Tag Archives: clare

All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship Semi-Final Antrim 1-16 Clare 0-18 CLARE’S dream of taking their place on an All-Ireland final stage at Croke Park was denied in the most agonising fashion imaginable this afternoon at O’Connor Park in Tullamore, as they fell one point short at the end of two separate periods of extra time against Antrim, writes Ivan Smyth. For the opening 20 minutes, Clare looked to be a nervy shadow of themselves, conceding a sloppy goal to corner forward Dearvla Cosgrove and falling 1-4 to 0-3 behind. Even as they drew level by half-time, 1-4 to 0-7, they were far too dependent on dead ball scores, with six frees from Shauna Canny and one from Kate O’Gorman making up their tally. That changed after half-time however as they worked their way back into the game, and excellent points from play from Aoife Anderson and Abby Walsh showed a different side to their game. Victory looked to be in the …

FIVE Ennis teenagers have got making European connections down to a fine art. Alysha Casey Hanrahan, Mahia Rahman, Gabrielle Cullinan, Eimear Fitzgerald and Cameron O’Grady have travelled to Germany for an international meeting of young people at Ennis’ twin town of Langenfeld. The teens are taking part in a ‘youth art camp’ in the town, located between Cologne and Dusseldorf, where they are meeting other art lovers from Langenfeld and its other European twin communities. Here at home, the Ennis youngsters brush up their artistic skills with tutor and Ennis Langenfeld Twinning Committee member Carmel Doherty, and they were delighted to have the opportunity to visit Germany. In Germany they are learning from local artists as part of the week long initiative, and their resulting works will be exhibited at the Kunstverein gallery in Langenfeld. Ennis has been twinned with Langenfeld since 2013 with a twinning a formal arrangement formed with the old Ennis Town Council. This art week is …

NARROW ‘pinch points’ along a popular cycling route on the Shannon Estuary Way pose a danger, according to one local councillor who has called for warning signs to be introduced. Councillor Paul Murphy, speaking at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, outlined the success of the R473 Ennis/Clarecastle to Kildysart, Labasheeda and Kilrush, Shannon Estuary Way. The Ennis deputy mayor said that the road, “has become extremely popular as a cycling route and this can be seen on a daily basis but particularly at weekends”. However, he pointed out there are a number of ‘pinch points’ along the route, including one in the Ennis Municipal District area, from St Anthony’s Grove through to Hempfield/Claremount Cross. “These pinch points are extremely narrow,” he said, with barely room for two cars to pass. “You throw cyclists and pedestrians into the mix and it makes it extremely dangerous.” Councillor Murphy requested that road markings are replenished on this stretch of road, and …

TRAVELLER and comedian Martin Beanz Warde will be the star MC of the Clare Traveller Pride Award in Ennis. The event has been organised and is hosted by a brand new organisation, Clare Traveller Community Development Project (CDP).   Admission is free for the evening of live entertainment and Traveller awards at Cois na hAbhna on the Gort Road at 7pm on Thursday, July 21, with food and refreshments provided. Clare Traveller CDP co-ordinator Bridgie Casey said, “The aim of the awards is to highlight and recognise the achievements and contributions of Travellers in their communities and in Irish society. The awards also aim to instil pride in Traveller identity, highlighting some of the obstacles that exist for Travellers, and celebrate Travellers’ undoubted positive contribution to Irish life.  “Clare Traveller CDP was chosen as one of seven pilots nationally for a Community Development Programme funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development. “This is an exciting and much needed opportunity for …

WITH the new River Fergus Walk and Cycleway already proving to be a great success with locals and visitors to the Ennis area, attention is now turning towards potentially extending the route. Clarecastle Community Development are endeavouring to secure funding for a feasibility study to be carried out into the possibility of bringing the walk and cycle way as far as Clarecastle Quay. Speaking at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, Councillor Paul Murphy requested the local authority “row in behind Clarecastle Community Development’s aspiration of extending the Fergus Greenway onwards to Clarecastle Quay”. He outlined there is currently a live application for low level Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) funding that will allow a feasibility study for this project to be carried out. Eamon O’Dea, Senior Executive Engineer, responded, “A joint application has been made by the Project Management Office and Clarecastle Tidy Towns to the Department of Rural & Community Development, under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme …

THE Soccer Sisters, a social soccer club in Ennis, came out in force for Rape Crisis Midwest recently. The club organised a Charity Soccer Blitz featuring several teams from across County Clare raising €5,000. The club, which has a large membership of women, is a relatively newly established soccer team and community is at the heart of the club. The teams took part in a Round Robin type tournament at the astro turf at Planet Entertainment, Ennis, last Saturday week, July 2. It was very much a family affair with children, parents and partners joining in to support the players, to hand out food and refreshments and to present the prizes. The winning team was Bunratty Cratloe with Bridge Celtic FC in second position and the hosts Soccer Sisters finishing third. Laura Thompson of Soccer Sister explained, “Fifty-seven fantastic women took part on the day, 46 matches over six hours. I would like to thank the coaches, referees and volunteers …

THE number of people signing on the live register in Clare has increased by 17% in June compared to May. Statistics for last month show that there were 4,587 people signing on in Clare, compared to 3,899 in May.  In Ennis there were 2,303 on the live register, up by 289 on May. In Ennistymon there were 923, up from 658 in May. Kilrush saw an increase from 649 to 723, while Tulla went from 578 to 638. The numbers signing on in Clare were 383 higher than June of last year, but the Pandemic Unemployment was still in existence at that stage. Clare has received a substantial number of refugees since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and some of these may have been included in the figures. Commenting on the national figures, Morgan O’Donnell, statistician in the Labour Market Analysis Section, said: “The unadjusted Live Register total for June 2022 was 186,819. When seasonal effects are considered, the seasonally …

CLARE harpers Aisling Lyons and Paul Dooley will be performing as part of the Harps Alive | An Chruit Bheo | Harps Leevin festival in Belfast this weekend. Known as one of the finest musicians in traditional music, Aisling Lyons is a multi-award winning musician and composer. With performances all around the globe and eight All-Ireland titles under her belt, Aisling is the current harp tutor at the University of Limerick and University College Cork. Aisling will be one of fifteen harpers to perform at the Commemorative Concert on Saturday, July 16; a recreation of the Belfast Harpers Assembly 230 years ago. Early Irish harp maker and musician, Paul Dooley is a leading exponent of the Irish harp in its traditional form and style. After studying the construction of medieval Irish harps in the 1980s, Paul’s performing career began in 1986 and has since continued to flourish. Specialising in traditional Irish dance music, a difficult genre from the harp, Paul …