Ennis

Motorists travelling along the Ennis to Kilmaley road by the Ennis Golf Club were driving in excess of 70km per hour in the 50km zone prior to the installation of ramps, it was revealed at the Ennis West Electoral area meeting this week.The ramps were a cause of much disquiet locally following their installation last month and prompted Councillor Tom McNamara to table a motion to have them removed. Councillor McNamara suggested that if left in their current form, the ramps would be “illegal” under the legislation dealing with speed ramps and called for the pedestrian crossing with traffic lights to be installed and for the ramps to be removed.Councillor McNamara claimed the traffic ramps created on the R474 to provide a pedestrian crossing between both sides of Ennis golf course failed to live up to the spirit of the act governing the installation of speed ramps. He called for them to be removed with immediate effect and replaced with …

It is expected the people of Ennis will see activity on site in respect of phase two of the Ennis Flood Relief Works by mid to late September “nearly the second anniversary of the flooding in Ennis”, it has been revealed. A motion was tabled at the Ennis West Electoral Area meeting on Monday by Councillor Tony Mulqueen calling for the proposed start date for phase two of these relief works. Responding to the motion, Eamon O’Dea, senior executive engineer, explained that works were “expected to begin by September” but this expected start date could “go up or down by a half a month on either side”. “The OPW will be forwarding the confirmation documents for the River Fergus Lower (Ennis) Certified Drainage Scheme to the Department of Finance before the end of May. It is anticipated that the confirmation documents will be returned to the OPW before the end of June and the required tender procedures will take a …

A COMMEMORATIVE garden dedicated to all those who suffered abuse in childhood was officially opened this week in the grounds of Ennis Town Council’s offices at Waterpark House.The garden, which features a central piece of sculpture by acclaimed artist Michael McTigue, was launched by Mayor of Ennis Councillor Tommy Brennan.The sculpture depicts words from the poem Lyric number 38 written by the late Clare poet Brendan O’Beirne. The inscription reads “Confront the footsteps behind you”, with the footprints incorporated into the table-like sculpture.Attending the launch was Deirdre O’Beirne, sister of Brendan, who said, “I think it’s fantastic that his poem has been used for this garden, he would have been so thrilled. Brendan lived in Drumbiggle in a council flat and he would be over here every week paying his rent so he often sat here. Those lines are very appropriate to this work, they can mean so much to anybody.”Brendan’s poem was among a number of works submitted by …

THE Knockanean National School Building Project has raised over €50,000 in just over six months, it has been announced in the run-up to the launch of the school’s new fundraising CD.The school has been granted planning permission for a four-classroom extension, however, a grant from the Department of Education will not fully cover the cost of the extension and the school’s fundraising committee has been hard at work in recent months coming up with ideas to raise additional funding. While the figure of €50,000 is a massive achievement for the school, it is still half of the €100,000 needed for the extension.The committee ishopeful that the launch of the CD Starlings, featuring over 100 children along with parents and guest musicians, will boost their fundraising even further.According to Caroline Purcell of the fundraising committee, “Raising this much money in this space of time is just tremendous, people have been just fantastic supporting all of the events that we have done. …

THE role played by the Clare fire and rescue service in responding to the flooding in Ennis in 2009 was recalled by the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan last week at the official launch of a new fire service training centre in Ennis costing nearly €500,000.The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government invested almost €470,000 in the facility as part of the Government’s continuing investment in the fire services. The minister said, “The training needs of today’s fire service personnel are wide and diverse. The opening of this new facility in Ennis will ensure the provision of high-quality training to fire fighters into the future.” Speaking about the flooding in late 2009, the minister paid tribute to the county manager, Tom Coughlan; chief fire officer, Adrian Kelly and director of service, Ger Dollard for the leadership, professionalism and dedication displayed at that time. “I understand that management and staff worked around the clock to ensure that the …

LOCAL students have received national recognition for their efforts in promoting responsible drinking. Roy Duggan, 31, from Ennis, and Aaron Woods, 21, from Barefield, attended the gala DARE2BDRINKAWARE awards ceremony in Dublin recently.At the awards ceremony, Roy, along with his team-mate, TJ Fogarty from Limerick, won awards for Best Multimedia and Public Vote – Best Multimedia for their entry, drinkaware comic, a multimedia project which promotes more responsible drinking using humour. Meanwhile, Aaron Woods was awarded a commemorative plaque for his shortlisted entry, The Ignorant Truth, a film about two girls who bring their two friends home after a night out.Roy is a student at Limerick IT and Aaron is a student at University of Limerick.DARE2BDRINKAWARE.ie, now in its fourth year, is a competition for film and multimedia students, aimed at highlighting young people’s attitudes to alcohol. The competition is sponsored by drinkaware.ie and organised by the Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA). At the awards ceremony, the Clare students also …

ROYAL wedding fever has hit Ennis with a special coffee morning planned to celebrate the royal nuptials, as well as  raise funds for Clare Crusaders.When Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot this Friday, guests will be able to watch the action in style from the Cloister on Abbey Street. Refreshments will be supplied free of charge, with organisers asking that a donation be made to Clare Crusaders. Organiser of the event on behalf of Clare Crusaders, Ennis Town Councillor Mary Howard explained, “This will be a wonderful way to celebrate the day by watching the royal wedding together and also to help raise much-needed funds for Clare Crusaders, which is a wonderful organisation. People can make donations of whatever they deem appropriate. And there will be a special lunch menu available suitable for a prince or princess.”She went on to praise the work of Clare Crusaders saying, “They provide much-needed therapy to children living in Clare with cerebral …