News

By Peter O’Connell DOONBEG Golf Club designer Greg Norman has told The Clare Champion that he expects to hear from Donald J Trump if any changes are to be made to the course. Speaking from the US on Wednesday, ‘The Great White Shark’ also revealed that his company had been asked if they were interested in buying the club. The two-time Major winner spoke to the new owner of the West Clare club, on hearing that Mr Trump had bought Doonbeg Golf Club, which entered liquidation in January. “I put a call into Donald and said ‘congratulations.’ I knew the golf club was in play (on the market) for a while. I had actually been approached earlier on, a couple of months earlier, to see if we had any interest in it or any recommendations,” Mr Norman said. “I knew Donald was on the acquisition trail of iconic properties. That has been no secret, especially here in the United States. …

By Dan Danaher A BRAIN-damaged, assault victim requires 24-hour security at Ennis hospital psychiatric unit, at a cost of €408,000 last year, it has emerged. Health authorities have not responded to Care Champion queries about the six-year delay in providing an appropriate high secure facility for the 31-year-old man suffering from organic brain syndrome following a serious assault. Solicitor Marie Keane said this week that her client is inappropriately placed as an involuntary psychiatric patient in the high observation unit of the acute psychiatric unit at Ennis Hospital since February 2008. He is not a psychiatric patient. She has called on the Department of Health to fast track the provision of a proper small residential facility for patients suffering from frontal lobe injury that affects affect their comprehension and can result in unpredictable and sometimes unintentional violent behaviour. Ms Keane has confirmed there is no suitable facility for his specific condition in the Republic of Ireland to accommodate her client, …

AS international attention focuses on the crisis in Ukraine, one Clare woman has a powerful but unenviable insight into the political crisis. Lena Madden was born and reared in Ukraine but has lived in Ireland for the past 12 years. She is an Irish citizen but both her parents still live in Ukraine. Divorced and in different cities, they are on opposing sides of the political and ideological divide. “One of them is based in a Russian-speaking region and the other one is based in a Ukrainian-speaking region, so I have two stories and they are totally different. Things have polarised in both areas,” Lena told The Clare Champion. “My biggest fear is that war will break out,” she said. In late November, protestors took to the streets of Kiev after the Government decided not to sign an agreement fostering greater integration with the European Union. Instead, it announced it would begin looking to improve co-operation with Russia. On February …

Wednesday’s Lotto jackpot of more than €8.3 million was sold in Kilrush. The ticket was bought in Miniter’s Shop on Henry Street on Saturday and according to store owner Mary Miniter Doherty, speculation is rife. “There is great excitement. People are coming in congratulating us,” Mary told The Clare Champion. The winning ticket was a €24 mixed-play ticket, which included Lotto Plus, Quick Pick and individually selected numbers, valid for last Saturday’s and Wednesday’s draws. “It is very distinctive. It was someone’s own numbers and a Quick Pick and for two draws so it is unusual. We haven’t a clue who it is but we are surmising! We are hoping it is a syndicate and I hope it is one of my regular customers. I am a Lotto agent since the Lotto started so I am hoping it is one of my customers,” she added. There was just one winning ticket to Wednesday evening’s Lotto jackpot of €8,302,204. “It is …

  CLARE County Council has confirmed that it has commissioned an external independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the depositing of asbestos-cement materials at a number of sites throughout West Clare. The council says it has informed the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) of its intention to remove the hazardous waste material from nine separate locations in the vicinity of Kilrush and Kilkee. A specialist asbestos consultant has been engaged by the council to advise the authority on the removal of the materials. West Clare county councillors have been informed about the process while the council has confirmed it will be liasing with members of the public living in the vicinity of the affected sites about the remedial works that are due to take place. “Clare County Council’s environment section received a complaint from a member of the public last June regarding a number of areas where asbestos waste materials were deposited. The council has since identified nine sites where …

By Peter  O’Connell CLARE County Council is investigating claims that there are at least nine asbestos dumps in the Kilrush and Kilkee areas of West Clare. The asbestos waste was dumped on both public and private lands and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed on Wednesday that it has been contacted on the issue. The matter was raised by Councillor PJ Kelly at Monday’s Kilrush Electoral Area meeting. He later told The Clare Champion that he had discovered that it would cost up to €2.9m to pay for the clean up operation. The council maintains, however, that the figure involved cannot be determined at this stage, as cost associated with carrying out these works “are as yet undetermined”. In a statement on Wednesday evening, Clare County Council said, “All of the asbestos material investigated to date consists of broken pieces of asbestos cement water main. It is considered that all of this material originated on Clare County Council water services …

PART of the M18 is to close for five days next week to allow for “drainage assessment and improvement works”. Clare and Galway County Councillors have been calling for a safety audit to be carried out on the motorway since 10 car accidents took place on the route on one day last December. Now the National Roads Authority has said that from Monday to Friday next the Northbound lane of the M18 between Junction 14 (Barefield) and Junction 15 (Crusheen) will be closed. The Southbound carriageway will remain open during that time. The lane closure begins on Monday at 9am and the road will reopen on Friday at 2pm. Traffic will be diverted from the M18 Northbound onto the old N18 at Barefield but will be able to rejoin the motorway at Crusheen.    

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.