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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 …

COLÁISTE Muire joint manager Barry Donnellan believes his side are ideally placed for a crack at All-Ireland glory this Friday in their rescheduled decider. The Ennis school came through the ultimate test of character in their All Ireland semi-final victory against Mountrath CS, Laois and have had to wait a week following the Storm Eunice-imposed postponement. In a game which was the definition of a war of attrition, Coláiste Muire overcame the elements to secure a hard fought 0-4 to 0-2 win. Donnellan believes the traits on show that day; character, heart, determination, to name a few will stand his side in good stead when they come up against a formidable Wicklow outfit in Coláiste Bhríde. “The conditions on the day were horrible. We knew it was going to be a battle. Our work rate and determination got us the result. “Until you are in that situation, you don’t know how they will respond. Mountrath were a very physical side …

AN O’Briensbridge climate change activist is looking forward with a great sense of anticipation to meeting other worldwide recipients of a prestigious scholarship during a three-week stint in South Africa next summer, writes Dan Danaher. Saoirse Exton is one of the inaugural 100 Rise Global Winners, part of a $1 billion programme funded by philanthropists Wendy and Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and executive chairman of its parent company, Alphabet Inc. The lifetime programme aims to foster collaboration and new projects from young people to help solve the world’s thorniest problems. Rise winners will receive access to higher education scholarships, career development and funding for projects they create for public benefit. They also receive an annual three-week residential summit with the other winners, and mentorship and internship opportunities in their fields of interest and access to their colleagues in the global winner network. Because the costs of college degrees vary widely around the world, the prize for each …

DOCTOR Lena Madden woke up on Thursday morning to text messages offering condolences after the invasion of her home country by Russia. An Ennis-based academic, Lena has lived in Ireland for 20 years and in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine she is very concerned about the prospect of thousands of deaths. “The thing that people don’t talk about is loss. The biggest thing is loss of human life. How many people will die? How many children will die? The soldiers are someone’s children too.” Dr Madden’s father and step-mother were already here visiting when hostilities started, but her mother is living in the east of Ukraine. “I’m from Donetsk, the place where the war is happening currently and where it started in 2014. I moved to Ireland in 2002, that’s 20 years ago. I didn’t live through the war, but my Mum says she has lived through war already. She’s got an approach that she …

HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly has refuted claims that a “clean up operation” was carried out in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) to present a better picture for him before his hospital visit last week, writes Dan Danaher. Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, February 17, Sinn Féin Senator Paul Garvan highlighted a “shocking” issue at UHL concerning the minister’s visit to the hospital. “I had people reach out to me from the hospital yesterday to tell me what was happening ahead of his visit. Trolleys have been moved out to other wards in the hospital, as well as to step-down hospitals. “One person told me that there were more private ambulances there yesterday than they had seen in a long time. They were to get patients out, ahead of the visit. “Unfortunately for hospital management, and in fairness to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, he called in unexpectedly yesterday (Wednesday) evening. “The response to that was to hide patients in the …

FARMERS in North Clare are being “terrorised” on their own lands and a Garda Inspector has been assigned to look into the issue.  Clare’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) was told, at its quarterly meeting, that a proactive response is needed from Gardaí, after the issue was raised by two Dáil deputies. The matter was highlighted by Deputy Cathal Crowe who handed over a number of registration numbers to the Chief Superintendent.  “There’s a group of farmers in the Liscannor area who are being terrorised at the moment,” he said. “Very frequently, people come onto their land with shotguns, hunting for rabbits and foxes, and, as a farmer is entitled to, they approach them to clear them, only to be told the gun will be used on them. This is happening repeatedly. “It’s one thing to be terrorised on the streets, but to be terrorised on your own property is an entirely different thing. So, they work together and they’re in …

FESTIVAL fever is in the air in East Clare as final preparations are made for the revived and renamed Tuamgraney Harp Festival, writes Fiona McGarry. This Friday (February 25), Nuala’s Bar and Restaurant will hold a festival fundraiser from 9.30am to midday and residents and visitors alike are invited to drop in for cake and a cuppa. There will also be some live music to set the tone for the festival. The festival, which had to be moved online last year due to the pandemic will be back under a new name from May 13 to 15. The committee is in the final stages of planning “a wonderful welcome back” and will be announcing the full line up soon. Previously named The Blossom Harp Festival, the event was first set up in 2016. The festival runs overs two days with the aim of reviving interest in the harp, the Irish national emblem and integral to our culture for centuries, by …