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A traditional outcome of drunken revelry – stealing traffic cones – occurred in Newmarket-on-Fergus before Christmas. This incident, however, proved no laughing matter for a local business, resulting as it did in criminal damage to their stock. At approximately 2.20 a.m. on Saturday, December 18, a number of traffic cones and hazard bollards were taken from the edge of the forecourt of N18 Autos on Ennis Road, Newmarket-on-Fergus. These cones and bollards were placed on the bonnets and roofs of four cars for sale on the forecourt causing paint and scratch damage to the cars. The forecourt is at the former Great Gas service station past the soccer pitch on the Ennis Road. Gardaí in Newmarket-on-Fergus are appealing for witnesses – anyone that may have driven by or came through the village on the Ennis Road after 2am on Saturday morning, December 18 and witnessed this incident is asked to contact Newmarket-on-Fergus Garda Station on 061 368172.

Sale of land depends on securing planning THE HSE has been urged to lodge a planning application for the development of a new €25 million community hospital in Ennis at the earliest opportunity. The call was made by Deputy Joe Carey after the HSE confirmed it intends to lodge a planning application for this project in the first quarter of 2022. Jim Curran, HSE national director of capital and estates, said the HSE has “sale agreed” lands comprising 5.09 acres of Diocesan property near the Turnpike in Ennis for the provision of a new 100-bed community nursing unit. However, the sale of lands is subject to planning permission for the development of a community nursing unit. This project will see a new state-of-the-art facility, providing a 100-bed HIQA compliant community nursing unit for long stay residents including 88 single, four twin rooms and four palliative care facilities. A full design team was appointed in March 2021 following a tender and …

WORK on the long-awaited River Shannon Crossing is expected to start next March after the Department of Transport approved the awarding of the construction contract to John Sisk and Sons at a tender sum of €43.7 million. The contract for the Killaloe Bypass, Shannon Crossing and upgrading of the Ballina to Birdhill R494 regional road will be signed early in the Near Year, with a likely start date in March. It is anticipated the scheme will take three years to be completed. The estimated cost of the overall project totals €69 million, which includes construction, land acquisition, design, supervision, risk, contingency and archaeology. The Killaloe Bypass and Shannon River Crossing project has been mentioned in the public sphere for years, with the completion of the project expected to see a 40% reduction in congestion between the Tipperary and Clare border towns. Former Environment Minister Alan Kelly recalled he put this project into the National Development Plan when he was minister …

SINCE she was born eight months ago little Imogen Brigdale has lit up the lives of her family, and now she has helped to light up the community of Newmarket-on-Fergus. Residents in Newmarket-on-Fergus have been treated to an illuminating Christmas display this holiday season. The lights were recently switched on by Imogen and her parents Jane O’Leary and Alan Brigdale. The tiny tot has proved an inspirational character having repeatedly defied the odds since her post-natal diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). The light display is thanks to a collaboration between the Rise Global Foundation and community development organisation, Obair. Located in the Fairgreen near to the village church, the Christmas tree and light display was unveiled at a fun-filled event earlier this month. David McCourt, who is the founder of Rise and the Chairman of National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company responsible for designing, building and operating the new national infrastructure under the National Broadband Plan in partnership with …

HOUSE prices in Clare in the last three months of 2021 were 14% higher than the previous year, latest figures have highlighted. This compares with a rise of 5% seen a year ago. The average price of a home in Clare is now almost €220,000, 84% above its lowest point. National housing prices rose by 7.7% on average during 2021, according to the latest Daft.ie Sales Report. The average price nationwide in the final quarter of 2021 was €290,998, up 0.6% on the third quarter of 2021 and just 21% below the Celtic Tiger peak. While 2020 saw similar rates of inflation across the Irish housing market, significant regional differences emerged during 2021. The smallest increases were in urban areas. In Galway city, prices rose by 1.6% during the year, while in Dublin, prices rose by 3.4%. In Cork city, prices rose by 5.5% while in Limerick and Waterford cities, the increases were 6.4% and 7.5% respectively. But outside the …

    The majority of scheduled public surgery and outpatient appointments in the Mid-West will be deferred next Tuesday due to an increase in staff absences . The UL Hospitals’ Group has confirmed Covid-19 related staff absences are resulting in significant disruption to services. This has resulted in the deferral of most of scheduled surgery and outpatient appointments across all hospital sites from Tuesday, January 4 until Friday, January 7. This includes University Hospital Limerick, Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, St John’s Hospital, and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. Services at University Maternity Hospital Limerick are unaffected. All impacted patients are being contacted directly by the hospital.   As the group experience a significant surge in Covid-19 activity across society, it anticipates that an increase in staff absences will have a significant impact on services over the coming weeks. There are currently 392 staff off work and self-isolating having either tested positive for Covid-19, been designated as a close contact or have been …

FEARS have been expressed the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 may lead to staffing shortages in hospitals early in the New Year. Dr Catherine Motherway, a leading intensive care consultant at Limerick University Hospital, has voiced concern in a recent interview that the highly transmissible new variant will have a very significant impact on staff. The National Ambulance Service (NAS) meanwhile has put private operators on standby in expectation that high numbers of staff will be lost to Covid, coupled with an expected surge in call-outs in January. Case numbers soared nationally to 11,182 on Christmas Eve, with Omicron as the driving factor. The variant now accounts for 83pc of all cases. There were 38 confirmed Covid-19 patients in ICU at UHL on Tuesday, which was the third highest in the country after 51 were recorded in Beaumont Hospital and 38 in Tallaght. The HSE’s Performance Management and Improvement Unit has confirmed 12 of these confirmed cases are being treated …

THE fundraising and water safety awareness efforts of two Ennis business women have seen them recognised with a national award. Danielle Kenneally and Chantell Keane were the recipients of the Water Safety Ireland Community and Social Responsibility award at their national awards ceremony earlier this year. Danielle’s brother Jack was just 15 when he and his friend Shay Moloney lost their lives after getting into difficulty swimming in a disused quarry in 2018. Danielle and her best friend Chantell co-founded home fragrance business Wix and Wax in 2020, and this year they decided to donate a month’s profits from a specially created ‘Daisy snap-bar’ to WSI in memory of Jack. The daisy has a strong significance to the Kenneally family as Jack kept a daisy on the back of his phone, and that’s something that Danielle holds dear. A water safety tips leaflet was included with every fragrance bar sold. A total of €2,500 was raised from the sale of …