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Councillor Mary Howard is asking the women of County Clare to make a potentially life-saving new year’s resolution by attending BreastCheck appointments when called. Councillor Howard recently attended BreastCheck in Ennis and noted the poor turnout of people who had appointments to attend the service. She said the poor attendance raises questions over the sustainability of the BreastCheck service in the town, something which was hard fought to introduce in 2010. “The five appointments prior to me never showed up. I was talking to the nurse after my appointment and I realised the next person hadn’t come in either,” Councillor Howard noted. She later learned that out of 45 appointments that day, only 12 showed up and as recently as Friday, December 22, only half of the scheduled appointments turned up for screening. Councillor Howard outlined that while she was at the service, an unexpected visitor came into the BreastCheck team. “While I was there, a lady came in to …

There is something so great and so welcome about new things. Their sense of novelty, freshness and difference is much appreciated by us all. This day with joy and anticipation we greet the new year that is 2018 in all its newness and hope of opportunity and possiblity and dreams and blessing and peace. Past and Future Last night new years eve was a time for looking back on the year gone past with gratitude in our hearts for the good times and challenges that we had in 2017. Today however, we look forward with anticipation to the new year and pray that God will journey side by side with us and grant us and those in need good fortune. Homeless, unborn and families I remember in prayer three distinct groups in need of our prayer and concrete action in these challenging times, the homeless, the unborn and families. We are privileged in Ireland to be hosting the World Meeting …

WITH the economy apparently thriving, Christmas was quite positive for local retailers. On Wednesday morning as they reopened their doors, several traders told The Clare Champion things had gone well. Although Christmas Eve hadn’t been particularly hectic, busy earlier trading had more than made up for that, said Patrick Bourke. “We had two record days, the Friday and Saturday, December 22 and 23. The busiest days in a long, long time. That helped matters and it was part of the reason why Christmas Eve was back a bit, there was so much spent on the Friday and Saturday.” His store in Kilrush performed well, he said. “Kilrush had a very good Christmas. It came later in Kilrush than it did in Ennis but it turned out well, there is no doubt about that. This year, the emigrant factor wasn’t quite as noticeable as other years. We had the wedding end of it alright, with a lot of people back for …

THE failure of the Health Service Executive (HSE) to even mention the provision of a new 96-bed block at University Hospital Limerick in its capital projects plans for 2018 has been described as “mind-boggling” by a Clare TD. Commenting on the publication of the HSE 2018 Service Plan, Deputy Timmy Dooley has expressed his disappointment with the fact there is no reference to the long-awaited new project at UHL under its capital infrastructure section. The only reference to capital projects for UHL concerns the redevelopment of the old emergency department (ED), which the plan states will be completed next year and will be fully operational by the first quarter of 2019. A UL Hospitals’ Group spokesman stated the development of the 96-bed block at UHL has been approved in principle by the HSE, subject to the normal conditions for such public works and subject to future capital funding availability. The spokesman outlined that the first stage of the process is …

The festive season of Christmas is a time to look back at the events and happenings of the year just gone by and reflect on what has been. We look back, savour and enjoy the good times while acknowledging the difficult times as well. A Time to look out for others Christmas is a time that we become aware of those less well-off, less fortunate than ourselves. It is a time when we do our best to reach out to others with care, with concern, with Christian love. We remember those less fortunate than ourselves. Unfortunately, homelessness has reached almost epidemic proportions in our country and county and we continue to do what we can in order to alleviate that situation and fight poverty in any way. Solidarity with people who have endured loss Thoughts and prayers go also to the many people who have lost their lives as a result of tragedies on our roads, on our waterways, those …

Clare Champion dog, Daisy, would like to wish all our readers a very Happy Christmas. She has also issued a warning that this time of year can be hazardous for pets, so keep an eye on them. Chocolates and some fruits, including grapes, are very harmful to dogs, so they should be supervised at all times. Most of us are planning Christmas dinner and, next to gifts, food and drink play a huge part in our celebrations. But just as we should be careful not to over-indulge, we need to make sure our pets are looked after as well. Coffee, hot chocolate and caffeine products all contain substances called methylxanthines, which are found in cocoa seeds, the fruit of the plant used to make coffee and in the nuts of an extract used in some fizzy drinks. When ingested by pets, these can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, panting, excessive hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and sometimes, in excessive amounts, …

A 22 year old Ennis man has appeared before a court charged with hijacking his neighbour’s car using a 29 inch bladed machete in Ennis this past Thursday. Declan Sherlock with an address at 40 Dromard, Lahinch Road, Ennis appeared before a special sitting of Ennis District Court on Friday having been charged with eight offences alleged to have occurred on Thursday, December 21. Evidence of arrest charge and caution was given to Judge Marie Keane by Detective Garda Damien O’Connor. Mr Sherlock is charged with using the threat of force and intimidation to unlawfully seize control of a car by threatening to stab a person with a machete at an address in Dromard, Lahinch Road, Ennis contrary to Section 10 of the Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act 1976. He is further charged with having a machete with a 29 inch blade in a public place, and that he intended unlawfully to use it to intimidate a person by allegedly threatening …

PLANS for the development of a new Killaloe store, which could, it is claimed, generate a projected turnover of €9.12 million in 2019, has been approved by An Bord Pleanála, despite objections from local traders. Welcoming the decision, an Aldi spokesperson said the company believes competition is good for consumers. “Aldi will now move forward with our plans to open a new store in Killaloe, bringing our range of award-winning products at unbeatable prices to the local community. “The opening of every new Aldi store has brought greater choice, quality and value to more and more consumers across Ireland. Since 1999, we have invested €1.2 billion in our store opening programme and, last year, we spent over €700m with Irish suppliers,” the spokesperson continued. “Aldi are engaged in a three-year €100m expansion programme, with plans to open 20 new stores and creating 400 new jobs by the end of 2019.” This was the second time the German multinational submitted plans …