Ennis

THE Ennis All Stars Football team won the cup again at the 25th Annual SARI Soccerfest (Sports Against Racism Ireland) which took place in Dublin last weekend. The team were retaining the title they won in 2019, with the tournament not taking place in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Ennis teams have participated in the tournament for over 22 years and this is the fourth victory. Over that time hundreds of players from up to 25 countries have played for the honour of the Banner county. Some of the players have moved away from Clare for study or work in the past few years but steadfastly step up to represent the Banner at the Soccerfest. “We are delighted especially to win it back to back like this. As we know the past 2 years have been very difficult for some people and it’s good to see a return to this wonderful sporting event “ said player Julius Leke. …

ENNIS Scouts are looking forward to celebrating on the double this weekend. September marks the 90th year of Scouting in Ennis and the 1st and 4th Clare Group are looking forward to catching up with former and current members at the official opening of their new Scout Hall on Station Road this Saturday. The new state-of-the-art Scout Hall is the result of a massive community effort and fundraising campaign. The Scout Hall will be officially opened on Saturday by Chief Scout Jill Pitcher Farrell who is the youngest and first female Chief Scout. The Ennis Scouts group was founded in 1932 and the very first meetings were held in a room above Griffin’s shop in the Square. “We have had various homes throughout the years including the building where Madden’s furniture shop is now, the old cinema and in the early 1960s we moved to our two present location which was built as a temporary hall until a suitable hall …

IN perhaps a fitting end for somebody planning on joining the priesthood, Councillor Mark Nestor’s final Ennis Municipal District meeting saw him raise issues relating to a religious grotto and Drumcliffe graveyard. Before announcing he was stepping down from his role as an elected official the Fianna Fáil councillor raised two final motions at the September Ennis Municipal District meeting. The Cloughleigh-based councillor requested works be carried out on the steps beside the grotto in nearby Hermitage “to ensure they are safe for use for residents in the area”. Ian Chaplin, acting senior executive engineer, told the meeting the location has been assessed by Ennis Municipal District. “The steps leading up to the grotto are in an accessible condition including steel handrails to aid access to the grotto itself. The concrete base and mosaic style tile used at the top of the grotto has become fractured. “We will request the Rural Development Officer to engage with the residents association to …

AN Ennis soccer club has kicked off a new initiative with the goal of highlighting the services of the Samaritans in Clare. Fair Green Celtic Football Club have teamed up with the Samaritans of Ennis and Clare in a project which is thought to be a first for any team in the Clare District Soccer League, and they are hoping that others will follow their lead. Part of the initiative sees the phone number to contact the Samaritans printed on the jerseys of the club’s players as a reminder that there is support out there for anybody who needs help. A portion of all money raised from club fundraising has also been pledged to the Samaritans, including from a planned charity match with Ennis’s Soccer Sisters on St Stephen’s Day. Team manager Richie O’Grady explains that when he and club chairman Declan Ryan first discussed the idea of setting up a new club in Ennis they wanted it to be …

ENNIS Cathedral Choir Director Fiona Walsh is hopeful a new musical programme launched this month will strike the right note when it comes to reinvigorating cathedral choral singing. The new Ennis Cathedral programme offers singing opportunities for youngsters, teenagers and adults with Fiona telling us, “We are really trying to elevate the music in the Cathedral and to attract people who really enjoy singing and give them an opportunity to get involved.” She adds, “A huge amount of choirs couldn’t really operate during Covid, we had music at the Cathedral but this is a way for us to get people back singing together.” Part of the new programme will be monthly performances at a special Sunday mass of music by the great church composers Mozart, Mozart, Gounod, Hadyn and Jenkins. Singers interested in joining the choir in delivering this programme are being encouraged to get involved. The adult choir is also actively recruiting 20 male and female teenage voices from …

TEENAGERS will be showcasing and sharing their creativity at a special gathering in Ennis this weekend. ‘A Teenage Gathering’is part of the Local Creative Youth Partnership’s Call & Response Festival and will be held on Saturday, September 17 in glór. Monica Spencer, Creative Youth Partnership Co-ordinator with the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board explained, “It is a social and cultural event taking place over an afternoon where young people can share their creative skills in dance, music, spoken word, make-up, photography, henna tattoo, drawing and food. “This event is presented by the Local Creative Youth Partnership in response to requests from teenagers through consultations throughout Clare in recent years.” A Teenage Gathering is free but participants are asked to bring something to share in the form of a song, poem, drawing technique, some food or any part of their everyday culture that others might like to see or hear. LCYP is now in its third year of running …

LAST Sunday, September 4 marked an historic day in the life of the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul in Ennis. It was on September 4, 1842 that the then Parish Priest Dean Terence O’Shaughnessy celebrated the first Mass in the O’Connell Street Church. Although the church was far from complete, it was a great day for the 82-year-old parish priest as the financial burden of the project had been enormous at a time when many parishioners were living in extreme poverty. The decision to build a new church was taken at a parish meeting in 1821. Seven years later, Francis Gore, a Protestant, donated a site on the edge of the town for a nominal rent. Dean O’Shaughnessy sensed that the Church to be built would one day become the Cathedral Church of the Diocese as it was very probable that Ennis would become the future residence of the Bishop of Killaloe. In the summer of 1828 there was …

WATER quality in parts of Ennis has been described as “deplorable” resulting in illness and malfunctioning appliances for concerned householders. Homes in Ard na Greine, St Michael’s Villas and St Flannan’s Terrace have been affected by “ongoing difficulities” with the quality of their water supply a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard this week. Councillor Paul Murphy highlighted the issue while urging the Ennis Municipal District and Irish Water to facilitate mains rehabilitation and road reinstatement works between Captain Mac’s Junction and Station Cross roundabout. Ian Chaplin, Acting Senior Executive Engineer confirmed that the Ennis Municipal District and Irish Water have been in discussions and a meeting is due to take place to finalise plans for the works. He added that the council is aiming to schedule works for a time that “least inconveniences the public”. According to Councillor Murphy these works were due to be carried out during Christmas of last year. He said that the issue needs …