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Broadford v Clonlara at Broadford, Friday, 7.30pm A first derby meeting since the intermediate champions unceremoniously knocked Clonlara out of last year’s championship and soared into a senior quarter-final against another neighbour Sixmilebridge. Both, whether by necessity or choice, have delved deep into their panels for new hands to potentially be put up ahead of the championship so this local duel should tell the respective managements a lot more about their strength-in-depth. Of course, Clonlara’s Jimmy Browne is manager of Broadford but it may not be enough to work the oracle once more as Clon’s new-look side appear hungry and determined to maintain their perfect start. Inagh-Kilnamona v Ballyea at Inagh, Friday, 7.30pm If asked to name two sides that would be pointless after two rounds, one would hardly have chosen this pair. That said, aside from Ballyea’s 2019 league burst, such is their dual inter-county commitments that they have been content to ply their trade in Division 1B of …

CLARE’S multi-million euro hospitality sector will be disproportionately hit by the latest “farcical” and “unworkable” restrictions in indoor dining, a local TD has claimed. Deputy Michael McNamara has confirmed he will try to put the latest extension of Covid-19 restrictions for the hospitality sector to a Dáil vote with the help of other Independent deputies. He said it now seems the government is going down the road of a form of “medical apartheid” where non-residents of a bar or restaurant can only enjoy a meal indoors if fully vaccinated. Expressing surprise at the latest move, the Independent Deputy said the government had previously stated it would not adopt this approach and noted the overall uptake of the vaccine against Covid-19 in Ireland is very high by European standards. The Scariff-based deputy pointed out very few bouncers or security personnel have a medical degree to assess whether their customers are fully-vaccinated. “Who is going to be standing outside the doors of …

IN A week when the government extended the ban on indoor dining for non-residents of hotels and restaurants, the UL Hospitals’ Group has confirmed there was just one Covid-19 positive patient in University Hospital Limerick on Wednesday. In the week to close of business on Sunday, June 27, a total of 28,979 doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered across the group’s three area vaccination centres in Limerick Racecourse, the West County Hotel, Ennis, and the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh. This brings to 192,332 the total vaccines administered in the region since the vaccination programme began on January 4th. However, the group notes the concern nationally and internationally about the Delta variant, which is 40-60% more transmissible than the Alpha strain of the virus. The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) estimates that by the end of August, the Delta variant will account for 90% of all Covid-19 variants in the European Union. ECDC research suggests that the Delta variant will …

AN Ennis man has completed a mammoth ultra-cycling race of 804km, taking second place after a gruelling 31 hours non-stop in the saddle. Noel Cusack took part in the Joe Barr 500, an 800km race around Donegal and Northern Ireland with a three-person crew following behind to give him food and hep with navigation along the way. He described the race as an “epic battle”, which saw him break his previous 800km record by more than six hours. The race started in Derry at 9.23am on Saturday, June 12, with each competitor leaving at three minute intervals. “We raced over to Donegal before tackling all the coast line and mountains areas before finally sprinting through Sperrin mountains in Derry to finish,” Noel told The Champion. “The riders cannot race together, we have to be a certain distance apart from each other until you make your move to overtake or pull away if possible,” he said. His support crew kept him …

A YOUNG woman, whose car went off a bridge into a river near the Dingle peninsula, was rescued by three members of the Clare Outdoor Club on Sunday. Nine members from the club travelled to Dingle to climb Stradbally and Beenoskee mountains last weekend. The group had just arrived in Glanteenassig Forest Car park to begin their hike. The car the young woman was driving pulled in to let two of their cars pass. The third car had missed the turn for the forest and arrived a few minutes later. The occupants of this car, Paul Kinnane, Melitta Price and Deidre O’Donoghue came to the rescue of the woman whose car capsized and went into the river. Five other club members, Clara Slattery, Ellen Frawley, Mike Egan, Monica McMahon and Peter O’Shea arrived a short time afterwards to lend their assistance. Paul recalled as they were driving over the bridge, he saw a car was upside down and the wheels …

PHARMACIES in Clare have been helping to give a shot in the arm to the national vaccine roll out effort. A number of pharmacies throughout the county have recently started administering the Covid-19 vaccines as part of the national programme. A total of 17 pharmacies spanning across the entire county from Kilkee to Corbally have begun offering the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine, also known as Janssen. Among them is Rochford’s Pharmacies with branches in Ennis and Corofin. Pharmacist Brendan Rochford said there has already been a lot of interest from the public in getting the jab. He says that the vaccination service was quick to take off at the pharmacy. “We already had a list of people who booked their appointment before we even received the vaccines last Thursday evening, so we started our first administrations as soon as possible on Friday morning.” He added, “We are delighted to be able to play our small part in the rollout …

A MEMORIAL inscribed with the message ‘Inár gCuimhne go deo/Always Remember’ marking the County Clare Nursery (Mother and Baby Home) has been unveiled in Kilrush. The memorial to the women who gave birth in the Kilrush-based County Nursery, the children who spent their lives there, and the infants who died there, was unveiled at Toler Street in the west Clare town by outgoing Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Councillor Mary Howard, in the presence of Council Chief Executive, Pat Dowling. Following publication of the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes in January of this year, Clare County Council apologised for its role in the County Nursery, which was owned and financed by Clare County Council during its decade of operation, 1922-1932. Clare County Council acknowledged, “with profound regret”, its role in the failure to meet the care needs of women and children resident in the County Nursery. As part of addressing its role in …

MORE Irish people are interested in producing home-grown fruit and vegetables, according to the new manager of Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA), Elaine Bradley. Four weeks ago, Ms Bradley was appointed the new manager of ISSA and learned via a Guaranteed Irish webinar, that Bord Bia believes the renewed interest in producing home-grown food isn’t a flash in the pan. Earlier this year, she recalled seeds produced by ISSA sold out very quickly. She explained the big difference with seeds produced by ISSA is consumers can use them again and again. “Our seed has adapted over the millennia to the environment and climatic conditions of the country. One of the positive things of the lockdown was it gave us time to pause and take stock of our lives and what we want. “A lot of people have started growing food in their gardens, spending more time outdoors and researching where food is coming from. “People are concerned about climate change, …