North Clare

The Wild Atlantic Way has won the Best Tourist Attraction at the third InBusiness Editor’s Choice Awards. A number of leading Irish companies and individuals were recognised at an awards ceremony in Dublin, to honour outstanding achievement in the Irish business community. All the winners were selected based on the broad criteria of growth, profile of business, range of services and customer care. The Government, via Fáilte Ireland, had provided for a significant investment of €10 million this year for the route (stretching from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale) to bring it alive and boost its attraction for overseas visitors. Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring said, ‘This award is the latest accolade for an initiative, which has proved to be a huge success to date. As someone from the west, I have seen first- hand the enthusiasm out there for this project and it’s not only amongst tourism businesses but also in the wider …

Bonfires blazed across North Clare on Tuesday evening, after Ennistymon CBS made history by capturing a first-ever hurling title for the school. A comprehensive 2-15  to 0-2 win over Mercy Mounthawk from Tralee saw the North Clare team capture the senior D crown and Corn Sean Uí hAnragain trophy at Neville Park in Rathkeale. Following a thrilling one-point win over Crescent Comprehensive in the semi-final, the North Clare outfit travelled to the Limerick venue on Tuesday as favourites. They were well on their way to making history at half-time, when they held a 1-7 to 0-2 lead, after playing against the wind. With Jason McCarthy in sparkling form at centre-forward and control held at midfield, thanks to the efforts of Simon Ralph and Keelan Sexton, the Tara Rynne-managed side dictated matters from the start. The winners took the lead in the second minute when Sean Garrihy pointed and they followed with a brace from Jason McCarthy (one from a free) …

Clare County Council is urging land, home and business owners in flood prone coastal locations to remain vigilant over the next 48 hours due to a heightened risk of coastal and tidal flooding. People in coastal areas of County Clare, which have flooded in the past should take note that, due to high winds, very high waves and associated tidal surges, there is a high risk of coastal flooding in such areas from this evening (Tuesday) to Thursday morning, in particular at times of high tides. The public are strongly advised not to venture out in these areas during this period for their own safety and to note warnings from Met Éireann.

IFA president, Eddie Downey has paid tribute to Tom Cahill one of the nine central figures in the historic Farmers’ Rights campaign of 1966, who passed away last night. Tom Cahill, from Ballyportry, Corofin, was the last surviving member of the nine farmers who led more than 40,000 farmers in a march to Dublin after which Tom, along with eight other selected representatives, made their way to the Department of Agriculture to meet with the minister. When the minister refused to speak with the group, they staged a sit-in on the steps outside Government Buildings, which lasted 21 days, before the Government backtracked and agreed to discuss the concerns of the farming community. IFA president, Eddie Downey said the legacy of the effort and the hard work by Tom Cahill and his farmer colleagues in 1966 is evident in the continued survival of not just the IFA, but the farming community. Mr Downey said he believed the effort made by …

SCION Flanagan from Mary Immaculate Secondary School, Lisdoonvarna is the winner of the intermediate category in the annual Poetry Aloud competition, organised by the National Library of Ireland and Poetry Ireland. Poetry Aloud, an annual poetry speaking competition for post-primary school students across the island of Ireland, was launched in 2006. Since then, it has grown enormously from just a few hundred entries to over 1,700 this year alone. The Poetry Aloud competition comprises three stages: the regionals; the semi-finals; and the final. This year, over 118 schools took part in the competition, including Mary Immaculate Secondary School in Clare, at 18 regional heats in venues across the country. Today’s finalists were then chosen at two semi-finals involving 149 participants. Three other Lisdoonvarna students reached the semi-final stage

A North Clare man was named Furniture Maker of the Year, after graduating from GMIT Letterfrack with a BSc in Furniture and Wood Technology. Caoimhín Conneely was inspired to pursue a career in woodwork by his teacher, Hughie Kivlehan, at Mary Immaculate Secondary School, Lisdoonvarna. Hughie passed away suddenly in October but Caoimhín fondly remembers the years of encouragement he received from his mentor, long after he left his classroom. “I didn’t do woodwork when I started first year. I was in second year when I decided I wanted to change to woodwork but Hughie told me I had to prove myself. He made me do a portfolio and project to prove to him that I wanted it and was willing to work before he would let me get into his class,” the Doolin man said. He acknowledged too the support he received from his family. “I begged Hughie to allow me into his class. He asked me what I was …

Officers of the Ennistymon branch of the Irish Farmers’ Association, in an unprecedented move in the county, have resigned their positions. They took the decision to give up their roles in protest over the sale of the local mart to an international retailer and what they see as a lack of support from Clare IFA. The branch committee members took the united action “to highlight our frustration with the IFA on their approach to the sale of Ennistymon Mart”. Ennistymon Mart is run by Clare Marts Ltd, the farmer-owned co-operative, which also runs livestock marts in Ennis, Kilrush, Scariff and Kilfenora. It sold the mart site in Ennistymon to Aldi, subject to planning permission, provoking anger among the farming community in the mart’s catchment areas of Ennistymon, Kilshanny, Doolin, Liscannor, Miltown Malbay, Mullagh and Inagh. The Ennistymon branch of the IFA met last Wednesday and the committee resigned their positions but urged people to retain their association membership. “We feel …

Galway Rose Nicola Corcoran presented Pope John Paul II Awards to young people of the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora recently. More than 50 young people from across the diocese, including South Galway and parts of North Clare, were acknowledged at the fourth annual Pope John Paul II Awards. The ceremony took place in St Mary’s College in Galway City, where Bishop Martin Drennan and Galway Rose, Nicola Corcoran, presented the participants with their awards for spending the last year as active members of their parishes and communities. The Pope John Paul II Award is dedicated to the late Pope John Paul II, in memory of his love of young people. “For young people, aged between 16 and 18 and living or going to school in participating dioceses, the Pope John Paul II Award enables them to become more actively involved in the life of parishes and communities. The young people who accept the task of doing the award, delve …