News

INSURANCE hurdles stand in the way of the development of another “Grade A” tourism product for the Loop Head Peninsula, members of the West Clare Municipal District have heard. Addressing the January meeting of the committee, which took place online, Councillor Cillian Murphy appealed to the authority to consider taking a newly-created access path into Carrigaholt Castle under its public insurance policy, issued by Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurances (IPB). The Fianna Fáil members commended the work of the local heritage group who had secured funding for the access route and noted that the insurance for public amenities is a recurring issue of concern. “The community group there have done some Trojan work,” he noted. “It’s taken them a long, long time to get to the bottom of ownership and to get permission from the owners to allow work. They’ve got significant funding from The Heritage Council and it’s the end of a long road, if you’ll pardon the pun, …

A WOMAN allegedly assaulted in Ennis town centre on Thursday evening remains in an “unconscious state” in hospital, a court has heard. Details of the woman’s condition were outlined at a special sitting of Ennis District Court today (January 30), during the appearance of the man accused of her assault. Patrick Ballard (34), with an address at Ashford Court Hotel, Ennis, is charged with assault causing harm to his then girlfriend Sharon Bennett at Garranakilla, the Market, Ennis, on January 28, 2021. The alleged offence is contrary to Section 3 of the Non Fatal Offences Against The Person Act. At today’s court sitting, Detective Garda Noelle Bergin of Ennis Garda Station gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Mr Ballard. She told the court that in reply to the charge after caution, the accused said, “I’m sorry for what happened.” Solicitor Tara Godfrey was assigned legal aid to represent the accused. Ms Godfrey told the court she was …

A CLARE woman who tragically lost her husband last year has described as “heartwarming” the support she and her family have received in marking his first anniversary with a touching tribute. People from all over the country, and around the world, came together from a distance to get involved in #fiveforfran, honouring the memory of Fran Harding who sadly died in a drowning incident in Lahinch in January of last year. The idea came about when, due to Covid-19 restrictions, Fran’s family were unable to get together to remember him on his anniversary. His wife Sarah Jane tells us she found this “particularly difficult” and in trying to come up with ways to honour his memory, she thought of Fran’s love of the outdoors. “We were always walking, cycling and of course, the day he passed away he was swimming which was another love of his. We were always embracing the outdoors, no matter what the time of year. He …

CLONLARA Development Group has issued an appeal for people in the Mid-West to search for old photographs, stories and press cuttings in connection with “Pattern Day” at St Senan’s Holy Well in Clonlara. The group are in the process of compiling a display for National Heritage Week 2021 Exhibition, which runs from August 21 August to August 2nd. It believes that the current lockdown to minimise the spread of Covid-19 provides the ideal opportunity for people to go through old albums and momentoes to help preserve these memories from days past. The 2021 “Pattern Day” exhibition will follow the successful 2020 exhibition, a two-day event held at local Kiltenanlea Church. For those who are not familiar with “Pattern Day”, the word pattern is derived from the Irish word patrun or English word patron. In olden days most Irish parishes would honour and celebrate their patron saint. Only parishes with a holy well or shrine typically had a pattern day. Prayers …

HOMEOWNERS are being warned to take precautions to ensure they are not victims of fuel theft during this cold spell. This comes after men were disturbed while trying to steal diesel from a tank at a farmyard in Liscannor earlier this month. At 11.55pm on Friday, January 22 a man disturbed two others in his farmyard at Ardacra, Liscannor. “When they left he found a hose and the nozzle of his diesel tank on the ground which would indicate that they were going to syphon the diesel from the tank. Weather is very cold at the moment and home owners are ordering their home heating oil,” said Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks. She has issued advice to householders who wish to protect their fuel supply. “Place the tank as close to the house as regulations allow and in view of one or more windows. Try and ensure that the tank is not visible from the road to passing traffic,” …

A MEMBER of a small group, who engage in weekly demonstrations in Scariff, has taken issue with the characterisation of their protests as ‘anti-mask’. In a letter to The Champion, Seán MacLeod denied the group are showing disregard for frontline workers and rejected suggestions that they are an intimidating presence for older people. The letter follows widespread condemnation of the group’s activities by the local community, a furious debate on social media, and a counter-demonstration highlighting the importance of the public health guidelines. While the protests have been peaceful, The Champion understands that local Gardaí are keeping the situation under review and have advised people that they must not breach the Covid-19 restrictions. In an email, Mr MacLeod said: “I would like to assure you that it is not the intention of anyone standing in the square to upset or intimidate anyone and also to say that many of us standing in the square are in the ‘vulnerable’ group of …

A man in his 30s has been charged in relation to an assault that occurred in the Market area of Ennis on Thursday night. He is due to appear before a special sitting of Ennis District Court at 11am tomorrow (Saturday) morning. At around 6.20pm on Thursday evening, Gardaí were alerted to the assault. A woman in her late 20s was taken to University Hospital Limerick with what are described as serious injuries.

A WEST Clare councillor has called for equality for his area, saying that many people have the impression that the local authority’s unofficial title is ‘Ennis County Council’. Councillor Ian Lynch made his remarks at the January meeting of the West Clare Municipal District when he called for the area to have its own plan to rival the recently unveiled Ennis 2040 blueprint. “What I’m looking for is equality among the municipal districts,” he said. “This came up at the county council meeting when we were told that Ennis 2040 is not just a municipal district plan, it’s a county-wide plan. Well, I take a bit of offence to that. That plan was put together by the hard work of the municipal district in Ennis. We are a municipal district with the same size and the same clout as Ennis, and in this motion, I’m requesting that we have a strategic plan, broken into two distinct areas. There’s very strategic …