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Sinn Féin have announced they are fielding a West Clare candidate to contest the local election for the Kilrush local electoral area with the party revealing Dawn Bennett from Kilkee as their chosen candidate. Ms Bennett, who owns CocoLemon hairdressers in Kilrush, becomes the fifth Sinn Féin candidate in the county for the upcoming June elections. She said she first became interested in politics from listening to what party leader, Mary Lou McDonald had to say. “She was offering common sense solutions and was so down to earth. Mary Lou and Sinn Féin are for the people and I love to help people whenever I can, so it was the right party for me. I’m a carer myself so I know how difficult it is to get access to the services people need,” she explained. Originally from Limerick, Ms Bennett moved to West Clare five years ago where she has made home. “It’s a beautiful place to raise a family, …

The sun will no doubt be splitting the Burren rocks this Sunday when the mighty Kilfenora Céilí Band take to the stage at the Square in the village for the hugely popular open-air céilí. The céilí, which has been the cornerstone of the Kilfenora Traditional Music Festival for the past 16 years, has never yet seen a rainy day, with musicians and dancers usually basked in early summer sunshine. “The biggest event always in ‘the Kilfenora’ in Kilfenora. I’ve met people from all over Ireland who travel to hear the band playing in the village square,” said John Morgan. “We have 200 seats out for the people who are not dancing and lots of space for those who are. I remember I met a woman when the first festival was starting in 2009 who hadn’t seen set dancing in the village for 30 years, so we had to change that. “The band always play out of their skins in the …

A Clare man who sexually abused and raped his daughter over a 13-year period has been jailed for 11 and a half years. Patrick Honan (69) was found guilty following a Central Criminal Court trial in February of 48 sample counts including 25 of rape and 23 of indecent assault. The victim in this case, Noreen Honan, has waived her right to anonymity to allow her father to be named. The abuse took place at the family home at Lake View, Doonbeg, Co. Clare between 1977 and 1989 when she was aged between three and a half and 16. It included inappropriate touching, vaginal and oral rape, forced kissing, masturbation and digital penetration of her vagina. Honan of Lake View, Doonbeg, Kilrush, Co. Clare does not accept the verdicts of the jury and maintains his innocence, the court was previously told. Today, Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford imposed a 13-year custodial sentence, with the final 18 months suspended. She also directed …

ENNIS-based FASD Ireland, the country’s first national hub to support individuals, families and carers living with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), is to be awarded €200,000 in funding. The announcement was made by Minister for Disability Anne Rabbitte (FF) in the Dáil recently. Minister Rabbitte said, “Approximately €200,000 in funding will be awarded to the FASD Ireland in Clare for the national hub. I commend the work it has done in putting in place the telephone line and supporting families when there is such a deficit in Departments and the HSE in terms of taking on the mantle of providing support. I compliment the team in Clare on what it is doing. I am very supportive of it.” Welcoming the announcement, CEO of FASD Ireland, Tristan Casson-Rennie, said, “I am delighted that Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder has been discussed in detail in Dáil Éireann. FASD Ireland has some key asks of Government, importantly that FASD is recognised as a disability …

Rural Clare is on the verge of collapse and, unless urgent action is taken, the current generation of rural Clare people will be the last one raised outside of towns and cities. That is the message that Clare Macra will be presenting to politicians this Friday night at a special lobbying event which takes place in Ennis. The Chairperson of Clare Macra, Caitríona Power, says that the difficulty of securing a home in rural Ireland is driving young people away and scores of Clare Macra members have been forced to emigrate in recent years. “There are a lot of things which are forcing young people to move into towns and cities or to go abroad. Rural Ireland is dead really. Our members say that Macra is the only social outlet available to them,” she told The Clare Champion. “One of our members was looking to rent an apartment in Limerick City and it was €1,000 a month. That was only …

The parents of Aoife Johnston, who died in a “death trap” emergency department at University Hospital Limerick, following “systemic failures” in her care, said today their daughter died a “horrible death”, writes David Raleigh. Carol and James Johnston said they wanted their daughter not to be remembered “as the girl who died on a hospital trolley”, but as “a happy, easy-going, happy-go-lucky girl, who went to school and did summer jobs”. “Our lovely 16-year-old girl and our baby was loved very, very much by us and her sisters,” they said. Following four days of harrowing evidence at Aoife’s inquest, the Limerick Coroner, John McNamara returned a verdict of medical misadventure in her death from meningitis after she contracted sepsis. It was, Mr McNamara agreed, “the only verdict” open to him after it had been proposed by Damien Tansey, senior counsel and solicitor for the Johnston family, and not opposed by barristers representing the HSE/ULHospitals Group and management at the hospital. …

An Assistant Director of Nursing at University Hospital Limerick, giving evidence on Tuesday at the inquest into Aoife Johnston’s death, agreed that the environment inside UHL’s overcrowded emergency department was “dangerous” for patients as Ms Johnston waited more than 12 hours for life-saving antibiotics, which it was heard were not administered in time. Aoife, 16, from Shannon, died at UHL on December 19 2022, following a series of delays in her treatment, the inquest which is being held at Limerick Coroners Court, Kilmallock, heard. Aoife presented at UHL on December 17, along with with a GP referral letter that queried “sepsis”, a life-threatening blood infection, which required “urgent” attention. UHL’s sepsis protocols, requiring patients to be seen by a doctor within 15 minutes, were not followed. Aoife was not triaged until 1 hour 15 minutes after first presenting. When she eventually made it to the emergency department she had to wait more than 12 hours to be examined by a …

A man has been airlifted to hospital after he suffered serious burns in a workplace accident in South Clare this afternoon. The alarm was raised shortly before 3pm when a fire was reported a premises in Drumquin between Ennis and Ballynacally. It’s understood the injured man in his 60s, a motor mechanic who operates his own business, sustained severe burns and smoke inhalation as he attempted to extinguish the fire himself. Three units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station along with additional crews from Shannon responded to the emergency call. An ambulance and rapid response paramedic unit were also dispatched to the scene along with Gardaí. It’s understood the man managed to extinguish part of the fire himself while fire crews quicky dealt with a small fire when they arrived. Paramedics treated the injured man at the scene but it was decided that the man should be airlifted to hospital rather than travel by road. The …