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A DIRECTOR of Services with Clare County Council has been ordained a deacon of the Diocese of Cloyne. Leonard Cleary, who is Director of Rural Development and responsible for the West Clare Municipal District, is now a permanent deacon, assigned to minister in the Parish of Charleville in north County Cork. Mr Cleary who is from Corofin and a very popular member of staff at the local authority in Clare, served as a pastoral assistant in Charleville for some time before his ordination on Sunday August 15. In his capacity as pastoral assistant, Mr Cleary has assisted in preparation for the sacraments and addressed the parents of the Confirmation and First Holy Communion children. He has read the Sacred Scriptures at Mass, acted as Minister of the Eucharist and collected. Mr Cleary also attended all the meetings of the Charleville Pastoral Council until the pandemic came along. Last year, Mr Cleary was made an acolyte of the Diocese of Cloyne, …

With no immediate pressure for the main protagonists, the Junior A Hurling Championship probably won’t kick into gear until the knock-out stages. After all, with only four sides exiting the competition following the group stages, it will be difficult to truly assess the main contenders for O’Callaghan’s Mills title. However, after a number of barren seasons, there is renewed hope that a first team can finally claim the Junior honours, with Ogonnelloe’s recent Division 3 League success putting the East Clare side in pole position to achieve that goal. Only three flagship sides have won this championship in the past two decades – Ennistymon (2004), Meelick (2007) and Bodyke (2017), with Ogonnelloe’s last title coming 33 years ago. They are expected to be vying for the crown with the Banner who after gaining promotion to the intermediate ranks in football, will be determined to do likewise in the hurling equivalent. Ennistymon still remain an unknown quantity while the best of …

Split decision by Council denies Braids development permission to increase size THE developers of a primary health care facility in Ennis have been refused planning permission to increase its size. Concerns the proposal would “endanger public safety” and “seriously injure the amenities of property in the vicinity”, have lead to a split decision by Clare County Council. The local authority approved some aspects and refused others in the planning application made by Philip Doyle, on behalf of Valley Healthcare Fund Infrastructure Investment Fund ICAV, to revise and amend planning permission already granted for a mixed use development at the former Braids factory site on Station Road. The new proposals were the subject of a number of objections from local residents voicing concern about the size of the development among other issues. The application had sought to increase the floor area of the four-storey primary care health facility and ancillary commercial units from 7,250sqm to 8,008sqm with the provision of an …

THE RNLI helped five people in difficulty in two back-to-back calls on Lough Derg this week. The first incident saw Valentia Coast Guard request Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat to launch to assist a person on a 30ft cruiser reported aground close to Mountshannon Harbour at the south-west of Lough Derg. At 11.40am the lifeboat Jean Spier launched with helm Eleanor Hooker, crew Owen Cavanagh, Joe O’Donoghue and Chris Parker on board. Shortly afterwards the lifeboat was in sight of the casualty vessel which was aground on a sandbar in the bay east of Mountshannon Harbour. The lifeboat took frequent soundings on a cautious approach to the casualty vessel, located in an area known for its sudden shallows. At 12.11pm the lifeboat was alongside the casualty vessel and the skipper was found to be safe and unharmed and wearing his lifejacket. An RNLI volunteer was transferred across to the cruiser. Given the location of the boat close to a navigation channel …

After graciously accommodating Clonlara’s request to switch Round 2 and 3 of the Group of Death following the wedding of Clare captain John Conlon and former Clare camogie player Michelle Caulfield on Monday, Clonlara now have a bye this weekend as Group 1 heats up further. Whitegate v Kilmaley at Cusack Park, Ennis Friday, 6.30pm C Maguire Having failed to maintain their bright opening half display against Inagh-Kilnamona, it’s now must-win territory for Kilmaley who simply cannot afford another set-back in the dreaded group of five. Getting back on the horse shouldn’t be an issue as Kilmaley, showed plenty of promise last Saturday at the same venue, without ever piecing together the consistency required to get the better of their neighbours. A fresh Whitegate will be determined to make a big impact in the championship bow and pour more misery over Kilmaley. And while they might have preferred to take Kilmaley out of the park, Whitegate did push champions Sixmilebridge …

A DO Not Consume notice impacting around 7,500 recipients on the Shannon/Sixmilebridge Public Water Supply was finally lifted on Tuesday. It had been issued due to elevated levels of manganese in the water supply. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council PJ Ryan said it is unlikely the problem will arise again. “They tell me that it won’t ever happen again now, because they have invested in a new filtration system which should eliminate it. The last time we had the problem in 1995, a year everyone will remember, and that’s 26 years ago now.” He said that the Council had provided water to the public, but there was still a lot of disruption. “In fairness to the Council they provided a good supply of water to the area, but people weren’t able to wash clothes and things like that.” Communication needs to be better whenever future issues arise, he added, “People were very nervous, people with young children and expectant mothers. …

THE St Francis Credit Union Clare Community Games County 50th Athletic Finals were staged on Sunday, August 15, in John O’Sullivan Park, Lees Road, Ennis, in ideal weather conditions. It was a much scaled down version of what used to be the showcase event of the year for Community Games. The standard was very high with some very close finishes. The first and second in each track event now go forward to represent Clare in the Munster Regional Finals in Cork while the first in the field events go to National Finals.

ATTENDANCES at the Emergency Department (ED) at the region’s main hospital continue to hit record levels last seen before the pandemic. In a statement, the University of Limerick Hospitals Group (ULHG) confirmed that well in excess of 200 patients have been presenting every 24 hours at the ED in Dooradoyle. It has again asked members of the public to “consider all care options” before attending. In the 24-hour period to 8am on Wednesday (August 18), 229 patients attended the ED. A total of 241 attended the ED in the previous 24-hour period. “This continues a pattern of high attendances to ED around the country which has been sustained over a number of weeks and current activity levels remain far in excess of the 195 average attendances at our ED recorded in 2019, the last full year pre-pandemic,” a statement said. The hospital has also seen an increase in the number of Covid-positive patients being treated. As of Wednesday, there were …