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JUNE 2, 1962 was a warm summer day at the Coton Parish Church in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. It was there and then that John and Marlene Phipps were married, and 60 years on they will celebrate the occasion in Ballinruan, which has been their home since 1995. The couple first met on a quiet Sunday in 1959, when Marlene was just about to turn 16. Not much older himself, John was already working on the railways, and was whiling the afternoon away at a social club for its employees. “On a Sunday there’d be a bit of a dance in one room and there were three rooms there. Marl’s friend, her father was a guard on the railway. They were fed up on a Sunday afternoon and her friend said I know where we’ll go.” Marlene says Sundays were for church and little else and her father wouldn’t have been a bit impressed if he’d known where she was off to. …

AGRICULTURE Minister Charlie McConalogue has been requested to address an anomaly that prevents Clare farmers with low-input permanent pasture to cut hay or silage if they are in GLAS. This request was made by Deputy Michael McNamara in the Dáil recently where he also asked when the minister met the EU agriculture ministers, did he call for a reduction in or the abolition of EU import tariffs on fertiliser? “Farmers with low-input permanent pasture cannot cut hay and silage if they are in GLAS. The Minister is trying to incentivise them to do so but they cannot. “Will they, on a temporary basis for this year or for as long as this fertiliser crisis lasts, be allowed to cut silage? “Likewise, traditional hay meadows can only be cut once because cutting can only take place after a certain deadline. “Will that deadline be brought forward to allow for a second cut this year? These are matters the Minister can deal …

THERE has been a mixed reaction in Clare to a government pledge of €10 million annually over three years to support the post office network. Tom O’Callaghan from the Independent Postmasters’ Group said “one battle has been won but not the war”, to provide a long-term sustainable future for post offices. Mr O’Callaghan stressed there must be a focus on new products, capital investment and government services for the network. “It is crucial that there is an immediate five-year holding plan to ensure there will be no downward revisions of post office incomes,” said Mr O’Callaghan, “otherwise there will be no network to salvage. “Community Banking must be reinvestigated and developed as a survival option in light of the global economic depression. New Zealand and Germany community banking models should be considered. “The community and social value of the network, so visibly present during the pandemic, must be recognised as a separate asset to the state, must be protected by …

ALL week, news reports have been highlighting the crisis at Dublin Airport, where more than 1,000 people missed flights last Sunday. Around Clare there is little sympathy for an airport which is seen as having pursued a fairly aggressive policy of targeting the traffic of its smaller competitors. Many people are saying they won’t fly from the capital again, happy to  holiday from whatever destinations Shannon has available at the time. To test the ease of using Shannon, the Clare Champion simulated the experience of a passenger catching a flight scheduled for departure to the UK at 3.15pm on Wednesday afternoon. The first step involved driving to Shannon and after leaving Ennis at 1.19pm, we turned off the engine in Shannon 21 minutes later.  While people who only fly from Shannon might not fully appreciate it, the fact of not hitting any red lights in the miles up to the airport and effectively having no congestion to deal with is …

On sporting occasions such as Munster final day, one can find themselves looking back and reminiscing on past glories. With Clare going for a first Munster title since 1998, the county’s fans will be dreaming of celebrating an historic provincial success as fans flock to Semple Stadium for a blockbuster sell out that has all the ingredients to be a modern day classic. The pairing of Clare and Limerick naturally draws back memories of 1995 and the former’s ending of a 63-year wait for provincial honours. With Ger Loughnane in charge, he, alongside a now iconic group of players showed the established order of the game little respect as the Banner County came from nowhere to usurp the traditional kingpins of the game in spectacular fashion.   Heading in to the final in ’95, Clare were without a provincial crown since 1932 and were hurting, especially considering the anguish suffered in the two previous Munster final defeats to Tipperary and …

THE new Mick Mackey Cup will be presented to Tony Kelly or Declan Hannon next Sunday evening in Thurles to spark wild celebration on one side of the river Shannon, writes Jerome O’Connell. And, it’s most fitting that it’s Limerick and Clare contesting the first final for the new solid silver trophy, which was crafted in Kilkenny by Jim Kelly, who is best known for his work with the Liam MacCarthy Cup. The new Munster SHC Cup  was unveiled at a function in Mackey’s home of Castleconnell last week which was attended by his sons Michael, Pat and Greg and daughters Audrey Lennon and Ruth Doyle. Audrey Lennon set the tone perfectly for a final in which the teams are intrinsically linked. Stopping to check her words, Audrey said, “I’d love to wish the senior hurlers all the best in the Munster hurling final.” From family homes to places of work or education, these are words that will fit perfectly …

Patrick O’Connor won’t be lining out for his third Munster Final this Sunday due to his continued rehabilitation from a cruciate injury. However as the captain of Clare’s last two provincial deciders, he would be only too delighted to see the Banner finally bridge a 24-year gap to their last title in Semple Stadium. “I’m in a different place now in that I’m currently transitioning from running straight to twisting and turning and in that current condition, I’d have no place out on the field. It might be different six or eight weeks further down the line but for the moment, I’m happy to be supporting the lads from the sideline. “Look, there are so many lads out there that I’ve soldiered with for a long long time that there would be no happier person in Thurles on Sunday to see John [Conlon], Tony [Kelly] or lads like that get their just rewards for sticking with it and driving things …

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Round 1 Clare 1-7 Meath 0-6 THE famine is finally over as Clare exorcised their Meath ghosts to advance to the last 12 of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in Cusack Park this evening. Having suffered five consecutive defeats to the Royal County in as many seasons, Clare certainly made hard work out of their revenge mission as despite holding a four point interval lead with the strong conditions to come, the Banner eventually had to come from behind to cement victory with the last three points. Add in eight second half wides, three missed goal opportunities including a 63rd minute David Tubridy penalty that was excellently tipped away by goalkeeper Harry Hogan and it understandably had to take immense character for a persistent Clare to get back on track as Eoin Cleary, Keelan Sexton and Manus Doherty provided the finishing touches to a rousing yet relieving opening championship win. It was all so different in …