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SMALL acts of kindness can make a big difference to a person living with dementia, according to Limerick dementia advisor, Sean Donal O’Shea. Mr O’Shea urges any family member who is caring for a person with dementia to contact their local dementia advisor. He also believes a person should also contact their local general practitioner who will know the family and their circumstances. “There is a dementia advisor in every county now. Six or seven years ago, there were only eight dementia advisors in the country. Now we have 31. This shows the Government is listening,” he said. “I have been lobbying with the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland since 2007. There was nothing in budget after budget. In the most recent budget, ringfenced dementia funding has been provided, which is very valuable. “It is the small things that are the big things for a person with dementia. Covid-19 was an eye-opener for everyone when we were all locked in to …

Ennistymon woman, Pam O’Loughlin, has been unveiled as the Farmers’ Alliance candidate to contest the upcoming local election in the Ennistymon area this summer. Pam, whose younger sister Emer was murdered in a caravan on the border between Clare and Galway in 2005, says that she doesn’t recognise the kind of country Ireland is starting to become. Ms O’Loughlin has been campaigning for justice for her younger sister for almost 20 years and says she is well able to fight her corner. “I left Ireland in the 1980s and, of course, Ireland has changed a huge amount since then. But since I came home three years ago the values and attitudes of people seem to be changing,” she said. “We have changed from a country that feels safe to a country that doesn’t feel safe anymore, and I mean physically as well as psychologically. ”I feel so strongly that Ireland is going in the wrong direction. I have seen politicians, …

Rare footage recorded in the Burren by legendary RTÉ documentary filmmaker, Gerrit Van Gelderen, in the 1960s, 70s and 80s will be shown to the public for the very first time at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan this Friday, April 5. The footage was recorded by Van Gelderen while shooting episodes of his seminal nature programme, To The Waters And The Wild, in North Clare. The previously unseen footage has been compiled over the last number of weeks by Gerrit’s filmmaker son, Finn, to commemorate the 30 years since his father’s passing. “The film contains footage that was recorded in the Burren from as far back as the 1960s. The theme of the film is to commemorate 30 years since his father’s passing and to share tales about him,” said Ballyvaughan woman and friend of the Van Gelderens, Eilís Haden-Storrie. “Gerrit was the first documentary film maker in RTÉ, in fact, he started as a graphic designer on …

Friday, June 7, has been chosen as the day for the upcoming European and local elections. Tens of thousands of Clare people will cast their votes on that day to choose who will sit on Clare County Council and represent Ireland South in the European Parliament. The Minister for Local Government, Darragh O’Brien (FF) today made the order appointing Friday, 7 June 2024 as the polling day and 7am to 10pm to be the hours of polling at the European Parliament and local elections. The Minister has appointed Barry Ryan, a Principal Officer in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, to be the chief returning officer for the European Parliament elections. He has also appointed returning officers for the three European Parliament constituencies in which 14 MEPs are to be elected for the 2024-2029 parliamentary term. Martin Harvey, Cork City Sheriff, will be returning officer for the five seat South constituency. The returning officers for the three European …

A FITNESS app created by Ennis students which aims to prevent injury among young female sports athletes, has scooped second prize in a prestigious competition. Third year students Amy Hennessy and Juliette Purcell from Coláiste Muire turned judges’ heads at the BD STEM Stars competition with their app which focuses on preventing anterior cruciate ligament injuries in young women. Their research also found that young women are given the same fitness coaching as their male peers despite having different body forms. The competition is run by Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), one of the world’s leading medical device companies. First place was jointly claimed by two Kinsale Community College teams, which earned their school a cheque of €10,000 for STEM related facilities.  The BD STEM Stars 2024 Award, which is supported by the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB), is the biggest such awards programme in Munster.  The competition was launched five years ago by BD to promote and encourage …

ON April 6, 2009, the A&E unit in Ennis closed, with politicians promising a new centre of excellence at what was then known as the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick. Fifteen years and on those promises have never been fulfilled, with the A&E at UHL now regularly setting unwanted records for the worst overcrowding in the country. Horror stories about the hospital abound and this week Clare Senator Timmy Dooley has called for an emergency to be declared, while independent TD Michael McNamara has demanded that the incoming Taoiseach take the lead on resolving the dire situation at UHL. Mr McNamara said that he doesn’t have much faith in the Government to resolve a crisis that has been worsening throughout its time in office. “There are possibilities, but do I see those possibilities being exploited or utilised by the Government? I don’t. I don’t want to play politics with this but the reality is that there is a problem …

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly (FF) has announced a range of new measures aimed at alleviating overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick including opening the Acute Medical Assessment Unit in Ennis on 24 hour a day basis. Minister Donnelly visited University Hospital Limerick (UHL) today where he met with management, including Regional Executive Officer Sandra Broderick, the Health Service Executive (HSE) CEO Bernard Gloster, as well as consultants and other clinical leaders. UHL has consistently the highest number of people waiting on trollies for admittance to a hospital bed in the country. In 2024 to date, 17% of those who waited on trollies did so at UHL, a hospital which has 6% of Emergency Department attendances, and 6% of attendances of those over 75 years. “This continued problem is not acceptable to me as Minister, and it most certainly is not acceptable to the people of this region,” said Minister Donnelly. “In an effort to alleviate the problem I have …

NEW paintings of iconic Ennis scenes have gone on display at the West County Hotel. They were painted by Cathal Butler, and he explained that they follow on from earlier pictures he painted of famous Clare locations. “Initially I did ten and as you walk into the foyer they are on the right and left hand sides. They are of places like Bunratty Castle and Loop Head lighthouse,” he said. “Then I did another five recently, which are of Ennis itself.” The idea for the Ennis scenes came following a competition, where people were invited to send in photographs from the town. Cathal then selected his favourite five photographs whcih were then turned into paintings. As well as the paintings, Cathal has further plans and wants to create an interactive exhibition that can be used to promote the Banner abroad. “There’s a group called The Pub Runners, an American group, who are in Ireland at the moment on a tour. …