Ennis

WHEN Wexford native, Sr Carmel Kehoe moved to West Clare over three decades ago, it wasn’t so much a new departure, as another stopping-off point along the road less travelled. A member of the Community of the Sisters of St John of God, Carmel has always taken an independent approach to her work. As someone who is passionate about art, writing and all things creative, she also developed the habit of documenting her extraordinary life and has just published a memoir. Much of the book deals with Carmel’s life and times in Clare, where she is well known and much loved for her teaching and community activities. Carmel’s busy life has seen her work in hospital chaplaincy, teaching, and has even involved a short, but successful, stint as a jockey. “That was as part of a fundraiser for people in religious life,” Carmel recalled. “I was asked to get involved and, even though I had never won anything in my …

STATE-of-the-art signs aimed at reducing speed on the roads can lose their effectiveness if they are used too much, the council’s executive engineer with responsibility for Ennis has warned. Residents of the Ballybeg Road have been urging that speed ramps, and or VMS signs which highlight how fast drivers are travelling, be installed by the council to deter speeding. Eamon O’Dea told a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District that if VMS signs are used too often to deter speeding they can become normalised and their effect “significantly reduced”. He was speaking in response to a motion by Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy who highlighted concerns about pedestrian safety in the Ballybeg area. The councillors stated, “There has been a welcome abundance of pedestrians and cyclists along the Ballybeg Road as people take the loop walk along the Kilrush Road and Limerick Road, and locals who walk are complaining about the speeding on the road which I have observed and find …

THE structural repair and refurbishment works to the O’Connell Monument which were put on hold due to Covid-19 will now commence on June 9,with scaffolding to be erected in the first week. This project is being part funded under the Historic Structure Fund 2020 from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and will take up to 12 weeks to complete (without interruption). The contractors appointed to undertake the specialist repair work are INSP Stone Ltd. T/A Irish Natural Stone, Bouleevin, Boston, Tubber. The loading bay immediately adjacent to the O’Connell Monument will be temporarily blocked off while scaffolding is being erected and decommissioned. A pedestrian management plan will also be put in place.

WHILE Clare Museum in Ennis has been closed to the public or has operated under visitor restrictions during the applicable levels of Covid-19 restrictions, it has continued to collect the history of Clare. In December 2020, Clare Museum received from a donor in Vancouver, Canada, a collection associated with the Scott family of Cahiracon House, in Kildysart. The Scotts arrived in Clare when the Earl of Thomond leased Cahiracon in Kildysart to Angel Scott in perpetuity. The Scotts continued to reside at Cahiracon until the mid-19th century and owned land mainly in the Barony of Clonderlaw in Clare. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation, John Bindon Scott was High Sheriff of County Clare. The Scotts are remembered as good landlords in the Kildysart area today, as they did their best to help their tenants during the potato famine. It ruined the family financially and their indebted estate was sold under the Encumbered Estates Act in 1854. The Scotts left Ireland …

A QUICK Pick ticket which was sold at a shop in Clare came within one number of sharing the Lotto jackpot of €6.4 million on Saturday. The ticket was sold at Loughville Motors Centra store on the Lahinch Road in Ennis and came agonisingly close to sharing the big prize. However the owner of the ticket still has plenty to celebrate with the Lotto match five plus bonus prize worth €61,382. Anybody who bought their ticket at the store is being urged to check their tickets. “With so many big winners in Saturday’s Lotto draw, we are asking everyone who bought a ticket for the draw to check their tickets carefully,” said a National Lottery spokesperson. “If you are one of the winners of these prizes, stay calm and be sure to sign the back of the ticket and keep it in a safe place. Someone has won the €6,489,165 #Lotto Jackpot! 🥳🌟#ItCouldBeYou pic.twitter.com/Lo1cMvxnAf — The Irish National Lottery (@NationalLottery) …

A LIFE-SAVING dog who helped its owner escape from a devastating fire has been hailed as a ‘Clare Covid Hero’. Former county councillor and well-known Clarecastle man Bernard Hanrahan narrowly escaped with his life after his home was engulfed in flames late last year. Bernard, known locally as the Bomber, was saved after being alerted to the blaze at his home in Barntick by his beloved dog Daisy’s incessant barking in the early hours of the morning. Daisy has now been named among the winners of the Clare Covid Hero award celebrating the county’s everyday heroes who have been supporting others during the pandemic. Luckily nobody was injured in the fire, however the house, which had been in the family for three generations, was extensively damaged and priceless photographs and memorabilia have been lost. The award certificate was presented to Daisy this week by Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Mary Howard, who also had a surprise for Bernard. She was …

PUPILS from an Ennis school have demonstrated their futures are bright when it comes to identifying and solving health issues in Ireland today. Transition year students of Coláiste Muire Isolde Hegarty, Molly Hennessy, Hannah Clune, Sinéad Ní Dhúlaing and Éabha Warner have received an award at the second BD STEM Stars competition. The local students scooped €5,000 in funding for STEM projects after coming in second runner up place. Their entry proposed an app to support teenagers in managing their mental health. The Vedriti App and Panic Button Technology is a safe space online to support the mental health and well-being of teenagers. The students identified the challenges of the pandemic as putting even greater pressure on mental health and looked at how they could provide teenagers with peer-to-peer support as well as information on where to go for further help. They beat off competition from across Limerick and Clare in showing step-by-step how they firstly identified an issue and …

THE Mayor of Ennis reflected on “an extremely strange year” in his last meeting in the chair of the Ennis Municipal District. Councillor Paul Murphy described the past year as sometimes being “frustrating” adding, “I think we’ve all found that, but that’s what happens when you have a pandemic around us. It’s been a learning curve for everybody.” The Clarecastle native praised the executive and staff of the municipal district for their support during the year, and made a special mention of appreciation for the outdoor staff who have “been front and centre of the temporary mobility plan” and “taken a bit of abuse on the streets for that matter”. Councillor Murphy said that, in terms of Covid while, “we are not out of the woods yet, hopefully we are getting there.” He thanked his Council colleagues, particularly Deputy Mayor, Councillor Mark Nestor. “I thought I would get an opportunity at some stage in the year to give you the …