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CLARE County Council has won a Chambers Ireland award for an initiative that identifies opportunities to improve communities’ quality of life and advance economic development. The 2021 Excellence in Local Government (ELG) Award was earned for an initiative to restructure its four Municipal Districts (MDs) of Ennis, Killaloe, Shannon and West Clare. The Council’s winning entry was entitled ‘Restructuring of Municipal Districts to improve community and economic outcomes’. The restructuring initiative involved the realignment of staff structures at MD level in Clare County Council to identify and advance opportunities for economic development and to improve the quality of life of communities in County Clare. Under the initiative, a senior staff member – Senior Executive Officer (SEO) – was assigned to each of the MDs, and each MD was assigned to a Director of Service. The overall objectives of the restructuring were to: identify and develop sustainable solutions to enhance the wellbeing and quality of life of local communities; advance opportunities …

A HUNDRED years ago the world came out of the darkness of World War One and Prohibition and celebrated in style in the Golden years of the 1920s. Now, as the entertainment industry and theatre in particular emerges from the confines of Covid, Ennis Players will celebrate the All-Ireland drama finals in the manner of the Roaring 20s. ‘Drama at Ennis’, the 2021 All-Ireland One Act finals will be staged in glór from December 3 to the 5. “The finals have been postponed from 2020 and now it is time to celebrate and embrace a wonderful weekend of amateur drama,” said Bernie Harten of the Ennis Players. “Participating groups and their supporters will be welcomed to glór, where they will play to an appreciative audience, deprived of theatre for too long,” she added. The All-Ireland One Act drama circuit is a 32-county competition with the top 11 groups in the country qualifying for the finals. Many amateur groups never get …

STUNNING photos of North and West Clare’s coastal and marine environment have been recognised in a highly prestigious national competition. The Love Your Coast initiative is part of the long-running Clean Coasts Programme, and aims to celebrate Ireland’s unique coastline through the medium of photography. This year sees the 12th anniversary of the scheme and three of the images that impressed the judges most feature this county. Clare photographer Mike Orth took second place in the Wildlife and Underwater category for a picture entitled ‘Compass by Cave Light’. The skilful shot features a compass jellyfish and Mike captured the image at the entrance to Donegal Point Cave in Kilkee. A keen diver, Mike, encountered the jellyfish while diving at Kilkee. “I asked my club mates if I could enter the cave at Donegal Point first, to set up and photograph them as they entered the cave from the east side. “I set up just inside the entrance just under the …

THE Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Councillor PJ Ryan, and the Mayor of Ennis Municipal District, Cllr Ann Norton, have welcomed the news that Ennis has been named Ireland’s Tidiest Town 2021 and commended all those involved in achieving the prestigious accolade. Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, announced the win at a ceremony in the RDS, Dublin last week. Ennis was judged to be the best from 847 entries to the SuperValu TidyTowns competition, which has been in existence since 1958. Ennis first entered the competition in 1959 and has won the competition on one occasion previously, in 2005. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Councillor PJ Ryan, said the award reflects the collaborative approach taken by the local community and business sectors in Ennis, and said the local authority is delighted to partner with Clare’s community group. “I want to acknowledge the year-round work that is done by Ennis Tidy Towns and commend them on achieving …

AN Bord Pleanála is due to give a decision by next Tuesday on Aldi’s appeal against a Clare County Council decision to refuse planning permission for a Shannon store. Despite not having planning permission Aldi is evidently confident about the pending decision, as it released a statement saying the development will be going ahead. “Aldi will open a new store in Shannon as part of a €320m Irish expansion drive in a bid to further grow its share of the Irish grocery market,” the statement said. “The investment drive will see Aldi open 30 new stores across the country, building on the €1.6 billion Aldi has already invested in its 149 Irish store and distribution network. “Aldi will increase its investment in Ireland by more than 75% over the next three years compared to 2019-2021.” In a submission to An Bord Pleanála, Clare County Council asked that its decision to refuse planning permission be upheld. It stated that a new …

AN Ennis mother who cares for her daughter born with a rare syndrome has been named Netwatch Clare and Munster Family Carer of the Year. Family Carers Ireland, the national charity supporting Ireland’s family carers, presented this year’s award to Clare Sydney this week. Clare cares for her 12-year-old daughter Isabella who was born with Lumbosacral Agenesis which necessitates her using a wheelchair as her legs were amputated at the age of seven. She was nominated by friends from the local carers group who say that she has to help Isabella with all facets of daily living and be one step ahead in planning for her future development and education, as well as sourcing appropriate services. Clare, who is married to Dee and also mother to Isabella’s twin brother Anthony James, developed breast cancer and has been undergoing treatment for the past two years. She says that she and Isabella are each other’s heroes. Clare is one of four regional …

A small boat with two people on board that got into difficulty off the Clare coast on Monday afternoon was towed to safety by the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat. The Aran crew was requested to deal with the incident as the Irish Coast Guard unit based at nearby Doolin has been stood down pending resolution of issues at the station. The alarm was raised at around 3.30pm when the two-person crew of the half-deck boat suffered technical problems in Liscannor Bay. The crew contacted watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub-centre on Valentia Island in Kerry. Staff there mounted a rescue operation. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was requested to make its way to the area and investigate the problem. The helicopter had been in the air on a training mission at the time and made its way to the scene. In the meantime, the Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat was tasked to proceed to …

A POTENTIALLY devastating accident was averted on a county Clare motorway on Monday evening after a motorist drove the wrong way into oncoming traffic. Traffic was brought to a standstill after an elderly man drove up an off ramp travelling north into southbound lanes. A quick-thinking motorist stopped her vehicle when she saw the car driving on the wrong side of the motorway. The woman’s car was then struck from behind by another vehicle. The woman and the driver of the second car escaped injury while the errant driver did not collide with any of the vehicles. The elderly man driver realised his mistake when he saw vehicles stopped in front of him and pulled safely into the hard shoulder. The incident happened shortly before 6pm just north of junction 10 at Carrigoran near Newmarket-on-Fergus. Emergency services rushed to the scene and found that an elderly man had entered the motorway at Carrigoran by driving up the off ramp and …