Ennis

OBJECTORS to plans for the construction of a new housing development in an historic Ennis area designated an Opportunity Site in the County Development Plan have insisted they don’t want it to become an “opportunity lost”. Two separate appeals by residents against the proposal have now been lodged with An Bord Pleanala following the granting of permission by Clare County Council to Eko Integrated Services Ltd for the ‘Buttermarket Development’ of 37 residential units and a cafe with digital working hub at the Drumbiggle Road, Buttermarket Street and Simm’s Lane. The site is in an Architectural Conservation Area of Ennis. An appeal has been lodged by Mary Burke and Pat Conboy who have purchased and are renovating a property on Carmody Street. In a previous submission to the council during the initial planning application, they argued that the proposed density of the development “will entirely destroy the fabric of this neighbourhood.” And a separate appeal, lodged by local Stephen Loftus …

GRIM predictions of rising sea levels has prompted a renewed call for the relocation of the Clarecastle tidal barrage downstream to safeguard Ennis from “rapid flooding on an unprecedented scale”. Chartered building surveyor Fergus Merriman is concerned about scientific reports predicting sea level changes upwards of 600 mm in just five years and what that will mean for Ennis and other vulnerable Clare areas. Other forecasts indicate the glacier in the in Antarctica is rapidly breaking apart and could raise sea levels by over two or possibly three feet. Even if the lowest predictions of sea level change come to fruition and national and local governments don’t act soon then Ennis would be in trouble, said Mr Merriman. He warned this can’t be addressed by continuing to raise earth dams, which are at risk of “rotational shear” when the weight of water on one side topples the weight of the earth on the other – an issue that led to …

A WINDOW of opportunity for creativity at St Joseph’s Hospital was created as part of the recently held National Arts in Nursing Homes Day. Clare based artist Rachel Macmanus visited the Ennis hospital and painted an artwork inspired by the stained glass windows of St Joseph’s church to the delight of residents. The project was one of a number of nationwide events for National Arts in Nursing Homes Day, held as part of Age & Opportunity’s Bealtaine Festival. Rachel, who has been a part of other creative projects at the hospital pre-Covid 19, tells us she was happy to be able to return to St Joseph’s. Drawing upon the stained glass windows of St Joseph’s Church as inspiration, Rachel painted her own version of the windows directly onto the windows of the hospital’s Sun Room, a congregational gathering space for the residents of the hospital. “The windows of St Joseph’s Church are very beautiful and tranquil and my idea was to bring some of …

AN Ennis councillor is seeking to court support for the provision of basketball facilities at Lee’s Road, John O’Sullivan Park saying it would be an “ideal location” for people to enjoy the sport. A feasibility study is to be carried out by the Ennis Municipal District to “scope out the possibility”, however the local authority have cautioned they do not have the funding to provide a basketball court at the moment. Councillor Mary Howard, speaking at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, stated she receives requests regularly “from both young people and not so young that we provide a basketball court at Lee’s Road John O’Sullivan Park.” She urged the council to “seriously” consider the request. Tim Forde, Head of Sports & Recreation with the council, confirmed that they have also received requests for a basketball court. “Clare County Council Sports & Recreation are not in a position presently to provide a Basketball Court in Active Ennis John O’Sullivan’ …

AN Ennis man who recently returned from a humanitarian mission helping Ukrainians flee the war with Russia is this week embarking on a fundraising mission a little closer to home. This Saturday John Casey, founder of the Tesla Owners Group in Ireland and fellow electric vehicle enthusiast ex international rugby player Peter Bracken, will be setting off on a mammoth trip around Clare to raise funds for the Banner GAA. They will visit every GAA club in the county on their journey of more than 550km. John explains that as well as raising money for capital development at the club the trip will also help challenge the perception that electric vehicles cannot travel long ranges. “There are 52 GAA clubs in County Clare and the distance to be covered is approximately 550km starting and finishing at the Banner GAA grounds in Ennis. We will be travelling to the four corners of the county from Naomh Eoin in the West to …

PRESIDENT of Ireland Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina will visit Ennis this Saturday where they will pay tribute to all those behind the county capital’s success in being named Ireland’s Tidiest Town in 2021. The couple will attend a ceremony at President Higgins’ former secondary school of St Flannan’s College and during the visit he will unveil a plaque marking Ennis’ win in the national competition. Ennis Tidy Towns’ chairman Cormac McCarthy tells us that the local committee are “over the moon” to be hosting the president and his wife. He reveals that the ceremony will be particularly focused on the important role that the local community had in securing the win for Ennis. “It’s going to be a wonderful event and we have had great support in the organisation from St Flannan’s College, where the president went to secondary school, as well as getting logistical support from the Ennis Municipal District which is very appreciated.” Ennis Tidy …

CLARECASTLE’S Men’s Shed certainly took a punt when it came to their latest project, the results of which they quite literally launched this week. On Wednesday the members of the shed set a 20 foot punt boat out on the water at Clarecastle Quay having lovingly built the vessel over the last couple of months. A complete photographic record of the construction of the boat has been kept by the  Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group. With Eric Shaw of the group saying, “This will be an important archival record”. The Clarecastle Men’s Shed were commissioned to build the punt boat, with a boat of this design not been built in Clarecastle since the 1960s. It is believed the late Tommy Considine was probably the last man to build a punt boat in Clarecastle and two of his boats still survive. One was donated to the Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group in 2018. The Men’s Shed were delighted to get …

ENNIS is thriving as the social and cultural hub of County Clare and the retail offer in the town centre is robust, a Clare County Council survey has claimed. The Council’s Planning Department conducted an Ennis Town Centre Retail Health Check in September 2021 surveying the ground floor use of units in Ennis town centre. The results of the Health Check were compared with the results from previous years, to allow for comparisons to be drawn and patterns to be identified. The findings from the Ennis Town Centre Retail Health Check 2021 illustrate that retail and retail services account for 35% of the total ground floor use of buildings within the town centre, and leisure services such as restaurants, public houses and gyms encompass 12% of the ground floor usage in Ennis. These findings indicate that Ennis is thriving as the commercial, social and cultural hub of the county. Financial and business services are also well established in the town, accounting for 7.3% of the ground floor usage …