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WHILE the government managed to defeat a Sinn Fein motion looking to stop the introduction of new laws on fuel including a ban on the sale of turf, they remain under fire for the proposals. Plans to ban the sale of turf have been discussed for weeks now but there appears to be little support for the move around Clare, one of the counties where a significant percentage of people use it. Ryan responds that there are 1,300 deaths every year because of air pollution, compares the planned turf sale restrictions to the smoking ban, asks Doherty: 'What number of deaths should we tolerate?' pic.twitter.com/Q8VVxQUQOF — Rónán Duffy (@ronanduffy_) April 28, 2022 Clare TD Michael McNamara said that a degree of realism is missing from the Green Party’s approach to the issue. “The Green Party have correctly identified problems but I think their solutions lack reality. It’s all well and good to increase taxes on things like green diesel, ban …

One man has been hospitalised following a road traffic incident that occurred across two different scenes on the outskirts of Ennis this morning. It’s understood that two vehicles collided initially near Inch Bridge on the Ennis to Miltown Malbay road shortly before 8am. No-one was injured in that incident. However, one of the vehicles continued towards the main N68 Ennis to Kilrush Road before colliding with a ditch and rolling over at Inch Beg. It’s also understood that the driver of a vehicle who witnessed the first collision followed the car that left the scene and raised the alarm after it crashed. The car rolled over and came to a stop on its side leaving the driver and sole occupant trapped inside. An ambulance and rapid response advanced paramedic unit were sent to the scene along with local Gardaí. When it was reported that a person was still inside the vehicle, two units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service …

The National Amateur Showjumpers league will be launched at Newmarket-On-Fergus Show this Sunday. Two local companies have come together to sponsor the National Amateur Showjumpers league for 2022.  Joint sponsors Orchard Equestrian and Newmarket Architectural and Planning Services (NAPS), have come together in a sponsorship package worth over €4,000.   This new league will be run at selected shows in the 32 counties throughout the summer, with horse and rider combinations gaining points towards the overall prize giving ceremony.  Along with the national title, the leading rider on points will be crowned an Orchard Equestrian ambassador – a package that includes a €1,000 voucher, jacket and 15% discount code for 12 months.   The runner-up prize is a  €750 voucher, with further prizes on offer for the top 10 riders.    The league kicks off at Newmarket-On-Fergus show, the local show of keen amateur rider Derrick Burke who is also joint sponsor of the competition. Derrick was at the launch with his long term equine …

A Munster Minor football campaign that began so triumphantly for Clare in Shannon a fortnight previously disappointedly ended with a whimper at the same venue on Thursday evening when overpowered by Tipperary on a score of 1-8 to 3-12 With Clare, Tipperary and Limerick all vying for the Phase 1 Final places entering the final group round, Clare’s early promise was clinically crushed by the Premier County’s 2-6 to 0-1 second quarter surge to compete a remarkable ten point turnaround by the break. All that after Clare captain Sean McMahon set the pace with an early free followed by points for Cathal Talty and Darren Keane to carve out a 0-3 to 0-0 advantage by the 11th minute. Indeed, it would take the visitors 14 minutes to register their first score through a Conall Grogan free. However, it was as if the floodgates opened as from the resulting kick-out, Ben Carey’s interception led to an immediate goal and from there, …

THE extraordinary story of the O’Higgins brothers will be told this Friday night at the Festival of Finn in Corofin. Cumann Staire is Dúchais Chora Finne will present the story of the four brothers of North Clare, all of whom participated as soldiers in the First World War. The story will be presented by Dermot Hayes, who conducted the research interviews connected with this historical narrative for a Radio Corca Baiscinn documentary, which subsequently won a national gold community achievement award for the station. Dermot worked closely on the project with retired army captain Fionnán Ó hUigínn and his sister Máiréad both of whom will join Dermot in Corofin on Friday night. The story tells how Liscannor natives Richard and Thomas O’Higgins emigrated to Argentina to set up a new life there . However both were subsequently to return to Ireland in order to enlist in the army when World War 1 broke out in Europe in 1914. Both joined …

WITH overseas tourism set to step up markedly this year, a recent delegation from Ireland set its sights on growing the Scandinavian market. County Clare was promoted to more than 50 top tour operators and travel agents from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland at Tourism Ireland’s 2022 Nordic trade workshop, which took place this week in Copenhagen. Twenty-five tourism companies from Ireland – including the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience – took part in the workshop, meeting and doing business with the Nordic travel professionals. The goal was to encourage them to extend their Ireland offering, or to include Ireland for the first time, in their brochures and programmes. The key message was that Ireland is open for business again and we cannot wait to welcome back Nordic visitors. Emer Mac Diarmada, Tourism Ireland’s Manager for the Nordic Region, said, “We’re really pleased that so many key Nordic travel professionals have taken the time to come and meet with our …

THE standard of public health care in the Mid-West was brought into focus again last week, as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation reported 126 patients being treated on trolleys on a single day at University Hospital Limerick. It claimed that this was the largest number seen at any Irish hospital since the INMO began keeping track in 2006. In a statement it said that the Limerick figure was more than 28% of the total number of patients on trolleys across the country. The INMO Assistant Director of Industrial Relations, Mary Fogarty said, “The fact that we are seeing a record number of patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick on April 21 means that the bed management system is completely broken.” She claimed that the situation was taking a toll on staff. “INMO members in University Hospital Limerick are reporting significant work-related stress due to the persistent overcrowding and inability of provide appropriate care to all admitted patients. They …

BUSY mum-of-three Geraldine Frost was raising a family, running a shop and holding down a job in a medical devices company, in the 1990s, when a routine blood test changed her life. As part of a routine medical, organised by her employer Analog Devices, high levels of a substance called creatinine were detected. “That can be a sign of kidney disease,” Geraldine explained. “I had been feeling very tired, but I put that down to being rushed off my feet. My mother had passed away, at the age of just 50, from kidney failure and, as it turned out, I was then diagnosed with a very rare type of kidney disease.” Because of her condition, Geraldine’s kidneys were no longer able to perform their normal function of filtering out impurities. This necessitated dialysis, a mechanical process to cleanse waste and fluid. The procedure, which has to happen several times a week, can lead to major restrictions in someone’s daily life. …