News

A 1947 DODGE car once owned by Eamon de Valera has been moved from its display building in Harmony Row to a new home in the newly refurbished exhibition area at Clare Museum. The car, which was used by Eamon de Valera during his years as President of Ireland, was often to be seen on the roads of Clare in the 1960s and is fondly remembered by the Clare public. It was manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, US, in 1947 and was originally the property of President Sean T O’Kelly. Although de Valera continued to use a Rolls Royce for State occasions while President of Ireland, he purchased the Dodge from Sean T O’Kelly, the outgoing President, and had it resprayed from its original maroon to black for his personal use in the late 1950s. The black Dodge would go on to be a familiar sight in Clare. Many older Clare people associate the vehicle with the annual Clare Agricultural Show …

A “very upsetting” incident in which a man burgled the home of an elderly lady in Ennis is being investigated by gardaí. At 9pm on Thursday, June 30 a male entered the home of the lady on Lifford Road and stole her purse containing cash from her handbag which was in the front room. The culprit left the scene on foot. Fortunately the woman was unharmed during the burglary and gardaí are appealing for anybody who may have seen anything suspicious in the area around the time to contact them. According to Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks, “No harm was caused to the lady but an incident like this is very upsetting.” She is asking anybody with information to contact the local Garda Station or any Garda Station or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.

CONSTRUCTION has commenced on the Clarecastle Sewerage Scheme, Irish Water have confirmed. The new sewerage infrastructure to be constructed as part of this scheme aims to eliminate the discharge of raw sewage into the River Fergus and Shannon Estuary. Irish Water, working in partnership with Clare County Council, are commencing with the installation of new below-ground infrastructure at the site of the existing Quay Road Pump Station and construction of a new rising main pipeline along Quay Road, Barrack Street and the Ennis Road that will transfer sewage from Quay Road Pumping Station for treatment at the existing Clareabbey Wastewater Treatment Plant. Irish Water aim to have the project completed by mid-2023. Once operational, this infrastructure will ensure compliance with wastewater discharge regulations. It will also improve water quality in River Fergus and Shannon Estuary and protect recreational water whilst protecting the integrity of the local marine environment. Speaking about the project, Seamus Glynn, Infrastructure Delivery Regional Lead with Irish …

TWO Clare people have been elected to key roles in an organisation that conducts research with the support and input of people with intellectual disabilities. Brian Hogan from Tulla and Pauline Skehan from Kilrush have just been chosen as members of the Inclusive Research Network of Ireland (IRNI), which to-date has conducted important research in the areas including housing, relationships and social supports.  Both Brian and Pauline are members of the Clare Inclusive Research Group. Brian is now the national network’s new chairperson. He was formerly Chair of the Clare Leader Forum and the Brothers of Charity Clare Advocacy Platform. Pauline, an award-winning presenter with West Clare’s Raidió Corca Baiscínn (RCB), has been appointed to the role of spokesperson.  “I really enjoy research work, advocating for those without a voice, helping them tell us about their lives, encourage people to make their own decisions and choices,” said Pauline, “We recently had our ideas published in two academic journals and now …

BOAT users are being urged to ensure their vessel is serviced and in safe working order as Lough Derg RNLI helped two vessels in difficulty in back-to-back shouts at the weekend. On Sunday afternoon July 3, Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat to launch to assist three people on a 25ft motor cruiser adrift with steering failure near Williamstown on the country Clare shoreline. At 2.30pm Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat Jean Spier launched with helm Owen Cavanagh, Joe O’Donoghue, Chris Parker and Ciara Moylan on board. At 2.35pm the lifeboat arrived on scene. The lifeboat transferred a volunteer across to the casualty vessel who established that all on board were safe and unharmed and wearing their lifejackets. The cruiser had power but its steering had failed. The skipper had dropped anchor to prevent drift across the navigation channel. Given the location and weather, the RNLI lifeboat helm made the decision to take the vessel under tow, and as …

With pic from John K A CREATIVE streak and a talent for cooking have made a dream come true for a young Tulla woman, who has given up her job in the capital to relocate to her native Clare where she now runs a food business.  Grace Corry from Crag Hill is a familiar and welcome face for many loyal customers in Tulla who flock to Morsel, which operates outside the local hurling field from Tuesday to Saturday, from morning to lunchtime. Right now, the business is celebrating its first major food award, having just taken the top prize for savoury pastry at the Clonmel Show.  “It was my first time to enter a food competition and I’m just delighted with the win,” Grace said. “I entered some sausage rolls that I regularly sell from Morsel. I hand make the puff pastry and get the pork from Liam O’Meara’s in Tulla, because I really want them to be something special. …

FRIENDS and family of the late Ashling Murphy arrived in County Clare this week having joined a cycle travelling from Tyrone to Miltown Malbay’s Willie Clancy Summer School festival in memory of the popular teacher. The 23 year-old primary school teacher and traditional Irish musician, who had been a regular visitor to the Willie Clancy summer school, was tragically killed in January of this year while out running in Tullamore. Her life has also been remembered with the announcement by Comhaltas  Ceoltóirí Éireann of three scholarships in her honour, with the organisation describing Ashling as “a light of inspiration”. The ‘Wheels & Jigs’ cycle is raising funds for the Ashling Murphy Memorial Trust which has been set up by the Murphy family and at the time of going to press close to €10,500 had been raised. The cycle was founded in 2015 and has raised funds for a number of different charities over the years. Ashling had performed with Fermanagh …

STUDENTS from across Clare and the MidWest have been inspired to develop creative, innovative and entrepreneurial skills for life as part of this year’s EMPOWER programme. The free programme, designed and developed by Mary Immaculate College (MIC) and the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), saw Transition Year (TY) and Fifth Year students tasked with finding innovative solutions to some of the mobility challenges facing society. Now in its sixth year, the EMPOWER programme partnered with Jaguar Land Rover to give students a real hands-on approach to the tasks they faced. Held from June 7 to 17, the theme of this year’s programme was ‘The Future of Mobility’. The participating students spent a day at Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) R&D Software Engineering Centre in Shannon where they took part in a Hackathon, mentored by JLR engineers, to give students a first-person experience of handling their own Future of Mobility projects. According to Patricia O’Sullivan, Enterprise and Community Engagement Manager at MIC, this year’s programme was hugely successful. “EMPOWER …