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East Clare

Quin footbridge most preferred option

A PETITION yielding 596 signatures lobbying for the construction of a footbridge in Quin has led a local councillor to call on the council to abandon plans to provide pedestrian access on the existing bridge in favour of developing a footbridge. Councillor Sonny Scanlan, who last week announced his intention to retire from local politics, said the last item he would like to secure for his community before he hangs up his boots is a footbridge. He explained that over the last two months, a petition calling for a footbridge to be constructed has been issued to locals and has secured 596 signatures. Although a part eight planning application has already been granted for works on the existing bridge, Councillor Scanlan is calling for this to be scrapped. “What I want them to do is to forget about that and to put in a part eight for a footbridge, instead of the footpath on top of the bridge. There would …

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Didi to develop super food project in Haiti

WHITEGATE resident and volunteer with NGO Amurtel, Didi Ananda Prama Driscoll returns to Haiti this December to help continue her work with those displaced by the 2010 earthquake that devastated Port Au Prince. This is Didi’s third year working with Amurtel in Haiti and on this trip she will spend two months in Port Au Prince, where she is hoping to develop a project growing spirulina, a super protein food. “There are still 250,000 people in camps. One and a half million lost their homes in Haiti during the earthquake. We work mainly with women and children and we still have schools and our children’s homes have expanded. We now have two children’s homes, one in Port Au Prince and also another on the border with the Dominican Republic. We still have programmes with women, where we do microfinance. That’s where we give them a little money and they see what they can do with it, for example if they …

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Andrew’s wish comes true

SEVEN-year-old Andrew Burke from Whitegate has had his wishes come true, as he received a number of special surprises on Saturday. The Make a Wish Foundation arranged for Andrew’s wish of owning a puppy to come true. Andrew suffers from neuphratic syndrome, a condition affecting the function of his kidneys. Andrew was put forward for the wish by his play specialist in Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Olive Kenny. As part of this, Andrew had to fill out a wish book, which asked him things such as if he could be anyone in the world, who would he be or if he could meet anyone in the world, who would he meet, as well as other things such as his favourite restaurant, which he said is the Half Barrel in Whitegate. He filled out every bit of it himself and when it came to choosing his number one wish, he said he wanted a puppy. Mum, Leanne, explained what happened on …

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Plans Lodged for new Tulla school

ST Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla is one step closer to moving to a new site. A planning application for their proposed 650-pupil school was lodged with Clare County Council last week. The secondary school, which has been educating young people from the heart of Tulla village since 1985, is set to move to a new green-field 10 acre site on Chapel Street, 700m south-west of the existing site. The project, which is part of a public-private partnership and is part of the school bundle four programme facilitated by the National Development Finance Agency, is expected to start in the last quarter of 2014. Construction is expected to take up to 18 months, with an outer completion date of March 2016. The capital value of the school bundle four programme, which covers the development of six schools, is €65 million excluding VAT. School principal Margaret O’Brien said the reality of what is to come is starting to sink in among …

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Fionn’s film attracts national attention

A NEW production company in East Clare is making waves on the media circuit. Having already featured on The Saturday Night Show, the father and son outfit even had to turn down an appearance on The Late Late Show. Fionnathan Productions is a not-for-profit collaboration between 17-year-old Fionn Crombie Angus and his father, Jonathan Angus, from Mountshannon. Fionn has a passion for filming, music, nature and a love for life. Over the last year the teenager, who has Down Syndrome, has been exploring his passions on video, as well as filming what others are passionate about. “We’ve been making videos for a couple of years just for fun. This summer the Tour de Munster was coming through and because they give their money to Down Syndrome, we wanted to do something. So we thought, let’s make a video. We talked about interviewing people around County Clare with Down Syndrome but Fionn came up with the brilliant question, ‘what do you …

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€1,000 Funding Boost For Mountshannon Community Council

MOUNTSHANNON Community Council is the recipient of a €1,000 funding boost, as part of a nationwide campaign aimed at supporting stand-out community groups and clubs by local retailer Spar. Patron of the Helping Hand Community Fund and Olympic gold medallist Katie Taylor was on hand at a gala event in Dublin recently to acknowledge Mountshannon Community Council on their success. The SPAR Helping Hand Community Fund of €50,000 was launched earlier this year as part of the brand’s celebration of its 50th anniversary in Ireland. Funding recipients have been selected on the basis of their contribution to their local communities, along with their need for additional financial support. Speaking about the funding, Tom McNamara of Mountshannon Community Council said, “We are delighted to accept this funding, which recognises our role in the local community and which will go a long way in helping us to provide this worthwhile service”. Katie Taylor said “Mountshannon Community Council is obviously a cornerstone of …

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‘Teething problems’ with one-way system

By Dan Danaher A SENIOR local authority engineer has revealed he was almost knocked down in Scariff recently because the driver felt he didn’t have to stop at a stop sign. Concern about a small number of motorists who ignore some of new traffic-calming measures introduced last August in the East Clare town, as part of the new one-way system, has been expressed by senior executive engineer, Hugh McGrath. Mr McGrath ruled out calls from Councillors Pat Hayes and Joe Cooney for an immediate review to iron out some “teething problems” following the recent introduction of the long-awaited new traffic management system. Instead, Mr McGrath pledged to look at this issue again next January or February, when about six months would have elapsed. He also expressed scepticism as to whether Clare County Council could do anymore in terms of providing additional signage, as suggested by Councillor Cooney. “The council can’t plan for people who are not opening their eyes while …

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Feakle conference nominated for national award

THE committee of the Parkinson’s Health Conference in Feakle are preparing for ‘the Oscars of Irish Medicine’, as their event has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award at the Irish Medical Times Irish Healthcare Awards. The conference, which highlighted a research study by an Italian neurologist into the benefits of set dancing for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients, has been shortlisted in the Best Patient Education Project, Non-Pharma category. Therapeutic Effects of Irish Set Dancing on Parkinson’s Disease – Feakle Health Conference, is one of three shortlisted in the category and was chosen out of nine entries. There were 120 overall entries to the awards in total. Described by its organisers as “this year’s ‘Oscars’ of Irish medicine”, the winners will be revealed at a gala event run by the Irish Medical Times in the Shelbourne Hotel on Thursday, November 7. The awards are now in their 12th year and recognise originality, excellence and innovation in such areas as hospital …

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