East Clare

A KILLALOE tennis coach is serving up more free coaching sessions for underprivileged children and adults in memory of his parents in Romania from June 23 to 29. Wesley O’Brien is raising money to fund his latest overseas trip through his charity “Hit and Hope”. Mr O’Brien set up this charity to bring free tennis lessons and equipment to kids and youth affected by war and conflict. It has grown to provide tennis coaching in refugee camps, disadvantaged communities, underprivileged kids and special needs families from all over Europe. His latest venture will be done in memory of his parents who died within three weeks of each other earlier this year. Mary O’Brien, née Reddan, Crossroads, Killaloe, died on Christmas Eve, 2003 before her husband, Eddie on January 14, 2024. “I was doing these trips for a long time before my parents passed away. But these trips are particularly relevant to me now. I like to think that my parents’ …

THE UPGRADING of an East Clare route into a new greenway could become a major tourist attraction, according to a local historian. Ger Madden believes there are few roads in the Sliabh Aughties as worthy of being kept in repair as the old road from Mountshannon to Flagmount linking Lough Derg and Lough Graney, which was built in 1841. Unfortunately, it is probably one of the worst roads in the country. Describing this as the “road less travelled” and a real “gem”, Mr Madden believes it should be developed into a greenway at a fraction of the millions of Euro being spent on developing other similar developments in the county. “It is a vital link if tourism is ever going to be developed in the Sliabh Aughties. It is a mystery in this age of greenways why it is so neglected,” he said. “This road and an off shoot to Woodford through the nearly deserted village of Derrygoolin has the …

Killaloe Ballina Tennis Club has served up a major volley after completing a state-of-the-art €1 million development with two permanently covered tennis courts, which are the first of its kind outside Dublin. More than a decade of countless hours planning and sourcing the best materials and facilities for a huge steel frame dome means that 700 members can book a slot to play tennis all year round regardless of weather conditions. Club chairman, Patrick Seymour pointed out the committee didn’t employ any overall contractor or site manager as various elements were broken down and managed using the expertise of committee and club members, which saved a lot of money. “Building on the project started in August 2021. It was a long construction project. During the project work had to be parked to allow us to plan for the next phase. “Construction of the dome started last October, which has just been completed. There were times during the project when we …

Waterways Ireland has been urged to proactively engage with landowners once the preferred route for the proposed Limerick to Scariff Greenway is selected. This was stressed by Councillor Pat Burke (FG) following a presentation by Waterways Ireland, Western Regional Manager, Brian Treacy at a recent Killaloe Municipal District meeting. As a farmer working on the shores of Lough Derg near Dromann Harbour, Burke recalled he has received phone calls from land owners on the Limerick and Clare side of Lough Derg enquiring if the final route selection has been made. “If someone gets on a bike in Limerick and arrives in Scariff along the greenway and asks where is Iniscealtra or Holy Island and how do we get there, in my view, it should have continued to Mountshannon,” he said. “Even if the greenway went north of Scariff, it doesn’t have to run by the lakeshore. It should connect to Mountshannon in some form from the low or the high …

SMALL acts of kindness can make a big difference to a person living with dementia, according to Limerick dementia advisor, Sean Donal O’Shea. Mr O’Shea urges any family member who is caring for a person with dementia to contact their local dementia advisor. He also believes a person should also contact their local general practitioner who will know the family and their circumstances. “There is a dementia advisor in every county now. Six or seven years ago, there were only eight dementia advisors in the country. Now we have 31. This shows the Government is listening,” he said. “I have been lobbying with the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland since 2007. There was nothing in budget after budget. In the most recent budget, ringfenced dementia funding has been provided, which is very valuable. “It is the small things that are the big things for a person with dementia. Covid-19 was an eye-opener for everyone when we were all locked in to …

Growing up in a twin community straddling two counties has helped a World Dance Championship entrant to take part in Rose of Tralee selection conventions in successive years. Tara Brady, Ballina, will participate in the Tipperary Rose selection in the Anner Hotel on March 24, a week before she will be competing in the World Dance Championships. Last year, Ms Brady (23) participated in the Clare Rose competition following encouragement from her uncle, Eddie O’Gorman, Killaloe. “It was a fabulous experience. I met so many intelligent, brilliant, funny girls. I would probably have never met them only for the Clare Rose because they all came from different backgrounds and age groups,” she said. “I am still in contact with some of those girls today. I would encourage any woman who is thinking about entering the Rose competition to go for it. “You learn a lot about yourself and it is a great confidence builder. The whole emphasis is on the …

    An Ardnacrusha third-level student scooped €3,000 as part of a prestigious prize to help her academic pursuits. Eva McMahon (21) was one of the three University of Limerick students from the Faculty of Science and Engineering who received prestigious awards from Regeneron Ireland. Ms McMahon, Kate Storan from Dooradoyle and Anna Feenan from Carrigaline were presented with their awards at a special ceremony in Regeneron’s Industrial Operations and Production Supply (IOPS) facility in Raheen, Limerick recently. Students from the University of Limerick were given the unique opportunity to compete for awards in Quality Control, Manufacturing, or Engineering, depending on their specific field of study. The students were tasked with the exciting challenge of developing a project based on a topic provided by Regeneron. They presented their work to a group of business representatives, followed by an interactive question and answer session, allowing them to engage directly with Regeneron colleagues. The three award winners received a paid internship at …

Ballina Handball Club has installed a new defibrillator costing an estimated €1,600 on the outside wall of their handball alley for the benefit of the club and residents. This latest initiative is part of the club’s drive to increase the provision of facilities for the benefit of the local national school and the local community. The first part of this drive was the introduction of dads and lads as well as mothers and others in the handball alley to encourage people to engage in a fun physical exercise without the commitment of training for or entering a competition. This started about three weeks ago and already it is proving very popular with people who never played handball previously. Teaming up with Defibs for Life in Nenagh, the club contacted this organisation who was delighted to supply a defibrillator on the proviso they would receive a donation. Club Chairman, Paddy Collins explained a defibrillator is essential for a club and the …