News

A WELL known North Clare hotel is facing closure for a temporary period due to chronic staff shortages, it emerged this week. Staff shortages in the hospitality sector in the Burren could hamper Autumn bookings, following one of the busiest summers in the region in recent years in terms of Irish visitors. Hotels and self-catering accommodation providers have reported bookings are up on last year, due to a combination of recent fine weather and the desire to holiday at home due to coronavirus restrictions, abroad. Despite Ireland’s vaccine roll out success many people are still putting off taking international holidays until next year. But an exodus of staff from the sector is proving to be a major hurdle for many businesses in the Burren region. One of the businesses badly affected by staff shortages is Gregans Castle Hotel in Ballyvaughan. Simon Haden, owner of Gregans Castle said the hotel are extremely busy up to the end of October. However, he …

AUDIENCES will make a welcome return to the Mounsthannon Arts Festival later this month, but arts enthusiasts will have to be content with staying in the open air in view of Covid-19 restrictions. Last year, key elements of the festival programme had to transfer online, on-air and to a special ‘sound sanctuary’ on the shores of Lough Derg, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, the organisers are hoping to provide a mixture of online, on-air and open air events, with an eclectic mixture of entertainment for all the family, subject to Covid-19 guidelines. Nestled on the western banks of Lough Derg, Mountshannon is one of Ireland’s most beautiful villages, and has an ancient monastic settlement just off shore, on Inis Cealtra, or Holy Island as it is known locally. The Mountshannon Arts Festival is celebrating 25 years since its inception and appreciates the assistance it received from all its supporters during this time. Each year brings a new collection …

CLARE people are being urged to get on their bike on Friday September 10, World Suicide Prevention Day, to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention. Cycle Against Suicide are inviting local communities to join its “Bike4Life: One Day – One Goal”. Held annually, Bike4Life is part of the fundraising effort of Cycle Against Suicide, an organisation dedicated to greater public awareness and community-based assistance for individuals at risk. “If you or someone you know needs help, reach out. Speaking up to a trusted person about depression, suicide or grief is the first step to saving a life,” Caroline Lafferty, Cycle Against Suicide CEO stated. “The risk of suicide is heightened when people are not able to talk about their mental health challenges to others. Very often men and women at risk feel they have no one to talk to about suicidal thoughts and the conditions that cause them.” To combat the stigma, shame and fear around mental health that …

SHANNON recorded the highest average temperature in Ireland this summer, official statistics from Met Éireann show. The mean temperature at Shannon during the summer (which Met Éireann defines as June, July and August) was 16.2 degrees celsius, half a degree above Shannon’s long term average. Shannon had 458 hours of sunshine during the three months, 5% above average. The amount of rainfall was 16% below average. It its overall summary of the season, Met Éireann said it had been quite dry and warm. “Summer 2021 was warm everywhere and relatively dry overall, especially in the South and East,” the report stated. The widespread heat waves during July and dry spells in June and July were especially notable events. This June was provisionally recorded as the third driest ever, with the Jetstream staying mostly to the north of the country. This allowed high pressure to stay in control. It was driest, warmest and sunniest in the Midlands, South and East, with …

Clare Beef Plan questions the transparency of department consultation CONCERN about the transparency surrounding an online Town Hall-style meeting in relation to proposed changes to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been expressed by a local farming representative. Clare Beef Plan vice-chairman, Pat Nagle, isn’t happy with the way the two and a half-hour meeting was conducted by the Department of Agriculture as part of its efforts to involve farmers in a public consultation process. Mr Nagle, who participated in the virtual meeting, recalled Department officials outlined a section of the CAP proposals concerning suckler operators. “You could ask a question, but you didn’t know whether it would be answered or not. Beef Plan submitted a number of questions and I believe none of them were answered. It would have been better if the questions posed were displayed visually in some format, which would be far more transparent.” The Liscannor farmer claimed the meeting was akin to a “tick the …

REGENERATION and resilience will be celebrated in Mountshannon later this month, thanks to a collaboration between diverse members of the East Clare arts community. The pandemic presented all kinds of hurdles in terms of live performance and, after taking their offerings online in 2020, Mountshannon Arts Festival this year opted for two mini-festivals on the theme of ‘regeneration’. The first event was held in June and the second is scheduled for September 24-26, traditionally the weekend of the Mountshannon Trad Festival, which ran to huge acclaim between 2010 and 2019. Aistear Park will be the focal point for a weekend of arts events and traditional music and will host an open air market for the duration. The collaboration has been made possible thanks to a funding award secured by Cliodhna Donnellan, artist, promoter, producer and co-ordinator of Mountshannon Trad Festival, under the Live Outdoor Local Performance Scheme from Clare County Council. The event will provide a platform for traditional artists …

Talented sportsman Niall O’Brien, who died a week ago following an alleged assault in Greece, was remembered at his funeral mass Monday, as a “loyal, witty, warm, rogue” who left his family and friends with a “treasury of love”, reports David Raleigh. The 21-year old from Castletroy, Limerick, and Broadford, County Clare, was “at the centre of fun, having it, and creating it”, his aunt Pauline said. Several hundred mourners looked on in silence as Mr O’Brien’s coffin was shouldered into Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Milford, Limerick, draped in the jerseys of several sporting clubs for whom he played. Friends from school, college, and sports clubs, in Monaleen, Castletroy and Broadford performed guards of honour as the cortège travelled the short distance from Mr O’Brien’s home in Castletroy to the church. Loved ones placed symbols of his life, including a family photograph; his hurley; a collage of photos of him and his friends; a deck of cards; and …

THE HSE has elected to suspend walk-in Covid-19 testing at its Ennis Test Centre due to high volumes of people attending. Testing is still available at the Covid-19 Test Centre in Ballymaley Business Park, but only by appointment. Tests can be booked via the HSE website, or through your GP. The centre’s opening hours of 11:10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. are unaffected. The changes take effect from tomorrow, Tuesday, September 7, and will be kept under review. There has been an increased demand for testing over recent weeks, and the past few days have been very busy in Ennis with over 2,000 tests conducted in the last week alone. Exceptionally high demand has also been reported in the Ennis test centre this Monday, September 6). Norma Quirke, Community Testing Lead with HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare says: “We are appealing to the public for their patience and assistance while our staff deal with high numbers presenting for Covid-19 testing. “While it …