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RESIDENTS of Gort are being “driven crazy” by problems with the town’s water supply and Irish Water has been strongly criticised for its handling of the situation. People in the town were left without water through some of last week’s extreme cold weather, while the town has a boil notice in place just days before Christmas. Local county councillor Gerry Finnerty said the problems have been going on for a long time, and Irish Water can’t blame it on the frosty weather seen last week. “The first call I’d have got was in November that there was an outage and that was long before there was any frost, and it’s ongoing since then. “The outages are unannounced, nobody knows anything, you just turn on the tap and find you don’t have water and it’s just driving people crazy.” Local TD Ciaran Cannon was also very angry when he spoke to the Clare Champion this week. “We had a very significant …

FLIGHTS from the UK and America to Shannon this week are leading to hundreds of reunions in the airport’s arrivals area. On Wednesday morning Michael Doyle, who previously lived in Doonbeg before moving to Co Limerick, was waiting to see his daughter Lauren, who is a social worker in London. “She hasn’t been back for about six months now, so we’re looking forward to getting her home,” Michael told The Champion. As he was speaking, Lauren arrived and embraced her father. “I’m going to relax for the week really. It was a packed flight, but it was nice and quick,” she smiled. Alice O’Connell was there with her two sons, as they waited to greet Alice’s sister and grandnephew, who are now based in London – “I’m delighted, I can’t wait to see them.” When Alice’s sister Jacqui Moloney arrived, she had 14-month-old KJ with her, and Jacqui said it was the little boy’s fifth flight of his short life. …

PEOPLE in South-East Clare have been offered a chance to get back in shape after enjoying all the food and treats of the Christmas festivities by participating in a fundraising walk on St Stephen’s Day. The picturesque O’Briensbridge Loop Walk will provide the ideal backdrop for a 7.5 kilometre sponsored walk to Ernagh Bridge and back to the village. Starting at 12pm, donations will be accepted on the day for the upkeep of lovely walks, which were reopened recently thanks to members of the O’Briensbridge Montpelier Community Group. Refreshments will be provided in Bonner’s Bar after the walk. The O’Briensbridge loop walk is a fantastic amenity used by thousands of people each year. It is a great asset in the community, providing locals and visitors with countless hours of enjoyment on the serene banks of the Shannon. The group recently redeveloped the walk, improving the surface. It appeals for assistance raising funds to buy equipment and materials to maintain this …

Christmas came early to Scariff-Ogonnelloe as they fired the last ten points to take their first ever Under 21A crown on a 2-17 to 1-12 scoreline against Corofin-Ruan in Clarecastle on Friday afternoon. Thirty-five years after Scariff’s sole Under 21A success, their blossoming underage partnership with Ogonnelloe ensured that the current crop finally fulfilled their destiny after rising meteorically through the ranks before exacting full revenge on Corofin/Ruan who had edged them out in a five goals thriller at the penultimate stage twelve months previously. Despite soaring seven clear against the strong conditions in the opening period following quickfire goals through inside assassins Mark Rodgers and Patrick Ryan, Scariff-Ogonnelloe were still forced to demonstrate their title-winning character by the two-thirds mark as they trailed the defending champions by two points. The turning point was undoubtedly a double save from a miserly Scariff-Ogonnelloe defence at the turn of the final quarter that prevented Diarmuid Cahill as well as Jack McDonagh’s pulled …

MENTION Micheál O’Hehir and Marty Crotty immediately responds with a twinkle in his eye. The retired Kilbaha farmer is a GAA fanatic who lived for Mr O’Hehir’s memorable hurling, football and horse racing commentaries from 1938 to 1985. Listening to and watching Gaelic games has given Marty great joy. “Only for the GAA, I would be dead a long time ago,” he quipped. Sometimes on Sundays he listens to one match on the radio and keeps an eye on another one on television with the sound turned down. He can still recite all the names of the 15 starting Cavan All-Ireland winning teams in 1947 and ‘48 and the Meath all conquering side in 1949. “It is a great past time. I don’t know how people who don’t follow GAA manage, what do they be doing at all? It is hard to do without the GAA,” he said. His passionate love affair with Gaelic Games was fostered by legendary GAA …

ADVENTURER Declan McEvoy is back on home ground for Christmas after completing the gruelling sixth stage of his round-the-world motorcycle odyssey.   In September, the Quin native set out from Lusaka in Zambia, with the aim of travelling along the West of the African continent, all the way to Dakar in Senegal. Last month, he reached Banjul in Gambia, after a marathon motorcycle trek. Throughout the epic African journey of more than 10,000km, Declan had been keeping friends, family and followers updated on WhatsApp. “Reaching Banjul could only be described as a surreal experience and if I’m to be honest I felt somewhat emotional on my arrival,” he said. “There had been times throughout this trip that I wondered if I’m ever going to make my planned destination, but for some reason it seems I just did. It takes more than determination and stubbornness, the latter apparently of which I have in abundance, to make such a journey through Africa …

The Banner edged out Clondegad on a score of 0-12 to 0-9 to win the Clare U21B football title in Cooraclare on Thursday evening A fitting finish to an ultra-competitive Under 21B football championship was enjoyed albeit in ultracold conditions in Cooraclare on Thursday evening. The fog that hides the countryside threatened to envelop the pitch whilst hiding one corner for most of the second half but rose as perhaps the temperature on the pitch rose dramatically in the final quarter. Was the Banner’s name on the cup since they sneaked past St Breckan’s at home missing Shane Meehan, Mark Cleary and Niall Walsh? The efforts of player of the championship Tomas Meeneghan proved central to the appearance in the final but as expected the onfield appearance of Meehan with 20 minutes tipped the balance the way of the Shanaway road men. From a Clondegad perspective the club competed well in senior after a forgettable 2021 season. Reaching this final …

Three community-based charities in County Clare received a combined fundraising donation of €3,550 from the Cliffs of Moher Experience this week. The North Clare visitor attraction marked the end of the tourism year with a Christmas Breakfast for all staff at the Cliff View Café this Wednesday. The management team was on hand to help serve tea and coffees to the hard-working team and to representatives from Pieta House, Ennistymon Community Hospital and Clare Crusaders, who shared the proceeds from the fund.