News

ENNIS-based priest Fr Ger Fitzgerald is attempting to break the world record for the longest journey on a land rowing machine, in aid of Clare Haven and Bushy Park Ennis. In order to get into the Guinness Book of World Records, the cleric must complete at least 5,280km on the rowing machine. The current record holder is Rob Bryant, an American man who covered a distance measuring 5,278.5km on a land rowing machine. “Last year, I attempted to cycle 30 miles every day for 30 days in aid of Barnardo’s Children’s Charity. With much support from my friends in Ennis, I was able to succeed and raised over €6,000 for the charity. This year, I wanted to do something different for a local charity and the idea I got was to attempt to break a world record. Given that I wouldn’t be very fit at the best of times and also given the fact that I have no patience for …

THE Killaloe Coast Guard Unit has launched an appeal for new volunteers to fill some vacancies in its unit. With 16 male and three female members in the current search and rescue service, the unit is seeking to recruit at least three new members, as a few other volunteers may leave over the coming months, due to work commitments. Led by officer in charge (OIC), Joe Doolan, the unit is Government-funded and doesn’t have to fundraise, unlike its predecessor, the Killaloe Ballina Search and Rescue Service. Acknowledging that training and call-outs were “time-consuming”, deputy OIC, Damien Madden insists it is also “very rewarding” for members who are involved in rescuing people from the lake or aftermishaps on land. “It is a great service for the community. Anyone who is using Lough Derg and gets into trouble, knows we are there at the end of a call by contacting 999 or 112. Once we are called out, we are normally in …

CLOHANES National School in Doonbeg will mark its 125th anniversary on the weekend of August 15 to 17. The 44-pupil, two-teacher school also has a resource teacher, along with a special needs assistant and a school secretary. The committee established to mark the milestone, and chaired by Mick Carrick, has produced a very informative 160-page book, which details the long history of the school. School principal Aideen O’Mahoney is a past pupil and, intriguingly, was her mother’s boss when she was appointed to her current post in 1993. “My mother (Marie Shanahan) taught me in the junior classroom for four years. Then, when I came back in 1993 as principal, I was my mother’s principal for nine years,” Aideen said. So how did that work out? “We got on well. As I often said, I was the principal, she was the boss. She showed me the ropes. She knew everybody, knew the locality and knew all of the families. It …

BACK-to-school costs are going to hit many families harder than ever in the next few weeks, according to Clare MABS and Citizens Information. “An increasing number of families are seeking information and advice about how to get additional assistance with school costs. Many low-income working families are not in receipt of social welfare,” said Paul Woulfe, manager, Clare Citizens Information Service. “They are, therefore, not entitled to a Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BTSCFA) payment, even where their income is below or equivalent to a social welfare payment for their family size,” he contined. He said a number of one-parent families have experienced a 6% loss in income this year, reflecting a reduction in the means test for one-parent families, the extension of the USC and a reduction in child benefit. Cuts in Child Benefit and Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BTSCFA) have also impacted on most low-income families with children. “In addition, the BTSCFA has been reduced …

August 2, 2014, was a special day in the life of GAA referee Flan O’Reilly. When he travelled to Clonlara to take charge of the Intermediate Hurling Championship tie between Smith O’Brien’s and Meelick, he knew it was a landmark game in his refereeing career. Saturday’s outing marked Flan’s 3,000th match as ‘the man in the middle’. “I had refereed a number of games for the South Clare Divisional Board in 1992 before I started to keep a record. The first game that I recorded was a junior hurling fixture between Sixmilebridge and Parteen in early 1993. It ended in a draw,” the Cratloe clubman told The Clare Champion this week. Having reached this significant milestone in his refereeing career, Flan said he has no plans to retire. In fact, since taking charge of his 3000th match, he has refereed another couple of games and as he spoke on Wednesday, he was preparing for another assignment later that evening. “Jim …

LOOP HEAD Tourism chairman, Cillian Murphy says that a recent LEADER-sponsored study has calculated that geological group visits to the peninsula are worth up to €1.5m to the West Clare economy. He says that geological visits have increased by approximately 30% this year. “We had a study done with the help of LEADER funding to look at putting a geology centre on the peninsula. Part of the study looked at where the companies were coming from and how much they spent. The estimate was that each trip is worth somewhere in the region of €50,000. That’s direct spend in here. That’s not left in an office in Houston. That’s bills paid on the peninsula. Definitely we have seen between 20 and 25 trips this summer,” Cillian Murphy revealed. “Anecdotally, I would think that we’re up about 30% this year. That’s group visits. Loop Head is now a very attractive proposition for the petro-chemical industry to come and look at the …

ABOUT 1,400 students and their families in Clare have a nervous week ahead, as they await the Leaving Cert results, which will be released on Wednesday. This year, 664 girls and 729 boys were registered to sit their final State exams in June, while a further 31 females and 36 males were registered for the Leaving Cert Applied. This week, they will find out how they got on. Gardaí in Clare are encouraging young people to enjoy themselves but to behave responsibly in their celebrations. “People have put a lot of hard work into getting these results and we are here to facilitate them having a good and safe time. There is a responsibility on people to ensure they don’t over-do it and get over-enthusiastic and drink too much because, if that happens, we will have to step in and may have to arrest them. Leaving Cert results are the start of a whole new chapter in people’s lives and …

CHILDREN and teenagers in Kilrush, this week and last, are following in a long tradition of coming to Cappa for swimming lessons. During the last week in July and first week of August, everyone in Kilrush is aware of the lessons. Shoppers and shopkeepers meet and greet locals and returned sons and daughters who are “to-ing and fro-ing” with the new crop of swimmers to Cappa pier and beach, just one mile outside Kilrush. On the pier, the atmosphere is electric, where under the tutelage of organising committee member, Margaret Talty and Clare Water Safety, generations of families return annually to improve their swimming and water safety skills. Margaret Talty has been participating in and helping to run these lessons for over 40 years. Margaret, or Mags as she is known to everyone, has carved out a reputation for excellence in swimming and water safety training. She qualified as a safety instructor at 17 and went on to progress through …