Tag Archives: clare

THIS year’s Fleadh Cheoil an Chláir has been cancelled as the Covid-19 pandemic continues. Organisers have said that the decision not to hold the much anticipated event was made “with a heavy heart” but is the right thing to do in the current circumstances. According to a spokesperson for Coiste an Chláir Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, “It is with great regret that Coiste an Chláir CCE made the decision last week to cancel Fleadh Cheoil an Chlair 2020 which was being hosted by the Lisdoonvarna/Doolin Comhaltas Branch. This decision was not made lightly and was taken over a number of weeks.” The decision comes following the announcement by the Mullingar Fleadh Executive Committee that Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2020 would no longer be going ahead due to the Coronavirus pandemic, affecting not only Ireland but across the world. The Coiste an Chláir spokesperson outlined, “The proposition of hosting the Fleadh in October was rejected by the Mullingar Executive Committee as it …

SHANNON students have been reaching out to residents of a nursing home who are unable to have visitors, letting them know they are not alone during the Covid-19 crisis. More than 80 students of St Caimin’s secondary school have written letters to the residents of Carrigoran House nursing home in Newmarket-on-Fergus. Students of the school usually visit Carrigoran at Easter time, but because of restrictions surrounding the pandemic this annual event had to be cancelled. School chaplain Cora Guinnane said that the letter writing was “the next best thing” and the students at the school were delighted to get involved. Cora explained that she and another teacher saw a similar initiative being carried out at a nursing home in Cork which had been a great success. “We thought it would be a fantastic idea to do with our students. So  I put the call out to students and teachers who would like to participate and we had a fantastic response. …

CLARE’S County Dog Warden is urging dog owners to keep their pets on a lead while out walking to maintain social distancing during the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions. Frankie Coote explains that friendly dogs maybe inclined to go up to people if not leashed, meaning their owners have to break social distancing to retrieve them. “It might not be the law to have certain dogs on leads, but it’s my advice at the moment. I see them in Lees Road and I’m trying to stay my distance and advise them. But a friendly dog is going to run over to children, and he won’t come back so either the children are picking him up or you have to go over to get him. In fairness I would say maybe 80% of people are keeping them on leads which is a great thing.” Meanwhile a spate of pigeon deaths in the Ennis area is believed to have been caused by an outbreak …

IN what is believed to be a first, the Kilkee Playwright Festival will be bringing an award winning play directly into people’s homes using the increasingly popular app Zoom. Hot Potato Production’s play Just Guff by Jim Ward has been adapted for audio with script development and direction by Jenny Bassett. It will be broadcast into homes via Zoom this Saturday, April 11, at 8pm. And the good news for people looking for entertainment during the lock-down is the broadcast can be accessed for free. Director Jenny Bassett explains, “I used Zoom prior to Covid-19 and was amazed just how easy it was to use. No downloading, just click on a link just before the scheduled time and a page opened up and I was in a virtual meeting with people from around the world. I was also surprised at the sound quality, I immediately thought how it could be used for broadcasting a performance. “Shortly afterwards we were  restricted …

Five hundred additional cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed which represents the largest number of confirmed cases in a single day since the outbreak began. The total number of people with Coronavirus now stands at 6,574. The number of positive cases also increased in Clare, up by two to a total of 68. A further 28 people have died from the virus in the country, there have been a total of 263 casualties in the Republic from COVID-19 and a combined 345 on the island of Ireland. Of the 263 deaths, 72% (187 cases) died in a hospital environment. Thirty people died in intensive care units, accounting for 11% of cases and of the deaths 22 were in the east and two in the north west, sought and west. The median age of today’s reported deaths is 84 and 19 people were reported as having underlying health conditions.    On a positive note, the number of individuals contracting the virus …

There has been one more diagnosed Covid-19 case in Clare bringing to 66 the number of patients in the county being treated for the virus. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has also confirmed that 25 people diagnosed with Covid-19 in Ireland have died, bringing the total number of deaths to 235. Of the latest deaths, 13 occurred in the east, eight in the north and two in both the south and the west of the country. The deaths included 10 females and 15 males and 18 people were reported as having underlying health conditions. There were also 365 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 as at 1pm today. There are now 6,074 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. The HSE is now working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread. A total of 1,472 cases (25%) have been hospitalised and of those, 224 cases have been admitted to …

Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has urged the thousands of people with holiday homes in coastal parts of the county not to travel to Clare over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. Deputy Carey spoke out as extra powers were given to gardai to enforce the restrictions on anyone who is found to be in breach of the Covid-19 public health regulations. It follows reports locally that extra visitors were observed at popular holiday spots in the west and north of the county in recent days. Deputy Carey said: “We love having visitors to Clare, you won’t receive a better welcome anywhere else and the tourism industry is an economic lifeline for many parts of the county. “However, we are living in extraordinary times, and we must do absolutely everything within our power to stop the spread of Covid-19 and to ease the huge pressure on our hospitals and frontline workers. “Gardai will be out in force between now and the …

CLARE’S Eugene Drennan has been elected as the new president of the Irish Road Haulage Association. Eugene, Managing Director of Spa Transport has been a leading light in the road haulage industry and is a prominent member of the IRHA for many years. On his election as IRHA President, Eugene said, “I am honoured with the fulsome support I received when allowing my name to go forward for this position.  I never expected or predicted that I would be in this position and yet circumstances have been such that this has transpired. I wish to thank fellow members and drivers for their work at this time. “Myself and the members of the management team really appreciate the enormous effort and work ethic of the hauliers and all their drivers and what they are doing on behalf of Ireland. I wish you all good health and look forward to meeting at the earliest allowed opportunity to assess the overall situation for …