News

THE proposed development of Ennis’ Post Office Field could result in health benefits to the county capital worth an estimated €7 million over the next 30 years an analysis undertaken on behalf of Ennis 2040 has found. Meanwhile an environmental consultant guiding the plans has insisted the planned boardwalk can bring people into the town centre habitat “while preserving its integrity” with “minimal disruption” to the site. A Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) undertaken by AECOM for the Ennis 2040 DAC assessed the impact of Active Travel Benefits of the proposed elevated boardwalk over the Post Office Field. Other findings included the project would result in €2.2m journey times savings to and from the north and south of the River Fergus over the next three decades. Public consultation on the plans is continuing with Ennis 2040 saying they are committed to a ‘Building with Nature’ approach ensuring sustainable and environmentally friendly construction practices. Clare County Council, in collaboration with Ennis 2040 …

An unannounced inspection of University Hospital Limerick has found the hospital “non-compliant” with three of the four national standards assessed in the inspection and “substantially compliant” with the forth standard. The inspection, which was conducted by HIQA on November 21 last, found that since the previous inspection, the hospital had made improvements in resourcing, supports and alternate pathways. It had established an Urgent and Emergency Care Directorate to coordinate the strategic and operational function of the emergency and urgent care services across the six hospital sites of the UL Hospitals Group. The report, which was published earlier today, found that the ongoing mismatch between the number of people attending the Emergency Department (ED) and the hospital’s capacity resulted in an overcrowded ED, with patients admitted to the hospital continuing to be accommodated in the ED. At 10am on the day of inspection, 32 of the 82 patients in the ED were admitted and awaiting an inpatient bed. This overcrowding, albeit …

Clare hurler, Shane O’Donnell, has teamed up with Electric Ireland and Pieta for Darkness Into Light which takes place on Saturday, May 11, 2024. This annual event raises vital funds for Pieta’s lifesaving support services for those in suicidal distress and those who have been bereaved through suicide. With over 100,000 participants expected to gather at 230 official walks in 14 countries and spanning four continents, Darkness into Light will once again bring communities together for the most important sunrise of the year. Pieta offers a number of critical services including a 24-hour Crisis Helpline, which is a vital frontline support for anyone in suicidal distress. It is manned by fully qualified therapists, and it is open 24 hours a day seven days a week. Every year, the Pieta Crisis Helpline receives nearly 100,000 calls and texts. That is almost 300 calls and texts per day. It also offers a Suicide Bereavement Liaison Service. This unique Pieta service offers practical …

A MAN in his twenties has been killed in a road crash in South Galway after the quad bike he was driving collided with a tractor. Emergency services were called to the scene of the fatal road traffic collision which occurred on Sunday at approximately 1.15pm on the R353 in Derrybrien, Gort. The driver of the quad bike was fatally injured as a result of this collision. His body was removed from the scene to University Hospital Galway for a post-mortem examination. No other injuries were reported following this collision. The R353 (Gort to Portumna road) was closed to traffic following the incident and local diversions put in place. Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them. “Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the vicinity of Gort, Loughrea and Derrybrien this afternoon, between 12.15pm and 1.15pm, are asked to make this footage available to Gardaí. “Anyone …

A NEW play entitled Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party will be at the Belltable in Limerick, from May 2 to 11. Set against the backdrop of 1980’s Limerick City, Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party follows the story of Jack, whose life is forever changed by a brief, passionate kiss at a party. This moment becomes Jack’s lifelong fixation, leading him on a journey of self-discovery across decades. It is written by Limerick playwright Liam McCarthy. “I’m in my early thirties so I’m a little younger than the characters, they’d be of my parents generation,” he says. Of the story, Liam says it starts in the early 80s, when things are going well for the man at the centre of the story. “What happens to Jack is that the old electricity meter runs out of 50ps, and it goes dark. At the downstairs toilet he has a kiss with a woman, and it’s a case of mistaken identity, Jilly Morgan didn’t know who …

Waterways Ireland has been urged to proactively engage with landowners once the preferred route for the proposed Limerick to Scariff Greenway is selected. This was stressed by Councillor Pat Burke (FG) following a presentation by Waterways Ireland, Western Regional Manager, Brian Treacy at a recent Killaloe Municipal District meeting. As a farmer working on the shores of Lough Derg near Dromann Harbour, Burke recalled he has received phone calls from land owners on the Limerick and Clare side of Lough Derg enquiring if the final route selection has been made. “If someone gets on a bike in Limerick and arrives in Scariff along the greenway and asks where is Iniscealtra or Holy Island and how do we get there, in my view, it should have continued to Mountshannon,” he said. “Even if the greenway went north of Scariff, it doesn’t have to run by the lakeshore. It should connect to Mountshannon in some form from the low or the high …

ADDITIONAL actions were required to meet national standards at Athlunkard House Nursing Home Westbury, when Health Information and Quality Authority inspectors returned for a follow-up inspection, according to a new report. While the overall provision of care was found to be of an appropriate standard, some further action was required in the monitoring and oversight arrangements in place to ensure compliance with national regulations. There were 89 residents in the centre during the unannounced HIQA inspection on December 7, 2023. Residents told the inspectors that the “staff are so good’’, and that they ‘’feel safe’’ and at “home”. Staff interactions with residents were observed to be kind and person-centred throughout the inspection. Residents were observed to be engaged in activities throughout the day and residents told the inspectors that they were satisfied with the variety of activities available. Inspectors observed that some communal rooms and some bedrooms were not cleaned to an acceptable standard. Housekeeping audits to support infection prevention …

THURSDAY afternoon in Shannon. The boxing club is upstairs, they say in SKB Gerdy’s Community Gym, go around the back and go up. An unpromising looking door does open, and David Ryan is there waiting. Work on developing the room hasn’t finished, quite clearly, but the ring is up and it’s within its confines that Ryan will do much of his preparations for the first title fight as a professional boxer, when he takes on Tony McGlynn for the BUI Celtic Super Lightweight belt on May 10. While he sees the belt as a stepping stone to greater things, winning it would be a milestone for a fighter who went straight from kickboxing into professional boxing in 2022. The preparation involved in prizefighting is as intense if not more so than for any sport on earth, and Ryan has to do it while working full time; he is a familiar figure to many in Shannon from his job at Denver …