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This might just have been my busiest year yet of travel, photoshoots and meet-ups with friends and while I’ve turned 13, I promise I am not a difficult teenager! Well, that’s another year over and it was special for me. Yes, I’m officially a teenager, having celebrated my 13th birthday in May. I don’t feel any different. I’m still busier than ever visiting my favourite places and modelling my lovely outfits as befits a superstar. I seem to have packed so much into this year that I get dizzy even thinking about it. My first major photo shoot was for Valentine’s Day. I’d just got a beautiful dress from my favourite couturiers, AG Dog Fashion and we wondered how best to show it off when we spied a stall in Galway, The Pine Rack, selling home made boxes; not much more than a week later, I had a lovely kissing booth with heart cutouts, painted and all. We quickly decided …

IT took Minister of State with special responsibility for the Irish Coast Guard Hildegarde Naughton almost 11 months to meet some volunteers in the Doolin Coast Guard Unit (DCGU) following a public commitment. Minister Naughton visited Doolin Coast Guard Unit in County Clare on October 27 this year to meet with the local volunteer interim team and hear first-hand about their life saving work. However, her visit, attended by only one public representative, Councillor Joe Garrihy, has angered former volunteers after she failed to make any contact with the members who were controversially sacked after the unit was stood down from operations and training activities on November 2, 2021. There were 12 volunteers in DCGU when the unit was disbanded. Former volunteer Robert McCavery said members feel let down by politicians. “Minister Hildegarde Naughton said on Clare FM last year she would visit the unit but she has never met us.” In a statement issued by the Department of Transport …

ENNIS students are urging the public to help them become a ‘Secret Santa’ to those most in need in Clare. Transition Year students at Ennis Community College and Gaelcholáiste an Chláir joined forces with the St Vincent de Paul and next week they will be taking over the Vincent’s Charity Shop in Ennis. This is just one of a variety of actions the students are taking to support the St Vincent de Paul, with a clothing and food drive and a no-uniform day also planned. On Thursday, December 1 the Ennis teenagers will take on the entire running of the charity shop from 9am until 9pm, doing everything from manning the tills to managing the floor. And for those hoping to pick up some bargains ahead of the festive season, there are plans for a flash sale with up to 50% off items teacher Martina McNamara reveals. Ms McNamara explains that the theme of this year’s annual fundraising campaign by …

THE average price sought for rental properties in Clare increased by 9% between the third quarter of last year and the third quarter of this year, according to Daft.ie. It stated that the average rent sought in Clare now stands at €1,167 per month. The average price sought for a one-bedroom apartment is now €788, while at the other end of the scale an average five-bedroom house now costs €1,395 per month. It is cheaper to buy than rent across all house sizes, with the difference being particularly noticeable for smaller properties. For instance the average rent on a one-bedroom apartment is more than twice the €378 it would cost to pay a mortgate on a similar property. Rents across Clare increased by just under 2% compared to the second quarter, while they are now 117% above what was being sought at the lowest point of the recession. Writing in the Daft.ie rental report, Trinity College economist Ronan Lyons said …

A FORMER Doolin Coast Guard volunteer has asked how he was “suddenly viewed as a danger to himself and others in the unit after 28 years of service”. Myles Duffy would like an apology for a statement made by Coast Guard director, Eugene Clonan at the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications on Thursday, November 18, 2021. Mr Clonan stated, “Doolin Unit has been having problems for years. Six members resigned and there are 12 members left. Based on what I have been told, my belief is the interaction between the team is not safe. “The 12 members are not safe to go out because of the issues that have arisen as a result of the internal conflict. I will not have people going out to sea or climbing cliffs if I do not have confidence in them doing so safely. “I am protecting myself and I am protecting them, but mainly them. We had the loss of Caitriona Lucas. …

ENNIS has once again attained the coveted Purple Flag award. After a gap during COVID-19 years, when night life everywhere was interrupted, Ennis Purple Flag Committee re-convened last autumn to apply for Purple Flag accreditation once more.  Following a full, in-person assessment conducted during the hours of 5pm to 5am, by national and international assessors, Ennis was awarded a Purple Flag to fly proudly, plus a certificate of award, at a recent national ceremony held in Cork.  Purple Flag certification recognises the work done by a multi-sector Purple Flag Committee, to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of Ennis town centre Evening and Night-time Economy. Areas awarded the Purple Flag are recognised for providing a vibrant and diverse mix of dining, entertainment and culture while promoting the safety and well-being of visitors and residents.   Other towns and cities in Ireland to renew Purple Flag accreditation this year include Dublin city centre, Cork, Waterford and Sligo, with many more towns …

Much of my life is in Kerry now and nearly every day it involves a drive into Kerins O’Rahilly’s country — the stronghold and foundation stone of the club on Strand Road. Indeed, so central to the Kerins O’Rahilly story is the place that the club is more often than not referred to as Strand Road. And, Strand Road is littered with football stories about great men who wore the club colors and went as high as any footballer could go — Dan Spring, Paddy Kennedy Jas Murphy and John Dowling, who were All-Ireland winning captains who played for the club; there isn’t enough room for the rest of the All-Ireland winners. We’ll mention four though: David Moran, Tommy Walsh, Jack Savage and Barry John Keane. We mention them because this quartet will be playing on Sunday, with each one of them being a Strand Road All-Ireland alumnus and part of the tradition of putting Sam Maguire up on the …

THE BODY of a man believed to have fallen in to the river in Newmarket On Fergus last night has been located this afternoon. The news comes after the body of man missing for the past 16 days was taken from the water today in Ennis at 1.30pm. The body of the second man was located shortly after 2pm in a river that flows through the village. Further details of the circumstances of his death are as yet unknown The body was recovered from the water shortly after 2.00pm and removed to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem will be carried out later. A Garda spokesman confirmed: “A body was removed from the water at Newmarket on Fergus in Co. Clare earlier today.”