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Clare TD  and chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Pat Breen, has described a move by New York City Council to allow identity cards for undocumented immigrants “a real step forward” “There are an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 Irish among the 500,000 undocumented living in New York City and they can now benefit from the new ‘New York Identity Card’. It means they will now have access to city services, and can now do things like open bank accounts, sign a lease, or visit a doctor. “Every parish in Clare can identify with the plight of the undocumented and the introduction of the ID Cards will give our illegal immigrants in New York a sense of security and make them feel more at home away from home, Deputy Breen said. He added, “I want to praise the work of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, and I also want to praise New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, …

A Clare father who “sacrificed the welfare of his children for alcohol” has been given a four year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for the neglect and ill treatment of six children. The eldest victim described how she was 10 when she was left to care for her six week old sister. She said the baby slept beside her in a single bed and when she was unable to stop the infant crying during the night the accused hit her in the face. The now 19-year-old woman also described coming home from school to find the baby alone strapped into a car seat when her parents had gone drinking. She also cared for her other siblings and forged her mother’s signature in shops in order to feed them. The foster parents of some of the children, aged between two and 12 years old at the time they went into care, said they were unable to use cutlery, were not …

DONALD Trump was back in Doonbeg at the weekend, inspecting Trump International Golf Links & Hotel. While an earlier visit saw Trump welcomed to Ireland by musicians on the runway at Shannon and the Minister for Finance, last weekend seems to have been more low key. On Monday Managing Director Joe Russell said; “He (Trump) arrived on Saturday evening, he was here on Saturday and Sunday night and left on Monday morning and went on to Scotland. As you know he has acquired Turnberry and he’s there now and going on to Aberdeen for the rest of the week.” Regarding the time spent by Trump at Doonbeg, Mr Russell said; “On Saturday evening we did a tour of the golf course for a couple of hours. We had Martin Hawtree who’s working on our golf course design, he has done a lot of work on Lahinch over the last number of years. Martin was with us, head pro Brian Shaw, …

COMPOSER and music teacher, Fiona Linnane lives in Kildimo, County Limerick, but maintains a strong connection with her native County Clare – so much so, in fact, she has been inspired to embark on a new album of original works for solo piano, following her work with Burren in Bloom. “I was the composer in residence for a project called Bells Across The Burren in Ballyvaughan last year. It was a huge project, which was all-encompassing but very rewarding. That was an artist-in-the-community project with the Arts Council of Ireland and Burrenbeo and it was part of the Burren in Bloom festival last year. It was a five-month residency so, after that, I decided I needed something small and manageable,” said the Cratloe woman. “I had another big project as well this year, dealing with writing a commission for a choir in Limerick, so I just wanted something smaller, where I was just collaborating with a small number of people. …

All-Ireland hurling medal winner,  Podge Collins, visited Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg in Ennis  to raise the school’s new Yellow Flag. The Yellow Flag programme recognises a school’s work in promoting interculturalism, equality, diversity and inclusion in both the school and wider community. The programme works through an eight-step model, which allows schools to apply those steps to the day-to-day running of the school in order to promote and support an environment for interculturalism. According to teacher Aoife Ní Conchúir, the whole school was involved in achieving the flag, and all classes were involved in the sports day held to mark raising the Yellow Flag. “It was a great day. We have about 11 different countries represented in the school community, between children and parents. To achieve the Yellow Flag, we held a series of events in the school celebrating diversity and involving the wider community. We made contact with different groups from different countries and held events. We had African drummers, …

THE recent return of a “sewerage-type smell” in parts of Shannon has prompted renewed calls for the Government to fast-track the allocation of €22 million for a major upgrading of the “outdated” treatment plant. Councillor PJ Ryan said there are reports of a return of an intermittent “sewerage-type smell” in parts of Shannon, including the Tradaree and Cronan Gardens area. While this foul smell, which comes and goes, isn’t as bad as the pungent one that caused huge difficulties last year, Councillor Ryan explains it tends to get worse as the day gets hotter. Councillor Ryan believes foul odours will continue to cause a nuisance for businesses and residents until the sewerage treatment plant is properly upgraded. The Independent Councillor said the plant was never designed to take the current volumes of industrial and domestic waste. Councillor Gerry Flynn said he recently contacted the environment section of the council, following complaints from residents about a foul smell in the town. …

Mullagh National School pupils are winning the obesity battle, thanks to the use of state-of-the-art facilities, as part of its commitment to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. That’s according to INTO president, Seán McMahon, who returned to his own school to raise the Active Schools’ Flag in his first official function since becoming president. Mr McMahon described this national education programme as one of the most important initiatives currently available to schools, particularly in the context of statistics indicating that over 100,000 Irish pupils are considered to be obese. Speaking at a recent Early Childhood Ireland Conference, Dr Catherine Woods revealed that research indicates only 19% of children are meeting their recommended daily level of exercise. Even more frightening is the trend towards obesity within the overall Irish population, with forecasts of 50% being obese by 2020. While the INTO regularly call on the government to provide additional physical education funding, Mr McMahon said Mullagh National School is way ahead …

The Burren will be showcased to one of the most lucrative tourism markets in the world after Black Head was used as the backdrop of Vogue, earlier this week. Irish photographer, Boo George, who was shooting for Emporio Armani at Dollymount Strand, last week, used the stark North Clare scenery as the setting for the fashion feature, with top international model, Aymeline Valade. Vogue is one of the top fashion magazines in the world and producer of this shoot, Laura Oughton, believes, “It is the perfect opportunity to let people see this area and hopefully they will want to come and visit and see where we shot the story.” She added that this was her first time in Ireland but she would definitely be back. “There are so many different types of scenery here and so much we can shoot,” Ms Oughton said. Michael Fitzsimons, Fáilte Ireland’s client services officer for Clare and the Aran Islands, believes this type of …