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COROFIN GAA club will be hosting the 24-hour Run4Pieta event this weekend, to raise funds for Pieta House and its mental health services. The event will be held on the walking track at Páirc Finne, the GAA grounds in Corofin, and run from 6pm on Saturday to 6pm on Sunday. This is not the first time Corofin GAA has held a high-profile charity event, raising €16,000 during their Climb Everest Challenge last year during lockdown, for which the whole panel of players took part in climbs of Mullaghmore that when combined made up the height of Everest in kilometres. The funds last year went to helping those with cystic fibrosis, and this year a lot of consideration went into which charities were worthwhile for another fundraising event, as GAA and other sports finally start to see the light of day again. Brian Gillespie, chairperson of Corofin GAA, explained: “We saw that Pieta House was calling on GAA clubs in particular …

TOURISM in Ennis has received a boost with the historic Ennis Friary re-opening to the public this week. The friary, which dates back to the 13th century, re-opened on Tuesday having been closed to the public since last summer due to Covid-19 restrictions. And as an extra bonus, admission to the popular attraction is free for the season. Welcoming the announcement, Councillor Mary Howard said it is “great news” for the town. Just last month she criticised the continued closure of the Friary, saying that the town was losing out on potential tourism opportunities. The Friary has been opened with health and safety in mind and Covid-19 guidelines have been put in place. A maximum of 15 visitors are permitted on site at any one time. Social distancing will apply throughout the site. Face coverings must be worn in all indoor spaces. There are self guided visits only, but Ennis Friary guides are on hand to answer any questions. Hand …

All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Round 1 Clare v Kilkenny @ O’Garney Park Sixmilebridge, Saturday 2pm IF NECESSITY is the mother of invention, Clare will need all their powers of innovation this Saturday as they prepare to host All-Ireland champions Kilkenny. Indeed, with the draw pooling the last two All-ireland winners Kilkenny and Galway with Clare and Westmeath for two knock-out places, the criteria couldn’t be made any simpler for the Banner in that they either take their most significant scalp since returning to the senior grade in 2009 or else face an early exit from the competition. Only eight months on from reaching the last six of the All-Ireland Senior Championship for the first time in six years, hopes of emulating that feat are hanging by a thread unless Clare can finally step up to the mark. Optimism stems from their National League opener against Galway which despite defeat, arguably was Clare’s best performance under Ger O’Connell. However, its antithesis …

Author Anne McLoughlin tells Owen Ryan how family tree research brought her to Darragh and to America RESEARCHING her ancestry brought Anne McLoughlin to Darragh and to America, and the stories she heard has also informed her trilogy of novels, the second of which, Lives Without End has been published recently. Much of the novel is set in Clare, where Anne’s great grandmother came from. “I’ve been writing for a good few years and I was doing research into my family tree. I knew a branch of it was down in Co. Clare, my great grandmother was from outside Lissycasey, in Darragh.” The third instalment will be out in 2022. “The third one, I have it written and delivered to Poolbeg Press and it’s coming out next spring.” Anne’s great grandmother was an O’Keeffe, and she says there are relatives of hers still living in the Darragh area now, while she learned that she had links to America also. “My …

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Round 1 Qualifier Clare v Wexford @ Semple Stadium Thurles, Saturday 1.30pm (Fergal Horgan, Tipperary) WHETHER Monday’s eerie draw of a third winner-takes-all showdown in just four seasons is serendipitous or calamitous will only be known on Saturday evening as Clare look to maintain their championship Indian sign over Wexford for what would be a unique hat-trick. All because of the inextricable rivalry that began for the large bulk of players at Under 21 level and has subsequently coincided with Davy Fitzgerald’s reign as Wexford senior manager. In the 2018 Quarter-Final, ten scorers helped Clare to reach Croke Park for the first time since 2013 after a 0-27 to 1-17 victory over Wexford in Páirc Uí Chaoimh while last November in Portlaoise, a Tony Kelly masterclass of 1-15 aided Brian Lohan’s side’s passage to the last six following a 1-21 to 0-17 win. Davy Fitzgerald is unlikely to allow Clare’s 2020 All-Star free rein again on …

SAINT Joseph’s Miltown’s Cusack Cup retention remains firmly in their own hands this Saturday as a victory over Clondegad would guarantee back-to-back flagship league crowns for the first time in 71 years, writes Eoin Brennan. Anything less and St Breckan’s and Ennistymon have the opportunity to snatch breakthrough Division 1 honours. St Joseph’s Miltown v Clondegad Following last year’s meek championship defence exit at essentially the quarter-final stage to Cratloe, St Joseph’s Miltown have the perfect opportunity to gain an early boost ahead of this year’s Jack Daly race on Saturday. Put simply, with the head-to-head not a factor, Miltown’s 40 point score advantage is 21 more than nearest rivals St Breckan’s which means that a win of any kind would be sufficient for Miltown to retain the Cusack Cup. Don’t expect Clondegad to roll over though as they are not without their own motivations. It’s a repeat of the last final in 2019 when slogging it out in a …

THE possibility that a major public building has defective concrete blocks has been raised in the Dáil by a local TD, who said that if this proves to be the case, it will put Clare “to the top of the list” in terms of government support. Deputy Cathal Crowe made an impassioned plea for Clare homeowners affected by pyrite and/mica to be given equal access to redress scheme and a Local Property Tax (LPT) exemption, currently only available in Donegal and Mayo. Addressing the Minister for Finance, he was sharply critical of the scope of the existing Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, which offers a maximum of 90% of remediation costs to homeowners in those two counties. “I am of the view that a major public building in a certain county has pyrite in it,” Deputy Crowe told the chamber. “Many people hope it does not. I hope it does for the simple reason it will advance the cause of …

THE short film ‘Try n’ Touch’, written by 23-year-old graduate Nell Hensey, has been selected as Clare’s winning entry in the Engine Shorts film competition. The film is a coming-of-age drama set in an all-girls school, where a group of young rugby players are starting to come to terms with the trials of adolescence in that environment and learning to have the courage to be themselves. The script is inspired by Nell’s own secondary school experiences in the Coláiste Mhuire in Ennis, a location Nell is hoping to film at in the coming weeks. Nell said: “I wrote the initial draft, and as part of the Engine competition I was shortlisted for a development program, during which each of us were paired with a script editor. Mine was Brian McGill, who helped me develop the project. My producer, Gemma O’Shaughnessy, was really crucial in the process as well.” As part of the development shortlist, Nell was also given the chance …