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AN ENGLISH woman of Clare descent is appealing to the people of Clare to help her trace her long lost biological grandfather. Born in Coventry, Louise McNamara has always known that half of her family tree was from County Clare. Her father, Francis McNamara, was born in London in 1956 but was unofficially adopted soon after his birth and has no memory of his birth mother or father. After years of research, the family managed to learn the identity of Francis’ mother, who was originally from Ennistymon. Unfortunately, Francis’ mother had passed away shortly before the family learned of her identity. Last Christmas, Louise McNamara, convinced her father to undergo DNA testing in an effort to discover the identity of his Clare father. The DNA tests revealed that both of Mr McNamara’s parents come from the West Clare or South Clare area and, to the families great surprise, the test also showed a match in the Ennis area. This match, …

Gardaí have arrested one person following the seizure of a quantity of drugs, cash and designer goods in Ennis. Gardaí in Ennis arrested a motorist last Saturday afternoon after he failed to stop when instructed. During a follow-up operation which included searches under warrant of a residential property in Ennis, suspected cocaine and cannabis to the value of approximately €15,500 were seized. A sum of cash and a quantity of designer goods were also confiscated. The drugs have been sent for forensic analysis and investigations into the matter are ongoing. The arrested individual who is a male in his 20s, was subsequently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda Station in County Clare. He has since been released without charge, and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

INVESTIGATIONS are ongoing after gardaí seized €15,500 worth of suspected drugs along with cash and designer goods during a search in Ennis over the weekend. The search was carried out following the arrest by gardaí attached to Ennis Garda Station of a motorist who failed to stop when instructed on Saturday afternoon. “During the follow-up operation, including searches under warrant of a residential property in Ennis, approximately €15,500 worth of suspected cocaine and cannabis were seized, awaiting forensic analysis. Additionally, a sum of cash and a quantity of designer goods were confiscated,” confirmed a garda spokesperson. The arrested individual, a male in his 20s, was subsequently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda Station in County Clare. He has since been released without charge, and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

A Kilkee mother living in New Zealand whose ten-year-old son is severely cognitively impaired following a flu infection, has appealed to the community in County Clare for financial help to bring him home from rehab. Laura Devine-Giles’ ten-year-old son, Tadhg has inflammation in his brain, a condition known as encephalitis following an influenza A infection late last September. At the time, he was rushed to ICU and then the children’s ward at Christchurch Hospital before being transferred to Auckland in November. Prior to becoming ill, Tadhg was a very chatty boy who loved playing rugby, singing in a choir and doing all the normal activities a child does in New Zealand. He was also the captain of his school’s kapa haka team. An intelligent boy, he is a self-described “maths genius” and even has his own YouTube channel. Today, Tadhg no longer speaks and is cognitively impaired. The brain injury he suffered has left him with memory loss, psychosis, catatonic …

A Central Criminal Court jury has this morning unanimously found a nephew guilty of murdering his 78-year-old uncle by stamping him to death while wearing steel-capped boots. The jury agreed with the prosecution case that Thomas Lorigan was the man who was caught on CCTV delivering calculated, “well-aimed” kicks as widower John O’Neill lay helplessly on the ground outside his home in Lisdoonvarna in Co Clare. A garda witness told the jury that the pensioner had been severely beaten to the point where he was “unrecognisable”. There was no known motive for the murder but State prosecutors submitted the fact that there was no cash robbery and that family photos were found smashed suggested the killing was “something personal”. Thomas Lorigan (34), of no fixed abode, had pleaded not guilty to murdering John O’Neill (78) at St Brendan’s Road, Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare on a date unknown between January 6 and 7, 2022. The Central Criminal Court trial heard that Lorigan …

To get a mortgage in Ireland, you will generally need to follow these steps: decide if you want to use a broker to explore your options, choose a bank with a mortgage that suits your needs, hand over the paperwork requested and get an offer in principle, find a property within your budget, and agree a purchase price with the seller and choose a local solicitor who will help with the legal aspects of the purchase. Like most things in life the ‘devil is in the detail’ – so we would strongly recommend you consider using a mortgage broker who can hold your hand through the process, not to mind the volume of paperwork required. Today we would like to cover some of the main Support Schemes available to home buyers? The First Home Scheme Ireland 2024 is a First Buyers Grant that works as an equity scheme, while the Help to Buy Scheme is a tax refund scheme. It …

  SHANNON company Atlantic Aviation Group has announced it will be developing accommodation for its staff at the former Jamaica Inn in Sixmilebridge. Rental accommodation for the company’s workers will be provided in what will be a purpose-built co-living development, and AAG has it has taken the step ” in response to the difficulties its workers have had in finding housing in the region.” A subsidiary of  AAG  purchased the property and it will be repurposed as staff accommodation with the company saying it is “to give newly hired employees a chance to settle into their new roles without the immediate headache of finding a home”. The development will have approximately 36 en-suite bedrooms for the staff, with shared relaxation areas, living rooms, communal kitchens and garden areas. AAG now employs more than 750 people, but says it has found it difficult to recruit staff due to the lack of accommodation in the area. It expects the new development will …

A SERIES of walk-in clinics to support communities in preparing their applications for schemes that are presently open, including the Local Area Grant Scheme 2024, are taking place across Clare this week. Community, group and club representatives will be able to discuss their projects with the local authority’s four Rural and Community Development Officers, namely Grainne McCormack (Shannon), Seamus Murrihy (West Clare), Niamh Wiley (North Clare & Ennis) and Darren Carroll (Killaloe). The events take place at: at Doonbeg Community Centre (10am-1pm) and Miltown Malbay Community Centre (2pm-5pm) on Tuesday, January 30; Clarecare, Killaloe (10am-1pm) and Killaloe Municipal District Office, Scariff (2pm-5pm) on Wednesday, January 31; and at Treacy’s Oakwood Arms, Shannon (10am-1pm), The Bridge Complex, Sixmilebridge (2pm-4pm) and Áras Contae an Chláir, Ennis (4.30pm-7pm) on Thursday, February 1. Earlier this week, events were also held at Teach Ceoil Corofin and An Teach Ceoil, Ennistymon. Anne Haugh, Director of Rural and Community Development with Clare County Council commented, “Our four Rural …