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An Ennis undertaker has put himself in the frame for Pieta House by organising a charity auction of 12 of his oil paintings. Sean Daly, who has worked with his father, Joe for the last nine years, will unveil his eye-catching exhibition of paintings upstairs in Tom Steele’s Pub, Lifford, this Sunday. Inspired by the death of a close friend through suicide in 2012, Mr Daly was determined to raise money for the regional suicide prevention centre. In addition to acquiring a BA in Fine Art from Manchester Metropolitian University when he studied sculpture and photography, he also holds a certificate in animation, which also involves a lot of painting. He is also preparing for another art exhibition in the Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery next month. Each oil on canvass painting took him about one month to complete. He also makes all the canvass material for his paintings. Having attended Ennis CBS up to third year, he moved to Ennis Vocational School …

Ireland South MEP Liadh Ní Riada will be pushing for All-Ireland initiatives and solutions for the fishing community. Sinn Féin’s Ms Ní Riada, as the only Irish MEP on the EU Fisheries Committee, has promised to be a strong voice for the fishing communities of the entire island. “For too long our fishing communities have suffered as a result of weak representation at this level. I will be pushing the all-Ireland dimension at every opportunity particularly when it comes to our fisheries. A 32-county approach certainly provides a way forward in the development and defence of our fishing industry and the livelihoods of fishermen who are already struggling in a very difficult environment,” she said. Continuing she said, “We want to see our fishing communities represented by ministers from the north and south of Ireland. Such an approach would undoubtedly strengthen our voice when working, through the European Union, to improve the lot of the Irish fishing community. “Sinn Féin …

Two Ireland South MEPs, Deirde Clune and Sean Kelly have secured membership of much sought-after European Parliament committees. As the new parliamentary term began in Strasbourg this week,  Fine Gael delegation leader in the parliament, Mairead McGuinness, confirmed the party’s committee memberships. They are: Mairead McGuinness (Midlands North West) – Full membership of Agriculture & Rural Development/AGRI, substitute on Environment, Public Health & Food Safety/ENVI Sean Kelly (South) – Full membership of Industry and Energy/ITRE, substitute on Internal Market/INTA Deirdre Clune (South) – Full membership of Transport & Tourism/TRAN, substitute on Employment & Social Affairs/EMPL Brian Hayes (Dublin) – Full membership of Economic & Monetary Affairs/ECON, substitute on Development/DEVE & Budgetary control/CONT “We have been successful in securing membership of committees which are important to Ireland and the EU. These committees will be pivotal in driving the agenda for growth and jobs in the EU,” Ms McGuinness said. “The next five years in the European Parliament must focus on creating …

Over 5,000 lone parent families will lose their entitlement to One Family Payment from this Thursday but this will rise to 9,000 by the end of the year. By highlighting the fact By July 2015, almost 60,000 families will lose One Family Payment when their youngest child turns seven, SPARK (Single Parent Acting for the Rights of Kids) has called on the promise made by Minister Joan Burton in April 2012 not to proceed with these ‘reforms’ unless there was “system of safe, affordable and accessible child care in place, similar to what is found in the Scandinavian countries to whose systems of social protection we aspire. “There have been 800 after school childcare places provided (ASCC) for all low income families and this is nowhere near the requirement needed to assist the 60,000 effected families. Minister Joan Burton has cited the fact that lone parent families are the poorest group in Society as the reason for reform, however, the changes being introduced have a …

Homes and businesses in Clare are set to benefit as a result of a joint ESB and Vodafone venture to upgrade broadband facilities across the country. The  €450 million investment will benefit 50 towns, among them Ennis and Shannon. ESB and Vodafone are to invest €450 million in building a 100%  fibre-to-the-building broadband network offering speeds from 200 Mbps to 1000 Mbps, propelling Ireland into the ranks of the world’s fastest broadband countries. Ireland will also become the first country in Europe to utilise existing electricity infrastructure on a nationwide basis to deploy fibre directly into homes and businesses, initially reaching 500,000 premises in 50 towns.

The final report and recommendations of the Forestry Policy Review Group, entitled, Forests, Products and People – Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision, was launched in Dublin this Wednesday by Minster of State, Tom Hayes. This is of particular interest for  Clare, as there has been a big increase in forestry projects in the county in recent years. Talks, field trips and practical demonstrations are held on a regular basis by Teagasc, while farm organisations and other accredited groups are also heavily involved in promoting the business. A Forest Policy Review Group was established by the (then) Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in April 2010 to review State forestry policy to take account of its critical role in relation to climate change and its importance to construction, bio-energy, bio-diversity and its potential to deliver long-term employment in other downstream industries such as eco-tourism, furniture, crafts etc. The group, which comprised of a wide range of stakeholders, met on …

One of the world’s leading operators in the aircraft parts industry, Aero-Zone, is to launch its European headquarters in the Shannon Free Zone, it has been confirmed. Aero-Zone, Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chandler, Arizona based Aero-Zone, which has been providing new and aftermarket parts for commercial, corporate and general-aviation aircraft since 1994. Shannon Airport Authority chairman Rose Hynes said, “Aero-Zone, Ltd is part of a dynamic and growing cluster of over 40 aviation companies that employs 1,600 people here at Shannon. Its decision to locate its European headquarters here to service its Europe and Middle-East customer base is another vote of confidence for the continued development of our International Aviation Services Centre (IASC) at Shannon. “There is an impressive list of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies based here and we look forward to working with Aero-Zone into the future as they grow operations here.”

A former bank manager who was jailed for four years after he stole nearly €450,000 from customers to pay off debts arising from unsuccessful investments in the property market has had half his sentence suspended on appeal. In April last year, Kevin Jarlath Mitchell (55) was jailed for four years by Judge Martin Nolan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to 10 sample counts of charges relating to stealing money from clients while he was a senior official at ACC Bank in Kilrush. Mr Mitchell, with a last address at Drimnagh Road, Drimnagh, pleaded guilty to charges of theft, obtaining cash and a cheque under false pretenses and falsifying a DIRT compliance certificate on dates between January 1993 and February 2012. The court heard evidence that father-of-five Mitchell stole €197,000 from a pensioner after leading the man to believe that he had been depositing his cash in a high-interest account. Mitchell also stole €250,000 from a couple who …