News

Trócaire is calling on supporters in Clare to return donations from their Trócaire boxes, warning that a decline in donations to its Lenten Appeal would put many of its life-saving programmes at risk. The charity’s biggest fundraising campaign, which finishes this weekend (Easter Sunday), has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with many supporters unable to access their Trócaire boxes through the usual channels due to ongoing restrictions. Trócaire CEO Caoimhe de Barra said: “Unless our generous supporters in Clare return their boxes or donate online this year, we won’t be able to provide life-saving support to almost 3 million people who rely on our work overseas each year.” “We are asking our supporters in Clare to ‘make your Trócaire box count’. Please count or estimate what is in your box and donate the equivalent amount online, over the phone or via post. Many parishes have their own local arrangements in place for collecting Trócaire boxes, so people can also …

A KILLALOE area councillor has welcomed the return to “the era of Bertie Ahern” in terms of spending on roads in Clare, following a significant increase in funds for the 2021 Schedule of Municipal District Works. At last week’s meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District, Senior Engineer John Leahy outlined how a total of €5.6m will be spent on roads in the area and noted an increase of 15% on the figure for 2020. An additional €4m will go towards the Killaloe bypass and crossing project. After Mr Leahy unveiled the total budget of €34.5m for Clare, €28m of which will go on the existing roads network, the senior engineer noted that for this was the first time the total annual allocation had significantly increased on the figure for 2008. “We had €31m at that time,” he said. “2008 was the end of the Celtic Tiger and the last time we had substantial grant funding, so we take that as …

An East Clare councillor has branded as “disgraceful and outrageous” the situation at The 12 O’Clock Hills in terms of illegal dumping and anti-social behaviour. Councillor Joe Cooney made his comments at the recent meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District when he called for a barrier to be erected to address issues including fly-tipping, theft, bike-scrambling and other unauthorised and illegal activities in the area. The Fine Gael member proposed that the barrier might be put in place on the link road between at Torpey Hurleys and the R471 at Oatfield Church. He stressed that this would only be done after consultation with householders, landowners, The 12 O’Clock Hills committee and Coillte. “There is a major issue with unlawful dumping and anti-social behaviour,” he said. “There’s a lot of concern over what’s going on at The 12 O’Clock Hills. A number of different groups have approached us and made an appeal to stop these illegal activities.” Councillor Cooney outlined how …

16 Clare artists are among an international line up taking part in this year’s Incognito 2021 online art sale in aid of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation. The Incognito art collection is now live at www.incognito.ie with the online art sale taking place on Thursday April 22 at 10am sharp. The unique aspect of Incognito compared with any other art sale is that the identity of the artists behind the paintings – for sale at €60 each – is kept top secret until the sale has closed. The Incognito collection is made up of 3,000-plus original postcard-sized artworks in a range of mediums, from oils and pastels, to glass and metalwork, in a sale that is usually a sprint to the checkout. Everything sold out last year in just 15 minutes! Among the Clare artists taking part are Ennis native, Mick O’Dea, Luke Reidy from Miltown Malbay, Henry Butler from Tulla, Eileen Collins from Cratloe, and Dorothy Ledwith from Ennis. …

A NEWMARKET-on-Fergus man has described his life transformation as “amazing” following the receipt of a second kidney transplant. On November 23, Eoghan O’Neill (38) received a second kidney transplant from his brother, Hugh in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Receiving a transplant in the midst of a Covid-19 pandemic is a lot more difficult for dialysis patients. Eoghan explained Covid-19 delayed the transplant operation by three or four months, before it was finally completed. “Doctors want to get you out of the hospital as quickly as possible because of Covid-19. I stayed in Beaumont for just seven days, which is the main danger period after an operation.” Once he came home, Eoghan, who works in property management in Limerick, was strictly monitored and had blood tests in University Hospital Limerick twice a week. He admitted resuming dialysis for a second time wasn’t easy and is very grateful to his brother for giving him a new lease of life. “I received my transplant …

THE Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of two additional deaths related to Covid-19. There has been a total of 4,715 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight, Friday, April 2, the HPSC has been notified of 511 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 237,695* confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. As of March 31, 2021, 865,460 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland: 619,003 people have received their first dose 246,457 people have received their second dose

A MAN is being treated in hospital after he was injured in a rock climbing accident in North Clare on Friday evening. The man in his 20s had been climbing with a female companion at Ballyreen between Doolin and Fanore when the accident happened. It’s believed he fell about five metres (16 feet) after experiencing an issue with his climbing equipment. The alarm was raised at around 7pm when emergency services received a call to report that a person had fallen at the well-known climbing location. The area is a popular with recreational climbers but is also used by search and rescue crews for training. The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard was tasked to the incident along with National Ambulance Service paramedics including an Advanced Paramedic. It’s understood that an off-duty paramedic, who lives close to the scene, also attended the incident and offered assistance. The injured man was assessed and treated the injured man at the scene …

THE number of Clare patients requiring up to four hours of hospital dialysis three times a week has increased by 17% over a two-year period, new figures have revealed. There are 258 people in the Mid-West receiving lifesaving dialysis treatment in various forms. The Clare Champion has learned 62 Clare patients attend for in centre haemodialysis treatment at units in University Hospital Limerick and the Fresenius dialysis unit at Riverside Park on the Dock Road. In addition another seven patients from Clare attend Unit 7, Merlin Park and the Braun Wellstone unit in Galway for their in centre treatment. Both Galway units are closer to home for Clare patients living in the north of the county. This compares to 50 patients who attended UHL for haemodialysis treatment and nine in Galway in 2019. There are currently four patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD), while seven people are now on home haemodialysis programmes. These patients have been trained by their renal teams …