THE Grand Marshall of this year’s Ennis St Patrick’s Day parade will be two time Grammy award nominee, Ennis’ very own Maura O’Connell. Clare County Council are extending a warm welcome to all to gather in Ennis to celebrate our national holiday on Sunday, March 17. Maura, of ‘Tumbleweed’, ‘De Dannan’ and ‘A Woman’s Heart’ fame, released her first solo album ‘Maura O’Connell’ in the early 1980s which was an eclectic mix of genres. Moving to Nashville in 1986 Maura went on to have a very successful career in the US releasing albums with Jerry Douglas and Béla Fleck and sharing the stage with many top artists such as Dolly Parton, John Prine, James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, John Oates, Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt. Joining this year’s parade will be a delegation from Ennis’ twinning town in Germany, Langenfeld. The Mayor of Langenfeld Frank Schneider and members of the city administration and twinning committee will participate in the …

A FORMER Direct Provision resident is once again throwing her hat in the ring for a chance to become a member of Clare County Council. Nigerian born Amanda Major has lived in Clare for 20 years and became an Irish citizen in 2015. She confirmed this week she will be running in this year’s Ennis Municipal District local elections as an Independent candidate. In 2019 she unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat on the council as an Independent gaining 200 first preference votes. And in 2022 she was among four local Fianna Fáil candidates vying for a seat on the local authority left vacant after former Ennis councillor Mark Nestor announced he was leaving politics to join the priesthood. Announcing her candidacy this week she said she made the decision “due to the urgent need for change and the crucial role that voting plays in shaping the future of our community.” She said, “In recent years, we have witnessed significant challenges …

For more than 30 years The Poetry Collective has been bringing together writers from across Clare and the Mid West. After taking a break during Covid the Collective are now back, recently hosting their biggest ever poetry reading and open mic event in glór, which co-founder Arthur Watson describes as being “like the Guinness Book of Records for poetry”. The Clare Champion is sitting down with Arthur and fellow poets Patrick Stack, Marion Moynihan, John Killeen and Sinead Nic Seoda who reflect on what it means to be a part of the group, the growth of poetry in Clare, the Collective’s history and its plans for the future. By its very nature creating poetry is a solitary endeavour, however through the Collective vital positive connections are being made bridging together a wide range of diverse writers. Patrick explains, “Writing poetry is a lonely thing. You don’t know, at least from my experience, if the writing is any good or not. …

An Ennis teenage musician is to be honoured with an international award in one of the world’s most prestigious fiddle competitions, the Fiddler of London. Seventeen year old River McGann struck the right chord with the judges and has been named ‘Up and Coming Fiddler of London 2024’. He is set to travel to the awards ceremony in London this April where he will perform at the gala final during the Fiddler of London festival. Speaking to The Clare Champion, River tells us he was in shock when he received the email telling him he had scooped the major award. “I had sent in my entry and I didn’t know how long I’d have to wait to get an email back, he said. “It was midterm and my Mam had dropped the kids to school and I was at home minding the baby. I just checked my phone, I’d got into the habit of checking my email just in case, …

ENNIS local councillors are crying foul over irresponsible dog owners who do not clean up after their pets while walking along the popular River Fergus Walkway. Meanwhile, users of the amenity who have reported flooding on the route, have been reminded that the walkway was created on a flood plain as part of flood relief works to protect the town. Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) made a request for ‘doggie poop’ bins to be provided along the walkway at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District council. However, while the local authority in conjunction with Clarecastle Tidy Towns has recently installed anti-litter and anti-dog fouling signage on the walkway, the council have said they are not in a position to install bins. “We would have difficulty servicing this site at this time, given the distance from our normal street cleaning and litter bin maintenance route,” said Paddy Tiernan, A/Senior Executive Engineer. “We would appeal to all users of this …

INVESTIGATIONS are ongoing after gardaí seized €15,500 worth of suspected drugs along with cash and designer goods during a search in Ennis over the weekend. The search was carried out following the arrest by gardaí attached to Ennis Garda Station of a motorist who failed to stop when instructed on Saturday afternoon. “During the follow-up operation, including searches under warrant of a residential property in Ennis, approximately €15,500 worth of suspected cocaine and cannabis were seized, awaiting forensic analysis. Additionally, a sum of cash and a quantity of designer goods were confiscated,” confirmed a garda spokesperson. The arrested individual, a male in his 20s, was subsequently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda Station in County Clare. He has since been released without charge, and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

A SERIES of walk-in clinics to support communities in preparing their applications for schemes that are presently open, including the Local Area Grant Scheme 2024, are taking place across Clare this week. Community, group and club representatives will be able to discuss their projects with the local authority’s four Rural and Community Development Officers, namely Grainne McCormack (Shannon), Seamus Murrihy (West Clare), Niamh Wiley (North Clare & Ennis) and Darren Carroll (Killaloe). The events take place at: at Doonbeg Community Centre (10am-1pm) and Miltown Malbay Community Centre (2pm-5pm) on Tuesday, January 30; Clarecare, Killaloe (10am-1pm) and Killaloe Municipal District Office, Scariff (2pm-5pm) on Wednesday, January 31; and at Treacy’s Oakwood Arms, Shannon (10am-1pm), The Bridge Complex, Sixmilebridge (2pm-4pm) and Áras Contae an Chláir, Ennis (4.30pm-7pm) on Thursday, February 1. Earlier this week, events were also held at Teach Ceoil Corofin and An Teach Ceoil, Ennistymon. Anne Haugh, Director of Rural and Community Development with Clare County Council commented, “Our four Rural …

ENNIS 2040 developments are predicted to create over 200 long term jobs and result in €3.5 million of new economic activity in the Clare economy annually. The Ennis 2040 DAC, in collaboration with Clare County Council, has released details of an Economic Impact Assessment examining the transformative potential of a proposed €48 million investment in four strategic town centre sites – Abbey Street Car Park, Harvey’s Quay, Post Office Field, and a brownfield site on Francis Street. The economic impact analysis was undertaken by AECOM and according to Kevin Corrigan, COO, Ennis 2040 DAC the study, “showcases the tremendous potential and wide-ranging benefits” of the proposed developments with “far reaching positive effects” for the town and county. The construction phase is projected to create 526 short term jobs, “providing a substantial and immediate boost” to the local job market.  Beyond construction, the completed projects are expected to generate over 200 long term jobs, contributing an additional €3.5 million annually to the Clare economy.  The proposed …