News

THE artist at the centre of the latest controversy about the painting of a Púca – half-man, half-horse – on a new mural in Ennistymon believes public consultation isn’t necessary. Plans by Clare County Council to erect a two-metre sculpture of a Púca on Lower Church Hill, Ennistymon, were put on hold earlier this year following significant local opposition, which included an online petition. Even though this statue also attracted significant support, a lot of opponents expressed concern about the lack of public consultation around the project. The placing of a Púca image on a new mural on the side of Unglert’s Bakery just a short distance from Blake’s Corner in the centre of Ennistymon has reignited public debate about this controversial image. However, Jonny O’Gorman, who hopes to fully complete the mural before Culture Night on September 21, believes public consultation is not necessary for a piece of art on private property. Living directly opposite Unglert’s Bakery, Jonny has …

Yeshua O’Brien-Bayer raises €1,215 for Irish Guide Dogs with Carrauntoohil climb A KILLAlOE teenager has completed a “nerve wracking” charity challenge by climbing Ireland’s highest mountain blindfolded. Not content with going up and down Carrauntoohil eight times in seven days in August 2020, Yeshuah O’Brien-Bayer (15) climbed to the top without the benefit of his eyes on Saturday. Standing at 1,039m, Carrauntoohil is the highest mountain in Ireland and is set among the Macgillycuddy Reeks in Co Kerry. On Friday morning, Yeshuah left for Carrauntohil with a support group to prepare for the climb, which started at 8.35am from Cronin’s Yard the following day. They included his father, Hergen Bayer, uncle Emmanuel Bayer, Dominik Maslanek, Shane Oakley, Scott Chatterson and Camden Chatterson. To add to the sense of occasion, John Cronin from Cronin’s Yard put the blindfold on Yeshuah. It took Yeshuah four hours and twenty minutes to reach the top of the mountain blindfolded, compared to his usual time …

ALMOST 350,000 vaccines against Covid-19 have been delivered by the UL Hospitals’ Group vaccination programme, according to official figures. In the week to close of business on Sunday, September 5, a total of 5,638 doses of Covid-19 vaccines were administered across the Mid-West Vaccination Centres at Limerick Racecourse, the West County Hotel, Ennis, and the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh. This brings to 346,936 the total vaccines administered under the UL Hospitals’ Group vaccination programme since it began on January 4, and includes healthcare workers, residents and staff of nursing homes, and patients in the various cohorts and age groups. The total to date also includes 13,205 vaccines that have been administered to 12-15-year-olds. However, this total does not include the vaccination work undertaken by colleagues in HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare, the National Ambulance Service, General Practitioners and pharmacists. Last week’s regional total for the UL Hospitals’ Group programme was composed of 2,609 vaccines administered in Limerick Racecourse; 1,648 in the …

Ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day on Friday, September 10th, Pieta – the suicide prevention charity has shared information on ways you can stay informed if you are worried that someone you love is considering taking their own life. When a loved-one or friend is behaving in a worrying way, it is difficult to know how to help them. Pieta is urging everyone to become more informed on potential ’Signs of Suicide’ that someone may display if they are considering taking their own life, so that you can help your loved one to move away from suicide, and towards hope.   Pieta therapists have found that most people who talk about suicide do not want to die. They simply want to stop the pain they feel. Knowing some of the signs to listen and watch out for is the first step in helping someone:  Some signs to listen for:  • Talking or writing about hurting themselves, dying or saying that they want to die  • Talking about ways to …

IN March of last year, Shannon was all set to have its first Park Run but Covid put paid to those plans. Something like normality has returned, however, and there are plans to start holding the weekly runs from next month, all going well. “Because of Covid we haven’t been able to get it going. We’ve been signed up with VHI since then, Clare Sports Partnership put up the money, there was an initial outlay of €4,000 and Clare Sports Partnership put up the money,” said Niamh O’Callaghan of the Love Shannon Community Council, which is working on the project. “It’s going to be one of the only ones that has a loop, so you see different things. It’s actually beautiful, it’s down along the estuary. One of the ideas was to show people that Shannon isn’t just an industrial estate and an airport, that there’s more to it than that.” The group would really like to hear from anyone …

Operation targeting organised crime gang yields cash, guns, drugs, cars and horses THREE people with Clare addresses have appeared in court charged in connection with one of the biggest garda operations targeting serious crime. Over half a million euro in cash and account funds; drugs; high-end vehicles; and horses including a €50,000 stallion, were seized during the major operation which took place in a series of raids, including along the Clare Limerick border. The garda investigation, code-named ‘Operation Coronation’, was specifically launched last year to target the assets of the Limerick based Keane Collopy crime gang. In excess of of 300 gardai from the Limerick Division, supported by national units, members of the Defence Forces, as well as officers from Revenue and Customs, swooped on 67 homes, premises, and lands. Nineteen suspects were arrested, 14 were charged, and five remained in custody. Two women and a man with Clare addresses were charged before Limerick District Court, Wednesday. They are accused …

A PHOTOGRAPHIC archive chronicling the evolution of Shannon town and the broader region is set to be made available globally. The Special Collections and Archives Department at University of Limerick’s Glucksman Library has been awarded significant funding to digitise the Shannon Development photographic archive. UL’s Special Collections has been awarded around €125,000 (£107,365) in funding from the Wellcome Trust to catalogue, conserve, digitise and increase accessibility to the key photographic archive, which boasts around 25,000–36,000 original photographic negatives. The funding is part of an overall award of almost €500,000 (£427,809) granted by Wellcome to the collaborative project ‘The New Jerusalems: post-war New Town archives in Britain and Ireland’, granted to a network of archives services to catalogue and conserve eleven post-war new town collections. This funding award from the global charitable foundation is significant for UL, as it will allow the Glucksman Library to hire dedicated project staff and to purchase the necessary materials to catalogue, digitise and rehouse the …

FUNDING of €186,975 has been allocated to Clare County Council to transform parts of Ennis to facilitate permanent outdoor dining. Francis Street, Lower Parnell Street, Abbey Street Car Park and the Temple Gate Plaza are set to benefit from the funding announced under Fáilte Ireland’s Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme. Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin TD and Fáilte Ireland announced the locations of 38 permanent Outdoor Dining facilities to be developed in 19 counties nationwide, including Clare. Fáilte Ireland’s Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme opened for applications in March 2021 and comprises two parts. Wednesday’s announcement relates to Part Two of the scheme. All local authorities were invited to apply to Fáilte Ireland for funding under Part Two – Local Authority Weatherproofing & Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme – to develop streets and public spaces to facilitate year-round weather-proofed outdoor dining in urban tourism centres.  Part One of the Scheme – Outdoor Seating and Accessories – supports individual hospitality businesses with grants of …