Ennis

  THE final litter survey of 2015 by Irish Business Against Litter shows Ennis has slipped to ‘moderately littered’, in 32nd spot among the 40 towns surveyed. The town was also 32nd in the 2014 rankings, but was Clean to European Norms. There was a slight fall-off in the number of litter-free towns across Ireland, but no towns were deemed ‘litter blackspots’ and only one was ‘seriously littered’. An Taisce’s report for Ennis stated, “Both the residential areas in Ennis got the top litter grade and Francis Street Bottle Bank has a novel design to prevent the accumulations of rubbish that so frequently occur at recycle facilities – clearly it is having the desired effect as it was a top ranking site. The two most heavily littered sites in Ennis were Knox’s Bridge Amenity Scheme and St Anne’s School.” Three quarters of the towns and cities surveyed by An Taisce on behalf of IBAL were found to be Clean to …

The Irish Christmas Tree Throwing Championship takes place on Sunday at Active Ennis Tim Smyth Park, Ennis, starting at 1pm. Members of the public are invited to attempt to break a unique Guinness World Record. The championship will see competitors throwing a standard 1.5-metre tree in a bid to reach more than 12 metres, the world record set by Klaus Pubnaz in Germany five years ago. 2014 winner, Gary O’Growney from Dublin and 2013/2015 winner John O’Dea from Limerick share the Irish Record. Both competitors threw their trees a distance of 10.2 metres, This year’s winner will once again receive the Irish Christmas Tree Throwing Championship trophy while proceeds raised by the 5th annual event will go towards the West Clare Mini-Marathon Cancer Centre. Organised by Clare County Council, in conjunction with Active Ennis Sports and Leisure Facilities, the event will also see the public’s used Christmas trees being sent forward for recycling.

Ennis Chamber is seeking an independently facilitated meeting with Clare County Council to discuss the issue of the increase in commercial rates passed in the recent annual budget meeting of the local authority, and the further proposed increase for next year. This follows last week’s Day of Action by the Chamber when a large group of businesses gathered in the public gallery of Áras Contae an Chláir for the monthly meeting of Clare County Council to highlight their concerns about the rate changes. Ennis Chamber submitted a letter to the meeting and following interjections from Councillors PJ Kelly and Ann Norton as well as a number of attempts by Councillor Johnny Flynn and an adjournment, the letter was accepted by the meeting with Cathaoirleach James Breen agreeing to put it to County CEO Tom Coughlan for consideration. However according to a spokesperson for the business member organisation they are “concerned” that the local authority will “attempt to side step and …

AN Ennis man could be set for Oscar gold after a film he penned has made the shortlist for nominations for the coveted award. Viva, a Spanish language film set in Havana written by Clare’s very own Mark O’Halloran has been named among nine movies shortlisted in the Foreign Language Film category. And in just a few short weeks, Mark the rest of the crew behind the acclaimed film will learn if they have made the final five nominees for next year’s 88th annual Academy Awards. Speaking to the Clare Champion this week Mark told us, “I’m very happy, I’m very surprised. It’s a very low budget film, made with a lot of dedication and heart. I’m pretty sure it’s the lowest budget film in the category so for it to have this impact is great. It’s been a good surprise to get on the shortlist, so fingers crossed, we’ll see how it goes.” The film, selected by the Irish …

THE spirit of Christmas is set to be brought out onto the streets of Ennis in a very special way this week. On Christmas Eve, a nativity scene crib will be set up at O’Connell Square, highlighting the spiritual meaning of the holiday season to passersby on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. This is the second year that the crib has been installed at the prominent Ennis location. The crib will be in place from 2pm to 4.30pm on Thursday. As well as the nativity scene, there will be festive music from the Wylde Roses choir and the Clarecastle Youth Choir, and some mince pies on the day. Ennis priest Fr Ger Fitzgerald who is behind the endeavour explained, “The whole idea behind the crib is to show people another side of the church, in that the church is not just four walls. It is a part of life, the church wants to identify with people’s …

Gardaí are seeking the public’s assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 20-year-old Ennis man, Michael Bugler, missing from Galway city since Friday last. Michael was last seen in the Quay Street area, Galway City on Friday night at approximately 1am. Michael is described as being 5’9″ in height, of thin build with short brown hair and blue eyes. When last seen Michael was wearing a grey coloured jumper and jeans. Gardaí are concerned for his welfare and are asking anyone with information to contact them at Galway Garda Station on 091 538000, The Garda Confidential Line 1800 666111 or any Garda Station.

WORK on revamping Ennis’ market to include a new “iconic” covered building for traders has now begun in the town centre. It is expected that the new market will be ready in time to be showcased to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will flock to Ennis for next year’s Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. Construction work has started on the Ennis Market Rejuvenation Project with a finish date of July 2016 for phase one of the redevelopment of the market at Garraunakilla. The new market will have room for 25 stalls, made up of internal covered areas and also space for stalls in the courtyard outside. The actual number of stalls for each market will vary, depending on the size of the stalls to be accommodated. According to the council, the allocation of stalls will be done through an open process and following discussion with market traders and other interested parties. Speaking to The Clare Champion at the site …

A NEWLY announced €50 million loan facility for the SME sector will allow businesses to grow, an Ennis business representative group has said. The Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland has announced that under the terms of the deal, SMEs will be able to access more and lower-cost funding for equipment, machinery and vehicles through Finance Ireland, a Dublin-based specialist lender. It is understood the preferential interest rates will be typically 2% lower than current market rates. Ennis Chamber CEO, Rita McInerney said, “As a business representative organisation, the chamber welcomes any initiative that will ensure access to finance for SMEs, who are the backbone of the Irish economy, especially in rural Ireland. “SMEs employ approximately 70% of the people working in this country and make up over 99% of all businesses. It has been particularly challenging in recent years for SMEs to access finance, therefore this fund will make it more affordable for businesses to grow as well as increasing …