Tag Archives: clare champion

Gardaí in Ennis have launched an investigation after the body of man was discovered in the early hours of Monday morning in the courtyard of an apartment block. Gardaí were alerted that a body was lying on the ground outside at the Mill House Apartments at around 1.25am. The remains have been transferred to University Hospital Limerick for post-mortem. Anybody with any information or who was in the vicinity sometime between 1.15am and 1.30am and who witnessed anything is being asked to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065 6848100.

THE development of a new ‘Urgent Care Centre’ at University Hospital Limerick has been recommended in a new draft plan by a Mid-West steering group looking at ways to alleviate overcrowding at the hospital. The news is confirmed in response to a parliamentary question from Clare TD Joe Carey. Deputy Carey directly raised the issue with the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly. The local Fine Gael TD asked the minister if he was aware of the proposal to develop the Urgent Care Centre at University Hospital Limerick and if the necessary resources would be provided “to advance the plan and deal with chronic overcrowding at the hospital”. In reply, Minister Donnelly forwarded a response from UL Hospitals Group chief executive Colette Cowan. Ms Cowan confirmed to Deputy Carey, “A Mid-West Integrated Care Steering Group comprising staff from HSE MidWest Community Healthcare, UL Hospitals Group, National Ambulance Service and the Department of Public Health MidWest has developed a draft plan for an …

A LOCAL heritage group have made sure Covid-19 would not extinguish their plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the burning of a church in Clarecastle. The Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group had planned on marking the centenary of the attack on St Mary’s Church of Ireland back in April, however the plans had to be put on hold due to the pandemic. The group have now reignited the commemoration, but instead of hosting an event they have produced an information brochure detailing the history of what has been described by local historian Dr Joe Power as a “shocking sectarian incident”. Eric Shaw of the Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group, who compiled the publication told us, “The burning of the church is an event not known to the younger generation here or to newcomers to Clarecastle in more recent times. The burning marked a turbulent time in our local history. Nothing remains of the building. The …

THE first live performance to be held in glór since lock-down began back in March has sold out, the Ennis venue has confirmed. The venue will be fully re-open from September 1, however ahead of this date a special live show will take place this Friday (August, 14) with The Albiez Trio, presented by Music Network with a line-up featuring Tóla Custy, Laoise Kelly and Cormac Breatnach. The very limited capacity gig will be the first in a range of events planned by glór for the coming months, with the venue adapting to meet the challenges of Covid-19. A spokesperson for glór told us they were delighted that this week’s live performance, with a very limited audience, has sold out. And they are looking forward to returning with a new season of events from September. “We have re-shaped our autumn programme to offer a range of experiences from theatre, to music, comedy and film and visual arts, presenting each experience in …

ORGANISERS of this year’s Ennis Trad Fest, which was due to be held in the county capital this November, have announced that the event has been cancelled. This is the latest high profile event in the county to be affected by Covid-19. In a statement on social media, the organising committee stated they were “very disappointed” to announce the cancellation of the festival. “We waited as long as we could, hoping that we could once again welcome you all to Ennis this year. Unfortunately, considering the current circumstances regarding Covid-19, we feel this is the correct decision to keep everyone safe.” While the Ennis Trad Fest will not be going ahead in 2020, the committee have announced they are planning “something special for you all to enjoy online” over the same weekend the festival was due to take place, November 13 to 16. The committee also acknowledged Clare County Council for their support.

OLD cine-films taken in Clarecastle in the 1950s showing aspects of the village in that era and the unloading of ships at Clarecastle Quay have been discovered and digitised. The film is now set to be released by the Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group on Saturday, August 15 to mark the start of Heritage Weeks 2020. The Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group has amassed a large collection of old photographs over the years. This was done by appealing to the local community through the local press, the press used by the Irish community in England, parish newsletters, open nights where the local community brought in old photos. These images were scanned, with the group not only capturing the picture, but also the story behind the photographs. During one of these sessions the group was told of the existence of reels of old cine-film with images of the village and Quay areas. They approached the owners and …

THE late John Hume was a man with a “vision of justice for all”, according to Ennis’ Parish Priest Fr Tom Ryan, who came to know the Nobel Peace Prize winning politician while working in Derry in the 1980s.   Following his ordination in 1984 Fr Tom was appointed to St Eugene’s Cathedral in Derry, where on Wednesday Mr Hume was laid to rest. Sharing his memories of the prominent politician who played a leading role in talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement, Fr Tom told us, “Over the years I would have gotten to know the family. John was the politician who was on the go all the time, and his wife Pat was the one who kept the show going on the ground in many ways. “He was the man who had the vision, and who wanted to implement his vision of justice for all. He had a great sense of justice, and he was aware of the …

IT’S a case of Philadelphia Here I Come for Ennis musician SON, Susan O’Neill, however she won’t be breaking any Covid-19 travel restrictions. SON has been named among 18 Irish acts who will perform virtually at the Philadelphia Folk Festival on Saturday, August 15, with the support of Culture Ireland. For the first time ever, the festival has dedicated a full day of its programme to performances by Irish musicians. Looking ahead to her performance she said, “It’s really great to be included in the Philadelphia Folk Festival line up this year. Technology can be so wonderful and this is one of the ways it can help us to keep sharing music with music lovers across the world. So glad to be part of it all.” SON began her musical career as the youngest member of the Ennis Brass Band along with joining the Really Truly Joyful Gospel Choir. The critically acclaimed performer is a member of King Kong Company …