Regional

EXCITING plans are afoot in Tulla for the creation of a state-of-the-art astroturf facility at St Mochulla’s National School.  The development is a collaboration between St Mochulla’s and Tulla Camogie Club and the objective is to develop an all-weather pitch, ensuring that sports facilities are available all year round to all of the community.  “In today’s world this is ever more important for their wellbeing and health and a key part of our Active School Policy,”said Angela Byrnes, Chairperson of the Board of Management of St Mochulla’s. “We’re just about to start our fundraising for 2023 and there will be some great opportunities for all of the community to get involved.” The estimated cost of the project is €120,000 and a Sports Capital Grant of €45,000 has already been secured. An additional €20,000 has been raised towards the cost of the 40m x 25m facility.  “We were delighted to join with Tulla Camogie Club because they have no permanent home …

Fifty years after his death, this week in 1973, Willie Clancy’s legacy and name has never been stronger, writes Joe O Muircheartaigh, who spoke to the driving force behind the festival in the great piper’s name, Harry Hughes WHEN Harry Hughes saw Willie Clancy for the first time it was in his carpenter’s overalls when he walked around Miltown Malbay, with the rule that was one of the tools of his trade in the breast pocket of the dungarees he wore — he was going from one job to the next, or else up to his house on the Flag Road. There he was — the renowned musician, that Harry saw before he ever heard him on the uilleann pipes, or before he spoke to the man who 50 years after his death is revered as one of the professors emirati in the sky when it comes to the pipes. Because you can trace a line from Willie through to …

A MAGICAL world created for a new television show was inspired by walks in Ennis’s Lee’s Road and Ballybeg alongside other places of natural beauty in Clare, the studio behind the show have revealed. ‘The Wee Littles’ preschool series, developed by Ennis-based Magpie Media, is now airing on RTÉjr weekdays and all the episodes are also available on the RTÉ Player. The series was created and produced by wife and husband team, Christina O’Shea and Clifford Parrott. This original animation series for pre-school children is about the world of small creatures of the forest floor, under the ‘regular’ humans’ sight. The world of the story is unique, inspired by County Clare’s flora and fauna, and is inhabited by a friendly family, which creates a very cute, cozy atmosphere. Christina told The Champion, “The series was inspired from our walks in Lees Road. It’s such a magical place that we knew we wanted to make this The Wee Littles home. “We …

PEOPLE from Clare are jetting off to the sun for surgery in a bid to avoid long waiting lists in Ireland. An organisation which works alongside the HSE to facilitate surgery abroad, have said the service is particularly popular with Clare residents, confirming they have helped 24 people in the county access treatment in Europe under the EU Cross-Border directive. Among them is well known Ennis business man Ken O’Grady who flew to Spain for an operation after being told he would have to wait four years for surgery here in Ireland. Ken has said he was amazed to discover he could fly to Alicante on Spain’s Costa Blanca to get the operation for free under the EU Cross Border Directive which allows patients here in Ireland to go to other EU countries for healthcare. The cost of his operation at the Vithas hospital in Alicante was reimbursed by the HSE after he called Healthcare Abroad Ireland. Mr O’Grady, owner …

AT last week’s meeting of Shannon Municipal District, Councillor Gerry Flynn highlighted anti-social behaviour that has the “potential to cause serious accidents”. The Independent member asked that the Council to investigate possible improvements to the attachment of safety signage throughout the district. He said in some instances anti-social behaviour is “causing health and safety concerns for road users, due to malicious moving of signs, that has the potential to cause serious accidents”. In a written reply to his motion Senior Executive Engineer Tom Mellett said, “As the office becomes aware of damaged or missing signs we will arrange for their replacement. “We work with our sign suppliers to ensure that all signs are in accordance with current standards of attachment.” However Councillor Flynn said that the existing standards may not be adequate and that there is a need to give feedback about the issue to suppliers.  He said that “scumbags” are responsible for turning the sides the wrong way around. …

ENNIS man Professor Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin, MA, MBA, HDE, DUÉF, PhD was recently appointed Director of the School of Irish Studies at Concordia University Montréal. This international School—the largest of its kind in North America—has a faculty of twenty professors, lecturers, fellows and tutors, and 1400 students who take its undergraduate and postgraduate courses every year. Delivering interdisciplinary programmes in Irish language, history, music, geography, film, literature, theatre, and diaspora studies, the School has hosted over a hundred visiting scholars during the past decade, including Fulbright Scholars from the US and Marie Curie Scholars from the European Union. It is the only School of Irish Studies in the world where research is conducted in four languages: Irish, French, English and Spanish. This synergy is made possible by the Canadian Irish Studies Foundation, the Québec government and Concordia University, who have donated over $14 million to the School since it was founded in 2009. A multilingual scholar who emigrated to France …

DAMAGE totalling €7,500 was caused to a public convenience just a stone’s throw from Killaloe Bridge, according to a recent estimate completed by a district engineer. Killaloe Gardaí have investigated criminal damage to the public toilets at the Pontoon in Ballina. Over the past year, Killaloe Gardaí have confirmed there have been repeated acts of vandalism on these toilets, which are located along a very popular walking route a short distance from the Ballina Outdoor Heating Swimming Pool. Between 10pm and 12 midnight on Monday night, October 31, windows were broken in the toilets and paving slabs were pulled off the ground outside the toilets. This last act of vandalism was condemned as “appalling” by Waterways Ireland Operations Controller, Éanna Rowe. In response to Clare Champion queries, Marcus O’Connor, Director of Roads, Transportation in Nenagh Municipal District, said the council was extremely disappointed with the ongoing acts of vandalism of these public toilets. He confirmed all the windows to the …

A WEST Clare councillor has made a passionate plea for the region’s roads to receive a slice of the exchequer surplus of €5 billion.  Strong growth in tax revenue and an end to many Covid supports resulted in an exchequer swing of €12.4 billion at the end of last year from the €7.4 billion deficit recorded in 2021. Given the windfall, Councillor Ian Lynch has written to Ministers Eamon Ryan and Micheál McGrath highlighting the dire state of roads in the West Clare Municipal District. The Independent member made the case for an injection of €50 million for Clare County Council for road improvements, focusing on vital surface dressing and strengthening improvements.  In correspondence seen by The Champion, the Kilrush man told the Ministers for Transport and Public Expenditure said: “Decades of underinvestment in rural roads no longer allows for these finances to be tucked away for a rainy day the investment in rural roads must be made now. I …