News

The sweet sound of ‘Goodbye from the White Horse Inn’ rang out around the old CBS Secondary School in Ennistymon one last time last Wednesday night, as the Ennistymon Musical Society bid farewell to their long time home. As the society prepares for one of their most ambitious productions ever next week, they are also saying goodbye to their spiritual home of more than 30 years. Last Wednesday night’s rehearsal for the upcoming production of Happy Days was the last that the society will have in the old secondary school. But before they move on to their new home at the Ennistymon Community School, they took a few moments to remember their long and proud history. “This is a big year for us, it is the 51st anniversary of the first musical. We did miss a few years because of Covid, but we had our first musical in 1973,” said Emma-Jane Brown of the society. “We had a bit of …

Clare’s county dog warden has said that Kilrush is currently a black-spot for dog-related attacks in the county. This comes in light of two serious incidents in relation to bulldog breeds in the town over the Easter holiday weekend where a man and a teenage boy were injured. And a third incident earlier in the week involving an Akita (Japanese large breed of huskie dog) attacking a springer spaniel also occurred in Kilrush. The Akita was handed in by its owners as it posed a danger to other dogs. “I hate to say it but Kilrush is our black spot at the moment…I have had up to ten dogs moved from Kilrush in the last few months and about six since Christmas. I have been very active there because it has become fashionable now with young men to own certain breeds, more aggressive breeds that are a fashion accessory to them. And they aren’t being looked after any more which …

Picture this: an eight-year-old boy experimenting with a camera at his home place, contentedly snapping away at the small things a curious young child observes in his back yard and a little further afield in the meadows and forests of southern Germany. For a while, the young German boy loses all interest in photography, until a holiday to Ireland as an adult inspires him and re-kindles his passion for the artform. The trip which got Carsten Krieger so hooked on Ireland prompted him to move to the emerald isle permanently in 2002. And the re-location revived a childhood fascination with nature, bringing about a career change from paediatric nursing to freelance photography. Since settling here, Carsten Krieger has photographed and written numerous books on Ireland’s landscape, nature and heritage. And now, 22 years on and almost 20 books later, the renowned photographer, author and environmentalist, who lives in Kibaha on the Loop Head Peninsula, has produced a new book entitled …

SMALL acts of kindness can make a big difference to a person living with dementia, according to Limerick dementia advisor, Sean Donal O’Shea. Mr O’Shea urges any family member who is caring for a person with dementia to contact their local dementia advisor. He also believes a person should also contact their local general practitioner who will know the family and their circumstances. “There is a dementia advisor in every county now. Six or seven years ago, there were only eight dementia advisors in the country. Now we have 31. This shows the Government is listening,” he said. “I have been lobbying with the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland since 2007. There was nothing in budget after budget. In the most recent budget, ringfenced dementia funding has been provided, which is very valuable. “It is the small things that are the big things for a person with dementia. Covid-19 was an eye-opener for everyone when we were all locked in to …

Ennistymon woman, Pam O’Loughlin, has been unveiled as the Farmers’ Alliance candidate to contest the upcoming local election in the Ennistymon area this summer. Pam, whose younger sister Emer was murdered in a caravan on the border between Clare and Galway in 2005, says that she doesn’t recognise the kind of country Ireland is starting to become. Ms O’Loughlin has been campaigning for justice for her younger sister for almost 20 years and says she is well able to fight her corner. “I left Ireland in the 1980s and, of course, Ireland has changed a huge amount since then. But since I came home three years ago the values and attitudes of people seem to be changing,” she said. “We have changed from a country that feels safe to a country that doesn’t feel safe anymore, and I mean physically as well as psychologically. ”I feel so strongly that Ireland is going in the wrong direction. I have seen politicians, …

Rare footage recorded in the Burren by legendary RTÉ documentary filmmaker, Gerrit Van Gelderen, in the 1960s, 70s and 80s will be shown to the public for the very first time at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan this Friday, April 5. The footage was recorded by Van Gelderen while shooting episodes of his seminal nature programme, To The Waters And The Wild, in North Clare. The previously unseen footage has been compiled over the last number of weeks by Gerrit’s filmmaker son, Finn, to commemorate the 30 years since his father’s passing. “The film contains footage that was recorded in the Burren from as far back as the 1960s. The theme of the film is to commemorate 30 years since his father’s passing and to share tales about him,” said Ballyvaughan woman and friend of the Van Gelderens, Eilís Haden-Storrie. “Gerrit was the first documentary film maker in RTÉ, in fact, he started as a graphic designer on …

Friday, June 7, has been chosen as the day for the upcoming European and local elections. Tens of thousands of Clare people will cast their votes on that day to choose who will sit on Clare County Council and represent Ireland South in the European Parliament. The Minister for Local Government, Darragh O’Brien (FF) today made the order appointing Friday, 7 June 2024 as the polling day and 7am to 10pm to be the hours of polling at the European Parliament and local elections. The Minister has appointed Barry Ryan, a Principal Officer in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, to be the chief returning officer for the European Parliament elections. He has also appointed returning officers for the three European Parliament constituencies in which 14 MEPs are to be elected for the 2024-2029 parliamentary term. Martin Harvey, Cork City Sheriff, will be returning officer for the five seat South constituency. The returning officers for the three European …

A FITNESS app created by Ennis students which aims to prevent injury among young female sports athletes, has scooped second prize in a prestigious competition. Third year students Amy Hennessy and Juliette Purcell from Coláiste Muire turned judges’ heads at the BD STEM Stars competition with their app which focuses on preventing anterior cruciate ligament injuries in young women. Their research also found that young women are given the same fitness coaching as their male peers despite having different body forms. The competition is run by Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), one of the world’s leading medical device companies. First place was jointly claimed by two Kinsale Community College teams, which earned their school a cheque of €10,000 for STEM related facilities.  The BD STEM Stars 2024 Award, which is supported by the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB), is the biggest such awards programme in Munster.  The competition was launched five years ago by BD to promote and encourage …