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CLARE County Council has said that it is continuing to engage with national government and the Housing Agency on the new scheme for homeowners with defective blocks.  Despite the fact that the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme was extended to Clare and Limerick last June, the grant has still not opened to homeowners in the Mid-West. The scheme itself was revised through legislation signed by the President in July, but is still not operational in the four counties it covers. Last week, angry homeowners, facing another winter of uncertainty, told Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien of their frustration at being “trapped” in their unsafe homes. They also appealed to him to give a date for the opening of the new scheme.  In response to a query from The Champion, the Council said it is still awaiting clarity on the role of each local authority. “Since the approved inclusion of County Clare properties onto the Defective Concrete Block Redress Scheme, we are continuing to engage with …

AUTHOR John Connell will be the special guest at this year’s annual Clare Reads Day 2022 this Friday, November 11. Every year, Clare Libraries celebrates the work of an Irish author by encouraging the whole community to read a chosen book by that author. The chosen author this year is John Connell, author of The Cow Book and The Running Book. Clare Reads Day will feature John’s latest book, The Stream of Everything, published earlier this year by Gill Books. The Stream of Everything is an account of a two-day trip along the Camlin River in a kayak during lockdown with a close friend. The rich biodiversity of the river forms a quiet backdrop to John’s much-loved philosophical observations. Book Clubs around Clare will read and discuss John’s book together ahead of attending a special author event in Scariff Library. Clare Reads Day also includes a special author event in Scariff Library. John will be interviewed by Jim O’Brien, journalist …

A RECENT upsurge in the theft of catalytic converters has led gardaí in Clare to warn vehicle owners to be on the alert. At the end of last month, on October 28 at 2am, two males were seeing leaving the Rath Ban estate on the Tulla Road, Ennis after taking a catalytic converter from a car in the estate. And at 2.15am on the same night another converter was stolen from a car parked at Woodfield, Broadford. Meanwhile on October 25 between 10.30pm and 11.30pm the catalytic converter was stolen from a car parked in a shed at the rear of a house in Derreen, Miltown Malbay. “The increase in these thefts is a reflection of the rise in price of palladium and rhodium metals,” explained Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks. She advised motorists, “Defensive parking near a wall can make jacking up a vehicle difficult making this type of theft more difficult too. If you have a garage …

THE Wings music festival was a big hit in Shannon this summer, and plans are in train to have another one in 2023 – but this time it will be a winter event. Damian O’Rourke was behind this summer’s event, which went down very well and he explained the thinking behind the reboot. “After Wings, a few of us met to see what had worked well, what could we do better for next year. After that I started thinking about it being on in the summer, and with there being so much else on in the summer, it might be better as a winter festival. “We decided to go with the last Monday to Sunday in February, the 21st to the 26th. There is a lot on in the summer and in Shannon the gigs are mainly indoors, so if there’s a spell of sunny weather it can be harder to get people to come. In February it’ll be dark …

JUNE Curtin from Spanish Point has been named Clare’s Most Inspirational Person by an initiative to shine a light on unsung heroes. The West Clare woman was this year’s Clare winner of the Gala Retail Inspiration Awards, run in association with Virgin Media. June’s extensive and inspirational work in the mental health and charity sectors within the local community earned her the title of Inspirational Person in this year’s awards. June really impressed the judges for her work in the local community and is a worthy winner of the county award for her inspirational efforts. The founder of Snamhaí Sásta, a community of swimmers, June promotes the benefits of sea swimming and the importance of minding your mental health. She also fundraises every December for the Simon Community by swimming three times a day from December 1 until December 21. From a huge volume of nominations, 26 county heroes were crowned. Noreen Murphy, from Bantry in County Cork, was named …

GARDAI have warned people to be vigilant around text message and email communication after a woman in Clare was scammed out of a significant amount of money. Clare crime prevention officer Sergeant Triona Brooks said, “During the week a lady was at home when she received a text message via WhatsApp from a person purporting to be her daughter. “The text said that she had broken her phone and needed a replacement. This person then requested money to be transferred online and attached a link. “The victim, a trusting individual did not question this at the time and clicked on the link and provided her banking details.” A sum of €550 was taken from the account of the victim in four instalments, €150 x 3 and €100 x 1 before another attempt to take €100 was declined by the lady’s bank. “This lady only realised the extent of this fraud the following day on speaking with her daughter by telephone …

GARDAI are investigating a break-in to a shop and dwelling in an east Clare village in which the owner was assaulted. At 2am on Friday last, November 4, four males broke into a shop in Whitegate by forcing windows to the rear of the shop and gaining entry to the dwelling area. The male owner was assaulted during this break-in and received injuries. The intruders made their getaway in the owner’s car which was later recovered in Whitegate. This was a very traumatic incident for the owners of the shop. Gardaí in Killaloe are appealing to anyone who may have any information in relation to this incident to contact them at Killaloe Garda Station on 061 620540 or on the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.

A LOCAL support group for children with Autism has organised a Special Needs Trust Planning Seminar for all parents of children with additional needs. This information seminar, which has been set up by Ennis Voices for Autism will be delivered by Financial Wellbeing in the Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis on Wednesday, November 9 from 8 to 8.45pm. Allan Cuthbert founded Financial Wellbeing in 2008, a company dedicated to Special Needs Trust Planning. It gives him great joy to help ease the financial worries of parents who are raising a child with additional needs. This is his way of helping parents who are constantly faced with difficult choices and challenges dealing with their child’s future needs. Dolores Crowley is involved in Financial Wellbeing because she feels she can understand parents, having been a carer for her mother for more than 30-years and now for her son, David, who has additional needs. “I want to be there to give parents the knowledge …