Regional

ALTHOUGH he has lived and worked in Nottingham since 1966, the love of golf Michael Rush picked up in his native Lahinch has had a profound effect on his life. Now almost 72, Michael or ‘Smiley’, which he says he is better known as, was the centre of attention at Lahinch Golf Club earlier this month when the exploits of the 1963 All-Ireland Junior Cup winning team were recalled at a golden anniversary celebration. Lahinch Golf Club won the same competition in 1961 but according to Michael, the cupboard has been bare since. “I wasn’t even in Clare in 1961, I was in London. My brother, Tommy, was part of the 1961 squad. He was a radio officer and he won a vital game but he had to go back to sea and he missed the last two rounds. When we had won it twice, you think, ‘this is easy enough’. You could think different now. Lahinch hasn’t won any …

  THE  Burren made history this week after it was awarded a European Diploma of Protected Areas Award, the first of its kind in Ireland. Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, accepted Ireland’s first ever ‘European Diploma of Protected Areas Award’ on Friday from the Council of Europe for the sustainable management of the Burren. Professor Michael Usher, Chairman of the Group of Specialists for the European Diploma of Protected Areas, presented the award to Minister Deenihan in the Michael Cusack Centre, Carron. Created in 1965, the award recognises the work being undertaken to conserve some of Europe’s most outstanding natural and semi-natural areas. To date, 72 diplomas have been awarded and are held in 28 European countries. On July 10, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to award the European Diploma for Protected Areas to the Burren. This recognises the European significance of the area, which has remarkable natural values, a …

MARK Glynn is acclimatising to life at UCD having traded Kilrush Community School for the prestigious third level campus. The 18-year-old Cappa man achieved stunning results in the leaving certificate, emerging with eight A1s and one A2. Mark, who has two sisters and a brother, was one of just nine students nation-wide to achieve similar results. Utilising his mathematical prowess to tot up his points tally, he realised that it sat at a maximum 625. Not surprisingly he sailed into medicine, his first-choice course. “I wasn’t expecting to get those results at all although I needed those points to get medicine,” the self deprecating student told The Clare Champion last week. Mark probably sensed that something was up when it was suggested that he stay around for a bit, on the day the leaving certificate results were distributed. “I went into the school at about 9.30am. They handed me the envelope. I was just told to wait back for a …

JASON Ryan has got to know almost every back road in West Clare in recent months. The Kilrush man, who is a retained fire fighter in the town, has been partaking in four hour early morning training stints as he prepares for a five day, 2,100km (1,350 miles) cycle around Ireland. The cycle starts at 3pm in Trim on Sunday and is due to last five days. Jason, who is fundraising for the West Clare Cancer Centre in Kilkee and the Clare 250 Cycle, is confident that he is in physical shape to cycle up to 500km daily. “I’ve been out most mornings, nearly every morning, for the last couple of months. I’ve been clocking up between 80 to 100km at least four mornings a week. When it was brighter I was heading out at 5 or 5.30am but for the last few weeks it has been about 6.30am,” he told The Clare Champion this week. Once he leaves his …

AT least 10 CCTV cameras will be erected in Kilrush town centre following the completion of a tendering and Part 8 planning process. At Tuesday’s September meeting of Kilrush Town Council, members unanimously backed the initiative, which was originally proposed by current town mayor, Councillor Paul Moroney. “What’s proposed is to have a number of cameras throughout the town. There’s a total of ten. Six of them are fixed at various locations throughout the town. Four of them are zoom cameras, which can move. The town centre is deemed an area of concern,” town clerk John Corry stated. “We’re going to have a fixed camera on the credit union and the Vodafone shop (subject to approval). There’s also going to be cameras on poles either side of the town hall. One will take in Moore Street, Francis Street and the square. The other one will take in Henry Street, John Street and Burton Street. We’re also going to have a …

MORE than five months after the National Famine Commemoration was held in Kilrush, local town councillors still cannot decide where to locate the commemorative sculpture. In fact, only one member of the public responded to a council invitation for suggestions as to where the sculpture by Paddy Murray should be installed. After a long debate at Tuesday’s Kilrush Town Council meeting, councillors decided to defer a definite decision until October. Some councillors admitted that the location issue has dragged on for so long they would struggle to recognise the sculpture if they saw it. “I’ve forgotten what it looks like and how big it is,” Councillor Ian Lynch said. “We don’t know what it looks like. Because of the plinth, we haven’t seen it all,” Councillor Mairéad O’Brien stated. Town clerk John Corry revealed that an invitation for submissions from the public, issued in July, was met with an under-whelming response. “I received one submission. The location that was identified …

WITH autumn now upon us and dark evenings prompting a more sedentary lifestyle, Shannon Chamber has enlisted the help of sport and recreation expert, Dave Mahedy, Director of Sport and Recreation at the University of Limerick, to help members and business people generally to prepare a personal programme for a healthier lifestyle. Mr Mahedy will deliver a presentation, entitled ‘Fit for Work, Project Me: A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body’ in GECAS Shannon next Tuesdayevening  from 5.30pm to 7pm.   The event is being run by Shannon Chamber, with the support of GECAS, as part of Chamber Week, which runs from  September 16 – 20 nationally. Making the announcement, Shannon Chamber’s chief executive Helen Downes said, “Summer is a time for the outdoors and exercise comes naturally but it’s difficult to find the routine as we head into winter. It’s easy to fall into a sedentary pattern, yet exercise is so important for our well-being, it relaxes and stimulates …

DOORUS resident Mark Dwyer, along with 10 experienced swimmers, will take to the sea later this month to raise money for facilities for local boy Conor Keane. Mark will swim 2.4km from Oileán Eide to Lynch’s Pier, Doorus to raise money for the Conor Keane Trust on Saturday, September 28. The swim takes place at 10am and Mark believes it can be done in 40 minutes. “It will be a high tide but the rate of knots in the deepest part will be slack. We have rescue set up with RibWest, a local company that run trips to the Aran Islands and the GOYA gang here will also provide kayak support. I am hoping that we will have 10 to 12 swimmers on the day but I don’t really want any more than that because I want to have sufficient support and safety really is paramount,” he said. Weather conditions will not deter Mark and his fellow participants and he …