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A KILKISHEN family celebrated yet another ploughing success last week after a mobile mechanic secured the sixth All-Ireland crown for the one household. Following in the footsteps of Gerard Frost Senior, his son, Gerard scooped first prize in the junior category of the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, County Laois. This was his second All-Ireland title, having previously won top prize in the U-28 Junior All-Ireland in 2008, while his late father previously won four titles. The mobile mechanic was delighted with the win. “It was great to bring back a cup during Covid-19. It is nice to keep the tradition going in the family. “Ploughing is in decline as ploughs are not being used as much compared to years ago, but maybe ploughing will come back again, if a deeper plough is needed. “It is hard to win an All-Ireland title. It doesn’t come very easily. You might think you could win one next year, but it doesn’t work …

CLARE libraries are helping older people ring in the changes when it comes to using getting to grips with new technology. Clare County library has announced a series of Smart Phone classes for older people in a number of libraries beginning at the end of September. The daytime classes will take place in the following libraries: Ennistymon, Kilkee, Shannon, Scariff, and Ennis. The three-week programme will include a session on Zoom video conferencing and the WhatsApp platform so that participants can learn how to connect with others and how to avail of online classes and activities. The classes will be of two hours duration and will take place in the mornings or afternoons. Numbers at the classes are limited due to current restrictions. Clare Libraries will run a second set of classes later in the year. The classes are for those who have not got a smart phone or have just recently received one. The Smart Phone classes will run …

Seats to New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Newark open for booking online AER Lingus is currently selling tickets for Shannon-New York and Shannon-Boston flights on its website, while American Airlines has said it will resume Shannon-Philadelphia next May. If the Aer Lingus links are restored it would be a particularly significant boost for Shannon Airport, as those routes are particularly significant to tourism and foreign direct investment in Clare and the surrounding counties. On aerlingus.com on Wednesday Shannon-Boston services are being offered from March 10 and Shannon-New York from March 27. While the seats are on sale, the airline was less than positive when asked for a comment. “Aer Lingus is currently flying a significantly reduced schedule across the North Atlantic. “This schedule remains under constant review for the remainder of 2021 and beyond. All factors will be taken into account in that review, including this week’s announcement of the lifting of the ban on entry of EU citizens into …

A DOOLIN hotelier is one of ten writers to make the shortlist for a highly prestigious short story competition organised by RTÉ in memory of the late author, Francis MacManus. Dónal Minihane is General Manager of Hotel Doolin and the organiser of a number of popular local cultural festivals, including Doolin Writers’ Weekend. His short story ‘Windsea’ impressed a judging panel of accomplished writers and secured a place on the shortlist, which was whittled down from almost 2,800 entries. The story will be among those read on RTÉ on week nights from next Monday, September 27 to October 8. Dónal, who is a PhD student of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick (UL), described ‘Windsea’ as the monologue of a misjudged teenager as he holds his landlord, who has shot his dog, at gunpoint.  “I’d the lad and his mum in my head for a few years,” he explained. “I got the story down one morning. It came out …

TEN people were assisted by Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat volunteers over the weekend in two separate incidents where cruise boats were reported to have run aground on the lake. On Sunday Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat to launch to assist seven people on a 45ft cruiser. At 1.35pm the lifeboat Jean Spier launched with helm Owen Cavanagh, crew Steve Smyth, Tom Hayes and Michael O’Sullivan on board. While en route to the stricken vessel, Valentia reported a further three people in need of assistance on a separate 30ft cruiser. At 2.08pm the lifeboat had the initial casualty vessel in sight; aground on a shoal near Navigation Mark G on the Tipperary shore. Marine engineers from the cruise hire company arrived on scene at the same time. The lifeboat remained on standby until the engineers had the cruiser off the shoal and the scene was safe. At 2.30pm the lifeboat departed to assist the three people on the …

Shortlist of five candidates interviewed by Ministers Ryan and Naughton FIVE people were in the final round of interviews for the position of chair of Shannon Group and a decision is expected by the end of September. Responding to questions from Clare TDs Cathal Crowe and Violet Anne Wynne, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan told the Dáil the process of appointing a new person to the position, which has been vacant for more than a year, is in its final stages. “The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and I have recently concluded interviews for potential candidates, who were proposed by the Public Appointments Service. “All five people we interviewed were eminently qualified, which makes for a difficult decision. We hope to conclude that process within the coming days, and return to the Government and then to the Dáil with details of the appointment of a suitable chair. “I am confident that we will be able to get someone who is very …

A battle of the senior and intermediate champions tops the billing for Round 2 of the Senior Ladies Football Championship when Banner Ladies host Kilmurry Ibrickane in Banner GAA on Sunday at 2pm. In a repeat of last year’s senior decider, the Ennis side repeated the dose against West Clare Gaels last weekend while Kilmurry Ibrickane were edged out by 2019 winners Kilmihil in contrasting opening bouts, with anything the ‘Bricks could get out of Sunday’s fixture being a major bonus. Also determined to get off the mark will be Cooraclare and West Clare Gaels who meet in Cooraclare on Saturday evening at 6pm. The sides famously last met in last September’s semi-final that saw the 2010 winners finally end Cooraclare’s superb return to senior level despite a rousing second half fightback by 3-9 to 1-10. The tie of Round 2 however is the intriguing wrestle for supremacy between Kilmihil and St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield in Kilmihil on Sunday evening (6pm) …

Clare Pyrite Group: Defective block providers and regulatory failures must be exposed CALLS for a public inquiry into damage caused by defective concrete blocks have been backed by the founder of the Clare Pyrite Action Group, following the completion of a position paper by affected homeowners in Donegal and Mayo. Dr Martina Cleary said that while the priority is to ensure homeowners are fully financially supported to rebuild their properties, those who produced the defective materials and those who failed to regulate the sector must be pursued. “There is a lot of concern about particular providers,” Dr Cleary said. “A public inquiry absolutely has to happen, but that should be after compensation and redress are provided. Redress must come first, but these companies cannot be allowed to get off the hook.” The call for a full public inquiry, as well as an apology to homeowners, is one of the recommendations of the position paper submitted last week to the Department …