News

GARDAí at Ennis, are quite literally looking into  matters following an unusual find. They  are investigating the theft of manhole covers in the locality and have  arrested two young men, 17 and 19 years, this Wednesday afternoon. They are detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Ennis Garda Station. In total 15 manhole covers were recovered following the search of a vehicle at Monreagh, Tubber. The theft/removal of manhole covers is potentially lethal to road users and has been highlighted by An Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority.

ONE of the first two white-tailed eagles to fledge successfully from a nest in County Clare last year has been found dead in Tipperary. It had been shot and subsequently starved to death, as it was unable to fish and forage. The young male eagle was reared by a pair of white-tailed eagles at  Lough Derg, near Mountshannon and successfully flew from the  nest in July 2013 along with its sibling. After a few months of care by the parents, both young eagles began to disperse more widely and become independent. The last confirmed sighting was of one of the two juveniles near Dromineer, County Tipperary, on the east shore of Lough Derg in January. After information supplied by a member of the public and a subsequent search on lands on the shore of Lough Derg by an officer from the  National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the reintroduction project team, the dead eagle was found near Ballinderry, North Tipperary, on the north-east shore of …

THE Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney this Wednesday announced the opening of iNet, an online application facility for the Single Payment Scheme It will open on this Thursday and the closing date for receipt of applications as 15th May. “The opening of iNet over two months before the application closing date is very much in line with my commitment to maximise the use of technology for farmers’ benefit,” he said. The minister said that over 73,000 applications were submitted online under the 2013 Scheme, representing a ten-fold increase since iNet was launched. “With almost 40,000 applications submitted under the 2013 Scheme with no change recorded from the previous year, there is huge scope for many applicants to submit their 2013 applications sooner rather than later,” Minister Coveney noted. “Initially, farmers and their approved agents were attracted to iNet by the fact that it guaranteed immediate, verifiable receipt by my department of their applications,” he added. Minister …

CHAIRMAN of the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Pat Breen has been informed by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government Phil Hogan, that it is widely unrealistic that Ireland might be in a position to draw down €50 to €60 million in funding from from the European Union’s Solidarity Fund in response to the recent storms. He said this position was based on the content of contact between Irish Officials and the Commission DG Regio on Monday. The clarification was sought from the Commission, solely in order to confirm the factual position, in light of statements issued by Irish MEPs, following their meetings with Commissioner Hahn on the margins of the EP Plenary in Strasbourg on Thursday of last week. “The total funding available under the Solidarity Fund for 2014 is €500m in 2011 figures or inflation adjusted, €531m. There is no additional funding available this year arising from any carryover of 2013 allocations, despite …

BALLYVAUGHAN-based writer Karen McDonnell has won the 2014 WOW award for poetry.  The prize is awarded annually by Wordsonthewaves, which publishes an anthology of fiction and poetry by shortlisted and winning writers. Two of McDonnell’s poems were long listed with one, Upstream, the Bliss of Heaven making the final shortlist. Part of a historical song-cycle, the poem’s subjects are Margaret Roper and her father Thomas More, who was condemned to death in the reign of Henry VIII. Commenting on his choice for the WOW! Poetry Prize, judge Knute Skinner wrote: “Is there a word out of place? I don’t think so.” McDonnell’s travel writing, fiction, non-fiction and poetry have been published in The Irish Times, Crannóg, The Clare Champion, by the Clare Poets, and in Los Angeles by the litzine poeticdiversity which will publish a second extract from Unsettled, a West Bank Journal in its Spring, 2014 issue. McDonnell is currently working on her first poetry collection, People this Little World. …

SCHOOLS  all over the country will have the opportunity to receive radio production training and enter their programmes into a national competition being organised as part of Seachtain na Gaeilge 2014 with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. Seachtain na Gaeilge, continues until March 17 and there are thousands of events planned in Ireland and around the world to celebrate the Irish language and culture. Schools play an integral part in Seachtain na Gaeilge and this series of radio production workshops brings the festival to students throughout Ireland and gives them an opportunity to use Irish in a practical and exciting way. Groups of students are asked to enter a 30 minute Irish language radio show, which is open to four levels: 3-4th Class, 5-6th Class, 1-3rd Year and 4-6th Year. The winning entries in each category will receive a cash prize of €150, as well as airing on Raidió Rí-Rá, the Irish language radio station for young …

NAME calling can leave scars deeper than any wound. The ISPCC’s Shield campaign is a directly focused endeavour to support schools, parents, teachers and students in standing up against bullying, developing positive responses and not accepting such negative behaviours as normal or tolerable. In 2013, Childline volunteers answered 8,059 calls related to physical, cyber and verbal bullying. Terrifying stories of fear, relentless teasing and intimidation were dealt with. Verbal Bullying can leave children feeling angry, frightened, and powerless. When a child is unable to share their feelings with someone else it can leave them emotionally exhausted and bruised. Verbal attacks can be highly personal. They can be directed towards a child’s family, race, colour, creed or religion. Malicious rumours are often started which are an indirect form of bullying. When any of this occurs, a child’s power of concentration can suffer which greatly affects their ability to learn. As a part of the campaign and to raise much needed funds …

MINISTER of State for Touirsm Michael Ring is in County Clare this Tuesday for a number of engagements. At noon he will perform the official opening of the new extension to the Burren Outdoor Centre, at Turlough, Bellharbour. Following this he will meeet the board of directors Lisdoonvarna Failte to dicusss tourism in the North Clare area. Finally, he will travel to West Clare to visit the rebranded Trump International Golf Links, Doonbeg to be briefed on development plans. Minister Ring will be accompanied by Clare Fine Gael Oireachtas members.