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SHANNONDOC has refused a request to meet members of the local authority, over their concerns about its level of out-of-hours GP cover. It has also defended its track record, saying that it has treated around 700,000 patients from Clare since the service began in 2002. At the January meeting of the Council, a request was made by Councillor Tony O’Brien that representatives of the service be invited to answer questions as to why access to some of its centres had been reduced. The Killaloe man said the matter was of particular concern, given the support the service receives from the taxpayer.  In correspondence seen by The Champion, ShannonDoc turned down the request saying such a meeting would be inconsistent with its policies, given that it has a defined Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the Health Service Executive (HSE). “The company has a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the HSE to provide an out of hours GP service with detailed target …

THE people of Cloughleigh have come together to raise an impressive €3,000 for the Irish Red Cross’ work in Ukraine through the hosting of a number of events. A fundraising tea party, raffle and contribution from the local benevolent fund all played their part in raising the money which was recently presented to Aiden Lonergan of the Irish Red Cross. Flan Brennan, chairman of the Cloughleigh Residents Association explains that when news began to emerge of the war in Ukraine and they saw what was happening they were driven to try and help in some way. “At the beginning of this we were starting to hear on the news about the troubles in Ukraine and we felt we had to do something as a community. We wanted to give them a bit of support so we thought a fundraiser for the Irish Red Cross, who are doing great work, would be a good idea.” The fundraisers involved a number of …

Clare have enjoyed some memorable and famous Munster SHC victories over Limerick in Cusack Park, recalls Joe Ó Muircheartaigh. THE 1972 Munster semi-final was only four minutes old, but the 13,000 packed into Cusack Park already sensed that Limerick had enough. Noel Casey whipped a breaking ball to the net at the old scoreboard end, before Jimmy McNamara rattled another past Jim Hogan and the end was already in sight. “Maybe it’s 1953 all over again,” mused Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh on match commentary — it wasn’t that bad for Limerick, who had been on the receiving end of a 10-8 to 1-1 defeat 19 years previously, but it was still bad, very bad. “It was a day to remember in the chequered annals of Clare hurling,” wrote Sean King in The Clare Champion after Clare’s 3-11 to 2-10 win. “Clare, the unheralded underdogs, pitted against all-conquering Limerick, whose supporters were conjuring up all sorts of images of All-Ireland success. “It …

SHANNON is mourning the passing of a true community champion after Tess Barry was laid to rest recently. Following the funeral Canon Brendan O’Donoghue said that almost as soon as he came to Shannon he became aware of her place in the community. “I remember when I came to Shannon 33 years ago, I was a new parish priest. I moved into Boyne Park and I couldn’t get over the reaction there from the people. “They were all lamenting the fact that a lady named Tess Barry, one of the residents, had moved to Fearnóg. I didn’t know who Tess Barry was at the time but it didn’t take me long to find out!” He said that Tess had made a huge contribution to the town. “She was in Shannon for many years and got involved in every sort of organisation. The Tidy Towns, the Senior Citizens, the Apostolic Work, the ICA, the Society of Care, were all organisations she …

THERE HAS been much talk around the county over the past few weeks about Clare not getting the true credit they deserve for their perfect start to the Munster Championship. It’s no different to last year’s championship opening demolition of Waterford or back-to-back victories over Wexford as there was more concern about what happened to the vanquished sides such as Tipperary and Cork rather the rampant Banner that inflicted the damage. That’s certainly not a concern that the management hold as being written off makes their job much easier in terms of motivation and ambushing potential. Realistically though, Clare will only truly get merited credit if they could take down perennial champions Limerick. The big question for both teams however is their mindset in the approach to this group clash on Sunday. With Limerick almost certainly safely through to a fourth consecutive Munster decider, it difficult to see how or why they would bring a full strength side to Ennis …

Clare selector Ken Ralph wants to build upon the current feel good factor surrounding hurling within the county. The Clare minors, heartbreakingly denied in the Munster final on Wednesday night, has the county’s supporters excited by the talent emerging. The U-20s will also feel they could have progressed further after losing winning hands against both Limerick and Cork. Ralph is keen to give supporters more to shout about against the all conquering Limerick side. “It’s brilliant that our minors reached the Munster final. It was unfortunate for the U-20s because they could just as easily have beaten both teams. There’s green shoots there and a buzz about the place so we hope that continues. You can see it in the supporters, there’s a buzz there.” Despite dipping well below their usual standards, John Kiely’s outfit managed to secure a 3-21 to 0-23 triumph against Tipperary as late goals from substitute Conor Boylan and Aaron Gillane put an end to any …

AN URGENT call has been made for improvements to supports for childcare services, which one Clare councillor describing a “crisis situation” for the sector. A motion was tabled by Councillor Pat McMahon at Monday’s local authority meeting, in which he appealed for support to put pressure on government on the matter. “Childcare workers are barely getting the minimum wages in some cases,” Councillor McMahon said. “People are studying for years in college and they are just not being appreciated. Childcare services are finding it difficult to recruit staff as a result. The councillor state the minimum wage “is not good enough for such an important role”, pointing out that childcare workers are highly qualified and, like everyone, affected by issues accessing housing, health and education. “We need a strong childcare system, but it’s falling apart,” said suggesting the government “gets serious and looks at countries with same population like Finland”. “There is a huge amount of people leaving the sector, …

SIXTY-SEVEN years ago Dermot Kelly broke Banner hearts, when he delivered an incredible Munster final performance, scoring 1-12 to propel Limerick to a hugely unexpected victory. These days Dermot is based in north Clare and ironically with his home county about to face the Banner on Sunday, he was the winner of a Club Clare draw for a signed Clare jersey. Dermot will be turning 90 on Christmas Day and his son Sean said that while still a Limerick man first and foremost, he does have an affection for Clare. “Yeah, he does, he lived in Ennis for 20 years and he’s spent an awful lot of time in Lahinch and Liscannor,” his son told The Champion. While he has revelled in Limerick taking three of the last four All Ireland’s he also enjoyed Clare’s triumphs. “He’s very happy with all Limerick have won, very much so. But the last time that Clare won the All-Ireland in 2013 he wrote …