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COMMUNITIES across North Clare have until March 24 to stake their claim for a chance to host the now famous statue of the mythical Púca.  Last month, a majority of residents of Ennistymon rejected the planned sculpture, following a long-running controversy over the nature of the design as well as the public consultation process. After the Council confirmed the change of plan, applications are now being accepted from other areas interested in giving a home to the two-metre high bronze artwork.  The local authority this Thursday publicised a list of criteria that communities will need to meet in order to be considered as the new home of the Púca. For the moment, applications will only be considered from the North Clare Electoral Area and details of the exact location as well as written consent from the landowner must be provided. In addition, applicants must show “demonstrable community buy-in” through meetings and surveys. They must also prove they can create a …

COUNCIL CEO Pat Dowling vowed that the major opportunities offered to the region by having the 2027 Ryder Cup played in Adare won’t be spurned. Just after it was announced that the tournament would be played in Adare, Dublin Airport came out with a now infamous tweet, in which it claimed it was the “key gateway” for the competition. This resulted in a significant backlash in Clare, due to the slight on Shannon Airport, and something of the wording of the tweet was reflected in the motion Ian Lynch brought before Monday’s meeting. Nearest international airport to @TheAdareManor ? @ShannonAirport !😀 pic.twitter.com/l7uicA0UAe — Ryder Cup Ireland 2027 (@RyderCupIreland) July 31, 2019 “As the ‘real gateway’ to the planned Ryder Cup in 2027 I am requesting Clare County Council to establish and lead a joint marketing campaign with Limerick, Tipperary and Kerry County Councils to ensure a united approach that will maximise the potential of Shannon airport and the Shannon Estuary …

THERE is a Status Orange weather warning in place for Clare from the early hours of tomorrow morning with disruption to travel anticipated. Storm Eunice will track quickly over Ireland tonight and Friday morning bringing severe and damaging winds for a time. Southwest or cyclonic winds becoming northwest will reach mean speeds of 65 to 80 km/h with gusts up to 130 km/h. Some coastal flooding, especially at high tide. #StormEunice will bring challenging and disruptive conditions on Friday due to very strong winds, heavy rain and snow. ⚠️Weather Warnings for #rain, #wind and #snow are in place. ⚠️Keep an eye on the latest warnings and updates over the coming days 👉🏾 https://t.co/BoUueCIxKa pic.twitter.com/0od83XSror — Met Éireann (@MetEireann) February 17, 2022 The warning is status red for counties Cork and Kerry. while other counties issued with orange warnings include Galway, Waterford, Wexford, Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wicklow, Laois, Offaly, Dublin. Currently Met Eireann says the warning is valid …

THE medieval town of Ennis is known for its narrow streets and labyrinth of historic laneways and bow-ways. It’s also famous for being a tricky town to navigate, where motorists are challenged when it comes to finding available parking, especially visitors unfamiliar with the town layout. However, parking is about to become a whole lot simpler in Ennis with the deployment of a new Smart Parking initiative by Cisco and Dublin-based software development company Danalto. The proposed solution will see Cisco’s software partner Danalto deploy Bosch parking sensors, Cisco ISR routers, Cisco LoRaWAN gateways, and Cisco Cameras throughout parking areas in Ennis town centre, including surface car parks controlled by Clare County Council private car parks, and some on street parking bays. The use of parking cameras and sensors in conjunction with a cloud analytics platform to analyse parking space availability, will allow the public to access real-time information on parking availability. The project will also facilitate the introduction of dynamic …

MOVIE fans are set to enjoy a brand new film festival launching in Ennis which will quite literally be ‘fantastic’, writes Jessica Quinn. Plans are underway in the county capital to develop a film festival dedicated to the ‘Fantastic’ genre for the Halloween season. ‘Fantastic’ in this sense acts as an umbrella term and includes everything from horror and sci-fi to thrillers and fantasy and it is surging in popularity in the US. According to Ennis Chamber CEO Margaret O’Brien the development of the festival is at an “advanced” stage, with a dedicated committee working on bringing the plans to life in various venues across the county capital. Work is ongoing with full details yet to be announced, including the festival’s name, however there are talks underway for a world leading fan magazine for the Fantastic genre to be aligned with the festival. Ms O’Brien explains, “We were always looking for a festival for the Halloween period, I had worked …

RTE Gaelic Games commentator Marty Morrissey has lauded the achievements of St Joseph’s Secondary School in capturing their first Harty Cup, writes Dan Danaher. Speaking on a platform outside the school, the Quilty broadcaster paid tribute to all the work that contributed to becoming the best senior hurling colleges team in Munster. Marty said it was a wonderful honour and privilege to be present in Tulla to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the St Joseph’s team. “As a Clareman I want to thank this team and school because what you have done is more than just win a cup or a Munster title. This is what a school dreams of aspiring to. “What you have is a sense of belonging to a community. You are from Clare, East Clare and St Joseph’s school in Tulla. The school has achieved a wonderful thing by bringing a whole county together.” “We are all gone mad on this St Joseph’s team because of …

A MEDICAL professional is to be sent forward for trial to the circuit court concerning the alleged farm-yard assault on his younger brother, writes Gordon Deegan. That is according to Sergeant Aiden Lonergan who told Judge Mary Larkin at Ennis District Court that the DPP has directed that the case against Conor O’Halloran (39) is to proceed on indictment to the circuit court. Sergeant Lonergan said that a Book of Evidence will be prepared in the case where Conor O’Halloran is charged with the assault causing harm of his brother, Daniel O’Halloran (35). Any person convicted of such an offence in the circuit court can face a fine and/or a prison term up to five years. The court heard previously that farmer, Daniel O’Halloran (35) was left with a “large piece” of his ear missing after the alleged farm yard altercation with his brother, Conor O’Halloran at Liscullane, Tulla, Co. Clare on May 5 last. Solicitor for Conor O’Halloran, Edel …

THE Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has moved to clarify its role in the creation of the forthcoming Clare County Development Plan for 2023 to 2029, writes Fiona McGarry. It follows criticism at a recent meeting of the council’s Rural Development committee where concern was expressed about outside influence on the local planning process. A number of elected representatives expressed concern over the implications of national policy, including the National Planning Framework and the Rural Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES). All plans created at local authority level must take account of their guidelines. Particular alarm was expressed about the geographical distribution of 4,5000 new housing units permitted under the lifetime of the plan, given that they will largely be located on serviced lands in urban areas. In response, the OPR said its aim is to work with Clare County Council to ensure the new plan is consistent with Government policy. In a statement to The Champion, the OPR explained …