THE All-Ireland Music Competition, the finals of which were set to take place in the West County Hotel, Ennis this weekend, has been cancelled.The show’s producer has blamed poor ticket sales saying he is “disappointed” with the cancellation of the talent search, which had been supported by both Shannon Development and the Shannon Region Conference & Sports Bureau.Shadowhawk Entertainment, the company behind the competition, has since ceased operations after financial support was pulled. The finals of the competition, which sought to find the next big Irish singing talent, was due to be held in the Ennis hotel over two nights this weekend. Sixteen acts, including Ennis’ Thomas Dormer, had made it to the finals with Gemma Hayes and Paul Harrington set to perform.Anthony Joseph, who was producing the show for BTM Management and Shadowhawk Entertainment confirmed, “We had very bad ticket sales. This is not the first time that something like this has happened with a music competition. The Voice …

RECENTLY released State papers show that in 1982, a certain Fidel Castro left a present at Shannon for the then taoiseach Charles Haughey.According to reports this week, a letter of thanks from Haughey to Castro dated December 9, 1982, stated, “I am most grateful for the magnificent gift which you were so kind as to have passed on to me on the occasion of your recent stopover at Shannon Airport. The hand craft casket is most impressive and the cigars will be greatly enjoyed by my family and friends at Christmas.”  

CLARE Chief Superintendent John Kerin will outline details of the proposed policing plan for the East Clare area to deal with the closure of Broadford Garda Station at a public meeting next Monday night.It is expected that Superintendent Kerin will be accompanied by Inspector John O’Sullivan and other members of Clare gardaí at the meeting in Broadford Community Hall at 8pm.This meeting, which has been organised by the local community alert group, will be preceded by an update on the plan of action to secure the re-opening of Broadford Post Office at 7.30pm.Justice Minister Alan Shatter is planning to proceed with the closure of Broadford Garda Station as one of eight earmarked for closure this year, despite the expenditure of about €40,000 upgrading the building about two years ago.Councillor Joe Cooney said €40,000 was spent on new equipment and floor covering as part of an internal refurbishment, as well as tarmac outside the building. He said it is important that …

VISITOR numbers at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Attraction increased by 8% during 2012, according to figures released on Wednesday.Visitor numbers hit 873,988 last year, representing an increase of almost 65,000 visitors on the overall figure for 2011. Most notably, there was a 17.7% increase in group visitors travelling to the site by coach.Overall, 52% of all visitors during 2012 were fully independent travellers (FITs), who travelled to the site by car, 44% arrived by coach, while the remainder (4%) were walkers or cyclists.North Clare hotelier and president of the Irish Hotel Federation, Michael Vaughan, welcomed the increase in group visitors to the attraction but said that unfortunately this is not having a ripple effect for other tourism businesses in the area.“There is not enough spin-off custom for other business in Clare from the coach visitors to the Cliffs. We have not done enough to make people stay within the county,” he said.“Part of that increase at the Cliffs of …

VISITOR numbers at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Attraction increased by 8% during 2012, according to figures released on Wednesday.Visitor numbers hit 873,988 last year, representing an increase of almost 65,000 visitors on the overall figure for 2011. Most notably, there was a 17.7% increase in group visitors travelling to the site by coach.Overall, 52% of all visitors during 2012 were fully independent travellers (FITs), who travelled to the site by car, 44% arrived by coach, while the remainder (4%) were walkers or cyclists.North Clare hotelier and president of the Irish Hotel Federation, Michael Vaughan, welcomed the increase in group visitors to the attraction but said that unfortunately this is not having a ripple effect for other tourism businesses in the area.“There is not enough spin-off custom for other business in Clare from the coach visitors to the Cliffs. We have not done enough to make people stay within the county,” he said.“Part of that increase at the Cliffs of …

MILTOWN Malbay will stage Clare’s first competitive game of 2013 when LIT visit for a preliminary-round McGrath Cup game, which will throw in at 2pm. If Clare win, they will play Limerick away on Sunday week (January 13) in the quarter-final.

CLARE nurses are being urged to participate in a national rally to oppose plans by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to introduce “cheap labour” under a “superficial guise of an educational graduate programme”.Two nursing unions are calling for a boycott of this “flawed initiative”, which plans to hire 1,000 graduate nurses at 80% of previous starting salaries.Under the initiative, the graduates would have two-year contracts, instead of being permanent, and would start on €22,000 a year, instead of the current €26,400.A national rally to galvanise opposition to the initiative takes place this Saturday in Croke Park at 11am.Speaking ahead of Saturday’s rally, Des Kavanagh, general secretary of the PNA, said, “The HSE are presenting this flawed initiative as some sort of opportunity for new graduates. All it is, in reality, is an overt attempt to recruit cheap labour in breach of agreed salaries.”Liam Doran, general secretary of the INMO, claimed there are no new jobs attached to this initiative and …

Clare will begin their 2013 hurling league season without the services of two regulars from last season.