Tag Archives: clare

WHILE the battle against Covid-19 is being won in the towns and villages of the Banner, the county has slipped into an economic depression. Around 14,400 Clare people are receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €350, with 900 medically certified for receipt of a Covid-19 related Illness Benefit payment. More than 1,000 Clare businesses, employing approximately 7,300 people, have registered for the Covid-19 Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. There are also 5,662 people on the Live Register, according to the most recent statistics from the Central Statistics Office. When all of these are combined, it seems likely that the majority of Clare’s workforce are now receiving some level of support from the State, an unprecedented situation. Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Limerick Stephen Kinsella spoke to The Clare Champion on Tuesday and when asked if an economic depression is now inevitable, he said, “I think the right way to think about it is that we are in the …

ENNIS’ Peadar White will be getting back in the saddle this Friday in support of the Samaritans Ennis and Clare which is facing a significant loss of funding this year. Every year Peadar takes part in a sponsored cycle fundraiser at the Height to raise funds and awareness of the Samaritans. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that Peadar has had to change his initial plans and is now taking on a ‘socially distant’ 12 hour cycling challenge at home. Peadar explains, “I had been in training since Christmas for this and we had it all arranged to do a cycle in the Height but that all had to be cancelled because of Covid-19. Then we were thinking about it and realised that I could do it at home. I’ll be cycling outside in my garden if the weather is good, and if it starts to rain I’ll just move the bike into my garage, I’m cleaning it out right …

IT is believed that an alcoholic typically has a significantly negative impact on around ten people around them. Given the amount of people with drink problems around, it’s clear that a huge minority in society have felt the effects of others drinking and Al-Anon is in existence to help people in this position. Seanie, a Clare man in his early 30s, says that he started going to deal with problems in his own family. “People go to Al-Anon looking for a way to stop the craziness of alcoholism in their own lives, looking for a list of things to do to stop the person drinking. In my own case the person was going to AA, but behaving like a dry drunk which means behaving like an alcoholic with bad behaviour. Having blowouts, fighting, being unreasonable, carrying on as if they were drunk, but they are carrying on like that while being sober.” He knows all about the plight of being …

GAMMA Location Intelligence, which provides map and data analysis to insurance companies and local authorities for risk assessment purposes, has revealed that 7,376 Clare homes and 1,320 commercial premises are at heightened risk of coastal flooding by 2050, due to climate change. In absolute terms Clare would be the county with the third highest amount of addresses affected,behind Louth and Dublin, but in terms of the proportion at risk it would be second highest, at 13.3%, only behind Louth. The findings are based on a predicted global temperature increase of two degrees celsius. This increase would cause sea levels to rise and bring about more extreme weather events, leading to higher and more frequent coastal flooding. Richard Cantwell, Senior Spatial Data Scientist, Gamma Location Intelligence, said: “Global warming is already having an impact on our daily lives, but the effects of it will become more tangible and extreme in the years to come. “With increasing global temperatures, sea levels are …

THIS year’s Fleadh Nua has struck a right note with plans to move online while also raising vital funds for charity. Like many other events around the county, this year’s Fleadh Nua in Ennis has been cancelled as a result of Covid-19. However in a bid not to disappoint the thousands of regular Fleadh goers from around the country and overseas, organisers of are putting together an online programme of traditional music, song and dance and seeking to raise much needed funds for Trocaire in the process. “When people heard that this year’s Fleadh wouldn’t be going ahead we received many messages from those who attend the event every year saying how sad they were not to be able to come to Ennis for Fleadh Nua 2020, especially since this year’s event had been scheduled for the June Bank Holiday weekend,” said Frank Whelan, Cathaoirleach of Fleadh Nua. To ensure fans of the festival will not miss out on the …

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has been informed that a total of four people with COVID-19 have died. There have now been a total 1,547 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland. The number in Clare increased by one today. A total of 315 people in the county have now been diagnosed with Covid-19 As of 11am today the HPSC has been notified of 88 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 24,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread. Today’s data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Saturday May 16 (24,036 cases), reveals: · 57% are female and 43% are male · the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years · 3,127 cases (13%) have been hospitalised · Of those hospitalised, 391 cases have been admitted to ICU · 7,615 cases are associated with …

IT’S a long way from Clare to Kildare, and one youngster who certainly knows that is fifth class Ennis National School student Aoife Keane. Aoife has just completed a mammoth cycling challenge taking in the 165km distance between both counties. Amazingly, she cycled the entire length of the route from her garage at home, raising funds for Clare Crusaders and Barretstown. So far she has raised more than €2,000 for the charities and donations can still be made for the next few weeks. While others might be exhausted after the endeavour, the 11-year-old revealed that she celebrated her triumphant end to the cycle by jumping on the family’s trampoline. She laughed, “I hadn’t been allowed on it before the cycle in case I injured myself.” Aoife moved from Naas with her parents Marie and John and younger brother Eoin to their new home of Ennis last year, with the cycle route taking in the distance between her new and old …

AN Ennis GAA club have started their own YouTube channel as well as launching a search for their greatest hurling team of all time. With matches on hold due to Covid-19 Éire Óg Inis have set up Townie TV featuring videos of old matches to be viewed online. According to a spokesperson for Éire Óg the YouTube channel has been developed “in a bid to provide alternative methods of getting our match fix in during the current restrictions”. Some videos of old games have been provided by Eddie Lough and converted to digital by Gerry and Oran Cahill. “It’s an arduous process and all efforts are greatly appreciated.” Among the matches featured on the channel are the 1989 junior hurling final against Kilnamona and also the 1990 senior Munster hurling final against Patrickswel. Members of of the club with recordings of games they would like to share on the channel are asked to contact the committee. The club have also …