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CLAIMS that people have been seen injecting “in broad daylight” as well as “public urination and worse” in an Ennis lane-way have led residents to petition for the closure of a right of way. The concerns of residents of Dalcassian Park and Upper Turnpike Road were relayed at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District where it was alleged that anti-social behaviour has been on the increase at the lane-way since a change in management at the Laurel Lodge hostel. According to Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy 62 out of 67 households closest to the lane-way to the rear of the Turnpike Road have signed the petition urging the council to extinguish the public right of way. She outlined that residents have experienced “ongoing intimidation”, detailing an incident where gardaí had to be called to deal with a number of men drunk and disorderly in the lane. “This is a very settled community with a lot of older people and they …

Clare County Council has partnered with the University of Limerick (UL) to sponsor a new PhD Scholarship Programme at the Cliffs of Moher Experience. Working with UL’s National Centre For Tourism Policy Studies (NCTPS) and The Kemmy Business School, Ireland’s most visited natural attraction this week welcomed the sponsored PhD student Ernesto Sanchez as part of the tourism research project he will undertake over the next four years.  The structured PhD programme will focus challenges and opportunities of responding to a paradigm shift in the tourism marketplace, including visitor experience, sustainable tourism, destination and visitor management and the role of technology in shaping tourism.  “This programme represents an excellent opportunity to collaborate with the University of Limerick in generating important research that will help to define and shape the future of tourism in Clare,” commented Geraldine Enright, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Experience. Ms. Enright added, “In addition to providing Ernesto a monetary sum to support his academic studies and research, the scholarship …

THE decline in vocations and the number of priests in the Killaloe Diocese has inspired a pastoral worker to write a new book outlining the need for more lay people to complete clerical duties. “Community at Heart” – who will bury our dead?” examines past community and traditions in the catholic church, current reality, future possibilities and guidelines for pastoral councils. It will be officially launched by well known author, David Rice in the Killaloe Hotel and spa on July 1. Marie O’Connell has been a pastoral worker in the Diocese of Killaloe, a choir member, a dancer in an all-girl troupe, and a voice for women. The University of Limerick administrator says she does her best writing in cafes, on park benches, on any beach, and at home in Ballina/Killaloe. The mother-of-three believes it will not be long before a priest will not be available to attend funerals, so who will? “Priests can’t be everything to everyone all of …

AFTER a lapse of two years due to the Covid pandemic, The 12 O’Clock Hills project team are once  again organising The Great East Clare Hill Challenge.   This is a 30-kilometre, eight-hour strenuous hike, which takes place on Saturday, July 9. The starting point is Two Mike Gate, Killaloe at 8am and the hike finishes at the 12 O’Clock Hills, Belvoir carpark at around 4pm. The hike takes a route to the summit of Moylussa at 532 metres, then across the Sliabh Bearna via Cragnamurragh and the Enchanted Lake. It then descends into Broadford village via O’Shea’s Acre. Light refreshments will be available in the village of Broadford and then onwards to the 12 O’Clock Hills via Hurdlestown, Seefin, Knock na mBuachaillí and Knockaphunta. These are a series of hills with panoramic views across Clare and beyond. The final climb will be The 12 O’Clock Hills at 309 metres and finishing at the Belvoir Carpark, where light refreshment will …

A TRAINING exercise is set to take place on the N18 over a number of hours on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning this week which will cause some disruption to traffic. To ensure ongoing resilience of this strategically important corridor, an exercise is planned with the emergency services, An Garda Síochána and Fire Services in collaboration with Clare County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s road maintenance contractor, Colas Joint Venture. This training exercise will temporarily implement emergency cross-overs and contra flow traffic arrangements required to manage serious incidents on the N18 between Junction 5 Cratloe and Junction 6 Bunratty. The operation will commence on Wednesday June 29 at 8pm until 6am on Thursday June 30. Drivers will experience temporary traffic layouts during this time under the management of the emergency services. Expect minimal disruption to travel times with an advisory 55kph speed limit in place. If you have any queries or require additional information you can email info@crjv.ie

CLARE gardai have urged caution when renting properties after reports of one woman being scammed this week. Clare crime prevention officer Sergeant Triona Brooks said, “During the week we received a report from a lady who saw an advert on Facebook Marketplace for a property to rent in Dublin. “She presumed it was legitimate and paid a month’s rent and a deposit totalling €1,463.00. She has since realised that the property never existed.” Sergeant Brooks has appealed for caution to avoid being tricked into paying a deposit for a property that does not exist or has already been rented, often to multiple people. She said that people should do their homework – look at the average rent price in the area and if the rent is unusually low and it seems too good to be true it usually is. Potential renters should use online maps, she advised, to double check that the property being advertised actually exists and is at …

A REVIEW of ‘No Mow May’ , a policy where areas of grass weren’t cut last month to promote biodiversity is required before next year, last week’s meeting of Clare County Council heard. At the June meeting of the Council, Councillor Ian Lynch asked for the review , which he said is required “to develop a suitable policy that ensures public spaces and recreation areas are maintained to ensure the needs of residents and users”. In a report to the meeting, Senior Engineer with the Council’s Environment Department Cyril Feeney stated, “The ‘No Mow May’ initiative is part of the wider All Ireland Pollinator Plan. The plan’s main aim is to ensure that pollinators have safety from pesticide chemicals and have food and shelter. “The plan is not a prescriptive series of must-do actions but instead provides guidelines which require us to manage amenity areas and the countryside in a slightly different way. It is not about abandoning the landscape …

Three Ireland is to expand operations at its Limerick customer experience centre, with the creation of 175 new jobs over the next four years as the Irish office begins to export services to Three UK business customers for the first time. The 175 new jobs will include both full time and part time positions and openings across a range of job titles and experience levels in the B2B sector. The employment opportunities will range from Customer Care, Team Leaders, Operations and Management. The Limerick customer experience centre has a strong history in Castletroy, originally established over 20 years ago and currently employing close to 400 people. Given the skills, expertise and talent in the Limerick centre, it is well placed to advise international clients across a broad range of connectivity services including IoT, ICT products and cost management. The expansion to support business customers in the UK market is the realisation of a key strategic objective for the team in …