Tag Archives: Ennistymon

BANK of Ireland has announced plans to invest €11.5 million across its nationwide branch network this year, with the Ennistymon branch listed as part of the upgrade plans.   The planned network investments include refurbishments and enhancements to the branch network, upgrading of branch services including ATMs in a number of locations, and ongoing maintenance works.   Additional works as part of the €11.5m investment will also include the installation of new external and internal ATMs in a range of branches, and the improvement of facilities for staff in over a dozen bank branches.  As part of this investment, Bank of Ireland also plans to install energy efficient LED lighting in each of its 169 branches this year, including all five of its Clare branches. This will achieve over 50% in energy savings from a reduction in lighting energy consumption, as the organisation looks to become more energy efficient and reduce its total energy consumption.   Commenting on the planned investment in its Clare branch network, Susan Russell, Director, Retail Ireland said, “Our branch network of 169 locations across Ireland, including the five branches we operate in Clare, is a very important part of how we serve our customers – whether that be for routine cash, cheque and coin transactions or more detailed conversations about loans, mortgages and pensions.  “That’s why we continually invest in this network, and …

U-21A Football Championship Semi-Final Ennistymon 2-4 St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 1-6 Delayed shock is a medical term to describe if the victim does not process what they have experienced straight away. In Cooraclare this was witnessed under floodlights when Eanna Rouine’s 63rd minute goal did not register immediately with either side and even when it did the Ennistymon management were somehow still wondering how it came about. The end result was a county final place snatched from a stunned St Joseph’s side who had welcomed the Ennistymon side onto them in the final minutes and ultimately costing them a tussle with favourites Corofin next week. Sleet, cold wind and rain coming from the Atlantic on the Tuesday before Christmas may not sound an appetising vision for a county Under 21A semi final and still for such a low scoring event this game did have its moments especially in an action packed final ten minutes. In such a low scoring outing the …

DRAMA is being used to promote integration between the communities of North Clare and those taking refuge from the war on Ukraine.  An innovative project called ‘New Hope’ has been spearheaded by Mariupol woman Nadia Shvachova, in partnership with Bellharbour native Maria Kerin Walsh. The programme has two stages, the first of which is to gather people to participate in the techniques of Playback Theatre to tell stories about their lives through improvisation. The second stage will see Irish and Ukrainian participants perform with a general audience and develop a “pop-up players”  theatre company Maria, an independent artist, curator and choreographer, has extensive experience of working overseas. She said the New Hope scheme is a way of keeping community bonds strong as the response to the war on Ukraine becomes a longer-term effort. “Originally, we were in crisis mode in North Clare and we’re now looking to move beyond that,” she said. Having lived for a time in Estonia, Maria …

Ahead of the launch of his new book and double CD on December 10, Enda Byrt reflects on the history of the céilí and dance bands of Ennistymon from 1954 to 1970.   COUNTY Clare is closely associated with traditional music, with an audience made up of traditional purists to passing tourists, and all in between!  Sound Your A: The story of  the Céilí and Dance bands of Ennistymon: families, music and musicians tells as much of the story of the music of Ennistymon and district, not all traditional, as can be gleaned from the recordings and the accounts of the times, as well as the music that could be gathered. Sound Your A tells the stories of the individual musicians, and their families. Much has been and continues to be written about the music and musicians of Clare. The areas receiving most attention in the West of the county are often Doolin, Kilfenora, and Miltown Malbay. All have a …

NORTH Clare’s response to those fleeing the war on Ukraine has been described as “a long haul exercise”, that now needs a clear plan as well as ring-fenced funding support. Figures released this week by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the Ennistymon Local Electoral Area (LEA) continues to be the area hosting the largest number of Ukrainian arrivals in the country, per capita. While the reception provided in the area since February was commended by the West Clare Cathaoirleach, Shane Talty, he said the ongoing challenges need to be properly and urgently addressed. Up to November 6, there were 3,567 arrivals from Ukraine in Clare with 45% or 1,592 living in the Ennistymon LEA. Arrivals from Ukraine now account for 8.8% of the population in the area. The figure, according to CSO data, shows that North Clare is supporting far more newcomers than areas of a similar size around the country. CSO analyst Karola Graupner said: “Our analysis …

Éire Óg have won back to back senior football championship titles. Here is a selecton of images from the match shot by John Kelly

Eoin Brennan watched Éire Óg grind out victory over Ennistymon on a score of 0-9 to 0-6 to retain Jack Daly title ÉIRE Óg are unquestionably the Clare Senior Football kingpins after grinding out a determined victory over Ennistymon to retain their crown in Cusack Park on Sunday afternoon. Bouncing back from a heartbreaking late reverse to Ballyea in the hurling equivalent seven days previously, eight dual finalists maintained their unflinching focus to get over the line this time around as the Ennis side led from start to finish. It took patience and discipline to unlock an Ennistymon defensive door that had confounded four previous opponents as their swift counter-attacking style and unerring freetaking that included three marks, steered their side to victory. Central to that masterclass was captain Gavin Cooney who converted six placed balls to keep the scoreboard ticking over in what was far from a classic final. Two of those bookended a forgettable first half that saw …

HAVING emerged from completely contrasting starting blocks, Éire Óg and Ennistymon have also hand differing preparations in the lead-up to this first time final pairing. Of course, having underwhelmed in their relentless pursuit of the Jack Daly, the only surprise about Éire Óg’s 15 year breakthrough last November was that it hadn’t come sooner such was their potent line-up on paper. However, what hasn’t been a surprise is that the Townies are determined to make up for lost time by easing through this year’s championship to maintain their perfect nine match winning championship record. Even more impressively, they have almost seamlessly smoothed over the absence of Conall Ó hAiniféin, David Reidy, Nathan Murray, Eimhin Courtney and Dara Walsh, a remarklable feat in itself considering their contributions to that title-winning journey in 2021. Ennistymon meanwhile looked to have missed the boat in 2018 as for all their underage dominance over the past decade, the North Clare Magpies increasingly looked as if …