News

THE Do Not Consume notice impacting the Shannon/Sixmilebridge Public Water Supply, has been lifted with immediate effect. Irish Water has confirmed that, following consultation and agreement with the HSE, the notice, issued on foot of elevated levels of manganese in the water supply, has been lifted. The do not consume notice affected approximately 7,500 customers and was in place since Saturday August 7. Irish Water and Clare County Council’s drinking water compliance and operational teams worked to resolve the situation as quickly and as safely as possible. An intensive programme of flushing, reservoir cleaning and water quality sampling has been undertaken to allow this notice to be lifted following consultation with the HSE. Irish Water is working to identify and implement further improvement measures which will reduce the risk of a similar issues occurring in the future Duane O’Brien, Irish Water, said: “Irish Water acknowledges and understands the impact this Do Not Consume Notice had on the communities on the …

A 59-year old year old man “just wanted to give a young fella a kick up the backside” when he doused him in petrol in his bedroom, a court has heard. That is according defence solicitor, John Casey for the accused, Mark Davies, who said that his client was “pushed over the edge” prior to the incident in Jason Morris’s bedroom on September 27 last. At Ennis District Court, Sergeant Louis Moloney said that on the night of the domestic incident at Fountain, Toonagh, outside Ennis, Mark Davies of Lower Market Street, Ennis went into the bedroom of his partner’s son, Jason Morris with a canister of petrol and poured petrol on Mr Morris and his bed. Sergeant Moloney stated that it is alleged that Mr Davies then threatened to set the petrol alight with a lighter. Mr Morris reported the incident to Gardai who arrived and declared the house a crime scene. Personnel from the Clare Fire Service also …

A PROHIBITION on swimming at a popular west Clare beach has been issued on foot of advice from the HSE. Clare County Council, on the advice of the HSE, has placed a prohibition on swimming in White Strand Miltown Malbay. The ban is due to increased bacterial levels in the bathing water at the beach as a result of recent rainfall. The local authority is appealing to the public not to swim at the beach until further notice.

HAPPY staff are more productive so the saying goes, in which case they’re all busy at Clare’s premier tourist attraction. The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience has been awarded Great Place to Work Certification, an international accreditation system for evaluating a company’s workplace and culture against strict benchmarks. “We are honoured to receive this certification and also thrilled this award is based solely on employees’ survey responses,” said Geraldine Enright, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience. “The past 14 months have been very challenging for the organisation and for the wider tourism sector,” said Ms Enright. “This certification reflects the continuous hard work undertaken to strengthen the connection with our staff and to develop an inclusive and rewarding culture. Taking care of people means we are taking care of our visitors and our staff and we remain focused on taking care of both. “The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience attracts and retains the best of talent because we …

AS Ennistymon prepares to take part in the nationwide Poetry Town initiative next month, its new Poet Laureate was revealed today. Poetry Ireland, in conjunction with Clare County Council Arts Office, has appointed Grace Wells as the Poet Laureate for the town. An award-winning eco-poet, author, re-wilder, and yoga teacher, Grace says she was looking forward to celebrating the town’s “dynamic sense of place”. She added: “I love living in Ennistymon and am so proud to be invited to be the town’s Laureate. As an eco-poet navigating the griefs of environmental collapse, it’s so helpful to belong to a community where people are genuinely working to halt Ireland’s biodiversity loss, and actively creating initiatives to help the country become carbon-neutral. “Poetry can support these transitions. Ennistymon already has rich literary roots, it’s both the birthplace of Brian Merriman, and the home of Salmon Press, so I’m hoping to fuse some of these creative energies together, and really celebrate the town’s …

IT’S that time of year again when Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board invites you to #FindTheBestInYou and choose a Further Education and Training course that will help you do just that. With this in mind its College of Further Education and Training Ennis Campus has put together a superb offering this autumn, which will allow you to expand your options and develop skills you will need for your future career. The modern campus is ideally located in Clonroad Business Park, just off the Clon Road in Ennis, providing a variety of relevant and innovative Further Education and Training courses for learners, local communities, and enterprise in Clare over the last 25 years. Thanks to continuous expansion and renovation, learners at the college can avail of the very best of facilities as they embark on their career path through an extensive range of full-time and flexible, part-time offerings. Courses on offer are ideal for unemployed early school leavers, adults …

THE founder of a Donegal action group on defective concrete blocks is urging homeowners in Clare to work together on a national campaign for better redress. Paddy Diver from Carndonagh said an “all-Ireland movement” is needed to persuade the government to extend the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme to counties beyond Donegal and Mayo, and to increase the level of redress to 100%. Mr Diver, who is part of a working group set up to examine the scheme, warned that the situation in Clare, where more than 50 homeowners have joined a local action group, may yet be as serious as that in Donegal where an estimated 5,000 homes are affected. While County Donegal homes are experiencing damage due to mica, its impact is similar to that caused by the pyrite that is present in Mayo, Clare and potentially several other counties. “We really need to pull together on this,” Mr Diver told The Champion. “Whatever we get from government, it’ll …

AN Bord Pleanála has overturned the decision of Clare County Council in February to reject an application from Eircom for an 18-metre mast in Kilfenora. The telecommunications company appealed that decision to An Bord Pleanála, who have now granted approval. According to the original County Council decision, such developments can only go close to populated areas, but the An Bord Pleanála inspector was of the view that there had been a misinterpretation. “In my opinion,” wrote the planning inspector, “the Planning Authority have incorrectly applied the appropriate ‘last resort’ test in this instance. The test they applied relates to ‘larger towns and in city suburbs’.” The inspector was also of the view that the facility was required, due to the poor state of coverage in the area. “I have reviewed ComReg’s online Outside Coverage Map1 for this area and note that for Ireland’s three main service providers coverage generally ranges from ‘Fringe’ to ‘No Coverage’ for 4G, from ‘Fringe’ to …