Regional

A COUNTY Clare sports club has described funding received through Healthy Ireland as a “lifeline”. Derg Athletics Club received €22,000 of the total €374,100 allocated to county Clare under Healthy Ireland funding. On Friday the club hosted Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Well Being and National Drugs Strategy, Frank Feighan in Killaloe to see first-hand the benefits the funding has brought for local and voluntary groups in Clare. The TD was greeted by the Cathaoirleach and elected members of Clare County Council, Clare Oireachtas Members, and local representatives and stakeholders, together with staff from Clare County Council and representatives of the wider community in Killaloe. Established in 2013, Derg Athletics Club offers physical activity programmes for all in Clarisford Park, Killaloe. Healthy Ireland funding is helping to sustain the club’s inclusive athletics programmes and is essential to enabling participation in athletics activities for children with a physical disability or those on the autism spectrum. It is available …

THE leader of Sinn Féin expressed her “shock” at the damage caused by pyrite to a family home in East Clare and pledged that her party will do all in its power to ensure homeowners get 100% redress to rebuild their lives. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald made her remarks on a visit to Kilkishen this week where she was briefed by the Clare Pyrite Action Group and saw first-hand the home of Dan Moloney and his wife Teresa. The family built their home 23 years ago, and have recently learned that the severe cracks in the building are due to pyrite. “It’s very shocking,” Deputy McDonald said. “When you consider the case of Danny and Teresa, they were working in New York planning to come home to raise their family here in this wonderful part of Clare, invest their hard-earned money in their family’s forever home and now they’re faced with this. The damage to the house is very, very …

A NEW centre for natural medicines and therapy has been given the go-ahead by Clare County Council for a site outside Feakle. The owners of the Satmya Vedic Living Centre, which has been in operation in Killaloe since 2007, told county planners they wish to create an eco-friendly building on lands that they own in Magherabawn, Feakle. The project will involve a single-storey building to replace existing demolished stables and will contain a classroom, treatment room, consultation facilities and dispensary. Six parking spaces will be created beside an existing yard and a hay barn will be removed. The business will offer naturopathy as well as an Indian traditional therapy called Ayurveda. Yvette and Douglas Hyde have described the proposed new building as being in the style of a traditional Irish farmhouse or outbuilding with a corrugated red iron roof and external cladding of plaster or wood. According to the planning application, the treatment room will be used for teaching Ayurveda …

A 26-YEAR-OLD man has appeared in court charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation in Clare, writes Ronan Judge. Tony McInerney, a father of two with a former address at Glenina, Gort Road, Ennis, and originally from Dublin, allegedly controlled supervised, instructed, guided or requested with respect to the carrying on of activities for the criminal organisation. Two other men, Conor Gilligan (29), with an address at Shallee Drive, Cloughleigh, Ennis, and Caoibhlen McMahon (24), with an address at Dun Aile, O’Callaghan’s Mills were also before the court this Wednesday on related charges. McInerney is accused of directing the activities of the criminal organisation within the State on dates between August 1, 2018 and August 24, 2018. Is is understood this is the first time a charge of this nature – which is contrary to section 71 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, as amended, – has been brought before the courts in Clare. The charge was one …

AS people across County Clare receive their Digital Covid Certificate ahead of the reopening of indoor hospitality, a Clare restaurateur has expressed worries over how the cert will be managed and policed. Pubs, restaurants and other indoor hospitality are expected to reopen as early as next week as part of further easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Brian O’Neill of the Rowan Tree in Ennis has given a cautious welcome to the announcement, however he says there are still questions to be answered about how the re-opening is going to be managed in a way that can avoid another lock-down. “I couldn’t honestly face going back to another lockdown, to go backwards. I do welcome being able to allow our customers back indoors, absolutely, even though the weather at the moment is very conducive to outdoor dining the reality in Ireland is we need indoor dining. But this needs to be managed in a safe way that we don’t go back to …

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 …

IT couldn’t be any other way for Liam Jegou. After a childhood spent by the sea, both in France and Ballyvaughan, the 25-year-old was destined for a career on the water. Jegou is currently in Japan preparing to represent Ireland in the canoe C1 slalom. The last time Ireland was represented in this event was in the year he was born, 1996. So how did the Ballyvaughan man drift in to the sport? “It’s very much a family affair for me. My dad owned a sea kayaking business in Ballyvaughan in the 2000s called ‘River Ocean’. That’s when I started paddling; back when I lived in Ireland. “When we moved to France my dad got a job as a slalom coach in the local club. That’s where I fell in love with the sport. My dad coached me up until I was 20 years old so I had that opportunity to have a good coach at home. It gave me …

ANGLERS across Clare are taking part in a unique catch, tag and release programme to help Irish and international scientists learn more about the largest tuna in the world – the Atlantic bluefin tuna. Under the Tuna CHART programme, recreational anglers on board two authorised charter vessels in Clare will be catching bluefin tuna and skippers will be tagging and releasing them back into the sea, alive, from July to November this year. The Clare participants are Luke Aston of the Clare Dragoon, Carrigaholt, and Noel Kelleher of the Sailfish II out of Kilrush. The data collected on board authorised vessels will then be used for scientific assessment to improve knowledge of population structures, fish size and how bluefin tuna is distributed in Irish waters and throughout the North Atlantic. Migrating through North Atlantic waters, bluefin tuna frequent Irish coastal waters to feed. Bluefin is an iconic sports angling species and can grow up to 1,500 lbs (approximately 680 kgs). …