Regional

RTÉ’S outdoor recreation series, Tracks and Trails, will focus on Lough Derg next Thursday, June 30.  The hugely popular show returns to the national broadcaster for its tenth series, with a total of four programmes that will cover every corner of the country. This season, viewers are taken along trails that showcase Ireland at its most beautiful with a chance to explore some of the many walking and Blueway trails on offer for the outdoor visitor. There is also an easy urban trail by bike from Titanic Quarter in Belfast along the River Lagan and then for something totally different to a mountain trail for a hike steeped lyrical mysticism on Slieve Gullion outside Newry,; to the winding, mystical forest and pilgrim trails of County Wicklow; to heart stopping views of the Blasket Islands and the soaring majesty of the mountains on the lakes in Killarney. In this series producers promise  something for every level of hiker or visitor. In …

THE world premiere of a play focusing on one of the most intense incidents in the War of Independence in Clare will be staged in Doolin next Thursday, June 30. The drama, entitled Two Days in September, secured funding support from the Decade of Centenary Arts Project Awards, 2021, and will premiere at The Attic at Hotel Doolin, with curtain up at 8pm. Written by Doolin-based playwright Dermott Petty, the play tells the story of the Rineen Ambush. It traces, in film and theatre form, the events of autumn, 1920, when a British Army convoy was ambushed by the Mid-Clare Brigade of the IRA. It also follows the aftermath of revenge and the sacking, looting and burning of the villages of Ennistymon, Lahinch and Miltown Malbay by the Black and Tans on September 22 and 23. “West Clare in 1920 was recovering from a land war, famines, World War 1 and Spanish influenza,” said Dermott. “While a beautiful part of …

Gardaí are investigating the circumstances of a fire which caused extensive damage to a section of a protected building in Co Clare. https://twitter.com/tomhehir68/status/1540957797558386691?s=20&t=jBHRKwq18Y7SrlizoqcTWA The blaze at the former Our Lady’s Psychiatric Hospital in Ennis was reported at around 6am on Sunday when emergency services received a number of 999 calls. Three units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station responded to the incident at Dulick on the Gort Road, a short distance from the town centre. On arrival, fire crews found a large section of the building’s entrance area ‘well alight’ with flames bursting through the roof. Firefighters used a hydraulic platform to tackle the blaze from above and however, after the fire had been brought under control and contained to one section of the facility, crews continued to deal with small pockets of fires for some time afterwards. In one section of the three-storey building, all three floors collapsed into the basement making the scene particularly …

ENSURING students are placed at the centre of all aspects of the new €23 million Ennistymon Community School will be a key priority for newly-appointed principal, Orla Conway. Working as a teacher for 19 years, Ms Conway previously held an Assistant Principal position and is currently Acting Principal of Ennistymon Vocational School. In an extensive interview with the Clare Champion, she confirmed work is on track to ensure staff and pupils from the three Ennistymon second level schools will move to the new state-of-the-art facility in September 2023 following a 35-year wait. “My vision is that Ennistymon Community School will be student-centred in all aspects and will have a very happy inclusive culture,” she stated. Catering for 750 pupils, the new school will have 70 teachers in total including two deputy principals. With construction work almost reaching the third floor, it is expected the main metal part of the overall structure is due to be finished by next spring. Facilities …

AN Ennis housing estate has been “abandoned” by the local authority, an Ennis councillor has claimed. Calls have been made for the Ennis Municipal District to include the maintenance of trees and cutting of wide tranches of grass on either side of the main estate road at Cappahard estate. According to Councillor Johnny Flynn large Ennis estates such as Cappahard built in the first decade of this century are “being treated unfairly” when it comes to grass cutting. He outlined that residents in the Cappahard estate of 270 houses are paying around €9,000 to maintain the area. They receive a €350 grant towards this maintenance, the same amount as smaller estates with less costs. Councillor Flynn argued that older estates and council estates have their green areas cut by the council while private estates have to pay, despite high planning development levies paid during construction and property tax “with little or no services in return”. He said that there is …

RESIDENTS living close to a new Community Nursing Unit (CNU) proposed for a green-field site close to St Flannan’s College in Ennis voiced concerns over increased traffic and other issues, at a public briefing this week.  Up to ten residents turned up for the briefing which unveiled Health Service Executive (HSE) proposals for the state-of-the-art, 100-bed facility for older people. While residents stressed that they have no objection to the nursing home and appreciate the need for it, many expressed concern over the loss of the green area as well as a potential increase in traffic.  The briefing heard a warning from HSE officials that any delay in the planning process could put the multi-million Euro project, which will comprise 75 long-stay and 25 short-stay beds, at risk. Aisling Ryan of the HSE told residents that planning hitches “may delay us to the point that the funding leaves”. “That’s really key and it’s really important that people understand that” she …

THE Board of Management of St Aidan’s National School has sought planning permission for a significant extension to the educational facility. Permission is being sought for two special educational needs classrooms and another mainstream classroom, along with ancillary accommodation, a mainstream classroom and associated circulation space. A document prepared by Quinn Architects accompanying the application said that three proposed options were considered before the preferred option was identified. The document stated, “Having evaluated alternative options, in collaboration with the School Authority and the Department of Education, of locating the proposed new building to the north of the existing building, the agreed conclusion was that these options did not achieve all of the desired design criteria. “We then looked at the options of locating the building in the green field area to the west of the existing school which is zoned Open Space.”  It added, “This proposal has a logical extension of the existing main circulation spine to the left of …

AFTER more than 15 months filled with controversy, debate, recrimination, appeals and public votes, the most notorious sculpture this side of Michelangelo’s David has settled into its forever home. The Púca, sculpted by Aidan Harte, and originally intended for the town of Ennistymon, was unveiled this afternoon at the Michael Cusack Centre, the birthplace of the founder of the GAA. The Burren community in North Clare gathered at the Carron facility for the official unveiling of the Púca, which has famously been rejected by Ennistymon, after a backlash in the town over what objectors said was a lack of public consultation. A public vote held online by Clare County Council ultimately led to Ennistymon saying no to the artwork, and the local authority seeking expressions of interests from other entities and communities in north Clare to give the Púca a home. Harte, who was commissioned by the Arts Office of Clare County Council to produce the artwork, said, “I want …