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A CLARE punter certainly isn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth having beaten the odds to win a life-changing €102,000. The horse racing fan is toasting their win after four horses landed them the remarkable six-figure windfall. The anonymous customer put down their bets in a BoyleSports shop in the Banner County on Saturday, investing a total of €70 in a €2 each-way Lucky 15 and a €5 each-way accumulator on four horses running in the UK. Madame Ambassador was picked out at 11/1 in the 4.27 at Newmarket and landed the first leg by less than a length, while wins for Kalahari Prince (16/1) in the 4.32 at Redcar and Dream Composer (11/2) in the 4.45 at Ascot left just one horse standing in the way of a staggering jackpot. All eyes turned to the 5.37 at Redcar, where the winning streak was completed by a victory for 9/1 shot Helvetique. That made it four winners from four …

A NEW direction in design undertaken by Clare County Council to create a beautiful public realm space at a Shannon cemetery has been praised. The extension to Illaunmanagh burial ground in Shannon was officially opened by Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Tony O’Brien. The Council undertook a different approach to the design and layout of the extension moving away from the traditional dense grid layout. The new space, Councillor O’Brien observed, combines an homage to the nature, geography, heritage, and the people of Shannon The newly opened extension allows bereaved families to reflect in the comfort of nature and the Shannon Estuary. Councillor O’Brien, said, “Our graveyards are so important to us all here in County Clare. This project has taken many influences from scores of historic graveyards across Clare, where those who built this county now rest. “I know this place will be a fitting resting place for those we lose in the coming decade, and a place of …

DURTY Nelly’s has been named the winner of the Best Tourist Pub in the South West Region at the Irish Pub Awards. The Irish Pub Awards are run jointly by the Licensed Vintners Association and the Vintners Federation of Ireland. President of the VFI, Paul Moynihan, said: “The Irish Pub Awards is firmly established as the pre-eminent awards in our sector. The awards have helped raise the national profile of our fantastic pubs across the entire country. “The awards showcase the best of the best and I’m delighted that so many great venues are getting the recognition they deserve. “We all know our pubs are a unique part of Irish culture and remain the best place for locals and tourists alike to come together.” Chair of the LVA, Alison Kealy added, “The collaboration between VFI and LVA is core to the success of the Irish Pub Awards. They play a big part in acknowledging the part publicans play in employing …

CLARE Jam Company enjoyed a sweet moment this weekend winning gold at the Blas na hÉireann Awards in Dingle. It wasn’t for one of their tasty fruit preserves however, as the company name implies, but for one of their savoury products – traditional Doolin mustard. The Doolin company’s versatility was rewarded with gold by the judges and they also took the ‘Best in Clare for 2022’ award. Two other Burren-based businesses were also successful, gaining silver and bronze at the leading food awards. The Burren Smokehouse won silver for their Cold Smoked Honey and Dill salmon, while St Tola Irish Goat cheese won bronze for their St Tola Karst cheese. This year’s finalists and winners got to experience the Blas Village for the first time. Located in the heart of Dingle, this pop-up village was built for producers across the country to come together and celebrate the very best of Irish food and drink for Blas’s first in-person event in …

THIS MONDAY is day one of national road safety week with events and initiatives running until Sunday, October 10. With tyre safety day on Wednesday, we are highlighting the need for vigilance about this crucial aspect of road safety with the help of Pat Foudy and Daughter Tyres in Ennis. We shot two videos with Pat, the first of which gave some hair-raising examples of the kind of tyre wear that is all too common in cars driving on Clare roads. See video here In this next video, Pat shows a simple technique for checking your tyre safety at home. Pat Foudy is inviting all drivers to come in for a free no-obligation tyre test this national road safety week.

With the world in the throes of an energy crisis and people anxiously awaiting their bills this winter, Bridget Ginnity provides some helpful suggestions on how you can reduce your energy consumption and provides you with a guide on just how much each appliance and activity is costing you Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ll know that electricity bills have sky rocketed. The average bill is expected to be almost €2,200 a year, or €180 a month. That’s about €1,000 higher than this time last year if you are on the best rate. It could be another €1000 with some suppliers. Even with government intervention, we can expect higher prices to stay for the immediate future. Fretting about the bills or fighting over who left the lights on is a normal response but doesn’t do our mental and physical wellbeing any good. We can feel more in control if we understand the most effective …

THIS Monday sees the beginning of Irish Road Safety Week (IRSW) with events and initiatives running until Sunday, October 9. One of the biggest and most under-acknowledged issues around road safety is the state of the tyres on your car, so in advance of tyre safety day on Wednesday, October 5, the Champion paid a visit to Pat Foudy and Daughter Tyres in Ennis. Pat showed us some eye-opening examples of the kinds of worn out, dangerous tyres people continue to drive around on, often blissfully unaware of the peril they are placing themselves and their passengers in. This issue gets even more serious in the winter months when the roads are wetter and driving conditions are generally worse on our roads. Pat noted that many people seem to take for granted that their tyres are in reasonable condition, especially those driving newer cars. Often they give only a cursory look at their tyres, and, seeing that the outside of …

CANCER Care West launched its 2021 annual report recently, which showed that during that year the majority of its 8,000 consultations were conducted remotely. The charity moved to a hybrid service model during the pandemic, and it found that once the initial challenges with technology were overcome, both patients and service providers became comfortable with the format, and the remote services were very successful and highly appreciated. The charity’s 33-bedroom residential facility, Inis Aoibhinn, for patients undergoing radiotherapy at Galway University Hospital (GUH) also continued to run to capacity in 2021 with nearly 7,000 bed nights provided to cancer patients by the organisation. As well as its ongoing day-to-day activity the charity also developed and delivered two key projects during 2021. The first, named Children United in Bereavement Support (CUBS), is an eight-week online bereavement support group developed for children aged between 7-12 years, whose parent has died from cancer within the last 3-18 months. CUBS was developed by its …