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Garda Margaret Purcell vividly recalls St Patrick’s Day 2003. Then based in Kilrush, Garda Purcell was only in her second week serving in West Clare when, with Garda Denis O’Herlihy, she got a call to head for Cappa Pier as a woman was in the water. “It was a beautiful sunny day. I was only 10 days into my new duty in Kilrush. I hardly even knew where Cappa Pier was. We didn’t know what we were going to. We heard there was a woman in the water but for all I knew I could have got my ankles wet,” Garda Purcell told The Clare Champion. “I remember exactly what happened. It’s not something that you forget. I remember it all very clearly. It certainly wasn’t over quickly and it wasn’t one of those things that went in a blink,” she recounted.Garda Purcell availed of her swimming skills and dived into the water at the pier, joining Anne Marie Histon, …

ENNIS resident Paudie Sheahan was presented with a national bravery award at a ceremony held in Farmleigh House recently following an incident in the county town where he confronted a dangerous knife-wielding man in 2001. Paudie was one of 18 recipients at the awards ceremony and was presented with a bronze medal and certificate of bravery for his efforts to rescue a woman being threatened by a man wielding a knife. He explained how the incident unfolded on Christmas night in 2001 and how he was faced with the split-second decision to go up against an armed man in order to rescue a woman in distress.   “We were sitting in our sitting room, the DVD player was new and we were trying to figure out how the thing worked. It was around 9pm and we had two children aged two and nine months at that stage. “My wife, Trofi, heard someone screaming outside. I opened the door. I really thought …

Nearly 35,000 litres of fuel was seized from a South Galway filling station at the weekend as part of a joint Revenue and garda operation. Revenue officers, along with gardaí in the area, executed a search warrant on the premises on Saturday afternoon, seizing 34,500 litres of fuel. The Finance Act, 1999 requires all mineral oil traders who produce, sell, deliver or deal in, or on, any premises, mineral oil for use for combustion in the engine of a motor vehicle, to take out a Mineral Oil Trader’s Licence. The licensing year runs from July 1 to June 30 and the licence will expire on June 30 of each year, regardless of the issue date.The Office of the Revenue Commissioners confirmed to The Clare Champion that an investigation is continuing.  

Santa paid a very special visit to Clare County Council to help the European Recycling Platform launch its Christmas appeal in the Banner County. ERP is Ireland’s only pan-European compliance scheme for electrical waste sand battery recycling and in association with Clare County Council, local children were able to pay a visit to Santa in his grotto and bring their used batteries along for recycling. Pupils from Kilmurry National School were literally jumping with delight when Santa arrived at ERP’s Christmas Grotto at the council offices.  While visiting Santa, the children managed to recycle an incredible 213kg of batteries, which is the equivalent of over 11,000 AA batteries. Mayor of Clare, Councillor Pat Hayes, said by supporting ERP’s Christmas Appeal, they had diverted almost a quarter of a tonne of waste from Clare’s landfill.  Councillor Michael Guilfoyle, Mayor of Ennis, added, “We encourage Clare residents to have a Green Christmas this year by keeping up the good work and recycling …

FIANNA Fáil ministers have been behind every national budget since 1996 but the run will be broken on December 6.Michael Noonan will then announce yet another hairshirt budget and the following morning, Shannon Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual budget breakfast briefing at the Bunratty Castle Hotel.Indications are that many existing tax reliefs will be severely curtailed as the Government seeks to raise significant tax revenue without increasing the headline income tax rates.At the briefing, Grant Thornton, in association with the chamber, will give details of the impact of the Budget from a tax and wider economic perspective.Topics to be covered will include the impact of anticipated tax changes for both companies and individuals, an update on the post-Budget pensions landscape and tax planning potential for 2012 and beyond.Leslie Barrett will be a speaker at the event. He is a tax partner with Grant Thornton, having joined them in 2004 from a Big Four firm where he was a …

Clare Civil Defence this week received two inflatable tents that will be used by service members and volunteers when providing first-aid cover, responding to major emergencies and participating in river, lake and coastal area search and recovery efforts.The Civil Defence acquired the 5x4m tents on receipt of a €12,000 Severe Weather Grant from the Civil Defence Board, which is managed by the Department of Defence. “The tents, which can be fully inflated within 40 seconds, will be used during search and rescue operations, at public events and during periods of severe weather. For example, the tents will be used as water distribution points during any future periods of water shortages, as experienced last winter,” commented Liam Griffin, civil defence officer for County Clare.Meanwhile, Clare Civil Defence also has acquired four bicycles, each equipped with first-aid units, which will be used during large public events.“The bicycles will prove to be particularly useful during any event that requires crowd management, such as …

As many as 20,000 people are expected to savour the magical atmosphere of Christmas at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park.The annual Santa Claus Experience has been complemented with the introduction of Christmas at the Castle Evenings, which commence this Friday night at 8pm and run on selected dates until December 23.Guests will enjoy an evening in the company of the famous Castle Entertainers performing all the great Christmas classics, with a mulled claret reception on arrival, followed by a three-course dinner with wine.For the Santa Claus Experience, which runs daily from this Friday until December 23, the Folk Park village street has been decked with holly and festooned with fairy lights and the village Christmas tree adorned for the occasion. The young and not so young will be treated to a puppet show and can join in the fun by chatting to the surprise Christmas characters, including a troupe of Santa’s elves, who wander the village street in search of …

HOUSEHOLDS served by private wells will not have any charges levied under the EU Water Framework Directive, contrary to a recent media report. This was stated by Independent MEP Marian Harkin in response to a report on a threat by the European Commission to refer the Irish Government to the European Court of Justice in relation to its interpretation of the EU Water Framework Directive. She said, “I contacted the European Commission immediately to clarify the matter and was assured that recent letters to Member States will not impact on domestic or normal farm usage from wells. Therefore, there will be no water charges levied on domestic users as a result of this communication. “The Commission sent a standardised letter to a number of member states reminding them that where there was exceptional use of water in volume or huge levels of abstraction then water could not automatically be treated as a free resource. “The Commission’s communication refers to exceptional …