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A LOCAL primary school is one of Ireland’s two Park ‘n’ Stride Schools of the Year.  At a ceremony in Dublin Zoo during National Bike Week ‘22, Knockanean National School were named Ireland’s Park ‘n’ Stride Primary School of the Year by the Green-Schools Programme, following their participation in the programme’s Big Travel Challenge in February. Nine schools were awarded at the ceremony and named as Cycling, Walking, Scooting and Park ‘n’ Stride Schools of the Year. Gort Community School in Galway was named Ireland’s Travel School of the Year at the ceremony. During February schools undertook the Green-Schools Big Travel Challenge – now in its seventh year – which asked them to concentrate on one sustainable transport mode for two weeks to see if they could achieve real, lasting change in the travel behaviour of their staff and students. The Challenge is an initiative of Green-Schools Travel, which is supported by the NTA and the Department of Transport, Tourism …

CLARE TD Violet Anne Wynne this week posted a video saying her family have become homeless, and on Wednesday she told the Clare Champion that it is “probably the most stressful situation that anyone can find themselves in”. Ms Wynne is a mother of six, with her youngest child born in February and she said the family are currently in a short term rental, but it’s only for a couple of weeks. “We’re in a holiday home I was able to rent. It’s only for a specific time period, because we are in the summer season and there is a high demand for holiday homes at this time. It’s not only not sustainable, but it’s not available as an option going forward.” She said while staying in the West Clare area is desirable for the family, it may not be possible. #homelesscrisis@DarraghOBrienTD @fiannafailparty @FineGael @greenparty_ie Ireland 2022,when a TD can end up homeless!!! pic.twitter.com/jbulbTvurm — Violet-Anne Wynne TD (@violetannetd) June …

ENNIS Lions Club has raised more than €50,000 through the “phenomenal” support of the people of Clare for an orphanage in Poland caring for displaced Ukrainian children. The funds have been raised through a variety of endeavours including a bucket collection held throughout the county in the early weeks of the invasion. Details of the local fundraising success were unveiled as Lions Clubs throughout Ireland look ahead to participation in the Lions Clubs International day in support of Ukraine Refugees and Displaced Persons on Saturday, June 11. Terence Mangan of Ennis Lions explains they were moved to do something to help those fleeing the invasion of Ukraine once news of the conflict began to emerge, and they have been overwhelmed with the response from the public. “We knew straight away that this was going to be a very serious situation because it is the first time in 80 years that we have had any kind of major war in Europe, and …

OVER €144,000 has been allocated by the Department of Rural and Community Development for the provision of five remote working hubs in Clare. The funding will provide new modular work spaces and privacy pods along with closed circuit television monitoring, lighting for external hub area, solar panels, internal LED lighting, electrical vehicle charger and bicycle racks. A further €50,000 will be made available to Clare County Council under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme to fund marketing campaigns and promote remote working opportunities around the county. “Rural and Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys made the announcement this week. Welcoming the allocation, Deputy Joe Carey said, “As former Chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Rural and Community Development, I have been a long-time advocate of  remote working and the provision of connected hubs outside the major population centres. “Even before the transformative experience of the Covid lockdowns, the benefits of remote working were obvious in terms of rural regeneration, environmental impact and …

‘The Mother Superior opens another heavy double-locked door. A deafening noise hits us. We’re in a room with huge machines from which steam is hissing. Prison bar patterns the roof-windows. The greasy walls are sweating. There is a stench of soiled clothing. Bleach fumes sting my throat, I gasp for air. Gradually I see that the room is full of women: elderly women, middle-aged women and young girls all seem to merge with the gray of the womb-like washing machines.’ ‘With Grykes and Turloughs’, 2014 IT’S NOT that Patricia Burke-Brogan needed the Freedom of Galway City that she was recently awarded as some kind of vindication. However, this recognition was long overdue and its importance to her and the movement for change she represented cannot be understated, as it came with the acceptance in the corridors of power that she had been right all along. Right to walk away from her convent in Galway in the mid-1950s when she was …

A new support service to assist people dealing with harmful gambling is now available at North West Clare Family Resource Centre in Ennistymon.  The ‘National Problem Gambling Support Service’ was officially launched last week by Gambling Awareness Trust. The service is a collaboration between Gambling Awareness Trust and the Family Resource Centre National Forum (FRCNF). It will see the Family Resource Centre in Ennistymon and 19 others across the country provide professional and confidential counselling services to those experiencing harmful gambling and their families. Speaking about the service, Pam Bergin, Executive Director of Gambling Awareness Trust, said, “I would strongly encourage anyone in Clare who is experiencing harmful gambling to contact their local FRC. “Harmful gambling can have serious consequences for people’s mental health, their employment and relationships. “International research reports that for every single person identified with a ‘gambling disorder’, up to six other people are impacted significantly. “Given the estimated prevalence of 55,000 problem gamblers in Ireland this …

A HOUSING development planned for Tuamgraney is now the subject of six separate objections, including one from a local residents’ association. In April, developer Michael Pearl applied for permission to demolish an existing pumping station and built 52 houses, in a mix of bungalows and two-storey units, on a site of just under four hectares on the Dock Road. A submission from the Reddan’s Quay Residents has outlined six grounds of objection. These are the principle of development; over-development; housing design and layout; traffic and pedestrian safety; flooding; and environmental impact. The submission described Tuamgraney as having “a small close knit community of residents” and said that large scale developments had not been built, despite the fact that some have had the benefit of planing permission. The residents’ objection contended that the proposed 52-home estate “will have a severe impact upon the physical and social fabric of the village”. The document expressed the fear that Tuamgraney could become a “commuter …

TIGHTER regulation of building materials and processes must be introduced so that Clare’s pyrite scandal is never repeated.  Making the keynote address at a major conference on the impact of defective concrete blocks, Deputy Eoin Ó Broin said that those responsible for the pyrite and mica issues must be held accountable. The Sinn Féin spokesperson on housing is also the author of major study of building regulation in Ireland. “This is not simply about apportioning blame,” he told the ‘Losing Your Home’ conference, hosted by the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS). “It is important to understand who is responsible in order to cover costs and to ensure that families and homeowners get support. We also need to fix the system to make sure this never happens again. We have to use this opportunity to fix the mistakes of the past because no-one else should suffer.” The author of Defects – Living with the Legacy of the Celtic Tiger, said …