Tag Archives: St Vincent de Paul

CHRISTMAS at Oatfield in East Clare will see a double celebration, as the community marks the completion of works to restore the village’s famous Barn Church, which dates to the 1600s. The careful restoration, upgrading and development of what is believed to be the oldest church in the Killaloe Diocese, has taken almost a decade, and is the result of huge dedication on the part of the local community. Since 2013, thanks to intensive fundraising, essential repairs have been carried out on the protected structure. These include works on the doors, bell tower, storage building and foot-paths. Other work has been done on erecting piers and gates at the car park entrance, as well as the full refurbishment of the kneeling boards in the church. In 2020, local man Donal Ryan created and installed a replica of the original, historical altar, which was removed in the 1960s. In the last couple of weeks, with the completion by Lenihans contractors, of …

ENNIS students are urging the public to help them become a ‘Secret Santa’ to those most in need in Clare. Transition Year students at Ennis Community College and Gaelcholáiste an Chláir joined forces with the St Vincent de Paul and next week they will be taking over the Vincent’s Charity Shop in Ennis. This is just one of a variety of actions the students are taking to support the St Vincent de Paul, with a clothing and food drive and a no-uniform day also planned. On Thursday, December 1 the Ennis teenagers will take on the entire running of the charity shop from 9am until 9pm, doing everything from manning the tills to managing the floor. And for those hoping to pick up some bargains ahead of the festive season, there are plans for a flash sale with up to 50% off items teacher Martina McNamara reveals. Ms McNamara explains that the theme of this year’s annual fundraising campaign by …

THE Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) in Clare has launched its third level Education and Training Bursary for 2022/23. The Bursary will support Clare students of all ages who may be struggling financially to access or stay in third-level education and training programmes Denis Carty, SVP Clare Area Council President said, “SVP recognises the importance of education at all levels. However, for many people accessibility and affordability are real barriers to obtaining a third level education and training. “In the last few years, Clare SVP has dealt will many students from different backgrounds whose grant payments are simply not enough to cover accommodation costs, let alone the addition costs of food, travel and books. This had been made worse by the current rental and cost of living crises.” Last year Clare SVP spent almost €60,000 on helping individuals and families realise their potential. Mr Carty gave a number of examples of how students, both first time and mature, …

AFTER more than 11 years of celebrating the fortnightly mass at the famous Barn Church in Oatfield, Canon Dan Spaight bade the local community a fond farewell last Saturday night. Retired for some years, after his ministry in Middlesborough in the UK, and now living in Ennis, Canon Spaight is a native of Cratloe and was ordained in 1959. “There were a total of 437 priests ordained across Ireland that year,” he recalled. “That was some number.” Canon Spaight enjoyed his ministry and his retirement to Ennis has proven to be an active one. He was approached more than a decade ago by sacristan Noreen Brandon and Parish Council member, the late Geraldine Crehan, to say mass in Oatfield. “It was round two weeks before Christmas in 2009 and I agreed,” he said. “The weather was very bad and I wondered if things continued, if I’d ever get there. I was told not to worry because there were people with …

ENNIS students have raised more than €4,000 for charity, while also highlighting barriers to education which have left some youngsters ‘Locked Out of Education’. Gaelcholáiste an Chláir Transition Year students recently presented the St Vincent de Paul with a cheque for €4,259.45, the proceeds of a fundraising and awareness raising campaign last December. The campaign highlighted that many young people face being ‘Locked Out of Education’ because of rising rents and other costs while also raising funds for the St Vincent de Paul and was organised as part of their Young Social Innovators project. As part of their fundraising, the students camped out for a night at the school, and operated the St Vincent de Paul shop in Ennis for a day. Gaelcholáiste an Chláir Transition Year Co-ordinator Martina McNamara has expressed appreciation to all of those who supported the students in their fundraising efforts and awareness campaign. She explained that the students were moved to act when they discovered …

WITH Christmas just around the corner, the local conference of St Vincent de Paul held its annual collection at the Town Centre last Friday. It’s an important fundraiser for the charity and spokesperson Bridget Kirby said there had been a great response, telling The Champion, “People were very, very generous.” Bridget has been involved with St Vincent de Paul for over 20 years, but says this Christmas is shaping up to be the most hectic so far. “We’ve been so busy this year, I’ve never seen anything like it before. People don’t have a lot. Some of them have young children, they have big ESB bills, there’s heating, we do a lot of helping with coal and with oil. It’s a tough time.” More strain has been put on the charity because it can’t accept donations of food these days. “The schools used to get children to bring in tins of peas and beans and boxes of cornflakes and things …

A GROUP of Ennis students will brave the elements this Friday in a bid to highlight the plight of those who have been ‘Locked Out of Education’. Gaelcholáiste an Chláir Transition Year students have launched a campaign to raise awareness of the barriers to education many young people face because of rising rents and other costs, while also raising funds for the St Vincent de Paul. As part of this, on Thursday, December 9 from 9am to 6pm they will be taking over the running of the St Vincent de Paul shop in Ennis while on Friday night the students will be sleeping out at the school. The campaign is part of the students’ Young Social Innovators project and money raised will go towards the St Vincent de Paul’s work in supporting struggling students. Gaelcholáiste an Chláir Transition Year Co-ordinator Martina McNamara explains that the students were moved to act when they discovered that over 230,000 students attend third level …

THE President of St Vincent De Paul in Clare has said the dysfunctional rental market is causing huge issues for many families. This week it emerged that the average rent sought for residential accommodation in the county exceeds €1,000 per month and St Vincent De Paul is seeing the impact the red hot market is having on people around the county. Denis Carty told The Clare Champion, “Obviously a lot of the people that come to us for support would be living in private rented accommodation and the cost would be a big issue for them. “It has had a really bad impact on a lot of people, they have had to move out of Ennis or other towns to get accommodation and the accommodation isn’t of a great standard. It adds to their transport costs and to their heating costs. “For people who are driving, the cars are much more expensive to run and to repair. It’s kind of …