Tag Archives: Ennis

THE Green Party has selected Bridget Ginnity to be its local area representative for the Ennis electoral area.  Bridget thanked the Clare Greens for the selection, stating, “I’m delighted to be given the opportunity to represent the Green Party for Ennis. Senator Róisín Garvey and Councillor Liam Grant have been doing great work in Clare to make climate, communities and equality a priority and I hope to further their work in Ennis. “Given the current fossil fuel crisis I have a particular interest in renewable energy and energy efficiency. “The Green Party was instrumental in introducing a new Home Energy Upgrade Scheme with grants for everything from timers and attic insulation to full upgrades. Well insulated homes means warmer homes, lower heating bills and reduced carbon emissions. “Locally I will be working hard to improve walking and cycling infrastructure in Ennis as well as public transport routes. We got a taste of the calm that comes from reduced car use …

IT will be lights out early in the county capital this festive season in response to the ongoing energy crisis. The Ennis Municipal District has confirmed that while the town will have its traditional Christmas lights, the festive display will shine for a reduced number of hours each evening. Details of this year’s Christmas in Ennis programme were released at the monthly meeting of the local authority this week with plans including free parking initiatives, pedestrianisation, street radio, a Christmas village and the return of retro drive-in movies. The official turning on of Ennis’ Christmas lights will take place on Friday, November 25 in Abbey Street Carpark, with the lights to stay on for 12 hours from 3pm to 3am every day. The move to reduce the time of the lights in a bid to conserve energy was welcomed by councillors at the meeting, with Deputy Mayor Mary Howard quipping, “We do our best to be on the nice list …

THE fire service in Clare had to respond to four bonfires on Halloween night, one in Shannon and the other three in the Cloughleigh area of Ennis. A spokesperson for Clare County Council said there was some trouble in dealing with the Cloughleigh bonfires. “Yes, there was opposition to the fire service when we arrived in Cloughleigh, however procedures were in place to deal with such incidents and the Fire Service worked with An Garda Síochána to respond to the calls.” Councillor Mary Howard said that many people had fun on Halloween night and children enjoyed trick or treating, but the type of anti social behaviour seen at Cloughleigh cannot be tolerated. “That kind of behaviour cannot continue. It is wrong and it has to be stamped out,” she said. “It’s a night that everyone should be able to enjoy and to be in a safe environment. Parents or whoever is in charge of those young people need to be …

TELEVISION’S Lorraine Keane will MC a fashion show and a sex and wellness panel as part of a celebration of Ennis’ independent boutiques and women’s health next month. Ennis will stage a day-long fashion and wellness extravaganza on Saturday, November 5 to showcase the variety of independent shops the town offers. Organised by Experience Ennis, the jam-packed event is set to put the fun back into the traditional shopping experience while also honing in on the importance of women’s hormonal and sexual health. Known as the ‘Boutique Capital of Ireland’, Ennis has long held a reputation as a shoppers’ paradise. Putting itself firmly back on the map, the fashion and wellness experience will shine a spotlight on how women can feel and look fabulous with a number of fashion shows, talks, demos and a lively Sex and Wellness panel discussion. Rosemarie Noone, Experience Ennis, said, “Ennis has an impressive range of independent shops offering all sorts of everything – you just …

CLARE County Council is to seek funding for affordable housing in the urban areas of the county, the October meeting of the local authority heard. Independent Gerry Flynn put forward a motion asking that the Council make an approach on the matter to housing minister Darragh O’Brien. In a written response to his motion, Director of Social Development Ann Haugh stated, “As advised by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, proposals located within the CSO settlement boundaries of the five cities (Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, and Waterford) are eligible for Affordable Housing Fund funding. “However, proposals located outside the five cities must be located within local authority areas with a minimum average 5% Housing Need Demand Assessment (HNDA) Affordability Constraint for new housing demand over the period 2021 to 2026 calculated for the entire local authority area. “The HDNA assessment of the Clare local authority area has not demonstrated this required affordability constraint and therefore does not meet …

ENNIS author Sean O’Driscoll has been named on the shortlist for this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards. His book Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber has been nominated in the Odgers Berndtson Non-fiction Book of the Year category. His book tells the astonishing story of Rose Dugdale. She grew up in a Chelsea townhouse and on a Devon estate and was presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace as a debutante in 1958. Rose trained at Oxford as an academic economist and had a love affair with a female professor. At thirty, she commenced giving her inheritance away to the poor and in 1972 she travelled to Ireland and joined the IRA. She went on to become a committed terrorist, participating in a major art heist and a bombing raid on a police and army barracks; who kept a pregnancy secret for nine months in prison and gave birth there; and who ended up at the heart of the IRA’s bomb-making operation …

AN Ennis duo’s new artistic endeavour has been bringing sparks of colour and creativity to electrical boxes in locations throughout the county capital. Artists Rachel Macmanus and Robert Downey are the pair behind this project, busily brightening up the boxes dotted throughout Ennis with different works of art. The artists have joined forces to create the Negative Space Collective, a new platform to develop contemporary art and further strengthen visual arts culture and opportunities in the west of Ireland. The electrical box project involves a series of urban art pieces which have been created with the support of Clare Arts Office, under the PRISM Urban Art scheme. And, they both hope this project will be just the start of a movement encouraging artists and communities to come together to create art for everyone. The striking works on the electrical boxes include, among others, depictions of teenagers at Club Bridge, a garda near Ennis Garda Station, a contemporary take on the …

HUNDREDS of people attended a recent jobs fair at the Ennis Digital Hub on the Quin Road in Ennis, while almost 30 employers and recruiters participated.  The event was planned by five local organisations who saw the desirability of such an event for both employers and job seekers; Clare Local Development Company, Grow Remote, EmployAbility Clare, Digiclare, and the Department of Social Protection. Paul Ellingstad is Ennis area Community Co-ordinator for Grow Remote, an organisation which seeks to make remote working more accessible, and he said the day had been a great success. “We were really pleasantly surprised. We had been hearing anecdotally, both from job seekers and employers, that they’d like something, so these five organisations got together and said let’s do it. “We had almost 400 people registered on Eventbrite and we figured on the day there were definitely over 300 people and 28 employers and recruiters, so it was a fantastic turnout all round.” He said there …