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With four out of five Clare representatives exiting their respective Munster Senior Post-Primary Championships this week, all eyes are on Ardscoil Rís (Senior A Hurling) and CBS Ennistymon (Senior C Hurling) who are bidding for provincial final places this Saturday. Ardscoil Rís’ 17-strong Clare contingent, along with mentor Paul Flanagan, will be determined to make amends for last year’s Munster Under 19A Final reverse to St Joseph’s Tulla as despite going on to secure All-Ireland honours, it was their only Harty Cup Final reverse in six attempts. Nine Banner natives saw action in their rousing quarter-final finish against Our Lady’s Templemore but they will be wary of a scorned Cashel Community School who suffered their only defeat against the Limerick college by a goal at the group stages only three months ago. Having already secured redemption to win the Dean Ryan honours, Ardscoil will require their best display of the campaign if they are to double the dose against Cashel …

THE opening and closing scenes of a new €22 million film have been shot in Clare, with filming in the county concluding this week at the old Kinturk National School. The film is entitled ‘God’s Spy’ and is being directed by Todd Komarnicki, who wrote the acclaimed biographical drama, ‘Sully’. Its director of photography John Matheson was involved in the making of ‘Gladiator’ and is one of the world’s top cinematographers. Location manager Seán Flynn said, “This is a European co-production, being shot in Belgium and in Ireland. Clare has the opening and closing scenes. In East Clare we filmed in O’Briensbridge, we’re filming here in Kinturk outside Connolly today, that’s where the movie ends, the final scenes of the movie are being shot in the old schoolhouse in Kinturk. We’ve also shot at Fanore Beach and the Burren.” He said there had been great backing for their work in Clare. “Clare County Council have been unbelievably supportive, including Siobhán …

NATIONAL HSE chiefs have defended the controversial removal of 24-hour Emergency Care from Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals following claims University Hospital Limerick is a “centre of death” and a “centre of disaster” for some patients who were left lying on trolleys. The latest criticism of this downgrading came at a Joint Health Committee meeting on Tuesday just days before thousands of hospital campaigners are expected to attend a major protest march in Limerick from Merchants Quay this Saturday. Deputy Cathal Crowe paid tribute to the frontline staff that have worked very hard to keep the hospital system some way functional. “There has been a perpetual crisis in the Mid-West and in particular UHL. We have a population in the mid-west of almost 500,000. There was a time when this population had five Emergency Care Departments, patients were provided with a level of care were discharged and went home. “Sometimes old ways are better. I think it is time the HSE …

THE town of Ennis is set to be put in the frame as part of a collaboration between a local artist and well-known hotel – and inspiration is being sought from the public. Artist Cathal Butler has been commissioned by Treacys West County Hotel Ennis to create a selection of paintings showcasing the very best of Ennis town and its environs. A photographic competition has now been launched urging members of the public to send an image they believe best captures Ennis which will be transformed into works of art. Five photos will be chosen for Cathal to bring to life on canvas, and the original paintings will be displayed in the hotel’s new Clare Art Display in the hotel lobby. As well as having their winning image immortalised in the hotel, they will also receive a night’s stay at any of the Treacy Group Hotels and a print of the painting. The new paintings will join other works by …

BANK of Ireland has announced plans to invest €11.5 million across its nationwide branch network this year, with the Ennistymon branch listed as part of the upgrade plans.   The planned network investments include refurbishments and enhancements to the branch network, upgrading of branch services including ATMs in a number of locations, and ongoing maintenance works.   Additional works as part of the €11.5m investment will also include the installation of new external and internal ATMs in a range of branches, and the improvement of facilities for staff in over a dozen bank branches.  As part of this investment, Bank of Ireland also plans to install energy efficient LED lighting in each of its 169 branches this year, including all five of its Clare branches. This will achieve over 50% in energy savings from a reduction in lighting energy consumption, as the organisation looks to become more energy efficient and reduce its total energy consumption.   Commenting on the planned investment in its Clare branch network, Susan Russell, Director, Retail Ireland said, “Our branch network of 169 locations across Ireland, including the five branches we operate in Clare, is a very important part of how we serve our customers – whether that be for routine cash, cheque and coin transactions or more detailed conversations about loans, mortgages and pensions.  “That’s why we continually invest in this network, and …

CLARE people have been urged to attend a protest march in Limerick to highlight the impact of persistent overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) on January 21. Noeleen Moran of the Mid West Hospital Campaign has requested Clare sporting organisations, community groups and individuals to attend this demonstration, which starts at Merchant’s Quay at 11am. “We need a strong Clare presence at this march to get our message across that 24-hour casualty cover needs to be returned to Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals.” She believes the recent HSE acknowledgement about the danger posed by overcrowding is a direct result of the work of campaigners such as Marie McMahon from Ennistymon among others. “For 82 patients that are left on a trolley for six to eight hours, there is at least one fatality. This increases with the number of hours patients are left waiting. There were at least 77 days when there were more than 82 patients on trolleys in UHL in …

Ennis footballer Barry Cotter has signed with English League One outfit Barnsley FC for a fee in the region of £20,000. The full-back has put pen to paper on a three and a half year deal having spent the second half of last season on loan at St Patrick’s Athletic from Shamrock Rovers. He played underage with Avenue United and Ennis Town before joining Limerick FC in 2015. Cotter joined Limerick FC’s U17 squad for the 2015 season and the following year he stepped up to the U19 set up. In February 2017 he was included in Martin Russell’s match day squad for the opening league game against Sligo Rovers as he made the breakthrough to the first team. The Ennis man was snapped up by Ipswich in January 2018. He was given his debut by Mick McCarthy in a Championship win over the club he has just signed for, Barnsley FC. He represented Ireland at U19 level while he was …

TEACHERS and staff at St Flannan’s College have voiced opposition to plans for the development of a €25 million 100-bed community nursing unit on land used as playing grounds by the Ennis secondary school. According to a statement issued by the staff of St Flannan’s the proposal “will have a seriously negative impact” on the student population. “The green field site in St Flannan’s College is the last remaining site of its kind in Ennis. Urban sprawl is taking up much more of our green spaces each year. Once this land is built upon it will be gone forever,” it states. The teachers and staff have detailed reasons for their opposition to the plans including that during the academic year many teams of various sports regularly train on the pitches. “With so many students on the fields at any one time all our field space is utilised, including much of the space that is suggested for development under the proposed …