Regional

Four decades ago, Ennistymon was a town of 52 pubs, one for every week of the year. Over the years however, the North Clare market town has been transformed from a town of pubs into a town of 52 galleries, cafés and artisan food producers. The genesis of this unlikely transformation was in a year-long art project entitled Ennistymon 1984. That project was the brainchild of Marian Fitzgibbon, the Mid-West regional arts officer at the time, and was originally focused on the town’s unique shop fronts. It was spearheaded by Cork woman, Úna McCarthy, who relocated to North Clare for the year and, with massive support from the local community, helped to organise 100 different arts events and in the process reshape the destiny of the entire region. Miss McCarthy now runs the Limerick City Gallery and also sits on the board of the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon. She believes that Ennistymon 1984 helped transform the town and how we …

AN Ennis man who has been held at gunpoint by Israeli soldiers in Hebron, witnessing first hand what it is like for those living in Palestine, is among the organisers of a protest by EU civil servants in Brussels calling out the “inaction” of the bloc. Manus Carlisle, who grew up in Roslevan, and describes himself as a “proud Clare man” is an organiser of the ‘EU Staff for Peace & Justice’ campaign in Brussels. The campaign is made up of a large group of EU civil servants “who have been horrified by the violence taking place in Palestine and the inaction of the European Union in the face of the violence”, he explains. The group have collected over 1,700 signatures from EU civil servants expressing their growing concern over the ongoing crisis in Gaza. They have also demonstrated outside of their workplaces in the EU institutions in Brussels demanding an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza, for the EU and …

WITH the impact of the internet being one of the most serious issues facing parents nowadays, Clonmoney National School have joined the Agree to Agree programme, which provides a framework for internet usage for children. Agree to Agree sees feedback gathered from parents, children and teachers, before a bespoke agreement for a school is reached. Clonmoney National School principal David McCormack said that it had been apparent that there were issues around social media usage, leading to the school going with Agree to Agree. “It was in response to a growing trend where many pupils felt isolated or excluded in their class settings if they weren’t using certain social media apps such as SnapChat and TikTok,” he said. “We have had children in our senior classes who have been on group chats on these platforms and this caused a lot of upset due to the nature of the interactions, some of them could be quite toxic. We were also aware …

North Clare bid a fond farewell to two women who have helped shape the educational landscape of the area this week as both Mary Lyons and Seosaimhín Uí Dhomhnalláin retired from teaching. The two women, who were recently principals of the Ennistymon CBS and Scoil Mhuire respectively, enjoyed their last day of teaching this Tuesday, after a combined total of 81 years in Ennistymon. Indeed, both women’s careers had many similarities – both made Clare their home after falling for West Clare men, both had their first stint of teaching in the Kilrush CBS in the early 1980s and both oversaw the massive educational transition which eventually birthed the Ennistymon Community School. A proud Cork woman, Mary Lyons was drawn to education by a love of science. She came to the Ennistymon CBS in 1985 and over the years has taught chemistry, science, religion PE and business. She became deputy principal in 2000 and principal in 2016. “I made Clare …

Uisce Éireann has said it is working to restore water supply “as quickly as possible” following a burst watermain in Kilrush. The areas affected include Kilrush, Killimer, Cooraclare, Creegh, Mullagh and surrounding areas in the county. Homes and businesses in Kilrush and surrounding areas may experience low water pressure, temporary water discolouration or intermittent disruptions to water supply today. The water utility company has said expert water service crews have been dispatched and are carrying out the required repair works, with every effort being made to complete this work as quickly as possible. Works are scheduled to take place until 8pm this evening (Tuesday). “Following repair works, it typically takes two to three hours for normal supply to be fully restored to all areas as the water refills the network, especially for those on higher ground or at the end of the network. We understand how disruptive unplanned outages are and we regret the inconvenience caused. We would like to …

IT looks as if hundreds of adventure race competitors have enjoyed the unique experience of running across the water on the longest temporary pontoon bridge ever built in Ireland last Saturday for the last time. Conceived and built for the first Quest Lough Derg in 2019, Elite Event Management came up with the idea when faced with the logistical challenge of moving participants safely across the water from Killaloe to Ballina. While Elite Management is planning to host Quest Lough Derg again next year in Ballina and Killaloe, organisers are hoping the temporary pontoon may no longer be necessary once the new River Shannon Crossing is operational, which is expected to be open before September 2025. In a joint partnership between Elite Event Management, Waterways Ireland, Tipperary and Clare County Councils, it is Ireland’s biggest temporary pontoon over the Shannon at 170 metres, and was the fourth time a new bridge had been built in Killaloe in 300 years. In …

A FUNERAL planning service is one of the more unusual items which will be going under the hammer next month as part of an innovative fundraising effort in aid of a well known Clare charity. Ennis Lions Club and Clare FM are partnering again to hold their third annual Radio Charity Auction with this year’s chosen charity Sláinte an Chláir, Clare Cancer Support. The local voluntary organisation provide extensive free services to people with a cancer diagnosis. As well as the funeral service, other prizes on offer include vouchers for local businesses and an overnight stay in a five star Dublin hotel. People will have the opportunity to bid on the wide variety of donated items and services online by registering in advance of the auction going live from October 7 at ennislionsclub.ie. The live auction will be hosted by Clare FM on October 18. While Sláinte an Chláir gets no government or HSE financial support they continue to provide …

North Clare artist, Tina O’Connell, has been turning heads in the art world this year, winning a number of awards and having a piece of sculpture accepted into the permanent collection at the Limerick City Gallery. Tina, who took up art just 12 years ago, has had a meteoric rise in recent years, first completing FETAC level 5 and 6 courses in Ennistymon before finishing her degree this year at the Limerick School of Art and Design. Indeed, on the back of some of the sculptures she has completed over the past seven months, Tina currently has an exhibition running in Limerick City Gallery. The Lisdoonvarna single mother has worked hard for her success, putting in long hours this winter to perfect her craft. “I focussed on getting my thesis done before Christmas. I really knuckled down and said that, come January, I would get stuck into studio work,” she said “I ended up carving a lot from home in …