Tag Archives: clare

FORMER Clare TD Michael McNamara’s bid to run for Labour in the upcoming European Elections ended in Cork last weekend, when the party selected Sheila Nunan. Reflecting on Wednesday, Mr McNamara said there had been signs that his bid would fall short. “It was disappointing but maybe not entirely surprising. It became apparent to me that I didn’t enjoy the support of parts of the party during the campaign. The chairman of the party, Jack O’Connor, is running in Wicklow, Brendan Howlin is obviously from Wexford and both of those counties are in the huge constituency that is Ireland South and they were there in numbers on the day. “There was also a good crowd from Cork. It was held in Cork and I don’t think I enjoyed the support of Cork either, frankly. But I was very appreciative of those who travelled from Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary to support me and also, the Clare Labour party for the …

Check out the latest episode of our news and current affairs podcast, The Champion Report. https://soundcloud.com/clarechampion/the-champion-report-episode-6-mp3

THE Mid-West Careers Fair will take place in the South Court Hotel, Raheen, Limerick on Wednesday March 27 from 11am to 5.30pm. The careers fair is one of some 80 events taking place around the country during National Jobs Week which runs from March 25 to 29. Organised in conjunction with the Mid-West Regional Skills Forum, some 30 employers and 15 training providers will attend the Mid-West Careers Fair. Entry is free to all and jobseekers can register their attendance on the day. This event will provide an opportunity for people to meet with local companies actively recruiting. Local education and training providers will also be exhibiting at the event. Companies attending range from Multi Nationals to small and medium sized enterprises and include, Guidant IRC, OpTech Ltd, General Motors, First Data, WP Engine, Atlantic Aviation, Jaguar Land Rover and Johnson and Johnson. Many of the employers are returning to the event for the third and fourth time because they …

CLARE Independent TD, Dr Michael Harty, has described the search for a possible replacement for Roche in Clarecastle as a “lost cause.” He made his claims based on comments passed by Business Minister, Heather Humphreys in Dáil Éireann. “It now seems certain that finding a replacement for Roche, the former jewel in the crown of Clare industry, is a lost cause. That is the only reasonable conclusion one can draw from the statement by Minister Humphreys who told me in answer to a Dáil question, that despite all the efforts by the IDA since the announcement was made to close in 2015, no offer has been made for the site,” Deputy Harty said. “The company has already written to the local community detailing the wind down of its operations by mid-2020. Put the two together and it can only mean that it is curtains for Roche in Clarecastle. I welcome the jobs that have been announced recently but we still …

STILL a teenager when he started collecting people’s stories, Tomás Mac Conmara’s new book The Time of the Tans is backboned by many years of work. It’s an oral history of the War of Independence in Clare and he said the fact that he spent so long gathering the information and accounts at the core of the book, means The Time of the Tans means a lot to him. “I’d say it is the most important one at a personal level. Anything you do like that, in terms of publishing a book, you put a lot of years and time into it, and you should do so as a historian. But because it has been 20 years in the making, almost all of the people who I interviewed and who were good enough to share their memories with me have passed away. It’s very sad in one sense, but it was always my point, that they would be gone. Historian …

LIT has confirmed its plans to open a new campus in Ennis on foot of a proposed capital investment of €0.75 million by Clare County Council. Located on Bindon Street in the town’s historic core, the new facility will enable a substantial increase in higher education activity in the town. Reflecting LIT’s regional development remit, the LIT Ennis campus will join LIT’s existing campuses at Clonmel and Thurles in County Tipperary; Moylish and Clare Street in Limerick City; and a new engineering-focused campus currently under development at Coonagh in Limerick. A total of six degree programmes in Social Care, Early Childhood Care and Education, and Marketing and Management are now available through the CAO at LIT in Ennis for September commencement. Possibilities for evening and professional learning will also be opened up. Commenting on the news, LIT President, Professor Vincent Cunnane said, “We are delighted to be able to progress our plans in Ennis. We intend to provide an expanded …

A TECH savvy Clare man revealed how he broke news of his €500,000 EuroMillions Plus win to his children on a WhatsApp conference call. The lucky dad was one of two big winners through the doors of National Lottery HQ today to collect big prizes. He bought his winning ticket for the EuroMillions Plus draw last Tuesday, January 22 online. The Clare man, who has not revealed his identity, said with some of his children living abroad he thought a WhatsApp call was the perfect way to break the news of his good fortune. Speaking in the Winner’s Room he said, “They were a bit worried when I asked them to go on a WhatsApp call at 7.30 p.m the day after the draw, but I assured them it was good news. The job I had trying to convince them I wasn’t joking was another thing!” “I pick the same five numbers every draw based on the birthdays of my …

A total of €26.5m has been allocated to Clare in 2019 funding for regional and local roads. €8m of that figure will be directed to the Shannon crossing in Killaloe, while €80,000 will be spent linking the N68 Ennis to Kilrush road, with the R458 Limerick road in Ennis. A further €100,000 will be spent on the Northern Distributor Road in Limerick. This years overall figure is a 12% increase on 2018 funding. More details will be published in Thursday’s print edition of The Clare Champion.