Tag Archives: clare champion

A MULTI-million euro redevelopment of Knockanean National School has moved a step closer as planning permission is now being sought for a ‘decant’ temporary school at a local GAA club. The board of management at Knockanean has lodged an application with Clare County Council for a temporary school on lands at St Joseph’s Doora – Barefield GAA Club to be used during construction of a long awaited new school development which has already been given the go-ahead. The temporary primary school will consist of seven prefabricated buildings to accommodate 12 classrooms, five SET Rooms, staff room, principal office and administration. Other works include roads, parking and a drop-off area. According to a services report lodged with the application on behalf of the school, no set-down or pick up will be facilitated on the public road. The proposed development will use the existing gates which are 6 metres wide with adequate sight lines available without works. It is proposed to provide …

ARMADILLOS on the loose could result in a trip hazard on Ennis roads, an Ennis councillor has warned. However, these aren’t armadillos of an animal kind, instead they are safety measures which have been installed as part of the county capital’s network of cycle lanes. Councillor Mary Howard raised the need to clean bollards and armadillos along the route from Clon Road to College View at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. The council confirmed that there are a small number of armadillos and kerb bollards that need resetting or replacing between Eire Óg and the Kilrush Road, and this work is on the local authority crew’s work list. The councillor pointed out that over the last number of years the council has invested a large amount of money in Active Travel initiatives throughout the town. She requested that these initiatives be maintained “as your built environment leads your social environment.” She urged that cycle path markings need …

“OUR volunteers are the backbone of what we do,” says Tina Nagle, shop supervisor at the Irish Wheelchair Association’s charity shop in Ennis’ Elevation Business Park. Tina was speaking to The Champion as the shop’s team celebrated scooping an impressive four national awards from the Irish Charity Shop Association, including Volunteer of the Year for Margaret Hurley. And she revealed the success of the Ennis shop, which has expanded to 3,000 square feet at its base on the Clon Road, is set to become the model for any new shops to be opened by the charity in the future. According to Tina they were “thrilled” to receive accolades from the Irish Charity Shop Association at their recent awards ceremony in Dublin. As well as Margaret’s national Volunteer of the Year award, selected from charity shops all over Ireland, volunteer Hasibullah Darwish was runner up in the Volunteer throughout Ireland category; Teresa Marshall received a special Volunteer Recognition award and Tina …

YOUNG people with designs on helping to tackle the climate crisis are being offered a stylish opportunity in the Junction, Ennis which will see them set the trend for a more sustainable future. Clothes production is a major contributor to excessive energy use and Clare Youth Service, with the assistance of Youth Work Ireland’s Climate Justice Fund and Councillor Mary Howard, are now in a position to offer training to young people in reducing carbon footprint through sustainable fashion techniques. Having attended Sustainable Fashion workshops delivered by the Rediscovery Centre, CYS staff have rolled out programmes to young people at the Junction in Ennis as well as in Shannon. Two Sustainable Fashion Projects were recently run in the Junction Youth and Community building in which 12 young people had the opportunity to learn more about the impact of fast fashion and the importance of sustainable fashion. They acquired skills, knowledge and tools needed to upcycle, repair, alter and customize their own clothes. …

THE HSE will present 3-D drawings and a model for a proposed €25 million 100 bed community nursing unit for Ennis at a public consultation meeting this week. The meeting on Wednesday, June 22, at the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis from 1pm to 3pm will set out plans for the construction of the 100-bed unit on a 5.09 acre greenfield site near St Flannan’s College. Details of the public consultation have come ahead of the anticipated lodging of a planning application with Clare County Council for the development at the end of this month. The proposed new unit if given the green light for planning by the local authority will replace long stay and short stay beds at St Joseph’s Hospital. A design team has completed an outline design phase of the project. The proposed unit will include 88 single and four twin rooms, and four palliative care facilities. The project has been included for funding in the HSE …

FAMILY Carers Ireland’s new Clare Support Centre on the Gort Road in Ennis has been officially opened offering a boost to carers in the county. The centre, located within Block B of the Clare Technology Park, will offer services to fam­ily carers across Clare including information and advocacy regarding their rights and entitlements; training and workshops; support in accessing respite; group meetings and social events to help combat isolation; advice on care planning and crisis support. The centre was officially launched on Monday by Clare Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe. Through its national network of carer support centres and National Freephone Careline 1800 24 07 24, Family Carers Ireland supports the 500,000+ people in Ireland who provide care for loved ones such as children or adults with additional needs, physical or intellectual disabilities, frail older people, those with palliative care needs or those living with chronic illnesses, mental ill-health, or addiction. David O’Connor, Family Carers Ireland Carer Supports Manager in Clare …

THE “wonderful addition” 44 children from Ukraine have made to Ennis Educate Together school has been highlighted by principal David Quinn at the school’s recent celebration day. The event also presented an opportunity to showcase the quite literal growth of a new project which has resulted in a sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine, planted for every pupil in the school. As well as welcoming the school’s new enrolments, the day was a celebration for the entire school and offered an opportunity for families to visit for the first time since Covid-19. On the day Ennis Educate Together’s youngest pupil Oleksandr  and oldest pupil Melisa helped raise the school flag with its newly designed logo featuring new school colours, chosen with input from the children. Mr Quinn explained, “The children’s voice is very important in our school. Last year we surveyed the children in third to sixth classes to choose our schools colours and to add them to our school …

A WEST Clare artist has been chosen to participate in an inaugural exhibition to platform artists with intellectual disabilities. Brian Cusack from Kilrush is one of ten artists chosen by Connections Arts Centre (CAC) to participate in the bold and innovative exhibition to be held later this month in Dublin’s Royal College of Surgeons. Brian says, “My love of art emerged as a young man and it has grown over the past 15 years. I mostly work with acrylics, and paint a wide variety of subjects, usually from existing images, but more recently I have taken to open-air painting. I am really happy and exciting about exhibiting in the Connections Arts exhibition. “I am so lucky that I and three colleagues are supported to run our own business called ‘Woodwebs’, we have a stall in Kilrush Farmers Market selling woodcraft. It’s a place that is important to me, full of colour, energy and laughter where craft workers and artisan food …