Regional

THE extension of an Ennis primary school, which is expected to result in an “enhanced” school experience for students and staff, has been given the green light by Clare County Council. Planning permission has been granted for a two storey extension to Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg which will include the first Early Intervention Unit at a mainstream primary school in the town. The school on the Gort Road will develop six classrooms, a general purpose hall, two SEN classrooms and two ball courts as well as additional carparking and other associated works. The planning authority has granted planning permission to the Board of Management of Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg subject to seven conditions, including that a planned parking area at Glenina pitch be dedicated to Clare County Council once finished. A proposal for a bus turning area along the side of Glenina pitch has not been permitted by the local authority. “The purpose of the new classroom and associated facilities is to …

ENNIS author Sean O’Driscoll has been named on the shortlist for this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards. His book Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber has been nominated in the Odgers Berndtson Non-fiction Book of the Year category. His book tells the astonishing story of Rose Dugdale. She grew up in a Chelsea townhouse and on a Devon estate and was presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace as a debutante in 1958. Rose trained at Oxford as an academic economist and had a love affair with a female professor. At thirty, she commenced giving her inheritance away to the poor and in 1972 she travelled to Ireland and joined the IRA. She went on to become a committed terrorist, participating in a major art heist and a bombing raid on a police and army barracks; who kept a pregnancy secret for nine months in prison and gave birth there; and who ended up at the heart of the IRA’s bomb-making operation …

CONCERN has been expressed over the speed of traffic travelling through the village of Quin, particularly on the busy approach from the Dromoland side.  With a number of routes leading into the village, an appeal has been made by Councillor Pat Burke for safety works to protect the many pedestrians that walk in the area, particularly those going to and from school. The Killaloe district councillor described the speed of many motorists as “unbelievable”.  “The Ballykilty/Dromoland Road, as it is known locally, is particularly busy,” Councillor Burke said. “Quin itself is a very busy village with a big and growing population. Between six and eight weeks ago, I was called after an incident where a car left the road and went through a boundary and into someone’s property. Thankfully, nobody was seriously injured, but it could have been an awful situation if there was someone walking in the area at the time.” The Fine Gael member pointed out that the …

A RAPTUROUS welcome greeted Minister for Special Education, Josepha Madigan, as she officially opened the ASD facilities at Scoil na Mainistreach’s in Quin.  The school’s choir and band entertained the Minister for State, before she was presented with mementoes of her visit, including a painting of the scenic East Clare village. The school’s first ASD classroom opened earlier this year. Since then, with the collaboration of the National Council for Special Education (NESC) and a huge level of cooperation from staff, parents and pupils, the school has now increased provision to two classrooms – catering for a total of 12 pupils.  Minister Madigan paid tribute to the entire school team led by Principal Fergal Lynch and Deputy Principal Eleanor Gallagher. She also recalled chairing an online meeting, earlier this year, during which the school’s pupils took part in a debate on vegetarianism. She added that she could see the same “compassion and empathy in action” throughout the school, as it …

GORT Community School (CS) is the only Irish school to feature in a prestigious shortlist of top global educational facilities.  The school has made the Top 10 shortlist for the new $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes, launched this year by T4 Education in partnership with Accenture and American Express. Gort Community School, was named in the ‘Supporting Healthy Lives’ category. Brian Crossan Principal said the school values a rounded education. “Of course, academics is very important in our school and every year our students excel in their exams,” he said. “But of equal, if not more importance, is that our students are happy and healthy. We work hard to ensure that we have the structures, procedures and supports in place to cater to this aspect of our students lives in GCS. And we are very supportive of any initiatives that our enthusiastic, creative and dedicated staff undertake in this regard also.”  Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School …

ENNIS is set to host the 28th Annual Ennis Tradfest this November with a line up of top international, national and local traditional music stars. Amongst the stars will be Anxo Lorenzo, a virtuoso award-winning Galician piper renowned for his energetic and inspiring performances.  Over 1,000 are expected to travel from the US, Canada, Spain and the UK for Ennis Tradfest 2022.  From its early years, Ennis Tradfest has established itself as one of the most vibrant and dynamic traditional music festivals in Ireland with fans and visitors returning year after year. Michael ‘Blackie’ O’Connell, widely recognised as one of the best pipers in the world, has been tirelessly building this festival over the years into an extravaganza of traditional music.  Tradfest 2022 is no exception, boasting a stellar line-up of musicians including the Galician Anxo Lorenzo Band, legends Sean Keane (formerly of The Chieftains) and Gay Mc Keon, John Carty and Mike McGoldrick, Damien and Conor Connolly and popular concert band Jiggy.   …

CLARE hurler Diarmuid Ryan has been awarded an MIC GPA Sports Scholarship for the coming academic year, in recognition of his sporting achievements.  Now in its second year, the MIC GPA Scholarship scheme is a collaboration between Mary Immaculate College (MIC) and the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), and is open to GPA members who have applied for and are successful in securing a place on MIC’s postgraduate programmes in education and the liberal arts. Two scholarships are offered on an annual basis. Limerick camogie player Caoimhe Costelloe has also been awarded a scholarship. Diarmuid Ryan is a first year Professional Master of Education (Primary Teaching) student at MIC. The Cratloe clubman has played inter-county hurling for the Banner since 2017 and is nominated for an All Star award for his performance in Clare’s All-Ireland Championship campaign this year, where they reached the Semi-Final stages. Diarmuid attended Limerick’s Ardscoil Rís Secondary School and was Vice-Captain of the Harty Cup winning team …

ENNIS Players’ Annual Supper Theatre is back with three offerings to whet your theatrical appetite this November. Rehearsals are well underway for this four-night production, offering the finest of theatre and the finest of food in the surrounds of the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis. This year’s production will showcase performances of Elysium Nevada by Barry McKinley; Trapped, by Barry Woods and Tony Layton’s Where there’s a Will. Elysium Nevada is set in a retirement village in the sweltering Nevada desert. Two residents reflect on life, youth and how they got there. They are joined by a mysteriously silent woman whose presence adds an entirely new dimensions to the discussion. Directed by Saoirse Byrne, and features Hugh Gallagher as Bob, Conor Lynch as Mike and Amy McEnnis as Constance. Trapped sees Faye respond to a distressed phonecall from her best friend. They discover information that is both profound and life changing. A ten minute play about the unexpected parts that people …