Tag Archives: clare champion

WORKS aimed at connecting parts of Ennis with walking trails are set to begin next year the Ennis Municipal District has confirmed. Funding totalling €950,000 has been secured by the council under the government’s Active Travel grant scheme. The plans were detailed at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District where Councillor Johnny Flynn had sought an update on the Connecting and Co-Creating Ennis project which was undertaken in 2020 by the Intelligence Unit (IU) of the School of Architecture at UL. The project was undertaken on the invitation of the Director of Service of the Ennis MD executive Carmel Kirby, in conjunction with the elected members. The councillor outlined that this project looked at Connecting, by re-joining parts of Ennis physically and socially and Co-Creating, getting citizens and visitors actively involved in the development of Ennis. Councillor Flynn described the document as “a very important piece of work”. The students and academics who worked on the project spent …

THE fundraising and water safety awareness efforts of two Ennis business women have seen them recognised with a national award. Danielle Kenneally and Chantell Keane were the recipients of the Water Safety Ireland Community and Social Responsibility award at their national awards ceremony earlier this year. Danielle’s brother Jack was just 15 when he and his friend Shay Moloney lost their lives after getting into difficulty swimming in a disused quarry in 2018. Danielle and her best friend Chantell co-founded home fragrance business Wix and Wax in 2020, and this year they decided to donate a month’s profits from a specially created ‘Daisy snap-bar’ to WSI in memory of Jack. The daisy has a strong significance to the Kenneally family as Jack kept a daisy on the back of his phone, and that’s something that Danielle holds dear. A water safety tips leaflet was included with every fragrance bar sold. A total of €2,500 was raised from the sale of …

CLARE broadcaster Marty Morrissey has thanked the public for their “wonderful love and support” following his mother’s tragic passing earlier this month. Peggy Morrissey lost her life in a car accident at Annagh, Miltown Malbay in the early hours of Tuesday, December 7. Her only son Marty took to social media on Christmas Eve to pay tribute to all of those who have offered him support during what he described as “the most difficult” time of his life. The RTÉ sports commentator wrote, “The last few weeks has been the most difficult in my life as I lost my beautiful Mom so heartbreakingly. But my grief has been comforted by your wonderful love and support. “It’s a particularly hard time for a lot of people especially this year more than most. Life is precious. On Christmas Eve night, can I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers, cards, phonecalls and texts. May I wish you and …

KILNAMONA author Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s debut prose book A Ghost in the Throat has been named among the New York Times Best Books of 2021. The book has featured among the Times’s staff critics choices of the best fiction and nonfiction works of this year. The book, which last year scooped the An Post Book of the Year Award, sees Doireann weave two stories together, with eighteenth-century poet Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill haunting the life of a contemporary young mother who turns detective. Ní Chonaill composed the great poem “Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire” after her husband was murdered by a powerful British official. The book which includes a translation of the poem, is a hybrid of essay, biography, autofiction and scholarship and a daily accounting of life with four children under the age of six. “The book is all undergrowth, exuberant, tangled passage,” New York Times critic Parul Sehgal  wrote. “The story that uncoils is stranger, more difficult to tell, than those valiant …

IF you are wandering around Ennis on the afternoon of St Stephen’s Day, you might see some heads bobbing in the Fergus. Don’t worry! That will be members of the Ennis Sub Aqua Club taking part in the annual sponsored Fin Swim. Gerry Gilroy, chair of the club said, “The annual Fin Swim been going on for over 20 years, and is always great fun. All funds raised from the activity go to support the search and recovery activities undertaken by the club.” The swimmers enter the chilly river at Droichead na Gabhar near Lees Road, float along the quiet stretches before rounding the bend to Victoria Bridge on the Lahinch Road. The rapids at the Mill have torn a few wet suits over the years so they get out upstream of the Mill Bridge and jump back into the dark waters at the Mill wheel. The ducks and geese of the Post Office field look on in surprise at …

GARDAÍ are advising those handling large amounts of cash this Christmas to be aware of a type of theft known as ‘Jugging’. Bank ‘Jugging’ is a theft method where customers of financial institutions are watched by persons who wait for them to come out of those premises with a bank bag, coin box or bank envelope that looks like they may have a large amount of cash. The customer may then be followed with the thief looking for an opportunity to steal the cash, maybe by breaking into their car or a distraction theft from the victim directly. If you are carrying out cash banking transactions gardaí urge that you take the following general advice: • Be aware of your surroundings, especially if something seems strange as you enter the bank. • Conceal your bank deposit bags, coin boxes or envelopes as you enter and leave the bank. • Take your bank bag or envelope with you into your next …

CLARE Champion mascot, Daisy, will feature in an RTÉ calendar after a photograph taken by company director, Shelly Galvin beat off stiff competition to secure inclusion in this almanac. A photograph of Daisy standing in a pumpkin patch is the October image for the ‘Today Show Animals in my Life Pet Calendar 2022’. Shelly Galvin recalled she took this photograph during a visit to Ballycross Apple Farm in Bridgetown, County Wexford, in late September. “I took a few photographs of Daisy standing on a pumpkin on the farm and sent them in to RTÉ. “I am delighted that this photograph will be included in the Today Show calendar. It is a very nice feeling because I have not been taking photographs that long. “I got an email to say I was shortlisted in the last batch, and then I got confirmation that my photograph was selected in the final 12. “Daisy has been selected for the month of October. This …

People in Clare are being urged to play their part in preventing the amount of waste generated leading up to and during the Christmas period. Christmas time is a time of year that generates a lot of waste. By managing our waste responsibly and taking steps to prevent, reduce and reuse this Christmas, we can reduce our carbon footprint and help preserve our earth’s limited natural resources, according to Karen Foley, Environmental Awareness Officer, Clare County Council. Ms Foley explains, “Where packaging cannot be reused or upcycled much of this packaging can be recycled. When uncertain what can or cannot be recycled, make sure to visit www.mywaste.ie. “Recyclables can also be brought to one of County Clare’s five recycling centres and transfer stations. A carload of recyclable waste brought to Ballyduffbeg, Lisdeen, Shannon, Scariff and Ennis costs as little as €5. Our recycling centre locations, opening times and recycling costs are available at www.clarecoco.ie “Householders can also bring bottles and …