North Clare

A CLARE student and her Cavan team-mate struck the right note with their design for a new trophy that will be awarded to music artists with a number one single or album, on the IRMA Official Chart. Ballyvaughan native Katie O’Brien and Kate McKenna, students at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) won the contest run in partnership between their college and the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). Katie, 21, hails from Ballyvaughan and previously attended Mary Immaculate Secondary School in Lisdoonvarna before taking up a place on the Bachelor of Science Product Design degree course in NCAD. She said that the pair – who are classmates – had previously worked together on several other projects, and were delighted when they got the news. “The trophy design was based on the ask from Universal (Music Ireland) that it would be simplistic as well as symbolising being the best in music. “It does mean a lot to win this …

FANORE gardener Carl Wright has certainly reaped what he has sowed with his hard work at Caher Bridge Garden seeing him named among Ireland’s Garden Heroes. Carl, who is originally from Devon and moved to Clare in the 1990s, appeared on the new RTÉ One show Ireland’s Garden Heroes last Thursday, wowing the judges with his creative use of space and winning the show. Speaking to The Clare Champion Carl told us he is delighted with the win, adding that he was “quite surprised” when judge Ingrid Swan turned up to give him the good news. “They managed to cover their tracks pretty well. They said they were coming to do a bit of filming that hadn’t gone right last time, so we just assumed that’s what they were doing and then they turned up and surprised us”. He hadn’t seen the show, or the other gardens he was up against, until Thursday night. “I didn’t know what the other …

THE Green Party’s Susan Crawford has tendered her resignation from Clare County Council, effective from August 31. Ms Crawford, who lives in Miltown, represented the Green Party in the Ennistymon Municipal District. She was co-opted onto the Council after Róisín Garvey, who won the seat in the 2019 local elections, became a senator. However, she has now announced her decision to resign, less than a year on, and the Green Party will nominate another representative. Efforts to contact Councillor Crawford this week proved unsuccessful. Speaking about her departure, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council PJ Ryan said she will be a significant loss. “The first thing I’d have to say is that I’m disappointed we are losing someone of the calibre of Dr Susan Crawford. When she became a member of Clare County Council she was someone who was very well thought of in her local community and being a professional person I felt she was an advantage to the Council.” …

A DOOLIN man woke up €5,000 richer today after scooping the top prize on a Bank Holiday Bonus promotion on a regional radio station. Roy Thomas, a father of two and construction supervisor was at the cinema with his son, Michael when the call came through to reveal he had won the cash. Roy who entered the text competition on SPIN South West correctly answered ‘U2’ to the question “The Edge is a member of which famous Irish rock band? Roy was watching ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ in the cinema on Tuesday afternoon, which he critiqued as “an awful film” and almost missed the winning call due to his phone being on silent mode. A vandal has defaced a "Space Jam" LeBron James mural in Akron 😐 The vandal painted a red nose on the face of LeBron and wrote "LA FLOP" across the mural. (h/t Akron Beacon Journal) pic.twitter.com/tR0WRSN0Gh — NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 27, 2021 Of his windfall, …

THREE Ennistymon area councillors have raised concerns about the adequacy of resources in the local authority’s Planning Department, citing a backlog with access to pre-planning advice. In a joint, cross-party, motion tabled before the July meeting of the local authority, Councillors Shane Talty, Joe Killeen and Joe Garrihy described the pre-planning function as being “bedevilled by delays”. “Pre-planning should be the cornerstone of building a house,” Councillor Talty told the meeting. “Planning staff now appear to be swamped with full planning applications. Those have to get priority. This is not a criticism of the Planning Department, but there are delays, in getting pre-planning meetings, in some cases of four or five months and that’s not serving anyone. People are getting frustrated with the wait and they’re firing in their applications and then getting into conflict.” The Fianna Fáil member also described a “geographical lottery” for those looking for pre-planning advice. “There are huge build-ups in some areas and a long …

A DECISION to close mental health supported accommodation in Ennistymon has been confirmed by the HSE, writes Jessica Quinn. The closure of Prague House has been criticised by trade union SIPTU, with union representative Mark Quinn calling for the decision to be reversed. According to the HSE the closure of the facility is due to decreasing demand for the service in recent years and the need for “significant” repair and refurbishment of the building. Most recently there was one resident of Prague House who has now been moved to alternative accommodation in the county. Mr Quinn has insisted that the building should be modernised to allow the service to continue operating in Ennistymon. He also expressed concerns that anybody needing the accommodation service in the future will have to travel outside of North Clare. He said two union members working in the facility were informed last week that their jobs would be moving to another location in Ennis, and there …

COMMUNITIES around North and East Clare have come together to unite a man from Carron with a new puppy after the passing of his wife, Catherine, and the death of his dog in quick succession, writes Conor Clohessy. Paddy Hynes (93) is well-known in the region for his storytelling, having honed his craft at the Teach Ceoil in Corofin and in Ennistymon. Burren Riding Club was instrumental in finding the pet for Paddy, asking their members for any help they could get – and found themselves very fortunate. Margaret Corry, secretary at the club, said: “One of our members, Hazel Frawley, answered the call, saying she had just been to the vet with her own dog because of a phantom pregnancy, but promised to keep a look out. “A few weeks later, she called me and said that the phantom pregnancy was a real pregnancy, and she now had three pups! When I dropped the pup to Paddy at his …

NESTLED deep in the heart of the Burren, Caher Bridge Garden in Fanore has over the years been wowing garden enthusiasts from all over the world, even bringing some to tears of joy. The award winning garden has appeared in magazines, newspapers and the Top 100 Gardens of Ireland book among other esteemed publications. So, it is surprising to discover that this Thursday (July 22) will see the garden make its very first television appearance, featuring on RTÉ One’s latest series Ireland’s Garden Heroes. The show, which will be broadcast at 8.30pm reveals the hard work and imagination ordinary people have put into their gardens across the island. Carl Wright, the man behind Caher Bridge Garden tells us that he never intended to be a gardener, but once he started he couldn’t stop. Describing the hidden gem as an “obsession”, he says, “I don’t think there is another garden in the country like it”. Originally from Devon, Carl first began …