News

GARDAÍ are appealing for information in relation to a number of crimes which have taken place in the county in the past number of weeks. In Kilmaley witnesses are being sought after the Kilmaley Inagh Water Treatment Plant was broken into between 6pm on Sunday, August 31 and 8.30am on Monday, September 1 last. The water treatment plant is located at Lisroe and entry was gained by forcing in the front door. Thieves made off with a Grey Pedrello water pump, two yellow 20 foot Toby hoses, a shovel, and a red M6 power washer model Max 11 litres. Also in Kilmaley, gardaí are investigating after a number of items of property were stolen from a shed at Knaockadangan. This incident occurred between 9.30am and 11am on Monday, September 1. A rubber material bridle, pinchers, and a black saddle with brown girth and stirrups were stolen. Meanwhile, in Sixmilebridge a house in the Cluain Droichead estate was burgled between 1.30am …

SPACE enthusiasts countrywide and from the UK are set to descend on Limerick to get a rare audience with one of just 24 people to have flown to the moon. Al Worden, who was one of 19 astronauts selected by NASA in 1966, served as a command module pilot for the historic Apollo 15 (July 26 – August 7, 1971), and is seen very much as one of the icons of space travel. His visit to Ireland for a lecture at LIT next Tuesday  and a dinner at the Pavilion UL the following day, is all down to one self-confessed Limerick space fanatic, Paul Ryan from Ballybricken, reaching for his own stars and, completely off his own bat, managing to connect with Worden and secure him for the two special events. And speaking this week, Ryan explained that he had a double motivation for getting Worden to come to Ireland: his life-long fascination with space, combined with it being the …

A 17 year- old East Clare girl was lucky not to lose her eye after being shot with a pellet gun by another teen in Tulla on Friday. The incident occurred on the village’s Main Street at approximately 3.30pm, when the secondary school student was shot by a male of a similar age while she was standing outside a local shop. Gardai say that the shot was fired from a car and that the plastic bearing struck the girl in the face. A senior garda in Killaloe said the girl “was very lucky not to lose an eye”.  She was treated by a doctor but did not require hospitalisation. It is understood that gardai spoke with the male teenager and the pellet gun has been seized by gardai and will not be retured. Gardai have advised that although these pellet guns are legal they are “dangerous when fired indiscriminately in the direction of a person”. Carol Byrne

William O’Sullivan from Bog Road in Lisdoonvarna is the latest Clareman to strike it rich on the national lottery’s Winning Streak game show on RTE. William, who purchased his winning ticket at Spar in the North Clare town, won €50,000 including a holiday to Turkey on last Saturday night’s show which was co-hosted by Marty Whelan and Sinead Kennedy. Five players from Galway, Leitrim, Kerry, Clare and Louth won prizes to the value of €271,000. The biggest winner on the night was James Behan from Co Louth who won prizes to the value of €78,000.

KILRUSH has been named Ireland’s Tidiest Small Town in this year’s SuperValu National Tidy Towns competition. The result was announced by Mr. Alan Kelly, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government at the 2014 National SuperValu TidyTowns Awards Ceremony in Dublin. Kilrush was marked against strict adjudication criteria and beat off stiff competition from scores of other small towns throughout Ireland. Other competition winners included Kilkenny City (Tidiest Large Urban Centreand overall winner), Clonegal Co. Carlow (Tidiest Village) and Westport Co. Mayo (Tidiest Large Town). Speaking following the ceremony at The Helix, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Councillor John Crowe said the award success is a tribute to the local community in Kilrush and the work they have carried out improve the appearance of the town. He added: “Key to Kilrush’s progress in the TidyTowns competition has been the partnership approach that it been adopted locally. There is a broad range of groups and organisations now involved in promoting …

MILLIONS of people around the world will be reading all about Co Clare, Gaelic games and the art of hurley making – following the visit by travel writers from eight different countries. Invited by Tourism Ireland, the group is made up of journalists from media outlets in Brazil, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, India, New Zealand and Britain. Their itinerary has been designed by Fáilte Ireland to showcase our special national games and give the visiting journalists a flavour of the fast-paced thrill of hurling and the skill of Gaelic games. Their packed programme saw them visit places like Torpey Hurleys Workshop near Sixmilebridge to see John Torpey and his son, Seán demonstrate the art of hurley making followed by a tour of the Michael Cusack Centre in Carron. They also enjoyed an introductory hurling session with members of the Go Gaelic team, as well as a walking tour of the Burren. The grand finale of their visit was their attendance …

CLARE County Councillors have deferred a decision on a contentious proposed 15% cut on property tax for householders in the county until later this month, following legal advice. Fianna Fáil Councillors Tom McNamara and Richard Nagle proposed the council should take a decision to implement this cut at a meeting on Monday evening to give a much needed break to Clare people who are being crippled by austerity tax hikes. However, chief executive officer, Tom Coughlan informed members the authority had obtained legal advice that it couldn’t take a decision at the meeting. Councillor James Breen (Ind) asked Mr Coughlan if councillors decided at the meeting to vary the rate of property tax, would he implement this decision. Mr Coughlan replied he had a legal duty to implement any decision taken by councillors, once it was taken in accordance with the law. However, he stressed he couldn’t implement any decision taken at last Monday’s meeting because it wouldn’t meet legal …

Clare students will be celebrating their Junior Certificate results on Wednesday and as the annual celebratory disco takes place that evening in Ennis, the gardaí have issued a warning to those attending and their parents. The event takes place in Ennis on Wednesday from 7.30pm to 10.30pm and it is an alcohol free disco confined to Junior Certificate students aged between 14 and 17 years of age. “A large crowd of students are expected to attend from the county and bordering counties. To ensure a safe and enjoyable night out for these students we the Gardai have the following advice to parents, transport operators and to the students themselves. Appropriate attire would be appreciated. Parents are to ensure that arrangements are in place for the safe arrival and departure of their children. To transport operators busses are to ensure that no alcohol is allowed on their vehicles and are advised not to allow any person whom they believe to be …