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Talented sportsman Niall O’Brien, who died a week ago following an alleged assault in Greece, was remembered at his funeral mass Monday, as a “loyal, witty, warm, rogue” who left his family and friends with a “treasury of love”, reports David Raleigh. The 21-year old from Castletroy, Limerick, and Broadford, County Clare, was “at the centre of fun, having it, and creating it”, his aunt Pauline said. Several hundred mourners looked on in silence as Mr O’Brien’s coffin was shouldered into Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Milford, Limerick, draped in the jerseys of several sporting clubs for whom he played. Friends from school, college, and sports clubs, in Monaleen, Castletroy and Broadford performed guards of honour as the cortège travelled the short distance from Mr O’Brien’s home in Castletroy to the church. Loved ones placed symbols of his life, including a family photograph; his hurley; a collage of photos of him and his friends; a deck of cards; and …

CLARE women looking to begin or grow their own business have until the end of this week to apply for the latest cycle of development initiative ACORNS. Friday, September 10, is the final deadline for early-stage female business entrepreneurs in rural areas to apply for the mentoring programme. This is the 7th year of the Government-backed ACORNS programme, which is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, under its Rural Innovation and Development Fund. A total of 50 new entrepreneurs will be selected from those who apply but applications have to be completed and submitted by midnight on Friday, September 10. The is no charge to those selected to participate in ACORNS 7 and the free initiative will run over six months from October 2021 to April 2022. More than 300 female entrepreneurs have taken part in the ACORNS initiative to date. Among the 50+ early stage entrepreneurs that took part in the last cycle of ACORNS …

THE HSE has elected to suspend walk-in Covid-19 testing at its Ennis Test Centre due to high volumes of people attending. Testing is still available at the Covid-19 Test Centre in Ballymaley Business Park, but only by appointment. Tests can be booked via the HSE website, or through your GP. The centre’s opening hours of 11:10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. are unaffected. The changes take effect from tomorrow, Tuesday, September 7, and will be kept under review. There has been an increased demand for testing over recent weeks, and the past few days have been very busy in Ennis with over 2,000 tests conducted in the last week alone. Exceptionally high demand has also been reported in the Ennis test centre this Monday, September 6). Norma Quirke, Community Testing Lead with HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare says: “We are appealing to the public for their patience and assistance while our staff deal with high numbers presenting for Covid-19 testing. “While it …

ONE of the country’s most vocal campaigners on defective concrete blocks has appealed to Clare homeowners to work with him for better redress. Paddy Diver joined a remote meeting of the Clare Pyrite Action Group on Friday, just hours after they spoke to Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien. Mr Diver from Donegal is one of up to 5,000 homeowners affected by mica. Like pyrite, mica causes defects that lead to cracking and crumbling of blocks. The Donegal activist was updated on the minister’s pledge to give a decision, in a matter of weeks, on the Council’s application for access to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme. Mr Diver is a member of the working group looking for an increase in redress from 90 to 100% and one of the organisers of a protest in Dublin last June. “The light at the end of the tunnel is in all counties coming together,” he told the meeting. “In Donegal, we were kept on …

WELCOMING the return to full capacity on all public transport, Bus Éireann has moved to remind passengers that certain health measures remain in force. These include mandatory face masks throughout the journey (with exemptions on health grounds). Hand sanitising units will be on board all buses and the company has committed to deep cleaning overnight and additional cleaning during the day. Cashless payment options including Leap cards, ticket machines in stations and online at buseireann.ie will be available for customers. Guaranteed seat reservation is possible for interurban travel on expressway.ie and windows will be kept open where available, though coaches have air conditioning. Allen Parker, Chief Customer Officer, Bus Éireann said, “We are grateful to our Clare based employees and customers for all their support over the past 18 months. We have been proud to operate continuously throughout the pandemic, keeping Ireland connected. “The very high rate of vaccination in Ireland and the proven effectiveness of face masks in reducing …

EVEN though Covid-19 restrictions will be substantially reduced over the coming weeks, a local mental health advocate has stressed people who are feeling isolated or depressed will still need support. Shine regional development officer, Ann Marie Flanagan has urged people to be on the look out for those who have been badly hit by the lack of proper social interaction during the pandemic. While Covid-19 has presented new challenges for people who already felt isolated, Ms Flanagan said one of the positive developments that emerged from the pandemic was how people rallied to form community response teams to bring medication and groceries to those in need. She urged people involved in Covid-19 response team to try and maintain contact with an elderly person who is isolated and let them know supports are still available. Her views were expressed in the run up to Suicide Prevention Day on Friday, September 10. She stressed it is important people drop in on their …

LISCANNOR songwriter Aoife Doyle will release Strength To Be Strong, the first single from her upcoming album, this Friday. The song is a groovy, soulful mix of gospel, jazz and roots, with stomping brass arrangements. “Strength To Be Strong is about having to dig deep to find the strength to stay strong in the face of ongoing adversity. To release this song as the first single off the album felt like an appropriate choice, given the world events of the last 18 months, she explains. Aoife, originally from Bray, County Wicklow, has been living in Liscannor since 2014. She grew up in a house steeped in traditional and folk music, and completed a BA in jazz performance at the prestigious Newpark Music Centre, and an MA in Songwriting at the World Academy of Music and Dance in UL in 2018/2019. 
 
She cites a wide and varied range of musical influences including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Alison Krauss …

A DANGEROUS building in Tulla is to be made safe by Clare County Council, after the owner failed to comply with several requests for action to address the situation. There have been a number of false dawns in terms of works on the vacant building on Main Street, with numerous efforts made by the local authority to communicate with the owner and to get them to make the building safe. Since a Dangerous Structures Notice was issued five months ago, the footpath has been closed and disruption caused to vehicular as well as pedestrian traffic in the town. Last week, the Council moved to inform members of the Killaloe Municipal District that it is to carry out the works and that a contactor has been procured. Councillors were told that while multiple opportunities were given to the owner, no works had materialised. An exact date for the beginning of the works has not been confirmed. The Council has previously said …