Tag Archives: clare

Resilient Leaving Cert Class of ’21 post ‘exemplary’ results in the face of huge challenges presented by pandemic MILTOWN Malbay’s Alison O’Loughlin told The Champion she is “still in shock” at receiving one of the highest grades in the country in her Leaving Certificate. Alison, a student of St Joseph’s Secondary School in Spanish Point, achieved an impressive eight H1 grades. She was among more than 1,300 Clare students who received their results last Friday. While most students got their grades online due to Covid-19 restrictions, Alison was thrilled to have the chance to receive hers in person at the school. “The school gave us an opportunity to go in and physically get the results, we were all given time slots so we weren’t all in together. I was glad we could go into the school because it made it all a bit more real.” Recalling when she first saw her grades the 19-year-old said, “I was shocked, I couldn’t …

THE easing of pedestrianisation in Ennis’ town centre has been labelled as a “mess” with calls for an alert system to be put in place to warn people when traffic is about to be let back on the streets. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed by the Ennis Municipal District that the public is to be asked its views on pedestrianisation next month. A survey to “capture the public’s mindset” on car-free streets is set to be launched by the local authority in mid October. Full details have to be finalised but it is anticipated that the public consultation process will be open for up to two weeks. Since August 30 restrictions on traffic in Ennis town centre have been lifted except for Monday to Friday from 11am to 2pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 6pm and Lower Parnell Street where the current road closure applies until the end of September. Councillor Mary Howard insists this has led to …

A PHOTOGRAPHIC archive chronicling the evolution of Shannon town and the broader region is set to be made available globally. The Special Collections and Archives Department at University of Limerick’s Glucksman Library has been awarded significant funding to digitise the Shannon Development photographic archive. UL’s Special Collections has been awarded around €125,000 (£107,365) in funding from the Wellcome Trust to catalogue, conserve, digitise and increase accessibility to the key photographic archive, which boasts around 25,000–36,000 original photographic negatives. The funding is part of an overall award of almost €500,000 (£427,809) granted by Wellcome to the collaborative project ‘The New Jerusalems: post-war New Town archives in Britain and Ireland’, granted to a network of archives services to catalogue and conserve eleven post-war new town collections. This funding award from the global charitable foundation is significant for UL, as it will allow the Glucksman Library to hire dedicated project staff and to purchase the necessary materials to catalogue, digitise and rehouse the …

FUNDING of €186,975 has been allocated to Clare County Council to transform parts of Ennis to facilitate permanent outdoor dining. Francis Street, Lower Parnell Street, Abbey Street Car Park and the Temple Gate Plaza are set to benefit from the funding announced under Fáilte Ireland’s Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme. Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin TD and Fáilte Ireland announced the locations of 38 permanent Outdoor Dining facilities to be developed in 19 counties nationwide, including Clare. Fáilte Ireland’s Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme opened for applications in March 2021 and comprises two parts. Wednesday’s announcement relates to Part Two of the scheme. All local authorities were invited to apply to Fáilte Ireland for funding under Part Two – Local Authority Weatherproofing & Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme – to develop streets and public spaces to facilitate year-round weather-proofed outdoor dining in urban tourism centres.  Part One of the Scheme – Outdoor Seating and Accessories – supports individual hospitality businesses with grants of …

THE doors of Larkin’s newsagents in Miltown Malbay closed its doors for the last time at the weekend, marking the end of an era. After 22 years serving the local community Michael Larkin describes the final days at the store as “very emotional” as customers dropped in to wish him well. The Kilkee native and his late wife Anne took over the shop from the Hurley family back in 1999, a few years after the couple had returned to Clare after living in New York. “We came back from the States in 1995 and we had a bar for four years, The Lark’s Nest. We decided we had enough, I was in the bar game in New York and if I was going to make money from it I would have there. We took over from the Hurleys in 1999, we bought the shop because it was a little goldmine. There were no supermarkets around at that time and Hurley’s …

FAIRY magic is returning to Ennis thanks to local efforts to restore a beloved children’s attraction recently destroyed by vandals. Last week The Clare Champion detailed how a fairy post box, part of the popular Active Ennis John O’Sullivan Lees Road fairy trail was smashed beyond repair in an act described as “heartbreaking”. We can now reveal that a brand new fairy post box has been installed along the trail, and is now open for children to write their letters to the magical folk who live along the woodland looped walk. The pretty new post box featuring images of fairies, dragonflies and butterflies has been created by Ennis’ Martin Tuohy. Councillor Mary Howard, who initiated the idea for the fairy trail said she is delighted that Martin stepped in to build a new post box for the children. “On foot of the publicity regarding the fairy post box being destroyed a local man, a neighbour of mine Martin Tuohy offered …

CLARE people are being urged to get on their bike on Friday September 10, World Suicide Prevention Day, to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention. Cycle Against Suicide are inviting local communities to join its “Bike4Life: One Day – One Goal”. Held annually, Bike4Life is part of the fundraising effort of Cycle Against Suicide, an organisation dedicated to greater public awareness and community-based assistance for individuals at risk. “If you or someone you know needs help, reach out. Speaking up to a trusted person about depression, suicide or grief is the first step to saving a life,” Caroline Lafferty, Cycle Against Suicide CEO stated. “The risk of suicide is heightened when people are not able to talk about their mental health challenges to others. Very often men and women at risk feel they have no one to talk to about suicidal thoughts and the conditions that cause them.” To combat the stigma, shame and fear around mental health that …

LISCANNOR songwriter Aoife Doyle will release Strength To Be Strong, the first single from her upcoming album, this Friday. The song is a groovy, soulful mix of gospel, jazz and roots, with stomping brass arrangements. “Strength To Be Strong is about having to dig deep to find the strength to stay strong in the face of ongoing adversity. To release this song as the first single off the album felt like an appropriate choice, given the world events of the last 18 months, she explains. Aoife, originally from Bray, County Wicklow, has been living in Liscannor since 2014. She grew up in a house steeped in traditional and folk music, and completed a BA in jazz performance at the prestigious Newpark Music Centre, and an MA in Songwriting at the World Academy of Music and Dance in UL in 2018/2019. 
 
She cites a wide and varied range of musical influences including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Alison Krauss …