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PHOTOGRAPHER Beata Rosik recalls she felt “positively surprised and appreciated” when she discovered she was to be the recipient of Clare Arts Office’s TONES Studio Residency Award. Beata, who is living in Ennis having moved from her native Poland, hopes this honour will lead to greater recognition of her work, which has already received many prestigious international awards and appeared in exhibitions around the world. “It’s a really nice feeling that my work was noticed and appreciated here in Ireland. I’ve been photographing since I came here, which is about 14 years ago, it’s a long period of my life. “To be honest, it is not easy to be noticed even in your own country, or maybe in your own country in particular, let alone living abroad. I hope that this awareness will help me to develop, and hopefully be a small bit more recognised in Ireland. I’m confident to say that Ireland is my home and Ennis is my …

A PROBE into alleged match fixing in the League of Ireland has been launched today by the Anti-Bribery & Corruption Unit, Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB). As part of the planned operation in the Southern Region and Dublin Metropolitan Regions, ten males (aged in their early 20s to 60s) have been arrested and a number of residential properties have been searched. The operation has been supported by resources attached to the Limerick and Cork City Divisions. The males have been arrested on suspicion of the offence of Conspiracy to Defraud contrary to Common Law and are currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at various stations in the Southern Region and Dublin Metropolitan Region. This operation stems from an investigation carried out by detectives attached to the Anti-Bribery & Corruption Unit in 2019 following reports of suspected match-fixing received from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Speaking about …

AS first reported in the Clare Champion last month, Ryanair has today opened its first aircraft heavy maintenance facility in Ireland at Shannon Airport, which will create 200 high-skilled jobs in the locality, including licensed engineers, mechanics, and support staff. The airline will invest €10 million in this state-of-the-art three-bay facility, leased from Shannon Group, to support the maintenance of Ryanair’s fleet as it grows to 600 aircraft by 2026. Ryanair Director of Operations, Neal McMahon, said, “We are delighted to announce the opening of our new aircraft maintenance facility at Shannon Airport – our first heavy maintenance facility in the country. This facility will create 200 high-skill jobs, demonstrating Ryanair’s continued growth & commitment to Ireland. “Ryanair creates opportunities for highly skilled engineering jobs, with our industry leading rosters and the youngest fleet in Europe. Shannon is an ideal location with opportunities to attract, train and employ local talent to support this new facility.” Shannon Group CEO, Mary Considine, …

THE sporting and musical achievements of local groups and individuals in Ennis has been honoured at a mayoral reception. Mayor of Ennis Municipal District, Councillor Ann Norton, and members of Clare County Council hosted the event in the Civic Room of the Buttermarket Building in Drumbiggle, Ennis. Those honoured included accomplished groups and individuals from the worlds of music and sport. Ennis Brass Band received an honour for entertaining the people of Ennis and Clare for 50 years. 2021 was a milestone year for Ennis Brass Band, marking the 50th anniversary of the band’s formation. The band has competed in various competitions throughout Ireland, winning several national titles and sectional awards along the way. Ennis Brass Band has performed in England, Wales, Germany, Scotland and France, and has played for distinguished guests such as President Michael D Higgins, former President Mary McAleese, Muhammad Ali and King Juan Carlos of Spain.  Also Alana McInerney was recognised at the event on being …

Well I’ve finally reached the teen years. I’m officially a teenager having had my 13th birthday last weekend. Do I feel different? Apart from wanting to go to the teens’ disco on a Friday night, I can’t say that I do. I’m still rearing to go anywhere as long as I have my hoomans with me. And what a lovely birthday weekend they organised for me – the best ever! We were a bit late leaving Ennis so it was straight up the motorway and even though we stopped once, I didn’t bother getting out to stretch my legs. Once we’d parked, I recognised the river so I knew we were in Dublin. We walked by the river for a few minutes until we reached a place called Temple Bar. I’m told it’s party central in Dublin city but I’ve never been allowed to visit until now. It must be one of the privileges of becoming a teenager. What did …

FACILITIES for housing cremated remains are to be developed at cemeteries across Clare, in response to rising demand and changing funeral practices.  The matter was discussed at the monthly meeting of Clare County Council on foot of a motion from Councillor Alan O’Callaghan who called on the authority to look at installing columbarium walls and other options for urns. The Kilmurry man said he had recently met a lady who inquired about a grave to bury an urn. “It struck me that a lot of ground could be wasted and that all this lady wanted was a place to bury the urn,” he said. “There has been a huge jump since 2016 in cremations and 212 people are cremated in Clare every year. That figure will definitely increase and burial ground at a premium. We need to open a discussion and look at having columbarium walls in graveyards. As it stands, some areas don’t meet bye-laws for full burial, but …

THE decision by Government to extend the 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector is a positive boost for businesses coming into the summer season, according to Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway. Senator Martin Conway has also called on Government to examine the possibility of making the 9% VAT rate permanent to help the tourism and hospitality sector, particularly after the challenges brought by the pandemic. Senator Conway said, “The decision by Cabinet will help businesses in the hospitality sector which have started to recover following two years of upheaval caused by Covid, and now against the backdrop of a devastating war in Europe. “I know that my colleague, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, is committed to supporting businesses and to growing our economy, and I thank him for the measure he announced today. “Some tourism and hospitality businesses are encountering massive challenges with staff shortages as they try to prepare ahead for the busy summer period and retrain new staff …

YOUNG people from West Clare have created unique visual statements through the “My Own Brand” project facilitated by artist Ruth Wood and the Clare Youth Service. “It’s a privilege to be able to work in the community, with a diverse range of people to explore and communicate their unique visual expression,” said Ruth. “So I was delighted to be asked by Clare Youth Service to work with local young people here in West Clare.” This led to a small group from the Kilrush Youth Diversion Project and Kilrush Youth Project working with Ruth and supported by Youth Justice Worker Adriona Meere. The project gave the young people the opportunity to explore colour and how it can be used to visualise emotions as well as an opportunity to engage in mindfulness through creative engagement. In designing the creative workshops, ‘meeting young people where they are at’ was a key starting point for Ruth and Adriona. Ruth utilised a variety of artistic …