North Clare

Public representatives and council officials have praised the communities of North Clare and council staff for their efforts following recent storms which caused extensive damage to infrastructure in the area. One local councillor has called for the ban on the hiring of public servants to be removed, claiming that “recent events show the need for the embargo on frontline staff to be lifted.” Fears about the future of services at the council’s Ennistymon Area Office were also raised as part of a discussion at the first North Clare area meeting of the year on Monday. Councillors and officials were united in their commendations of staff from the office and voluntary groups who helped in the clean ups following the series of storms so far this year. Mayor of Clare, Councillor Joe Arkins paid tribute to communities and in particular, the council’s administration and outdoor staff for their efforts in the wake of destruction by the storms. “People were out working …

By Nicola Corless BALLYVAUGHAN-born singer Peter O’Donohue will be appearing at Belfast’s Grand Opera House next weekend, alongside some of the best opera singers in Europe, in  NI Opera’s new production of Verdi’s masterpiece, Macbeth. Peter will be singing in the 40-strong chorus, one of the most geographically-representative opera choruses ever assembled in Ireland, with members drawn from Derry  in the north, Wexford in the south, Ballyvaughan in the west, and Newtownards in the east, plus many places in between. “Macbeth is an opera that has it all – a well-known story, drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat and incredibly beautiful music. The chorus is sounding amazing and it’s great fun to be singing with people from all over Ireland,” he acknowledged. Shakespeare’s tale of murder, madness and all-consuming lust for power, which is well known to generations of English students, inspired Verdi to write some of his finest, most gripping music. In this new production, director Oliver …

EXCAVATIONS at Caherconnell are revealing some interesting practices undertaken by Ireland’s early Christians, according to Dr Michelle Comber, director of The Caherconnell Archaeological Field School at Carron. “It is traditionally accepted that Christianity arrived in Ireland some time before the middle of the fifth century AD. You might be forgiven, then, for assuming that Christianity and Christian practices could be found throughout Ireland within a century or two of this date,” she said revealing that recent excavations by the Caherconnell Archaeology Field School are proving otherwise. “It was discovered in the summer of 2013 that Caherconnell cashel or ‘caher’ (a circular drystone enclosure containing dwelling houses and other domestic structures) had been deliberately constructed over the top of an earlier burial mound. This small mound covered two limestone cists. Although disturbed at one end, their contents were still present. The smaller of the two cists contained the remains of a young child, between one and two years of age, and …

By Dan Danaher THE development of an Aldi outlet in Ennistymon would result in job losses in local shops, a local supermarket manager has claimed. Supervalu manager, Jackie Crowe told a public meeting organised by Ennistymon IFA it would take 15 people to run a new Aldi store, which wouldn’t result in any new jobs as they would simply be displaced from Supervalu and small shops in the locality. She insisted the population in the Ennistymon catchment area is not big enough to support a large discount store and existing shops in the locality. At the meeting, which took place two days ahead of the announcement of the mart being sold, Ms Crowe  revealed the local Supervalu store paid out €1.4m in wages last year to 70 staff, as well as €400,000 to small independent producers in North Clare. She told the meeting Supervalu paid out  €17,000 in sponsorship to local clubs and charities. Since Supervalu moved to Church Street five years …

AFTER the storm comes the damage assessment and the clean up in County Clare. Hurricane-like conditions, which swept through the county on Wednesday left a trail of destruction in its wake. Winds gusting up to 160kph brought down power supply lines, uprooted trees, leading to numerous road closures, while slates were ripped from houses and property damaged. At the height of Storm Darwin, the ESB estimated that as many as 20,000 homes and businesses were left without power across the county. The south east of the county was worst affected with power outages reported in Killaloe,  Cratloe, Sixmilebridge, Newmarket, Clarecastle, Tulla, Ennis and other pockets of the county. Despite the fact that ESB Networks crews have been out in force trying to restore power supplies, many of those areas still remain without power. The problems facing many home owners have also been exacerbated, as the knock-on effect of outages was the lack of water supply. Many householders could have to …

CLARE Marts has already sold Ennistymon Mart to discount supermarket, Aldi for a price tag believed to be in the region of €1.5m, despite strong opposition from the local IFA committee and local traders. Members of Ennistymon IFA staged a protest before a Clare Marts Board meeting in Ennis on Tuesday night, but the Clare Champion has learned Clare Marts is proceeding with the controversial deal. Clare Marts would not confirm the identity of the buyer or any of the terms and conditions, which it considers as “commercially sensitive information”. However, it is understood that the mart has been sold to Aldi subject to planning permission, which could take a number of years to secure. Aldi has also declined to comment on the deal. It is also expected that any planning application lodged by Aldi to Clare County Council will be vigorously opposed by some local traders and residents in the North Clare town. Fifteen sales have been held in …

THE Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience website has been shortlisted for another major digital award just weeks after finishing as a runner-up in the eircom Golden Spider Awards. www.cliffsofmoher.ie has been shortlisted for the Samsung Digital Media Awards ‘Best in Travel & Tourism’ category, the winner of which will be announced on February 21. The Cliffs of Moher website was launched in July 2013 having undergone a revamp that introduced a number of new features, including of an interactive guide to the visitor attraction and 360 degree panoramic views of the Cliffs and Visitor Centre. “The website is designed to have a high visual appeal with full screen background images and exciting video and 360 degree image content bringing the site alive. It can be viewed on mobile devices including smartphone and iPad. Visitors planning their trip have use of an interactive map with suggested walking routes and can even book their tickets online at a discounted price. The website …

By Nicola Corless THE Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard has been left unable to launch after a high spring tide and stormy conditions washed boulders onto the slipway and into the channel used to get out to sea. Although the Doolin crew cannot launch, the Coast Guard helicopter and the unit on nearby Aran Islands are responding to calls. Mattie Shannon, station officer with the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard, stated, “The boulders have washed up again and all the gravel the council had put in, that has been washed away. That will all have to be redone because there is no access to the slipway currently and there are a couple of big boulders on the channel, so we couldn’t launch. “At the moment, conditions are rough but even if the sea calmed down, we still couldn’t launch because of the boulders in our path.” The coast guard is currently building a new station at …