Regional

THE Shannon Summer Music Festival will take place on this Saturday, June 11, in the Town Park.  It is being organised by Chris Walshe and he said there will be something for all age groups on the day. “It starts at 2pm and from 2-6pm we’ll have children’s entertainment. We’ll have face painting, balloon modellers, kiddies disco and we’ll have a DJ. From 6pm on it’ll be live music on the main stage in the Park.” All of the acts during the evening are local. “First up we have the Kirby brothers, then we have Adam Moloney, then we have a band called North of Fortitude, then we’ve a band called the Mangled Badgers. “The last band then, the headliners, is a band called Sticky September. You might know the bands One September and Sticky Fingers. The two of those are joining forces for the evening.” It is the first major outdoor event in the town for several years and …

HUNDREDS of volunteers in this county have answered Clean Coasts and National Spring Clean joint call to organise a clean-up to protect the wild Atlantic ocean this month. Ten clean-up events took place in Clare this Wednesday supported by 200 volunteers who had been provided with free clean-up kits by the two non-governmental organisations (NGO).  World Ocean Day is celebrated annually on June 8 to highlight the important role the ocean has for our life and the planet. In 2022, the focus was once more be on the 30×30 campaign: to create a healthy ocean with abundant wildlife and to stabilise the climate, Experts believe it is critical that 30% of our planet’s lands, waters, and ocean are protected by 2030. One of the big issues affecting the Atlantic is marine litter which has become a global problem for both humans and marine life. Research shows that the number one cause of marine litter is litter dropped in towns and …

OBJECTORS to plans for the construction of a new housing development in an historic Ennis area designated an Opportunity Site in the County Development Plan have insisted they don’t want it to become an “opportunity lost”. Two separate appeals by residents against the proposal have now been lodged with An Bord Pleanala following the granting of permission by Clare County Council to Eko Integrated Services Ltd for the ‘Buttermarket Development’ of 37 residential units and a cafe with digital working hub at the Drumbiggle Road, Buttermarket Street and Simm’s Lane. The site is in an Architectural Conservation Area of Ennis. An appeal has been lodged by Mary Burke and Pat Conboy who have purchased and are renovating a property on Carmody Street. In a previous submission to the council during the initial planning application, they argued that the proposed density of the development “will entirely destroy the fabric of this neighbourhood.” And a separate appeal, lodged by local Stephen Loftus …

HIGHLY acclaimed aerial dance troupe Fidget Feet are coming to Scariff Harbour this weekend, as part of Crinniú na nÓg.  The national festival of youth creativity, which takes place on Saturday next (June 11), is supported by Clare County Library, the Council and Creative Ireland. This year’s event will see the spectacular ‘Flutterby 2’ performed on the shores of Lough Derg. A magical show for children aged four to 12 and their families, there are two sessions per day, each lasting 90 minutes. The sessions are hands-on and will be made up of three parts.  The first part is called ‘Make’. This is an active arts and crafts session. Families can join in the fun to make caterpillars, moths and butterflies together with the Fidget Feet team.  Then, it’s time to ‘Walk’. This part of the session involves meeting Bláithín. Bláithín loves caterpillars, moths and butterflies and you are invited to follow her on her adventurous journey with Uncle Rusty …

A REDUCTION of 50% in energy use in homes and non-residential properties is a target that the community of Clooney/Spancillhill has set itself over the next seven years.  Also outlined in the recently-launched Energy Masterplan for the area are opportunities for a community-owned solar farm, a coppice to produce biomass, smart meters, solar panels, a sustainable bus service and more charging points for electric vehicles. The visionary document has been produced by Clooney/Spancilhill Development Association through funding and mentoring support from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Mentor Gearóid Fitzgibbon was among those to attend the launch of the Masterplan in Clooney last Wednesday night (March 25), as well as officials from Clare County Council and the Killaloe Municipal District Cathaoirleach, Councillor Joe Cooney.  Clooney National School will also play a key role. As part of the process of drawing up the plan, it was chosen for an energy audit from the non-residential sector. From the energy saving measures …

GRIM predictions of rising sea levels has prompted a renewed call for the relocation of the Clarecastle tidal barrage downstream to safeguard Ennis from “rapid flooding on an unprecedented scale”. Chartered building surveyor Fergus Merriman is concerned about scientific reports predicting sea level changes upwards of 600 mm in just five years and what that will mean for Ennis and other vulnerable Clare areas. Other forecasts indicate the glacier in the in Antarctica is rapidly breaking apart and could raise sea levels by over two or possibly three feet. Even if the lowest predictions of sea level change come to fruition and national and local governments don’t act soon then Ennis would be in trouble, said Mr Merriman. He warned this can’t be addressed by continuing to raise earth dams, which are at risk of “rotational shear” when the weight of water on one side topples the weight of the earth on the other – an issue that led to …

ALL week, news reports have been highlighting the crisis at Dublin Airport, where more than 1,000 people missed flights last Sunday. Around Clare there is little sympathy for an airport which is seen as having pursued a fairly aggressive policy of targeting the traffic of its smaller competitors. Many people are saying they won’t fly from the capital again, happy to  holiday from whatever destinations Shannon has available at the time. To test the ease of using Shannon, the Clare Champion simulated the experience of a passenger catching a flight scheduled for departure to the UK at 3.15pm on Wednesday afternoon. The first step involved driving to Shannon and after leaving Ennis at 1.19pm, we turned off the engine in Shannon 21 minutes later.  While people who only fly from Shannon might not fully appreciate it, the fact of not hitting any red lights in the miles up to the airport and effectively having no congestion to deal with is …

Pulses are racing ahead of the Sunday’s Munster final, particularly in the high pressure zone along the borderline where families are divided, yet united, between Clare and Limerick as hurling ties run very deep, writes Joe Ó Muircheartaigh. IF you were a hurling man and wanted away from the banter on the borderline separating Clare and Limerick, you’d think that Tipperary would be a good place to go — a refuge where they’d be loath to talk hurling because the blue and gold’s travails this year. Scion of Clonlara Jim Gully, who in 2008 brought the first senior title to the club in 89 years, goes to Newport, where he owns a shop in the village square. But, there’s no getting away from the ties that bind Clare and Limerick, whenever big championship clashes come around. Not that Gully really wants to escape the hoopla — he’s too much in hurling’s thrall for that and automatically defaults to a nugget …