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Clooney man’s final letters: ‘We are dying as martyrs of Ireland’

One hundred years ago today Patrick Hennessy wrote his final letters before he was executed the following morning with his friend and fellow IRA man Con McMahon. Joe Ó Muircheartaigh looks at the bravery of the Clooney man’s words, who at the time of his death was secretary of the Clare County GAA Board.   It wasn’t until the last Wednesday of October in 1924 that Patrick Hennessy and Con McMahon were given the dignity of a proper burial — a resting place among their own people in Clooney, over 21 months after they had been executed in Limerick Gaol by an Irish Army firing squad. The bodies of the two volunteers had been kept at the gaol after their execution, with one theory being that the Bishop of Killaloe, who was a staunch supporter of the Cumann na nGaedheal government headed up by his personal friend, WT Cosgrove, refused to allow the bodies to be buried on consecrated ground …

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Clare cancer survivor turned to cannabis after Oxycontin hell

A WEST County Clare cancer survivor who turned to cannabis for pain relief after the “horrible” ‘Oxycontin’ opioid drug played havoc with him has been convicted of cultivating cannabis plants. At Kilrush District Court, Judge Mary Larkin fined James Lawrence (61) of Kiltumper, Kilmihil, Co Clare €100 after he pleaded guilty to the cultivation of cannabis without a licence at his home on July 3 2021. Judge Larkin told Mr Lawrence that she wished him well. She said that she just wished someone of Mr Lawrence’s age would find a better way and not have to come into court “and if he has issues, I would like him to resolve them without having to come in here”. Sergeant Louis Moloney told the court that during the course of a Garda search of Mr Lawrence’s home on July 3 2021, a quantity of cannabis herb was discovered in the living room and three cannabis plants were discovered in a bedroom. On …

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Man dies following serious collision in county Clare

Gardaí at Kilrush are appealing for witnesses following a fatal traffic collision on the N85 this Friday afternoon. Shortly after 1pm, Gardaí and emergency services were alerted to a collision involving three vehicles on the N85 near Inagh (on the Ennistymon side of Inagh village). The occupant of one of the vehicles, a man in his 60s, was pronounced dead the scene a short time later. Two other people injured in the collision were taken from the scene by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. Their injuries are not thought to be life threatening. The road at the scene is currently closed to facilitate examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators and traffic diversions are in place. Investigating Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to come forward. They are also appealing to those with camera footage (including dash cam) from the area at the time, to make it available to them. Anyone with information is …

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Clarecastle accident prompts calls for safer junction

A WOMAN was knocked down and injured in Clarecastle, sparking calls for action to be taken on a “dangerous junction” in the village. A meeting of the Ennis Municipal District last week heard Councillors Paul Murphy and Tom O’Callaghan voice their fears for public safety at the junction where three roads meet. Councillor Murphy proposed that a Road Safety application be prepared and submitted “as soon as possible” seeking funding to improve safety at the junction of Barrack Street, Old Road and Church Drive / Creggaunahilla. “This is a dangerous junction where three roads meet and there is the added complication of a carpark being adjacent to it also, a number of pedestrians have been knocked down and this needs to be given priority urgently,” he said. While Councillor O’Callaghan also asked the council to review the Church Drive road “on safety grounds in Clarecastle due to increased traffic to and from Creggaunnahilla Housing Estate”. Responding to both councillors’ proposals …

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Stark warning on challenges for retail businesses in Ennis

RETAILERS in Ennis have weathered “the perfect storm” in recent years and are now facing “retail Darwinism – survival of the fittest”, believes Ennis Chamber’s CEO Margaret O’Brien. The county capital has seen some retail outlets shut their doors for good, and there are fears that more closures are yet to come. However Ms O’Brien insists Ennis is “in strong position to attract new outlets”, adding that support is needed from the local authority and landlords to realise the town’s full potential. Meanwhile, Gwen Culligan, one of the county’s best known retailers, believes the coterie of agile, independent retailers in Ennis have given the town a strong backbone. “We can’t hold back change, but we can do our best to work with it, in order to survive and thrive,” she says. Ms O’Brien toldThe Clare Champion, “Recent years must have felt like a running battlefield for retailers. The Covid pandemic wreaked havoc for two years, then came the war in …

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Strong Clare links to co-winner of BT Young Scientist competition

ONE of the overall winners of this year’s BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) has strong connections to the Banner County it has emerged. Shane O’Connor, who along with his teammate Liam Carew took home the coveted top award, is the son of Mary O’Connor from Kildysart and her husband Michael. His cousin Owen O’Connor has wished the pair and their families “heartiest congratulations”. Shane’s uncles are Mike and Pat Casey, Kings Road Kildysart, his grand aunt is Maureen Corbett of Lisheen, Ballynacally and his grand uncle Tommy Eustace is also from Kildysart. “The lads were very dedicated and all of their work was recognised with this award. Shane loves spending time in Kildysart,” said Owen. Shane and Liam, both aged 18 and in sixth year in the Abbey School, Tipperary won with their project Assessing the impact of second-level education on key aspects of adolescents’ life and development. The coveted prize was presented to the winners in the RDS in Dublin …

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Road gritting has been good, but could be better – councillors

GRITTING of the county’s roads during December’s sub-zero temperatures was commended by Council members who also called for more to be done to keep rural routes safe. A joint motion, tabled by Councillors Cillian Murphy, Shane Talty, Ian Lynch, Joe Killeen, Joe Garrihy and Cathaoirleach Tony O’Brien highlighted “significant difficulties” in many rural communities. The motion also asked for a review of what constitutes a “strategic regional route” in the Council’s priority list in the winter gritting plan.  Councillor Murphy commended the work of Council teams over the cold snap. “There are a number of routes across the country that that seem to provide the critical key transport corridors for communities,” the Loop Head man said. “Just because they have lower population density, it does leave them at far more risk of isolation than many other communities. I had a call from the school in Kilkee where school and public transport were not operating because it was unsafe to do …

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Clare TD: UHL ‘a centre of death and disaster’ not excellence

NATIONAL HSE chiefs have defended the controversial removal of 24-hour Emergency Care from Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals following claims University Hospital Limerick is a “centre of death” and a “centre of disaster” for some patients who were left lying on trolleys. The latest criticism of this downgrading came at a Joint Health Committee meeting on Tuesday just days before thousands of hospital campaigners are expected to attend a major protest march in Limerick from Merchants Quay this Saturday. Deputy Cathal Crowe paid tribute to the frontline staff that have worked very hard to keep the hospital system some way functional. “There has been a perpetual crisis in the Mid-West and in particular UHL. We have a population in the mid-west of almost 500,000. There was a time when this population had five Emergency Care Departments, patients were provided with a level of care were discharged and went home. “Sometimes old ways are better. I think it is time the HSE …

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