MORE than 350 children in 12 primary schools across Clare, Galway, Limerick and Tipperary have learned more about biodiversity and how to reduce waste, reuse and recycle, thanks to an environmental initiative run by global healthcare technology company, Zimmer Biomet as part of the Junior Achievement outreach program. Under the initiative, dubbed Keen to Keep it Green, the Shannon based employer donated trees and wildflowers and its employees visited schools to plant the trees, wildflowers and run litter clean-ups. The programme was conducted in full compliance with COVID-19 regulations and public health guidelines. Among the local schools involved was Barefield National School with deputy principal Peadar McMahon saying, “We thoroughly enjoyed participating in your Keen to Keep it Green initiative. “We have planted four beautiful trees and decorated our garden with colourful flowers in conjunction with your dedicated employees.” He added that the initiative helped raise awareness of the importance of taking care of our environment and respecting nature all around us. “Thank you – …
Read More »Murphy makes the call for dedicated campervan facilities in Ennis
CALLS for a public/private partnership to develop campervan facilities in the county capital have been made by Ennis’ deputy mayor. Councillor Paul Murphy believes that Ennis has the potential to become a “very effective destination” for campervan holiday makers looking to stay in an urban setting. At the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District the councillor urged, “That Ennis Municipal District conveys a message that Ennis welcomes campervan users/owners this summer, provided that they can be self-sufficient in terms of sanitation”. He added that consideration should be given to using one of the council carparks at Drumbiggle or Áras an Contae “to facilitate this endeavour and valuable business opportunity.” Carmel Greene, Senior Executive Officer, responded, “The use of council car parks, either at Drumbiggle or New Road as campervan parks would require fully manned facilities specifically for this purpose. At present, the car parks are full on the five-day working week serving staff, councillors and customers. With greater numbers …
Read More »Clare Youth Service smoothing the move to secondary school
CLARE Youth Service are helping to smooth the move to secondary school for sixth class pupils. CYS are offering a new transition to first year programme for students in schools across Shannon and Ennis. The aim of the programme is to address many of the concerns and issues experienced by those making the move to secondary school. There are limited spaces available. “This programmes aims to provide a safe space for the young people to have fun and explore the changes that lie ahead of their move to secondary school. The programme covers things such as hopes and fears for the coming year, reading timetables, taking notes and good sleep habits among other things. There is also an emphasis on tips for minding our minds and our wellbeing,” explains a spokesperson for CYS. The young people taking part will also get to sample a selection of Clare Youth Service activities such as the very creative Scribble Bots! The programme runs …
Read More »Response from 18 – 34 year olds to Covid vaccine in pharmacies “phenomenal”
AN Ennis pharmacist has described the demand for the Covid-19 vaccine from 18 to 34 year olds as “phenomenal”. From Monday a number of pharmacies in Clare started administering Covid-19 vaccines to the 18-34 year old cohort as part of the national programme. According to pharmacist Brendan Rochford of Rochford’s Pharmacies in Ennis and Corofin, “The announcement on Friday morning caught us completely by surprise. The phones started ringing non-stop from 9am last Friday. “Our staff have been fantastic dealing with such a huge volume of enquiries.” Rochford’s had already been administering vaccines to the over 50s age group but, according to Brendan the numbers were much smaller compared to the volume of enquiries they have received for the 18-34 yr old age group. “We have an online vaccine booking system on our website www.rochfordspharmacy.ie which is very efficient but we had to get this set up for the 18-34 year old age group so it was late on Friday before we got …
Read More »Fionn remembered as a ‘wonderful, smiling and talented young man’
A MINUTE’S silence was held at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District this week following the tragic death of young lifeguard Fionn O’Brien. Meanwhile, the chaplain of Fionn’s former secondary school in Ennis has offered its support to past and present students affected by the loss. The 20-year-old, who was from a well-known Ennis family and lived on the Tulla Road, died after getting into difficulty while surfing off Lough Donnell beach on Monday. Fionn has been remembered as a “wonderful, smiling and talented young man” by his former school Rice College. A statement issued on behalf of the school states, “The Staff and Board of Management of Rice College would like to extend our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to the O’Brien family on the tragic death of their beautiful son, our past pupil, Fionn. To Fionn’s parents, Pat and Michelle, and his siblings Niall, Conor and Saidhbh, you are in our thoughts and prayers at this most …
Read More »Glór arts centre in Ennis re-opens
GLÓR re-opens its doors to the public from this Thursday, July 8 when the Ennis venue’s gallery will host a new exhibition. There are also plans for the return of theatre with an outdoor performance set to take place in the glór carpark later this month. Management at glór have said they are “delighted” to be able to share details of the arts centre’s reopening with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. The gallery opens at 2pm on Thursday with the group exhibition Sinterella by Martha Cashman, Annita McKee and Insaf Yalcinkaya. “ We are delighted to be able to present this exhibition featuring three exciting female artists,” said a spokesperson for the venue. The walk-in box office will be open once again on Friday, July 9. Glór also has a new mural to show off, The Studio from Mark Cronin. On Thursday, July 29, there will be a performance of In Middletown from the Gate Theatre and Mikel Murfi. The show …
Read More »Bank warns of fake text messages in ‘smishing’ attempts
BANK of Ireland has issued a warning to the public advising extra caution around fraudulent text messages in circulation this week. There has been a spike in ‘smishing’, where fraudsters send fake text messages, which appear to come from Bank of Ireland, and direct customers to fake websites imitating Bank of Ireland websites. Since last month, the number of new ‘phishing’ websites detected by Bank of Ireland’s Fraud Prevention team has doubled, with an unprecedented increase in activity in the last week and up to 20 new fraudulent sites appearing per day. Bank of Ireland advice to customers in response to the current activity: Do not click on links or to respond to SMS text messages, which are designed to appear as if sent by the bank and look like originating from a genuine phone number. Bank of Ireland will never send you a text with a link to a website that asks you for your online banking login details …
Read More »Clare gardaí seize €12,000 worth of cannabis plants in two separate searches
GARDAÍ are following “a definite line of enquiry” following two separate drugs seizures in Clare. As part of an ongoing operation targeting the cultivation of drugs in West Clare last Monday evening, June 28, uniformed Gardaí from Kilrush Garda Station executed a search warrant in a house in Liscannor. During the course of the search four cannabis plants with a value of €3,200 were seized. Later the same evening the Divisional Drugs Unit searched a house in Lahinch and seized cannabis plants worth €8,800. No arrests were made on the day but gardaí say they are following a definite line of enquiry and files will be prepared for submission to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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