News

WITH Storm Barra expected to make its presence felt increasingly throughout the day, a wide range of services in Clare have been cancelled or curtailed. ESB Networks has been tackling power outages in the county from early this morning with a large disruption in Kilkee largely dealt with. With conditions set to worsen however, the company has issued a warning about its capacity to address faults straight away. A statement from the company said, “All internal resources are on alert and are responding to electricity outages once it is safe to do so. With a red weather warning in the Southwest in effect until tonight, and Co Clare until 1 am Wednesday morning, this means our crews may not be mobilised on the ground until the worst of the severe weather passes.” There was a loss of power in Kilkee from 6.30am. Crews from ESB Network addressed the issue and by 12pm, power had been restored to most areas in …

Gardaí attended the scene of a fatal single car road traffic collision that occurred in west Clare at approximately 12:30am this morning, Tuesday December 7. A female in her 90s, the driver and sole occupant of the car was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash at Annagh, Miltown Malbay. Her body has since been removed to Limerick University Hospital where a post-mortem examination will be conducted at a later date. The road is currently closed to allow for an examination to be carried out by Forensic Collision Investigators. Local diversions are in place. Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to come forward. They are particularly appealing to any road users who were travelling on this road at the time with camera footage to make this available to them. Anyone with information is asked to contact Kilrush Garda station on 065 908 0550, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.

THE Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience is spreading a little Christmas cheer this month by providing free entry to all Clare residents up to and including December 23. Ireland’s most visited natural attraction is supporting the ‘Buy Local’ campaign by inviting members of the public to visit the Shannon Heritage Gift Shop and Cafes, which offers dozens of local craft, artisan products and hampers. “We are inviting the people of Clare to do their Christmas shopping here at the Cliffs of Moher, as well as enjoy the extensive menus on offer at our Cafes and take in a refreshing walk, all in a safe and festive atmosphere,” explained Geraldine Enright, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience. Amongst the local and artisan suppliers are Ekotree Knitwear (Doolin), Irish Slate Craft (Lahinch), Wild Atlantic Candles (Kilrush), Atlantic Low Tide (Kilkee), Wilde Irish Chocolates (Tuamgraney), Spanish Point Sea Veg, Redesign Shack (Ennis), Bunratty Mead and many more. Ms. Enright said, “Visitors …

THE weather warning issued for county Clare on Tuesday, December 7, has been upgraded from orange to red. CLARE County Council is one of a number of bodies to issue a weather warning in advance of the arrival of Storm Barra on Tuesday with disruptions to power supply and travel likely. An Orange wind warning had been issued for County Clare, among others on the western seaboard, but Clare along with Kerry and Cork has been upgraded to red. Gusts of up to 130 kilometres per hour along with heavy rain is expected to lead to coastal or spot flooding and dangerous driving conditions. The warning for Clare is live from 4pm tomorrow and will run until 1am on Wednesday. Met Eireann had issued a red warning forecasting violent Storm Force 11 winds during Tuesday on Irish coastal waters from Mizen Head to Loop Head to Slyne Head. The Coast Guard is appealing to all mariners and coastal communities to …

THERE has been a 40% hike in the overall cost of running Clare County Council since 2018, according to an analysis of recent Budgets. The adopted Budget has increased from €111 million in 2018 to €117.5 million in 2019, €128 million in 2020, €131.4 million in 2021 and to €138.6 million in 2022. Back in 2018, Clare County Council’s commercial rate was the sixth highest in the country and looks set to climb even higher in the national league table after the decision to increase rates by 3.8% for the first time in 13 years. It has emerged that since 2014, commercial rates have increased by Ennis increase by 16.73% in Ennis and by 22.38% in Kilrush. A submission made by the council to the Local Government baseline review in 2018 highlights ”the need for change in order to bring greater balance and equity for funding for County Clare”. “Clare County Council was penalised by the Needs and Resources model …

FOUNDER of the Snámhaí Sásta swimming group in Spanish Point, June Curtin is hoping to raise €50,000 for Mid West Simon by Christmas. She has recorded a song with CDs on sale around the county right now, while on Wednesday she started swimming three times a day at Spanish Point, repeating her successful 2020 fundraiser. Speaking about the song, June says, “The Snámhái Sásta community and I recorded a single in Martin O’Malley’s studio outside Miltown Malbay. It’s a Tommy Fleming song, Don’t Give Up Till It’s Over, we had 1,000 CDs printed and they’re available in Ennis and all around Clare. All of the proceeds will go to the Mid West Simon Community.” On Wednesday she began her fundraising swims which will continue over the next three weeks and builds on what she did this time last year. “Last year I swam three times a day from December 1 to December 21 at 9.15, 1.15 and 4.15, every day, …

A TOTAL of 17,610 penalty points were issued to drivers in Clare during 2020, according to the Central Statistics Office. The number of points issued in Clare was down by 6.7% on 2019. While that might not be surprising given the lower levels of activity during the year, the numbers didn’t drop in most counties and across the Republic of Ireland there was actually a small increase. In total 4,920 endorsement notices were issued around the Banner during the year, with 1,704 going to women, 3,131 to men and in 74 cases the gender was not recorded. Among the Clare men, 2,402 of the 3,131 of the endorsement notices were issued for speeding. With Clare women, 1,355 of the 1,704 notices were in relation to speeding. One Clare motorists picked up 12 points within 2020, but over 85% of offenders received just three points over the course of the year. At the end of 2020 a total of 13,994 Clare …

QUIN adventurer Declan McEvoy is back home now, having finished his African expedition a few weeks early, with problems at various border crossings leading to him cutting it a little short. Declan, who described himself as being on the fifth stage of a ‘Round the World by Motorbike’ adventure arrived in South Africa in early October, and began working his way north. Ultimately he would reach Zambia, not as far as he had hoped for as bureaucracy was very difficult to negotitate, but he is in a good position for when he gets back to his trusty bike. “I normally do these motorcycle trips over about ten weeks but I just came up against a lot of border closures and was finding it difficult to move. I finished up in Zambia and decided to store the motorcylce with the Irish embassy there. “Where Zambia is positioned, next year I could come up along the east coast, or maybe the west …