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THREE projects in Clare will share a grant of just under €734,000, under the first strand of the 2021 Town and Village Renewal Scheme. Projects in Clonlara, Drumgeely and Mountshannon have been selected in this funding stream, which tackles vacancy and dereliction by bringing landmark town centre buildings back to life for community use. The allocation was welcomed by Clare Fianna Fail TD Cathal Crowe, who said, “This is a significant fund coming into our county which will help rejuvenate the three areas that have been selected. “The biggest single allocation of €454,050 goes to Clonlara for the creation of a plaza area at the village crossroads, as well as the development of a multi-purpose community space at Kiltenanlea Church. “This will hugely transform the village centre and I think the idea of a central plaza is one that could be replicated in years to come in communities the length and breadth of the county. “In Drumgeely in Shannon, €225,000 …

DRUGS with an estimated value of €50,000 have been seized at Shannon Airport with the assistance of detector dog Harley. Revenue officers seized 2.5 kgs of herbal cannabis concealed within metal cans manifested as “Jasmine Tea”. The consignment had originated in the US and was destined for an address in Cork. Separately, at Dublin District Court Revenue officers were granted a three-month cash detention order by Judge John Campbell. This followed the seizure on 18 February 2022 of €10,000 at Dublin Airport. The cash was discovered when, as a result of routine profiling, Revenue officers stopped and searched a passenger prior to boarding a flight to Instanbul, Turkey. The cash is suspected to be the proceeds of, or intended for use in, criminal activity and is detained by Revenue in accordance with proceeds of crime legislation. Investigations into both seizures are ongoing. These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting organised crime groups and the importation, sale and supply …

PASSENGERS who were on board a Ryanair flight from Shannon have shared details of the terrifying experience they endured on the service to Birmingham. Last Friday was a day to forget for the unfortunate passengers who were flying to the UK city. After boarding their aircraft in stormy conditions, they were then left waiting for hours before the plane finally took off. After going to Birmingham, it was judged that they could not land safely and there was uncertainty for some time as to where they would go instead. Ultimately the flight was redirected to Prestwick outside of Glasgow. After landing there, the passengers were told they had two options, neither appealing. One choice was to take a bus to Birmingham, which could take in the region of eight hours. Their other option was to stay on the aircraft, which was going to take off once again, but they were told there was only a 50-50 chance that it would …

AT STEPHANIE Fitzpatrick’s funeral on Thursday, Father Robert McNamara paid tribute to the warmth of Stephanie’s family, writes Owen Ryan. Fr McNamara addressed a packed church in Lisdoonvarna, with many more listening outside to the homily. “When I was just in my first week here in Lisdoon, Marian asked me to drop in to see Biddy. I arrived, Biddy had the kettle on, and she asked Marian to put out the good jug for the priest. It was far I was reared from jugs! “Anyway, Biddy then produced this wonderful brown bread, for which I later discovered she was famous, and it was in the sharing of that bread that love and warmth and hospitality became really present, and God was there too undercover. “As the philosopher Wittgenstein had written over his doorway: ‘bidden or unbidden, God is present’. “That home of hospitality and love and welcome was the home that Stephanie came from, and it was a home of …

COROFIN Drama Society springs back into action after the pandemic with a performance over three nights of a Harold Pinter play. Betrayal, which is produced by John Clancy, will be presented over three performances in St Patrick’s Hall, Corofin, running on March 2, 3 and 5 from 8pm each evening. Thereafter, the society will take the play on the road to regional drama festivals, as it attempts to qualify for the 2022 All-Ireland Final, which will take place in May in Athlone. “It’s such a good feeling to be back performing in our home community,” comments Rona Lyons, PRO with Corofin Dramatic Society. “Covid really impacted on our ability to do what we love so we are feeling really excited as things open up again.” The society enters into the 2022 Drama Festival Circuit full of confidence, having qualified for the All-Ireland One Act Festival which was hosted by Ennis Players in early December. “That was a great experience,” says …

Clare TD Violet Anne Wynne has resigned from Sinn Féin according to national media reports, claiming she was the victim of “psychological warfare” from within the party. In a statement Ms Wynne alleges she was the victim of a campaign of “psychological warfare” from local elements within the party. She said she did not have a problem with Sinn Fein TDs in the Dail however. The mother of six said she felt her unplanned pregnancy was used “as a stick to beat her with”. “I was a proud Sinn Féin TD and took my membership with the party very seriously, I believed that they were the party for United Irelanders and were the future for this island. I now have experience that I can no longer ignore that states otherwise,” she said. Ms Wynne stated the issues she continuously faced seem to be at local level within the organisation and she highlighted what she said was a lack of “structures”. …

CALLS to restore full 24-hour accident and emergency services in Ennis Hospital are not justified, according to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly. Around the clock casualty cover was controversially removed from Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s Hospital in April 2009, despite years of campaigns by Ennis Hospital Development Committee. There have been repeated requests for Ennis Hospital to be upgraded from a Model Two to a Model Three acute healthcare facility in view of the regular chronic overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick. No life-threatening injuries can be treated in Ennis, Nenagh or St John’s where only limited care is provided for patients who are over the age of five in the Minor Injury Clinic. All three injury units provide timely treatment for a range of minor injuries, helping to ensure that the Emergency Department at UHL can prioritise emergency care for the sickest and most seriously injured patients who need it most. The units also treat sports injuries, including hand and …

Formal plan for offshore wind facility won’t be before board for two years while tanaiste says coal-burning plant won’t be decommissioned until country is is confident it can replaced with secure renewable supply THE ESB has put its plan before An Bord Pleanala for a production facility for off-shore wind-turbines at its Moneypoint power station in west Clare, writes Gordon Deegan. In a notice published by An Bord Pleanala, it confirms that the ESB is now engaging with the appeals board in pre-application consultation for its planned fabrication facility for the construction and assembly of floating offshore wind turbines. The pre-application consultation is required under the Government’s Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID) system and is a prelude to formal plans being lodged with An Bord Pleanala. The production facility for the off-shore wind-turbines is part of the ESB’s overall multi billion euro Green Atlantic at Moneypoint programme that is to transform the power station site into a green energy hub. The …