THE true extent of unfinished estates in the county capital has been revealed with 27 developments remaining incomplete in Ennis and almost half of these not progressing, according to information released by Ennis Town Council.

THE arrival of heavy rain on Wednesday dampened local farmers’ hopes for an ease in the ongoing fodder crisis.

EDITORIALTHE death of a homeless man in a County Clare alleyway at the weekend raises questions, not just about how we address homelessness but how we, the public, try to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

TWO main items continued to dominate the past week in politics in Ireland: abortion and austerity. We are, of course, sharply divided on the issue of abortion, with the Catholic Church on one side and the Government on the other.

It was heartening to see Taoiseach Enda Kenny respond so robustly to the implied threats and pressure of the Catholic hierarchy last week around the forthcoming abortion legislation. There is no doubt that there is a certain amount of political bravery involved in bringing the legislation forward.

  HAVING called time on his own boxing career, Marty Hannan established the Shannon Boxing Club late last year and the next Katie Taylor or Bernard Dunne may be training in Smithstown under his direction. Having been involved in amateur boxing for many years in clubs in Ennis and Limerick, Marty finally turned professional but couldn’t make a living because the crowds buying tickets for fights were way down. “Within six months, four shows were called off. When you’re a professional boxer, you’re self-employed, your work is your training and you’re relying on the fight night to get paid and if it’s called off, you get nothing. That happened so many times and to be honest, I fell behind in bills,” he says of his abortive pro career. He is now self-employed, running a company that works with fitness instructors and personal trainers. And since last year, he has been working on bringing boxing to Shannon. “Marie Rowland would always …

AN RTÉ broadcasting mast that had been towering over East Clare for half a century on top of Maghera Mountain is no more, as the final parts of the mast were taken off site this week.

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