Slow Food International has reiterated its position on fish farms, stating that the organisation “does not consider open net pen fish farms an environmentally sound practice”. The group made the statement ahead of any decision by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on whether or not to grant a license to Bord Iascaigh Mhara for a giant salmon farm off the North Clare Coast. The movement said it wished to “reiterate its opposition to intensive open pen fish farms, correcting any misconception resulting from the mention of Slow Food in the Environmental Impact Statement published by BIM”. Piero Sardo, president of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, confirms, “Open net pen aquaculture is not a solution to the problem of overfishing: It damages natural ecosystems on a local and a global level, including wild stocks, habitats and water quality. Feeding carnivorous salmon in farms means other wild species must also be harvested, resulting in a larger carbon footprint …

A GALWAY county councillor will continue to raise what he describes as the “death of rural communities” at local authority level. At the most recent council meeting, Councillor Gerry Finnerty tabled a motion stating that “in County Galway many villages and towns are losing business day by day. Pubs, shops, service stations, restaurants are all closing. Jobs have been lost and on top of that there is a real threat to Garda stations, post offices and schools. Would Galway County Council consider contacting various groups for whom we are led to believe are fighting rural decline e.g. the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA) etc along with the various Government Departments who are responsible for rural Ireland and have a Special Council meeting to debate this crisis before we lose all our villages and small towns.” He says what he wants to achieve is a debate on the matter with a speaker from CEDRA invited to take …

THE Ennis Branch of Conradh na Gaeilge celebrated its founding in November 1900 with a weekend of celebrations in the town recently. Bunaíodh Craobh na hInse ar an 5ú lá de mhí na Samhna i Seanscoil na mBuachaillí ar Bhóthar Chill Ruis, agus bhí Easpag Chill Dá Lua an Dr S Mac Réamonn mar phátrún ar an gcraobh agus bhí an tAth. R Ó Conaill, leas-uachtarán ar Choláiste Naomh Fhlannáin mar chathaoirleach. D’eagraigh Craobh na hInse reatha deireadh seachtaine mar Chéiliúradh ar Bhliain na Gaeilge agus Tóstal Éireann chun an ócáid stairiúil sin a chomóradh. A comprehensive programme of events was organised to celebrate the historic event. A booklet outlining the history of the development of Irish in Ennis from 1900 to the present day, compiled by branch uachtarán, Seán Ó Ceallaigh and cisteoir, Domhnall Ó Loingsigh, was launched in the Auburn Lodge Hotel by Íte Ní Chionnaith, past-president of Conradh na Gaeilge. Ms Ní Chionnaith praised the work of …

The Toyota Auris Van and Ssangyong Korando Commercial have been named Category Winners of the Continental Irish Van of the Year 2014 title by the Irish Motoring Writers Association (IMWA) Van Jury. All nine voting members of the IMWA Van Jury took part in the vote. In deciding on these category winners, the jury members took into account attributes such as load capacity, reliability, overall versatility, cost of ownership and comfort. Presenting the awards to Ian Corbett, of Toyota Ireland, and John Keogh, SsangYong Ireland, Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland, commented “In today’s tough commercial vehicle market, these two vehicles have been singled out by the IMWA van experts. I am sure that these awards will provide a huge boost for both the Auris Van and Korando Commercial.” Brian Byrne, Chairman of the IMWA van jury, said “In assessing candidates for the Continental Irish Van of the Year category awards, our jurors pay close attention to how the vehicles …

  CONSUMER confidence in County Clare is up this year according to businesses organisations in the county. Jack Kelly of Kilrush Chamber of Commerce said that from his experience people are “a bit more upbeat this year.” “I would call it optimistic, in the sense that people are a bit more upbeat this year. I think it is because this year wasn’t as bad or as recessionary as other years even though things are still fairly tough. There are little buds of light there and people are in a slightly better form,” he said. Mr Kelly said that West Clare businesses have had a strong year because of the good weather during the summer. “We had a reasonable year in West Clare in the sense that the weather has looked after us. In terms of tourists coming to the area we had the National Famine Commemoration and the Loop Head lighthouse. People are slightly more upbeat than they have been …

VISITORS to the Burren are being urged to ‘Leave No Trace’ as a new responsible tourism policy is launched in the area. The graffiti incident at the Cliffs of Moher earlier this year is one example of  the environmental vandalism that the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark is seeking to minimise in the future through its involvement in a responsible tourism initiative. The Geopark has teamed up with Leave No Trace Ireland, an Irish-based charitable network of organisations and individuals promoting responsible outdoor recreation. During the coming weeks and throughout 2014, more than 50 tourism operators and influencers in the Burren will undergo awareness training aimed at encouraging visitors to the Burren to enjoy the world-famous karst region responsibly. The pilot project between the Geopark and Leave No Trace Ireland is being run by the GeoparkLIFE programme. Tina O’Dwyer, Sustainable Tourism Co-ordinator, Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark explained that the adoption of the Leave No Trace policy complements …

PROPOSALS for a revamp of Ennis’ market could cost in excess of €1 million, it has been revealed. A new design concept for the first phase of a planned redevelopment of the market, beginning at Garraunakilla, has been put on public display, giving people an opportunity to have their say on the development. The plans involve creating a covered market at Garraunakilla, the current site of the Farmer’s Market, with the first phase part of a wider scheme of improvements to the entire area. Town manager Ger Dollard said despite next year’s abolition of Ennis Town Council, it is the intention of the council to quickly progress plans. “Our approach is to try and progress this as quickly as we can and if everything goes well, we could be practically completed by June.” However, he added, “A big stumbling block is funding, it will cost in excess of €1 million”. He was speaking at a recent meeting of Ennis Town …

A GROUP of North Clare cousins received their ‘dream ticket’ recently meeting an internationally renowned actor and their story will feature on RTE television over Christmas. Twins Amy and Claire Costello from Ballyvaughan with their cousins Ciara Costello also from Ballyvaughan and Aoife O’Loughlin from Corofin, saw their dream come true when they got to meet Dan Ewing who plays Heath Braxton in the Australian soap Home and Away as part of Una’s Dream Ticket which will be broadcast on Christmas Day. “We remember coming back from playschool and watching Home and Away while eating our lunch and we have been watching it ever since,” Aoife told The Clare Champion. Una’s Dream Ticket is a wish-fulfillment show which will be broadcast on RTE TWO during the Christmas period presented by Una Healy from girlband The Saturdays. This 11-part series kicks off on Christmas Day and continues daily until Saturday January 4. “It used to be Jedwards Dream Factory and we watched …