News

COMMUNITY is very important to Kilkee woman, Ann-Marie Murray. In particular, two communities, miles and worlds apart – Kilkee and Kolkata. Ann-Marie has been an integral part of The Hope Foundation’s work in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in West Bengal, India, for many years. The Hope Foundation (HOPE) was initially established in 1999 by Maureen Forrest, to raise funds to build a home for the girls from the streets and slums of Kolkata, subsequently called Panditya. Fifteen years on, HOPE now provide funding for over 60 projects, including education, primary healthcare, child protection, children’s shelters, vocational training and drugs rehabilitation. Ann-Marie volunteered with HOPE in 2003 for a six-month programme in the Panditya home. Eleven years on, Ann-Marie is now HOPE’s assistant overseas director and remains surrounded by teenagers in Panditya. They all share rooms and bathroom facilities, with Ann-Marie being on-call for the girls 24 hours a day. Part of the draw for Ann-Marie is living as the rest of …

FIGURES released this week show 304 people were homeless in Clare in 2012. The most startling revelation is that Clare had the highest figure per capita in the Mid-West (244) in terms of children affected by homelessness. The remainder of those affected were mostly aged in their 20s. While Limerick City had more than twice the number of homeless people at 608, just 259 children in the city were directly affected by homelessness. North Tipperary had 217 people on the homeless list, of which 74 were children. Speaking to The Clare Champion, Jackie Bonfield, manager of the Mid-West Simon Community branch in Limerick, said she was shocked at the Clare homeless statistics for children. “Clare had the biggest number of children presenting as dependents. That is very scary. It means that the children are the biggest sufferers in the area from homelessness,” she said. In 2012, there were 160 homeless women in Clare and 144 men. The reasons leading to …

Householders across the country, from now until the end of September, can expect to receive an application pack from Irish Water through the post. Irish Water is engaging with all households to give them the opportunity to avail of all free water allowances to which they are entitled. Irish Water is asking householders to complete the application and return it by freepost to Irish Water by October 31. Alternatively, householders can call Irish Water directly to avail of allowances or can apply online at www.water.ie. By completing the application, householders can; · confirm if they are Irish Water customers; · apply for all domestic water allowances that they may be entitled to; and · ensure they are billed accurately when billing starts in January 2015. All the information is provided in both English and Irish. In order to apply by phone or online, householders will need their unique Application Number and PIN which can be found in the box on the …

THE Clare branch of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign will have a public meeting next Tuesday with guest speaker Smadar Lavie. Ms Lavie is from Israel and is an anthropologist, professor and author whose mother’s family are Jewish Arabs from Yemen, while her fahter’s people are Jews from Lithuania. She is an ardent activist against racism towards Palestinians and Jews of Arab descent in Israel. Based at the University of California Berkeley, she has written or co-authored four books. Speaking in advance of her visit to Clare, Ms Lavie said that Israeli society is quite fractured between Jews of European descent, called Ashkenazi Jews, and Jews of Middle Eastern descent, or Mizrahi Jews. “Fifty per cent of the population are Jews from the Muslim and Arab world, from the margin of the Ottoman Empire, like Bulgaria or Turkey or the former Yugoslavia. Only 30% are Jews from Europe. However there are less than one per cent women professors who are of Mizrahi …

Clare athletics was rocked this week with the news that long-serving official, James Sexton, had stepped down from his role as public relations officer for the county organisation. The decision was communicated in writing to the board secretary, Vincent McCarthy, at the weekend. It is expected to be discussed at a meeting of Clare athletics scheduled for Monday next. The Moy native, a member of Kilmurry-Ibrickane/North Clare AC, took the decision because he is dissatisfied with the number of transfers that are going to Ennis Track AC. Speaking to The Clare Champion, Sexton expressed anger and disappointment that “athletes are being taken from the smaller clubs around the county and this isn’t fair. Nothing is being done about it”. Responding to a query from The Clare Champion, Clare athletics chairman Michael Lillis said, “We have received the letter and will be discussing it on Monday night. In Clare athletics we have been spoilt for many years because of the great …

A MAN in his sixties was arrested this morning under the Waste Management Act, in connection with the discovery of animal carcasses at Baltard Cliffs in Doonbeg earlier this year. Earlier this year, the gardaí, Clare County Council, the Department of Agriculture and the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals all began investigations after carcasses of at least 16 horses and cattle were discovered by a person out walking in the area.

This Friday is a yet another red letter day in the history of Shannon Airport. The Shannon Group plc has  been formally established by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe. The new company will be a key conduit for growth across the West of Ireland and beyond, its chairman Rose Hynes stated. She said that the four strategic business units that make up the Shannon Group will co-exist within the group, elevating the business into a single entity of significant regional and national importance. The Shannon Group plc brings together: · Shannon Airport, the only airport on the Atlantic seaboard serving all three key markets – the US, UK and Europe – and which has already achieved significant growth following its establishment as an independent company in January 2013 · Shannon Commercial Enterprises Limited, trading as Shannon Commercial Properties, which includes the Shannon Free Zone and a significant property portfolio across the Shannon region · One of Ireland’s …

AN Ennis mother whose adopted son was racially abused at a local sports complex has appealed to her local representative to raise the matter at next Tuesday’s Council meeting. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect the identity of her two ‘dark-skinned’ adopted children, has written to Councillor James Breen and asked him to raise the matter at the Council meeting. She told Councillor Breen that since they adopted their eldest son in 1995, and their second son in 1998, “I have noticed a substantial increase in racism and racist assaults perpetrated on my sons, this has been both physical and verbal in nature and is not confined to any one aspect of life but is to be encountered on a daily basis from people of all ages and social class.” She said she was particularly concerned when, before the summer, her 15-year-old son, who plays all sports extremely well, was verbally abused three times over one weekend. …