Tag Archives: Kilrush

The planned reduction in GP out-of-hours services in Clare has been condemned as “deeply flawed” by Deputy Timmy Dooley. Shannondoc’s Kilrush and Ennistymon service will close from Monday to Friday, relocating to Miltown Malbay, while the out-of-hours clinic will only open at weekends in Kilrush and Ennistymon. The Killaloe clinic will open during weekends only, on an as-needs basis, with a mobile doctor serving the centre. At weekends, the operating hours will change from 9am to 9pm to 2pm to 6pm, with patients to be seen in Limerick, Ennis and Nenagh centres outside of those hours. The changes to the Killaloe service will start next Monday while the timeframe for changes in West Clare is expected in the near future. The problems caused by the reduction in the number of centres from five to three were outlined by Deputy Dooley, during a special debate in Dáil Éireann. The Fianna Fáil Deputy said it is clear that the evidence upon which …

THE Mid-West’s out-of-hours GP service, Shannondoc, has confirmed that due to a continued shortage of doctors, it is no longer able to maintain existing out-of-hours service levels across all its centres. Shannondoc, a not-for-profit service delivered by GPs in the region, will introduce changes to its Killaloe, Kilrush and Ennistymon centres over the coming weeks. The Killaloe clinic will open during weekdays only on an as-needs basis, with a mobile doctor servicing the centre, while at weekends the operating hours will change from 9am to 9pm to 2pm to 6pm, with patients seen at Limerick, Ennis and Nenagh centres outside those hours. Shannondoc’s Kilrush and Ennistymon service will relocate to Miltown Malbay during weekdays, with the same operating hours applying. Both centres will be operational on Saturdays and Sundays up to 7pm, instead of 9pm as it is currently. Kilrush county councillor Ian Lynch has called for an immediate public meeting on the issue, noting that the 35-mile journey from …

THIRTY-two-year-old Robert Cook from Kilrush faces an every-day battle with cystic fibrosis. He lives in the West Clare town with his wife Sandra and their two children and, on the surface, everything appears normal. “We are an ordinary family that do the day-to-day things all families do. But the difference between my family and most is that I was born with an inherited life-threatening genetic disease. Cystic fibrosis affects the lungs, pancreas and most other organs in the body. The lungs are affected the most. Cystic fibrosis is a thick green mucus, which is produced in the lungs, making it harder to breath and also is a breeding ground for lung infections and inflammation,” Robert explained. Every morning, Robert has to use a nebuliser before trying to get on with his day. “My daily routine before I have breakfast or even a cup of tea involves having a number of nebulisers to work through, to help my lungs and the …

WELL-KNOWN West Clare horse breeder, Tommy Fitzpatrick will be glued to his television screen as the Olympics unfold in Rio this weekend. Tommy, from Henry Street in Kilrush, will be keeping his fingers crossed for a fairytale ending, as a horse that passed through his hands, The Duke of Cavan, will be going for glory in eventing for Japan. Tommy sold the bay gelding, by Courage out of the dam Dysert Girl, as a yearling to Vincie Meaney of Cranny. Meaney, in turn, broke in the horse and sold him on as a four year-old at the Cavan Horse Sales to Natalie Stevens from Lelant, near St Ives, in England. Now a 10-year-old, amongst his achievements was winning the Two Star Tattersall event in Ireland; he then jumped a double clear in the Three Star event at Blenheim. His success eventually led to him being sold in 2015 to the Japanese equestrian squad, which is based in Germany. Owner, Yoshiaki …

Irish Water are investigating reports that a water pipe on the Cooraclare Road in Kilrush has broken, leading to  discolouration of the water supply. The matter was highlighted by Councillor Ian Lynch who said, “Each time it breaks, the water suffers discolouration and lately the water seems to have some additive that has turned the water white. Residents have not been informed of what has been added to the water. He said there were also concerns over asbestos piping. “There is a large section of the pipe work on Cooraclare Road that is still asbestos. The substructure of the road is bog and each time the pipe breaks, this wets the peat and softens it, eventually washing away support for the next section of pipe and undermining it, which results in continuing breaking. “Not alone do people have to endure disruption but their water is discoloured and there is no sign of a permanent solution. The road was overlaid in recent …

A KILRUSH family travelled to Castlerea Prison in Roscommon on this week to protest against the possibility that the man convicted of murdering Ann Walsh 11 years ago, could be in line for parole. The Walsh family, from Pella Road in the town, are planning to travel to the prison again on Thursday, June 30 for a second protest over the possible release of Raymond Donovan from Cooraclare, who was convicted at the Central Criminal Court in Ennis of the murder of his former girlfriend. Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed a mandatory life sentence on Donovan, then 24, after the jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict in the 2006 case. He was found guilty of strangling 23-year-old Ann Walsh in the grounds of St Senan’s Church, Kilrush on August 24, 2005. The Walsh family learned on March 3 that Raymond Donovan was planning to apply for parole for a second time. He was turned down three years ago. They have since …

KILRUSH Men’s Shed recently completed the construction of a traditional West Clare two-man working currach. The canoe, as they are known locally, was built by 10 men for two hours one evening a week, over the winter months. Dimensions for the canoe were provided by local man Alan Madigan, whose grandfather was a traditional currach builder. The build was undertaken at the Limerick and Clare ETB Adult Education Centre, under the supervision of woodwork teacher Diarmuid Whelan. The canoe has a wide beam, high bow and large capacity for cargo and would be typical of the design of the Scattery Island two-man canoe. The canoe competed in Cork’s Ocean to City race over a 22km course last weekend. It was rowed by class participant Patrick Clancy and Diarmuid Whelan

A GARDA operation developed in County Clare to combat unlawful money lending, is now being used as a model across the country. Operation Payday targeted unlicensed money lending in Kilrush and was the initiative of the then superintendent in the town, Seamus Nolan, who is now based at the Garda College in Templemore. It resulted in the arrest of five individuals, who are due to face trial before the Circuit Criminal Court in Ennis. If successfully prosecuted, a senior garda believes the case will be “groundbreaking”. He explained the legislation used in this operation, the Consumer Credit Act 1995, is seldom used and is one which has resulted in few successful prosecutions. Operation Payday was rolled out in 2013 and involved months of observation and surveillance by gardaí in Kilrush in an effort to uncover the identity of persons involved in unlawful money lending. In December 2013, gardaí conducted searches and arrests were made, resulting in five people being charged. …