Lifestyle

There were considerable tailbacks on the M18 Ennis to Limerick motorway this morning (Tuesday) following a seven-vehicle pile-up. The accident occurred  on the north-bound lane near Manus, Clarecastle during a heavy hailstone shower. Emergency services from Ennis and Shannon attended the scene. There were no fatalities but a number of people were treated for minor injuries. Ennis-bound traffic was diverted on the old road through Clarecastle.

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny will launch a fascinating new book, Irish Agriculture Nationalised, by Mícheál Ó Fathartaigh, at the headquarters of the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society in Dublin on Wednesday. Irish Agriculture Nationalised tells the remarkable story of the Dairy Disposal Company (DDC), one of the first Irish State-sponsored bodies, established in 1927 to acquire private creameries and other agri-businesses and transfer them to co-operative societies. In his foreword to the book, Professor Eunan O’Halpin, of Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for Contemporary Irish History, describes the Dairy Disposal Company as ‘a kind of NAMA’ for the dairy industry in Munster, up to its final dissolution in the 1970s. The DDC evolved into an agency that developed creameries and other agri-businesses, particularly in the south, and stimulated economic growth. By the time it dissolved in 1978, it had laid foundations, for instance, for The Kerry Group and Golden Vale. At its height the DDC operated 191 creameries and 86 other agri-businesses, …

Clare Senator Tony Mulcahy has proposed that the legal starting age in the Irish education system for a child be reduced to three years of age in order to extend special education support services to preschool-going children. Senator Mulcahy was speaking in Seanad Éireann this week in response to an address to the upper house by Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan in which she outlined the proposed introduction of a new inclusion support service to assist schools in supporting children with special educational needs. Administered by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), the service will include the special education support service which provides training for schools in how to assist pupils with special educational needs,as well as the national behaviour support service which provides guidance and support to schools in dealing with behavioural issues. Until now these support services have been managed separately within the Department of Education. “No one in society should be denied the right to go to …

Tuesday April 14th Breakfast 7:15 30g of porridge with skimmed milk and water with a green tea. Mid morning 10:30 An orange and a few grapes with a glass of water. Lunch 13:00 Two slices of Be Good bread toasted with lettuce, onion, tomato and a slice of ham with a glass of water. Dinner 17:30 A scoop of mash with vegetables and half a breast of chicken with a pint of water. Snack 20:00 A green tea with a yoghurt. Wednesday April 15th Breakfast 7:15 Two crumpets with a teaspoon of Weightwatchers jam and a green tea. Mid morning 12:00 A coffee and a Weightwatchers cookie. Lunch 14:00 A wrap with chicken and salad and a side salad with a diet coke. Dinner 18:00 A bowl of home made vegetable soup with two slices of porridge bread and a glass of water. Snack 20:00 A green tea and a Weightwatchers bar. Thursday April 16th Breakfast 7:15 Two poached eggs …

Open in one form or another for two centuries, Keane’s shop in Gort has survived booms, busts, the war of independence, the civil war, the world wars, the dawn of electricity, the online revolution, pay parking and everything in between. Now as owner Colman Keane looks to the future, he recalls a few tales from the past including one about WB Yeats, the shop’s best-known debtor – albeit, he says, that story may involve a “small amount of poetic license”. Of Down and Derry ancestry, the Keane family arrived in the town from Craughwell around 1812. “As Napoleon was retreating from Moscow, we were attacking Gort,” Colman laughs. “Our first establishment was on the Galway Road. We had a cinema there for the silent movies in the latter part of the 19th century. That building is still there, derelict practically, and we moved to Bridge Street a short time later to the site where we are now,” he outlines. Today …

THERE were a massive 493 entries to this year’s Clare Champion Short Stories Competition, more than twice the previous record. The winners were announced and presented with their prizes at a special celebratory event attended by their families at the De Valera Library in Ennis. Addressing all in attendance, Clare Champion managing director, John Galvin said the competition has grown in stature over the years, with this year attracting four times as many entries as the very first event. “When the Clare Champion Short Stories competition was inaugurated back in 2007, it was a step into unknown territory for us, even though we have been in the words business ourselves since 1903 and as a successor to Clare newspapers dating back into the 19th century. “We were fairly happy when about 120 stories were entered. We pressed on; word got out there that the competition was to be taken seriously and the lure of generous cash prizes provided added interest. …

Mid-West post-primary school students will be showing off their scientific knowledge at the regional SciFest fair, which will be taking place at LIT on Wednesday next at the LIT Moylish campus. SciFest is an all-inclusive, all-island science competition where second-level students showcase science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) projects at a series of one day science fairs held regionally in the 14 Institutes of Technology, and St Mary’s College, Derry. Ten major awards, including the SFI Discover Best Project Award, the Intel Award and the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Award are available at each of the 15 venues. Winners from each regional science fair go on to compete at a national final, which will take place this year in the Marino Conference Centre, Dublin on November 6. Awards presented at the national final include opportunities to represent Ireland at two international science fairs; the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona and the International Environment and …

Chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Pat Breen has urged Clare students who intend travelling to the United States on J1 visas this summer to pack a copy of the new guide. Produced by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,the new guide for J1 visas was officially launched by the Minister of State with responsibility for the Diaspora Jimmy Deenihan. “The J1 Visa Programme provides a wonderful opportunity to Irish Students to work and travel to the United States. Over the years, the programme has made an enormous contribution to the enhancement of Irish/America bilateral relations. Over 8,000 students have applied for the programme this year and Ireland sends more students on this programme than any other country in the world. Many students from Clare have travelled to the US on J1 ‘s and more are planning to travel this summer. The majority of …