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THIRTY-FOUR Clare sports clubs are to receive €1,051,538 in Government funding through this year’s Sports Capital Grant scheme. Among the bigger Clare allocations were €70,368 to Kilkee Golf Club for an upgrade of its course and clubhouse; €65,714 to the Crusheen Community Centre and Sports Hall; €59,489 to Newmarket-on-Fergus GAA Club for the Cora Caitlin Restoration project; €58,590 to Lisdoonvarna Fáilte for a walking/jogging gym circuit and €56,696 to Active Ennis for the refurbishment of dressing rooms as well as a further €17,176 for resurfacing the Cloughleigh astro-turf pitch. Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey said that sports clubs around Clare that will benefit from the scheme will, “make great use of it to the benefit of local communities.” Deputy Carey continued: “I’m delighted that the funding is going to benefit so many clubs involved in a wide range of sporting activity throughout the entire county. Active engagement in sports not only helps keep young people healthy, but also builds …

THERE are hopes that a substantial number of the 500 redundancies at Shannon company Molex might yet be avoided. It is understood that a particular section of the Shannon plant has been particularly successful in recent times. The section in question provides products that are bought mainly by medical device company Aerogen, which has a base in Galway. According to Molex employees, around 100 staff have been working in this area and revenue in the region of €1.5 million per month has been coming in. If production of the items required by Aerogen is moved away from Shannon, it is likely to cause huge disruption for the Galway company. It is understood that the possibility of them being supplied with product from another Irish site has been raised but Aerogen management are said to be uneasy about such a move. On Wednesday, Patrick Power, director of business development with Aerogen, acknowledged that the closure of the Shannon plant would create …

GARDAÍ are appealing for witnesses following a fatal collision at Darragh on Thursday evening. Shortly after 7pm Gardaí and emergency services attended at the scene of the collision involving a car and pedestrian. The collision occurred on the N68 at Darragh on the main Ennis to Kilrush road. A 41-year-old female pedestrian was seriously injured when she was struck by the car. The woman was taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick where she was later pronounced dead. The driver of the car, a man in his 40s, was unharmed. Anyone with information is asked to contact Ennis Garda Station 065-6848100 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.

ENDURING tragedy at a very tender age was a formative experience for Ennis man John Slattery and his brother Domhnal, both of whom have gone on to build hugely successful careers in aviation. Domhnal is chief executive of leasing company Avolon, making a reported €32 million through the sale of the company some years ago, while John is president and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation, a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate. John was back at Shannon Airport last week, where he spoke to students from the University of Limerick before taking the time to meet with the local media. He said he and his brother had been really smitten by their early visits to Shannon as little boys, which provided an important spark. “There was just nothing cooler when I was growing up than Shannon airport. Those were difficult days back then, in the 1970s, in the west of Ireland, you know, it was a challenge. And when you came to Shannon …

GARDAÍ have arrested two men in their 20s in relation to two burglaries in the Drumgeely area of Shannon, Co Clare on Saturday, November 9. Shortly before 9pm, Gardaí from Shannon Garda Station received a report of two burglaries that occurred at shops in the Drumgeely area that had recently occurred. Gardaí attended the scene and carried out a patrol of the area. As a result, two men were arrested and brought to Shannon Garda Station where they are currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.

WITH jobs going in a number of companies in Clare, the county’s Mayor Cathal Crowe said the situation is unprecedented, at a special meeting of Clare County Council on Friday afternoon. “The recent announcement of job losses in Clare has been quite unprecedented. The loss of more than 500 jobs in Molex, 240 jobs at Roche Clarecastle, potentially the loss of 114 jobs at Avara Pharmaceutical and the ongoing uncertainty at Moneypoint all has the potential to have a devastating impact on this county’s economy. There is also a knock-on effect, not yet known, for smaller businesses in the supply chain. We in Clare County Council must hold our counterparts in national government to account. On behalf of the workers and their families we must make a stand and demand the intervention and support of the government and other state agencies.” He added, “Parallels can be drawn between what County Clare is experiencing now and what the people of Limerick …

CLARE GAA county board have asked an Garda Síochána to launch an investigation into the online abuse directed at various county board officials, and in particular Clare GAA secretary Pat Fitzgerald. According to reports in The Irish Independent, Joe Cooney, Clare county board chairman confirmed the complaint had been lodged with the Gardaí. Cooney, in speaking to the Irish Independent said, “A complaint has been lodged with Clare GAA by an employee (Pat Fitzgerald). It arises from social media and what has been put up on it, not alone over the last couple of months but the last number of years. “Other officers of Clare GAA have also been badly maligned on social media. It’s not good enough for people working as volunteers for the GAA whether at club or county level to be subjected to that. In fact, it’s a disgrace. “It has been going with Pat for a while back, but other officers have been getting it very …

OFFICIATING soccer games is often a thankless task but Dylan Shannon ended up as the hero of the hour at Frank Healy Park in Ennis recently. The 26-year-old was linesman, as Newmarket Celtic B faced off against Avenue United B, when spectator Colm Reidy, whose son was playing for Newmarket, was taken ill. Dylan has first aid training, much of it gained through his time with the Civil Defence, and he used it to help Colm, prior to an ambulance arriving. “I was on the dug-out side. I just heard a bit of commotion behind me and it didn’t really make sense. There was a goal kick or free kick to be taken and it’d normally be quiet. I could hear people gasping and someone said something about an ambulance. When I turned around, I could see someone lying on the ground. I hopped the fence then to go over to him,” said Dylan. “I just checked his airway first; …