News

A CLARE woman’s experience of cancer screening services during the pandemic has been described in the Dail as “a living nightmare”. The woman, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form cancer after an 18-month wait for routine screening, had her case highlighted by Deputy Violet Anne Wynne during a series of statements on Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “She was not informed that screening had stopped,” Deputy Wynne said, referring to the pausing of BreastCheck services during the pandemic. “She has attended her mammogram every year. However, the service just stopped and she did not have access to a mammogram for 18 months. Worse still, she was not notified, there was no consultation or communication and no information was inputted on the website.” The Sinn Fein representative said that would have gone for private screening but “was left in the dark battling rising anxiety”. “She knew something was wrong and eventually, a ball of nerves, she went to her doctor,” Deputy …

THE centenary of the Glenwood Ambush will be celebrated on Sunday next (October 31). Proceedings will begin with a centenary mass in Kilkishen church at 1pm and this will be followed with the unveiling of a Sculptured Plaque at the ambush memorial site in Glenwood immediately after the Mass at around 2.15pm. Free bus transport will be provided from the church to Glenwood directly after mass. A Glenwood Centenary Book will also launched. This 150-page publication will provide detailed accounts of the ambush by different people and including the reprisals by British forces in its aftermath. The plan is to have it on sale over the weekend, after masses, and at the commemorative event in Glenwood The ambush marks the 100th year since the ambush in January of 1921. Because of the lockdown at the start of this year, ceremonies were deferred. Sunday’s events will mark the incident in which a motorised patrol of ten armed Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) …

THE Cuban Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Hugo Ramos Milanes, will be the speaker at an event in North Clare next week. On Thursday, October 28 at 8.30pm in Hotel Doolin the ambassador will speak about Cuba’s place in the modern world, including the country’s links with Clare and its work in helping fight Covid-19. Denis Vaughan of the North Clare Labour Party is urging people to come along to what he describes as a “very interesting evening”, adding, “Cuba is a fascinating story and Ambassador Milanes is an inspirational speaker”. “His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Hugo Ramos Milanes will discuss Cuba’s place in the modern world, its struggle for independence similar to Ireland, Cuba’s amazing medical help to 15 countries in fighting the Covid Virus, Ireland – Cuba relations and Che Guevara’s visit to Clare in the 1960s.” Denis continues, “Could we in Ireland survive if we had 11 million people and were embargoed illegally for the last 60 years by the USA? …

A PROBE into the conduct of eight Gardai in the Midwest is “tearing many lives apart”, Clare’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) was told this week. Deputy Cathal Crowe urged the Garda Commissioner, who attended the meeting on Monday (October 18), to engage more effectively on the issue. Deputy Crowe recently raised, in the Dail, the suspension last November of eight Gardaí, as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in public office in Munster. The investigation by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) centres on claims that Gardaí did not pursue enquiries into alleged road traffic offences against a number of individuals. At this week’s JPC meeting, the Meelick TD repeated many of his criticisms of the handling of the investigation. In advance of the meeting, he had tabled a question for Commissioner Drew Harris, asking if the principle of discretion is still part of the training at the Garda College in Templemore. After the Commissioner explained that …

MAJOR developments are underway at Dr Daly Memorial Park in Tulla, with the start of a project to build a sports pavilion and viewing stand. This is an impressive and modern, multi-purpose sports and recreational facility. It consists of an 860-seater viewing stand, gym, meeting rooms, medical treatment room, press commentary box, kitchen/canteen, changing rooms and toilets. The development was designed and is being constructed and part-funded by Q-Con Building and Civil Engineers. The facility will be open for the 2022 GAA season. To finance the project, Tulla GAA Club is organising a ‘Seat for Life’ fundraiser. This fundraiser is an opportunity for people to have their names inscribed on a Permanent Plaque Scroll, displayed at the sports pavilion. A ‘Seat for Life’ allows anyone to dedicate a seat to themselves, a deceased GAA follower or someone they know who would like to be associated with assisting with financing the construction of the stand. Dr Daly Memorial Park in Tulla …

A SERIES of meetings on the management and protection of Clare’s waterways have been deferred until next year due to the pandemic. The meetings were to focus on the next River Basin Management Plan (2022-2027), and had been due to take place in locations including Ennis, Killaloe, Kilrush, Ennistymon and Shannon. All of the gatherings have now been deferred until early 2022. The public consultation period on the Draft River Basin Management Plan will run until March 31, 2022. People can still make submissions on Lawaters.ie – the virtual public consultation room or directly to the Department of the Environment via responding to a short online survey here: https://www.gov.ie/en/consultation/2bda0-public-consultation-on-the-draft-river-basin-management-plan-for-ireland-2022-2027/ A consultation response template can also be downloaded from the link and completed templates should be emailed to rbmp@housing.gov.ie. Members of the public do not have to respond to every question in the consultation. If they have a specific area of interest, they are free to respond just on that topic. Finally, people can …

RESIDENTS and staff in a Cratloe Nursing Home have remained free from Covid-19 up to August 18 last, according to a new report from an independent health watchdog. There were 32 residents living in Sancta Maria Nursing Home, Gallows Hill, Cratloe, when inspectors from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) conducted an inspection last August. The centre was deemed compliant with regulations on persons in charge, contract for provision of services, visits, individual assessment and care plan, health care, and residents’ rights. It was found to be substantially compliant with standards on staffing, training and staff development, records, governance and management, complaints procedure, infection control, fire precautions, individual assessment and care plan, and protection. The inspector had concerns that the entire centre and equipment could not be cleaned to the standard required during a Covid-19 pandemic by one housekeeping staff member. On the day of inspection there was one housekeeper whose duties included cleaning, laundry and assisting with kitchen …

The Currakyle Ambush is not as well known as some War of Independence actions, but that is about to change THE East Clare Memorial Committee are to mark the centenary of one of the lesser known, but highly significant incidents in the War of Independence in this county. Supported by Clare County Library under the Decade of Centenaries Project Awards, the committee will commemorate the Currakyle Ambush, when, according to local lore, ‘two took on 200’. The event will take place in Flagmount Hall at 8pm on Friday, October 29 and will involve a lecture from Dr Tomás Mac Conmara and the recounting of stories and songs. Chairperson of the committee, Councillor Pat Hayes, outlined the importance of remembering the Sixth Battalion of the East Clare Brigade. “Often commemorations centre on events in relation to The Scariff Martyrs and The Feakle Ambush,” he said. “This event will help to raise awareness of those who came from Flagmount, Killanena and Upper …