News

MORE than 30 people attended an online meeting last week to voice opposition to plans for mineral prospecting in East Clare, writes Fiona McGarry. The gathering heard that a county-wide ban should be sought, in the same way that fracking had previously been prohibited in Clare. The virtual event was organised by the newly-formed Keep Tulla Untouched and hosted by co-founder Jacintha Van Roij. Ms Van Roij, who described herself as a small-holder in the area, said that while a representative of Minco Ireland, the company currently seeking a prospecting licence, had been invited to attend, no response had been received. Farmers, public representatives and environmental campaigners alike were alarmed earlier this month at news that Department of the Environment intended to grant a licence to the Navan-based company for the prospecting of minerals, including silver and gold ore. After a political and public outcry, the Department extended the submission period to January 23 and an emergency motion was carried …

The Irish Taekwondo Academy has started providing free self-defence classes for women only in Killaloe amid increased fear being expressed by mothers after the recent death of primary school teacher, Ashling Murphy, writes Dan Danaher. Smith O’Brien’s GAA and Camogie club are hosting these classes in their new astroturf without any fee on Friday nights at 8pm for another five weeks. Also in attendance will be three female black belt assistant instructors along with female senior rank students to assist everyone with the class. Irish Taekwondo Academy head instructor master, Damien Madden recalled a number of mothers had asked him if he would be in a position to organise female only self-defence classes in light of what happened to Ms Murphy. “After posting these classes on social media, we had 30 women who said they definitely wanted to do it. There were more than 40 women at the first class including a few women who travelled from Nenagh. “Basic self-defence …

HEALTHCARE and biopharmaceutical multinational Eli Lilly plans to invest over €400 million in a brand-new manufacturing facility in Limerick. The proposed project is expected to create more than 300 new jobs for highly skilled workers such as engineers, scientists and operations personnel, while an estimated 500 additional positions will be required while the facility is under construction. The investment project is subject to planning approval and the company will submit a planning application with Limerick City and County Council in the coming weeks. The new facility will expand Lilly’s manufacturing network for biologic active ingredients, support increased demand for existing Lilly products and play a key role in bringing Lilly’s robust clinical pipeline, including its promising Alzheimer’s portfolio, to patients around the world. Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe welcomed the news saying, “Today’s announcement by Eli Lilly is a solid endorsement by a major global company in the potential of the Midwest region as a place to do …

IT WILL take 31 years to clear the housing waiting list in Clare at the current rate people are being accommodated, writes Conor Clohessy. Councillor Ian Lynch noted that while there are 22 fewer names on the list for council housing in Clare this year than last, there are another 817 still on it. He also noted that the number of vacant properties is 40, the same as it was last year, with Traveller accommodation vacancies included in this figure that had not been accounted previously. Councillor Lynch expressed major concern regarding large families; there are 41 applicants for houses with more than three bedrooms he noted expressing his frustration before the recent West Clare MD meeting. “I appreciate that every case is different and sensitive, but we need to step back from the black-and-white around this. These children need homes,” said the Independent. “I met a family in 2020 whose only wish for Christmas was to have a home …

THE famous thatch roof at a popular Bunratty restaurant is set to go under new plans approved by Clare County Council, writes Owen Ryan. Gallagher’s Seafood Restaurant has been granted planning permission for the replacement of its thatch roof with natural slate, for internal changes and for retention permission for its external dining area with retractable roof and windows. Regarding its plans for the roof the application it said, “The thatch roof has come to the end of its lifespan and it has been very difficult to, firstly, source a thatcher that can do the works and secondly the defining issue is the fire proofing of the thatch. “Indeed, the kitchen is adjacent to the thatch roof and this is a major concern in terms of fire risk to the management of the restaurant along with the issue of insurance as it has become uneconomical to insure and therefore an alternative solution has to be found.” Regarding the external dining …

A WAVE of relief swept over the country last Friday with Micheál Martin announcing the roll back of most of the restrictions made necessary by the pandemic. But while he concluded it was time to be our social selves again, his message was tempered with a reality check; the pandemic is not yet over. While many people will now be putting the episode behind them, the pandemic has left turmoil in a number of sectors in society, that will not be resolved any time soon. Such as in secondary education, especially for the tens of thousands of students facing exams this year. Their preparation for these milestone exams has hardly been ideal. MollyJane Sweeney, a student at St Joseph’s Tulla, told The Champion that while she too feels a sense of relief, like most people in the country at the moment, she does not feel that this is the end of the pandemic. “Though the formal social distancing requirements and …

RELIEF was palpable in Bodyke last weekend with the easing of pandemic restrictions and the return of customers to the long bar at The Cobbler’s Rest.  Like thousands of so-called ‘wet pubs’, the venue was hit hard by the pandemic, enduring months of complete closure. The pub, which had never served food, chose not to provide the now infamous €9 meal in an effort to keep the doors open. The result was that it remained shut down between March and September of 2020 and worked around various waves of restrictions in the 15 months that followed. “It’s like a cloud has been lifted over Bodyke last weekend,” said Susan McMahon, who runs the popular rural venue alongside Martin Butler. “The relief was palpable and there was a great sense of excitement on Saturday night. Ironically, I’d say a lot of people chose to go to a restaurant that night, so we were fairly quiet, but it was great for that …

HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly will be asked by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin to set up an independent inquiry into chronic overcrowding in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) after two record-breaking days of trolley numbers, writes Dan Danaher. Surging admissions, which resulted in 97 patients languishing on trolleys in UHL on Tuesday and 111 on Wednesday, have prompted calls for an independent inquiry into overcrowding. Speaking in the Dáil on Wednesday, Deputy Michael McNamara said the new 96-bed unit will only deliver 48 additional beds as the remaining new beds will replace existing ones. (See Champion story here) “I would accept that any amount of new beds isn’t going to meet the exponential growth in numbers on trolleys in UHL. I don’t know is there a problem with the way admission and discharge is done in the hospital, or one of the other hospitals in the group needs to be upgraded to a Model Three hospital.” I have called for an independent …