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THE  GAA still has a lot of questions to answer over its deal with Sky Sports for TV rights,   Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Sport Timmy Dooley said this Tuesday. Under the agreement, Sky has been given exclusive rights to 14 games, including two All-Ireland Football quarter finals involving the Leinster and Ulster champions. GAA director general, Paraic Duffy and president, Liam O’Neill appeared before the Oireachtas Transport and Communications Committee earlier today to outline the rationale behind the new broadcasting contract. Deputy Dooley said, “Despite the appearance by Mr Duffy and Mr O’Neill, there are still a lot of questions about the decision to sell off national games to an outside broadcaster.  The association says it has to base its approach on the significant number of fans living abroad, but I would argue it could do that without alienating its fans at home.  The deal with RTE digital will allow fans in the UK and US access to games, while …

COUNCILLOR Tom Prendeville put forward the last ever motion, in the 129 year history of Kilrush Town Council, at last Thursday’s April monthly meeting. In his speech he accused the West Clare Task Force of talking about but not delivering any jobs in the region. While the final town council meeting will be held in May, councillors have said that the meeting will be a reflection on the history of local government in Kilrush and will not include motions pertaining to current issues. In the final motion, which was supported by his eight council colleagues, Councillor Prendeville said that the West Clare Economic Task Force had delivered nothing in terms of job creation. “The only thing we learned from the West Clare Task Force was that it spent over one hundred hours as a talking shop and yet failed to create even a single job. When was the last time a decent industrial job was created in west Clare by …

WHILE there have been strong calls for the development of a third level institute in Ennis, one establishment is already successfully operating a centre in the county capital providing third level education to the county’s mature students. Five years since its establishment the LIT Ennis Learning Centre continues to go from strength to strength. The centre from its campus in the heart of the county capital has been running the Higher Certificate in Business in Business Computing from Limerick Institute of Technology. September 2013 saw the fifth intake of students to the LIT Higher Certificate in Business in Business Computing and LIT Ennis Learning Centre is now recruiting for September 2014. This is a direct entry course and is available to mature students and those obtaining a minimum of 220 points in the Leaving Certificate or a full FETAC level 5 award, with equivalent points. The aim of the LIT Ennis Learning Centre is to widen participation in higher education. …

CLARE County Council and Ennis Town Council in conjunction with a road resurfacing contractor will be carrying out essential road resurfacing and repair works at a number of locations around Ennis Town on this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and again between Tuesday, April 22 and Friday, April 25. Works take place at Mill Road Bridge Pedestrian Crossing on Tuesday April 15; the junction of Cloughleigh Road / Lahinch Road on Wednesday April 16; the junction of Rossanore Housing Estate and Marian Avenue on Thursday April 17; at Lower Abbey Street between Club Bridge and Abbey Street Car Park on Tuesday April 22 and Wednesday, April 23; Upper O’Connell Street between Barrack Street and Carmody Street on Thursday April 24; and the junction of Ballymacahill Road and Tulla Road on Friday April 25. Works will take place between 8am and 6pm. Traffic management control measures will be in place and will include lane closures and the use of temporary traffic lights …

By CAROL BYRNE THERE is a reduction in those signing on the live register in East Clare this past year but with very little economic growth locally, Councillor Pat Hayes is calling for something to be done to deal with the 1,271 who remain unemployed there. While there are 183 less people signing on at the Tulla social welfare office in February 2013 when there were 1,454 people signing on than in February 2014, Councillor Hayes says he cannot account for the reduction. The Tulla social welfare office caters to its local community and extends to O’Callaghan’s Mills, Scariff, Whitegate, Feakle, Kilkishen, Bodyke, Broadford, Feakle, Ogonnelloe, Kilmurry and parts of Sixmilebridge. Councillor Hayes said the feeling on the ground is that there is no employment being created across East Clare, and the spending power is going from communities. “Young people have left, and people don’t have any money to spend in the local economy. When you don’t have jobs, you …

THE Irish Whiskey Association (IW), launched last week by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney,  has revealed that the sector is set to invest over €1 billion in Ireland in the next 10 years. Clare-based Burren Irish Whiskey, who are building a distillery, are members of the newly formed association and were  represented at the launch. With over 15 new distilleries currently being developed across the country, the new association brings together new entrants and existing companies to promote Irish whiskey and to ensure the product is given vital protection going forward. Irish whiskey exports have grown by 220% since 2003 and are now valued at €350m.  In 2003, Irish whiskey made up just over 9% of beverages exports, which has grown to over 28% of total beverages exports from Ireland. According to the association  export numbers are to double to 12 million cases by 2020 and double again to 24 million cases by 2030. Irish whiskey employs …

“THEY’RE not going home to shave their legs and they’re not making omelettes”, was the message of one councillor to Ennis business people as she urged that them not to sell eggs and shaving foam to youngsters during events such as St Patrick’s Day. Councillor Mary Howard at this week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council called on the local authority in association with other agencies such as An Garda Siochana, traders, Ennis Chamber and schools to devise a “code of conduct”. She outlined that this should deal with identifiable perennial events, “particularly antisocial behaviour on certain days by young teenagers”, on days to include St Patrick’s Day, the last day of school and festivals. She stated that there is a problem with antisocial behaviour among young people in the town on certain days of the year. And she said that she was told on St Patrick’s Day from 12 and 13 year olds that it was “too scary” in town …

CLARE County Council has reversed its initial decision not to open Loop Head lighthouse, on a daily basis, until the June Bank Holiday weekend. The lighthouse will now open on Saturday and will remain open daily (10am to 6pm) until the end of September. In last weeks Clare Champion Kilbaha businessman Bernie Keating said that the lighthouse should open “every day from the month of May,” as he felt visitor numbers warranted it. In 2013 the lighthouse opened on St Patrick’s Day. Clare County Council manages the lighthouse in conjunction with the Commissioners of Irish Lights. It is one of two Signature Discovery Points in Clare along the route of the recently launched Wild Atlantic Way and attracted 19,000 visitors during the six-month opening period in 2013. The figure represents an increase of 2,000 on the same period in 2012. “The public opening of Loop Head lighthouse will provide a significant boost to the local tourism sector and the economy, …