Tag Archives: Councillor Mary Howard

CONCERN has been aired by a local councillor about incidents of anti-social behaviour in Ennis, writes Dan Danaher. Councillor Mary Howard expressed concern at a recent Joint Policing Committee about boy racers operating near Shiels’ Garage following a number of complaints from people who are working early in the morning. “Cars are being revved up in the car park and a lot of noise is being made with handbrake turns. Some people want to sleep at night but they can’t because boy racers are gathering at night time,” she said. She also raised concern about a complaint from a woman who was trying to park near Ennis Cathedral but was intimidated by drunk people in the vicinity of the parking ticket machine. This prompted the woman to return to her car and drive away to find another parking spot in the town. “These people are picking awkward spots to hang around in Ennis. People are frightened when they come upon …

ENNIS bus and rail station is being “run into the ground” a county councillor believes. Councillor Mary Howard has criticised both Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann accusing them of neglecting the station and leaving it to become a “sad and lonely place”. Her comments came in the wake of images circulating on social media showing bus times at the station written in marker which was heavily criticised online. When contacted about the timetables, Bus Éireann said that it worked to ensure the timetables were replaced as soon as possible, and confirmed there are no plans to introduce a supervisor to the station. While Iarnród Éireann has insisted that it is “committed to providing a quality service to our customers at Ennis”. Councillor Howard has called for a permanent bus inspector and station master to be installed in Ennis, fearing that there is a risk of future anti-social behaviour at the station. “If you go to any country in the world, …

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 …

THE hopes and wishes of children have quite literally been destroyed in Ennis in what has been described as an act of “wanton destruction”. A ‘fairy post box’, part of the Active Ennis John O’Sullivan Lees Road fairy trail, has been smashed beyond repair. The vandalism is believed to have been carried out using a child’s hurley which was found at the scene, along with the tattered remains of letters children had written detailing their hopes and dreams to the fairies of the trail. Councillor Mary Howard, who was involved in the establishment of the popular trail, says this act of vandalism is “heartbeaking”. “I got the call to come up and saw the post box was in smithereens, it’s terrible. I was just so disappointed see that somebody would think it’s okay to do this. This is just wanton destruction, it’s senseless”. Children have been flocking to the fairy trail since it was established five years ago, with the …

CHILDREN walking to a local school are being forced out onto the road due to localised flooding, writes Jessica Quinn. Calls are being made on the local authority to carry out works over the school summer holidays to address flooding issues, and a “current road safety hazard” at Doora National School. The Ennis Municipal District is now set to contact the school to identify their concerns. Councillor Johnny Flynn, speaking at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District urged the Council to, “carry out works over the summer school holiday period to reduce the current road safety hazard being experienced by Doora National School going children and vulnerable pedestrian road users”. The councillor said issues of speed and volume of vehicles at that location were problematic, and that the works would also address the winter localised flooding at the location which at times forces children out onto the road carriageway. He said that there are around 100 vulnerable road …

VACCINATION of young people against HPV should be carried out at the centres currently used to administer Covid jabs, according to one member of the local authority. Councillor Mary Howard received widespread support at the July meeting of the authority for a motion appealing to the Minister for Health to seriously consider using mass vaccination centres to administer the HPV vaccine, and to roll out a free ‘catch-up’ programme for secondary school students. The Fine Gael member outlined how her motion was inspired by time spent with the family of the late vaccine advocate Laura Brennan. “They’ve highlighted their concerns at the pace of the roll-out of the HPV vaccine. Before the pandemic, uptake was over 80%. The programme was paused due to Covid and it’s down to 63% at the moment. Challenges have also been posed by the cyber attack and we now need a meaningful catch-up to get back to 80%. We have all seen how incredibly efficient …

A CLARE councillor has said she enjoyed driving and covering long distances was not a chore to her when an investigation highlighted she made claims to different public bodies for overlapping events at distant locations on a number of occasions. Fine Gael Councillor Mary Howard was one of two Clare elected representatives to feature in an investigation aired by RTE’s Prime Time into alleged breaches of rules on expenses this week. Councillor Howard had overlapping expense claims for Clare County Council, Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board and GMIT. She had claimed expenses for travel between Bantry and Limerick; Gorey and Galway and also Donegal and Limerick for engagements that overlapped. Councillor Howard and Fianna Fáil Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy, both elected to Ennis Municipal District, were part of an RTÉ Investigates probe into potential contraventions of the law by councillors through failing to declare expenses received from external organisations. This week’s  Prime Time, RTÉ Investigates show highlighted a sample …

A MEMORIAL inscribed with the message ‘Inár gCuimhne go deo/Always Remember’ marking the County Clare Nursery (Mother and Baby Home) has been unveiled in Kilrush. The memorial to the women who gave birth in the Kilrush-based County Nursery, the children who spent their lives there, and the infants who died there, was unveiled at Toler Street in the west Clare town by outgoing Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Councillor Mary Howard, in the presence of Council Chief Executive, Pat Dowling. Following publication of the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes in January of this year, Clare County Council apologised for its role in the County Nursery, which was owned and financed by Clare County Council during its decade of operation, 1922-1932. Clare County Council acknowledged, “with profound regret”, its role in the failure to meet the care needs of women and children resident in the County Nursery. As part of addressing its role in …