Ennis

Late loved ones to be remembered with event that will benefit the soon to open Haven Hub Clare THE River Fergus will be lit with hundreds of lights next week as a symbol of hope for those who have lost loved ones. On Friday, October 8, at dusk, Ennis will ‘Light the Night’ with lanterns floating down the river through the town. Each light will represent the memory of someone who has passed away. Organiser Tina Whelan hopes this action will bring some comfort to those who are grieving a loss, while also helping to support a new after hours peer support and suicide prevention centre opening shortly in Ennis. Funds raised from the event will go towards the Haven Hub Clare which will open its doors this October in the Clonroad Business Park. The centre will be a sister hub of The Haven Hub Limerick, which was founded by Leona O’ Callaghan. Tina explained that the new Clare service …

BUS Éireann has confirmed there are no current plans to allocate staff to Ennis bus station. The national transport company was responding to a Dáil Question from Independent TD Michael McNamara. The lack of staff at the station had also been raised recently by Councillor Mary Howard who had expressed fear that the station could become a “hotspot of anti-social behaviour”. “It can be a scary place and we want to ensure that we don’t have those issues in Ennis.” Deputy McNamara had asked the Minister for Transport his plans to allocate staff to Ennis bus station “given the very high number of staycations around the county and the lack of services available to them at Ennis bus station.” The Department of Transport referred the question to Bus Éireann which responded, “There are no current plans to allocate staff to the station. “Bus Éireann, is currently working on a nationwide upgrade to all our information displays in stations including Ennis, …

RESIDENTS living at Spancilhill Cross can “almost feel the vibrations of traffic coming at top speed” heading towards Ennis, writes Jessica Quinn. A meeting of Ennis Municipal District councillors heard calls were made for more garda patrols of the route. The Council has agreed to monitor traffic speeds on the R352 and the findings will be reported to An Garda Siochana. The concerns of residents were raised by Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy who sought a review of the cross for low-cost safety scheme design. She outlined the “serious health and safety concerns” with traffic at the Spancilhill Cross and the “ongoing speeding” on this section of the Tulla Road. She recalled a collision had been reported just days before the meeting of councillors. In light of that she suggested a series of measures to address the community’s serious concerns about speeding on this section of road. The councillor stated Ennis Municipal District should coordinate with the Gardaí to patrol this …

ENNIS National School students are showing that they aren’t ‘knit-wits’ when it comes to getting ahead for Christmas. The school’s ‘Crafty Crew’ knitting club of third to sixth class students are creating knitted squares for their now annual Christmas tree project. For the past three years instead of pine needles have been using knitting needles to made a community Christmas tree. As part of the project hundreds of knitted squares made by the students, their families and friends, are sewn together to create the unique festive decoration. They are now appealing to anybody who would like to get involved by making their very own patch for the tree to donate it to the project. Ciara Harding from Ennis National School explains, “The children at Ennis National School are currently working on knitting squares for their annual Christmas Tree Project. Over the past three years we have combined our work at school with squares from parents ,grandparents and friends of Ennis National School …

GARDAI are appealing for witnesses following a break-in to a business in Ennis in the early hours of Monday morning. Between 3.55am and 4.10am, a business premises located on O’Connell Street, Ennis was broken into. The front door was forced open and entry gained – a number of items were then taken from a glass cabinet. Gardai have asked if anyone was in the area of O’Connell Street during these times and witnessed this break-in or anyone who may have dash cam footage to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065-6848100.

THE late Canon William O’Kennedy has been remembered in a film launched this week to commemorate the centenary of the Bere Island Internment Camp. The film recounts how Canon O’Kennedy was abducted from Ennis and transported to Bere Island where he was kept in solitary confinement for a number of weeks, before his whereabouts was discovered. Canon O’Kennedy was president of St Flannan’s College in 1919 and was one of the pillars of the Sinn Féin movement in Clare. He was arrested in 1921 and held in Bere Island before being released after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in London. The film was launched on Monday by the Bere Island Projects Group to commemorate the centenary of the camp, which was in operation from April to December 1921. In 1920, a prison camp was opened on Bere Island on the site of the Fort Berehaven military camp, for convicted Republican prisoners. By April 1921, all convicted prisoners had been …

AN ARTIST who works for Clarecare is putting her talents to use for the greater good, by donating most of the proceeds of her forthcoming exhibition to the agency.  Sinead Slattery has been working in the popular Clarecare Thrift Show for over 15 years and next month she will exhibit a selection of her paintings at The Clare Museum. Her aim is to donate 60% of all sales to Clarecare.  “I grew up in love with nature and art and crafts from a young age,” she said. “I was lucky to have learned many skills in the Holy Family Primary School, from crochet to embroidery. In Coláiste Mhuire I had a fantastic art teacher who used to call my love of red skies ‘Slattery Pink’. My dad taught me how to paint in a ‘domestic’ way from a very young age. “Don’t be afraid of it” he used to say. “Paint don’t tickle,” as I enjoyed painting walls back then. …

PLANNED public lighting at Ballybeg cannot be installed until after a bat survey is completed due to the presence of the rare creatures at Ballybeg Woods, a council engineer has said. However, Barry Conway, executive engineer has given assurances that the works will go-ahead with the survey needed to determine the programme of installation Details of footpath works in Ballybeg were outlined at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District where clarification on a number of issues was sought by Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy. The meeting also heard that speeding traffic is expected to slow down at Ballybeg once the new footpath is put in place. Councillor Colleran Molloy described the commencement of the works as “wonderful for the neighbourhood to see”. Funding granted in 2021 will extend the footpath from the water tower as far as the Radharc na hInse housing development and further funding will be sought to complete the remainder of the path next year. The …