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Clare farm leader, Eddie Punch, has named the development of Shannon Airport and the return of political power to local areas, as two of his main issues ahead of his bid to be elected to the European Parliament. The East Clare man stepped down as General Secretary of the ICSA on Tuesday in order to attempt to become Clare’s first MEP since Sylvie Barrett (FG) was elected in 1984. Mr Punch believes that now is the time to rebalance the political power structure in Ireland. He says that the upcoming introduction of a directly elected mayor for Limerick could be a catalyst for increased devolution of powers at the local level. He also believes that the role of Shannon Airport must be strengthened in the years ahead to insure balanced regional development. “I am really concerned about the tourism sector in Clare in particular. There has been a completely lackadaisical approach to tourism. The role of Shannon Airport really has …

What will an enlarged European Union of 500 million people look like? How will the citizens of its 35 or more member states live, work and interact? Who will pay for it and how much? How will decisions be made and can consensus be reached with more voices at the table? These were just some of the questions debated at this year’s Model Council of the European Union, which took place on March 1 at Dublin Castle. Teams of secondary school students from across Ireland, each playing the role of an EU member state, did a deep dive into the reforms needed to make future EU enlargements a success. They came prepared with passionate and articulate arguments, to defend the interests of their adopted member states. Six teams rose above 21 other schools with their convincing portrayal of EU Ministers for European Affairs, going head to head on some of the key challenges presented by enlargement such as the future …

I read an article in The Irish Times this week with the heading ‘Women more than twice as likely to rely on State pension’ which lead me to think about our clients and how are the women of Co Clare faring. Firstly let’s look at what the data says nationwide – women are more than twice as likely as men to rely heavily on the State pension for their income in retirement, according to a new survey. And three-quarters of those responding to the study by the Retirement Planning Council of Ireland agreed that women have historically faced financial discrimination when it comes to pensions. Half attribute that to the focus on woman for the provision of unpaid care to children and other family members, while 35 per cent think it is due to women being more likely to have low-paid or part-time jobs. Personal finance is a topic that many people find daunting, boring or confusing, especially in times of economic …

MILTOWN Malbay based author, Darragh McKeon, was one of the highlights of this year’s Ennis Book Club Festival. Now based Clare, he grew up in Offaly and his debut novel All That Is Solid Melts Into Air was published in 2014 to international acclaim. It was translated into nine different languages, was a New York Times Editor’s Choice and in France it won the Lire Prize for Best International Debut. His second novel Remembrance Sunday was published last year to further acclaim, with the Irish Times stating that the book’s “imaginative storytelling and fine prose of Remembrance Sunday puts McKeon in the big leagues.” Born in 1979, he is just about old enough to have a vague memory of the IRA bombing of Enniskillen on Remembrance Sunday, 1987, which saw 12 deaths. It was one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles and saw an outcry across Ireland and the UK. However when he first began work on what would …

Ballina Handball Club has installed a new defibrillator costing an estimated €1,600 on the outside wall of their handball alley for the benefit of the club and residents. This latest initiative is part of the club’s drive to increase the provision of facilities for the benefit of the local national school and the local community. The first part of this drive was the introduction of dads and lads as well as mothers and others in the handball alley to encourage people to engage in a fun physical exercise without the commitment of training for or entering a competition. This started about three weeks ago and already it is proving very popular with people who never played handball previously. Teaming up with Defibs for Life in Nenagh, the club contacted this organisation who was delighted to supply a defibrillator on the proviso they would receive a donation. Club Chairman, Paddy Collins explained a defibrillator is essential for a club and the …

A Lisseycasey councillor is pressing Clare County Council to offer a solution to the Lough Donnell sluice problem at Clohaninchy saying it is “unfair” to the 30 or more local landowners who are affected. Local landowners are fearful that their properties could be flooded by seawater, which could cause significant damage to farm land. Clare County Council said it continues to work to address concerns at Lough Donnell, and a consultant representing the Council met the contractor on site in late February to inspect the culvert. The local authority said a report looking at the options to provide an engineering solution will be prepared, and the preferred option it decides upon will first have to be agreed with National Parks and Wildlife Service and Inland Fisheries Ireland. Councillor PJ Kelly (FF) told Wednesday’s meeting of the West Clare municipal district that no progress has been made on the matter since he last raised it at December’s Clare County Council meeting. …

The rich history of one of Clare’s most influential traditional music families is being pieced together for the first time in a new online archive of sound, images and memories. The Russell’s of Doolin archive was launched at last month’s Russell Festival and tracks the life, music and stories of Micho, Packie and Gussie Russell. The archive is the brainchild of local musician and co-organiser of the Russell Festival, Charles Monod, who has spent the last year conducting interviews and sourcing images, audio and video about the famous Doolin brothers. Charles came to traditional music comparatively late in life, but once he was bitten by the trad bug, he was hooked for life. Originally from Switzerland, he came to Doolin for a summer as a teenager, but like so many lovers of traditional music, he found it difficult to leave. “When I came here for the summer I started playing the tin whistle as something to do. My aim was …

  Clare people have decided by an overwhelming majority to reject proposed amendments in the twin Family and Care referendums. The 39th Family Referendum was rejected by more than a two-to-one majority. The No vote totalled 26,574, 67% while 12, 573 voted Yes, 33%. There was also a decisive rejection of the 40th Care Referendum. The votes cast against the proposal came to 28,979, 74%. In total, 10, 132 voted Yes, 26% giving a No majority of 18,848.   The result is an embarrassing verdict for all the political parties, the Government, and organisations who advocated a Yes vote in the two referendums. There were 90,101 people living in Clare who were entitled to vote, but less than half of them chose to do so. The official turnout in Clare was expected 44% after 39,65o people cast their vote. There were 503 spoilt votes giving a valid poll of 39,147. This result means Clare people have decided to reject eight …