RECENT garda operations in Kilrush have created a sense of “paranoia” among a criminal element in the town. Garda Superintendent Seamus Nolan outlined this view at Wednesday morning’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) meeting in Kilrush, the day after 11 people were arrested in the town as part of an investigation into unlawful money lending. The investigation, which has been ongoing for several months, is focused on people suspected to be engaged in unlicensed money lending. The searches, which commenced at 7am on Tuesday morning, were carried out at a number of premises in Kilrush, including private and business premises and involved up to 100 gardaí, including the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), Regional Support Unit, special detective units from Galway, the National Criminal Intelligence Unit, as well as officials from Revenue, Social Welfare and Clare County Council. Five men, aged between 18 and 55 years and six females, aged between 20 and 49, were arrested and detained at various garda stations …

CLERICAL staff at Ennis Hospital were given computer memory sticks to complete their work at home, on an unpaid basis. The Clare Champion has learned that this work included letters to patients informing them of appointments and insurance claims but excluded patient medical records or information about individual medical conditions IMPACT issued a recent instruction to its low paid members to desist from the practice of removing any Health Service Executive (HSE) documentation, in hard or electronic format, from the hospital for completion outside of normal working hours. With some staff working over 10 additional hours a week on an unpaid basis, without any extra leave, the union has also warned that chronic staffing shortages are resulting in “clinical and corporate risks” to patients and staff. If another two full-time clerical officers leave and are not replaced, the union claimed the proper day-to-day administration of the hospital would collapse. The Mid-West HSE has stated any union issues of concern to …

PEOPLE in Shannon who were already concerned about public health, due to foul odours plaguing the town, had their fears heightened on Sunday as emergency services, including bomb disposal officers, transported materials from Enva in Smithstown to Bunratty for disposal. The incident took place shortly after 7am on Sunday morning, and a garda spokesman confirmed to The Clare Champion that roads had to be closed for a short period of time to allow the material to be moved. According to the spokesman, there were about five or six barrels of material of concern to be moved. He said two army trucks, two fire brigades, two garda cars and some ambulances travelled in convoy. The Clare Champion approached Enva for comment on the matter but calls had not been returned at the time of writing. When Shannon Town Council met on Tuesday night, there was intense anger about the incident with complaints that people living in the town feel unsafe and …

MANY of us associate The 4 of Us with the late ’80s and early ’90s but the Northern rockers have never gone away and are about to release a new album, which explores growing up in the Newry of the Troubles. They perform in Glór on December 7 and speaking to The Champion, vocalist and songwriter Brendan Murphy said they will be playing material from the new record along with some of their older songs. “We’ve an album coming out next spring and it’s also our 25th anniversary next year, so we’re gearing up for that. We decided to do a number of shows before Christmas; we’re in Vicar Street in March and we wanted to test out the new record. It’s nearly done and we’re doing maybe half the new album. It’s a longer show because we still play the songs people would expect us to play. Bruce Springsteen is never out of the country now, so you have …

As part of an ongoing investigation into unlawful money lending, gardai in Clare have arrested 11 people following searches in the Kilrush on Tuesday morning. The searches, which commenced at 7am, were carried out at a number of premises in the area, including private and business premises and involved local gardaí assisted by Criminal Assets Bureau, Regional Support Unit, Special Dectective Units from Galway, the National Criminal Intelligence Unit as well as offcials from Revenue, Social Welfare and Clare County Council. The arrests include five males aged between 18 and 55  years, and six females aged between 20 and 49 years. All those arrested are detained at stations in Clare, Limerick and Galway under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. The investigation, which has been ongoing for several months, centres around complaints received from various individuals and is focused on persons suspected to be engaged in unlicensed money lending.

By Seamus Hayes Dr. Crokes, Kerry 0-13  Cratloe 0-12 Hot favourites Dr.Crokes had to rely on an injury time point from Kerry player Johnny Buckley to overcome Cratloe in the Munster senior club football championship final at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick on Sunday. A magnificent second half performance from the Clare champions which saw them turn a seven point half time deficit into a one point lead with two minutes remaining wasn’t enough for the South East Clare side to make history. Two late points for the defending champions from Daithi Casey (free) and Buckley saw the Killarney side retain the title and crushed Clare dreams.     Cratloe, winners of their first Clare title just three weeks ago, started well and kicked the first two points of the game. However, for the last twentyh minutes of the opening half they played second fiddle to the winners who dominated the midfield exchanges on their way to kicking ten unanswered …

By Seamus Hayes Clare League 2 Desmond League 0 For the second year in succession, Clare have qualified for the play off stages of the Oscar Traynor cup, the inter league soccer competition. A 2-0 win over the Desmond league at the county grounds in Doora on Saturday evening, confirmed Clare’s position as the group winners and sealed their place in the last eight where they will have home advantage on a date to be announced. With a win and a draw over the two group favourites, Limerick and Galway under their belts, Clare had already sealed a place in the play offs prior to Saturday’s game. However, they needed to beat the Desmond league to secure top spot and a home quarter final. Goals from Stephen Hickey in the first half and team captain Dave McCarthy in the second period sealed the victory on a day when the home side held the upperhand throughout and would not have been …