Tag Archives: clare champion

COFFEE lovers in Clare are being urged to get brewing and get behind Cahercalla Hospice as plans get underway for the Bewley’s Big Coffee Morning Social for Hospice. Mary Maloney, Fundraising Manager at Cahercalla Hospice said, “We are delighted Bewley’s Big Coffee Morning Social for Hospice is back for another year raising funds in support of Hospice in-patient and community services around Ireland. “The ongoing support for this campaign over the last 30 years is a testament to the generosity of our coffee morning hosts, donors, ambassadors, and our long-time sponsor Bewley’s. “The funds raised each year by the Irish public ensure we continue to provide vital support to individual patients and their families every day.” This year’s event, which bids to raise €1.5million for “life-affirming” Hospice services across Ireland, was launched by Hollywood star Brendan Gleeson. He joined Hospice hosts and volunteers at the iconic Bewley’s café on Grafton St, urging hosts to get creative with their coffee morning social …

LAHINCH’S Marie O’Connor has been named Best Athlete at the 11th European Transplant & Dialysis Games in Oxford having won a staggering four medals. Marie began the week by securing gold in the Golf Doubles with partner Mick Dwyer from Cabinteely. Speaking after the win she said, “It was fantastic, we didn’t think we’d win gold, but we did. I know Mick and myself will say the same thing; our GOLD, we had it, (pointing to her kidney transplant) ever before we picked up a club, and God rest them that they give us the chance to do this. To win a gold medal and to be able to show we are able to say thank you.”  Marie went on to thank her donor and all Team Ireland donors. She followed this the following day with yet another gold in the Singles Golf event and won her third gold on Wednesday in the Petanque held at the splendid Blenheim Palace. …

THE Clare event of the nationwide Pass Wide & Slow Awareness Ride/Drive will be held in Ennis this September with horses and ponies being brought through the town to highlight road safety issues. The event is being hosted at the Ennis Showgrounds on Sunday, September 18 at 2pm with those taking part embarking on a 6km circular route around Ennis. One of the Clare organisers Máire Gleeson explains, “This year we are going to be walking and driving the horses and ponies around Ennis town, we have the support of An Garda, Clare Civil Defence and the Clare County Council. “This Awareness Ride/Drive is being held to highlight the road safety issues horse and pony riders, carriage drivers and motorists experience while out on the roads. “As equestrians we use the roads to transfer the horses from the stables to their paddocks and back again. We also use the roads to train and exercise the horses/ponies. Some have little to …

CLARE students are facing a desperate search for accommodation this September with rents in Galway described as “astronomically priced”. More than 1,400 Clare students are anxiously waiting to receive their Leaving Certificate exam results on Friday with many hoping to achieve enough points to go on to third level. The city of Galway has long been a popular choice with Clare students, however, according to Imogen O’Flaherty Falconer, Vice-President/Welfare and Equality Officer at NUI Galway Students’ Union those searching for a place to stay are “finding it really, really difficult, basically there is no accommodation and any that is available is astronomically priced.” Meanwhile gardaí are warning there has been an increase of 30% in accommodation fraud in 2022, in comparison with 2019 with those seeking accommodation urged to be wary for potential rental scams. The lack of accommodation in Galway is resulting in students having to commute, defer or even drop out of their course, Imogen tells us. She …

SHOP owners are being urged by Clare gardaí to be “very careful” when asked for change of money and not to be distracted. This follows a recent theft which left a North Clare shop at a loss of €150. Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks explains, “On August 29 two males entered a shop in north Clare. One male paid for items bought and the second male looked for change of four €50 notes. “The young shop assistant handed over the €10 notes and the other male used sleight of hand to remove some of the notes from the bundle. “The other male then handed back the €10 notes and looked for the original four €50 notes back. The shop assistant started to count the €10 when one of the men took it from him and took more notes out of the bundle and another shop assistant gave the 50s back. “The two men left the shop, and the shop …

A CELEBRATION of the wealth of original music being performed by Clare artists is set to take place in Ennis this Friday. Originality Clare is hosting a feast for music fans in The Sanctuary from 9pm on Friday featuring three local acts. There is no cover charge for the gig with Ronan Summerly of Originality Clare explaining the aim of the event is to create awareness of the many talented performers of original compositions in the county. Taking to the stage at the gig will be Clare bands Scoth, APE and Apprentices Daughter. Ronan has been playing music in the live scene for almost 30 years in various formats and he tells us he “has always seen the need for more of a boost for musicians performing original music over bands performing known songs who are more commercially viable”. The idea for Originality Clare began over many conversations Ronan has had with musicians who write and perform original music. “A …

A LARGE number of tourists apparently have difficulty pronouncing the ‘Cliffs of Moher’ correctly, according to a new survey. Clare’s leading attraction which draws tourists from all over the world has been named on a map of place names that people always pronounce wrong, alongside Montreal, Phuket, and Dubai. The language learning platform Preply used Google search data to reveal a list of the most mispronounced places on the planet and how you pronounce them. Amy Pritchett, Learning Success Manager at Preply, said, “There’s nothing more embarrassing than arriving at a new holiday destination and mispronouncing its name in front of a local—especially if you butcher the regional accent.  “To avoid that awkward encounter, we’ve researched the most commonly mispronounced places, so you never have to worry about these tongue twisters again. When you learn to say these place names correctly, I encourage you to sound like a native—or at least a savvy tourist.” The study found that tourists have …

A UNIQUE fund set up 20 years ago to invest public money in West of Ireland-based businesses, including 13 in Clare, has generated a return of almost two-and-a-half times its original value and helped provide Ireland’s economy with a €3.3 billion boost, new research has revealed. An analysis into the socio-economic impact of the Western Development Commission’s Western Investment Fund was carried out for the WDC by Indecon, Ireland’s leading independent economic research and consultancy organisation. Indecon says the fund has provided “an impressive contribution to economic activity in the Western Region and has made a significant contribution to the national economy”. It has achieved a financial return on investment of almost 2.5 times its original Exchequer allocation of €31.75m: the fund is currently valued at €73m and has been self-financing since 2010.     The WDC Investment Fund provides seed and venture capital and loan finance to companies and community projects across Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, Galway and Clare. It co-invests with private sector investors on a commercial basis …