Clare’s county dog warden has said that Kilrush is currently a black-spot for dog-related attacks in the county. This comes in light of two serious incidents in relation to bulldog breeds in the town over the Easter holiday weekend where a man and a teenage boy were injured. And a third incident earlier in the week involving an Akita (Japanese large breed of huskie dog) attacking a springer spaniel also occurred in Kilrush. The Akita was handed in by its owners as it posed a danger to other dogs. “I hate to say it but Kilrush is our black spot at the moment…I have had up to ten dogs moved from Kilrush in the last few months and about six since Christmas. I have been very active there because it has become fashionable now with young men to own certain breeds, more aggressive breeds that are a fashion accessory to them. And they aren’t being looked after any more which …

Picture this: an eight-year-old boy experimenting with a camera at his home place, contentedly snapping away at the small things a curious young child observes in his back yard and a little further afield in the meadows and forests of southern Germany. For a while, the young German boy loses all interest in photography, until a holiday to Ireland as an adult inspires him and re-kindles his passion for the artform. The trip which got Carsten Krieger so hooked on Ireland prompted him to move to the emerald isle permanently in 2002. And the re-location revived a childhood fascination with nature, bringing about a career change from paediatric nursing to freelance photography. Since settling here, Carsten Krieger has photographed and written numerous books on Ireland’s landscape, nature and heritage. And now, 22 years on and almost 20 books later, the renowned photographer, author and environmentalist, who lives in Kibaha on the Loop Head Peninsula, has produced a new book entitled …

Clare councillors have called for a comprehensive framework to regulate burials, exhumations, and burial grounds at Clare burial sites, and are asking the Minister for Rural and Community Development to update the outdated legislation that governs burial grounds. Councillors Pat Hayes (FF), Mary Howard (FG), Cillian Murphy (FF), Pat Burke (FG), Shane Talty (FF), Joe Killeen (FF) tabled a joint motion at the March meeting of Clare County Council requesting the local authority to ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys (FG) to update the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878 and the associated rules and regulations for the Regulation of Burial Grounds Act, 1888 to provide a comprehensive framework to regulate burials, exhumations, and burial grounds. “A recent review of burial ground management in Clare referenced the need for updated and consolidated national legislation to support the oversight and management function of this essential service at local level to bring it in line with current burial ground …

NEW Zealand boy who made an appeal through The Clare Champion for help in bringing her son home from rehab, has thanked the community in County Clare for its support. Monday, March 18 marked six months since Tadhg Giles first became ill with an influenza A infection, which resulted in encephalitis leaving him severely cognitively impaired with inflammation in his brain. The young boy was treated in hospital at Auckland but, when his period in rehabilitation care ended, the family were faced with moving him back home without adequate and appropriate medical support. As their home was not suitably adapted for Tadhg’s new needs, they were required to extensively modify their home with the local health board offering limited support. However, with the combined help of their family, friends, and the Irish community in New Zealand, they were in a position to make the required modifications for a safer home for Tadhg to live in. Speaking to The Clare Champion …

Two motions about dog fouling, which were before the March meeting of the West Clare Municipal District (MD), gave rise to a good humoured debate amongst councillors. Councillor Liam Grant (GP)asked the council to address the serious dog fouling issues in Lahinch, requesting it to target several days to enforce dog fouling fines in an effort to stop the issue. The councillor said he wants to see something similar to the “slow down” days conducted by An Garda Síochána. He has also requested data on how many dog fouling fines have been issued by the local authority in Lahinch over the last three years. “In Lahinch, this came up as I was involved in a beach clean on the St Bridget’s Bank Holiday weekend, organised with a couple of different community groups…the amount of dog fouling – I think I counted 20 bags of poo myself,” he said. “There is a weird trend that is happening of people picking up …

The 1968 Clare Rose was one of a bunch of 27 former Rose of Tralee winners who marched in the New York St Patrick’s Parade last Saturday. Clarecastle woman, Eileen Slattery Mostafa teamed up with her sister roses when the 1994 Rose, Muirne Hurley Goode, put out a call on their WhatsApp group. Battling breast cancer at the time, the Limerick woman had a dream to march in the famous parade, and the roses stepped up to the plate to help her realise it. The current Rose of Tralee, New York rose, Róisín Wiley, along with many of the 2023 contestants and escorts also participated in the event. “The seed was sown by our lovely 1994 Rose. She had the idea to live out a life long desire to walk in this special parade on St Patrick’s Day,” Eileen told The Clare Champion this week. “Courageous Muirne sent out the word to her fellow rose sisters. The response was amazing …

Clare County Council has been asked for answers to a number of questions in relation to its approval in June 2021 of a €10 million loan for Ennis 2040, with the council confirming a total of €2.2m has so far been advanced to Ennis 2040 to fund the work programme underway. At the March meeting of the local authority, Councillor Tom O’Callaghan (FF) called for a discussion to be allowed in relation to the council’s approval of a loan for €10 million. The details he requested were to include the cost of the loan and it’s duration, the schedule of loan repayments by the DAC, the list of assets owned by DAC currently, as well as the purpose of loans and if the council has guaranteed all liabilities. He also questioned whether the council is financially liable in any event of unfortunate financial misadventure. Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling, said he was concerned about the public focus …

A Lisseycasey councillor is pressing Clare County Council to offer a solution to the Lough Donnell sluice problem at Clohaninchy saying it is “unfair” to the 30 or more local landowners who are affected. Local landowners are fearful that their properties could be flooded by seawater, which could cause significant damage to farm land. Clare County Council said it continues to work to address concerns at Lough Donnell, and a consultant representing the Council met the contractor on site in late February to inspect the culvert. The local authority said a report looking at the options to provide an engineering solution will be prepared, and the preferred option it decides upon will first have to be agreed with National Parks and Wildlife Service and Inland Fisheries Ireland. Councillor PJ Kelly (FF) told Wednesday’s meeting of the West Clare municipal district that no progress has been made on the matter since he last raised it at December’s Clare County Council meeting. …