Ennis

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 …

Ennis Chamber has welcomed the return of the Merriman School back to the county capital for 2014. Taking place from Wednesday to Sunday week in Glór, Merriman has since its foundation in 1967, celebrated the work of Poet Brian Merriman and the history and traditions of Thomond,as well as promoting interest in all aspects of Irish culture. CEO of Ennis Chamber Rita Mc Inerney said, “Ennis Chamber is delighted that the Merriman School has returned to Ennis this year. The school is a very unique and distinguished festival in the Irish calendar with and impressive programme of topics and speakers. Ennis Chamber would like to encourage the business community to show their support for the festival through their welcome and interest in the programme of events. “The Merriman School attracts a broad range of people locally, nationally and internationally to Ennis over the five days, resulting in an economic boost to the business community. In turn Ennis has much to offer …

Clare Gardaí are advising business owners in the county to beware following reports of a deception scam in Ennis. Gardaí in Ennis have been alerted to at least one instance of a scam where a male has posed as a delivery man and has been paid in cash for a low value product. The incident reported involved a well dressed male calling to a shop in Ennis with bulk boxes of matches. He informed the shop assistant that their boss ordered the items and that he was to be paid cash on delivery. He  then gave over an order docket with a description of the product but it contained no contact details. He then asked to be paid an amount which was more than the product was worth. He left after receiving the cash and the sales assistant later discovered the manager never ordered the product. Clare’s crime prevention officer, Sergeant Joe Downey has asked businesses to be vigilant for …

A new HSE plan to restructure children’s disability services has been challenged by the head of a local therapy centre, as the number of children with special needs receiving treatment almost doubled to 400 in the last 12 months. The HSE is planning to roll-out early intervention teams to all parts of the country for children with special needs, on the basis that it has proven successful in areas like the Mid-West. It insists its new strategy is based on recommendations in the Report of the National Reference Group on Multidisciplinary Services for Children Aged Five to 18 Years. The Clare Champion submitted a number of queries to the national HSE, which hadn’t been responded to at the time of going to press. Clare Crusaders’ Clinic managing director, Ann Norton, has claimed this strategy flies in the face of growing waiting lists and the fact that the number of Clare children with special needs attending the centre has jumped from …