Tag Archives: clare county council

CONCERN has been expressed about the lack of full time lifeguards in Lahinch seven days a week following a number of incidents in the sea last week. Ben Bennett of Ben’s Surf Clinic, Lahinch, has revealed eight volunteer lifeguards were involved in a total of 15 rescues and 25 assists last weekend as no Clare County Council lifeguards were rostered at the time. Mr Bennett told the Clare Champion Lahinch was extremely busy last weekends as was like “two Bank Holiday weekends rolled into one”. He explained a lot of people needed assistance in the water on Sunday due to the weather conditions and tides. There were two ambulance emergency call outs in the popular North Clare resort over the weekend including one for a suspected heart attack. Mr Bennett said there were two different incidences of missing children, one child got lost on the beach for about two hours, while a different child was found within 15 minutes. If …

TWO videos developed between a range of partners in Clare to promote a smoke-free society in the county have been released to mark World No Tobacco Day. The videos, released on May 31, are part of the ‘Not Around Us: Towards a Tobacco and Vape Free Clare’ campaign that is being rolled out across the county. The first video explains the purpose of the campaign, encouraging organisations to sign up to being smoke and vape free. The initiative is being led by Clare County Council’s Healthy Clare team in partnership with a range of stakeholders including the HSE’s Quit Mid-West team, Clare Comhairle na nÓg, Clare Children and Young People’s Services Committee, Clare Youth Services, Clare Sports Partnership, Greener Clare and Healthy Ireland. ‘Not Around Us’ is another step towards a tobacco and vape free Clare and is in response to the Government’s national target for a less than 5 per cent smoking prevalence in Ireland by 2025. The ‘Not …

Council focus on helping tourism industry restart THE Púca of Ennistymon is likely to remain ‘on pause’ over the summer months, The Champion has learned. Following significant local opposition, plans to erect the two-metre sculpture on Lower Church Hill, were temporarily shelved earlier this month. In reply to a query from this newspaper, a spokesperson said, “It is likely that the status of this pause will be in place until at least the autumn because the priority at present is to support the local tourism industry with their reopening efforts, ahead of this summer season.” The local authority also confirmed receipt of a petition of opposition. An online petition under the heading of ‘The People of Ennistymon say NO to the Puca statue’, gathered 263 signatures before it closed on Friday last. Many signatories highlighted concerns over the lack of public consultation, and over the nature of the sculpture itself. One comment said: “The statue has no relevance to the …

CLARE was showcased to the nation on Wednesday when RTÉ’s popular daytime Today show broadcast live from Ennis with host Dáithí Ó Sé. The production team based themselves in the Old Ground Hotel during filming, travelling to the four corners to highlight the best of the Banner. Speaking to The Clare Champion, Dáithí revealed that he has a soft spot for the county. “We come to Clare a lot, last Sunday we took a spin back to Spanish Point, it’s beautiful back there. Rita’s parents both come from there so we are very familiar with West Clare and often come to Ennis shopping. “It’s great to be here and get a feel of the town being back again, there’s a great buzz. “You’re very lucky in Clare. You are on the Wild Atlantic Way, have the Cliff of Moher and the Burren, towns like Ennis, the trad music. There’s a great balance, you get it all here.” While in Clare Dáithí met with …

MORE clarity on the future of over 100 council staff, earmarked for transfer to Irish Water is expected in the coming months, according to Chief Executive, Pat Dowling. Nationally, services are currently delivered for Irish Water by local authority water services staff operating under 31 Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which are due to continue until 2025. Doubt was cast on the duration of these agreements however, when the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage published a policy paper in February, aiming to streamline services by transferring the local authority workers to the single water utility before the end of this year. The move has been vigorously resisted by unions and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is currently involved in talks on the matter. The government has set the end of July as a deadline for securing a deal on the proposed transfers. The issue, which would affect around 3,000 Council employees around the country and 130 in Clare, was …

WHILE Clare Museum in Ennis has been closed to the public or has operated under visitor restrictions during the applicable levels of Covid-19 restrictions, it has continued to collect the history of Clare. In December 2020, Clare Museum received from a donor in Vancouver, Canada, a collection associated with the Scott family of Cahiracon House, in Kildysart. The Scotts arrived in Clare when the Earl of Thomond leased Cahiracon in Kildysart to Angel Scott in perpetuity. The Scotts continued to reside at Cahiracon until the mid-19th century and owned land mainly in the Barony of Clonderlaw in Clare. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation, John Bindon Scott was High Sheriff of County Clare. The Scotts are remembered as good landlords in the Kildysart area today, as they did their best to help their tenants during the potato famine. It ruined the family financially and their indebted estate was sold under the Encumbered Estates Act in 1854. The Scotts left Ireland …

WHILE plans for a landmark sculpture in Ennistymon have been paused, there has been no let-up in the debate over the proposed Púca. In recent days, celebrities, artists, historians, folklorists and an MEP have weighed in, in support of Aidan Harte’s proposals for a 2metre high half-man, half-horse on Lower Church Hill. Opposition to the bronze structure has also ramped up in recent days with an online petition under the heading of ‘The People of Ennistymon say NO to the Puca statue’. As of Wednesday lunchtime, it had gathered 244 signatures and is set to be forwarded to Clare County Council by the end of the week. Offers of alternative accommodation for the statue have come from all over Ireland, with folklorist Eddie Lenihan proposing that Crusheen might provide a suitable home. “It may not be the púca as portrayed in Irish folk tradition, but it is a fine piece of sculpture nonetheless,” he said. “Crusheen has grown enormously in …

CLARE County Council is celebrating Africa Day this May 25 with a virtual event that can be viewed on the local authority’s YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/5ssGQSAQFkQ With Covid restrictions hampering the usual gatherings and celebrations, the Council, in collaboration with the Association of Nigerian Community in Clare and the Clare Immigrant Support Centre, has created a video that contains a wide variety of content sharing the African Irish culture here in Clare. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Cllr Mary Howard, said: “In Clare, Africa Day represents an opportunity to acknowledge a diverse and important group of people who enrich and make a valuable contribution to Irish society.” The Cathaoirleach, along with members of Clare’s African Irish community, planted a tree this year as part of the celebrations to symbolise the deepening roots of those living in County Clare. The positive impact and influence of Ireland’s African communities is evidenced across many aspects of life in County Clare, not least the worlds …