West Clare

OVER €2 million has been invested in the provision of a variety of community facilities at the West Clare Resource Centre in Miltown Malbay since 1993, Mayor of Clare, Christy Curtin has revealed.Councillor Curtin believes the success of the resource centre supports the retention of Clare Vocational Education Committee, considering all the support the VEC provided the local committee since its inception.Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe has proposed that Clare VEC should amalgamate with North Tipperary VEC as part of a controversial reorganisation of the whole VEC sector.However, this amalgamation is being opposed by Councillor Curtin, who stressed that Clare is well served by Clare VEC in its current form and warned that local initiatives such as the resource centre could suffer in any new unit involving two counties.He invited Minister O’Keeffe to visit the resource centre to see what could be achieved when Clare VEC, Clare County Council and other bodies worked in co-operation with a local group.“I believe we …

For Kilkee businessman John Redmond, it was a challenge to beat the mother of all challenges – to start and complete the gruelling Barcelona Maresme Iron Man Triathlon 2010.Even though John had been training for the past year with colleagues Cillian Murphy and Martin Busher in the Limerick Triathlon Club for the event that comprised a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride and a 42.2km run, he really didn’t know if his body could be pushed to the point of exhaustion and still respond. Despite all the preparation, only time would tell. But it was mission accomplished when John crossed the finishing line 12 hours 15 minutes and 46 seconds after having set off. He finished 27 minutes behind Cillian and 27 minutes in front of Martin. “As you can imagine, we have been training throughout the last year for this epic event. We have been taking part in triathlons for almost five years now and it has always been …

Susan Fahy from Doolough, Mullagh, marked her 100th birthday recently. Resident at Regina House in Kilrush, Susan was joined by her only daughter, Mary Ann Montgomery, and her grandson, Brian, for her birthday.Born on October 12, 1910, Susan was married to Michael Fahy, who died 34 years ago. They farmed for a living and Susan has been resident in Regina House for the last number of years. Her daughter Mary Ann emigrated to the US 50 years ago.  Speaking to The Clare Champion, with her room overflowing with birthday cards, Susan expressed surprised that she had reached the century. “I never thought I’d get to 100,” she said, having lived through the War of Independence, the Civil War and two world wars during her century.  

EVENTS surrounding the Tullycrine Bomb, which killed Detective Garda Tadhg O’Sullivan on June 11, 1929, will be examined on RTÉ One on Monday evening from 7.30pm.The programme is part of the CSÍ documentary series, which is a series of programmes featuring Irish historical crime stories. It reveals unexpected twists and turns with elements of who dunnit, modern forensic analysis and cold-case review.Eighty-one years ago, two detectives and a garda stared at a black box, which lay on the ground in an isolated Tullycrine field. They tried to open it but failed. Eventually, one of the detectives kneeled down beside the box and placed his hands on the lid.These were the last moments in the life of Detective Garda Tadhg O’Sullivan. He died almost instantly as he tried to prise open the box. His two colleagues suffered horrific injuries but survived.Just this year, James Sullivan a retired New York police officer, visited the scene in Tullycrine. The dead man was his …

AT the October meeting of Kilkee Town Council, Councillor Claire Haugh expressed frustration that the town’s bottle banks had not yet been moved from the town square to the East End car park in Kilkee. This course of action had been agreed upon at the council’s September meeting. Instead, two additional clothes banks have been added to the town square.However, Kilkee town clerk John Corry assured Councillor Haugh that town engineer Derek Troy had undertaken to remove the bottle banks.“He has indicated that they are being moved this week,” Mr Corry said.“Definitely, if they don’t work out in the East End car park, they can’t come back to the square,” Councillor Haugh implored. At the September meeting, the bottle banks were described as “very unsightly” by Councillor Haugh, who added that she has “a bee in my bonnet about those bottle banks”.The suggestion that the bottle banks be moved to the East End car park was accepted on a trial …

Drivers on the N68 Kilrush to Ennis road continued to be seriously inconvenienced this week as further road closures hampered their commute from West Clare to Ennis and vice versa.

Kildysart county councillor Oliver Garry has expressed concerns that drastic cuts in hedge-cutting and verge-trimming funds will result in very few local roads in West Clare having overhanging hedges or dangerous verges trimmed.

SISTEr Angela Mary Doyle of the Six Crosses, Kilmurry McMahon and Brisbane, has recently published her memoirs titled Mercy, Mater and Me. The book is a story of a young woman, a Sister of Mercy from Ireland, arriving in Brisbane in 1947 aboard an old troop ship, having left behind her family and friends.