Tag Archives: Clarecastle

GARDAI seized of over €60,000 worth of suspected drugs and cash on Wednesday evening. As part of an operation targeting the sale and supply of drugs, Gardaí from the Clare Divisional Drugs Unit carried out a search of a yard in the Clarecastle area. There they seized suspected cannabis herb with a street value of €40,000 along with €17,000 cash. Follow up searches were also carried at fields in Ennis and Tiermaclane where Gardaí seized over €2,500 cash and €700 of suspected cannabis herb. All of the suspected drugs will now be sent for analysis. Two men, both aged in their 40s, were arrested and detained at Ennis and Shannon Garda Stations under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996 and have since been released. A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

CLARECASTLE’S Brian Hogan is celebrating after being named an Inspirational Hero following a nationwide search to uncover Ireland’s most inspirational people. Nominated by family and friends for the Gala Retail and Virgin Media Inspiration Awards, Brian stood out for this determination and positive attitude. In 2009 Brian suffered severe brain damage after an unprovoked attack left him blind and partially paralysed. However, he hasn’t let that stop him. Originally from Ballykeeffe in County Limerick Brian who lives in Acquired Brain Injury’s (ABI) residential service in Clarecastle went from needing to use a wheelchair to taking on a mammoth walkathon challenge. Unable to see his family Brian set himself a goal of walking the equivalent of 20 laps of Thomond Park before the end of May and raise funds for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland Clarecastle. Brian surpassed his fundraising target, raising over €10,000 for the Clarecastle services. Speaking to us about the fundraiser earlier this year, he said, “Acquired Brain Injury Ireland are …

THE Clareabbey Roundabout is “a death trap” for cyclists and pedestrians and the notorious blackspot must be made safe as soon as possible before lives are lost, a Clare TD has said. Deputy Joe Carey spoke out after Clare County Council confirmed it is currently finalising a “feasibility and options report” for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in relation to the roundabout. The local Fine Gael TD has written to the local authority and TII for a progress update in which he outlined the serious danger the roundabout currently poses to cyclists and pedestrians. Deputy Carey said, “The extremely dangerous situation we have at Clareabbey Roundabout has dragged on for years and it’s vital that this death trap for pedestrians and cyclists is finally made safe as soon as possible before more accidents occur. “Transport Infrastructure Ireland are awaiting a feasibility report from Clare County Council and I look forward to the local authority making their submission in due course so …

THE 2019 accounts for Roche Ireland have been filed, which show it recorded a loss of over €8.8 million for the year, as it proceeds towards its closure. The Director’s Report states that, “Ninety seven per cent of Roche Ireland employees were made redundant by May 2020 and the company has transitioned from a manufacturer to a construction site commencing the decontamination and demolition works in 2020, which will continue until 2023.” It said the pandemic has not made much difference to its plans. “The Covid-19 pandemic did not have a significant impact on the project progress. While the Clarecastle site was in a six-week lockdown, the project sub-teams responsible for developing both the regulatory applications and tender package were working remotely to ensure the scheduled timelines were met. No additional costs are expected as a result of the lockdown.” The parent company is providing finance for the closure. “The company continues to receive funding on an ongoing basis from …

A LOCAL heritage group have made sure Covid-19 would not extinguish their plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the burning of a church in Clarecastle. The Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group had planned on marking the centenary of the attack on St Mary’s Church of Ireland back in April, however the plans had to be put on hold due to the pandemic. The group have now reignited the commemoration, but instead of hosting an event they have produced an information brochure detailing the history of what has been described by local historian Dr Joe Power as a “shocking sectarian incident”. Eric Shaw of the Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group, who compiled the publication told us, “The burning of the church is an event not known to the younger generation here or to newcomers to Clarecastle in more recent times. The burning marked a turbulent time in our local history. Nothing remains of the building. The …

AT 74-years of age Ennis man Martin Knox admits he left it rather late to start publishing poetry, but the trained chemist is certainly making up for lost time. After a fruitful working life, which took in stints at Syntex, later Roche; as well as teaching at some of the country’s most prestigious educational institutions, Martin made the leap into poetry and has just published his first book. Entitled, Words Without Song: Vignettes of Reflective Dissent and Childhood Reflections, the volume is a collection of over 100 poems which “go against the establishment” and give voice to Martin’s long-standing belief that the purpose of literature is to highlight uncomfortable truths. “Racism, poverty, mental health, corruption, environmental damage, the unequal distribution of wealth, suffering, those are some the main themes of my poems,” he said. “Writers should ask serious questions. For a long time, I didn’t have the time to write. When I retired, I found that time. So many questionable …

OLD cine-films taken in Clarecastle in the 1950s showing aspects of the village in that era and the unloading of ships at Clarecastle Quay have been discovered and digitised. The film is now set to be released by the Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group on Saturday, August 15 to mark the start of Heritage Weeks 2020. The Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group has amassed a large collection of old photographs over the years. This was done by appealing to the local community through the local press, the press used by the Irish community in England, parish newsletters, open nights where the local community brought in old photos. These images were scanned, with the group not only capturing the picture, but also the story behind the photographs. During one of these sessions the group was told of the existence of reels of old cine-film with images of the village and Quay areas. They approached the owners and …

A PLANNED re-development of the centre of Clarecastle will see the creation of a safe environment for the community to come together, with people “accessing as a village rather than using it as a through road on a national route”. Members of the Ennis Municipal District have given their backing to the Town and Village Renewal Scheme works planned for Clarecastle’s Main Street, the link between the village and motorway network. The works involve improvements to existing footways and carraigeways, landscaping, drainage works and signing and roadmarking. According to the council, the objectives of the scheme are, “to provide a safe area for pedestrians and other vulnerable users to walk; to provide a safe route for vehicular traffic to travel through the village; to provide a safe environment for the community to come together.” A report on the proposal was put before the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District where it was outlined that three submissions have been received …