Breaking News

A BIRD’S eye view on the past is what a dedicated group of Quin residents are hoping to share, after a year spent delving into the fascinating heritage and history of the area.  With the restrictions of lockdown putting a new focus on everything local, many communities have had the opportunity to find out more about their immediate environs. A thriving village with many non-native residents, Quin also boasts an abundance of features of historical interest. These stretch back into the Bronze Age and the Knocknafearbreaga Alignment of standing stones close to Clooney. They also include Magh Adhair, the inauguration site of the Dalcassian O’Briens and, of course, the magnificent Franciscan friary, dating to the 1400s.  As lockdown began to ease last year, Quin Heritage Group was born. Almost 12 months later, a committee of four have gathered a wealth of images, videos, articles and surveys which they have made available through a state-of-the-art website. Yvonne Gallagher, Siobhán O’Sullivan, Michael …

THE Easter Bunny will make a special appearance in playgrounds throughout East Clare as part of a fundraising event for Clare Crusaders’ Clinic. Children can meet the Easter Bunny on Saturday, April 16, in O’Briensbridge at 11am, Broadford at 11.45am, Tulla at 1.30pm and Ennis Fairgreen at 3.30pm for a chat and photographs. Parents can make donations to the collection buckets that will be available at the playgrounds. The idea behind the fundraiser came from The Easter Bunny, Tina O’Loughlin, Broadford, who visited children’s gardens last year to collect money for the local playground development. Tina approached Lourda Doyle who felt this fun event should be repeated this year for Clare Crusaders. Lourda said it is important to raise money for Clare Crusaders, which provides a lot of free therapy to children with special needs. The Easter Bunny visited Barney’s Kids Club on Sunday, which was a huge success for both children and parents, as part of an initiative for …

GARDA Headquarters is to carefully examine a ruling by a circuit court judge who found that a Clare man was unlawfully arrested at a garda checkpoint, because the arresting garda informed the man he was detaining him to check he actually was who he said he was. In the first stage of a two-part ruling, Judge Francis Comerford, at Limerick Circuit Civil Court, said he was satisfied that, Anthony O’Donoghue, 36, with an address at St Micheal’s Park, Gort Road, Ennis, Co Clare, had been unlawfully arrested. Mr O’Donoghue is suing the Garda Commissioner, the Minister for Justice, and the Attorney General, for alleged false imprisonment, damages, aggravated damages due to alleged assault and battery by the application of handcuffs by gardai, trespass to the person, as well as an alleged breach of his constitutional right to bodily integrity. Judge Comerford, who is to finalise his ruling regarding claimed damages in the case, said: “Gardai cannot arrest people they don’t …

WITH road deaths nationwide in 2022 up almost 50% on the same period in 2021 a special safety appeal has been launched ahead of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. The Road Safety Authority and An Garda Síochána launched the appeal in light of the worrying increase in fatalities on the roads – 50 so far this year. The campaign appeals to all road users to slow down, wear seatbelts, not to drive when impaired, or distracted – particularly by illegally using your phone while driving – or when tired. While the RSA and An Garda Síochána have issued a general appeal for road users to take greater care on the road this Easter Bank Holiday there will also be focus on drug driving. An Garda Síochána figures for the full year 2021 saw over 3,300 arrests for Drug-Driving. The number of arrests in 2022, up to 31 March, is 768. Analysis by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS) shows …

A delegation of key members of the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly led by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlan travelled to Clare last weekend for a visit aimed at strengthening ties between the US and Irish regions. The legislators are members of the New Jersey American Irish State Legislators Caucus (AISLC), a bipartisan network of American Irish legislators and legislators who are friends of Ireland at the state and local level of government. There is now an American Irish State Legislators Caucus in every state in the US. The New Jersey delegation visited the Cliffs of Moher, where they were welcomed to Clare by the Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Cllr PJ Ryan, and Council Chief Executive Pat Dowling. The trip also included visits to Shannon Airport and Bunratty Castle. Speaking at the Cliffs of Moher, Cllr Ryan said: “I am delighted to welcome the members of the New Jersey AISLC to County Clare today. The visit gives us the …

VISITING on inpatient wards in University Hospital Limerick has been reinstated from this Wednesday morning, April 13. Scheduled visiting slots for one visitor per patient are now permitted, but in line with national guidance on infection prevention, visits must be booked through an online system on this link Visiting restrictions remain in place for the Emergency Department, Acute Surgical Assessment Unit, and Acute Medical Assessment Unit. A spokesperson said UL Hospitals Group “was glad to bring to an end this period of restriction of access, which had been in place during a surge in community transmission of COVID-19”. Visiting hours at UHL are from 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 9pm every day, and ward staff will assist with any queries about the booking system. Visitors will have to wear a face mask, which are available at the hospital entrance, and observe hand hygiene. Anyone who is feeling unwell is asked not to visit the hospital. The only exceptions to …

DUBLIN Airport acted as a predator feasting on Shannon, but is now seeing the results of its own greed, Fianna Fáil’s Timmy Dooley has claimed in the Senate. Senator Dooley referenced a Tweet from the Dublin Airport Authority Twitter account effectively telling customers that if they are travelling at peak times they should expect delays of approximately three and a half hours. “An addendum advised that if people happened to be bringing a car, they should add another half an hour. For the premier airport in the State to find itself in that situation is appalling, and there is a reason for it finding itself there. “It has engaged in predatory practices in attracting airlines and passengers to dominate the entire sector. Airports such as Shannon have been left to wither on the vine,” he said. The East Clare based senator added, “There was massive growth in passenger traffic prior to 2019. Dublin got the bulk of it and Cork, …

BALLADEER George Murphy clearly remembers his first encounter with the voice of the legendary Luke Kelly, and the impact that those richly textured tones had on him. “I was learning the poem ‘Raglan Road’ in school and my dad told me that it had been sung as a ballad by Luke Kelly,” he recalled. “I was nine years of age and from that moment, I was hooked. Luke’s voice is simply unmistakeable.” Less than a decade later, George wowed television audiences, as well as the judging panel of Phil Coulter, Louis Walsh and Linda Martin, when he performed ‘Raglan Road’ on talent show You’re a Star on RTÉ. To-date, George has four studio albums to his credit: Dreamed A Dream (Sony), So The Story Goes, The Ballad of Archie Thompson, and 2016’s Shadowman: The Stable Sessions.  He also has a touring track-record George with The High Kings, filling the vacancy left by the departure of Martin Furey. In 2018 when he decided to tour his solo show, …