Tag Archives: clare

THE fall of the Berlin Wall and the dilution of Soviet influence over much of Eastern Europe was closer than people realised, when Mikhail Gorbachev, who died this week, visited Clare, in April of 1989. The previous week’s Clare Champion’s lead story had the headline ‘Council sees Red on Gorbachev visit plans’.  “Wednesday’s adjourned Council meeting made it clear that nothing less than FULL COUNCIL REPRESENTATION would be acceptable, even though up to the time of the meeting no invitation to either the chairman Pat McMahon or to the Council as a body had been received.” The following week’s paper showed that that issue had been resolved, as the Newmarket man had been on the runway when President Gorbachev arrived, while that week’s front page photograph was of Gorbachev shaking hands with the Taoiseach, Charles Haughey. The lead story focused on the fact that President Hillary was in Ennis but not at Shannon when Gorbachev arrived, while it said that …

THE Clare event of the nationwide Pass Wide & Slow Awareness Ride/Drive will be held in Ennis this September with horses and ponies being brought through the town to highlight road safety issues. The event is being hosted at the Ennis Showgrounds on Sunday, September 18 at 2pm with those taking part embarking on a 6km circular route around Ennis. One of the Clare organisers Máire Gleeson explains, “This year we are going to be walking and driving the horses and ponies around Ennis town, we have the support of An Garda, Clare Civil Defence and the Clare County Council. “This Awareness Ride/Drive is being held to highlight the road safety issues horse and pony riders, carriage drivers and motorists experience while out on the roads. “As equestrians we use the roads to transfer the horses from the stables to their paddocks and back again. We also use the roads to train and exercise the horses/ponies. Some have little to …

CLARE students are facing a desperate search for accommodation this September with rents in Galway described as “astronomically priced”. More than 1,400 Clare students are anxiously waiting to receive their Leaving Certificate exam results on Friday with many hoping to achieve enough points to go on to third level. The city of Galway has long been a popular choice with Clare students, however, according to Imogen O’Flaherty Falconer, Vice-President/Welfare and Equality Officer at NUI Galway Students’ Union those searching for a place to stay are “finding it really, really difficult, basically there is no accommodation and any that is available is astronomically priced.” Meanwhile gardaí are warning there has been an increase of 30% in accommodation fraud in 2022, in comparison with 2019 with those seeking accommodation urged to be wary for potential rental scams. The lack of accommodation in Galway is resulting in students having to commute, defer or even drop out of their course, Imogen tells us. She …

SHOP owners are being urged by Clare gardaí to be “very careful” when asked for change of money and not to be distracted. This follows a recent theft which left a North Clare shop at a loss of €150. Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks explains, “On August 29 two males entered a shop in north Clare. One male paid for items bought and the second male looked for change of four €50 notes. “The young shop assistant handed over the €10 notes and the other male used sleight of hand to remove some of the notes from the bundle. “The other male then handed back the €10 notes and looked for the original four €50 notes back. The shop assistant started to count the €10 when one of the men took it from him and took more notes out of the bundle and another shop assistant gave the 50s back. “The two men left the shop, and the shop …

A CELEBRATION of the wealth of original music being performed by Clare artists is set to take place in Ennis this Friday. Originality Clare is hosting a feast for music fans in The Sanctuary from 9pm on Friday featuring three local acts. There is no cover charge for the gig with Ronan Summerly of Originality Clare explaining the aim of the event is to create awareness of the many talented performers of original compositions in the county. Taking to the stage at the gig will be Clare bands Scoth, APE and Apprentices Daughter. Ronan has been playing music in the live scene for almost 30 years in various formats and he tells us he “has always seen the need for more of a boost for musicians performing original music over bands performing known songs who are more commercially viable”. The idea for Originality Clare began over many conversations Ronan has had with musicians who write and perform original music. “A …

A LARGE number of tourists apparently have difficulty pronouncing the ‘Cliffs of Moher’ correctly, according to a new survey. Clare’s leading attraction which draws tourists from all over the world has been named on a map of place names that people always pronounce wrong, alongside Montreal, Phuket, and Dubai. The language learning platform Preply used Google search data to reveal a list of the most mispronounced places on the planet and how you pronounce them. Amy Pritchett, Learning Success Manager at Preply, said, “There’s nothing more embarrassing than arriving at a new holiday destination and mispronouncing its name in front of a local—especially if you butcher the regional accent.  “To avoid that awkward encounter, we’ve researched the most commonly mispronounced places, so you never have to worry about these tongue twisters again. When you learn to say these place names correctly, I encourage you to sound like a native—or at least a savvy tourist.” The study found that tourists have …

A UNIQUE fund set up 20 years ago to invest public money in West of Ireland-based businesses, including 13 in Clare, has generated a return of almost two-and-a-half times its original value and helped provide Ireland’s economy with a €3.3 billion boost, new research has revealed. An analysis into the socio-economic impact of the Western Development Commission’s Western Investment Fund was carried out for the WDC by Indecon, Ireland’s leading independent economic research and consultancy organisation. Indecon says the fund has provided “an impressive contribution to economic activity in the Western Region and has made a significant contribution to the national economy”. It has achieved a financial return on investment of almost 2.5 times its original Exchequer allocation of €31.75m: the fund is currently valued at €73m and has been self-financing since 2010.     The WDC Investment Fund provides seed and venture capital and loan finance to companies and community projects across Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, Galway and Clare. It co-invests with private sector investors on a commercial basis …

CLARE children who love to be in the spotlight could be in with a chance of performing in the ever popular panto in University Concert Hall, Limerick. This year’s Christmas show will be Peter Pan and auditions are being held for the children’s dance chorus along with the roles of John and Michael Darling. The University Concert Hall and Robert C Kelly Panto is now in its tenth year and has grown to become one of the most eagerly anticipated shows in the country. Johnny Ward, Fair City favourite and grand finalist of RTÉ’s 2019 Dancing with the Stars, will cast as the infamous Captain Hook in this year’s production. Joining Johnny on stage will be long time UCH panto favourites Richie Hayes and Limerick’s own Myles Breen. “If your child loves panto, loves to dance and would love to share the stage with some iconic Irish performers, then the UCH Panto Kids’ audition is for them,” said a spokesperson …