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THE convenience of travelling from Shannon Airport was a common theme with holiday makers boarding the inaugural service to Barcelona this morning. There was a holiday buzz in the departures lounge of the airport this morning as passengers boarded the 8.40am service to the new destination with Ryanair. This is the second service by Ryanair to the Catalonia region from Shannon Airport. Commenting on the route, passenger Jim Lynch from Clarecastle, said he is delighted with the new service. “I am lucky enough to have a house just over the border in France. I will arrive now in Girona, and I will be able to pick up my car and will hopefully be in my house in about 45 minutes. “That basically means leaving Shannon Airport at 8.40am and being in my house in the South of France at about 12.30pm Irish time, which is just incredible. I hope people use this flight. “Just to go to Barcelona for the …

HERITAGE projects across county Clare are to benefit to the tune of more than €120,000 of State funding. Community groups from Spanchilhill to Spanish Point will receive funding from The Heritage Council. Initiatives to received support range from the preservation of local monuments to the creation of audio guides for those with visual or literacy issues. Green Party Senator Róisín Garvey outlined the full list of projects to benefit from the funding boost. “As spokesperson for Rural Development, I am delighted to announce securing funding of €120,621 in support of Heritage activity all over Clare and across a wide range of events and topics,” she said. “Thanks to my Green Party Colleague, Minister Malcolm Noonan, for the funding. Investing in our Heritage is important for ourselves and our communities as well as being another great draw for visitors to our beautiful county. “From Caherconnell, to Killaloe, Kilrush, Clooney, Spanish Point, Clarecastle, Shannon, Ketts Lough and for our cultural heritage with …

CAHER-based artist Jane Seymour has teamed up with will fellow ceramics specialist, Mike Byrne, for an exciting new exhibition at Kenny’s Gallery in Galway. The show, entitled, ‘Forms and Surface’ opens on May 6 and will include some stunning pieces with a range of different inspirations. Jane is a self-taught artist and ceramist while Mike trained in Ceramic Design in Limerick. Their work shares a commonality in its use of strong, slab-built, cut and altered sculptural forms, and refined surface treatment. Mike builds tall abstract vessels, applying layers of different coloured slips, which he sands down to reveal the colours beneath, giving a smooth tactile surface. Jane textures each piece, etching deeply into the surface of the clay with her drawings, inspired by an interest in the figurative, and uses oxides to colour her work. “Although our work differs from each other and we come from very different backgrounds as far as training, we both make strong, collectable, sculptural pieces …

CLARE gardai are seeking assistance from the public after a number of premises were broken into over the past week. For the second time in two weeks, access was gained to a business premises on O’Connell Street Ennis by removing roof slates. This latest crime occurred between 12.30am and 12.40am on May 2. Entry was gained through the roof by removing slates and an internal partition wall and a number of items were stolen. In west Clare, a house in Derrymore, Lahinch, was entered and a sum of money in coins and cash was stolen. This crime took place between 8am and 3pm on Tuesday, April 26 last. In Kilrush, meanwhile, between 6pm on Friday, April 29 and 8.30am the following morning the front door of a cabin located on a building site in Vandaleur Gardens, was forced and a Milwaukee Jig Saw, Milwaukee Angle Grinder and a Milwaukee Impact Driver were stolen. All these tools are battery operated. During …

Two men have been convicted for being in the possession of illegally caught salmon on the River Fergus in Ennis, and were ordered to pay fines following prosecutions taken by Inland Fisheries Ireland. Cousins Gerard Considine and Niall Considine, both with addresses in Clarecastle, Co. Clare, received a fine of €200 and costs of €471 each following their conviction at Ennis District Court on Friday, April 22, by Judge Bernadette Owens. Inland Fisheries Ireland Officers gave evidence in relation to the offence which occurred on July 1 2021. They outlined the facts of the case to the court of how Gerard Considine and Niall Considine had been apprehended following a night time surveillance operation in the area after suspicious activity had been detected. The men were found to be in possession of eight illegally caught salmon from the river Fergus in Ennis. David McInerney, director of the Shannon River Basin District at Inland Fisheries Ireland said, ‘Inland Fisheries Ireland has …

John Costello’s recent Quakerstown winner, Search For Glory, was the star attraction at the recent Tattersalls April Sale held at Cheltenham Racecourse. An eye-catching winner on debut of the five-year-old geldings’ maiden under his trainer’s son Conor Costello on Easter Sunday, the son of Fame And Glory came under the hammer at the famous Cotswolds venue just five days later. After a hectic round of bidding, leading trainer Gordon Elliott had the final say when paying £200,000 for the gelding who will join his powerful Cullentra House operation. Fenloe House-based Costello reported: “He’s the first horse I’ve ever sold or shown here. My son Conor rode him, it was his fourth winner but he’d broken his collarbone six weeks previously and had only been passed fit to ride on the day, so it was a great result. “He won at Quakerstown like a very nice horse, which we’ve thought he is for quite a while. He’s a super athlete, a …

A GROUP of residents who have come together to promote Doora village and make the area a better place to live, work and visit are calling for a change in the locality’s status in the draft County Development Plan 2023-2029. The Doora Community Development Group are seeking, under a submission to the County Development Plan review, a change of the status of Noughaval from a ‘Cluster’ to ‘Small Village’ status and that the village be referred to as Doora. Among the issues highlighted by the group in their submission has been motorists speeding through the village, which they say is “now a serious issue for public safety”. A recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard councillors voice their support, pointing out that a change in the zoning could support efforts to reduce speed limits in the locality. Former mayor Councillor Johnny Flynn has made his own submission outlining his support for the residents and stating that Doora village is …

POLISH photographer Beata Rosik who is based in Ennis has been awarded the TONES Studio Residency Award. This award, announced by Clare Arts Office, will provide Beata with access to a shared studio facility at the EASI (Ennis Access to Spaces Initiative) artist studios in Ennis for 12 months, a small production budget and supports needed to progress her work and her career. Arts advisor, Moran Been-noon, will work with Beata to provide the most appropriate support. Beata Rosik originally worked as a primary school teacher for 12 years in her native Poland. Since 2007, she has been living in Ennis. Not long after arriving in Ireland, Beata was diagnosed with cancer. During her treatment and recovery she discovered a passion for photography. Her style developed and, using her life experiences and current affairs for ideas, she found techniques to bring her own signature style of art to her photographs. This style resulted recently in two gold medals in the …