Tag Archives: clare

LEST any Clare supporter be unaware of the task facing the county footballers in Ennis on Saturday evening, consider that the last time the counties met in the Munster championship, Limerick won by four points, 1-13 to 1-9. That was in 2009 and while Clare did beat Limerick in the Munster semi-final at the Gaelic Grounds three years ago, Clare hadn’t beaten their neighbours since June 3, 1984 prior to 2009. This weekend’s game will be the 38th Munster championship meeting between the counties, with Clare winning 22 of those fixtures. Incredibly, Limerick won just a single championship game between the counties from 1909 to 1980, when they met 19 times. Five of their 37 Munster meetings have finished level. In the here and now, the current teams met on the last Sunday of March in round six of the NFL. Limerick had to win to have a chance of retaining their Division 3 status and they did just that. …

WHEN accepting the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 1995, after Clare had ended an 81-year wait for the All-Ireland senior title, Anthony Daly proclaimed that Clare people loved their traditional music, as well as their hurling. That passion will be clear for all to see this weekend, as the county supports its hurling and football teams and also find the time to attend the many events in the Fleadh Nua in Ennis. As the respective management teams finalise their plans for the Munster quarter-finals, there are injury concerns in both camps and a number of players face late fitness tests before a final decision is made. With Brendan Bugler (suspended), Colm Galvin (in the US) and Conor McGrath (injured) already ruled out, hurling followers are keeping their fingers crossed that Conor Ryan and Cian Dillon will be fit. Dillon has been out of action for the past number of weeks but did play for a period in a practice game at …

Young hurlers and footballers from across Munster will get an early taste of their own “field of dreams’ as they line out in this year’s Munster GAA Primary Games. This weekend, the Shannon Airport sponsored initiative will see pupils of Clare and Limerick schools go head to head in both football and hurling at half time in championship games.The format in both codes is 11-a-side. The young footballers will be first into the fray at Cusack Park in Ennis on Saturday evening, as Clare play hosts to Limerick, in a home and away arrangement. On Sunday, Semple Stadium in Thurles will be the venue for the eagerly awaited Clare v Limerick Munster Hurling Championship first round game. Again at half-time, pupils from the respective counties will entertain what is expected to be a large crowd. The county jerseys that will be worn in the half-time in the Primary Games were unveiled as two key figures in Sundays hurling championship, John Conlon …

A “phenomenal” gap exists between the number of people in need of social housing in Clare and the amount of available accommodation, it emerged this week. According to figures released at a meeting of Clare County Council on Monday, demand for social housing or housing supports outstrips supply by more than 100 to one in some parts of the county. The figures revealed by Clare County Council show that as of May 1 this year, there were 3,273 people in need of housing, with just 59 vacancies countywide. Last year, 65 properties were “addressed” by the local authority and if this level of activity continued, it would take more than 50 years to clear the current housing list. The council was keen to point out that a significant proportion of those on the list are “interested in housing supports, rather than offering standard local authority housing”. Ennis The detailed figures were revealed following a request by Councillor Ian Lynch. They …

The 17th annual National Spring Clean campaign, which ran throughout April and into May, was very well supported in Clare. There were 219 clean-up events in the county, while In total, more than half a million volunteers participated in clean-ups across the country, making 2015 one of the campaign’s most successful years to date. Volunteers from a range of organisations and community groups across Clare joined in the community spirit of National Spring Clean to show just how much they love where they live, including Tidy Towns groups, scouts, youth clubs, environmental and residential associations and schools and colleges.

THE economic downturn and consequent emigration have resulted in a dramatic drop in certain types of crimes over the past six years, Clare’s most senior garda has claimed. According to crime statistics outlined at a recent meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, reported incidents of damage to property and the environment more than halved between 2008 and 2014, going from 934 down to 395 last year. Public order and other social code offences also dropped significantly over the same period, going from 1,456 reported in 2008 to 765 over the course of 2014. “These are often late at night, drink-fuelled, stupid acts of criminal damage. There is no doubt that CCTV in towns like Kilrush and Ennis have also impacted that, but we have to accept that the downturn in the economy and the subsequent emigration have had a positive impact on these figures, one of the only things it has had a positive impact on really,” Garda Chief …

Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla will visit the Burren during their upcoming visit to the Republic and Northern Ireland later this month. The couple will attend an event at NUI Galway on 19 May, after which Prince Charles will visit the Marine Institute and the Burren. A private dinner with President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina will also take place. The Prince and Duchess of Cornwall will travel to Sligo on 20 May, where they will visit the grave of WB Yeats. They will also visit Mullaghmore where the prince’s great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten was killed in an IRA bomb attack in 1979. Prince Charles was in Northern Ireland last year and in 2013. He has only been south of the border on official visits twice – in 1995 and in 2002. Garda Chief Superintendent, John Kerin, revealed earlier this week that he was preparing for the possibility that the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall could be in …

Gardaí are seeking the public’s help in tracing the whereabouts of 25 year- old Kieran Hayes, who is missing.  He is a resident of Whitegate in East Clare and had been staying with a relative in Douglas in Cork City. Kieran was last seen on Monday, April 20 and his family are now very concerned for his well being. He is 6ft tall of slim build and has ginger receding hair. Kieran has a tattoo of a panther on his right shoulder and his name is tattooed on his right forearm. When last seen he was wearing a white jumper and light brown trousers. Anyone with information is asked to contact Togher Garda Station on 021 4947120.