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WITH digital fraud continuously on the rise, Clare gardai have warned businesses to be vigilant about a particular email scam. Business email compromise fraud, also known as invoice re-direct fraud, is where a fraudster sends an email to an individual or a business pretending to be a supplier and asks for an invoice to be paid immediately, usually to a new bank account because “they’ve changed bank”, etc. They provide a new IBAN and BIC code for this new account and often the target does not know that it has been a victim of a crime until sometime later when the legitimate supplier sends a reminder for invoice payment.  To do this, fraudsters might send an email with a spoof email address, a ‘spear phishing’ email (an email that looks like it’s from a trusted source), or use malware to take over a legitimate business email account and send an email from that. In most cases, the money stolen is …

Green Party Senator Róisín Garvey said today, “I am delighted to announce more funding for swimming pools on behalf of my Green Party colleague Minister Catherine Martin’s Department. Senator Garvey said the €87,805.82 for eight Clare pools is very welcome adding, “It’s great to see businesses that had to close for so long getting supports to help them with their pools which are invaluable for both locals and tourists alike.” Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media Catherine Martin TD has provided this aid through Covid Funding to support the sport sector. Ireland Active was appointed by Sport Ireland to administer the swimming pool grant scheme, supported by partners Swim Ireland. Senator Garvey from Inagh concluded “Now more than ever we see the importance of physical activity for our bodies, our minds and our social interaction. “The funding is an acknowledgement of the importance of our Sports sector and the positive impact swimming has for health and wellbeing.”

Clare minor footballers will play their opening game of the Championship at Wolfe Tones’ GAA Grounds. Dermot Coughlan’s charges will face Waterford on April 14. The game was initially due to be played at Hennessy Memorial Park but after last night’s Munster GAA CCC meeting, the game has now been moved. In the Munster Minor Football Championship, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford are placed in to a group of four with the top two teams progressing through to the Phase One Final. Kerry and Cork meet in the provincial semi final with the winner moving 60 minutes away from Munster glory. Meanwhile, the loser of the Cork and Kerry clash plays the team that emerges from the group of four. Seven days after hosting Waterford, Clare will travel to Mick Neville Park to face Limerick. Finally, Clare host Tipperary at Hennessy Memorial Park on April 28 with that game throwing in at 7pm. The Phase One Final is down for …

Well-known Clare heritage sites, St Flannan’s Church of Ireland Cathedral and Frawley’s Bar in Lahinch and have been awarded significant funding to conserve notable historic structures. The sites have been awarded funding for diverse reasons including renewal of timber structures and reinstallation of slates, repairs to buttresses, re-pointing of masonry etc. to prevent serious damage to historic fabric and internal ornate elements. St Flannan’s is to receive €152,000 for significant reslating, repairs to buttresses, repointing of masonry to prevent serious damage to historic fabric and internal ornate elements. Frawley’s meanwhile will receive €40,000 to renew the timber structure, reinstall Blue Bangor slates to the main roof and Liscannor Stone to an outbuilding. A total of €4m was awarded nationwide through the Historic Structures Fund, administered by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in partnership with the 31 Local Authorities. The announcement follows that of €4m in funding under the Department’s other built heritage grant scheme, the Built Heritage …

TWO companies have pleaded guilty before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to breaching safety laws which led to the death of a Clare stonemason, who drowned whilst carrying out specialist maintenance work on a bridge in Limerick six years ago. Bryan Whelan, 29, of O’Briensbridge, died alongside father-of-two Tim ‘TJ’ O’Herlihy, 36, from Castleisland, Co. Kerry, after they became trapped beneath the surface of the River Shannon in Limerick City, on August 29, 2015. The men were working from a steel platform that was suspended over the side of Thomond Bridge and held by a wire attached to a winch-crane, when the platform plunged into the river. Mr O’Herlihy and Mr Whelan, who were both wearing life jackets, were also each harnessed into the platform and failed to get out of the structure and died under water. Paul Murphy, 26, from Askeaton, Co. Limerick, who was working alongside Mr Herlihy and Mr Whelan on the platform, managed to escape and was …

HOUSE prices in Clare increased by just under 18% between the first quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year, new figures from Daft.ie shows. The property website’s research also shows that there was a 2.8% increase in the asking price for houses in Clare in the first three months of this year. The average asking price in the Banner now stands at €227,645, an increase of 90% compared to the low point of the market, seen during the recession. While there were increases in price throughout the country, they were particularly noticeable in the west of the country, with Leitrim seeing a 26% increase and Mayo one of 22%. Writing in the Daft.ie report, Ronan Lyons, Associate Professor of Economics at Trinity, said that housing shortages are widespread in Ireland. “National figures of course hide regional differences – but if Covid-19 has done anything to the housing market in Ireland, it has been to take a …

ENNIS Musical Society members old and new are coming together this April for an evening of song with A Night at the Musicals. The society will be back on April 10 in Hotel Woodstock where they will be performing numbers from musicals of all eras for all ages to enjoy. Expect songs from favourite shows such as Les Miserables, Wicked, Rent, Seussical to name but a few. The concert comes following the postponement of the society’s 2022 show Legally Blonde until next year due to Covid-19. The society were also unable to put on a show in 2021 because of the pandemic, and their 2020 production was cancelled after just two performances. Ennis Musical Society chairperson Rachael Culligan tells us they have had a “terrific response” to the plans for the upcoming concert. “We initially had planned on doing Legally Blonde but with so many members getting Covid, we just felt that we couldn’t manage that scale of rehearsals with …

LESS than a year after receiving formal approval from the Department of Rural and Community Development, the River Fergus walkway is proving one of the most popular recreational amenities in the Ennis area. In fact, the positive public reaction to the paved cycling and walking route from the Quin Road to Clareabbey has prompted a move to extend it to the Quay in Clarecastle where a trailhead development is being planned. Local Fine Gael TD Joe Carey says that proposals for a walking and cycling route linking Clarecastle to Ennis and on to the proposed West Clare Greenway have been under active consideration for several years. “The extensive engineering work on the Ennis South drainage scheme provided the opportunity to develop a walkway alongside the 1.5 kilometre length of the embankment. Because some of the groundwork and infrastructure was already in place, a high standard walkway could be delivered at a very competitive price,” Deputy Carey explained.  “Last March, Rural …