Ennis

REMOTE working for those living in the county town has taken a major step forward with the opening of the Ennis Digital Hub. The state-of-the-art facility at the Quin Road Business Park was officially opened by Minister Heather Humphries at the end of last month and brings to ten the number of hubs operating under Clare County Council’s Digiclare initiative. Among those welcoming the centre was Councillor Johnny Flynn who said the hub was a long-time goal for the county town. “Six years ago, I tabled a notice of motion requesting a feasibility study be carried out on the development of a hub for Ennis,” he outlined. “I believe the facility will be critical in enabling people living in the area to enable employment. The Ennis hub is the tenth in the county, so the people of the county town have been waiting patiently as the rural centres were developed first. The potential of the hub is huge in enabling …

A FORMER Ennis resident is making a big impression on the Tattoo Art Convention circuit after setting up his own business in Pretoria, South Africa. Siegfried Avenstrup, better known as Ziggy, originally came to Ennis as a young adult and retuned to South Africa in 2014 after studying at the Community Training Centre at the Clare Youth Service. His parents Siegfried and Nastaja live in Sixmilebridge. Having developed and honed his artistic skills at CYS, Ziggy went to further specialist training in tattoo artistry, “I was originally taught by my grandfather and father and was later inspired by the art teacher at the CYS Community Training Centre. I loved the passion he had for art and our discussions about tattoo art opened my mind to the opportunities.  I have grown as an artist since then by working hard and developing my skill level.” Ziggy now runs his own successful tattoo studio in the Doornpoort area of Pretoria and is known for …

MORE than 800 people were vaccinated against Covid-19 at a walk-in clinic in Treacy’s West County Hotel, Ennis during the Bank Holiday Weekend, writes Dan Danaher. A total of 2,649 people received first-dose Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines at walk-in clinics in the three Mid-West Vaccination Centres over the busy weekend. The regional total was composed of 1,273 vaccinations in the Limerick Racecourse Centre; 822 in the West County Hotel, Ennis; and 554 in the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh; following walk-in clinics held in the centres on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday. Colette Cowan, CEO, UL Hospitals’ Group, said the group was delighted with the response to the walk-in clinics over the Bank Holiday Weekend. “With Covid-19 still a very real threat to our communities and healthcare facilities in the Mid-West, it was wonderful to see so many people aged 16 and over taking the time over the weekend to play a very important part in the battle against the virus …

GARDAI in Ennis are appealing for witnesses following a burglary that occurred in the county town last week. Overnight between August 3 and 4, Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning, between the hours of 8pm and 7am an apartment was broken into in Parnell St Apartments. Entry was gained by a communal door which was forced. Once inside the culprits made their way to a particular apartment which was unoccupied at the time. They gained entry by force. Some small items were stolen from the scene, most notably a Black Puma sports bag containing gents clothing. If anyone was in the area of Parnell Street, Ennis, Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning, on the dates in question and saw anything suspicious or may have information which may assist Gardaì in this investigation, they are asked to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065 – 6948100.

ENNIS has been described as “a ship without a captain” in terms of its development, due to the ongoing lack of an updated Local Area Plan (LAP). It follows the decision by county councillors to defer the County Development Plan (2022-2028) for seven months. The move has implications for the creation of the Ennis LAP, a process that started in 2015, but which was paused pending the finalisation of the county-wide plan. It also delays placing the Ennis 2040 plan on a statutory footing. Prominent Clare-based chartered building surveyor, Fergus Merriman voiced frustration saying he believes opportunities are being lost. “An Ennis LAP would be a field-by-field plan with clarity about acceptable development,” he said. “Ennis 2040 is a welcome long-term plan, but we cannot lose sight of day-to-day development. In the absence of a local plan, the risks are too high for many developers.” Mr Merriman noted that the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) wrote to the council …

GLÓR is continuing to put its best foot forward since reopening, with plans in place for some ‘air’ raising events in the near future. Fidget Feet Aerial Dance, in partnership with Clare Arts Office, are bringing the In the Open arts programme to Ennis with a series of outdoor events planned over the coming months. The first event will be Fidget Feet’s brand new outdoor show,  A Handful of Dreams, currently touring nationwide, which is coming to glór’s car park from August 20 to 22. The free ticketed family event will be accompanied by a complimentary performance of traditional Irish music and dance, featuring local musicians and set dancers. “A Handful of Dreams is an awe-inspiring and heart-warming outdoor show that combines aerial and circus arts with live Irish traditional music and dance. Infusing a specially designed outdoor rig with an ancient magic, this beautiful celebration will connect to the hearts of each audience member while restoring the joy of …

Aoife Corey, Alana McInerney, Chisom Ugweru and Eilish Cahill all received call ups to the Senior Munster Women’s Rugby squad for the interprovincial series which starts at the end of August, writes Ivan Smyth. Eilish Langan manages the senior women’s rugby team with Paddy Langan, Mick Flynn and John Colleran all working as coaches. Colleran says the club is “hugely proud” of the four women who will don the red of Munster in less than a month’s time. “We are all hugely proud of what they have achieved. They’ve put the effort in and got their reward. The fact they haven’t been playing for too long speaks volumes about their work rate. “Chisom is a very well rounded athlete while the other girls are all very good GAA players. They had a good foundation in ball sports and they just seemed to enjoy rugby and they kept working at it.” After this news broke, the club discovered that Aoibheann Hahessy …

CHILDREN walking to a local school are being forced out onto the road due to localised flooding, writes Jessica Quinn. Calls are being made on the local authority to carry out works over the school summer holidays to address flooding issues, and a “current road safety hazard” at Doora National School. The Ennis Municipal District is now set to contact the school to identify their concerns. Councillor Johnny Flynn, speaking at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District urged the Council to, “carry out works over the summer school holiday period to reduce the current road safety hazard being experienced by Doora National School going children and vulnerable pedestrian road users”. The councillor said issues of speed and volume of vehicles at that location were problematic, and that the works would also address the winter localised flooding at the location which at times forces children out onto the road carriageway. He said that there are around 100 vulnerable road …