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THERE was great joy and pride in the parish of Tulla on Sunday morning last as the community  welcomed home Bishop Ger Nash for his first official visit to his native parish since being appointed as Bishop of Ferns last year.  The Glandree native was ordained last September at St Aidan’s Cathedral in Enniscorthy, but Covid restrictions meant many friends and neighbours were unable to attend. The homecoming provided a welcome opportunity for catching up, good wishes and congratulations. Bishop Ger was the main celebrant at the Sunday morning mass in Saint Peter and Paul’s Church in Tulla. The celebration was attended by a a large cross section of the community, including former classmates from Drumcharley and Tulla National Schools as well as from Saint Joseph’s Secondary School, where the Bishop Ger received his early education. The Harty Cup, so recently won by his Alma Mater, had a special place in the sanctuary. Also present were a group of the …

A BOYCOTT of Russian goods in response to the invasion of Ukraine has been called for by Ennis councillors, who have also urged the people of Clare to support local efforts to provide relief for the war-stricken country. Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy, speaking at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, urged that retailers who are stocking products made in Russia withdraw them from shelves as she described President Vladimir Putin as a “modern day Hitler”. She said that the people of Ireland are “repulsed” by recent events in Ukraine. She acknowledged, “This is not the Russian people, they are in the dark, this is being done by a megalomaniac who is detached from reality. He doesn’t care about Russian soldiers in Ukraine who thought they were going in on exercises. This is an appalling betrayal of his own people. But this shouldn’t deter us from boycotting Russia economically.” Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Ann Norton praised the people of …

SINN Féin councillor Donna McGettigan has said that the rancorous departure of Violet Anne Wynne from the party is unfortunate, while she says she herself has not considered a future Dáil bid. On Tuesday, she said efforts had been made to deal with all issues raised by the woman who caused a major upset by taking a seat in the 2020 general election. “Any issue that we were made aware of, we tried locally and nationally to resolve them. It’s just very unfortunate that they couldn’t be resolved and Violet Anne felt she had to leave the party. “I’m not going to get into the tit for tat, the he said she said, because it’s not going to help her and it’s not going to help us either. Unfortunately she’s gone, the seat is gone and what we’re going to do going forward is hit the ground running. “On our social media you’d have seen we’ve been out, we’ve delivered …

MOUNTSHANNON is celebrating an award of more than €50,000 from The Town and Village Renewal Fund. Within days of lodging plans for an outdoor pavilion at Aistear Park, Mountshannon Community Council received positive news and a sum of €54,860 after a detailed application for government funding.  In a statement, the Community Council said: Thanks to Minister Heather Humphreys of the  Department of Rural and Community Development. “Thanks to Clare County Council and especially Seamus Murrihy, Killaloe Municipal Community Development Officer who has supported Mountshannon Community Council through this whole process. Congratulations to all the communities and hardworking committees who have been successful. Best of luck to all!” Noting the funding allocation, Deputy Cathal Crowe said the plan was a model for other communities looking to develop similar recreational amenities. “Importantly, this will be made using sustainable, low-maintenance materials so it will be environmentally friendly and an example to other communities looking to do similar,” he said.  Making the funding announcement …

URGENT action to control the deer population, which is said to have “exploded” in areas like East Clare, is being sought, writes Fiona McGarry. Two farming organisations have appealed to the Department of Agriculture to reinstate a national forum to manage the population, as concerns intensify about links between bovine TB and uncontrolled numbers of certain deer species. The Deputy President of ICMSA has told the joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture that the presence and prevalence of Bovine TB after “70 years and counting” of continuous TB Eradication Programmes was a damning indictment of official oversight and efforts. Lorcan McCabe said that far from moving forward at an appropriate rate, the latest eradication programme seemed condemned to repeat the mistakes and inaction that had given us several decades of missed opportunities and often ruinous expense for farmers. Mr McCabe noted that ICMSA alone had attended 30 meetings on TB strategy in just the past year. He said that farmers “desperately” …

All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Hurling C Semi-Final Ennistymon CBS 3-24 St Malachy’s Belfast 0-7 WHITEHALL Colmcille GAA club played host to this one sided semi-final on Saturday afternoon as Jason Daffy’s charges eased into the All-Ireland C hurling final, reports Michael O’Connor. Their opponents in this final will be Scoil Colm from Kilcormac. The Offaly school accounted for St Killian’s, New Inn to book their place in the decider on Friday. The loss of Diarmuid Fahy in the football semi-final on Tuesday was an unfortunate loss to Ennistymon and he will now miss the remaining games in the season. However, the return from suspension of Josh Guyler allowed as efficient a scoring unit as exists in schools hurling to take St Malachy’s and stretch them to breaking point. When one sees, Rynne, Guyler, Woods and Mullins dictating matters from midfield upwards it is little wonder that Eugene Cullinan stayed on in the Inagh/Kilnamona hotseat for 2022. Mullins set the tempo …

Croke Cup Semi-Final St Joseph’s Secondary School Tulla  1-11 St Kieran’s College Kilkenny 3-16  TWENTY three times Croke Cup Champions, St Kieran’s advanceD to another showdown with a physical powerful performance, reports Derek Dormer. St Joseph’s Tulla won the toss electing to play into the wind, a tactic that paid dividends in their historic Harty Cup success. A bright start allied to some wayward shooting from the Kilkenny team saw Tulla leading five points to four by the 20th minute. However, five unanswered points in quick succession  gave St Kieran’s a four point lead at the break which on the balance of the opening 30 minutes seemed harsh on the St Joseph’s team. There can be no doubting the class that  Kieran’s possess though with a clinical second-half showing scoring 3-7 with their use of the ball against the wind a joy to watch. Dominant from every restart , winning primary possession with ease they consistently played diagonal low ball …

Eoin Brennan looks ahead to tomorrow’s NHL clash with Limerick in Cusack Park, with the All Ireland champions possibly ripe for the plucking When Limerick overpowered Clare in their own home patch to secure the first silverware of 2022 six weeks ago, few could have predicted that the back-to-back All-Ireland champions would be still seeking their next victory upon their return this Sunday. After all, while Clare are in the midst of an injury crisis which is far from resolved yet, even with less than half of their full strength side, Limerick’s superior physicality, movement and understanding was patently clear in that Munster Cup Final display in Cusack Park. The statistics speak for themselves as John Kiely’s side had almost 50 shots at the target, with their impressive 27 point margin matched by a staggering 19 wides. However, far from being the launchpad to vie for a third National Hurling League crown in four seasons, successive reverses to Wexford, Galway …