Ennis

IT’S panto time in Ennis again and the Pantaloons have chosen Jack and the Beanstalk for their 11th production. According to Maeve Fox of the Pantaloons, this year’s production brings a new twist to the classic tale. “This year’s panto is all about a poor boy called Jack who lives with his Mammy, Lola. One day Lola tells Jack that they have no money so he will have to take Dave the cow to market and sell him. On the way Jack meets Lady and Gaga who give him magic beans in exchange for Dave. Lola is so cross with Jack when he gets home with the beans that she throws them out into the garden; overnight the beans grow into a huge beanstalk. Then we find out what happens when Jack climbs up the beanstalk. Will Evil Lord Flatulant evict Lola and Jack from their house?  Will Isabelle fall in love with Jack? Along the way we meet Force …

A CLARE County Councillor this week called for a reduction in parking charges in Ennis from €1.30 per hour to €1. Councillor Pat Daly was speaking after Ennis Town Council announced details of a new parking incentive scheme it is introducing in a move to promote Christmas and new-year shopping in the county capital.At the November Ennis East Area Meeting, Councillor Daly had called for the first hour of parking in Ennis to be free of charge “particularly as so many rate-paying businesses in the town are struggling to survive”.On Wednesday, Ennis Town Council announced that free parking will be applicable to the town’s 759 off-street and 783 on-street public car-parking spaces up to 12 noon daily from this Saturday to January 7 inclusive.Councillor Daly said he was delighted to see the free early morning parking for December and the beginning of January and suggested that “the council should now reduce the one-hour parking fee from €1.30 to €1 as …

COUNTY Clare victims of rape and sexual assault will have essential counselling services at their doorstep after a new rape crisis outreach centre was officially opened in Ennis last week.Mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes officially opened the new Ennis Rape Crisis Centre saying that it was encouraging in times of recession to see positive initiatives such as the opening of a new centre in the Mid-West Region.“Rape Crisis Mid-West has been providing free and confidential services to survivors of rape and sexual assault for over 30 years now. This new centre has been opened in response to the needs of service users in County Clare – many were finding the journey to Limerick difficult and it became necessary to provide the counselling services nearer to home. “It is a mark of the determinedness of the staff at Rape Crisis Mid-West to open here at Ennis without any direct Government funding for the overheads. They will rely on the generosity of …

CHRISTY Healy collected his certificate from Guinness World Records at the weekend after the organisation confirmed he is the first man to complete a 10km dive without surfacing. The Barefield man undertook the dive in Lough Derg recently to raise money for Limerick-based charity, Share A Dream Foundation. He completed the task in six hours and 21 minutes.This length of the dive, recorded with photographs, video and technical evidence, proved sufficient for Guinness World Records to award Christy with a certificate confirming his accolade. The award was presented to Christy at the annual Share A Dream Foundation Children of Courage Awards in Limerick on Saturday night. The successful dive was Christy’s second attempt at the record in three weeks having previously attempted the task off the North Clare coast in October, where he managed 9.4km before surfacing.“I have the evidence that I did it. I have the plaque and I have the card and the whole lot and I’m happy …

TRIBUTES were paid this week to the late Mrs Margaret O’Dea, 66 O’Connell Street who lived a long, eventful and colourful life. It was recalled that many of her deeds included the treatment of people in Birmingam during the bombing blitz during the Second World War and during her many years as midwife, she also helped bring generations of people into the world. Aged 92 years, the former Margaret O’Brien from Cappafeean, Crusheen, died at Kilcolgan Nursing Home on Friday last. She was married to the late  Michael O’Dea and for many years and was a familar figure in the running of the well-known grocery shop and bar business on O’Connell Street.The eldest of a family of six girls and five boys, her parents were Johnny O’Brien and Mary Ann (nee McMahon).Educated locally, she emigrated to England in 1937 before the war years. After taking up residence in Birmingham, she trained as a general nurse and later as a midwife …

TONY award-winning actress Marie Mullen will officially open the All-Ireland One Act Drama Finals when it comes to Ennis this December. The Ennis Players have won the honour of hosting this prestigious event in the county town from December 2 to December 4.The finals, run under the auspices of the Drama League of Ireland (DLI) and the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI), will be held at Glór. This will be a welcome return for the event to the Banner County, previously hosted by Ennis in 2003.“Ennis Players won this prestigious event in 2001 and 2004 and a warm welcome will be extended to the 12 competing one-act plays and groups from all over Ireland,” said Jackie Scanlan, PRO for the Ennis Players.Over 50 groups are currently in the throes of competing at the 21 qualifying festivals throughout the country from Rossmore in West Cork to Bangor and Ards in County Down. Twelve groups will qualify for the finals and …

PARKING angels, buy-one-get-one-free car parking and free parking in the town were just some of the innovative suggestions made by local councillors in a bid to attract shoppers to Ennis in the run-up to Christmas.A recent meeting of Ennis Town Council, along with meetings this week of both Ennis East and Ennis West Electoral Areas, saw local councillors call for more to be done to entice shoppers to the town.At the town council, Councillor Johnny Flynn, proposed a notice of motion that the local authority “provide value public parking incentives during the upcoming Christmas retail period, from mid-November to new year to increase economic activity in both the local economy and use of car-parking assets”.Councillor Flynn outlined, “Such incentives could include Saturday ‘buy one, get one free’, where if you buy a ticket, you get an hour free. Limerick and Galway have started offering reduced and sometimes zero cost parking. We need to look at ways of generating value for …

ENNIS should be first in line when it comes to the allocation of council staff resources, a local councillor has claimed.At this week’s meeting of Ennis East Electoral Area councillors, Councillor Tommy Brennan urged, “Our biggest problem in Ennis is we have no men to do what we have to get done. Ennis is the capital town of the county with one third of its population. “Instead of council staff working outside the town, the staff should be here in Ennis. The staff should be relocated so that they can deal with Ennis first.”He was speaking as councillors discussed ongoing flooding issues on the Kilrush Road, which were raised by both Councillor Johnny Flynn and Councillor Pat Daly.According to Councillor Flynn, the ongoing footpath and road flooding on the Kilrush Road just before the entrance to the town side of Collins Park is “creating a safety risk to pedestrians, residents and road users”.Councillor Daly urged the local authority to investigate …