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THE overall number of Clare people receiving some forms of kidney dialysis treatment at facilities in the Mid-West, has risen to 89, according the the Irish Kidney Association (IKA). As Organ Donor Awareness Week begins on Saturday (April 23), the IKA has released figures showing that 34 now attend the haemo-dialysis unit at University Hospital Limerick (UHL). A further 39 people attend Fresenius Medical Care on the Dock Road in Limerick. while seven Clare people travel to the B Braun Wellstone Unit in Galway, as it is closer to home for those patients. Patients must attend their unit three times a week for four hours of dialysis treatment in order to stay alive. A total of nine people are currently on the home therapy’s programmes. Dialysis works as an artificial kidney to remove toxins from the body when a person’s own kidneys can no longer undertake this function. All these forms of treatment keep the person alive until such time …

EXPENDITURE on the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme increased dramatically from about €6 million to €14.4 million a new report has revealed. An examination of the considerable additional expenditure was outlined in the Statutory Audit Report to Clare County Council for December 31, 2020 at the April meeting of the local authority. This was due to emergency work that was necessary during the project and the urgent installation of a sheet pile wall along the full length of the originally proposed earthen embankment to protect 120 homes, numerous commercial properties and community buildings as such as St Flannan’s College. The original contract award for the earthen embankment was €5.1 million, while design emergency work required following the slippages cost €1.8 million. The cost of sheet pile design defence was €8.5 million, while the credit provision for the original works not completed was €1 million. The total revised cost of the contract was €14.4 million. After negotiating on a revised tender …

With Clarecastle and Feakle having defeated Broadford and Éire Óg respectively already this week, Eoin Brennan previews the rest of the Clare Cup Division 1A and B action with an array of interesting clashes in prospect Clonlara v Sixmilebridge at Clonlara, Saturday 2pm (Rory McGann, Newmarket-on-Fergus) As part of the reparation process post-lockdown is the long-awaited resumption of the Clonlara v Sixmilebridge derby which has been absent for the past three years. At the time, Sixmilebridge were on the cusp of what would eventually become back-to-back county titles for the first time in 27 years whereas Clonlara have had to be content with back-to-back senior B versions over the past two seasons. Under new managements, it will be interesting to see how much water has flowed under the bridge in the intervening period as while they won’t be near full strength, the winner will remain in contention for Clare Cup honours. Cratloe v Ballyea at Páirc Uí hEithir Cratloe, Saturday …

THE Shannon Tidy Towns group is planning a significant clean-up of the town on Saturday, beginning at 11am at the bandstand in the Town Park. Secretary of the group Derek Clune said, “It’s part of the National Spring Clean that happens once a year, and in conjunction with that, we’re having it on April 23.” Explaining how it will work, Derek added, “What we do is we divide the town into zones. We meet at the Town Park, there’d usually be 40 or 50 people and we distribute them to the different zones. “You have the Drumgeely side, the centre of the town, the Town Park, the Tullyvarraga end and the Ballycasey side. “During the week then, obviously not on the Saturday, we bring the schools out, St Caimin’s and the Comp, and we normally do the River Walk with them, which gets them involved as well. “The Ukrainian people will be coming out as well on the 23rd, so …

IT WAS a wonderful Easter weekend at two of Clare’s premier attractions – Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and Craggaunowen. The Clare Champion’s mascot Daisy certainly had a great time at both venues. We’re certainly blessed to have such great amenities on our doorstep in the Banner County.

Clare are set for a mouth-watering group decider against neighbours Galway after maintaining their perfect start with a 0-17 to 0-16 victory over North Cork in Charleville last Saturday. It was another gritty character-filled display from Ger Hickey’s side that looked to have blown their chance when eleven first half wides with the aid of the conditions left them with only a minimum advantage by the break at 0-6 to 0-5. That narrative appeared to be playing out when the Banner trailed their gale-assisted hosts by four entering the final ten minutes. However, much like their opening derby with Limerick seven days previously, Clare remained composed under pressure and managed to play their way back into contention. Indeed, it was substitutes Padraic O’Donovan and Eoin Heffron that provide hugely influential in turning the tide as the Smith O’Brien’s clubman scored one and assisted three more points while O’Donovan would raid for six points overall including the injury-time winning free to …

FAR-REACHING adjustments to the forthcoming development plan for Clare have been recommended by the State’s planning watchdog. After examining the draft plan for 2023-2029, the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has told the Council it is in breach of a number of national and regional guidelines. The regulator has made a total of 13 recommendations and eight observations on draft. The proposed settlement strategy, whereby population and growth targets are allocated across the county, is the focus of the greatest concern for the OPR. Five recommendations and one observation have been made on this aspect of the document. In its submission, seen by The Champion, the OPR has identified “a number of concerns regarding the amount of residential land zoned in certain towns”. This, it says, is “risking the ability to deliver housing that is well located and served by services and amenities”. The regulator has warned that “significant adjustments” will be needed to ensure the plan is fully …