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ENNIS will be formally recognised as a university town from Friday, October 1 when the new Technological University for the Mid-West and the Midlands will commence operations. Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris has confirmed to Clare Fine Gael TD, Joe Carey, that he will visit the Ennis campus in Bindon Street in the near future. “Thank you for all your support and engagement regarding the importance of a Technological University for the Mid-West region and how this could benefit both Ennis and Clare in terms of access to higher education, regional development and investment,” Minister Harris said in reply to a letter from Deputy Carey. “I am delighted to confirm to you that the new Technological University for the Shannon: Midlands Midwest will formally commence on the October 1. So from next month, Ennis will be a university town. I am very much looking forward to working with you on ensuring the county …

As part of the ongoing Operation Tara, a garda raid on a house in Ennis yielded drugs with a street value of almost €10,000 On Friday, September 17, at 9.10pm, gardaí from the Clare Divisional Drugs Unit carried out a search under warrant at a house in Ennis. They discovered a quantity of suspected Cannabis Herb with an estimated street value of €3,200 and suspected Cocaine with an estimated street value of €6,790. No arrests were made at the time but investigating Gardaí are following definite lines of enquiry and a file will be prepared for submission to the office of the DPP. The suspected controlled drugs will be forwarded to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis.

A MARRIED couple with a combined 157 years of “living peacefully and not troubling anyone” have been convicted over their refusal to wear face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic, writes Gordon Deegan. At Killaloe District Court, Judge Mary Larkin convicted Ryan Austin (81) and Nicky Austin (76) both of Woodpark, Mountshannon, Co Clare, over their refusal to wear face masks at the Aldi store in Killaloe during a Covid-19 lockdown on January 26. Solicitor for the two, Billy Loughnane said that his two clients have “over 150 years of living peacefully and never causing trouble in all that time”. The two contested the prosecution and Mr Loughnane said: “They are a very private people. The non wearing of masks by this couple was a private matter and not any form of public protest.” Mr Loughnane said that the wearing of masks causes stress to both of them. He said that their GP, as a matter of policy, won’t provide letters …

A MAJOR search and rescue operation was mounted this afternoon after a small boat with two people on board was reported to be in serious danger off the Clare coast, reports Pat Flynn. The two fishermen are said to have had a lucky escape after their small boat was capsized by a wave before being tossed onto rocks. The men, believed to Polish, got into difficulty north of Doolin Point after their boat engine failed in rough seas. At around 3.20pm, the harbour master’s office at Doolin raised the alarm after a crew member on board a local ferry reported a boat with two people on board in difficulty north of Doolin. It’s also understood that concern for the fishermen’s safety had been expressed earlier in the afternoon when they were spotted fishing in rough seas. Conditions at the time were said to be ‘difficult’ with a westerly force 5 to 6 wind and a large swell reported in the …

THE runway at Shannon Airport was closed for almost two hours this afternoon after a business aircraft suffered a burst tyre on landing, reports Pat Flynn. The privately owned Pilatus PC-12 was left disabled on the runway after landing at around midday. It’s understood that the crew had been undergoing flight training at the airport at the time of the incident. The crew of the single-engine turbo-prop aircraft carried out aborted take-off and missed approach procedures before taking off and entering a training circuit and returning to land again. After landing again at around 12.18pm, the left side main landing gear tyre burst but the plane was brought to a safe stop by the crew. The runway however was left closed while the plane remained disabled. Airport operations personnel and an airport fire and rescue service vehicle responded to the incident. One inbound aircraft, a Ryanair flight from Kaunas, had to divert to Dublin while the aircraft was left disabled …

CONCERN has been aired by a local councillor about incidents of anti-social behaviour in Ennis, writes Dan Danaher. Councillor Mary Howard expressed concern at a recent Joint Policing Committee about boy racers operating near Shiels’ Garage following a number of complaints from people who are working early in the morning. “Cars are being revved up in the car park and a lot of noise is being made with handbrake turns. Some people want to sleep at night but they can’t because boy racers are gathering at night time,” she said. She also raised concern about a complaint from a woman who was trying to park near Ennis Cathedral but was intimidated by drunk people in the vicinity of the parking ticket machine. This prompted the woman to return to her car and drive away to find another parking spot in the town. “These people are picking awkward spots to hang around in Ennis. People are frightened when they come upon …

THE Samaritans Ireland impact report has shown very high usage the service, which in Clare answers around 1,600 calls per month. Launched on Friday, World Suicide Prevention Day, the report showed that, nationwide, the organisation answered over 560,000 calls and emails, providing over 100,000 hours of listening support. Margaret McMahon director of the Clare branch, on the Kilrush Road in Ennis, said they had to do without the services of a number of committed volunteers for periods of time last year due to Covid-19. “We had a lot of volunteers who had to cocoon so people just took extra shifts and that was challenging. So many people had to cocoon but they’re all back again, they’re great,” she said. With around 1,600 calls per month coming into the local branch, “The phones are always busy,” she said. Virtually everyone had their lifestyle turned upside down by the pandemic, sending stress levels into orbit, and this was reflected in the calls …

BUS services in North Clare have been criticised as “sporadic and unpredictable” with calls being made on Bus Éireann and the Minister for Transport to address this “public transport crisis”. Denis Vaughan, chair of North Clare Labour, gave an example of a lady in Ennistymon who was left waiting three hours for a Bus Éireann bus to Ennis. “This is typical of the poor bus services which are very often late or even cancelled,” he said. He added that he has been approached by a number of tourists who have expressed dissatisfaction with the service. Bus Éireann has acknowledged that an increase in road traffic volumes over the summer tourist season has impacted on the speed and punctuality of some services, adding, “We are always working to improve this.” According to the national bus service there have been “minimal issues” with cancelled services on routes in the area in recent weeks, and customers affected have been urged to make complaints …