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SCARIFF Foróige will host an information night for volunteers, young people and children, aged 10+, as well as parents and guardians, on Monday night next, September 26. The club will resume for its 17th year on the night of Friday, October 7. Junior Club for 10-12 year olds will run for one hour from 7.30-8.30pm. This will be followed by Legend’s Foróige Club for First Years. Meetings take place at Scarriff Rugby Club House’s original building. This year, Foróige Youth Club will be able to offer a full experience, including a space to meet friends and make new friends. There will also be trips away, mobile filmmaking, photography, discos, table quizzes, games, art projects and much much more. “We are super excited to welcome back our members from 2021 and looking forward to meeting new members,” a spokesperson said. “One Good Adult makes all the difference in the best possible outcomes for a child’s development. According to John Davis, Professor …

AN Ennis mother of a child with Cystic Fibrosis has vowed to continue to fight so her child and others can access ground-breaking treatment at the centre of a dispute between the HSE and a pharmaceutical company. Barbara Buckley was among hundreds from across Ireland who last week gathered outside Leinster House for the “Support the Kaftrio 35” protest. Cystic Fibrosis Ireland estimate that around 140 children aged six-years-old to 11-years-old are already are on the drug Kaftrio, but 35 children with a particular genotype are not as they are outside the 10-year Portfolio Agreement that was signed by the HSE and Vertex in 2017. Barbara’s daughter is almost six years old and had expected to begin the treatment after Christmas, however without a resolution to the dispute she is set to join those who have been excluded. “Time is vital. Every day and every week ahead counts, CF won’t wait for the HSE and Vertex,” she told The Clare …

THE Clare chairman of the Vinters Federation of Ireland (VFI) has warned that without State support in the upcoming budget there will be more pub closures. Ninety-two pubs closed in Clare between 2005 and 2021, almost a quarter of the total number, figures from the VFI show. Ennis publican Charlie O’Meara told the Champion, “After two difficult years of lockdown we really needed a bit of stability for a couple of years, just to get people back on track again. “Unfortunately that hasn’t happened, and over the last number of weeks we’re seeing serious pressure on pubs. The biggest thing is the energy costs, we’d be calling on the Government to give us some break in the budget. “It’d have been great to see a cap on electricity prices, but that’s not going to happen. Something like what they did in Covid, to give a waiver on rates, that’s something we’d be calling for.” Should backing not be forthcoming, more …

HOPES are high the government will announce a multi-million Euro investment package in Budget 2023 to facilitate the transfer of Shannon Heritage tourism sites to Clare County Council following a statement from a senior council official. Clare County Council has drafted a 600-page report outlining the extensive due diligence it has undertaken to take on four key visitor attractions. However, this is contingent on the government providing funding to support the upgrading and maintenance of these sites for three years. Councillors were told the council has received positive vibes that state funding will be provided to facilitate this transfer. In fact, Rural Development Director, Leonard Cleary, said the council is hopeful of an announcement confirming this funding on Budget Day and would be “very disappointed” if it was let down by the government. If funding isn’t approved, Mr Cleary stressed this isn’t really an option for Clare or regional development. Mr Cleary said the transfer is one of the examples …

UL Hospitals Group, Chief Executive Officer, Professor Colette Cowan has apologised to every patient that has experienced excessive wait times or a poor care environment in UHL. Professor Cowan made the apology during a three-hour discussion between senior officials in the UL Hospitals Group, national HSE officials and Mid-West Oireachtas representatives during a joint Health Committee meeting in Dublin on Wednesday. Responding to Deputy Maurice Quinlivan’s question about what management was doing to relieve chronic waiting times in the UHL emergency department, shr said, “We don’t feel comfortable about patients waiting for treatment in the ED, but it is a capacity issue. “We have looked at developments in our community and are developing the Enhanced Community Care Programme, which will create alternatives for elderly people, apart from the ED. “UHL is a very busy hospital. All our patients tell us the care is good, the difficulty is getting through the ED door. We need another second 96-bed block, which would …

A multi-agency search and rescue operation was mounted this morning after a tractor was discovered overturned in a river in North Clare. The alarm was raised at around 10.30am after a passer-by called the Irish Coast Guard to report finding the vehicle lying on its side in the Aille River at Coolagh Bridge close to Doolin. The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard, Clare County Fire and Rescue Service, National Ambulance Service and the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter were all alerted and tasked to the incident. Gardaí were also informed. Volunteers from the Doolin unit of the Coast Guard made their way to the scene. Members checked the tractor’s cab and the area around the vehicle but found no trace of the driver. Units of Ennistymon Fire Service arrived soon afterwards and personnel, trained in water rescue, also carried out a search of the river downstream from the scene. A comprehensive search of the area was completed however …

CONCERN has been expressed about the delay in the scheduled time frame when the new multi-million Euro Ennis Primary Care Centre will be fully operational. Deputy Michael McNamara recently asked the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly when the Ennis Primary Healthcare Centre at Station Road Ennis will be fully operational. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that HSE Estates has advised that the centre is scheduled to become operational during the third quarter of the year. “The opening of the Station Road centre will be a significant development in the delivery of community-based health services for the people of Ennis and the surrounding area,” Minister Donnelly explained. However, Deputy McNamara is concerned about the latest delay after he was informed by Mid-West Primary Care Manager, Carmel McLaughlin the HSE Estates Department has advised this centre will become operational “in the latter part of 2022”. “The centre is currently being equipped and services will commence operation on a phased basis,” she stated. As …

A CLARE man used a hatchet to allegedly assault a vulnerable man with special needs, a court has heard. At Ennis district court this week, Judge Mary Larkin refused bail in the case of Andre Donegan (30). Donegan, with an address at Smith’s Gardens, Kilkee, is charged with assault causing harm to an adult male.  He is further charged with the production of hatchet during the course of a dispute, in a manner likely to intimidate or cause injury. Both charges arise from an alleged incident at St Patrick’s Terrace, Kilkee, on June 1, 2019. Donegan has indicated that he will plead guilty to assault.  Opposing Donegan’s bail application, Garda Jack Cagney of Kilrush garda station told the court that on the date in question it will be alleged Donegan used a hatchet to strike the left side of the alleged victim’s head.  The man was hospitalised and received treatment for a wound, the court heard.  The court heard the …