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A LOCAL tennis club look well set to make their own piece of history by becoming the first committee outside of Dublin to provide a permanent covered indoor tennis facilities as part of a major development estimated to cost in excess of €950,000. Killaloe Ballina Tennis Club has served up an impressive volley in terms of new facilities with a plan that will make them the envy of clubs throughout Munster once they come to fruition. Officers have already won a number of key matches, having secured planning permission as well as raising a massive €700,00 through fundraising, grants, club funds and donations. The club currently has four tennis courts and this will be increased by another two courts. It currently has about 250 memberships, which includes a lot of family memberships that allows two adults and two children to use facilities. As part of its latest fundraising drive, the club hopes to raise €37,000 this year to reduce the …

A NORTH-Clare-led agri-environment scheme has generated €23 million for the local economy, according to new figures provided for the Burren Programme Steering Group. Payments totalling €9.4 million has been remitted to 328 Burren farmers for environmental farming since 2010, with an average direct results-based payment of €2,613 in 2019. With a focus turning to sustainable environmentally farming, the Burren Programme can point to a number of relavant and topical achievements. It has helped to deliver a range of environmental, social and economic benefits for farmers, the local community and wider society. It has ensured the continued use and viability of Burren farms by funding land access improvements, water infrastructure and scrub clearance. At least €33 million worth of landscape and biodiversity improvements have been completed in the Burren since 2010 thanks to the scheme. More than 23,000 hectares of scrub has been removed from 328 farms, providing space for rare flowers, such as orchids and gentians to flourish. Significant water …

A KINVARA-BASED artist has launched a charitable initiative to support the work of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency fund, after her own experience of working with migrants. Anne Korff, who has volunteered herself with refugees on the Greek island of Chios, is making a series of images available for sale, with proceeds going to the international medical charity. Roses of Hope – Meditations is the name of six reproductions of Anne’s work, which are 25cm x 25cm in size, ring bound and with a hanging attachment, ready to display on a wall. Proceeds from the sale of the book, which cost just €20 each, will go to the MSF emergency fund. The series was created as a series of paintings during the coronavirus pandemic. “Throughout the lockdown periods of solitude and isolation, Anne wanted to share her artwork as a way of providing support, inspiration and nourishment for the soul. Each painting is a meditation using energy, colour and …

FIVE new confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been notified in Clare today according to figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. As well as 418 new confirmed cases nationwide, the health authorities notified of seven additional deaths related to the virus. In the Mid-West region, there were a further 17 cases in Limerick and 16 in Tipperary. Of the deaths notified today, five occurred in April, one in February and one in January. The median age of those who died was 82 years and the age range was 67-92 years. There has been a total of 4,915 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight, Tuesday May 4, the HPSC has been notified of 418 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 251,087* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today, 199 are men, 214 are women, 73% are under 45 years of age and the median age is 30 years old. Some 167 …

GARDAÍ have arrested and charged a man in relation to the seizure of almost €37,000 in cash in Ennis on May 4. As part of an ongoing operation targeting criminal activity in the county, Gardaí from the Clare Divisional Drugs Unit stopped a car on the Drumbiggle Road, Ennis, at around 8.30pm. Gardaí carried out a search of the vehicle and discovered nearly €37,000 in cash that was wrapped in cling film. A man, aged in his late teens, was arrested at the scene and brought to Ennis Garda Station where he was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. He has since been charged and is due to appear before Ennis District Court this evening.

In our second installment of our ‘Day in the Life’ series, Dan Danaher speaks with Ennis Hospital’s Director of Nursing Patricia O’Gorman EVERYONE took nurses for granted before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Ennis Hospital director of nursing, Patricia O’Gorman. Patricia believes there is now a greater appreciation of what nurses do after they upskilled, redeployed into different roles, moved six and seven times into different departments and counties, moved from day to night duty and travelled countless miles to work She would love to see a nursing representative in the National Public Health Emergency Team. “Nothing happens without nurses. We are the biggest and most flexible workforce,” she explains. She acknowledges there were some positive developments during the pandemic such as the provision of three isolation bays in the Ennis Medical Assessment Unit. “There was huge gratitude for health care workers. There was a lot of learning. A lot of nurses and clinicians were upskilled. There was a sense …

CELEBRATIONS to mark the 400th anniversary of the Spancilhill Horse Fair will not go ahead this year, as organisers of the world-famous event have taken the decision to cancel the festival for 2021. The event is a much-loved focal point in the calendar for horse-traders and equestrian enthusiasts across this country and beyond, and it is very much tied to its date of June 23. “It is more or less set in stone and that’s meant we’re not really in a position to defer or postpone the fair,” explained Chairperson of the event committee Brian Clune. “The date is tied in with other big events in Clare like the Willie Clancy Summer School and then the likes of the Dublin Horse Show and the Ballinasloe Horse Fair. We took the decision to cancel over the weekend and while it’s disappointing to think that this is the second year without Spancilhill Fair, we really had no choice. Inter-county travel is still …

DESPITE the impact of Covid-19, Pieta provided 1,712 hours of counselling in 2019 and 2020 in the Clare area and supported 109 local people in 2020. Pieta and Electric Ireland are now urging the people of Clare to share ‘One Sunrise Together’ on May 8 for Darkness into Light. One year on from when the country went into lockdown, Pieta’s services are in demand more than ever and they need the public’s support. Clare people are being encouraged to register at www.darknessintolight.ie to take part in a special Darkness into Light that can unite us all whilst still staying physically apart. This year, participants can walk, run, swim, hike, bike or simply share One Sunrise Together for Darkness Into Light, as organised walks are not possible due to Covid-19 restrictions. Last year when it wasn’t possible to all walk together for Darkness into Light, Pieta faced a funding crisis, but the people of Clare came together as one community and got behind the event, rising at dawn and sharing sunrise moments with others from …