professional”. Eamon O’Dea, senior executive engineer told the meeting that the contractors are “cutting continuously, they start at their first location and travel through”. He pointed out that the areas being cut are “public open spaces, they are not lawns or golf courses and if we want those standards then …

A COUNTY Clare family is set to be the latest beneficiaries of hit TV Show DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland. Baz Ashmawy and his team will be coming to Ennis, from August 30, and is seeking the help of Clare trades people to renovate and adapt the home of the Mulvey-Sydney family. The project is expected to run until September 8. Thirteen-year-old Isabella Mulvey-Sydney was born with a rare congenital disorder called Lumbar Sacral Agenesis, which resulted in both her legs being amputated at the age of seven. Isabella is a tenacious, bright and brave young teenager, but her home in Ennis, which she shares with her parents and twin brother AJ, is completely unsuitable to her needs and its inaccessibility is causing physical pain to her and her parents, Darum and Clare. Clare Mulvey-Sydney was born and raised in Ennis and is Isabella’s full-time carer as well as being a recent breast cancer survivor. Just last year she …

TRANSPORT Infrastructure Ireland (TII) should be “shot at dawn” for its work on the Clareabbey Roundabout a councillor has said as he renewed calls for traffic calming to be introduced. Councillor Paul Murphy has described efforts to address safety concerns on the roundabout on the outskirts of Ennis over the years as a “personal crusade” believing there will be a serious accident some day if improvements are not made. The Clarecastle councillor has raised numerous notices of motion relating to Clareabbey roundabout at meetings of the Ennis Municipal District over the years. Most recently he has urged that traffic lights and or signalling be introduced to make the roundabout safer for motorists and vulnerable road users. Speaking at a meeting of the council he requested that all motions he has submitted regarding the need for traffic calming at Clareabbey be collated and forwarded to TII, alongside his latest request and that an “urgent response” be made. John Gannon, Senior Executive …

A Clare-based mother, who was once homeless on the streets in London, is raising funds for a mobile shower for homeless people in Ennis, saying, “I believe people deserve to be treated with dignity. For homeless individuals, having access to a hot shower is the first step in reigniting a feeling of self worth.” Fiona Faulkes has been living in Ennis for nearly 10 years and regularly helps the town’s homeless, having experienced first-hand sleeping under cardboard in England’s capital. She describes becoming homeless as feeling like “the whole world is going to just collapse”. However support from those working with people on the streets in London as well as others who were homeless helped her get through it. She is now hoping to raise €10,000 through an online GoFundMe campaign to buy a caravan and convert it to give people living on the streets here in Clare a wheelchair accessible place to wash and dress. “This is just a …

IRELAND’S first festival for disability, Pride and Power 2022, might be over, but there is still time to join the after-party in Ennis. This Friday July 29 at 11am in Cloughleigh Community Centre members of Clare Leader Forum, together with Clare members of Disability Power Ireland’s (DPI) committee, have organised an after-party event for the festival which hosted events nationwide. The Ennis after-party titled ‘What Clare has to Offer’ will feature a showing of the new film ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ developed by Clare Leader Forum and facilitated by Grey Heron Media. There will also be music by the Ukrainian Choir and Paddy Mulcahy, followed by a samba disco. Dermot Hayes of Clare Leader Forum explains, “The Disability Pride and Power Festival 2022 ran throughout the month of July and was the first official celebration in Ireland of Disability Pride Month, an international phenomenon which began in the US in the 1990s. “It was also Ireland’s first cross-impairment festival …

CLARE Museum is celebrating after maintaining a top national award from the Heritage Council. The museum in the heart of Ennis was among 13 honoured at a ceremony in Kilkenny Castle having achieved official accreditation under the Heritage Council’s Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI). Established to promote professional standards in museums, selection under the MSPI is a major accolade with accredited museums considered to have attained excellence across a range of areas. The museum assessors noted Clare Museum’s continued work on adding to its collections. With the assistance of the Friends of the National Collections of Ireland, the museum purchased a drawing by the celebrated artist, William Frederick Burton who spent his childhood in the Burren. The museum is one a handful of museums which has placed its collection online, and through the work of volunteers, opened a new temporary exhibition in 2019 on the War of Independence, enhanced by a series of public lectures. The museum also launched its …