Ennis

RESIDENTS of an historic area of Ennis are vowing to “fight to the last” against plans for a new housing development which has been given the green light by Clare County Council. They are now preparing an appeal to An Bord Pleanala following the granting of planning permission to Eko Integrated Services Ltd for the ‘Buttermarket Development’ of residential units and a cafe with digital working hub at the Drumbiggle Road, Buttermarket Street and Simm’s Lane. The site is in an Architectural Conservation Area of Ennis. The initial application had sought to build 46 units, however this has been reduced to 37. The plans include a new apartment building on Drumbiggle Road increasing from two storeys to four storeys over-semi basement with a fifth floor set back on the south west corner. This building will incorporate 26 two-bedroom units, four one-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit. The development will also see the construction of a new two-storey terrace of six …

THERE will be a period of traffic disruption in Ennis town centre from this Monday, May 16, and throughout the summer as Irish Water begins work on replacing the watermains. With Clare County Council due to progress with the county town’s public realm enhancement project, Irish Water is commencing its infrastructure upgrades ahead of these improvements. The Council has given notice of a road closure on High Street from the Junction of Salt House Lane to the Height. High Street to be closed with diversion via Old Friary Lane (reversed direction). Before the public realm enhancement project gets underway, Irish Water will replace aged watermains at High Street, Bank Place, O’Connell Square and O’Connell Street, to provide a more reliable water supply, reduce high levels of leakage and improve water quality. Gerry O’Donnell, Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead with Irish Water, said “We are aware that works of this nature can cause some disruption. We would like to assure the …

THE fundraising efforts of a local sports club have been causing quite a racquet. The Ennis Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club has raised €1,000 for the work of the Irish Red Cross in Ukraine. On Good Friday the junior badminton players took part in a fun whistle-stop blitz to raise the funds for the charity. The aim of the whistle stop blitz was to score as many points as possible off your opposition within a short-time frame which leads to lots of fast badminton action as well as plenty of noise and banter. The morning started with the U12 and U14 age groups and continued with a combined U16/U19 group in the afternoon. All age groups were well contested, with the U12 section won by Aleksei  Tushkanov and Colin Hehir with James O’Connell and Lily Mantari in second place. The winners of the U14 section were Jack Doyle and Conor McMahon while the runners-up were John O’Connell and Iurii Tushkanov. …

ENNIS twins have had success again at an Irish Kennel Club obedience competition in Dublin recently. Nine-year-old Natalie Ryan placed first with her young dog Rita, while her twin Stella placed second with Riley. They competed against adults from both north and south of the border at the championships show held by the Working Trials Club of Ireland in Tymon Park in Dublin. Natalie commented, “I was so excited to win! I never thought I would. We were expecting to be competing against other kids but it was all adults there. I am super proud of Rita too. She’s only young but was so calm in the ring”. Stella was delighted with her place too, “Riley can get a bit worried in the ring and always likes to know that mom is around to reassure her. But working towards this competition has really improved our bond and she was much improved from our last outing. She did her best and …

ORGANISERS of a hike up Mount Brandon to raise funds for a charity working in Ukraine have confirmed they have raised more than €6,000. Retired Air Traffic Controllers  Frank Barry from Clarecastle and  John Hunt from Roscommon with his daughter Annie and four members of An Garda Siochana from Portlaoise recently climbed Mount Brandon to raise money  in aid of Concerns appeal for Ukraine. Paying tribute to all of those who supported the endeavour Frank said, “A big thank you to everyone who supported this fundraiser which took place on April 6”.

CONCERN that recent incidences of anti-social behaviour in Ennis, including a house being targeted with a petrol bomb, could lead to the county capital receiving a bad reputation nationally have been expressed. At this monthly meeting of Ennis Municipal District Councillor Pat Daly urged the public to contact the Garda Confidential line if they see anything suspicious in a bid to stamp out anti-social behaviour. Councillor Pat Daly insisted “it is important that this type of behaviour is eliminated”. The councillor commented that Ennis has been getting a “bad name” in recent times due to anti-social behaviour including the petrol bombing and incidences where drugs offences are committed. “The drugs situation is very serious,” he said. He outlined that from speaking with gardaí he has been told that those who witness illegal activity are often afraid to report it. “The only way to alleviate this is to ring the garda confidential line,” he said. The meeting was told that the …

ONE of the most famous names in Irish fashion circles met with Ennis Rag Trade retailers for an intimate fireside discussion in the Temple Gate Hotel. Louis Copeland, Ireland’s most celebrated tailor, and by now a household name, regaled the audience with stories of his early days in fashion, bringing those gathered all the way back to his childhood, his father a tailor and his mother a trouser maker. With over 60 years of experience in retail, Louis enthralled the crowd who shared their own triumphs as well as their battle scars. The atmosphere was fun and lively; the energy of the retailers present was palpable as the audience brainstormed progressive ideas for leveraging Ireland’s Boutique Capital. The lively discussion was organised by Experience Ennis, an organisation whose aspiration is to make Ennis the best town in Ireland in which to live and the top destination to visit. The five pillars of Experience Ennis are Culture, Community, Aesthetic Impact, Business …

RAIN gives us rainbows is the positive message of a brand new colourful addition to St Anne’s School in Ennis. The school recently unveiled a new mural created by its Oak, Rowan and Willow classes along with local artist Rachel Macmanus. The project was facilitated by the Clare Artists in School Scheme 2021/2022. Principal of St Anne’s Rose-Marie Flanagan explains that before designing the mural Rachel visited them and spent time with the three classes to discuss ideas. “We discussed together what should be included in the design and why. The pupils chose to highlight the nature they see in and around their school, such as birds and animals, and we also discussed the weather we get here in Ennis, a lot of rain! But rain gives us rainbows, which became a central theme for the mural.  “We also focused on the geography of St Anne’s School, which is situated in the centre of Ennis town, and the activities and sports which happen in the school. As we …