Breaking News

THE Ennis Trad Fest returns to the county capital this week following the cancellation of last year’s event due to Covid-19. The 27th year of the festival, running from Thursday November 11 to until Monday, November 15 will be a scaled back event from previous years because of the ongoing effects of the pandemic. However a host of events have been organised including a session trail throughout the town, album launches, trad discos and concerts. Highlights include three concerts in the Queens Hotel featuring renowned performers. On Friday night Tola Custy and Cyril O’Donoghue will perform live tracks off their critically acclaimed 1994 album “Setting free” followed by a trad disco with DJ Ollie Mullooly. Saturday night the popular and multi-award-winning quintet Goitse will perform with another trad disco afterwards. And on Sunday Angelina and Peter Carberry, Dan Brouder and John Blake, the Five Star Quartet and Colm Murphy will take to the stage. Organisers say they are “delighted” to …

In our most recent Make A Difference article here Bridget Ginnity explored how we can control our consumerism and waste generation. Here she profiles a group and an individual tackling waste in different ways Christy Collins, Shannon Men’s Shed We pick up old stuff from the recycling centre and do them up, bikes, old timber and so on. We use wood we get to build outdoor furniture of the primary schools, buddy benches, picnic benches, bug hotels and so on – maybe we need buddy benches in parks for adults too. We upcycled old steel seats from Shannon park for the new wetlands area, and they’re like new. We are lucky to have a premises in the industrial estate, with three workspaces and a meeting room. The meeting room is the best part of it, it’s great to see men talking, an alternative to the pub We make all kinds of thing. We have a woodturning lathe that is great …

ENFORCEMENT action has been taken against an Ennis business man who promised Playstation 5s to customers which never arrived. Unwar Anwar trading at Innovate has been directed by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to immediately issue refunds to consumers who have not yet been refunded and to cease engaging in misleading commercial practices, including providing misleading information to consumers Despite the findings of the investigation, when contacted by The Clare Champion Mr Anwar insisted that he didn’t mislead anybody. “The issue was dealt with months ago. I don’t believe I was misleading anyone. We were let down and so were many other retailers. Everyone has been issued a refund now,” he said, adding he had no further comment to make. The consumer watchdog took the action against Mr Anwar following a number of complaints by consumers who placed orders for Sony PlayStation 5s, but failed to receive them or a refund. Mr Anwar has been directed by the …

BOTH Clare sides in this week’s first round games of the Harty Cup lost close contests, though a strong Clare contingent helped Limerick’s Ardscoil Ris to victory, writes Ivan Smyth. Saint Flannan’s suffered a 2-20 to 1-21 defeat against a strong CBS Thurles outfit, while St Joseph’s Tulla just went down to De La Salle Waterford. Flannan’s, the reigning champions, are not out of the competition but they will need to beat Cashel Community School next to book a quarter final spot. A defeat there would end their campaign. With the Harty Cup returning after not being played last year due to COVID, St Flannan’s lined out with an inexperienced outfit as Jarlath Collins, James Doherty, Dylan Cunningham and Eoin Guilfoyle were the only survivors from the panel that claimed the Harty Cup 619 days ago. A Cian Kirby goal after a brilliant run from deep by James Hegarty gave the Ennis side an ideal start. Then they shipped 1-3 …

SPEEDING motorists have “cut the community in half” in Spancilhill preventing locals from crossing the road to meet with friends and neighbours, a meeting of Ennis councillors heard this week. Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy highlighted the fears of residents in Spancilhill at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District saying, “They are very worried and concerned”. She outlined that local people have discussed the issue with John Gannon, Senior Executive Engineer adding, “I know the district is doing its best to address this, the people had fear in their eyes when they spoke with John, they believe there is going to be an accident. The traffic is coming into the area from a higher standard of road into an 80km an hour area but they are going substantially faster.” She acknowledged that the council have been working with An Garda Siochana. The councillor requested that the Spancilhill area be defined as ‘Settlement’ in the new County Development Plan, as it …

A NATIONWIDE tour by the Irish National Opera of The Lighthouse will include a performance in Ennis later this month. Directed by Edwina Casey and performed by tenor Gavan Ring, baritone Ben McAteer, bass John Molloy, and the Irish National Opera Orchestra, the opera takes its audience on a journey to the Fladda Isles of Scotland, where a lighthouse mysteriously goes dark. When a visiting supply ship visits the island, the crew finds the building in order, but the three keepers vanished.  Ring, McAteer and Molloy, in multiple roles, explore the psychological state of the fractious men, relive an official investigation, and project a supernatural explanation. The opera’s composer, the late Peter Maxwell Davies, who based the structure of the opera on the Tower of the Tarot, leaves no simple answers.  First performed in 1980 as part of the Edinburgh Festival, The Lighthouse is inspired by a true story, which unfolded in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland in 1900.   The opera will be staged in various locations across Ireland including a performance in Ennis’ glór on November 27. Commenting at the launch, Artistic Director at INO, Fergus Sheil said: “We are delighted to return to theatres …

THE parent group of Lufthansa Shannon has reported a drop in profits, which it largely attributes to challenges presented by Covid-19. One of the Shannon operations returned a profit, however, and government subsidies were instrumental in keeping the business going. Lufthansa Technik Airmotive Ireland Holdings Limited (of which Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon Limited and Lufthansa Technik Shannon Limited are part) 2020 accounts, stated that it remained profitable in 2020, but the amount was down on 2019. “The group reported a profit for the financial year amounting to US$33.9 million (2019: US$56.8 million) and net assets at the end of the financial year of US$602.4 million (2019: US$565.3 million).” It added that there had been a reduction in turnover of 13% (2019: increase of 3%) and a sharp decline in profit before interest and tax on the previous year to US$41.2 million (2019: slight increase to US$66.4 million). Lufthansa Technik Shannon specialises in the overhaul of aircraft, and this sector was …

In Make A Difference, Bridget Ginnity explores how we can control our consumerism and waste generation STUFF. We are surrounded by it. Or are you an exception? Maybe your personal style is minimalist, with a single ornament against all white walls. Or perhaps you did a Marie Kondo in the past year and asked yourself what sparked joy in your home, and chucked out the rest. But for many of us, our shelves are cluttered, our wardrobes bulging with clothes that we’ll fit into next year, our sheds a danger to walk into. A lot of stuff is so cheap that even with a tight budget, we often don’t have to curb our impulse to buy. The price is low, but the cost is high. The carbon emitted to manufacture and transport all this stuff is causing the earth to warm and, like us when we are developing a fever, the earth is restless and uneasy. Floods, forest fires, heat …