News

A LOCAL heritage group have made sure Covid-19 would not extinguish their plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the burning of a church in Clarecastle. The Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group had planned on marking the centenary of the attack on St Mary’s Church of Ireland back in April, however the plans had to be put on hold due to the pandemic. The group have now reignited the commemoration, but instead of hosting an event they have produced an information brochure detailing the history of what has been described by local historian Dr Joe Power as a “shocking sectarian incident”. Eric Shaw of the Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group, who compiled the publication told us, “The burning of the church is an event not known to the younger generation here or to newcomers to Clarecastle in more recent times. The burning marked a turbulent time in our local history. Nothing remains of the building. The …

A TOTAL of 200 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed nationally today (Saturday, August 15). Clare is among the counties where new cases have been reported, however the worst affected county is Dublin, with 56 cases. There have been no new deaths reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. There has now been a total of 1,774 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight Friday, August 14, the HPSC has been notified of 200 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 27,191* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.  Of the cases notified today; 103 are men / 96 are women 68% are under 45 years of age 68 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case 25 cases have been identified as community transmission 56 in Dublin, 81 in Kildare, 13 in Tipperary, 8 in Limerick, 6 Laois, 6 in Galway, 5 in Kilkenny, 5 in Meath and the rest …

THE wearing of face coverings become “part of the new normal” for shoppers in Ennis with most agreeing it makes them feel safer, according to CEO of Ennis Chamber Margaret O’Brien. On Monday regulations making face coverings mandatory in shops and other indoor public settings came into force. Similar to the regulations requiring people to wear masks on public transport, those in breach of the rules can be fined up to €2,500 or face six months imprisonment. Members of Ennis Chamber have welcomed the move, Ms O’Brien tells us. “Feedback from Ennis Chamber members is largely positive.  Staff in most shops were already wearing masks and have become used to them.” She continued, “So far there haven’t been any incidents reported of customers refusing to mask up, although some have needed to be reminded. Public sentiment has changed considerably in recent weeks around the wearing of facemasks, they have become part of the new normal. Most agree that the wearing of …

A ROAD safety assessment for the village of Quin is being sought, after numerous concerns were flagged by local councillors. The matter was raised at the most recent meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District Committee by Councillor Alan O’Callaghan, who tabled a motion calling for the assessment to be carried out. The Fianna Fáil member noted that Quin has been brought back under the remit of the Killaloe Municipal District since the boundary changes came into effect this year. “When Quin was in the Ennis District, there was a draft plan for traffic and I would like to see if that can now be progressed under our remit,” he told the meeting. The Kilmurry native acknowledged the work done already in the village in terms of pedestrian access and safety. “Lots of good work has been done around the area of Quin Abbey and the bridge,” he said. “There are a number of outstanding matters and there is a very …

AN ENNIS doctor is urging people with any symptoms of respiratory, or other infections, to see their GP and get tested for Covid-19, if advised to do so. Dr Máire Finn of Ennis Medical said people are presenting with a range of different symptoms and that there is a growing list of signs of Covid-19, as the scientific and health communities learn more about the disease. “Our knowledge of the symptoms is developing all the time,” Dr Finn said. “At first, we were aware of a very defined set. We have since seen people coming in with urinary symptoms and gastro-intestinal symptoms which have been linked to Covid-19. We’ve even seen an appendicitis case, where the Covid test came back positive. It’s difficult to tell if that was coincidental or if the appendicitis was triggered by the virus. Right now, we’re looking at any infective symptoms as potential indicators. As GPs, we will triage people and assess who needs to …

NURSING homes across Clare to from benefit from a donation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), secured after a fundraising drive coordinated by the Midwest Hospital Campaign. The initiative was prompted by concern at the start of the pandemic about the difficulty in accessing supplies of PPE, particularly for nursing homes and other congregated settings. “The donation will be especially important now that visiting has begun once again at nursing homes and there’s even more demand for PPE,” said Noeleen Moran, one of the coordinators. Some of the PPE was sourced through a network of contacts for manufacturers in Poland, while more was handmade by hundreds of individual volunteers and groups across Clare, including the Irish Countrywomen’s’ Association (ICA). Hilary Tonge of the Midwest Hospital Campaign said the effort to secure PPE had involved many groups and individuals from across the county. “When the pandemic was declared, there was a huge fear that there would not be enough PPE,” she said. …

THE prospect of trains grinding to halt for passengers at Crusheen have taken a turn for the better with the appointment of Green Party leader Eamon Ryan to the transport portfolio. The new Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is also Minister for Climate Action and Communications Networks and his dual role has given people living in the Crusheen area hope that the Limerick to Athenry/Galway train will once again stop in the village. Such a development would be of benefit to those who have to commute to Galway or Ennis and Limerick for work, business or study. Journey times would be slashed, as well as reducing the stress associated with road travel. Michael O’Doherty, spokesman for the Crusheen Rail Stop campaign group, said directing people from cars onto trains would not only help them achieve huge savings in the long run, but would also reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint. Back in 2010, the then Minister for Defence and Clare …

WE REALLY need a break. The last four and a half months, since the pandemic was declared, have taken a huge toll. With the possible exception of the Emmy-nominated actor, Paul Mescal – a man with West Clare ties, and for whom the last year has seen his star rise and rise – most of us would prefer to write off 2020. We have suffered grief and loss. We are struggling with terrible uncertainty about the future. Every single one of us has made heroic sacrifices and now fatigue is setting in. We are battle-weary. The sun is shining (occasionally) and there’s a lot of steam to be let off after our spring-time lockdown. Wouldn’t it be great to forget about everything, just for a while? It would be a big relief to pretend that Covid-19 never happened. That it isn’t happening. That it’s okay to go back to our old familiar ways – our cosy chats in close contact …