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MICHEÁL Ó Muircheartaigh might yet be the man to save Fianna Fáil. The legendary former broadcaster should have little problem in getting the required nominations. But, as with Gay Byrne, the big question now is will he stand.Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin made a dreadful mistake when he promised Gay Byrne his support without consulting with his party in advance. That move was a slap in the face especially to those in the party who were anxious to stand themselves – party stalwarts such as Brian Crowley, Éamon Ó Cuív and Mary Hanafin.Despite claims to the contrary by several prominent Fianna Fáilers, it has damaged Martin’s leadership. It certainly showed poor judgement. There might even be a heave against him but for the fact that there is nobody in the party strong enough to challenge him and also for the fact that he is new to the job.But Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh might be the answer to his prayers. Fianna Fáil …

GENWORTH Financial has denied there is substance to speculation of imminent redundancies at their Shannon plant.It is widely believed in Shannon that the company has lost a major contract with Barclays, which has been important to it since 1997, when it was known as Consolidated Financial Insurance.A spokesman for the company told The Clare Champion that the company is actually growing in Shannon. “We have hired 31 new people this year and we have 16 new roles to fill. We have also had some redundancies at Shannon also but these would amount to less than one per cent of all employees.”He claimed jobs are not under threat. “I don’t agree with that, it doesn’t mirror what is happening. I’m not going to get into confidential arrangements with clients but I can tell you that many other customers are served from Shannon. We have announced some changes to the relationship but we have said we will transfer all those involved into …

On his first official visit to Kilrush since his appointment as consulate general of Ireland in New York, Cappa native Mr Noel Kilkenny was accorded a civic reception by Kilrush Town Council. The reception was held last Friday in the Vandeleur Walled Gardens. Mr Kilkenny was educated at Kilrush CBS Primary School and at boarding school in Waterford and UCD.  He formerly served as Irish ambassador to Estonia. He spent three years in the Irish Department of Justice and began his career with the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1977. The consulate general of Ireland in New York provides help to Irish citizens in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Mr Kilkenny is married to Hanora O’Dea.Mayor of Kilrush Ian Lynch, extended a welcome to Mr Kilkenny and congratulated him on his prestigious appointment as Consul General. Mayor of Clare Pat Hayes spoke of the links between Clare and New …

JIM Hegarty can talk for Ireland. He can talk for England, Scotland and Wales too. The Newmarket-on-Fergus native is the district governor of Toastmasters for Ireland and the UK and is in Las Vegas, Nevada, representing District 71 at the annual Toastmasters International Convention, which began on Wednesday.Jim was educated in St Flannan’s College, Ennis, before carving out his own career in second-level education and recently retired as the deputy principal of prestigious Glenstal Abbey boarding school where he taught maths, computing and Irish for 40 years.He also spent two and a half years teaching in Africa, is a qualified badminton coach and is very involved in athletics.“Glenstal is a beautiful place to work, an extraordinary place. In the school, people are treated as people. They are left with their dignity at all times. There was never an act of bullying or anything like that. It was a congregation of equals, if you like,” he said, and reflects the Benedictine …

AS startling as it may sound, there is a place on earth untouched by human contact and the modern world. It is in Ecuador and is called the Yasuní National Park. It is inhabited by two of the world’s last, uncontacted tribes: the Tagaeri and the Taromenane. A proposal has been reported recently, which makes for interesting study in the state of life in our time. Oil has been discovered in this place, which is worth a massive amount of money and might possibly be used by the government of Ecuador to enhance the lives of the nation’s population if properly used. On the other hand, if the oil is extracted, the environmental, social and cultural costs could be beyond worth and taken together will constitute a form of virginity, irreplaceable and possessed of an otherness, which is all the more precious for its loss or retention. A former government and oil industry insider, who is now a university professor, …

Fundamental societal change is necessary to protect our future generations, according to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald, speaking at the launch of the Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna on Wednesday. Minister Fitzgerald highlighted the vulnerability of children and the need for them to be able to trust adults and the system in place to protect them. She also spoke about the Cloyne Report which she said “reveals major systemic failures in how the church dealt with child protection and in how the state allowed such failures to occur.“We have a lot of work to do to make sure such a breach of trust can never occur again”, she admitted.“That of course means addressing the child protection issues we have inherited but it also means making sure that neglect, whether through will or ignorance, is addressed,” she added.Minister Fitzgerald stressed the need for sufficient numbers of social workers and a system that can respond to the needs …

A Government minister has hit out at “commentators” who questioned whether her department was necessary when it was being set up earlier this year. Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald, said she found it “astonishing” that when the Taoiseach announced he was creating the new department “some commentators asked why we needed it”.“We accept that a minister should have responsibility for trains. And another should have responsibility for soldiers. And another should deal only with issues pertaining to foreign relations. And yet people were surprised when we suggested that our children are as important as our trains, soldiers and foreign relations. Children are the single most important resource this country has,” she stated.“We must always remember that childhood is not the only time in our lives that we must place our trust in others. When we find ourselves ‘lean and slippered’ and waiting on the seventh age, our comfort will not be guaranteed by capital projects, no matter …

ANTICIPATION is high as the county gears up for National Heritage Week, starting on Saturday and ending August 28.  It promises to be an exciting week in Clare, with more than 40 events taking place throughout the county, celebrating, exploring and reliving our indigenous culture and ethos. A special effort has been made this year to involve children under 12, with a family activity trail in Dromore Wood and create-a-clay-pot with Scariff Library or Ballymorris Pottery taking place. The majority of events are also free.A wide range of activities are planned for each day, covering topics such as artist impressions and renewable energy. There are tours, including of Scattery Island and Scarriff Community Garden, as well as venues such as Dromoland Castle, Michael Cusack Centre and the recently opened Loop Head Lighthouse open to visit. Participants can research their genealogy and attend an array of history presentations on diverse topics such as The Holocaust and The Book of Kells. Nature …