Tag Archives: clare

A WELL known hotel on the banks of Lough Derg has moved to clear the waters over confusion surrounding its location in view of national guidelines for people to remain in their own county during Level Three Covid-19 restrictions. The Lakeside Hotel, Ballina, Killaloe has confirmed their registered address with Fáilte Ireland is Killaloe, County Clare, even though the hotel are located just inside the Tipperary border and pay their commercial rates to Tipperary County Council. Straddling two counties and located just a short distance from the historic bridge linking Ballina and Killaloe, the hotel created something of a social media flurry when it posted government advice for people to stay in their own county. Manager, Eoin Little is a bit bemused by this “unusual situation” for the town, as he believes Killaloe and Ballina work together as one community, apart from Gaelic Games. “It is what you get from being in a twin town. Before I moved to this …

MAJOR works to prevent serious flooding in Ennis are now almost complete, OPW Minister Patrick O’Donovan has confirmed. Minister O’Donovan has revealed two of the major elements of the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme, at St Flannan’s College and Ballybeg, are “substantially complete with only minor snagging remaining”. The minister has also accepted an invitation to visit Clare where he is set to explore a proposal to develop a greenway between Ennis and Clarecastle. He said flood works at Clareabbey suffered a delay in recent weeks “due to unforeseen difficult ground conditions”. These difficulties, the minister added, meant the original embankments proposal at Clareabbey had to be redesigned. However, he said this redesign has now been completed and that the additional works are “progressing more rapidly than initially expected” and have “largely been brought back into line with the original programme”. The minister was speaking in response to a parliamentary question from Clare TD Joe Carey. The minister also told …

A PLAN to drive Ennis’ economic recovery post Covid-19 has been described as “visionary” by one of the country’s most accomplished businessmen. The plan, developed by Ennis based Repucon Consulting was already in advance research stage pre-Covid as a niche destination plan. Once Covid took grip in March the plan was refocused to develop a framework for recovery that will include all strands of commercial life in Ennis from accommodation, services, hospitality and retail. Thinking outside the box, the client team, led by Ennis Chamber recruited the support and leadership skills of entrepreneur Brian Crowley to drive the delivery of the Ennis recovery plan. Mr Crowley, COO, Broadlake and founder of international healthcare recruitment firm TTM Healthcare and health and social care service provider Resilience Healthcare, accepted the challenge to lead the implementation of the Recovery / Niche Destination Plan for Ennis. “I grew up in Ennis and started TTM Healthcare here, and while our operations have grown and extended …

A CLARE link to the Bahá’í religion has been uncovered ahead of this weekend’s unveiling of a commemorative plaque in Ennis this weekend. On Sunday Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Paul Murphy will reveal a specially commissioned plaque at the grounds of the Civic Room in Ennis. The plaque commemorates the bicentenary of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, following on from last year’s celebration and tree-planting at the same location. Coinciding with this event, a significant County Clare connection to the dramatic early history of the Bahá’í religion in Persia (Iran) has come to light. Lady Mary Woulfe-Sheil was born in 1825 at Tiermaclane, near Councillor Murphy’s home village of Clarecastle. She was one of very few westerners in Persia during the early days of the Bahá’í faith and she left a vivid account of her experiences, in which she wrote about the new religion. “This is a most exciting link to uncover,” said Ennis Bahá’í, Maria McNamara, whose …

THE latest lessons at Scoil Chríost Rí in Ennis have been causing quite a splash among its students. Last week saw 90 primary school students take part in a pilot programme introducing them to kayaking. This is just the first step of a project which is hoped to result in establishment of an Outdoor Adventure Hub at the riverside school which will benefit the entire town. Kayak le Chéile was formed earlier this year by primary school teachers, Jó Mag Fhearadhaigh and Conor Healy, with a view to establishing a club in Ennis which would facilitate access to the River Fergus for water sports. The new club began its ambitious programme with a Level 1 training course for staff members with an interest in kayaking. Nevsail Watersports provided tuition and the course was attended by representatives from Gaelscoil Mhichíl Ciosóg, Clare Youth Services, Scoil Chríost Rí and the local community.  With the support of Clare Sports Partnership, a pilot programme …

ENNIS’ success in this year’s Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey along with other recent successes has highlighted the town’s appeal as a place to live, work and visit. That’s according to Mayor of Ennis Councillor Paul Murphy, one of a number who welcomed this week’s announcement that the county capital had achieved the highest cleanliness level in the most recent IBAL nationwide litter survey. Eight out of 10 sites surveyed in the town by An Taisce were awarded the top litter grade with the town found to be “cleaner than European norms”. The first nationwide litter survey by business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) since the Covid-19 crisis shows Ennis to be again ‘Cleaner than European Norms’ climbing to sixth spot in the ranking of 40 towns and cities nationwide. The county capital has bucked the trend with a nationwide dramatic fall in the number of towns and cities deemed to be ‘clean’ in the survey, its lowest …

GARDAÍ in Clare have launched an appeal for the public’s assistance after a man was found lying on a Kilkee street with head injuries. The discovery was made on O’Curry Street by gardaí on routine patrol over the August Bank Holiday weekend. After being taken to University Hospital Limerick scans showed that the man suffered a fracture to the head. Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks has urged anybody with any information to contact gardaí. She outlined, “In the early hours of Saturday, August 1 at 2.40am gardaí on mobile patrol came across a male lying on the footpath on O’Curry Street, Kilkee. This man had sustained lacerations to his head. He was taken to University Hospital Limerick and after a CT scan was carried out it was discovered that the male had suffered a bone fracture to his head. “We are appealing to anyone who may have been in the area of O’Curry Street, Kilkee between 2am and …

ÁRAS Contae an Chláir will light up in the colours of pink and blue for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day this Thursday. Gemma O’Gorman, from Kilmurry McMahon, is raising awareness of the cause and the need for supports for families affected by miscarriage and infant death. Ms O’Gorman said, “In lighting up its headquarters, Clare County Council, in my opinion, is creating a platform for those who wish to acknowledge their loss and show a sense of solidarity with each other and that they are not alone. It may also encourage those who wish to gather and talk.” Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Mary Howard added, “Clare County Council is pleased to support Gemma in raising awareness of the issues around miscarriage and infant death. We will be lighting up Áras Contae an Chláir on October 15 in sympathy with those who have experienced a loss and to mark this important day of remembrance.”