Ennis

ENNIS woman, Maureen Cronin from Mountain View has proven that age is no barrier when honoured at the 2014 Hidden Hearing Heroes Awards ceremony in Dublin which celebrate those who made a significant, and often unheralded, contribution to society. RTE personality Brenda Donohue presented the 92-year-old with the ‘Age Is No Barrier Award’. Maureen was recognised for having played a key role in getting the marriage ban lifted for school teachers in 1950s Ireland. She became a test case for the INTO Teachers’ Union when she defied the ban and carried on teaching in Limerick for a full year without pay, then continuing her career until well after the ban was eventually lifted in 1958. Proving that age is no barrier, the Kerry native delivers parish newsletters to the local shops, writes poetry for The Clare Champion and plays several musical instruments at parish events. She was also featured on RTE’s programme Nationwide recently. Speaking at the function Brenda Donohue, RTE said, …

A Marie Keating Foundation mobile information unit, staffed by a trained nurse, will be at Midwestern Regional Hospital, Ennis on this Thursday from 11am to 3pm. This service is available to both men and women and is free of charge. The mobile unit is equipped with take-home information leaflets on each of the key cancers. The Marie Keating nurse can also provide practical advice on healthy lifestyle choices. The nurse will give cancer information presentations on the unit and use practical awareness tools such as the smokerlyzer, tar in a jar and body fat and scales to help to illustrate health massages. The trained nurse can talk to people on a one-to-one basis in a private area on board about any concerns that they might have about cancer, either for themselves or for someone else, such as a family member or friend. For more information see www.mariekeating.ie.

WORK began this week on a one-way traffic system on Lifford Road, known locally as Dr Daly Road, in Ennis. The work is expected to be completed in two weeks. Dr Daly Road is the road that runs alongside the Fair Green from New Road (at the CBS Primary School) to Lifford Road (near St Joseph’s Hospital). Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Johnny Flynn, who grew up in the area, has welcomed the new system and said the end-result should be a safer road for everyone, particularly the huge numbers of schoolchildren attending primary and secondary schools. “There was a need to do something because the New Road, which is at the bottom of the road being made one-way, houses over 1,100 students. It also has the courthouse, the county council headquarters and, most importantly, the central fire station is there. “Over the last five or 10 years, significant delays have been reported for the firefighters being able to respond to …

A Special Branch at  Ennis Garda Station are going back to grass roots and conducting house-to-house enquiries as they search for clues following the theft of a tree from a private garden in Ennis. It seems that gardaí will find it difficult to see the wood from the trees in their search, as speculation is that the stolen item may have been replanted. The Norwegian Maple tree was stolen from a garden at Pearse Avenue in Cloughleigh between 8pm on Tuesday, August 19 and 12.30pm on Wednesday, August 20. The tree stood at approximate eight to ten feet tall and had a trunk width of between four to eight inches. Superintendent Derek Smart of Ennis Garda Station described the tree as “sizable”. “It appears that the tree was just uprooted and I’d say it wasn’t long purchased. It was an unusual tree. We are asking if someone was offered this to contact us. We have carried out house-to-house enquiries and …

THE mother of a seriously ill boy is making a last-ditch attempt to find a second level school place for her eldest son in Ennis following the rejection of her appeal by the Department of Eduction. Anne Marie O’Donoghue and her husband, Sean, who live on the main Ennis to Ruan road, are at their wits end trying to secure a school place for their 12-year-old son, Cian, while at the same time looking after six-year-old Evan, who is suffering from , a serious kidney disorder. Ironically, a school bus collects his sister from right outside their door to bring her to the all girls Coláiste Muire in Ennis. Cian is academically bright and loves hurling, and his preference for secondary school is St Flannan’s College in his own catchment area, the school where all of his former Ruan Primary School schoolmates were lucky enough to secure first year places. “Cian really wants to go to St Flannan’s with all …

Ennis is again “Clean to European Norms”, in 23rd position of the 40 areas surveyed, the latest survey by Irish Business Against Litter  (IBAL) has revealed. Ennis was previously in 33rd spot. In all, 75% of towns and cities were found to be as clean as or cleaner than their European counterparts. Kilkenny and Cavan were once again Ireland’s cleanest towns, and were among 18 towns to be deemed cleaner than the European average. An Taisce reported: “Ennis has retained its Clean to European norms status with another mid-ranking result. It would be nice to see this town push on to a higher position in the table. The top ranking sites in Ennis were not just clear of litter but well presented and maintained e.g. Clare Leisure World, Garden of Remembrance and Recycle Facility at Ennis Shopping Centre. A Clare County Council Recycle Bank at Leisure Facility was moderately littered. The Mill Road River Walk was seriously littered – many different aspects of this site were in poor shape. For …

Two Rose of  Tralee contestants with links to County Clare paid a courtesy visit to Ennis where they were provided with a tour of Clare County Council’s headquarters building. Arizona Rose Sarah Hines, whose native city of Phoenix is twinned with Ennis, and South California Rose Katie Bergman, whose ancestors come from Ennistymon, were shown around Áras Contae an Chláir by Mayor of Clare John Crowe and Councillor Mary Howard of the Ennis Phoenix Twinning Board. The 2014 Rose of Tralee International Festival takes place from August  15-19.

Wednesday, July 30 is a night Ballyea trainer John Browne won’t forget in a hurry. Having watched his son, Jack, turn in a majestic display for Clare in their emphatic victory over Cork in the Munster U-21 Hurling Championship final at Cusack Park, Browne turned to his other sporting passion, greyhounds. He sent the home-bred Rathmeehan Holly (Droopy’s Scolari –Rathmeehan Maura) which he owns in partnership with John Collins from Ennis, to traps in The Flaherty Market S3 final at Galway Greyhound Stadium. As the traps rose for this final, Rathmeehan Holly and Mine Lark, owned and trained by Quin’s Frank Browne, were both smartly into stride, with Deanos Rocky in third place along the rails, as they raced towards the opening bend. Rounding the bend, Rathmeehan Holly struck the front and quickly went two lengths clear, as Clydagh Johnny tried to close from the rear but Rathmeehan Holly was not to be denied as she scored by four and …