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ENNIS Gardaí are appealing for witnesses as they continue to investigate an assault on a 20 year-old man in the town centre on the Thursday before Christmas (December 22).  The man was seriously injured in the assault which took place on Abbey Street at around 2.50am. Gardaí say the man was with a group of friends when he was approached and punched in the head by another male. A number of witnesses have come forward and Gardaí have thanked them for their cooperation, but say the street was very busy at the time and appealed to anyone else who may have witnessed this assault to come forward. They are also appealing to anyone who may have camera footage to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065-6848100. 

ENNIS employer Ecolect Technical Services Limited has won a prestigious award at the 2022 Generation Apprenticeship Employer of the Year Awards, taking home a ‘pioneering micro-employer’ award at the ceremony. Seven businesses from around the country have been crowned Generation Apprenticeship Employers of the Year by Simon Harris TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in an awards ceremony which took place on Thursday, December 8th, 2022 in the Morrison Hotel, Dublin. Commenting on their award win, the Ecolect Technical Services Ltd Team, based on the Tulla Road, said, “Absolutely thrilled to be nominated for the award. Our apprentices are the future of our company and are key to its further growth and expansion” Founded in 2001, Ecolect Technical Services Limited are a leading provider of innovative mechanical, electrical and instrumentation engineering solutions. It provides services to customers across sectors including Data Centres, Life Sciences, Industrial, Commercial, Substations and Renewables and operate across Ireland, the UK …

THE future of the fishing industry will be discussed at a major conference in Limerick next February. The event is a hybrid one, organised by The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) around the theme of‘Thriving Fishing, Thriving Offshore Wind, Thriving Ports’. It takes place on February 23 in the Castletroy Park Hotel in County Limerick.  Speakers at the event will include Caroline Bocquel, Interim CEO, BIM; Noel Cunniffe, CEO Wind Energy Ireland; Brian Hogan, Chief Surveyor Marine Survey Office, and Norah Parke, Project Coordinator Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation Ltd. Further speakers will be announced closer to the date. Among the topics for discussion include what the fishing industry needs to thrive; the policy regime for renewable energy; implementation of the ‘future skills needs report’; the ecosystem impacts of offshore wind farms; and the future for Ireland’s fishing ports. The Minister for Agriculture and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue will launch the conference. “Having opened the first NMCI Seafarer Conference in 2022, I …

IMAGES of a former Clare convent building feature in a new photography book that captures the eerie beauty of abandoned buildings the length and breadth of Ireland. The exact location of the convent has not been disclosed in order to deter vandals, but the black and white photos taken by Down native, Rebecca Brownlie, speak of a bygone era of prayer and sacrifice.   The images feature in Rebecca’s book Abandoned Ireland, which includes a total of 150 scenes from abandoned Big Houses to humble cottages, schools to prisons, churches and dance halls. Rebecca’s publisher, Merrion Press, said that while these buildings may now be abandoned, they are far from empty. “As a photographer, Brownlie’s instincts are remarkable,” her publicist said. “In the seemingly ruined and mundane she finds diamonds in the rough; her images of the ordinary ephemera of past lives – dusty love letters, rusting spectacles, photographs yellowed and curled with age – paint the pictures of real …

THIS year marked the 50th anniversary of Doonbeg’s 1972 county championship, an era when the Magpies were a huge force within Clare football. They had already won a three in a row (1967, 68 and 69), and the 72 championship was the start of another one, as they were also champions in 1973 and 74. Tommy Comerford was corner back on all of those six championship winning sides. “It was an exceptional team and it’s 50 years ago now, as you know there’s a lot of changes in 50 years! It’s nice to remember what happened,” he says. Beside him in the full back line was Senan Downes, who he says was an outstanding footballer who looked after the side’s physical preparation. “He played for Clare and he played in the Railway Cup. Senan was an army man and he was actually our trainer. He used to have us very fit, we’d get the army touch, there was no let …

NEW research from University of Limerick has revealed that loneliness, social isolation, and living alone is associated with premature death for those with cardiovascular disease. Results from the new international study, just published in the journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, found that people with cardiovascular disease that have higher levels of loneliness, social isolation, and that live alone, tend to die prematurely. The research, which encompasses studies from around the world, sheds new light on the negative health impact of loneliness, social isolation, and living alone for people with cardiovascular disease, which is among the leading causes of death and disability in Ireland. Cardiovascular disease most commonly refers to coronary heart disease, stroke, and other blood vessel diseases. The research was led by Róisín Long, a student on the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology at UL, under the supervision of Dr Páraic Ó Súilleabháin and Dr Ann-Marie Creaven. Working with a team of collaborators from the Department of Psychology at UL, …

AN TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar didn’t float or sink a call for the commissioning of an independent inquiry into the management of the Irish Coast Guard when questioned by a local Dáil deputy. Speaking in the Dáil recently, Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne outlined Coast Guard volunteers selflessly give their time for others as part of Ireland’s fourth blue light emergency response. “In coastal communities throughout Ireland, and in Clare, their role cannot be understated. The Irish Coast Guard Volunteers Representative Association is an organisation with which this House is now very familiar. “Members of its national executive appeared before the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. “Its mission is very simple. It has two asks: a truly independent inquiry into the management of the Irish Coast Guard chaired by a retired High Court judge and the appointment of a permanent director of the Irish Coast Guard. “Will the Government heed its calls and engage with it properly and meaningfully, as promised, to …

This Scariff/Ogonnelloe team had been the main crest of the rising tide that has swept through both clubs in recent years. However, after cutting their teeth at B level up along, it was a blossoming achievement for the amalgamation to finally secure a first prestigious Under 21A title according to manager Conor McNamara. “I think Mark [Rodgers] mentioned in his speech there that this is the fruit of years and years of hard work in both clubs. There’s trojan work going on and that’s very important because at the end of the day, it’s all about preparing players for the senior grade. “Look, it’s always sweet to win a final, we don’t win too many of them so credit has to go to the players, they are a great bunch. Everyone knows the big names we have but what people don’t realise is the not so big names and the work that they did in that first half because that’s …