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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 …

SHANNON is set to receive a jobs boost with Ryanair about to do a deal to take on a hangar locally, with 150-200 jobs set to be created in aircraft maintenance and repair. It is understood that Shannon Group and Ryanair are on the brink of signing a contract under which Ryanair would take on the hangar, which had previously been used by Lufthansa, but has been vacant of late. Securing the business with Ryanair would be seen as a coup for Shannon Group, while the jobs to be created would largely be skilled and well paid. In recent years there has been a concerted effort to develop Shannon as a hub for aviation related companies, and there are now more than 80 of them in the area, with thousands employed.

HAVING had a base in Ennis since 1974, Vitalograph is set to announce an expansion next week. The expansion is actually being announced at a press conference in Limerick on Monday morning, and it seems likely that the announcement will largely focus on the creation of new jobs in Limerick, particularly as Mayor of Limerick Daniel Butler has been invited and his opposite number in Clare had not been this week. However, a source close to the company said there will also be some good news for Ennis, although they wouldn’t be drawn on what that might consist of. Vitalograph is a global provider of respiratory diagnostic products and clinical drug trial services. Its headquarters are in the UK, but it has had an R&D, engineering and manufacturing facility here for nearly 50 years. Accounts produced for Vitalograph Ireland for 2020 stated, “The directors acknowledge the financial performance for the financial year and consider that the operating profit of €770,624 …

Michael O’Connor was in Rathkeale to see Clare battle hard but fail to overhaul the hosts who did the damage early on and ran out 2-8 to 0-9 winners. NEXT weekend Shannon will host the game that decides the season for Dermot Coughlan’s men. Following an emphatic 26-point win over Waterford in round 1 his charges were left gasping for breath for the opening 15 minutes against a very impressive Limerick side in Rathkeale on Thursday evening as the Shannonsiders scored their first win of the campaign. Waterford are now out of the Minor football championship and play Limerick having lost both games to date by a cumulative total of 46 points. Tipperary are on four points with a scoring average of +27 points. Clare are on two points with a scoring average of +21 points as Limerick are on two points and a scoring average of -2. Clare must win against Tipperary and even then, it may not be …

FORMER county manager Joe Boland passed away last week in his hundreth year and following his death, there have been many tributes paid to him and the contribution he made to Clare. Lissycasey’s PJ Kelly has been a county councillor since 1974 and for the first nine years of his career he dealt regularly with Mr Boland, who he said had been responsible for several great innovations, which improved the quality of life for many people in Clare. “He arrived in the 1960s and at that stage there were a lot of thatched houses in Ennis. He was involved in four major improvement schemes at the Turnpike, St Michael’s, Marian Avenue and Hermitage. “As far as rural Clare was concerned he was a step ahead of his time. He arranged a water scheme from Doolough Lake which served most of west Clare, it was one of the biggest schemes in the country at the time.” “Then in 1978 he brought …

ANALYSIS by a car history check company has revealed a significant amount of imported cars being driven in Clare that have been salvaged or written-off despite being sold as “all clear”. An investigation by MotorCheck.ie estimates the market value of these so-called ‘Zombie’ cars in the Banner County to be as high as €7m. The company identified 39,336 such vehicles with a total market value of €318 million being driven on Irish roads and has conceded that the true figure may be even higher. Examples of Zombie cars were found currently for sale privately and on dealers’ forecourts with ‘All Clear’ histories. Despite the introduction of new Brexit-linked import charges, the number of vehicles imported from the UK to the Republic of Ireland remains high. In 2021 over 83,000 vehicles have been imported with a total of 457,000 coming across the water over the past four years. In an effort to understand the prevalence of Zombie vehicles (those brought back …

Arlene Harris on the poignant process of sorting through the contents of her old family home – the famed Merriman Tavern – for auction this weekend SELLING the family home is always going to be a poignant experience, but going through its contents and organising them for auction is even more of an emotional wringer. And when you add to that, the emptying of a business which is choc-full of antiques and memorabilia, the task gets even harder. This is what I have just experienced, having emptied my parent’s bar, The Merriman Tavern in Scariff, for an auction which takes place on April 23. Growing up in this centuries-old stone building (where incidentally Eamon DeValera once made a speech from the room which later became my parent’s bedroom), I had a very colourful childhood. Week after week, the bar played host to everyone from Clannad and the Chieftans to the Wolfe Tones, Paddy Reilly, Christy Moore and Planxty. Finbar Furey …