News

THE generosity of music lovers from far and wide is helping to save a highly anticipated release of a vinyl record capturing the magic of a very special concert in Ennis. Last year The Clare Champion spoke with Sinéad Nic Síoda of the Record Break vinyl store and cafe about her plans to release a record of the concert in St Columba’s Church in memory of her late partner Shaun Meates, sharing with us they had always dreamed of releasing their own vinyl. While the concert and recording was a success, with a number of well known musicians giving their support to the planned album, Sinéad was stunned when the manufacturers went into liquidation earlier this year. Despite this set-back, she is determined to make her and Shaun’s dream come true and a fundraising campaign aimed at saving the album release was launched. Sinéad has been thrilled with the response to the online fundraiser, which at the time of going …

WITH Shannon Airport enjoying an excellent year, it might be assumed that tourism businesses in the nearby area are also, but the reality is more complex. Maurice Walsh is General Manager of Durty Nelly’s in Bunratty, and he said the local night time economy has gone missing. “Bunratty is flying at the moment, but at night time there’s nobody in the village after 9.30,, that’s where it’s falling down. There seems to be decent enough footfall during the day but we don’t have anything in the village after that, there’s no accommodation down this side.” He said that the summer of 2024 certainly won’t go down as a vintage season. “It will be back on other years, though it’s strong during the day, it’s weak at night and the weather hasn’t helped. The Castle does seem to be getting decent numbers, but having that said there would have been two banquets a night and now there is just one most …

    Tuamgraney’s internationally acclaimed novelist Edna O’Brien has been buried in Holy Island in keeping with a request she made to her family years ago. In the region of 150 mourners were ferried from Knockphort, Mountshannon to this picturesque monastic site by numerous boats with assistance from Clare Civil Defence volunteers and under the watchful eye of the Killaloe Coast Guard and the RNLI. Chief Celebrant Fr Donagh O’Meara described Ms O’Brien as an “extraordinary woman” and “speaker of truth” who held up a mirror to Irish society during her Funeral Mass in St Joseph’s Church, Tuamgraney on Saturday. “We didn’t thank her for it. Like a lot of prophetesses of the past, we undermined her, we isolated her and rejected her message and she must have deeply felt that,” he admitted in reference to the fact that her debut novel Country Girls was banned and burned in East Clare in 1960. He noted that it must have been …

A 32-year-old mountaineer from West Clare who recently completed a gruelling climb of Mont Blanc in the Alps has cautioned it is not a feat to be attempted without previous climbing experience. PJ Byrne from Kilkee summited Western Europe’s highest mountain, 4,500 metres, just weeks after he climbed Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, 5,900metres. Climbing mountains was not always in the plan for the Clare man. Living in Bahrain, he generally keeps fit by playing Gaelic football with his local GAA club, the Arabian Celts and doing mixed martial arts (MMA) training. He had not previously climbed mountains but always up for a challenge, when he heard his friend Nadeem Kunwar was planning to climb Mt Kilimanjaro followed by Mont Blanc, he decided to get a piece of the action too and jumped right in. Unaccustomed to climbing however, Mont Blanc would prove to be a technically challenging climb for PJ. “Mont Blanc is more strenuous physically – it is …

Ballina Riverside Pool has made a big splash to mark its 50th anniversary by unveiling its future plans for solar panels to cut its expensive electricity costs. This heated 25-metre outdoor pool opened its doors for the first time during the August Bank Holiday weekend in 1974. There was a carnival atmosphere at the pool on Saturday with pop and rock music provided by DJ Vinny as well as refreshments organised by Lisa O’Sullivan and Mary Collins Cora Scanlon won a season family pass for the pool in 2025 worth about €1,800. Pool Co-ordinator, Paddy Collins has been a constant presence at the pool, which is managed by Tipperary County Council but is run by a local committee. “It is great to keep any community project going for 50 years. Living beside the River Shannon, every child should learn how to swim,” he said. Back in the early seventies, there was no playground or astro-turf all-weather training area as the …

THE Clare uncle of gold medal winning Olympic rower Paul O’Donovan has spoken of their family’s pride in his achievement describing the historic win in Paris as “fantastic”. O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy won a gold medal in the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls final at the Paris Olympics and among those cheering them on during the finals at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium by Paul’s uncle Mike Doab. Mike and his wife were part of a strong contingent of Irish fans who travelled to Paris to show their support for the Cork rowers as they successfully defended their title to claim back-to-back golds, crossing the finish line with a time of 6:10:99. O’Donovan has become the first Irish athlete to medal at three Olympics, having previously won in Rio and Tokyo. He is the grandson of John Doab from Connolly Villas in Ennis, with their uncle Mike who lives in Ennis, is well-known locally having run a butchers in Clarecastle. Speaking in …

The Irish are a travelling people, and wherever we go, we take pieces of our culture and our way of life with us. This is something that exists deep within our blood, in our cultural DNA, and something that we share with all of our Celtic ancestors. Clare musicians Tara Breen and Pádraig Rynne have teamed up with virtuoso Cork guitarist, Jim Murry to explore this very Celtic connection in their debut album Odyssey. The album, which was released last week, features tunes collected by the trio throughout their long and well-travelled musical careers. It features tunes from diverse locations, thousands of miles apart, places that, on the surface, are very different from each other. What unites them is the Celtic and then the Irish willingness to travel, and to bring the tradition with them everywhere they go. “We picked up a lot of the music [we play] on our travels,” said Pádraig. “On the album we have a track …

A new art installation which has the local community at its core is set to open at Miltown Malbay in mid-August. It is hoped the time machine project located at the former Bank of Ireland building on the town’s main street will enable people to experience what it is like to travel through time, and be transported from 1984 to 2084. Award winning artists Alex Gill and Maeve Stone of Cracking Light Productions have been building a time machine in Miltown Malbay. The one-of-a-kind immersive experience has been informed and inspired by conversations with local participants, and will transform the beautiful premises of the former Bank of Ireland building. The ideal location in the centre of town means visitors can experience the project in person and revisit their once bustling community bank, alongside Friel’s Pub. The bank’s new owner, Aoife O’Malley has been transforming the building into a creative hub for artists and designers, and earlier this summer she launched …