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GARDAÍ at Shannon investigating the shooting incident in Sixmilebridge village on Saturday, January 18, 2020, when two men suffered gunshot wounds have arrested two men in relation to their investigation. The incident occurred on Pound Street in the village during the Shannonside Music Festival. Two men, one aged 21, and the other a 66-year-old man suffered gunshot wounds during the incident. One man (20s) was arrest in Dublin on Thursday, February 25 and is being detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 at Shannon Garda station. The second man (20s), was arrested in Limerick yesterday morning, Saturday, February 27,  and is being detained under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1999 at Ennis Garda station. This brings to six the number of people arrested as part of this investigation. Gardaí say their Investigations are ongoing.

AS A wheelchair user, 29-year old Jessica Keegan has always made the most of the cards that life has dealt her. A native of Manchester, Jessica was born with cerebral palsy, a condition which restricts her movement and affects her balance and coordination. She spent much of her childhood in Feakle and attended Dromindoora and Flagmount national schools and later Scariff Community College. “Feakle is beautiful,” she said, “but it’s not such a great place to be if you happen to use a wheelchair. It’s really hard to access services from there and you can end up being very isolated.” Jessica, a graduate of Mary Immaculate College, describes herself as “bubbly and sociable”. Her friends and the staff of Enable Ireland Adult Services at Quinn’s Cross in Limerick, are a lifeline for her in what has been a time characterised by isolation and loneliness. But while the pandemic has presented huge challenges, Jessica has faced them with characteristic courage and …

Without being too dramatic, the old adage about the mighty oaks and the little acorns springs to mind when considering the decision of Clare’s GAA clubs to back a strategic review over the next five years. The enthusiasm in which this whole project has been approached by Eire Óg’s Niall O’Connor, and the Ennis club as a whole, simply cannot be commended enough. The executive of Clare GAA also deserve the highest of praise for the manner in which they gave their backing to the move, with Jack Chaplin opening his tenure in the chairman’s seat by firmly placing support behind the motion. It had been a week where the national spotlight shone on the county, but in the face of that pressure, the Cratloe man and his officers must be given praise for how they conducted their business. Even the most optimistic of Clare GAA people will find it hard to deny that while there have been some incredible …

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of eight new cases of COVID-19 in Clare along with 35 additional deaths related to Covid-19. 21 of these deaths occurred in February, 12 occurred in January, 1 in November, while one further death is under investigation. The median age of those who died was 85 years and the age range was 53 – 102 years. There has been a total of 4,271 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight, Wednesday, February 24, the HPSC has been notified of 613 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 217,478* confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today: 308 are men / 304 are women 66% are under 45 years of age The median age is 34 years old 224 in Dublin, 39 in Limerick, 37 in Meath, 34 in Westmeath, 33 in Offaly and the remaining 246 cases are spread across all other counties. ** …

TFI Local Link Limerick Clare has today announced the expansion of its services in Clare, including the first rural regular services that will run five to seven days a week. Launching on Monday, March 1, the new Local Link route 337 will showcase the Shannon Estuary Way and will serve Labasheeda, Kildysart, Ballynacally, Kilmurry McMahon, Knock, Killimer, the ferry terminal, and world famous fishing sites three times a day from Monday to Saturday with a reduced timetable on Sundays. Local Link will provide access to these areas for staycations and tourists as well as facilitating local resident’s transportation needs, providing connectivity between Kilrush and Ennis. The need for the expansion of Local Link services was voiced by the local communities, community groups, Clare County Council and Elected Representatives during a period of public consultation in February 2020. Working with the NTA’s Connecting Ireland Team, Local Link Limerick Clare focused on merging the Bus Éireann rural services in Clare that were …

ST Flannan’s College will not have the chance to defend their 2020 Harty Cup title after it was announced today that the Munster GAA Post Primary Schools board has cancelled the 2020/2021 season. In a statement, Munster GAA Post Primary Schools said, “In light of recent announcements regarding Level 5 restrictions, Comhairle Iar-Bhunscoileanna na Mumhan has unfortunately made the decision to cancel all outstanding Munster GAA Post Primary Schools competitions for the remainder of the current school year 2020-2021.” A letter send Post Primary Schools in Munster today (Thursday, February 25) read, “I hope this email finds you well and that you and all your loved ones are safe at this time. Following recent announcements from the Government regarding the extension of level 5 restrictions and also from Cumann Lúthchleas Gael indicating that no on-field activity will be permitted – training or games – until Easter at the earliest, Comhairle Iar-Bhunscoileanna na Mumhan has unfortunately had to make the decision …

FORMER members of An Garda Síochána, and their families, are being encouraged to dig out their memories and memorabilia, as a new oral history is compiled to mark the centenary of force next year. The project, which will be an online archive, is being coordinated by Garda Headquarters with the assistance of members of the Garda Siochána Retired Members Association (GSMRA), including Clare-based Billy Saunderson. “In February 1922, General Michael Collins and others met in the Gresham Hotel and set up the Civic Guard, which later became An Garda Síochána,” the retired Garda sergeant explained. “To mark next year’s centenary, we are collecting as many memories and items as we can to produce an archive and oral history collection. We’re really appealing to families to bring this project to the attention of people who were in the force. 5% of our members are over 90 years of age. They didn’t grow up in the era of WhatsApp and Snapchat, so, …

A number of Clare GAA clubs have informed the county board that they are in a position to enter extra teams for the 2021 season. This week’s meeting of club delegates heard applications from six clubs to enter third teams at adult level, with Scariff and Crusheen among the hurling clubs applying for permission for the move. Last year’s Junior B football champions St Breckan’s informed the board that they were seeking permission to enter a team at the grade again this year, meaning that they would be competing at senior, Junior A and Junior B. North Clare neighbours Ennistymon also indicated that they have sufficient playing numbers to field at those three grades, while Lissycasey and Clondegad were in a similar position. Former board treasurer Bernard Keane described those applications as being hugely positive, with the board’s Competitions Control Committee set to review the names submitted for regrading as part of the process. It was also noted that a …