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The Wexford Opera Festival is a bit of an unusual proposition but it works and has done for years. Take three obscure operas, some of which haven’t seen the light of day since their début performance, and stage them again over the course of a few weeks. Of course, some operas are obscure for a reason and maybe they should be left mouldering but for every duffer there are several gems. This year was promising, with all three operas sung in Italian. It’s a general rule of mine not to go near German language opera. I find it dark and depressing. Surprisingly, opera in English is often woefully bad. There’s the advantage of being able to fully understand what’s going on without resorting to subtitles but there’s just something wrong about English language opera. You’re generally safer sticking with Italian or at a pinch, French. We travelled down in the aftermath of Ophelia and just before storm Brian made itself …

Bishop Fintan Monahan has urged all road users to take extra care this October bank holiday weekend. After 12 noon mass on Sunday, he will lead a ‘Blessing of the Roads’ ceremony in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Ennis and offer prayers for the safety of all road users. Bishop Monahan has invited parishes in the Diocese of Killaloe to join with him in prayers over the weekend. Bishop Monahan said, “Statistics indicate that bank holiday weekends can be high risk times on our roads. I am aware that many county councils and civic groups and especially the Road Safety Authority, work very hard to promote safety on the roads. But the reality is that we all share this responsibility to protect human life on our roads. “Up to this morning (Friday) 125 people have died this year on roads across the State. While the trend is down from the 160 deaths this time last year, it …

In advance of the October Bank Holiday weekend, AA Ireland is warning motorists to exercise additional caution while driving, as conditions worsen over the coming weeks. While there is little risk of significant weather events currently, the changing of the clocks and the start of the winter season represent an increasingly dangerous period on Irish roads. “With the clocks going back this Sunday motorists will notice increasingly dark conditions when driving, particularly during their post-work commute. To make matters worse, as we move into winter we can expect an increase in hazardous weather conditions such as heavy rain and fog which can greatly affect visibility, so it’s important that motorists react accordingly by taking extra care on the roads in the coming months,” said Conor Faughnan, AA director of consumer affairs. “While it’s important that cyclists and pedestrians do their part by donning hi-vis vests, motorists must take the greatest share of the burden when it comes to keeping our …

A HIQA report on Kilrush District Hospital has found one instance of a major non-compliance and nine minor non-compliance issues. The announced inspections took place on July 31 and August 1, while 35 residents were in the building. The major non compliant issue was in relation to the St Flannan’s three-bed room. “Two of the beds were located in close proximity to one another. The inspector observed that a resident sitting in her wheelchair beside her bed was moved to the day room to allow a visitor sit beside the resident in the adjacent bed,” the report said. “The privacy and dignity of residents was further compromised due to the clear glass panels which were located on both entrance doors to the ward. St Flannan’s three-bedded room did not meet the needs of residents and was unsuitable in design and layout. It accommodated three female residents at the time of inspection. There was inadequate space to store clothes and other …

AN “incomplete” garda investigation into a Shannon fatality is akin to a “miscarriage of justice”, a local woman has claimed. The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) recently made a ruling refusing the release of a report about a review of a garda investigation, which was completed by Superintendent Con Cadogan in relation to the dangerous driving causing death conviction of Theresa Naughton, 1 Inis Eagla, Shannon. This refusal was made following a request made by The Clare Champion to release the contents of this report under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. In the course of its review, the OIC wrote to the Department of Justice and stated a “page from section one appears to be missing”. In reply, the department stated that “everything we have has been provided to the OIC”. It stated that when it received the report, it immediately transmitted to the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) “without perusing the contents”. “It Deprtment of Justice stated the …

A man in his 20s arrested by gardaí in connection with an investigation into a robbery at a shop on the Kilrush Road in  Ennis on October 18 has this evening (Wednesday) been released without charge. A file will now be prepared for the information of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).  

Scattery Island has been honoured as the Irish winner of the 2017 EDEN (European Destination of Excellence) Award, recognising it as the destination in Ireland which has best used its local tangible cultural assets to grow visitor numbers. The EDEN award was officially presented today (Tuesday) by the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin at a ceremony in the Vandeleur Walled Garden in Kilrush. This prestigious EDEN competition, which Fáilte Ireland manages in Ireland, is staged every two years in each EU country along a specific shared theme, is designed to encourage and promote a more sustainable form of tourism development and Scattery Island was one of three Irish destinations shortlisted under this year’s Tangible Cultural Destination theme. The two runner-up destinations were Ceide Coast, County Mayo and The Norman Way, County Wexford. Speaking at the ceremony Minister Griffin said, “The standard of finalists this year was exceptionally high. During the onsite assessments, Scattery Island, as well …

A €12 million investment delivering 50 new jobs at an Ennis firm was announced on Monday morning. Vitalograph, a world leading provider of cardio-respiratory products, software and services plans to invest €12 million in its Gort Road facility. Expansion will see clinical trials of the efficacy of new cough drugs along with the development of new diagnostic software centre. The company has announced the creation of 50 new jobs at its manufacturing and research and development facility in Ennis at a press conference on Monday morning at 10.30am. The new roles will be across a number of positions including data analysts, software designers and engineers and the company expects to fill the positions over the coming six months. The jobs announcement also coincides with the news that Vitalograph is to invest €12 million in the Ennis facility where it currently employs 100 people. Vitalograph has been designing, developing and manufacturing respiratory and cardiology devices for the healthcare sector for over …