Regional

CLARE Dog Warden Frankie Coote said that while in Shannon, he frequently needs the gardaí to come with him when he needs to call to a house.Mr Coote addressed Tuesday night’s meeting of the Town Council and said things seem to escalate in Shannon in a way that’s not very common in other parts of the county.“This is no disrespect to Shannon but in a lot of cases in Shannon that I deal with, I have to bring the guards with me. I don’t have that problem in other areas,” he commented.Mr Coote said that on occasion in Shannon when he calls to a house, neighbours come out of their homes to confront him and said it “becomes a bigger issue”.He said previously, the councillors had expressed concern about dangerous dogs in the county but he said he feels he is “well on top of that” now. The warden also said he had more complaints from Shannon than any other …

THE Clare Youth Service-run Kilrush hip-hop group will compete in the Youth Work Ireland variety show Clare heats of The Youth Factor on Saturday. Kilfenora Youth Club is hosting this year’s event.Participants from youth clubs and projects affiliated to the Clare Youth Service from all over Clare will take part in the event under the categories of dance, song, music and performance, with the winning acts from each event going through to represent the county at the national finals to be held later in the year.The Kilrush group has represented Clare for three years-in a-row at the national event, coming in third place in 2009 and runners-up the past two years. The group is hoping to reach the finals again this year.The young group comprises six girls, aged between 14 and 18, all hailing from the John Paul Estate, Kilrush and the wider West Clare community. The core members of the group have been dancing together for five years under …

  THE lack of clarity about the availability of Government funding of between €100 and €120 million for the second phase of a dual carriageway in South-East Clare has prompted calls for a re-evaluation of the entire project.An allocation of €500,000 was recently approved by Transport Minister Leo Varadkar to progress the statutory phases involved in the selection and design of a route for the proposed 10km, €100m Limerick Northern Distributor Road.However, public representatives and a new local lobby group, who are vehemently opposed to the emerging preferred route, have questioned where the Government will secure over €100m for the new route in the midst of projected billions of euro in cuts over the coming years.Hundreds of angry residents from Parteen, Ardnacrusha and Clonlara are expected to converge at the Tail Race Bar, Parteen at 10am this Saturday for a public demonstration.Residents, businesses and public representatives will carry placards and banners opposing the division of Parteen down the middle during …

THE Forge Literature Festival kicks off for the 10th anniversary of the Western Writers’ Centre (Ionad Scribhneoirí Chaitlín Maude) on Friday and Saturday, March 30 and 31. This is the fifth year of the festival, which was established to commemorate the town of Gort’s associations with the Irish Literary Renaissance. This year’s festival is varied and features, among others, the internationally acclaimed traditional wire-strung harp player, Siobhán Armstrong.  “It’s wonderful to be celebrating 10 years of the centre,” said founder and director, author and critic Fred Johnston. “The Forge at Gort has been received very well indeed and has proved itself to be a modest literary landmark, as well as highlighting the town itself.”But the festival is still in need of sponsorship. Although Fred Johnston remarks that the town of Gort has always been favourable and generous with sponsorship, the festival could not continue without it. “Already an eminent poet has provided financial sponsorship but more is required. Anyone interested …

EDUCATION Minister Rúairí Quinn has been requested to remove the cloud of uncertainty hanging over a number of small rural schools in North Clare, following budget cutbacks.Ennistymon Electoral Area chairman, Councillor Michael Kelly has warned that key sporting organisations, such as the GAA, will suffer if Minister Quinn allows the closure of small rural schools by increasing the number of pupils required to maintain teachers.Speaking at a recent Ennistymon Electoral Area meeting, Councillor Kelly requested Minister Quinn not to close small rural schools in areas such as Boston, Tubber and other areas of North Clare where the population has decreased. Following the closure of small shops, post offices and garda stations in rural areas in North Clare, Councillor Kelly said it is vital that all small schools are kept open to ensure the social fabric of a local community remains intact.While it seems Tubber would have the required numbers to stay open in the near future, Councillor Kelly expressed grave …

MUSIC, song, drama and smiling faces were everywhere in Barefield school this week as everyone put the finishing touches to rehearsals for the annual spring concert. The concert takes place in two instalments with the playschool, junior and senior infant concert being staged in the school hall this Thursday followed next week by the main spring concert, which opens in Glór next Tuesday night at 7.30pm. The event is already a sell-out as the staff and pupils welcome parents, grandparents, family and friends to a diverse feast of entertainment with most sketches being original pieces penned by class teachers. The senior children will fine tune their performances at a full dress rehearsal on the day of the concert.School principal John Burns expressed appreciation to everyone, pupils, teachers and parents, for their efforts in preparing the programmes for both concerts.The programme for the senior concert in Glór will feature the Barefield Céilí Band, ranganna 1 performing Poor Granny; Dreams performed by …

There was confusion and dismay at a meeting of the Killaloe Electoral Area councillors after a list of unfinished housing estates exempt from the ­Government household charge in the East Clare area were given to the members. The estates exempt from this charge were outlined in a formal reply to a motion submitted by Councillor Cathal Crowe and include estates at Bodyke Road, Tuamgraney; Portumna Road, Whitegate; Scariff Road, Mountshannon; Bruach lán, Westbury; Churchfields, Newtown Road, Clonlara; Shantruad Woods, Clonlara Road, Killaloe and Carrig Midhe, Knockballynameath, Corbally.There were at least three housing estates that were not deemed to be exempt by the Department of Environment Community and Local Government and further estates which the councillors felt should have been included for consideration by the department. The three in question are estates at Arda na Deirge, Knockyclovaun, Killaloe, East Clare Golf Village, Coolreaghbeg, Bodyke and Killaloe Road, Tuamgraney. Councillor Crowe argued “while the list tells of the estates that are exempt …

THE spirit of the late Fr Michael McNamara, former parish priest of Doora-Barefield, continues to live on with the new chapel in Roslevan named in honour of the popular priest.Moreover, it was announced this week that the Roslevan Pastoral Council have been shortlisted to represent Clare in the EBS Community Fund for the chance to win €10,000 and are urging members of the public to vote and show their support.The newly developed chapel at Fahy Hall has been named the Church of Our Lady, with Fr Jerry Carey explaining, “This is really a tribute to Fr McNamara. He would have had a great affection for the Lourdes pilgrimage each year. Our Lady of Lourdes was someone very strong on his spiritual journey, so we felt a fitting tribute to him would have been to call it the Church of Our Lady. I think he would have been very proud with what has been done.”The €550,000 redeveloped Fahy Hall, Roslevan Community …