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Scariff mock wedding to end with ‘The Divorce’

A MOCK wedding that took place in Scariff 11 years ago, will end in ‘divorce’ next month in Mountshannon. The novel events are part of a fundraising campaign spearheaded by Shay O’Neill and Niamh Waterstone. The ‘wedding’ raised €12,500 for cancer services, and it is hoped that the ‘divorce’ will generate around €10,500 for Raheen Community Hospital. The comedy night, which takes place at Cois na hAbhna in Mountshannon on October 1, will also pay tribute to the memory of two East Clare women who worked at the Tuamgraney facility. Members of the families of the late Maria Bugler and Annette Turner, both of whom were from Mountshannon, are also involved in the fundraiser which will support dementia services. “Maria was great craic,” Shay said. “She was one of the bridesmaids at the mock wedding. She and Annette are really missed. We were thinking about them. I got in touch with their husbands about this idea and they were delighted. …

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Council ‘hopeful’ of Budget day cash for tourism assets transfer

HOPES are high the government will announce a multi-million Euro investment package in Budget 2023 to facilitate the transfer of Shannon Heritage tourism sites to Clare County Council following a statement from a senior council official. Clare County Council has drafted a 600-page report outlining the extensive due diligence it has undertaken to take on four key visitor attractions. However, this is contingent on the government providing funding to support the upgrading and maintenance of these sites for three years. Councillors were told the council has received positive vibes that state funding will be provided to facilitate this transfer. In fact, Rural Development Director, Leonard Cleary, said the council is hopeful of an announcement confirming this funding on Budget Day and would be “very disappointed” if it was let down by the government. If funding isn’t approved, Mr Cleary stressed this isn’t really an option for Clare or regional development. Mr Cleary said the transfer is one of the examples …

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GALLERY: Hero’s welcome for Michael Blake and Aga Khan trophy

Ireland chef d’equipe Michael Blake speaks to Dan Danaher and looks back at his riding career, what he had to do to buy his first pony, setting the world bareback championship record, and guiding Ireland’s showjumpers to a string of successes   MICHAEL Blake has made history by bringing the Aga Khan trophy back to Tuamgraney following a very successful showjumping year that included qualifying for the Olympics less than seven days before the thrilling jump-off against France in the RDS. On paper, Michael knew he didn’t have the riding pedigree to become Ireland’s Showjumping Manager. However, through hard graft and precise planning, the Tuamgraney man put himself firmly in the hunt for selection. From 2012 to 2016, Michael took over the Ireland Youth Showjumping team and helped young riders to an impressive haul of medals. In 2017, the senior riders asked him to get involved so he became Development Manager and started working with Chef d’Equipe, Rodrigo Pessoa. This …

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It’s a knockout! No room for error in Clare hurling championships

Eoin Brennan previews the weekend’s hurling action with quarter-finals and relegation play-offs on the menu   Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Finals Cratloe v Newmarket-on-Fergus at Cusack Park Ennis, Saturday 3pm Commencing Saturday’s derby-fest in Cusack Park is a rivalry that has rather cooled in recent seasons which is perhaps indicative of differing development paths. In fact, it’s a full decade almost to the month since Cratloe and Newmarket’s last senior championship clash, one that the Blues won’t be forgetting in a hurry as 3-10 to 0-9 county final victory over their neighbours finally bridged an seemingly interminable 31 year gap to their previous Canon Hamilton crown. In hindsight, Newmarket will be relieved to have snatched that solitary crown as they were in danger of not fulfilling their potential with a golden crop of players following final defeats in 2006, ’08 and subsequently in 2013. Cratloe did bounce back to win their second title in five years in 2014 but that was …

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UHL chief apologises for excessive waiting times at hospital ED

UL Hospitals Group, Chief Executive Officer, Professor Colette Cowan has apologised to every patient that has experienced excessive wait times or a poor care environment in UHL. Professor Cowan made the apology during a three-hour discussion between senior officials in the UL Hospitals Group, national HSE officials and Mid-West Oireachtas representatives during a joint Health Committee meeting in Dublin on Wednesday. Responding to Deputy Maurice Quinlivan’s question about what management was doing to relieve chronic waiting times in the UHL emergency department, shr said, “We don’t feel comfortable about patients waiting for treatment in the ED, but it is a capacity issue. “We have looked at developments in our community and are developing the Enhanced Community Care Programme, which will create alternatives for elderly people, apart from the ED. “UHL is a very busy hospital. All our patients tell us the care is good, the difficulty is getting through the ED door. We need another second 96-bed block, which would …

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Rescue operation after tractor found overturned in river

A multi-agency search and rescue operation was mounted this morning after a tractor was discovered overturned in a river in North Clare. The alarm was raised at around 10.30am after a passer-by called the Irish Coast Guard to report finding the vehicle lying on its side in the Aille River at Coolagh Bridge close to Doolin. The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard, Clare County Fire and Rescue Service, National Ambulance Service and the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter were all alerted and tasked to the incident. Gardaí were also informed. Volunteers from the Doolin unit of the Coast Guard made their way to the scene. Members checked the tractor’s cab and the area around the vehicle but found no trace of the driver. Units of Ennistymon Fire Service arrived soon afterwards and personnel, trained in water rescue, also carried out a search of the river downstream from the scene. A comprehensive search of the area was completed however …

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Clare TD queries delay in opening of Ennis Primary Care Centre

CONCERN has been expressed about the delay in the scheduled time frame when the new multi-million Euro Ennis Primary Care Centre will be fully operational. Deputy Michael McNamara recently asked the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly when the Ennis Primary Healthcare Centre at Station Road Ennis will be fully operational. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that HSE Estates has advised that the centre is scheduled to become operational during the third quarter of the year. “The opening of the Station Road centre will be a significant development in the delivery of community-based health services for the people of Ennis and the surrounding area,” Minister Donnelly explained. However, Deputy McNamara is concerned about the latest delay after he was informed by Mid-West Primary Care Manager, Carmel McLaughlin the HSE Estates Department has advised this centre will become operational “in the latter part of 2022”. “The centre is currently being equipped and services will commence operation on a phased basis,” she stated. As …

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Clonlara forwards prove the B’s knees against Crusheen

Michael O’Connor watched Clonlara’s forwards point their way to a 1-25 to 3-13 win over Crusheen in the Senior B Championship   Reigning senior B champions Clonlara are back in the semi-finals of this year’s version following a deserved six-point win over a shot shy Crusheen side at the Clare GAA centre on Thursday evening. A sizable attendance was present for the first ever competitive Clare GAA game played at the GAA centre. The excellent conditions at the GAA centre allowed for a fast-moving game that was dominated in the main by Clonlara bar the last quarter when Crusheen initiated a late attempt to put respectability on the scoreline. Both sides showed positional and personnel changes from their last championship ties as Ross Hayes pointed for their games first score as Cian Moriarty and Oisin O’Donnell hit scores over after four minutes. Clonlara took absolute control of the game up to the end of the opening quarter as Cathal O’Connell …

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