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THERE is “amazing interest” in next week’s arrival to Ennis of a portrait inspired by the courage of Vicky Phelan, according to local organisers of the event. The Vicky Phelan portrait tour featuring a painting of the Kilkenny woman on Clare’s Doonbeg beach, a location she described as her favourite place on earth, will visit Danlann An Chláir on Friday January 26 at 7pm. The event is hosted by Councillor Mary Howard in partnership with Clare Haven Services and Relay For Life Clare. As well as the display of the painting guest speakers on the night will include Vicky’s childhood friend David Brennan who bought the painting along with Clare healthcare campaigners John Wall and Caoimhe O’Neill- Forde. “Since we announced this very different event a couple of weeks ago there has been amazing interest in it. Vicky’s strength and frankness really struck a chord with so many people who admired her from afar, and this is an opportunity to …

January is a month for minding money, one common practice is over paying on financial products. Today we will look at some financial protection products. Many mortgage holders are paying over the odds for mortgage protection — often because they just took whatever policy was offered by their lender. Let us start with the basics – what is mortgage protection? Mortgage protection is a type of life insurance that pays off your mortgage if you die or become ill. It is usually required by lenders when you take out a mortgage, except in some cases, such as if you are over 50 or already have enough life cover. In Ireland, there are different types of mortgage protection policies available, such as single, joint or dual. • A dual policy pays twice the amount of the mortgage if both partners die, • While a single or joint policy only pays once. You can compare the rates and benefits of different providers …

A man will go on trial later this week accused of murdering a pensioner in Clare two years ago, writes Alison O’Riordan. Thomas Lorigan (34), of no fixed abode was arraigned before the Central Criminal Court this afternoon. Mr Lorigan is charged with murdering John O’Neill (79) at St Brendan’s Road, Lisdoonvarna, on a date unknown between January 6 and 7, 2022. When the registrar read the indictment to the accused man and asked him how he was pleading, he replied: “Not guilty”. The prosecution case is being led by senior counsel Eilis Brennan, while Michael Bowman SC is heading up the defence team. Addressing the jury panel, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said Mr Lorigan was a native of Lucan in Dublin until his late teens and that he had resided at the time of the alleged offence in or about the Lisdoonvarna area. The judge said the deceased Mr O’Neill resided at St Brendan’s Road in Lisdoonvarna, where he …

TRAFFIC at Shannon Airport grew dramatically in 2023 with 1.958 million passengers welcomed to the airport, a 29 % increase on 2022 activity.  This is the largest number of passengers Shannon has had in a single year since 2009, with growth in services across all its major markets.  Passenger numbers to and from Continental Europe rose by 41% to over 748k; UK traffic increased by 31% recording 838k, while transatlantic passenger numbers increased by 24% to 296k. These results build on the recent publication of an independent report by Oxford Economics showing that The Shannon Airport Group delivers a major contribution of almost €4 billion (€3.96bn) to Ireland’s GDP, supports over 20,300 jobs across the Irish workforce, and contributes €643m in tax revenues.  Commenting on the Group’s positive performance in 2023, Mary Considine, CEO of The Shannon Airport Group said: “These results are a testament to the hard work of our team across The Shannon Airport Group, the loyalty of …

Munster Hurling League Group A Round 1 Limerick 2-21 Clare 1-19 The first Shannonside derby spoils went the All-Ireland champions’ way after holding off hosts Clare in the chilly night air of Clarecastle’s new astro facility which had a capacity 1,500 attendance, writes Eoin Brennan. A late goal in each half proved crucial in maintaining Limerick’s advantage, with an injury-time first coming against the run of play to hand Limerick a 1-10 to 0-10 interval cushion. Both sides were extremely experimental though so not much could be read into any tactical gameplay, instead the inordinate wide count on both sides (Clare 18, Limerick 14) perhaps indicative of their first competitive outing of 2024. That said, Clare’s greater profligacy was notable in the second period as they frustratingly looked to close the gap and ironically while they struggled to create any clearcut goal chances, a late consolation came by means of a large dollop of fortune as goalkeeper Eamon Foudy’s monster …

Saving money is a smart financial habit that can help you achieve your goals and secure your future. In Ireland, there are many ways to save money in 2024, depending on your income, expenses and preferences. When you first set a financial goal, working towards it feels new and exciting. You may spend a lot of time researching ways to save money and feel motivated to change your lifestyle to get closer to your goal. But after a while, the shine wears off and you enter into a phase called “the boring middle.” When you’re in the boring middle, you feel far away from your long-term goal. You may have several years to go before you pay off all your debt or save up enough money to buy a house. The financial changes you’ve made probably don’t feel exciting anymore—they feel restrictive. Some days you may be tempted to give up and go back to old financial habits. Here are …

Weatherwise it was an opening night that lended itself to grit and determination more than anything else as Mark Fitzgerald’s competitive bow as Clare Senior Football Manager got off to a difficult start in Clarecastle on Wednesday evening. Holding a minimum advantage by the three-quarters mark, the home side would be blitzed by defending McGrath Cup champions Cork in a dominant final quarter that produced an unexpected 14 point turnaround to prevail by 2-14 to 0-8, with the Tralee native looking to take the positives from the bulk of the performance. “Look, it’s January football in tough weather but we’re relatively happy. It went away from us a little bit there in the second half but when you’re seeing what Cork are pulling off the bench, some very experienced lads really, it was always going to be tough to hold out,” he said. “We just picked up one or two injuries this week and obviously picked up another in the …

McGrath Cup Group B Round 1 Cork 2-14 Clare 0-8 Holders Cork eventually possessed too much experience as they overpowered hosts Clare coming down the final straight to put one foot back in what would be a sixth successive McGrath Cup Final in Clarecastle GAA Astro on Wednesday evening. Springing five of last year’s championship side from the bench in the second period, the Rebels produced a remarkable 14 point turnaround in the final 20 minutes including 1-5 from substitute duo Mark Cronin (1-3) and Chris Óg Jones (0-2). In contrast to eleven Cork survivors from last year’s Munster Senior Championship Semi-Final showdown, a new-look Clare only possessed five of the 20 used in that memorable victory as Mark Fitzgerald’s reign finally got the mark in earnest. Large injuries to Emmet McMahon and Mark McInerney were frustrating enough besides losing Cillian Rouine in the warm-up which ensured debuts for Darren O’Brien and Josh Guyler in addition to former Westmeath player …