Tag Archives: clare

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 …

CLARE motorists heading to the beach are being urged to slow down and drive with care as gardaí confirm checkpoints will be in place on roads leading to the coast. Gardaí are also warning drivers that they face a fine and points on their licence if they are found to be driving while using a mobile phone. There were a number of intercept speed checkpoints carried out last weekend on the routes in and out of Clare’s coastal resorts and a number of drivers received fixed charge penalty notices for excessive speed. According to Clare’s Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona these checkpoints will remain in place for the coming weeks. “We want to encourage drivers to be considerate and responsible on the roads and to play their part in keeping each other safe,” she said. “Slow down and always drive within the speed limit and at a speed appropriate to the prevailing conditions. Drivers should pay attention to the speed …

SEVEN people were rescued from a sinking boat on Lough Derg near Mountshannon this week. Lough Derg RNLI, the Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue Helicopter team Rescue 115 and the Killaloe Coast Guard rescue boat were called to the scene after the alarm was raised in the afternoon. Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat to launch to assist seven people on a 60ft vessel which was taking on water and sinking. Valentia Coast Guard gave lifeboat volunteers coordinates for the vessel, which was at a location south of Mountshannon Harbour on the County Clare shore.   At 2.42pm Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat Jean Spier launched with helm Eleanor Hooker, Owen Cavanagh, Joe O’Donoghue and Ciara Lynch on board. The lifeboat was also carrying its salvage pump. The Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue Helicopter team, Rescue 115, had taken off from their base at Shannon Airport and the Killaloe Coast Guard Rescue Boat was also launched.   On their way to …

CLARE GAA has been successful in its goal of turning the Cloister car park in Ennis’ town centre into a permanent parking facility. Clare County Council has given the green light to an application for planning permission to a change of use of the site on Lower Abbey Street. Prior to this the location had permission to provide spaces for vehicles only before and after GAA matches and authorised events at Cusack Park. The granting of planning permission paves the way for the site to be used as a commercial car park for both long term and short term parking for members of the public. Local authority planners in assessing the application acknowledged the development of car parking “would be welcome” in the area, helping free up spaces in other parts of the town centre. The site lies within the Ennis town centre Architectural Conservation area and within the immediate vicinity of a number of protected structures including Ennis Friary …

WITH everything from a blissful barbecue in the Burren, to seaweed tastings by the coast, the return of the Clare Food & Drink Fleadh provides an ideal showcase for all that is good about the food and drink scene in The Banner county. County Clare is well renowned as one of the best in Ireland when it comes to producing high-quality artisan food and drink, sparking the establishment of the Clare Food & Drink Fleadh in 2019. This year’s event from July 15 to 17 will feature a wide variety of events catering for foodies and drinks connoisseurs of all tastes. Clare Food & Drink Fleadh co-ordinator Margaret O’Brien said, “It’s great to be back after the disruption of recent years. “We chose July 15 to 17 as our festival dates for 2022 to complement Skoda Ring of Clare cycle event, which is set to attract thousands of participants, their partners and families to Clare.” Clare Food & Drink Festival …