Tag Archives: County Clare

Gardaí have arrested one person following the seizure of a quantity of drugs, cash and designer goods in Ennis. Gardaí in Ennis arrested a motorist last Saturday afternoon after he failed to stop when instructed. During a follow-up operation which included searches under warrant of a residential property in Ennis, suspected cocaine and cannabis to the value of approximately €15,500 were seized. A sum of cash and a quantity of designer goods were also confiscated. The drugs have been sent for forensic analysis and investigations into the matter are ongoing. The arrested individual who is a male in his 20s, was subsequently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda Station in County Clare. He has since been released without charge, and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

CHECK your wallets or down the back of the sofa and you might just come across some gold. Over €65,000 worth of Ennis Gold vouchers sold last year have yet to be used at retailers in the county capital, Ennis Chamber have confirmed. The Chamber are encouraging people to redeem these vouchers in the coming weeks, giving the public an opportunity to buy something new while also supporting local businesses, many of which have been affected by Covid-19. Ennis Chamber CEO Margaret O’Brien says that with over 70 local businesses aligned to that scheme, the choice of where to spend those vouchers is huge. She said, “Of the vouchers sold last year over €65,000 Euro worth have yet to be redeemed. Spending those vouchers now will pump cash into the businesses where they are spent. We urge people to spend their vouchers over the coming weeks, local businesses will be immensely grateful to receive them.” A business boost is even …

THE tragic loss of a number of people in the Cloughleigh area of Ennis this year has been the inspiration for the holding of a special concert of remembrance next month. Acclaimed singer / songwriter Kieran Goss will be the headline act for the concert in Cloughleigh Community Centre on December 6 which will also feature his wife Annie Kinsella, Damien Gormley, Siobhan Peoples and band The Citizens. The event, billed as a Concert of Remembrance and Hope has been organised by Fr Ger Fitzgerald along with a group of locals who knew many of those who have passed away. Proceeds from the event will be used to create a memorial to be erected outside Cloughleigh church. Fr Ger explained, “We have experienced in the last year or so a lot of people, young people in particular, that have passed away for one reason or another. We wanted to come up with something to honour their memory, to honour the …

IMAGES of Lahinch were beamed into the homes of some one million people in Sweden recently, in an episode of a popular TV show called Go’kväll. The show aired on Sveriges Television, the national public broadcaster in Sweden, and focused on seaweed-foraging and locally-produced beer. It also featured the spectacular County Clare landscape. Filming took place last summer and was supported by Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland. Viewers of Go’kväll saw reporter Joachim Vogel interview local seaweed forager Oonagh O’Dwyer, from Wild Kitchen, as well as Birgitta and Peter Curtin from The Burren Brewery. A separate episode featuring County Clare also aired at the end January, featuring Lisdoonvarna matchmaker Willie Daly and The Burren. “Tourism Ireland was delighted that Go’kväll chose to film in Clare. With an audience of more than one million viewers per episode, it was a fantastic opportunity to showcase County Clare and the Wild Atlantic Way,” said Julie McLaughlin, Tourism Ireland’s manager for the Nordic Region. …

A TOURISM Ireland campaign is under way in The Daily Telegraph showcasing the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland to British holidaymakers. The campaign includes a series of articles about Ireland in the Saturday travel section of The Daily Telegraph, which has readership of 1.4 million people across Britain. An article Be a wild rover along Ireland’s dramatic coast, highlights the Wild Atlantic Way and “the towering Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, where you can stare west across to the Aran Islands”. The campaign also includes a specially-created ‘Indulge in Ireland’ hub on The Telegraph website. Julie Wakley, Tourism Ireland’s deputy head of Great Britain, said, “Our partnership with The Daily Telegraph is another excellent opportunity to highlight Clare and the Wild Atlantic Way. Tourism Ireland is actively promoting longer-stay holidays and encouraging British travellers to come and discover Ireland by car. Visitors who use a car on holidays tend to stay longer, spend more and are more likely to visit more than one region.”

Ennis is to participate in a pilot project focusing on the future management and revitalisation of historic town centres throughout Ireland. The County Clare capital is taking part in the National Town Centre Health Check (TCHC) programme, which is operated by The Heritage Council, RGDATA and the Retail Consortium, in collaboration with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Irish Planning Institute. The project will be administered locally by Clare County Council and Ennis Chamber as part of ongoing collaborative efforts to promote the development of the town, including the development of a vibrant and competitive retail sector. The programme has been designed locally by Clare County Council’s Planning Department, Ennis Chamber and local community groups. Acting on behalf of Clare County Council and Ennis Chamber, volunteers from the Clare Volunteer Centre will conduct shopper surveys throughout Ennis this Friday and Saturday, while local retailers and shops throughout the town centre will also be surveyed. In addition vacancy levels, car-parking …

Members of the public have just days remaining to have their input into two key strategies aimed at guiding the proper planning and sustainable development of Ennis and County Clare. The public has until this Friday to have their voice heard in relation to the Draft Ennis and Environs Local Area Plan 2015-2021, while a closing date of Monday next is in place for the new Clare County Development Plan 2017-2023. Clare County Council has already held a number of public consultation events in relation to the two separate plans. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, John Crowe is advising people to familiarise themselves with the new plan and to consider making a submission during the final week of consultation. Mayor of Ennis, Johnny Flynn said, “The new Ennis Plan will guide the development of the county Capital and its environs in terms of economic development, recreational and community requirements, as well as residential, retail, transport and infrastructural needs.

#Digital Clare, a newly-founded digital marketing network for County Clare, reached 3.5 million people after it was launched at an event in the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis this week. The initiative, which has been run under the CLDC programme, Ditigal Animation, funded by LEADER, has been facilitated by Digital Training Institute founder and Apprentice finalist, Joanne Sweeney Burke. Speaking to The Clare Champion, Joanne explained how the network came about. During the first phase of the programme, Joanne conducted digital marketing and social media courses, delivered from June to October, where she trained 125 people in Clare and delivered 90 one-to-one mentoring hours. “We had such a huge response that we felt we were onto something and that there was an appetite there. We then developed phase two, to create something more formal, like a network, so the idea of DigitalClare was born. Everything that CLDC do under Leader is all about scalability. While I’m contracted as a facilitator …