West Clare

A 78-year-old Clare farmer who won a coveted framed pair of O’Neill’s shorts signed by actor, Paul Mescal has admitted he never watched ‘Normal People’. The TV breakout hit of 2020 made Paul Mescal a global star but west Clare man Noel Ryan admitted, “I didn’t even look at it,” when asked did he see the actor in it. Mr Ryan made his comment after Cooraclare GAA club confirmed that hen had the winning ticket for the signed shorts that were raffled as part of a fundraising drive for the club. He did however say he is “delighted” to have won the shorts and they now have pride of place at his Cooraclare home. The O’Neills shorts contain the dedication penned by Mescal ‘to the Normal People of Cooraclare’. The Kildare man has close family links to the west Clare village and his celebrity status has proven to be a winner for Cooraclare GAA which has raised €10,000 for much-needed …

CLARE health services have been dealt a blow following confirmation Dr Michael Harty will retire from his general practice at the end of next February. Having spent more than 37 years delivering health care to patients in West Clare, the former Independent Dáil Deputy has decided to bring the curtain down on his own medical career. In an interview with The Clare Champion, Dr Harty (69) revealed he is isn’t taking on any new patients in his Kilmhil practice due to his imminent retirement. However, he continues to get calls from people as far back as Kilkee and Ennis that are outside his catchment area on a weekly basis looking to join his patient list. “I have reached the stage where it is important for me to retire. It will be difficult because you build up a relationship with patients over a 37-year period after looking after four generations of the one family.” “This corporate knowledge is a great asset …

A WEST Clare community was left in shock this week after a tragic car crash claimed the life of Peggy Morrissey, the mother of RTÉ sports commentator Marty Morrissey, writes Jessica Quinn. Tributes have been paid to Mrs Morrissey following her passing in the early hours of Tuesday morning in a single car collision at Annagh, Miltown Malbay. Mrs Morrissey, who was a popular member of the Mullagh community, was the sole occupant of the car. Fr Donagh O’Meara, Parish priest of St Mary’s Church in Mullagh described Mrs Morrissey as “a very giving woman. She gave enormously and was very kind to people.” Mrs Morrissey, who was in her 90s and originally from Cork, attended mass every day and will be “hugely missed” in the community, he said. “She was a fiercely independent woman and she lived right up the last. She was very engaged in life and the community. She loved people and chatting, she was great for …

A small boat with two people on board that got into difficulty off the Clare coast on Monday afternoon was towed to safety by the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat. The Aran crew was requested to deal with the incident as the Irish Coast Guard unit based at nearby Doolin has been stood down pending resolution of issues at the station. The alarm was raised at around 3.30pm when the two-person crew of the half-deck boat suffered technical problems in Liscannor Bay. The crew contacted watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub-centre on Valentia Island in Kerry. Staff there mounted a rescue operation. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was requested to make its way to the area and investigate the problem. The helicopter had been in the air on a training mission at the time and made its way to the scene. In the meantime, the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat was tasked to proceed to …

COW dung got a large share of the blame for the state of the L2000 road, at last week’s meeting of Kilrush and Ennistymon area councillors. Councillor Cillian Murphy called for repairs to the road, in a motion he put to the meeting which asked that, “an assessment of the works required to bring the L2000 up to a standard expected of a primary route for tourism on the Loop Head Peninsula, including to the Bridges of Ross, be carried out, including a timeline for undertaking them.” However in a written reply, Senior Executive Engineer Alan Kennelly said livestock are causing an issue which would need to be resolved first. “The L-2000-0 is the access route to the Bridges of Ross and Ross Bay and is an important tourist route. While the road surface overall is in reasonable condition there are sections of it that would benefit from resurfacing works. Shorter sections require both road reconstruction and resurfacing works. “There …

WHILE West Clare community radio station Raidió Corca Baiscinn has kept broadcasting throughout the pandemic, it is now under serious pressure for funding. Chairman of RCB Paul Williams said that the station generally fundraises to continue operating, but that has been very difficult since March of 2020. “We receive money from various outlets such as Pobal, we get money from the BAI for programmes and we have to top that up with fundraising throughout the year. “We’d have bands playing in pubs, we’d have draws so people would go out and sell tickets, even things like the bucket shake, you can’t have any music, there has to be social distance, so we’ve been hampered in our fundraising efforts.” Without the income that would be coming in, it is hard to keep things running. “The money that we need to pay for day to day things has been reduced, we’ve been put to the pin of our collar to pay the …

A MAN has appeared in court charged in connection with the seizure of suspected drugs in Doonbeg last weekend, writes Ronan Judge. David Rogers (33), with an address at Baltard, Doonbeg, appeared before Kilrush District Court on Tuesday, October 19, charged with two offences contrary to the misuse of drugs act. Detective Garda Paul Heaslip of the Clare garda division’s drugs unit gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution. Detective Heaslip told the court he arrested Rogers last Saturday at Baltard, Doonbeg, before conveying him to Kilrush Garda Station. The accused made no reply to either of the two charges after caution. Detective Heaslip confirmed to counsel for Rogers that he was happy for the accused to be remanded on bail. Sergeant Aiden Lonergan said the court would see from the charges that this is a very recent matter and directions as to how the case is to proceed are yet to be obtained from the director of public prosecutions …

LISSYCASEY native and virtuoso concertina player, Dr Jack Talty has been appointed to the staff of University College Cork (UCC). The multi award winning performer, composer, producer and educator has a diverse range of academic interest and will join the staff of The Department of Music, as a Lecturer in Irish Traditional Music. Dr Talty is the founder of the traditional music label, Raelach Records, and, as a performer has travelled extensively throughout Europe, the United States, Australia, and Asia. To-date, he has contributed to over 80 albums to date as a musician, producer, composer, arranger, and engineer, most notably with Ensemble Eriu. A Licentiate of the London College of Music, and a BA and BMus graduate of University College Cork, Dr Talty has been awarded the Mary V Hart Memorial Award; The Seán Ó Riada Memorial Award; a UCC Societies Guild Bene Merenti award, and a UCC Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann award.  He holds an MA in Music Technology from …