Tag Archives: opening hours

THE buzz was back on Saturday night with the return to normal pub and restaurant opening hours and the removal of a most pandemic restrictions for the first time in nearly two years.  “We went from a stroll straight into a marathon,” said Clare VFI Chairperson and Ennis publican Charlie O’Meara, “but it was great to be doing it. We found people were in earlier and there was a lull for an hour or two after 8pm. We didn’t expect that. People were in great form and glad to be out. I think the pattern will settle in a while.” Miltown publican David O’Brien, of Michael A’s, described the scenes as reminiscent of a St Stephen’s Night. “Nobody was talking about Covid for the first time in a long time,” he said. “It felt like things were nearly normal again. We know it’s not over, but there was a release for people.” There’s hope too that the staycation boost will …

CLARE GAA players are spending up to 10 hours at University Hospital Limerick’s (UHL) emergency department with injuries, which could easily be treated in Ennis, if opening hours are extended. That’s according to a member of the HSE West Forum, who expressed frustration at the length of time that players are spending in the overcrowded emergency department in Limerick. During a discussion at a forum meeting in Galway, Councillor Ann Norton claimed it had been put to her that arriving in UHL by ambulance would avoid chronic waiting times on trolleys for admission to the hospital. The previous government was subject to sustained criticism over its decision to remove 24-hour emergency services from Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals in April 2009. A minor injury clinic now operates in the two hospitals from 8am to 8pm. Round-the-clock emergency services in Ennis and Nenagh have not been restored by the Fine Gael/Labour coalition, despite public representatives voicing their opposition before services were removed. …