WHILE Clare were the better team last Sunday, Darach Honan said the squad are capable of more. “We definitely have the potential to be better again. We’ve played better in the past and I think there are definitely things to work on and we will work on them over the next few weeks.” The towering full-forward said Domhnall Donovan’s point was the highlight of the afternoon. “Cronin got a great goal but that point from Domhnall Donovan is the one thing that sticks out in everyone’s mind. It was a great score when I was sure the game was gone. It was a great score so fair f**ks to him.” He acknowledged that he hadn’t that much faith when his clubmate got on the ball. “I wasn’t 100% confident. [Laughing] But I was just delighted to see it going over.” Honan felt it would take him a few days to get his head around the draw. “It’ll be a weird …

FOR much of Sunday’s game it looked like Clare were shaping up as winners. With Clare dominant around the field and leading by five points in the second half, it looked like the Banner were well on the way to a fourth All Ireland, but Daniel Kearney never felt it was gone from Cork. “There was always belief there. Four or five points is nothing in an All-Ireland final,” he noted. To say the very least, there was a lot of speculation in the build up to the final about tactics and virtually everyone expected the Banner to at least try to use Pat Donnellan in a free defensive role once more. That didn’t happen and Kearney felt that Cork might have focussed too much on tactics, forgetting about the very basics and the attitude they needed to bring to an All-Ireland final. “Clare set up in a traditional format, maybe we weren’t expecting that and maybe it threw us …

A NORTHERN theatre company, GBL Productions, will bring their production Fly Me To The Moon to Glór, Ennis on September 21. The story is about Francis and Loretta, two community care visitors. Davy, one of their elderly charges, has had a big win on the horses, although he isn’t even aware of it. When the two cash-stripped women learn that Davy won’t be around for very much longer, they are faced with a major dilemma. Marie Jones is the author of a number of major plays, including Stones In His Pockets and Women On The Verge Of HRT. She wrote Fly Me To The Moon specifically for its stars, Tara Lynne O’Neill and Katie Tumelty. Tara Lynne O’Neill told The Clare Champion that the two main characters might not be the best care workers in the world but their story is interesting and they face issues that most people can relate to. “These two characters, I don’t know how happy …

THE National Roads Authority (NRA) has been accused of discriminating against the Banner, taking down signs supporting Clare along the M18, with a zeal that isn’t shown in other counties. While the towns and villages of Clare are covered in saffron and blue, signs supporting the Banner have been taken away from the M18 and Councillor Patricia McCarthy objected to it at this week’s meeting of Shannon Electoral Area. “It was disheartening over the last couple of weeks to see signs disappearing,” she said. The independent councillor said the signs in question hadn’t even been causing issues. “There are certain events and times when a bit of leniency is expected,” she added. Fine Gael Councillor John Crowe said signs advertising local events are being “whipped away overnight”. Councillor PJ Ryan said he is of the same mind as Councillor McCarthy and that “a bit of leniency would do no harm”. Workers are now spending up to three hours a day …

CLARE schools and youth organisations are being encouraged to participate in the Young Social Innovator’s Social Innovators Action Programme 2013/14. The project-based programme, which is supported by the Vodafone Ireland Foundation, gives 15 to 18 year olds opportunity to examine social problems in their communities and bring about the changes they wish to see. The closing date for entries is September 30. Over 5,500 young people participated in last year’s Young Social Innovators’ programme. Projects from Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon and Colaiste Muire, Ennis were among the 60 shortlisted for the annual YSI Showcase and Awards last May. Colaiste Muire, Ennis won the national award for Relationships & Sexual Health for their project entitled ‘Sexication’. Rachel Collier, Co-founder and Chief Executive of Young Social Innovators said “Young Social Innovators has given over 50,000 teenagers a chance to make a change to society. We have another 200,000 potential young social innovators aged from 15 to 18 in Ireland. To reach all young …

Ennis came agonizingly close to repeating their feat of 2005, that of being crowned national tidy towns champions. They came up two marks shy of Moynalty in Meath, this year’s winner’s on 316 marks, but there was some consolation for the Ennis contingent at The Helix in Dublin on Monday when the county town retained its title as Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre. It’s the fifth time that Ennis has taken the honour and for their troubles they were presented with a trophy and a cheque for €5,000. Ennis also picked up a further award, a gold medal, its 13th in as many years, when adjudged winner in the category for centres with a population in excess of  25,000 people. Ennis, which finished joint third place overall, was marked against strict adjudication criteria and beat off stiff competition from other large urban centres such as Kilkenny City. The Clare county capital has previously won the award in 2006, 2008, 2009 …

Haven’s fundraising co-ordinator Maireád Mannion said that on account of repeated funding cuts they have been forced to pursue other revenue generating avenues in order to sustain their level of services in Clare. “We guarantee that 100% of our profits will go directly back into maintaining our critical services to the women and children of Clare in need of our support. “In light of consistent statutory funding cuts over the past five years, we have been forced to lok at new ways of generating income so that the quality of the services we provide remains uncompromised”, she told The Clare Champion. Ms Mannion stressed that there has been a big swing towards public support of locally based charities particularly in recent times. “There has always been fantastic goodwill towards Clare Haven by local people who volunteer their time and donate their money to support the women and children experiencing violence and abuse within their community. We are hugely indebted to …

The service medals of a Clare-born casualty of World War One, including a Purple Heart, have been donated to Clare Museum. Private Dennis Liddane from Rehy in Kilkee, who emigrated to the United States when he was 18 years of age, died in the Meuse-Argonne sector of the Western Front on October 10, 1918.  He served in the same Division and fought alongside Sgt. Alvin York, the most decorated American soldier of World War One. Born in 1893, he was the youngest of ten children and emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York on August 30, 1913, joining his siblings who had emigrated before him. He lived in New Jersey, became an American citizen and obtained a position as a guard at NY Edison – an electricity company.  He worked there until he was drafted into the US Army in 1917 following America’s entry into World War One. He was sent to France with the 327th Infantry Regiment …