A receiver has been appointed to one of Clare’s largest construction firms, which ceased trading last month, with the loss of 20 jobs.

COMMUNITY groups across the county are being urged to get planting in early March and play their part in promoting National Tree Week 2013.The March 3 to 10 week-long festival, co-ordinated nationally by the Tree Council of Ireland, is aimed at encouraging members of the public to plant more trees. This year’s theme is A Feast of Trees with a particular emphasis on planting trees that provide a food source for humans, birds, bees and other wildlife.  Two events will be held in Clare – the official launch of National Tree Week in Westbury at 12 noon on March 3 and a tree-planting event at Lees Road Sports and Amenity Park on March 6, where pre-school children will participate in fun activities in the woodlands surrounding the amenity area. Saplings and standard native trees are also being made available to local community groups.“While the Tree Council promotes awareness of trees all year round, National Tree Week gives us the opportunity …

Funding is unlikely to be made available for the widening or realignment of a North Clare road, which one local representative believes will be the scene of a serious accident, it emerged recently.

BISHOP David Moriarty of Kerry was one of the leading lights of the Catholic Hierarchy in the 1800s. He had been educated locally and then in France before he went to Maynooth. Within a few short years of ordination, he was chosen as vice president of the Irish College in Paris and afterwards, as president of All Hallows College in Dublin. From there, in 1854, he was appointed coadjutor bishop of Kerry and in 1856, succeeded to the see on the death of Bishop Charles Sugrue. He proved an enlightened and reforming bishop. He travelled all over his diocese preaching, administering sacraments and emphasising the importance of teaching children catechism. He advocated regular parish missions and arranged regular retreats for the diocesan clergy at which he himself preached. Linked in with this he invited the Franciscans and Dominicans to return to Kerry. He firmly believed in education and was a staunch supporter of the, recently introduced, national school system. To …

  WORK on the adventure playground in Labasheeda is due to start in the next fortnight. Quite appropriately a number of local children on half-term break turned the first sod this week. Niall O’Connell Construction will carry out the groundworks with Matthew Flanagan Electrical carrying out the electrical work. The main contractor is Crawford Playgrounds from Wexford who will be on site from the first week in March. The overall development will cost in the region of €140,000 and Leader funding has been secured for 75% of the overall cost. That means that the playground committee has to raise €35,000. “Due to the great local support, we have already raised €25,000. Over the coming months, we hope that a number of fundraisers will help us to raise the remaining €10,000,” Labasheeda Adventure Playground chairman, David Neylon, explained. “One way of supporting the fundraising efforts is to buy a brick for the playground. Each brick will have an inscription on it,” …

A GALWAY man is to climb the world’s highest mountain later this year in aid of Pieta House West. Peter O’Connell, from Killererin in Tuam, now plans to embark on an expedition to climb Mount Everest in April 2013. This entire expedition is self-funded and all funds raised will go directly to Pieta House West.

PREPARATIONS for the annual Killaloe Ballina St Patrick’s Day parade are well underway and having paraded out 27 floats in last year’s celebration, the community of South-East Clare are hoping to match, if not better, this performance for 2013.

WORK is continuing on preparations for the 2013 St Patrick’s Day parade, with a launch due to take place next Wednesday at Hasting’s Cottage, close to Illaunmanagh Cemetery.