News

A JURY has returned not guilty verdicts at the trial of a Ballyea man charged in connection with a €50,000 drugs seizure in Clare. At Ennis circuit court, Benedict Brady (59) was found not guilty, by unanimous verdict, of the three charges against him. The charges arose from a garda search carried out in a wooded area of the Carnelly house estate near Clarecastle in April 16, 2021. Cannabis worth just over €50,000 was recovered during the operation. Mr Brady, with an address at Tiermaclane, Ballyea, pleaded not guilty to three charges: possession of cannabis; possession of cannabis for sale or supply; possession of cannabis for sale or supply at a time when the market value of the the drugs amounted to €13,000 or more. Mr Brady was one of two men arrested at the time of the raid. The other man, Paul Collopy (46), with an address at Gordon Drive, Cloughleigh, Ennis and originally from Limerick, pleaded guilty earlier …

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton TD, has called on the public to follow water safety advice and to recognise the importance of adhering with some basic precautions in ensuring that any water-based recreation is enjoyed to its fullest. The minister’s appeal comes on world drowning prevention day, July 25, and in the wake of a number of recent tragedies, including one in county Clare The Minister stated that “too many people have suffered from the personal tragedy of lives lost owing to drowning accidents. We all have a role to play be it on the water or on the coast in practising some basic safety measures”. The Minister has joined the Irish Coast Guard in appealing to the public to follow water safety advice and above all else to be attentive to their own personal safety. The Irish Coast Guard is supporting this year’s campaign from Irish Water Safety which asks the public to ‘Do …

THE people of Clare are being urged to embrace their inner Wild Child as part of National Heritage Week this August. Woodland fun, entry to historic sites, open houses and nature outings are just some of the events which have already been lined up in Clare for the annual event. Organisers of events in County Clare are being encouraged to consider sustainable heritage and biodiversity when planning in-person events and digital projects for National Heritage Week 2022, which will take place throughout Clare from August 13 to 21. Details of in-person events and digital projects are now being accepted from individuals, community groups and organisations across County Clare, with sustainability and biodiversity this year’s themes. The heritage projects or ideas are up to organisers, regardless of how small or big the event. All projects submitted will be considered for seven different Heritage Week Awards. An emphasis has been placed on hosting events which are inclusive and involve all the community, …

SIEMENS Digital Industries Software has annnounced it will invest €7m in a new software research and development group in Shannon. The multimillion-euro investment will focus on High Performance Computing (HPC) in the Cloud for semiconductor design and is expected to create 25 jobs over three years. The project, which is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland, is the first ‘Cloud EDA’ R&D group to be established by Siemens Digital Industries Software globally, and enhances Ireland’s already strong reputation of in Cloud Software Development and HPC R&D. This division is expected to create more than 25 new and highly impactful R&D roles in Shannon over the next three years, focused on delivering cutting edge cloud HPC environments for Siemens EDA workloads. Tánaiste & Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar said: “This is great news from Siemens, investing €7m in Shannon and creating 25 new highly skilled jobs over the next three years. It really demonstrates the skill …

EFFORTS are to be made to ease the process of providing information to health professionals when people need emergency care.  Councillor Mary Howard is proposing that ‘Smart ID Cards’ be created, so that when people need care, their medical records can be easily and quickly accessed. At the July meeting of the local authority, the Fine Gael member asked that Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, be called on to investigate the matter. “These Smart ID cards would contain information like date of birth, PPS number, allergies, health conditions, surgeries etc these would be especially useful if they need to attend hospital or A&E,” Councillor Howard’s motion said.  Councillor Howard told Council meeting that she heard about the idea through the HSE West Regional Health Forum. “They would be similar to PPS card really,” she explained. “People don’t get sick, especially those who are infirm, 9am and 5pm. Often they are upset, in pain, or brought in by neighbour. “To have …

Paul Minihan gives the background on the centenary of a significant action from the Civil War in Clare FROM July 1 to 25, 1922, Corofin was the focal point of the Civil War in Clare. In 1922, the Clare Brigades of East-Clare, Mid-Clare and West-Clare formed part of the 1st Western Division, that also comprised the South-East Galway, and South-West Galway Brigades. This latter Brigade included the city. In the wake of the Treaty, the IRA slowly began to rupture throughout the spring of 1922. On the eve of the Civil War, there were two opposing 1st Western Divisions – one Pro-Treaty or ‘Free State’, under Michael Brennan, and one Anti-Treaty or ‘Republican’, under Frank Barrett, former O/C of the Mid-Clare Brigade. As the British Army withdrew from various barracks from January to May 1922, many of these were occupied by the IRA – in some cases Pro, in some cases Anti-Treaty. In Ennis, Republican troops had occupied the main …

A SIXMILEBRIDGE family has vowed not to meet members of a Garda Cold Case Review Team until its concerns are addressed about the process of conducting a Garda review of previous Garda investigations into the death of a 23-year-old banqueting manager. Former Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald appointed retired District Court judge Patrick Clyne to lead an inquiry into the Garda investigation and disciplinary inquiries that took place following the death of Patrick Nugent (23) Feenagh, Sixmilebridge at the end of a 40th wedding anniversary party in the early hours of February 11, 1984. His death was one of the 320 cases examined by the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) set up by Minister Fitzgerald, following a complaint made by the family relating to alleged Garda misconduct in June 2014. Justice Minister Helen McEntee has confirmed the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has instructed that a fresh investigation be undertaken into the matters as part of a so-called cold case review, which …

ROADS in a Clare housing estate were described as “an embarrassment” at a meeting of the local authority. Asking that funds would be allocated next year to the Municipal Districts (MDs) for infrastructure in local authority estates, Councillor Cillian Murphy was scathing about the situation. “At the heart of this motion is a lived and very frustrating experience,” he told the July Council meeting. “The issue is falling between the Housing Section and the MD offices. If you take Marian Estate in Kilkee, the roads there are, quite frankly, an embarrassment and they should be to the Council. “I have asked the Housing Section and they said it’s the MD office. The MD said they had no budget, and round and round and round we go. The only solution is to have a specific item in budget for MDs to tackle estates. We are not asking for more money, but for clarity.” Co-sponsors of the motion, Councillors Pat O’Gorman, Shane …