Breaking News

A GROUP of Ennis students will brave the elements this Friday in a bid to highlight the plight of those who have been ‘Locked Out of Education’. Gaelcholáiste an Chláir Transition Year students have launched a campaign to raise awareness of the barriers to education many young people face because of rising rents and other costs, while also raising funds for the St Vincent de Paul. As part of this, on Thursday, December 9 from 9am to 6pm they will be taking over the running of the St Vincent de Paul shop in Ennis while on Friday night the students will be sleeping out at the school. The campaign is part of the students’ Young Social Innovators project and money raised will go towards the St Vincent de Paul’s work in supporting struggling students. Gaelcholáiste an Chláir Transition Year Co-ordinator Martina McNamara explains that the students were moved to act when they discovered that over 230,000 students attend third level …

THE legacy left by founding leader of Fianna Fáil Éamon de Valera was lauded by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, at the 40th annual commemoration of his statute in Ennis on Sunday, writes Dan Danaher. Following his release from prison in June 1917, de Valera was elected Sinn Féin deputy for East Clare. During the Civil War of 1922 – 23, de Valera supported the anti-Treaty Republicans. De Valera was arrested on August 15 1923, under the Public Safety Act, as he was about to make a speech at Ennis and was imprisoned until July 1924. Despite his imprisonment, Clare elected de Valera top of the poll in the 1923 General Election. He continued to represent Clare for the rest of his active political career. In a wide-ranging oration, Mr Martin stated the life of Eamon de Valera was one of overcoming adversity and remarkable achievement. “His positive legacy remains strong, and remains central to achieving progress for everyone on our …

CLARE TD Joe Carey, has received confirmation from the Minister for Education, that plans for the development of a new Gaelscoil Uí Choimin building in Kilrush, have been given the go ahead. In Dáil Éireann this week, Minister Norma Foley said “the execution of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the Department of Education and the Limerick Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB) is currently being arranged.” Minister Foley added that once the SLA is in place, the LCETB “will procure a design team for the project to design the buildings, obtain the necessary statutory planning permissions, and progress the project to tender and construction in due course.” Reacting, Deputy Carey said, ““It’s important that the Service Level Agreement between the Department of Education and the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board is agreed as soon as possible. “This will enable a design team to be appointed, which will lead to planning permission being sought, the project moving to …

SCAM calls coming for “plausible looking” numbers are being highlighted by Clare’s Independent TD.  Deputy Michael McNamara said he is aware of two situations, in recent days, where people received a call from scammers purporting to be from Revenue. “In one case, a constituent got a call from what appeared to the a Clare number,” he outlined. “When the constituent asked him what part of the county he was calling from, he became abusive and hung up. In another situation, a young professional received a call from a Dublin number, again from someone looking for a funds transfer to Revenue. When that person Googled the number, a Court Service number appeared. They were so worried they actually transferred the money. You can imagine how vulnerable older people could be to these scams.” The Scariff-based TD said the facility of scammers to make numbers appear official, is a matter of concern. “These people are clearly able to appropriate numbers to make …

A WEST Clare community was left in shock this week after a tragic car crash claimed the life of Peggy Morrissey, the mother of RTÉ sports commentator Marty Morrissey, writes Jessica Quinn. Tributes have been paid to Mrs Morrissey following her passing in the early hours of Tuesday morning in a single car collision at Annagh, Miltown Malbay. Mrs Morrissey, who was a popular member of the Mullagh community, was the sole occupant of the car. Fr Donagh O’Meara, Parish priest of St Mary’s Church in Mullagh described Mrs Morrissey as “a very giving woman. She gave enormously and was very kind to people.” Mrs Morrissey, who was in her 90s and originally from Cork, attended mass every day and will be “hugely missed” in the community, he said. “She was a fiercely independent woman and she lived right up the last. She was very engaged in life and the community. She loved people and chatting, she was great for …

WHILE the worst of Storm Barra has passed, Clare’s local authority is appealing to the public to remain cautious about resuming travel in the county. The possibility of trees being significantly weakened by the high gusts yesterday evening and falling later on today cannot be ruled out. Due to the wind direction during the severe weather event, many trees will have been weakened, and further work may need to be carried out to remove such danger. If members of the public come across any road hazards, they should report them to Clare County Council. During the morning the Municipal District crews will be evaluating the damage to the roads/coastal infrastructure and carrying out works as necessary to remove the danger. Fire Brigades across the county attended weather-related incidents from early Tuesday morning (06.50) until earlier today (04.30) dealing with fallen trees, cables, and property damage. There were no reported accidents to the Fire Service during the Status Red alert. During …

AS MANY as 3,700 properties in county Clare were without power in the early part of Wednesday following the ravages of Storm Barra. The main affected areas were in the west of the county where almost 2,500 homes were without power in and around Miltown Malbay. Most of the issues around Miltown have now been resolved. Crews from ESB Networks have been working hard to restore power and have been making good progress addressing faults in numerous areas. Problems persist however in Kilrush, Kilkee, Ennistymon and Ennis. The damage is mainly attributable to fallen trees on overhead lines as a result of the high winds. Due to the pressure on resources, ESB Networks does not expect to be able to restore power to many areas until Wednesday evening at the earliest and Wednesday 10pm in Ennistymon and Kilrush. Gale force winds associated with the storm, with gusts of over 130 km/h, caused extensive damage to the electricity network currently affecting …

SCHOOLS in county Clare that were closed today have been advised to remain shut tomorrow, Wednesday, December 8. The Department of Education is advising that all schools that are currently or forecast to be in a Red or Orange alert area should remain closed to allow for assessment of the impact of Storm Barra to take place. This includes counties Clare Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Limerick, Galway, Mayo and Wexford. Schools that are no longer in a Red or Orange Alert area can reopen, provided that, if there are concerns, school managers have had an opportunity to check for fallen wires and other serious damage in the vicinity of school buildings. If an individual school (in a yellow area) is still experiencing a particular local issue relating to the storm the Board of Management can make a decision to remain closed for tomorrow. All schools should keep up-to-date with the current weather warnings which are carried on all …