Regional

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 new location for the controversial Púca statue that was rejected by the people of Ennistymon has been revealed. Clare County Council confirmed today that the Michael Cusack Centre, situated in the heart of the Burren, has been selected as the new home for Aidan Harte’s work. Two applications from Michael Cusack Centre, Carron and Ballyvaughan Community Development Group were subject to an adjudication process in which representatives of both groups presented their case for hosting the artwork to an independent panel of judges. The judges noted in their citation: “While both applicants put forward compelling arguments for hosting the sculpture, the operators of the Michael Cusack Centre demonstrated how there would be mutual added value to both the installation and the community-run visitor attraction, the location of which was historically named ‘Poll a Phúca’.” “Michael Cusack Centre demonstrated compatibility to bringing the Púca to its natural home, confirming the interpretative element and story that will be told through 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. …

TUAMGRANEY Harp Festival returns in full bloom this weekend and final preparations are being made.  Artistic Director and harper, Fiana Ni Chonaill is at the helm with a dedicated committee behind her. “We are really excited to have such a wealth of talent coming to Tuamgraney,” she told The Champion. The Castleconnell native said she is honoured to take over from the esteemed founder Elisabeth Affolter. “LIzzie taught at the Harp School in Castleconnell and I met her there,” Fiana explained. “She was living in Tuamgraney and got me interested in the harp festival. I studied Music at the University of Limerick (UL). That’s my musical home and it’s lovely to be back so close to it.” The pandemic meant that the festival had to be cancelled in 2020 and it ran online in 2021. This year, it is making a welcome return to venues around Tuamgraney, but will retain an online element. “It just wasn’t the same last year …

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 …

The Committee of the Shannon Town Community Wetlands last week welcomed and worked alongside volunteers from SES Ltd, a local aircraft engine leasing company, based in a major practical conservation outing. Prior to Covid the company had been in touch with an offer of assistance, and their offer finally became a reality on a gloriously sunny April morning.  After initial introductions the group were welcomed on site by Olive Carey of the Shannon Town Community Wetlands gave a brief outline of the history of the project. Ruairí Ó Conchúir, Community Water Officer with the Local Authority Waters Programme also gave an overview of the importance of wetland sites and then gave outlined the planned work for the day, keeping in mind health and safety considerations. Working with Ruairí and voluntary members of the Shannon Wetland Committee a group of about 15 broke into work teams and set about a general site clean-up, including litter picking, removal of all materials from …