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AN ASSURANCE has been issued on the delivery of the Killaloe Bypass and Shannon Bridge Crossing, against the backdrop of rising costs in the construction industry.  The matter was raised at Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council on foot of the monthly Management Report. Councillor Pat Burke noted a paragraph referring to the “inflationary cost of building projects” and sought an assurance that the multi-million bridge and bypass are on track. “There is a little bit of concern on the ground,” the Fine Gael member noted.  Senior Engineer at the Project Management Office, Seán Lenihan agreed that there are a number of challenges facing big infrastructural projects. “Everybody knows about the pressures the construction industry is facing,” he said. “Our project is no different. This job was priced last August and we concluded negotiations with SISK. I would like to allay any fears. SISK have not withdrawn. The department has not withdrawn any funding. There are some genuine concerns over …

The Barn Owl was once a much more common sight throughout Clare but in recent years has suffered widespread decline. This summer, Birdwatch Ireland is conducting a survey of the barn owl population in Clare and is seeking the assistance of the public in its endeavours. Have you seen a Barn Owl, do you know of a potential Barn Owl nest site or have you installed a Barn Owl nest box in Clare? You can not report this information on Barn Owls in Clare to BirdWatch Ireland. Over recent decades, Barn Owl populations have suffered widespread declines and are now a Red-listed Bird of Conservation Concern in Ireland. As a top predator and sentinel species for the health of our countryside, the declines in Barn Owl populations are extremely worrying. The intensification of agricultural practices has resulted in the loss of suitable Barn Owl habitats, including a reduction of prey-rich foraging habitat and nesting sites. Alongside these land use changes …

Avenue United moved to the summit of the Maloney Hardware Premier Division following a successful objection to the eligibility of a Sporting Ennistymon player. An objection from Avenue Utd that a Sporting Ennistymon player didn’t have an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) was upheld by the CDSL at a virtual meeting on Monday. The FAI became involved in this contentious matter. As a result of their successful objection, Avenue Utd get two extra points having drawn 1-1 with Sporting last month. The additional points move them to the top of the Premier Division, one ahead of holders Newmarket Celtic. Mountshannon Celtic lost 2-1 to Sporting Ennistymon as they were the first club to bring this issue to attention. They successfully appealed the result and were awarded all three points by the Munster FA. Ennis Town FC were also awarded two points having drawn with Sporting 3-3 last month. This sees them move to fifth position on the table ahead of last …

CLARE’S County Coroner is to write to the State’s national roads agency to highlight concerns over a motorway exit where a Crusheen publican and Glanbia milkman lost his life four years ago. At the inquest into the June 2018 death of Michael Fogarty (57), the man’s widow, Bridget asked that coroner Isobel O’Dea highlight the concerns raised by Judge Brian O’Callaghan in court over the exit where her husband died. At the conclusion of the inquest in Kilrush Courthouse, Mrs Fogarty said that very deliberate comments concerning “deficiencies at Exit 13” were made by Judge O’Callaghan at Ennis Circuit Court last December. The mother of three adult children aged 34, 30 and 26, Mrs Fogarty said that she was raising the matter of Judge O’Callaghan’s comments “in the public interest”. Ms O’Dea stated that she would write to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to highlight the judge’s concerns. Mrs Fogarty agreed with Ms O’Dea when the coroner said “it doesn’t help …

A FUNDRAISER entitled Marching For The Maternities has raised over €27,000 for the neonatal intensive care units in Limerick and at the Coombe in Dublin. The fundraiser was the initiative of Sergeant Eddie O’Brien from Killaloe and Lieutenant Jonathan Hughes of Limerick both had children who were born very prematurely last year. The event saw soldiers complete the Great Limerick Run half marathon in uniform while carrying gear weighing 30 pounds, while colleagues based in Lebanon and Kosovo also took part in events at their bases. Eddie, whose son Max was born 12 weeks prematurely last October, said his little boy is doing very well now. “He’s doing great thank God, there’s no issues, he’s hitting all his markers and doing great, very healthy.” Max was born on October 1 instead of the due date of December 22, and spent ten weeks in hospital. Lieutenant Hughes’ daughter Daisy arrived at just 23 weeks, and Eddie says she is also quite …

THE fundraising efforts of a local sports club have been causing quite a racquet. The Ennis Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club has raised €1,000 for the work of the Irish Red Cross in Ukraine. On Good Friday the junior badminton players took part in a fun whistle-stop blitz to raise the funds for the charity. The aim of the whistle stop blitz was to score as many points as possible off your opposition within a short-time frame which leads to lots of fast badminton action as well as plenty of noise and banter. The morning started with the U12 and U14 age groups and continued with a combined U16/U19 group in the afternoon. All age groups were well contested, with the U12 section won by Aleksei  Tushkanov and Colin Hehir with James O’Connell and Lily Mantari in second place. The winners of the U14 section were Jack Doyle and Conor McMahon while the runners-up were John O’Connell and Iurii Tushkanov. …

E-SCOOTERS were described as “a danger” at Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council, as calls were made for their regulation. Councillor Gerry Flynn called on the Transport Minister “to urgently put regulations in place to protect members of the public from the users of these vehicles on public roads and footpaths”. His motion added that “some serious issues are materialising for vulnerable people and the use of guide dogs by the visually impaired is being compromised by the presence of these vehicles on footpaths”. Among those who spoke in favour of the motion was Councillor Johnny Flynn who shared his own experience of narrowly avoiding being knocked down by an e-scooter. Councillor Gerry Flynn noted that regulation of e-scooters, as mechanically propelled vehicles, is not due to be put in place until next year. “They have been set loose on the public without regulations,” he said. “The Minister for Transport has created huge issues for the public. These things are …

A father has appeared in court charged with assaulting three children, one aged three at the time, in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury. At Ennis District Court this Tuesday, the 28-year old appeared in connection with the three counts of assault against the three small children that are alleged to have occurred at the family home in County Clare. The man’s court appearance follows a lengthy Garda investigation into the physical abuse allegations against the man that first came to light at a behind closed doors Family Law court hearing in July 2020 in Ennis. After hearing physical abuse allegations against the man concerning the three children, then aged seven, six and three at that sitting, Judge Patrick Durcan called in the Gardai to mount a criminal investigation concerning the allegations. Judge Durcan told the court: “This should be reported immediately to the Gardai.” In the case, the man is charged with, on diverse dates …