Ennis

THE Ennis Trad Festival is set to bring a welcome €1 million boost to the region when it kicks off this November. Tens of thousands of music lovers are set to descend on Ennis next month for the festival.According to John Rynne, Ennis Trad Festival director, “I’ve been talking to publicans and hoteliers here about figures and the festival is definitely worth a million plus to the region every year. This would be between accommodation, drink sales, food, taxis, everything factored in. We have an enormous number of people flying in from abroad and a lot of these people would be coming for a week to the region. And what they might spend at the festival isn’t the entirety of what they would spend in the region as a result of the festival.”He added, “From a commercial point of view, the pub trade and hotels have all been hit with the recession and with winter coming in and November, with …

THERE will be plenty of model behaviour in Ennis this Saturday with shoppers having the chance to go window shopping with a difference as part of an innovative plan to showcase some of the town’s fashionable flair.A number of local boutiques have come together to display their styles in a very different way. A shop window on O’Connell Street will be transformed this Saturday with live mannequins modelling outfits from boutiques throughout the town.The event has been organised by Nicola Danagher along with Fiona Allen. Nicola explained, “We were just trying to come up with something a bit different that would attract people to come into Ennis and see just what this town has to offer, to get people to come back onto the streets and shop here. We have a wide range of styles and ages and something to suit all. We think this is a unique event and a change from the norm. This is a non-profit event, …

LOCAL schoolchildren were given some important lessons in Hallowe’en safety by members of Ennis Gardaí and Clare Fire Service in the lead-up to the holiday weekend.Pupils in schools across Ennis and its environs were told about the dangers and the laws surrounding fireworks and bonfires as part of Operation Tombola 2011. Gardaí and members of the fire service visited a number of schools, including Barefield National School, Inch National School, Coláiste Muire and CBS.Community Garda Deirdre O’Doherty explained, “This was about educating them about the dangers associated with fireworks and bonfires. This is a very important message for the children. We want people to be able to have fun at Hallowe’en but to do so safely and to consider others and to remember the laws in relation to using any fire or explosive item.”The students were shown a DVD and photographs of injuries that have been received as a result of fireworks and bonfires and urged to be careful.Both the …

FORMER Ennis priest, Fr John Molloy will be welcoming some of his old friends from the town to his new home in Monte Sinai, Ecuador in the coming days.Donal Griffin, Noel Crowley, JJ and Ann Counihan  from Ennis Tidy Towns will be heading off to South America where they will be helping Fr John with his ongoing work helping the poorest of the poor. It’s been a busy few weeks for Fr John. Bishop of Killaloe Kieran O’Reilly has just visited his Ecuador parish, while he has also welcomed his friend, Fr Malachy Murphy from Armagh. He has just said goodbye to Pat Collins, from Shanaway Road, who has been assisting Fr John with different work in the parish including construction work.In the latest of his ’Champion updates on his time at the parish of El Bautismo de Jesus, Fr John recalls the “good memories” of the time he spent in Ennis and County Clare during his visit home over …

A PILOT programme that has resulted in motorists slowing down on the Tulla Road could be extended to other parts of Ennis. At this week’s meeting of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC), which outlined that crime figures for Ennis have decreased, town manager Ger Dollard spoke about the success of the traffic management pilot scheme.Electronic displays showing the speed at which cars are travelling were installed at four points on the Tulla Road by Ennis Town Council earlier this year.The data collected is to be forwarded to the gardaí, along with being used by the town council for road design. At the meeting, Mr Dollard confirmed the pilot scheme has been a success and consideration is now being made to extend the scheme to other areas of Ennis.At the JPC meeting, Chief Superintendent Peter Duff outlined that, in general, gardaí have seen a drop in reported crime levels in comparison to the same time period last year.The number of assaults …

SHE hasn’t stepped onto the stage yet but Lorraine Battersby is already a ’Champion dancer. Lorraine will be representing The Clare Champion in this November’s Banner Jigs and Reels charity event.More used to playing the fiddle than putting on her dancing shoes, the ’Champion sub-editor is looking forward to getting up on the Glór stage to help raise much-needed funds for the Samaritans in Clare.Banner Jigs and Reels is organised by the Lions Club of Ennis, with this year’s event taking place on November 4 and 5 at 8pm. Over the last three years, more than €100,000 has been raised for local charities through Banner Jigs and Reels.Lorraine joins a host of well-known local faces in learning to Irish dance and performing in front of a live audience to raise funds for charity.“It’s ironic because a lot of my good friends are very good dancers and I’m usually the one sitting down and looking on but this time it’ll be …

CELEBRATING Faith was the theme of an ecumenical event in Ennis Cathedral last Sunday night. The Methodist motto of Friends of all, enemies of none was the theme used and the service began by acknowledging the Irish heritage and common history of Christianity from ancient times to the present.Hosted by the president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Rev Ian Henderson from Donegal, it interpreted the less well-known history of the Methodist presence in County Clare from the arrival at Carrigaholt in 1738 of the storm-driven ship carrying the evangelist George Whitefield, through the visits of the founder of Methodism John Wesley and Irish-speaking fellow-preachers and the survival of small congregations until the arrival of people from Africa in recent years.The event was organised by the Methodist Church’s pioneer ministry in Clare. According to Dr Rosemary Power of the Methodist Church in Clare, “This event served to unite isolated members and to recognise the traditions of serving the local community …

SUPPORTERS of Éire Óg are being urged to don the red and white and come out in force to support the team this weekend as they compete against Ruan in the intermediate hurling final at Cusack Park.Club chairman, Pat Daly said, “This is a huge occasion for Éire Óg. We went down to intermediate three years ago but we should be playing senior hurling. Ruan were in the final last year and they’re a strong team. They’ll be difficult to beat, so we’re going to need all of our supporters to come out and get behind us. “We’re a small club in a big town and we are hoping that past players, present players and supporters will be in Cusack Park shouting for the townie team. We have a team of fine players, with plenty of youth and also lots of experience so it should be a great game,” he concluded.