News

THE people of Clare are being urged to keep up their efforts to reduce the spread of Covid-19 at this “critical time.” Clare County Council and An Garda Síochána have joined forces to emphasise the importance of following the guidelines to save people’s lives. With case numbers persistently high and the health service coming under significant pressure, Chief Executive of the Council Pat Dowling and Chief Superintendent of Clare Garda Division Sean Colleran have called on everyone in the county to make another extra effort to drive down the levels of infection in our communities.  The risk of transmitting or getting Covid-19 is currently very high. The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has described the situation in hospitals as stark, with people of all ages being admitted to hospital and being taken into intensive care units.  Pat Dowling, Chief Executive, Clare County Council, said, “This is a critical time. The situation is urgent. The Chief Medical Officer has warned …

CLARE County Council has been urged to apologise for the role it played, in the 1920s and ‘30s, in the running of the County Clare Nursery in Kilrush. Last week, in the Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, the high infant mortality rate there was revealed. The deaths of so-called “illegitimate” infants is recorded as 168 during a ten-year period from 1922 to 1932. The commission concluded that the vast majority of those children died at the home. The facility was owned and financed by Clare County Council. At the outset of this week’s meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, Councillor Shane Talty proposed that an apology would be issued by the council at its February meeting.  He said the council was proud of its history but added, “We should acknowledge our dark chapters and if the local authority had a role in that, albeit nobody today can take responsibility, I think at a …

VITAL services to encourage the use of public transport in Clare are to receive a boost, members of the local authority have been told. The need to provide safe and accessible bus shelters was raised by Councillor Joe Cooney who called on the council to work with Bus Éireann on the matter. A formal response to Councillor Cooney’s motion outlined how works are being carried out in conjunction with Bus Éireann, the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) on 11 bus shelters at locations across the county. Six of these are new and will be installed in Nemarket-on-Fergus, Lisdoonvarna, Ennis, Westbury, Kilkee and Crusheen. Senior Engineer John Leahy outlined how the other five projects involve upgrades to existing shelters in Shannon. In a remote contribution, Councillor Cooney told the meeting how, in some cases, people had to wait for busses “in atrocious conditions”. He also noted that school children had to wait for public transport at the …

A CLARE community have rallied together to raise funds for a former county councillor whose family home went up in flames last Christmas. The Clarecastle home of former Fianna Fáil representative Bernard ‘Bomber’ Hanrahan was destroyed on the night of December 27. Fortunately Bernard managed to escape the blaze when he was alerted to the danger by his dog Daisy. However the fire destroyed the house in Barntick which has been in the Hanrahan family for generations. Now in an effort to help rebuild the family home a fundraising appeal has been launched. The United for The Bomber and Daisy campaign is aiming to raise €30,000, with close to €5,000 of that target raised just one day after the GoFundMe page went live. Organiser of the campaign Seamus Sullivan stated, “While insurance will go some way towards replacing the physical infrastructure, a lifetime of memories and mementos have been lost in the flames. Bernard Hanrahan is known far and wide …

TWO Clare men have been keeping postal staff on their toes with a series of riddles designed to test their local knowledge. Gearóid Kelly from Feakle and Tony McTeigue from Kilnamona have exchanged Christmas cards over the last five years. Rather than simply writing a name and address on the envelope, the pair have taken to coming up with cryptic instructions that have, almost always, led to the successful delivery of their post. While Gearóid works in Dublin and Tony in Australia, the two have sent cards and letters to each other’s home address, in the hope that local ties will help postal staff to decipher their destinations. “We’ve known each other since going to college in NUI Galway,” Gearóid told The Champion. The Business Information Systems graduate, an accordion player, met fellow Clare native, Tony, who plays banjo, at the college’s Trad Soc. “We were always up for a laugh and a few practical jokes alright,” he said. Now …

A TEENAGE girl who has gone missing is believed to be in the Ennis area. 16 year old Teagan Ward has been missing since last week and was last seen in the Ballymena area of County Antrim. She is described as being approximately 5’2″, of slim to average build with light waist length brown hair with blonde highlights. Police in Northern Ireland and her family are said to be growing increasingly concerned for her welfare. She was last seen at approximately 2.15pm on Friday, January 15 in Ballymena wearing a dark grey Gym King tracksuit consisting of a crop jumper and jogging bottoms. PSNI Sergeant Michelle Adams has appealed to Teagan or anyone who knows of her whereabouts to contact police at Ballymena on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 871 15/01/21.

GARDAÍ are seeking the public’s help in tracing the whereabouts of a North Clare man who has been reported missing. Luke Davoren, 34 years is missing from Galway area. Luke was last seen in the University Road area of Galway in the early hours of December 30, 2020. He is described as having fair hair, 6ft in height and having an athletic build. He was last seen wearing a grey hoody, brown leather jacket, blue jeans and brown leather boots. He also had a black back pack in his possession. Gardaí and Luke’s family are very concerned for his welfare and would urge him to make contact. Anyone with information, particularly any road users with dash cam footage of the Newcastle/University Road areas between 1am – 2am on 30/12/2020, are asked to contact Galway Garda Station on 091 538 000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.

A PIECE of music by leading composer Patrick Cassidy, who spent much of his early life in Shannon, is to be performed at this week’s US Presidential inauguration. Violinist Patricia Treacy from Blackrock, Co Louth was invited to perform at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and chose to play ‘Proclamation’, which Patrick originally composed for the 1916 Centenary. On having his composition performed at the inauguration, Patrick said it was a huge honour. “I was delighted when Patricia let me know that she would be playing ‘Proclamation’ at this historic event. She previously performed this piece during the 1916 Centenary Commemorations when President Michael D. Higgins laid a wreath to honour those who fought and died in the Rising at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin. “This inauguration is particularly special, as President Biden brings a message of hope and unity to Americans at what is a very difficult time. I’m sure we can also look forward to him …