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DRAMA is being used to promote integration between the communities of North Clare and those taking refuge from the war on Ukraine.  An innovative project called ‘New Hope’ has been spearheaded by Mariupol woman Nadia Shvachova, in partnership with Bellharbour native Maria Kerin Walsh. The programme has two stages, the first of which is to gather people to participate in the techniques of Playback Theatre to tell stories about their lives through improvisation. The second stage will see Irish and Ukrainian participants perform with a general audience and develop a “pop-up players”  theatre company Maria, an independent artist, curator and choreographer, has extensive experience of working overseas. She said the New Hope scheme is a way of keeping community bonds strong as the response to the war on Ukraine becomes a longer-term effort. “Originally, we were in crisis mode in North Clare and we’re now looking to move beyond that,” she said. Having lived for a time in Estonia, Maria …

ZIMMER Biomet has announced the 2022 recipients of its annual STEAM Scholarship Award programme, which recognises the children of its employees in Ireland. Launched in 2021, the programme was established to acknowledge the contribution of its highly skilled workforce in Ireland over the last fourteen years and to encourage a new generation in Ireland to enjoy a career in STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Eight Leaving Certificate students from the Mid-West region are the 2022 recipients of the award. In addition to paying third-level fees for the academic year, Zimmer Biomet will provide them with opportunities to participate in a summer placement programme to gain hands-on work experience. The Scholars will also enjoy peer groups, mentorship and career workshops. The Zimmer Biomet Scholars of 2022 are Caoimhe Cahill (Shannon); Niamh Culligan (Ennis); Christopher Guerin (Pallaskenry, Limerick); Jack Holloway (Sixmilebridge); Alexandra Kiely (Meelick); Cian O’Reilly (Sixmilebridge); Mladen Vujnovic (Ennis) and Albert Wojcik (Shannon). Their chosen areas of study are diverse, …

A JUDGE has compared a bitter family row over a €1 million farm to John B Keane’s The Field and 1980s US TV soap opera, Dallas. At the Family Law Court, Judge Alec Gabbett made his comments when dismissing a mother’s Barring Order and Safety Order applications against her farmer son. Judge Gabbett said that he was dismissing the entire domestic violence proceedings against the man “for the simple reason that this is a civil matter”. Judge Gabbett said, “It is unseemly and shouldn’t be before any domestic violence court.” The son – who has won awards for his farming – leases the farm from his mother after her husband and his father died a number of years ago leaving the farm to his widow. Solicitor for the son, Mairead Doyle told the court that the two have fallen out after the mother reneged on a written undertaking to voluntarily transfer the farm to her son. In evidence the son …

COUNTY Clare has been allocated €776,573 in the latest round of funding from the government’s Town and Village Renewal Scheme. The allocation is part of a national total of €27 million issued by Minister Heather Humphreys to combat dereliction and breathe new life into rural towns and villages. The biggest allocation of €249,005 is for a public realm project in the Cappa area of Kilrush to provide new access and address safety concerns at the beach and playground area, enabling it to be reclaimed as part of the coastal walk. A project to improve the public realm in Ennistymon will receive €226,143. The work will enhance the quality of public space and the built environment to support the creation of a vibrant and inclusive townscape. A sum of €151,925 will go towards the development of the Quin Village Park, which currently serves as a picnic area, and a community village amenity for education and entertainment. Lisdoonvarna, meanwhile, is to be …

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD has welcomed the fact that there have been 40 Mortgage to Rent (MTR) applications approved in County Clare since the scheme’s commencement with a further 16 applications currently active. The Minister urged anybody who is at risk of losing their home in County Clare to consider the scheme and also engage with the other Government supports and advice available. Mortgage to Rent helps people who are at risk of losing their homes due to mortgage arrears. The 2,030 cases completed nationwide to date (since the scheme commenced in 2012) are benefitting 5,910 people (3,249 adults and 2,661 children). Minister O’Brien said, “Mortgage to Rent provides a solution to a complex problem by giving a person or family the option of remaining in their own home despite acute mortgage difficulties. As a Government we want to keep as many people in their homes where it is sustainable and the Mortgage …

NESTLED within a gentle valley, between silver hills of karst limestone that rise and fall towards an Atlantic horizon, Richard Hearns grapples with a canvas, stretched to mirror the reach of his body. The artist is shipping his painting, Kārwān, to Dublin’s Royal Hibernian Academy, where he will present the work before an audience, before it moves to Sotheby’s in London for their Modern British & Irish Art Auction. The auction is serendipitously timed alongside Hearns’ solo-show at the Cadogan Gallery in Kensington, where his most recent body of work, Nomad, went on display on November 16. Hearns was born in Beirut during the civil war, and adopted as an infant by an Irish UN Peacekeeper and his wife. He was raised in Dublin, where he studied Fine Art & Digital Media, before setting-off around the world like many young adults before him. Unlike many others, he continued to wander. With an easel in tow. Hearns has always used his …

TWO men aged in their 50s have been arrested in relation to two separate seizures of drugs in east Clare. Last Wednesday, December 7, Detective Gardaí from the Divisional Drugs Unit carried out searches under warrant in two houses, one in Flagmount and one in Scariff. During the course of the searches approximately €11,460 worth of suspected Cannabis Herb was located and seized in Scariff. A male in his early 50s was arrested and detained at Ennis Garda Station. He was detained under the provisions of Section 4 Criminal Justice Act 1984 and later released pending submission of investigation file to the office of the DPP for directions. Four Cannabis Plants with an estimated value of €3,200 were seized in the house in Flagmount. A male in his late 50s was interviewed and a file will now be prepared for submission to the DPP. The suspected controlled substances have been forwarded to Forensic Science Ireland for examination.

FLOODING concerns have prompted Clare County Council to seek Further Information (FI) from a company looking to build at 30-metre tower mast in the village of Quin.  Vantage Towers are making a second attempt to secure permission for the structure, after plans for a slightly smaller structure on a different site were turned down last year by both the Council and An Bórd Pleanála. The current application for a site at Quingardens is the subject of two objections and seven submissions of support, but County planners have now voiced their own concerns. The Council has given Vantage Towers six months to respond to three issues of concern: flood risk, the potential impact on bat habitats, and the access route to the site. In a letter requesting FI, the Council has noted that the site is located in an area identified in the County Development Plan as ‘Flood Zone A’. “Past flood events in the locality have come within 60m of …