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MEETINGS of Clare County Council generally start at 3.45pm and finish well after 7pm, sometimes close to 8pm, with a small number of tired councillors still in the Chamber, the majority having departed earlier. The fact that so many leave before the end is hardly a great endorsement of local democracy, but it’s also entirely understandable giving that the meetings are so long and finish so late. Given the ongoing early departures and the length of the meetings, Councillor Pat Burke came up with an interesting proposal which was considered at this week’s meeting: starting the meetings at 10am. He said he himself has a long drive after the meeting, and that he sometimes has to leave before it ends, while he said that there are advantages to starting earlier. “Better business is done in the morning,” he claimed. Councillor Burke said if meetings started and finished earlier, he would hope that all members would stay for the full duration. …

RECRUITING general practitioners in the Mid-West has become more challenging due to the national shortage of family doctors, the Mid-West HSE has warned. In a statement issued to the Clare Champion, Mid-West Community Healthcare acknowledged it is facing a recruitment and retention challenge in this speciality. There are currently 216 General Medical Services GMS GPs in the Mid-West. Over the next seven years, 24 GPs (11%) will reach the age of 72, whilst 64 GPs (30%) will reach the age of 65. The growing population, ageing demographics and the extension of GP visit card eligibility on an incremental basis is also placing an increased demand on GPs. There is evidence of a significant undersupply of GPs in Ireland at present, and these issues are likely to persist. By 2025, the predicted shortage of GPs in Ireland will range from 493 to 1,380. More than a third of doctors working as GPs are not on the Medical Council’s Specialist Register of …

WORLD Refugee Day is being celebrated in Ennis this weekend with Clare Immigrant Support Centre organising a gathering to celebrate the day this Sunday, June 19, in Ennis’ Fair Green at 5.30pm. Orla Ní Éilí of the Clare Immigrant Support Centre explains World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. She explains that Sunday’s event is an opportunity to celebrate refugees in our community. “It celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding of refugees life circumstances and to recognize the resilience involved in rebuilding their lives.” World Refugee Day has been marked in Ennis since 1998 with Ms Ní Éilísaying Clare Immigrant Support Centre “is privileged to have a unique role in supporting and working with and for refugees in Clare”. This year, the focus …

Brendan Bugler believes Clare’s consistency so far in this year’s Championship bodes well for their aspirations this weekend. With Brian Lohan’s side travelling to FBD Semple Stadium for their quarter final showdown with Wexford, the pressure is on to replicate the performance produced in the epic Munster final a fortnight ago. Bugler feels that although Wexford have been building momentum ever since they managed to defeat Kilkenny on away soil in the final round of group games, Clare’s consistent performances will ensure they are confident of reaching a first All Ireland semi final since 2018. “Clare have really good hurlers. There is a massive desire there and they have given a performance every game. It’s been a really good year so far. This is another test and a big challenge. It’s such a huge occasion but I’m sure Brian will have worked on getting them back up for this game again after the Munster final.” The former All-Ireland winning defender …

Despite knocking out Wexford in three of the last four All-Ireland Senior campaigns, there is unlikely to be any shred of complacency on Clare’s part this afternoon. While Clare have had the Indian sign over Wexford in recent seasons, it was largely due to Wexford’s predictability along with the fact that the Leinster side repeatedly failed to curb Tony Kelly’s influence in any great way. It’s no coincidence that the back-to-back All-Star has been most prolific against Limerick and Wexford as they choose to zonally mark rather than employ a specific man-marker. Kelly has raided for an average of 15 points in his three championship outings against Limerick who by holding their positions, are able to snuff out most other Clare threats. Kelly’s average record against Wexford is slightly less at 0-11 in three outings since 2018 but what Darragh Egan does to counteract that could well be critical to the outcome. The conundrum for opposition managers is that by …

TEN FORMER Doolin Coast Guard volunteers, with at least 155 years of experience between them, still haven’t received a meaningful response almost six weeks after offering to return as a group to facilitate a proper working of the unit. On May 3, the ten members sent an expression of interest to return to the unit as a group in response to correspondence issued by the national Coast Guard on April 14 last. “As a collective group with many years of experience and relevant IRCG qualifications we feel that this interview process is unnecessary. “Since the “standing down” of the unit, we are and have been available to return to active duties of Doolin Coast Guard as a group. “With immediate effect we can facilitate the return of the Doolin Coast Guard Unit to full operational capacity in all competencies,” they stated. Apart from an email requesting clarification whether the members wanted to participate in the recruitment process on an individual …

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Semi-Final Clare 0-18 Offaly 2-16 OFFALY advance into the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Final after overcoming Clare, 2-16 to 0-18 at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Friday evening, writes Jamesy McConigley. Adam Screeney and Conor Doyle’s goals proved pivotal for the Faithful, ending Clare’s involvement at the grade. The opening exchanges were a scrappy affair with neither side able to register a shot on target until Jack O’Neill broke the deadlock for the Banner with seven minutes of action played. Brian O’Connell’s outfit hit a purple patch, adding on three further scores. Points from Oisin Whelan (2) either side of one from James Organ propelled Clare into a four point lead, however, Offaly would have a profitable few minutes, tallying 1-3 in reply. Clare were penalised on two separate occasions for illegitimate handpasses which handed the opportunity for Adam Screeney and Dan Ravenhill to point for Leo O’Connor’s team. Donal Shirley landed a long range point before …

CLARE can look forward to tomorrow’s All-Ireland championship quarter-final with Wexford secure in the knowledge they have a full deck from which to deal. Wedensday evening saw proposed one-match suspensions of Rory Hayes and Peter Duggan overturned on a technicality and the Banner can face the Model county at full strength in Thurles. Meanwhile, the resurgence of Shane O’Donnell has been one of the stories of this year’s Championship to date. The Éire Óg man has suffered with concussion and missed the 2021 inter- county campaign as a result. His return to action has been slow but well managed as he has slotted in seamlessly, scoring nine points in the Championship to date while lining out at wing forward. O’Donnell scooped the GAA/GPA Player of the Month award for May with manager Brian Lohan hailing the work that the star forward has put in. “There was never a doubt over Shane’s quality. He’s a really exceptional individual with exceptional skill. …