Tag Archives: Ennis

THE Clare branch of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign will have a public meeting next Tuesday with guest speaker Smadar Lavie. Ms Lavie is from Israel and is an anthropologist, professor and author whose mother’s family are Jewish Arabs from Yemen, while her fahter’s people are Jews from Lithuania. She is an ardent activist against racism towards Palestinians and Jews of Arab descent in Israel. Based at the University of California Berkeley, she has written or co-authored four books. Speaking in advance of her visit to Clare, Ms Lavie said that Israeli society is quite fractured between Jews of European descent, called Ashkenazi Jews, and Jews of Middle Eastern descent, or Mizrahi Jews. “Fifty per cent of the population are Jews from the Muslim and Arab world, from the margin of the Ottoman Empire, like Bulgaria or Turkey or the former Yugoslavia. Only 30% are Jews from Europe. However there are less than one per cent women professors who are of Mizrahi …

Gardai are treating a petrol bomb assault at Ennis Court House as an attack on the county’s centre of justice and on one of its most iconic historical buildings. Scenes of crime gardaí have just concluded a forensic examination at the court house after a petrol bomb was thrown through a window of the Family Law Court room shortly before 4am on Thursday morning. The culprit targeted a ground floor window of court room number 3 to the rear of the court house, which is where family law matters are typically dealt with in Ennis. Detective Inspector John Galvin is leading the investigation and said the petrol bomb was made using “some kind of glass device with accelerant in it and material”. “Someone knew how to put it [the petrol bomb] together alright. It was someone who wanted to cause damage, how much they intended to do is hard to say, had it gone in the wrong direction it could …

Clare County Council has taken in charge 29 housing developments comprising hundreds of residential and other properties throughout the county since the beginning of 2013. The council has confirmed it  is making “steady progress” in addressing difficulties at 180 developments around Clare brought about through the collapse of many companies in the building sector. In 2013, a total of 14 developments were formally taken in charge by the local authority, while an additional 15 developments have been fully taking in charge during 2014. “Each taking in charge involves a complex process culminating in a public consultation and a resolution of the elected members,” said Gerard Dollard, director of services, Clare County Council. The council has made a comprehensive submission to the department on the issue and has secured funding under the Special Resolutions Fund for two developments at Aisling on the Shanaway Road, Ennis and Bruachlan Grianán on the Westbury development in South East Clare, according to Mr Dollard. Meanwhile, Mr. Dollard said the council also …

Ennis is again “Clean to European Norms”, in 23rd position of the 40 areas surveyed, the latest survey by Irish Business Against Litter  (IBAL) has revealed. Ennis was previously in 33rd spot. In all, 75% of towns and cities were found to be as clean as or cleaner than their European counterparts. Kilkenny and Cavan were once again Ireland’s cleanest towns, and were among 18 towns to be deemed cleaner than the European average. An Taisce reported: “Ennis has retained its Clean to European norms status with another mid-ranking result. It would be nice to see this town push on to a higher position in the table. The top ranking sites in Ennis were not just clear of litter but well presented and maintained e.g. Clare Leisure World, Garden of Remembrance and Recycle Facility at Ennis Shopping Centre. A Clare County Council Recycle Bank at Leisure Facility was moderately littered. The Mill Road River Walk was seriously littered – many different aspects of this site were in poor shape. For …

The Chambers of Ennis, Galway, Limerick and Shannon, which represent 1,355 members with a combined employment level of 45,700, have welcomed the recent signing into law of the Shannon Airport Bill. The Chambers’ concern about the length of time it has taken to complete this very necessary piece of legislation has been well documented but the presidents are now unanimous in their belief that a new dawn has finally arrived for Shannon Airport with new Shannon Group plc finally being in a position to bring their very ambitious plans for the airport to fruition. In a joint statement, the presidents said,”The ability of the new airport management teams now in place at the airport is clearly evident. A five-year decline in passenger numbers has already been reversed in its first year as an independent entity, and double-digit growth in passenger numbers is forecast for 2014. We can now confidently look forward to seeing further wins for the new strategic business units …

Ennis Chamber has welcomed the return of the Merriman School back to the county capital for 2014. Taking place from Wednesday to Sunday week in Glór, Merriman has since its foundation in 1967, celebrated the work of Poet Brian Merriman and the history and traditions of Thomond,as well as promoting interest in all aspects of Irish culture. CEO of Ennis Chamber Rita Mc Inerney said, “Ennis Chamber is delighted that the Merriman School has returned to Ennis this year. The school is a very unique and distinguished festival in the Irish calendar with and impressive programme of topics and speakers. Ennis Chamber would like to encourage the business community to show their support for the festival through their welcome and interest in the programme of events. “The Merriman School attracts a broad range of people locally, nationally and internationally to Ennis over the five days, resulting in an economic boost to the business community. In turn Ennis has much to offer …

Clare Gardaí are advising business owners in the county to beware following reports of a deception scam in Ennis. Gardaí in Ennis have been alerted to at least one instance of a scam where a male has posed as a delivery man and has been paid in cash for a low value product. The incident reported involved a well dressed male calling to a shop in Ennis with bulk boxes of matches. He informed the shop assistant that their boss ordered the items and that he was to be paid cash on delivery. He  then gave over an order docket with a description of the product but it contained no contact details. He then asked to be paid an amount which was more than the product was worth. He left after receiving the cash and the sales assistant later discovered the manager never ordered the product. Clare’s crime prevention officer, Sergeant Joe Downey has asked businesses to be vigilant for …

Following the success of the Gathering initiative in 2013, the emphasis in tourist circles now and for the next number of years will be on driving the 2,500km Wild Atlantic Way, which runs from Kinsale in Cork up the west coast to Malin Head in Donegal. The west coast of Clare sits on the key south-west section of the Wild Atlantic Way and, in an initiative by Ennis-based Spa Transport and Shannon Ferries, this section of the route features on eight of the fleet of trailers operated by Spa Transport, under the theme, Bridging the Wild Atlantic Way. The tourism industry is highly dependent on home visitors and this advertising initiative brings the message, incorporating a map of the south-west, to the main highways and urban areas in Ireland. The Wild Atlantic Way is modelled on a number of high-profile driving routes across the world, including the Garden Route in South Africa and the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. …