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Clare Quilt finds forever home in Ennis Comhaltas headquarters

THE now famous Clare Quilt has found a new permanent home right here in the county that inspired its design. The impressive quilt featuring 60 individual handmade squares depicting scenes from across the county was unveiled this week at its new home in Cois na hAbhna, the regional centre of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Ennis. This comes after Comhaltas were the lucky winners of a special raffle for the quilt which raised funds for two local charities West Clare Cancer Support and Sláinte An Chláir. It was thought that the quilt would be brought to Comhaltas headquarters in Dublin, however Labhrás Ó Murchú, Ardstiúrthóir generously suggested that if a home could be found in Clare then it should stay in the county. The creation of the quilt was the brainchild of Valery Larkin, who previously spear-headed the creation of the world’s largest knitted blanket with help from knitters all over the world. She was seeking a project to keep her occupied …

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Clare man jailed for ‘opportunistic’ rape of student

A YOUNG man who “opportunistically” raped a university student friend after creeping into her bed in the middle of the night has been jailed for four and a half years. The now 23-year-old Clare man was found guilty by a jury of one count of raping the young woman at an address in Dublin on May 23, 2017 following a Central Criminal Court trial last July. He has no previous convictions. The woman, now aged 25, told the court that after the attack she lost many university friends, with a lot of people saying she was lying. She said many of her male friends urged her not to go to gardaí telling her that she was “over-reacting”. The court heard the man now accepts the guilty verdict and a letter of apology was handed up to court. The court heard the woman’s two male friends, including the defendant, spent the night in her apartment after watching a movie and she …

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Clare firearms owners reminded of responsibilities

CLARE gardai have reminded owners of firearms in the county of their “considerable obligations” to ensure weapons are stored safely and securely. Clare crime prevention officer Sergeant Triona Brooks has said people licenced to hold and use fireams must take great care with them both in the home and whilst travelling to a shoot or to a hunt. She noted that possession and carriage of any firearms including a short firearm / ammunition concealed on the person in public is not permitted at any time except in circumstances where such possession and carriage on the person is necessary for a lawful purpose. She offered the following security advice for the safe carriage/storage of firearms. 1. In the case of self-loading (semi-automatic) pistols and revolvers consideration may be given to a requirement to dismantle each gun when not at the range with some necessary parts held at the range. 2. During transport, firearms must always be stored in a case/sleeve, out …

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Deadline extended for national inclusive art competition

A NATIONAL art competition for primary school children aimed at promoting inclusivity and diversity has extended the deadline for this year’s projects. As with pupils across Ireland submitting their entries for the annual Someone Like Me art competition, the National Disability Authority has extended the competition deadline to Friday November 25. The prestigious competition, which is organised by the National Disability Authority, has seen thousands of primary school pupils submit projects over the last six years, all of which were inspired by their learning about inclusivity and diversity through the medium of art. This year’s competition invites Ireland’s 500,000+ pupils attending over 3,000 mainstream and special primary schools, as well as those who are home schooled, to take part in what has become an annual campaign to help develop more positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities. It offers a range of prizes up to the value of €1,250 and is open to all primary school pupils from junior infants to …

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Search continues for man who entered river in Ennis

THE search is continuing for a man reported to have entered the River Fergus in Ennis on Thursday night. Divers from Ennis, Burren, Kilkee and Lough Derg Sub Aqua Clubs along with clubs from Limerick joined Clare Civil Defence volunteers in the search at the weekend. The garda sub aqua unit joined the search and recovery operation yesterday afternoon. The alarm was raised at around 11pm on Thursday when a man was seen entering the water in Ennis’ town centre. This sparked a multi-agency operation involving members of the gardaí, Clare County Fire and Rescue Service, the National Ambulance Service; Clare Civil Defence, Doolin Coast Guard unit and the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter, Rescue 115.

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“Vicky Phelan’s Legacy Will Save Lives In Future Generations”

A Quin-based terminally ill cancer patient has paid tribute to the late CervicalCheck campaigner, Vicky Phelan for leaving a legacy that will save lives in future generations. Ms Phelan, (48), who was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2014,  died early on Monday morning in Milford Hospice, Co Limerick surrounded by her family. The Kilkenny woman, who had moved to live in Limerick, exposed the controversy around the national screening programme CervicalCheck, where she and other women were not informed that cervical cancer smear test results showing them to be in the clear were actually inaccurate. Speaking from Milford Hospice on Monday, John Wall said while family and friends knew Vicky would die at some stage, they could never be prepared for losing someone who has left such an indelible mark on peoples’ lives. In the first instance, he said Vicky would be remembered as a great mother, wife, sister, who had left a grieving husband, Jim, and her children, Amelia …

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Tributes paid to inspirational Vicky who found refuge in Clare

CERVICAL cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan has died at the age of 48 in the loving embrace of her family. Ms Phelan, a resident of Annacotty in Limerick, died in Milford Hospice this Monday morning. She has for many years found refuge in Doonbeg in west Clare, where she owned a home as she battled against cancer and recuperated from the myriad treatments she undertook. Clare TD, Deputy Cathal Crowe said he was “heartbroken” to hear of the death of Ms Phelan this morning. “A debt of gratitude, perhaps greater than we will ever know, is owed to Vicky, Laura Brennan and all the other women whose lives were taken all too soon.” His Fianna Fail colleague Senator Timmy Dooley said in a post on social media, “So sad to learn of the passing of Vicky Phelan – such a wonderfully brave woman who made a positive impact on the lives of so many. May she rest in peace and may …

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HSE leaflet to guide people to best treatment options this winter

IN A bid to direct the people of the Mid-West to the most appropriate treatment this winter, the HSE is distributing a leaflet in local newspapers including The Clare Champion this week. With the region’s main hospital, UHL, under continuous pressure and increases in both COVID-19 and Influenza infections anticipated to create a significant surge in admissions, UL Hospitals Group (ULHG) and HSE Mid West Community Healthcare are promoting the new HSE information leaflet to guide people through the various treatment options available locally this winter. Complementing the online guide to local health services at bit.ly/MyHealthMidwest, the leaflet outlines routine and urgent healthcare services for everything from coughs and headaches up to emergency life-threatening conditions and injuries, providing the phone and online contact details. The leaflet highlights such useful HSE website resources as the Health A To Z – a comprehensive guide to almost 400 individual conditions that has details of treatments for each, and contact information for accessing care …

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