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MEMBERS of the regional health forum for the Midwest are being urged to make the case for the restoration of services at Ennis General, when they meet senior hospital officials next week.  In a statement, the Midwest Hospital Campaign, Clare, outlined that a meeting is to take place next Tuesday (July 19) between the management of University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and forum members representing Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. It follows a unanimous call for the restoration of Emergency Department (ED) services in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s in Limerick, at the May meeting of the HSE West Regional Health Forum. The request for a follow-up meeting was made by Clare Green Councillor Liam Grant and Tipperary Independent Councillor Séamie Morris. “The Midwest Hospital Campaign Clare calls on all members of the forum to use this opportunity to advance the case to upgrade Ennis Hospital, to a model 3, which would mean the return of  24/7 Emergency Department to the county,” …

A TENNIS programme is being run throughout July for Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in Shannon. It started last week and is being run by Wesley O’Brien, who said it came to Shannon after something similar began in Meelick a few weeks earlier. “About three weeks ago I started a similar programme at the Radisson Hotel for the families there,” Wesley told The Champion. “A lady called Siobhán Boyd reached out to me, who’s with a group in Shannon, and she asked if I’d do something for the families in Shannon so I said no problem.” He was very pleased with how it had begun. “It went very well, we had good numbers considering it was the first day. We broke it into different age groups, there were five to ten-year-olds from half two to half three, 11 to 17 from half three to half four and then 18 and over from 4.30 to 5.30pm. Considering it was the first …

POPULATION projections in the forthcoming County Development Plan have been described as “utterly redundant”, on foot of new Census data.  Addressing the July meeting of the local authority, Councillor Cillian Molloy pointed to figures showing a population increase in Clare of 7.2% since 2016. Meanwhile, the plan allows growth of 9.94% up to 2029. In light of that, Councillor Murphy had asked that clarity be sought from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR). Referring to a response from the OPR, which said it had no comment to make, Councillor Murphy was sharply critical.  “We have already reached 75% of our future projected population growth out to 2029 even  before submissions to the draft have been taken into consideration and the unelected body, who will run a rule over what we are told repeatedly is our County Development Plan, will not offer us any clarity as to what we can do …

AFTER more than 11 years of celebrating the fortnightly mass at the famous Barn Church in Oatfield, Canon Dan Spaight bade the local community a fond farewell last Saturday night. Retired for some years, after his ministry in Middlesborough in the UK, and now living in Ennis, Canon Spaight is a native of Cratloe and was ordained in 1959. “There were a total of 437 priests ordained across Ireland that year,” he recalled. “That was some number.” Canon Spaight enjoyed his ministry and his retirement to Ennis has proven to be an active one. He was approached more than a decade ago by sacristan Noreen Brandon and Parish Council member, the late Geraldine Crehan, to say mass in Oatfield. “It was round two weeks before Christmas in 2009 and I agreed,” he said. “The weather was very bad and I wondered if things continued, if I’d ever get there. I was told not to worry because there were people with …

WARM tributes have been paid on the passing of Joe Dooley, a highly-regarded member of the Mountshannon community, who was widely known and well respected through his long career as a cattle dealer. Mr Dooley, from Sellernane, was a popular figure across Clare and further afield and deeply involved in the farming community. The father of Senator Timmy Dooley, Joe Dooley was widely respected, particularly for his expertise when it came to livestock.  Paying tribute to his late father, Senator Dooley wrote: “A life well lived in his local community, witnessing many changes over the decades. His life centred around family, farming and his cattle.” A nephew of Joe Dooley’s, Noel Hogan from Mountshannon, described his uncle as “a mighty man”. “He was born in August 1928 and lived and died all his life in the same house in Sellernane,” he said. “As a cattle dealer, he would have walked the roads of Ireland, going to all the fairs. He …

The Clare team that won the 1997 All-Ireland final will be celebrated in Croke Park this Sunday. Joe Ó Muircheartaigh recalls a success that came at the height of hurling’s Revolution Years when the Banner County shook up the world, on and off the field.   IT’S a cliché to say that hindsight is 20/20 vision, but looking back on things from a remove of 20 years it’s true to say that 1997 was the apex of the Revolution Years – the title of the book written by celebrated hurling commentator Denis Walsh that captured a remarkable decade of change in the game. For a host of reasons, it was always going to be a huge hurling year. For the bluebloods like Tipperary, Cork and Kilkenny who agitated against change because they considered All- Irelands to be their birthright. They wanted to restore the old order. For the new order of Offaly, Clare and Wexford who had won the three …

CLARE 6-10 OFFALY 1-13 Clare easily secured Senior status for 2023 with a clinical devastating performance full of skill guile and no little determination. A first half that showed everything that is good about this Clare team, first to every ball, ravenous in the tackle, recycling possession to optimum effect and showing a killer instinct to boot. Two goals inside the opening few minutes was the start managers Conor Dolan and John Carmody would have only dreamed of. Eimear Kelly assisting the first with a lovely handpass to Chloe Morey who blasted home before Kelly scored a goal of immense quality. Picking up possession 30 yards from goal with a beautiful first touch she beat her marker on the outside before cutting in and batting to the bottom corner in Shane O’Donnell style. A long range attempt at a point by Chloe Morey deceived Offaly Keeper Eleanor Clendennnan dropping into the net and by the end of the opening quarter …

As Imogen Cotter talks to The Clare Champion from sunny Spain, the Ruan cyclist should be in the midst of a seminal year of her career. The struggle and the sacrifices for her to earn a professional contract were rewarded when Belgian based team Plantur Pura asked the 29-year-old to compete for them this year after a rapid upturn in the Clare cyclist’s form towards the latter half of 2021. Cotter should be living the dream. Although the Ruan woman tries to maintain a positive attitude, it is fair to say that the past few months have saw her endure her fair share of nightmares. As she was warming to the task of riding professionally for the first time in her career, a routine cycle around the Catalonian region almost saw her lose her life. A van overtook another cyclist on the opposite side of the road and collided head on with her. The Clare cyclist suffered a broken radius, …