Lifestyle

SHANNON Airport has scored another remarkable first as its chairman, Rose Hynes becomes  one of the founding board members of the World Free Zones Organisation. At its launch in Dubai this week, Ms Hynes was also appointed to the key role of  founding treasurer. The inaugural board gathered on Monday evening at the Jumeirah Emirates Tower Hotel in Dubai for the launch by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Shannon is one of only two European free zones on the inaugural board, along with Barcelona. Speaking from Dubai, Ms Hynes said that the launch was another prestigious moment and one that offers great opportunity and promise for the Shannon Free Zone. “The Shannon Free Zone, as the first free zone in the world, has been replicated as a concept the world over in the 55 years since it was founded. It is an honour to be …

By Dan Danaher Identifying workplace hazards and assessing and controlling fire hazard risk has helped Clare firemen scoop a major national award. Clare Fire and Rescue Service  joined 31 private and public sector organisations from across Ireland to receive service quality awards – OHSAS 18001:2007 certification, from the Minister of State for Small Business, Deputy John Perry recently. Mayor of Clare, Councillor Joe Arkins, Adrian Kelly, Clare Chief Fire Officer and Ger Hartnett, senior executive Health and Safety Officer, Clare County Council attended the awards’ ceremony in Dublin. The “Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems’ standard was first published by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) in 2007. The standard, which is the only auditable international standard for health and safety, sets out a preventative and proactive approach to identifying workplace hazards and assessing and controlling risk. Councillor Arkins said that maintaining health and safety standards to the highest level is “critically important for both fire service personnel and …

AN Ardnacrusha youth has claimed first prize in the junior category of the Scratch Coding national finals. Liam O’Brien, who is a first-year pupil at St Munchin’s College, Limerick, developed a Golden Pixel RPG game, involving a man who is on a quest for the Golden Pixel. The game triumphed in the first to third-year age level for second-level students. In the game, the man fights monsters, completes quests, earns coins, buys or wins upgrades, conquers castles, plays minigames and unlock levels and defeat bosses in his quest for the golden pixel. The game is divided up into three stages – grassland, desert and beach. The man has health, money and strength. His health is what keeps him alive. He starts with 20 units of health and loses his health when enemies hit. Each type of enemy has different amounts of health and strength. There are pink and blue blobs that block his way. There are also skeletons which he …

By Peter O’Connell JOHN Treacy likens what happened in West Clare 426 years ago to two fully-loaded 747s crashing, within hours of each other. On Friday, September 20, 1588, the San Marcos and the San Esteban went down off Mutton Island (Quilty) and the White Strand (Doonbeg) respectively. In the region of 780 people were drowned, while the approximate 70 survivors were executed. Both ships were part of the Spanish Armada, whose initial aim was to help the Duke of Parma’s army to cross from France to England and, having accomplished this, the Armada’s second objective was to wipe out the English fleet. In recent months, the San Marcos Project, which is headed locally by John Treacy, a postgraduate researcher and Mary Immaculate College PHD student, has started its quest to elicit if the wreck of the doomed 790-tonne Portuguese galleon can be located. When it sailed from Corunna, it carried 33 guns, 409 men, including 292 soldiers and 117 …

WITH just a week to polling day for the local and European elections, this week’s Clare Champion presents the full line-up of candidates and addresses the issues facing them on the canvass trail.  We have a special 24-page supplement focusing on the battle for the 28 seats on Clare County Council, while the European elections are covered in the main body of the paper. Make sure to get your copy of The Clare Champion this week; it will help you make up you mind on who to vote for on Friday, May 23.

By Carol Byrne SIXMILEBRIDGE Folk Club will host two concerts this month; the first on Wednesday next at the Mill Bar, and the second in the soon-to-be opened Kilkishen Cultural Centre. The new centre will be the venue for a folk club concert with the Mulcahy’s traditional music family  on May 16. Now in its 16th year, the folk club has changed venues many times, starting with McGregor’s in Sixmilebridge, then the parochial hall, followed by the Courthouse. They are now firmly established in Gallagher’s, Kilkishen, and also return on a regular basis to both Gleeson’s and the Mill Bar, in Sixmilebridge. However, with the opening of the new Cultural Centre in Kilkishen, Brendan Walsh, said this will mark a new beginning for the club, as they aim to promote it as a top-class acoustic music venue. “It will be a huge asset to the folk club, as it is a state-of-the-art heritage venue with a capacity of 80. As …

Secondary school pupils from counties Galway, Clare and several other counties will exhibit a range of exciting science projects in GMIT Galway on Thursday morning, as part of the 2014 Young Scientist SciFest competition. SciFest is an all-island science competition where second-level students showcase their science, technology and maths projects at a series of one-day science fairs held in the 14 regional Institutes of Technology and the University of Ulster. In GMIT Galway, over 100 students will exhibit 50 projects and posters on a range of topics in the life and physical sciences, and technology disciplines. The winners from each science fair will go on to compete at the national final in November. The SciFest programme is primarily sponsored by Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover Science & Engineering Programme and Intel Ireland. It is also supported by a number of other companies and organisations. GMIT SciFest is organised by the GMIT School of Science and the GMIT Schools Liaison Office. Each …

PETS that spend time indoors can be put at risk. Your home is a hazardous place – we all know of the many accidents people have at home each year, so why should it be any different for your pet? • Be aware that some plants are very toxic to animals, especially young puppies and kittens, who are fond of chewing! Aloe vera, apple seeds, daffodils, foxglove, lily of the valley, tiger lily, weeping fig, rhododendron, amaryllis, clematis and azalea are just a few of the more common plants that can be dangerous for your pets. • Check the cleaning agents you use. Some may only cause mild symptoms but others can be fatal. Some powder carpet fresheners that you vacuum up can also cause severe skin irritations. • Pest bait, such as rodent, slug or roach traps, can be very toxic. The poison is hidden in sweet bait, such as chocolate or jam, so make sure your dog cannot …