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Tag Archives: clare champion

‘Climb that hill’ to support families of sick kids

A CLARE-BASED nurse with children’s charity Jack & Jill is urging the people of the Banner to go Up the Hill in solidarity with local families who face an uphill challenge every day. The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation is holding its Up the Hill for Jack & Jill fundraiser this October asking people to take on a climbing challenge. This is the seventh year of the nationwide fundraising challenge which aims to raise funds for the organisation’s specialist home nursing care, respite support and end-of-life care for very sick children up to the age of six. Margaret Naughton, Jack & Jill Specialist Children’s Liaison Nurse for Clare, said the event means so much to local families, who depend on the funds raised for their support. “To say that it has been a very tough 18 months for our Jack & Jill families is an understatement. As one of the vulnerable groups during the pandemic, our families have had to …

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Smart partnership adds new dimension to Thoor Ballylee

THE Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society is looking to the future when it comes to bringing the history of the south-Galway attraction and its link to poet WB Yeats to life. The society has taken part in an initiative which will make it easier than ever for visitors to learn more about the historic Thoor Ballylee near Gort. An app has been developed by Great Visitor Experiences with the support of the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society volunteers. This app will allow everybody visiting the 14th century tower to discover the story of this unique place was once described by Seamus Heaney as “in cultural terms – the most important building in Ireland” due to its close association with fellow Nobel Laureate for literature, WB Yeats. The well-preserved fourteenth-century tower was where Yeats spent summers with his family and was inspired to write some of his finest poetry, making the tower his permanent symbol. As part of the initiative QR codes have …

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Rotary Club greasing the wheels of African bike donation project

ENNIS Rotary Club is urging the public to make a ‘wheel’ effort in continuing support of a project which is bringing bicycles to school children in Africa. The initiative which sees people donate their unwanted, repairable bikes has already resulted in 157 bicycles shipped from Clare to Gambia. The Rotary Ireland School Bikes Africa project, with the support of Clare County Council, gives members of the public across Clare the opportunity to bring their unwanted bicycles to the Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduff Beg, Inagh. From there, Rotary Ireland deliver the bicycles to the open prisons at Loughan House, County Cavan, and Shelton Abbey, County Wicklow, where they are refurbished by prisoners. They are then shipped to Africa and distributed to school children, giving them the chance of a better future. Michael Shepherd of Ennis Rotary told The Champion that they have been delighted with the response the project has received locally. He outlined that there is now a …

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Big Beach Clean removes 1.6 tonnes of litter from Clare coast

VOLUNTEERS in Clare removed around 1.6 tonnes of marine litter from our coasts at the weekend as part of the Big Beach Clean. After a break in 2020, the Big Beach Clean took place over the weekend and Clean Coasts were overwhelmed with the incredible support and commitment shown by communities across Ireland. In Clare, volunteers organised clean-ups in 16 different locations, removing approximately 1.6 tonnes of marine litter. Among them, volunteers from Clean Coasts group Keep Lahinch Clean organised a clean-up that saw also local kids from the surfing school get involved after their class and collected over 10 bags of marine litter. The Big Beach Clean is an annual call to action that takes place in September at the end of the bathing season. Volunteers around Ireland were asked to register their clean up event and take part in a worldwide citizen science project, as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), operated internationally by Ocean Conservancy. This …

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Anger over development labelled ‘mini Manhattan’

RESIDENTS of an Ennis retirement village are “horrified” over plans for a housing development which has been labelled by one objector as a “Mini-Manhattan”. Leadlane (Drumbiggle) Ltd have lodged a planning application for the development on lands to the west of Pairc na Coille Retirement village. The plans have been the subject of dozens of submissions, with objectors also creating a YouTube video highlighting concerns for nearby wildlife in an area the retirement village residents dubbed “our nature reserve”. A decision on the planning application is currently on hold as Clare County Council await a response to a request for further information from the developers. The application seeks permission to construct 58 residential units comprising 10 four-bed houses, 26 three-bed houses and 22 duplex units comprising 11 two-bed ground floor apartment units with 11 three-bed house units above. Permission has also been sought to alter and upgrade the existing access road to provide additional footpath, cycle paths and raised traffic …

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Braids developers appeal Council’s refusal to ABP

THE developer of a primary health care facility in Ennis insists a proposed extension, refused planning permission, is required by the HSE to facilitate the operation of a Chronic Disease unit for the region. Valley Healthcare Fund Infrastructure Investment Fund ICAV has lodged an appeal to An Bord Pleanala against the refusal by Clare County Council of plans to increase the size of the development at the former Braids site on Station Road. Last month, in a split decision, Clare County Council refused to amend planning permission previously granted for a mixed use development that would increase the floor area from 7,250sqm to 8,008sqm with the provision of an additional floor set back at roof top level as well as an additional deck of car parking. The local authority gave the green light to other aspects of the application seeking to amend the initial health care facility plans. The new proposals were the subject of a number of objections from …

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Libraries hold smartphone classes for older people

CLARE libraries are helping older people ring in the changes when it comes to using getting to grips with new technology. Clare County library has announced a series of Smart Phone classes for older people in a number of libraries beginning at the end of September. The daytime classes will take place in the following libraries: Ennistymon, Kilkee, Shannon, Scariff, and Ennis. The three-week programme will include a session on Zoom video conferencing and the WhatsApp platform so that participants can learn how to connect with others and how to avail of online classes and activities. The classes will be of two hours duration and will take place in the mornings or afternoons. Numbers at the classes are limited due to current restrictions. Clare Libraries will run a second set of classes later in the year. The classes are for those who have not got a smart phone or have just recently received one. The Smart Phone classes will run …

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Ballybeg bat survey needed before lighting installed

PLANNED public lighting at Ballybeg cannot be installed until after a bat survey is completed due to the presence of the rare creatures at Ballybeg Woods, a council engineer has said. However, Barry Conway, executive engineer has given assurances that the works will go-ahead with the survey needed to determine the programme of installation Details of footpath works in Ballybeg were outlined at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District where clarification on a number of issues was sought by Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy. The meeting also heard that speeding traffic is expected to slow down at Ballybeg once the new footpath is put in place. Councillor Colleran Molloy described the commencement of the works as “wonderful for the neighbourhood to see”. Funding granted in 2021 will extend the footpath from the water tower as far as the Radharc na hInse housing development and further funding will be sought to complete the remainder of the path next year. The …

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