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‘The Mother Superior opens another heavy double-locked door. A deafening noise hits us. We’re in a room with huge machines from which steam is hissing. Prison bar patterns the roof-windows. The greasy walls are sweating. There is a stench of soiled clothing. Bleach fumes sting my throat, I gasp for air. Gradually I see that the room is full of women: elderly women, middle-aged women and young girls all seem to merge with the gray of the womb-like washing machines.’ ‘With Grykes and Turloughs’, 2014 IT’S NOT that Patricia Burke-Brogan needed the Freedom of Galway City that she was recently awarded as some kind of vindication. However, this recognition was long overdue and its importance to her and the movement for change she represented cannot be understated, as it came with the acceptance in the corridors of power that she had been right all along. Right to walk away from her convent in Galway in the mid-1950s when she was …

CLARE County Council has extended the deadline for submissions to the Cliffs of Moher 2040 Strategy until Sunday, June 12, 2022. The Cliffs of Moher Experience, soliciting people’s opinions on the future of Ireland’s most visited natural attraction, has invited people to fill out a short survey. Clare County Council supported by Fáilte Ireland is working, with a multi-disciplinary consultancy team led by Haley Sharpe Design, to prepare the strategy 2040 including an overall site masterplan. The second phase of public and stakeholder consultation is underway in relation to the development of a long-term strategy and site masterplan. To learn more visit the following link Have your say in the short online survey here 

A new support service to assist people dealing with harmful gambling is now available at North West Clare Family Resource Centre in Ennistymon.  The ‘National Problem Gambling Support Service’ was officially launched last week by Gambling Awareness Trust. The service is a collaboration between Gambling Awareness Trust and the Family Resource Centre National Forum (FRCNF). It will see the Family Resource Centre in Ennistymon and 19 others across the country provide professional and confidential counselling services to those experiencing harmful gambling and their families. Speaking about the service, Pam Bergin, Executive Director of Gambling Awareness Trust, said, “I would strongly encourage anyone in Clare who is experiencing harmful gambling to contact their local FRC. “Harmful gambling can have serious consequences for people’s mental health, their employment and relationships. “International research reports that for every single person identified with a ‘gambling disorder’, up to six other people are impacted significantly. “Given the estimated prevalence of 55,000 problem gamblers in Ireland this …

A HOUSING development planned for Tuamgraney is now the subject of six separate objections, including one from a local residents’ association. In April, developer Michael Pearl applied for permission to demolish an existing pumping station and built 52 houses, in a mix of bungalows and two-storey units, on a site of just under four hectares on the Dock Road. A submission from the Reddan’s Quay Residents has outlined six grounds of objection. These are the principle of development; over-development; housing design and layout; traffic and pedestrian safety; flooding; and environmental impact. The submission described Tuamgraney as having “a small close knit community of residents” and said that large scale developments had not been built, despite the fact that some have had the benefit of planing permission. The residents’ objection contended that the proposed 52-home estate “will have a severe impact upon the physical and social fabric of the village”. The document expressed the fear that Tuamgraney could become a “commuter …

A REDUCTION of 50% in energy use in homes and non-residential properties is a target that the community of Clooney/Spancillhill has set itself over the next seven years.  Also outlined in the recently-launched Energy Masterplan for the area are opportunities for a community-owned solar farm, a coppice to produce biomass, smart meters, solar panels, a sustainable bus service and more charging points for electric vehicles. The visionary document has been produced by Clooney/Spancilhill Development Association through funding and mentoring support from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Mentor Gearóid Fitzgibbon was among those to attend the launch of the Masterplan in Clooney last Wednesday night (March 25), as well as officials from Clare County Council and the Killaloe Municipal District Cathaoirleach, Councillor Joe Cooney.  Clooney National School will also play a key role. As part of the process of drawing up the plan, it was chosen for an energy audit from the non-residential sector. From the energy saving measures …

TIGHTER regulation of building materials and processes must be introduced so that Clare’s pyrite scandal is never repeated.  Making the keynote address at a major conference on the impact of defective concrete blocks, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin said that those responsible for the pyrite and mica issues must be held accountable. The Sinn Féin spokesperson on housing is also the author of major study of building regulation in Ireland. “This is not simply about apportioning blame,” he told the ‘Losing Your Home’ conference, hosted by the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS). “It is important to understand who is responsible in order to cover costs and to ensure that families and homeowners get support. We also need to fix the system to make sure this never happens again. We have to use this opportunity to fix the mistakes of the past because no-one else should suffer.” The author of Defects – Living with the Legacy of the Celtic Tiger, said …

The number of apprentices waiting to progress to off-the job training in different phases is “worrying”, according to a local Dáil deputy. Deputy McNamara asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of electrical, plumbing, carpentry-joinery and bricklaying and stone-laying apprentices, respectively, waiting to progress their off-the-job training in phases two, four and six, respectively, across SOLAS. “There are as many people waiting as there are those who have been cleared through the apprenticeship system,2 said Deputy McNamara. “If we are going to attract those apprentices, we have to ensure that they can be guaranteed to get through their apprenticeships in the time frame set out at the start and that said time frame does not change from four to seven years in the middle. “With the increase in the number of apprentices, there are more people who need to have their apprenticeships provided for by the State. I do not know if that did not occur to the …

TWO people have been taken to hospital following a single-vehicle road traffic collision in Co Clare this afternoon. The crash occurred at around 3.30pm at Drumquin about 8 kilometres from Ennis on the main R473 Ennis to Kildysart road. It’s understood that a car left the road and collided with a tree before overturning onto its roof trapping both occupants inside. The vehicle also struck a junction box believed to be linked to the local group water scheme. Two ambulances and a rapid response advanced paramedic vehicle along with units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis and Gardaí responded to the scene. After fire crews secured the upturned car, paramedics assessed both patients while fire service personnel used specialist cutting equipment to cut away parts of the vehicle so they could safely access and remove the casualties. It took almost an hour to safely remove the second of the two occupants from the car. The man and …