South Clare

A PARTEEN native took the top prize on RTÉ’s Home of the Year 2021 grand finale on Tuesday night last. Jen Sheahan, who now lives in Dublin, won the prestigious award after bowling the judging panel over with her late 1800s artisan cottage in Dublin. Judges Hugh Wallace, Suzie Mc Adam and Amanda Bone chose Jen’s home from among 21 homes across the country. Jen had her eye on a cottage for some time and was delighted when one came on the market in 2019. The property needed a lot of work as it was damp, had no central heating and the toilet was outside. Jen did a complete renovation, knocked all internal walls, dug up the floor and lowered it plus added on an extra floor to make it a two-storey house. Judges were highly impressed by work which includes clever storage solutions throughout and quirky features including a disco ball light in her brightly coloured downstairs toilet. “I …

ONE of the leading voices in the Irish Point to Point scene is Newmarket’s Ger Hannon, who is well known to all those who attend the grass roots events throughout the region. A regular commentator both on the track and on the airwaves, he is among the cohort who are looking forward to having regular race meetings back up and running once more. Following Government advice, point to point racing was halted on January 13 with hopes initially expressed that action could return on March 5. The most recent Government update on Level 5 restrictions put paid to that, with April 5 now being the date after which it is hoped that racing can resume once more between the flags. The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board is understood to be in talks with Horse Racing Ireland aimed at alleviating the backlog of young horses needing a run, and Hannon agrees that the knock-on effect from grass roots level will permeate throughout …

PARTEEN native, Larry De Cleir is a man of many parts. A psychotherapist, who spent two decades in the Irish army, he is also a talented singer-songwriter, whose work ranges from personal reflections to commentary on politics and society. With a CV like that, his retirement is probably set to be a fairly active one. The role of retiree is one that Larry is still getting used to having signed off, just last week, after a 13-and-a-half year stint as Project Leader with Bedford Row, an initiative that supports prisoners and families in Clare and Limerick. “I was involved with the project for a long time before that,” he explains. “I was counselling and getting clients from the project. Before that, again, I was involved, in very early days meeting workers with the Hospitality Centre in Limerick Prison, where the project started up. I was aworking with South Hill Outreach and we had a step-down [service] going on, so I …

CREATIVITY, and an eye for a gap in the market, has inspired a Bunratty woman to ‘Jump Over the Gate,’ by developing a line of children’s books. Interior designer Edel Moloney has branched into children’s publishing, alongside a creative team featuring writer Róisín Meaney and illustrator Louisa Condon. The new company, called Jump Over the Gate, has created what Edel describes as “Ireland’s coolest puffin, Puffin Paulie, who resides in his burrow at the Cliffs of Moher”. “We’re three women with complementary skills,” notes Edel. “We’re very excited about the potential of this project.” Puffin Paulie Goes West is the first of two planned books, which will be accompanied by merchandise including a soft toy and T-shirts. The book, which is available, fittingly, at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre, features Paulie on the back of his motorbike whizzing along the west coast, playing tunes, surfing the waves, cleaning some beaches and having lots of fun. his wonderful and entertaining …

COVID-related issues are among the topics that Gort Family Resource Centre can offer counselling support with. It is urging people to come forward if they need support with a wide range of issues including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, trauma, relationship difficulties, stress, grief, bullying o illness. The centre offers low-cost professional counselling face-to-face and by phone. The service, which includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is described as confidential, respectful open and non-judgemental. Appointments can be arranged by calling 085-7706674. Details of all of the supports offered, including support programmes, family support, social welfare advice, homework and after-school club, and more, are available from 091-630902 or 085-2022066.

EAST Clare tourism interests have warmly welcomed progress with the long-awaited project to develop a visitor centre for Inis Cealtra. Clare County Council announced this week that consultants, McCullough Mulvin Architects, Tandem Partners Ltd and Tobin Consulting Engineers, have signed a contract for the design of the Visitor Experience centre. The council is leading the project, along with a wide range of partners. Chairperson of East Clare Tourism, Arlene White welcomed a number of aspects of the plans to further the next stage of the project. “It is very encouraging to see the emphasis on sustainability and connections with the local community,” she said. “We want to avoid a situation where there are buses of visitors flocking and just barely touching down in the area. I think lessons have been learned, in that respect, from the situation at The Cliffs of Moher.” Ms White added that the challenge would be to ensure real benefits to the wider East Clare region. …

MEMBERS of the local community are being invited to participate in the development of a Town Enhancement and Mobility Plan for Killaloe-Ballina. Clare County Council and Tipperary County Council have started the preparation of the plan, which will facilitate a coordinated approach to public realm enhancements within Killaloe and Ballina, providing a clear vision for Killaloe and Ballina as linked settlements. The Killaloe-Ballina Town Enhancement and Mobility Plan is a non-statutory plan that is being prepared on behalf of both local authorities with a view to supporting the development and enhancement of the twin villages. The plan will deal with a number of topics, including transport and mobility, place making and public realm; street furniture design, tourism, blue-green infrastructure strategy and the development proposals for identified ‘opportunity sites’. Specific measures, designs and schemes will promote the towns’ complementarity, and create an overall focus on their joint strengths and opportunities in terms of functionality, aesthetics and the changing transport profile of …

IRISH Water, working in partnership with Clare County Council, is to carry out essential works on the water network on Main Street, Killaloe from Monday next (August 10). In order to facilitate these works, the contractor Shareridge Utilities intends to close the Main Street from Reddan’s Public House to the bottom of the street. These works will begin at 9.30am on Monday, August 10, and it is hoped that they will be completed shortly after lunchtime. A local diversion will be in place during this time. In a statement, Irish Water said it regretted any inconvenience that this may cause and appreciatd the community’s ongoing patience and support.