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NEW YOUNG GAA All-Stars will show they are a match for the best when they showcase their skills on the biggest day in the Clare football calendar. Two groups of children with additional needs from Corofin and Éire Óg will demonstrate what skills they have learned and the fun they derive from participating in Gaelic Games before the Clare senior football decider in Cusack Park this Sunday. This initiative was the brainchild of Adrian Beakey from Corofin All-Stars who asked Clare sports inclusion disability officer, James Murrihy last May, if he could organise a slot for their group to play in Cusack Park before one of the county finals. While most teams have to win a championship in their county grounds before they can even dream of playing in Croke Park, Corofin All-Stars played in the GAA’s national hallowed stadium off Jones’ Road on August 22 last before their Cusack Park debut. Having secured a new kit of Corofin jerseys, …

BLESSED are those who bring hope is the theme of the November Novena, which begins with 6.30pm mass this Saturday, and which will continue until November 6. The November Novena had been up and running prior to the pandemic, but this is the first one since 2019. “It started two years before the pandemic, and this is the first one for three years. We’re delighted to have it back. It’s a novena of hope in honour of the Holy Souls,” said parish priest Father Arnold Rosney. He said that all are welcome to attend. “There’s an open invitation to everyone. We’d love to see as many as possible attend all the sessions, or at least one. We’d encourage young families to bring primary school children as well, to experience what a novena is. The speakers are vast and varied.” On the first two days the speaker will be Father Gerard Moloney. He is a member of the Redemptorist Community in …

MUSE Productions are in the final stages of rehearsals for their musical ‘Our House’, which will be performed at St Patrick’s Comprehensive from November 2-5. Our House is based on the music of Madness, the English ska band who achieved huge success in the late 1970s and early ‘80s.  Martin McNelis is one of the founding members of Muse and is directing Our House, a musical he is very enthusiastic about. “It’s a wonderful, young musical and that’s probably what attracted us to it. We have a lot of young people in Shannon who have come out of Eclipse stage school and we wanted to do something that would utilise all that talent. “This is a show that has a young cast, but it’ll also appeal to an older age group because the music of Madness is very well known and holds a lot of special memories for people.” It is the story of young Joe Casey and a life-altering …

AN Ennistymon woman, who was sexually abused, raped and traumatised by her father, is seeking a meeting with Justice Minister Helen McEntee to overhaul the sentencing regime for people convicted of domestic violence, rape and serious sexual assault. Last Friday, Michael O’Donoghue (44) from Ennistymon saw his sentence double from five to ten years, with the last six months suspended for brutally raping and abusing his only daughter following an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions. O’Donoghue, with an address of Colmanstown, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, previously pleaded guilty to 31 counts of sexually assaulting Aimee Foley, one count of raping her and one count of producing child pornography. In her comprehensive victim impact statement, the 21 year-old described her father as a “monster, paedophile, an animal”. Aimee is calling on Justice Minister Helen McEntee to conduct a thorough review of sentencing for all types of sexual assault offences and rape. She believes that any convicted perpetrator should not have …

Ennis has enjoyed more high profile success in the national Tidy Towns competition, being named this Friday as Ireland’s Tidiest Large Urban Centre for 2022. Announcing the winners, Minister Heather Humphreys said, “I want to sincerely congratulate Ennis and all of its TidyTowns volunteers. “This is a moment of great pride for Ennis and indeed the wider county of Clare. Having won the overall prize in 2021, Ennis today continues to showcase all that is good about community and volunteerism. “I have no doubt that the Tidy Towns Group in Ennis will receive a warm and deserving homecoming as they celebrate this wonderful occasion. “The level of competition was extremely high this year with the third highest number of entries ever recorded. “I want to pay tribute to all the winners today but, above all, I want to say a huge thank you to the thousands of TidyTowns volunteers across the country. “The time and effort that you put in …

WHILE licensing laws are set to be liberalised, people in the trade in Clare say it is unlikely to have much impact on business in the county.  Pubs are set to be allowed to open until 12.30am every day of the week, removing the need to close at 11.30 from Monday to Thursday and at 11 on Sundays.  Nightclubs are set to be allowed to stay open until 6am.  Chairman of the Clare branch of the Vintners Federation of Ireland Charlie O’Meara said it is unlikely that the change will make much impact on pubs in the county. “There are so many pubs that are just trying to keep their doors open at the moment, with the overheads, and even trying to staff them is hard. Bringing in opening until 12.30, I don’t think it’s going to make a major difference in rural Ireland.” He said that even in Ennis, many pubs are already closing two or three nights a …

AN EXCITING mix of trad and classical sounds comes to Kilkee on Saturday, October 29, as the West Ocean String Quartet come to West Clare.  Among the programme on the night will be pieces from their latest, and fifth album, Atlantic Edge. Blending traditional and classical elements, the album was recorded in Dublin  over three days in November 2019, and marked the Quartet’s two decades together. The album release was to have been accompanied by a tour of venues along the Atlantic coast in Spring of 2020, but as with so many other cultural events fell victim to Covid. The Quartet’s founder, Belfast musician, composer and television producer, Neil Martin, said that the Quartet is thrilled to be fulfilling the original tour schedule, including Cultúrlann Sweeney on Saturday. The repertoire for their Clare concert  is music from or about the west of Ireland, both traditional and newly-composed.  The Quartet celebrates the deeply rich vein of airs and dance tunes that …

FORMER Sinn Féin TD Violet-Anne Wynne took out two loans totalling €30,626 – one to repay Sinn Féin and another one to repay Dáil allowances due to her reduced attendance as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. The Independent Deputy, who resigned from Sinn Féin last February, confirmed her former political party approved a €12,126 loan as it wanted the issue concerning rent arrears due to Rural Resettlement Ireland to be resolved after details about these difficulties emerged on the eve of the 2020 General Election. In an interview with the Clare Champion, Deputy Wynne outlined she took out a loan for €18,500 from another source with no connections to Sinn Féin, to repay Dáil allowances, which are now fully repaid. The Kilrush-based mother-of-six created a political sensation by becoming the first Sinn Féin candidate to win a Dáil seat in almost 100 years after securing 8,987 first preferences in the 2020 General Election. Dáil deputies are paid a series of …