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Ennis has a new name in beauty following the opening of the Avène Beauty Salon in the Carmody Street Business Park last month. Avène Beauty is the brainchild of Rachel Harrison, a native of Lisheen, Ballynacally, and a familiar name in the Clare beauty community, having previously worked as a full-time make-up artist from a young age, and most recently in Aoife Garrihy Beauty in Ennistymon. Avène Beauty is Rachel’s first solo venture, and for this she has teamed up with sister-salons Sarah Dinan Nails and Enhance Your Beauty Aesthetics to provide a one-stop-shop for beauty in the Carmody Street Business Park. Rachel has just returned from a 10 month stint in Australia when, as well as offering beauty treatments to Irish expats and locals, she also took the opportunity to further her beauty training and experience, and learned new techniques and skills that are not available in Ireland. “Australia was a great experience. I completed another beauty course while …

Clare’s longstanding record of success in the IPB Pride of Place competition has continued this year with the announcement that Tourism East Clare and the Rekindle Festival of Lost Skills in Ennistymon have been named winners at an awards ceremony held in the Armagh City Hotel. Three Clare community projects were bidding for national glory in the all-island competition, which is organised by peacebuilding charity Co-operation Ireland and sponsored by IPB Insurance, to showcase and celebrate exceptional community development efforts. Nominated by Clare County Council, Tourism East Clare was named overall winner in Community Tourism Initiative category for its efforts to promote sustainable tourism development in the region by fostering relationships among local providers and offering unique tourism products and packages. The Common Knowledge project “Rekindle Festival of Lost Skills” received a Special Award in recognition of its dedication to empowering individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary for joyful and sustainable living. Meanwhile, Ennis Men’s Shed was named as …

Met Éireann is warning that Storm Debi will sweep across Ireland on Sunday night and Monday morning. The national forecaster has issued a Status Orange wind warning for County Clare valid from 02:00 to 10:00, and a Status Red wind warning for County Clare valid from 03:00 to 05:00 on Monday, 13/11/2023. There is also a Status Yellow Wind & Rain warning for Ireland valid from 00:00 to 15:00 on Monday, 13/11/2023 Met Éireann has warned that it will be extremely gusty on Sunday night and Monday due to Storm Debi with potential danger to life. Possible impacts include: damage to exposed and vulnerable structures; disruption to services and transport; significant power outages; and fallen trees/branches. Clare County Council has made preparations in advance of Storm Debi and its associated windand rain warnings. Crews will be on standby and will assess and respond to the effects of the storm. The Council is advising members of the public to exercise caution …

A LONG, golden era is about to end. For many years Liam Duggan’s moustache has been a constant presence in The Clare Champion office, but there are just weeks left for his colleagues, family and friends to enjoy its magnificence. It has now been officially announced that the long serving accounts department manager will shave it off on December 8 as part of a Shave or Dye fundraiser for Down Syndrome Clare. Indeed, if Liam raises over €2,500 he is set to dye his hair as well as removing the celebrated moustache. Speaking this week Liam was unsure how long the moustache has been around for. “I couldn’t tell you to be quite honest, but it’s going back years. I have it over 25 years anyway.” If the hair is also dyed, what colour has he in mind? “It won’t be pink anyway. If some people got their way it’d be multi coloured, I could be like Pogba! But it’s …

Gardaí are continuing to investigate all the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Claire and Joe Collins at a domestic residence in Kilnaboy on Thursday, November 9. The post mortems of both individuals have been completed.  The results of these post mortems will not be released for operational reasons. The scene remains preserved and technical examinations are ongoing. The primary focus for Gardaí at this time is the preparation of a file for the Coroner. Gardaí are not looking for any other individual in relation to this incident at this time. No further information is available. Anyone with information is asked to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065 684 8100 the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.

Sunday, November 5, marked the closing of the last shop in Knockerra parish with Power’s Shop calling time on trading after an estimated 150 years in existence. It was a sad day for the community because the shop was an asset to the locality and the personal service offered by the Power family over the years was much appreciated by their customers. Killimer Local History Group spokesperson, Nora Madigan told The Clare Champion it was a “very sad and lonesome” day for Knockerra saying, “every child loved Power’s for the sweets and ice-creams.‘Twas more than a shop, ‘twas everything and like a social hub in the community”. She added it was the social aspect of the shop that was important and recalled how in the ‘Ballroom of Romance’ days, revellers from the Knockerra Hall would go in there for refreshments. Ms Madigan said generations of people were well served by the local family saying her own mother who was born …

There is widespread shock in the north Clare community as news of two deaths emerged last evening. The deceased couple, named locally as Joe Collins and Claire Collins, were found at a house in Kilnaboy in unexplained circumstances. The couple were well known in the wider area. Speaking to The Clare Champion, local community advocateand former President of the Irish National Teacher’s Organisation (INTO), Declan Kelleher said, “The community is absolutely stunned and shocked at what has happened. They were two lovely people that everybody knew and nobody can understand what happened. And the community want to show their solidarity and support to the family at this time – that is the focus. “Everyone is well and truly shocked, baffled and horrified and all they do is try to be as supportive as they can for the familyin these awful sad circumstances.” Mr Kelleher added you couldn’t meet two nicer individuals and that they were both “exceptional” people. Speaking on …

  Clare Gardaí continues to investigate all the circumstances following the discovery of two bodies at a Kilnaboy house on Thursday afternoon.   The bodies of the deceased have since been removed from the scene and conveyed to the morgue at University Hospital Limerick. Post-mortem examinations are due to take place by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster at a later stage today, the outcome of which will determine the course of the Garda investigation. The scene remains preserved for an examination by the Garda National Technical Bureau. The bodies of the man and woman were discovered on Thursday afternoon at the property at Kilnaboy, about two kilomeres north of Corofin, and it is understood gardaí are treating the matter as suspicious. The man’s body was found by a visitor who called at around 2.30pm, and the woman’s body was found inside. It is believed the deceased couple have two adult children who were not in the residential dwelling on …