News

DIVERS from the Garda Water Unit have recovered the body of a man from the base of a cliff after a week of poor conditions hampered previous efforts, reports Pat Flynn. The operation was completed this morning having been postponed as a result of poor weather since the alarm was first raised last weekend. Emergency services were alerted on Sunday after a person was seen falling from the Cliffs of Moher. The man is believed to have been living in the east of the country. Watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry mounted and coordinated a multi-agency search operation. Gardaí responded to the scene while the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter – Rescue 115 – the Doolin unit of the Coast Guard, National Ambulance Service, Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat were all tasked to the incident. While search crews were able to pinpoint the location of the body at the base of …

AROUND 1,000 people came together at the Fairgreen in Ennis this evening to mark the tragic passing of Ashling Murphy. Beginning with a walk at 4pm, as day turned to night, traditional musicians, some who knew Ashling personally, took centre stage. This poignant moment was followed by a minute’s silence in honour of the school teacher.

A CLARE-based podcast is attracting a growing international listenership with inspiring contributions from artists of various disciplines who are living in or originally from this county. ‘The Creative Souls of Clare’ podcast is hosted by Lahinch author and social innovator Ruairí McKiernan. Since its launch just over a year ago, the podcast has been making waves, boasting listeners in over 27 countries, including Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Qatar, Iran, the Philippines, Finland, Portugal, and Mexico. The podcast first came about following the cancellation of the launch for Hitching for Hope, Ruairí’s hugely popular book documenting his travels around Ireland in the wake of the economic crash. The pandemic forced him to cancel all events, including his planned ‘World tour of Clare’. This was to involve events in various County Clare libraries as part of an initiative by Creative Ireland to promote creativity in the community. Ruairí’s response to the enforced cancellations might be considered to be an act of …

Claim that Council decision is based on ‘subjective, unsubstantiated opinions’ unsupported by facts THE operator of a forecourt on the outskirts of Ennis has appealed against Clare County Council’s refusal of permission for refurbishment plans, claiming the decision “is based on subjective, unsubstantiated opinions”. Maxol Limited was recently refused planning permission to refurbish and rearrange the internal area of the food hall of its existing forecourt on the Ennis Road, Clarecastle. The application sought permission to expand the existing deli offering to include a branded hot-food takeaway, with 20 people to be employed. Under the proposal an existing children’s play area – closed since March 2020 due to Covid-19 and that presented difficulties regarding safe sanitation levels for future use” – would have been removed to allow for a reallocation of food hall space to provide a new layout. In refusing planning permission last November, however, the local authority concluded the plans “would result in an undesirable and haphazard intensification …

CONCERN about the closure of out-of-hours GP centres in Kilrush, Shannon and Killaloe was expressed at a Clare County Council meeting on Monday, writes Dan Danaher. Citing the lack of an any other business item on the council agenda, Councillor Tony O’Brien told the meeting he wanted to raise a number of issues concerning ShannonDoc, which were highlighted in last week’s Clare Champion. The Fianna Fáil Councillor outlined his concern about the closure of ShannonDoc centres in Kilrush, Shannon and Killaloe in view of the allocation of €5.2 million in taxpayers’ money. He proposed ShannonDoc management should be invited to make a presentation at a council meeting and answer questions about why these centres remain closed and what services they are providing for public funding they are receiving. “I believe ShannonDoc made a substantial operating surplus in 2020.” Council chairman, PJ Ryan advised Councillor O’Brien he was fully entitled to table this proposal at the next local authority meeting as …

THERE was mixed news for South Galway in the latest round of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund announced last week. While there was delight at the approval of almost €800,000 for infrastructure and streetscape improvement, there was disappointment a remote working and community space was not included in the funding announcement. The Gorgeous Gort Forum welcomed the decision of Minister Heather Humphries to approve funding of €798,000 from the Rural Regeneration and Development application for Gort. The application was submitted by Galway County Council with the support of the Forum, the representative body for all local community groups, clubs and organisations. The money will go towards the redesign of the Market Square and town centre streets and will reinvigorate Canon Quinn Park, a green space in the town centre. Justin McDermott, chairperson of Gorgeous Gort Forum said, “This is wonderful news that part of the Rural Regeneration and Development fund application for Gort has been approved. “We thank the …

CLARE County Council has supported a call for Environment Minister Eamon Ryan to reject the granting of a proposed prospecting licence to Minco Ireland in South-East Clare. Minco Ireland wants to conduct desktop studies, geochemistry and drilling in the area, which the company claims would involve ‘minimal’ levels of disturbance in surrounding communities. The Department of the Environment announced its intention to grant a licence to Navan, Co. Meath-based Minco Ireland Ltd. to prospect for base metals, baryte, gold and silver ores in Tulla Upper Barony and Bunratty Upper Barony. This announcement was made on December 9 2021 with the closing date for any objections to the granting of the licence required to be submitted by January 8 2022. The public consultation period has been extended to January 24 following representations to the department and huge concern in the affected communities. A petition by local environmental group Futureproof Clare launched on Thursday January 6 has received more than 1,500 signatures …

OVER 300 members of the Shannon community came together for a candle-lit vigil in memory of Ashling Murphy, the 23-year-old teacher, who was murdered in broad daylight while out jogging near her Tullamore home.