Tag Archives: clare

THERE was a sense of hope and excitement in Kildysart this week, with news that €1.8 million has been allocated for the development of maritime and cruise liner-related training facilities at the disused school and convent in Cahercon. It is expected that a facility will be developed offering training in all sorts of activities related to marine industries, from piloting cruise liners to catering to mechanics for ships. Ultimately, it’s expected that private sector interests will develop the facility in the next couple of years, while a statement from Clare Deputy Pat Breen this week said that the National Maritime College of Ireland, which is based in Cork, will be central to providing the training. When it finally does open, it will bring a certain amount of new jobs and, presumably, a significant number of trainees and students to the nearby village. Such a development will be a major boost for Kildysart, the likes of which  it has not enjoyed …

THE Clare hurlers will play Cork in Cusack Park, Ennis on Saturday December 29 at 2pm in their opening group game in the Munster Senior Hurling League. They will play Waterford in Fraher Field, Dungarvan on Sunday January 6 at 3pm in their second group two game. The opening round of the Co-Op Superstores Munster league will feature All-Ireland champions, Limerick playing Tipperary in the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick on Friday, December 14 in group one. The league final will be played on Sunday January 13 with the venue and time to be confirmed. “The Munster Council is pleased to facilitate this competition for our counties as it provides participating teams with a great opportunity to prepare for the very competitive Allianz League,” Munster Council chairman, Jerry O’Sullivan said at the launch this week.

TWO Clare GAA clubs will table motions at the upcoming Clare GAA convention to alter the refereeing situation for senior championship games within the county. Sixmilebridge will propose to implement a referee-swap system, whereby referees from outside Clare would officiate at all senior club matches within the county and, likewise, Clare referees would travel outside the county to officiate elsewhere. The move, described in the motion, is to “avoid the current situation of clubs not being able to agree on referees and would provide the utmost impartiality”. Ruan GAA will propose that, “The appointment of referees for all adult championship games in both codes from 2020 onwards be the responsibility of the Clare GAA Referees Association”. This would effectively move control of referee appointments to games from the fixtures committee to the referees association solely. Sixmilebridge PRO Syl O’Connor stressed that his club’s motion was considered two years ago and that while some might “see this in a different light”, …

THERE was some surprise around the county that the Clare hurling team didn’t fly from Shannon for the recent Fenway Hurling Classic in Boston. Obviously Shannon was the logical place for them to fly out of, rather than Dublin, and with the Clare airport always looking for local support, having the county’s hurling team fly from there would have been appreciated. However, although some members of the Limerick squad departed from Shannon, the Banner crossed the country to Dublin Airport, before boarding their flight to the States. In a statement this week Aer Lingus, which sponsored flights for the competing teams, claimed that Clare had to go to Dublin because there had been a very high level of demand. “Aer Lingus was delighted to partner with the Gaelic Players Association and GAA again, this year as a title sponsor, of the Aer Lingus Fenway Hurling Classic 2018 held at Boston’s iconic Fenway Park. We supported flights for the four teams …

THE campaign which aims to make life safer for people who are on a night out has been praised by Clare’s Independent TD. Dr Michael Harty said the idea, which is relatively new to Ireland, encourages people who find themselves in an uncomfortable situation to “Ask for Angela” at the bar. “People of my generation don’t always realise how much the world has changed. More people are now using online dating apps to meet a companion. They may agree to meet up in a pub or a night club and then discover that all is not right, that the profile was misleading or for some other reason they want to get out of the situation. Using this code “Ask for Angela” is a really convenient way of letting staff know that help is required,” Dr. Harty said. “Of course, the success of the initiative will depend on the number of venues which participate and it is crucial that staff including …

FIANNA Fáil General Election candidate, Rita McInerney, has urged all Clare residents to check that they are on the Electoral Register, and if not, to register to vote by November 25. Ms McInerney made the call as the new draft electoral register for the county was published. “It is vitally important that everyone checks, and double-checks, that they are on the Electoral Register. You can do this very simply by visiting www.checktheregister.ie and searching for your details. You can also check if you are on the register at your local post office, Garda station, library or Clare County Council office,” the Doonbeg woman said. “The right to vote is one of the privileges of living in a free and democratic republic. Millions of people across the work are denied this basic right, so I firmly believe that we all have an obligation to use our vote. If you spot a mistake on the electoral register, or can’t find your details, …

FOR almost 50 years Mike Noonan has been coming to The Blacksticks Bar but he can see its the type of bar that might not survive for very much longer. Mike, who doesn’t take a drink himself, is still very critical of the changes to the drink driving laws, introduced by a government minister who he feels has no understanding of rural Ireland. “Bring Shane Ross out of Dublin City Centre and he’d get lost. If you landed him here and turned off the street light he’d panic, he’d be looking for the public transport home.” He adds, “It’s a shame, just because of a man above in Dublin City. If you landed him here, he’d get frightened when he saw the dark, he wouldn’t be used to it. But I suppose it’s in now and it’s there to stay. I honestly don’t think it will save any life.” Mike says there are degrees of drink driving.“If you go into …

THE latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show that 4,707 people in Clare were on the live register at the end of October. That figure is a 13% decrease on October 2017 figures. The county wide monthly increase is 17, although that figure is higher in North and West Clare. Seventy people have joined the live register in North Clare, which now totals 797, with the West Clare figure increasing by 34 to 768.  There was a fall in Ennis figures with 2,502 people on the live register, a monthly decrease of 47.