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11-year-old Lissycasey school girl cuts 14 inches from her ponytail to raise funds for Rapunzel Foundation AN 11-year-old from Lissycasey has gathered together sizeable funds for the Rapunzel Foundation after cutting off her long ponytail for the charity, and the fundraiser is still ongoing. On Thursday, June 24, Sarah McSweeney donated fourteen inches of hair to the Rapunzel Foundation after growing it patiently for a couple of years. Mary, Sarah’s mother, explained that while they got Sarah’s hair cut regularly in order to keep it in good condition, Sarah was always very diligent to remind the hairdressers she visited that they could not take too much off. Mary added: “She has a great level of determination. When she puts her mind to something, she sticks to it, and especially when it’s for charity. “We have a GoFundMe, which has raised €1300, but she has also got an awful lot of cash donations as well, from people who couldn’t use the …

AN Ennis pharmacist has described the demand for the Covid-19 vaccine from 18 to 34 year olds as “phenomenal”. From Monday a number of pharmacies in Clare started administering Covid-19 vaccines to the 18-34 year old cohort as part of the national programme. According to pharmacist Brendan Rochford of Rochford’s Pharmacies in Ennis and Corofin, “The announcement on Friday morning caught us completely by surprise. The phones started ringing non-stop from 9am last Friday. “Our staff have been fantastic dealing with such a huge volume of enquiries.” Rochford’s had already been administering vaccines to the over 50s age group but, according to Brendan the numbers were much smaller compared to the volume of enquiries they have received for the 18-34 yr old age group.  “We have an online vaccine booking system on our website www.rochfordspharmacy.ie which is very efficient but we had to get this set up for the 18-34 year old age group so it was late on Friday before we got …

Clare Cup Division 1A Round 4 Feakle v Inagh-Kilnamona at Feakle, Saturday, 4.30pm (Jim Hickey) Depending on results, Feakle could be Clare Cup champions for the first time since 1988 on Saturday evening. For all the arguments surrounding the condensed format, it would be a major boost for the squad, their new management team under PJ Kelleher and of course the club as this would be their first senior silverware since that historic double winning season 33 years earlier. What has made their run all the more impressive is that they have been without key players which for a squad not renowned for its strength-in-depth will give Feakle great momentum for the championship, regardless of the outcome of the next two matches. Inevitably however, the pressure ramps up for their remaining ties against the last finalists Inagh-Kilnamona and Kilmaley. Inagh-Kilnamona, who have been affected much more by the absence of inter-county senior and Under 20 contingents, haven’t anything to play …

MORE than 24,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered by the UL Hospitals’ Group last week, as the incidence of the virus remains low in Clare. In the week to close of business on Sunday, July 4, a total of 24,081 doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered across the group’s three area vaccination centres in Limerick Racecourse, Treacy’s West County Hotel, Ennis, and the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh. This brings to 216,762 the total vaccines administered under the UL Hospitals’ Group 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. This figure does not include the vaccination work undertaken by their colleagues in Mid-West Community Healthcare, the National Ambulance Service, General Practitioners and pharmacists. The regional total for the group’s Covid-19 vaccination programme last week was composed of 14,086 vaccines administered in Limerick Racecourse; 4,746 in the West County, Ennis; and 5,249 in …

RELOCATING the proposed new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) cannot be ruled out in the interests of ensuring women’s healthcare is free of religious influence, a Clare TD has said. Plans to move the facility from Holles Street to a site beside St Vincent’s Hospital have been bogged down in controversy over governance and ownership. Deputy Violet Anne Wynne told The Champion that if a move to co-locate the new facility with Tallaght Hospital has to be considered, it should be. “The new hospital has been in the pipeline since the 1990s and it has been in the Programme for Government since 2013,” she outlined. “Maternal healthcare and women’s healthcare generally must be provided by the State, without interference or influence from outside the public realm.” Deputy Wynne’s comments came as thousands attended a rally outside Leinster House last Saturday afternoon over the ongoing ownership of the new site by Religious Sisters of Charity. The order previously said it intends to …

CLARE pharmacists are struggling to meet the “phenomenal” demand for Covid-19 vaccines for the 18 to 34-year-old cohort, with a lack of supply leaving young people facing waiting times. Last Friday’s unexpected announcement from Health Minister Stephen Donnelly confirming pharmacies would be administering the vaccine to this young cohort resulted in a huge volumes of calls for appointments, which resulted in regular patients experiencing difficulties getting through on phone lines to order medication. There was a huge surge in Kilkee where Sean Hurst of Hurst Pharmacy, estimated he had 4,500 enquiries due the huge influx of holidaymakers in the popular West Clare resort since the minister’s announcement. He said Kilkee has the capacity to take 25,000 holidaymakers and daytrippers over the weekend, who would all happily walk into his pharmacy for the vaccine following media reports vaccines would be made available last weekend. “It was phenomenal. People were ringing us from Ennis to get a vaccine. I am the only …

Munster U-20 Football Championship Quarter-Final Waterford 4-5 Clare 1-9 A BELOW par performance by a Clare U-20 side that many thought had the potential to reach the Munster Final saw Michael Neylon’s charge dumped out the championship at the first hurdle, reports Michael O’Connor. A hat-trick of goals by Waterford full-forward Tom O’Connell was instrumental in this Deice’s win as they grew in confidence and finished the second-half the better. Clare senior Emmet McMahon opened the scoring with an 45 metre effort in the second minute as John Murphy operated as the sweeper with Cillian Rouine slipping back to wingback. Cillian McGroary added a second point just before Cillian Rouine was inches wide for a fifth minute goal chance. The first attack by Waterford ended in a free, sent wide by their captain Niall McSweeney, which Clare’s Mark McInerney matched from play from the resultant kickout. The entire Clare half-forward line were on the scoresheet by the ninth minute as …

A FEAST of entertainment fit for a king will be offered online and outdoor for locals and visitors during the 28th annual Féile Brian Ború, which runs from July 7 to July 11. Last year, people were disappointed with the cancellation of the festival due to Covid-19. However, it goes ahead this year, albeit with some changes in line with Covid-19 restrictions. Earlier in this year, Arlene White of Féile Brian Ború, recalled the organising committee weren’t sure if the festival would go ahead and were fortunate to apply for, and be granted funding. “I think it could be very hard to come back and organise a festival next year, if we took this year off, presuming next July should be okay concerning Covid-19. “There is a buzz of excitement about the festival this year. While we don’t have events organised for Sunday, July 11, we are hoping people will download one of the new apps and explore the sites …