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WARM tributes have been paid to Scariff native, Fr Michael (Leo) Long, who was laid to rest on Saturday last in the grounds of the Scared Heart Church. At the concelebrated funeral mass, Fr Leo was recalled by the Bishop of Killaloe as “certainly his own man” with a warm and outgoing personality.  Born in 1929, he studied at St Flannan’s College in Ennis from 1941 to 1946. He undertook studies for the priesthood in St Patrick’s College, Carlow from 1946 to 1952. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph Rodgers on June 8, 1952, alongside his brother Fr Jackie. Fr Leo was ordained for the Archdiocese of Melbourne, and ministered in Australia for many years, before returning to Ireland in 1991. He then ministered in Kilmurry McMahon for a year before serving in Silvermines and Templederry, retiring to Nenagh in 2017. He spent his final months at Carrigoran Nursing Home in Newmarket-on-Fergus and died at University Hospital …

AN Bord Pleanála has been requested to hold an oral hearing concerning a retention appeal for a controversial wind turbine near Parteen, which has been described as an “abomination” by a chartered civil engineer. Limerick Blow Moulding was recently granted retention permission by Clare County Council to retain a turbine despite a huge volume of objections from Deputy Cathal Crowe, Deputy Violet Anne-Wynne, Senator Timmy Dooley and numerous residents. On March 2, 2021, a council survey found the wind turbine was built about 37 metres to the north-east of the location, which was previously granted planning permission. The company gained permission for a revised site boundary and revised position for a single 800 KW wind turbine, 73 metres high to hub height, as granted under previous planning permissions at Gortatogher, Parteen. In a very comprehensive appeal submitted to An Bord Pleanála on behalf of the 100 Metres Tall Group, Mick Duffy requested an oral hearing given the significant issues arising …

GORT Community School (CS) is the only Irish school to feature in a prestigious shortlist of top global educational facilities.  The school has made the Top 10 shortlist for the new $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes, launched this year by T4 Education in partnership with Accenture and American Express. Gort Community School, was named in the ‘Supporting Healthy Lives’ category. Brian Crossan Principal said the school values a rounded education. “Of course, academics is very important in our school and every year our students excel in their exams,” he said. “But of equal, if not more importance, is that our students are happy and healthy. We work hard to ensure that we have the structures, procedures and supports in place to cater to this aspect of our students lives in GCS. And we are very supportive of any initiatives that our enthusiastic, creative and dedicated staff undertake in this regard also.”  Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School …

ENNIS is set to host the 28th Annual Ennis Tradfest this November with a line up of top international, national and local traditional music stars. Amongst the stars will be Anxo Lorenzo, a virtuoso award-winning Galician piper renowned for his energetic and inspiring performances.  Over 1,000 are expected to travel from the US, Canada, Spain and the UK for Ennis Tradfest 2022.  From its early years, Ennis Tradfest has established itself as one of the most vibrant and dynamic traditional music festivals in Ireland with fans and visitors returning year after year. Michael ‘Blackie’ O’Connell, widely recognised as one of the best pipers in the world, has been tirelessly building this festival over the years into an extravaganza of traditional music.  Tradfest 2022 is no exception, boasting a stellar line-up of musicians including the Galician Anxo Lorenzo Band, legends Sean Keane (formerly of The Chieftains) and Gay Mc Keon, John Carty and Mike McGoldrick, Damien and Conor Connolly and popular concert band Jiggy.   …

FIREFIGHTERS in Clare have been put on alert they will be balloted for industrial action next week due to the lack of a breakthrough in their dispute over pay and working conditions. SIPTU official, Arek Muszynski told the Clare Champion the two-week notice of intention to ballot had expired without any meaningful engagement, which left him with no option but to send out papers to members in Clare and Tipperary next week, possibly on Wednesday or Thursday. Mr Muszynski said he hadn’t received any meaningful proposals for the national committee or engagement from Clare County Council, apart from an acknowledgement letter. The Clare Fire and Rescue Service could be severely disrupted over the coming weeks unless serious efforts are made to address the “recruitment and retention crisis” affecting the local Retained Fire Service. A council spokesman told the Clare Champion, there is no update from last week and noted the Local Government Management Agency are dealing with the matter centrally …

Éire Óg have won back to back senior football championship titles. Here is a selecton of images from the match shot by John Kelly

Eoin Brennan watched Éire Óg grind out victory over Ennistymon on a score of 0-9 to 0-6 to retain Jack Daly title ÉIRE Óg are unquestionably the Clare Senior Football kingpins after grinding out a determined victory over Ennistymon to retain their crown in Cusack Park on Sunday afternoon. Bouncing back from a heartbreaking late reverse to Ballyea in the hurling equivalent seven days previously, eight dual finalists maintained their unflinching focus to get over the line this time around as the Ennis side led from start to finish. It took patience and discipline to unlock an Ennistymon defensive door that had confounded four previous opponents as their swift counter-attacking style and unerring freetaking that included three marks, steered their side to victory. Central to that masterclass was captain Gavin Cooney who converted six placed balls to keep the scoreboard ticking over in what was far from a classic final. Two of those bookended a forgettable first half that saw …

THE horrific psychological impact of being raped and sexually assaulted continues for Aimee Foley after her father was convicted last December of committing heinous crimes against her. During a recent major panic attack in the USA, Aimee recalled she broke down shaking, couldn’t walk and was frozen because she smelt an aftershave that reminded her of her father. “It brought me back to a time in my life I didn’t remember previously and didn’t report to the gardai because I had no recollection until that moment. I have to go through that every day. “I have been put through so much turmoil. I don’t want to have children. What happens if the man I love and marry rapes my child? I can never trust a man again. I am in survival mode. “There isn’t a time when he isn’t assaulting me in my own head. Whether it is ‘you look ugly in the mirror’ the next thing is I hear …