Tag Archives: Ennis

Planing permission has been granted for the development of a clay pigeon shooting range at Tullassa, close to Inch. Clare County Council gave the go-ahead to Michael Haren of Tullassa to construct the range, which will include four shooting huts, a car park, tea room, access road and associated works subject to six planning conditions. Among the conditions imposed is that the clay shooting range only operates between the hours of 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays unless otherwise agreed in writing with the planning authority. According to the planning file, three people will be employed in the proposed development. Initially, according to the applicant, the grounds are to be used as a facility for current licensed gun owners to utilise and such persons attending the grounds will supply their own guns and ammunition. According to the applicant it is not proposed to store any equipment or guns at the development. He explained that when required the clay launchers …

Fine Gael Councillor, Johnny Flynn is the new Mayor of Ennis has said he will not take the allowance of €12,000 that goes along with the mayoral chain. He was elected to the position at the inaugural meeting of the Ennis Municipal District on Tuesday afternoon. The role of mayor carries a maximum stipend of €12,000 and it was agreed at the meeting on the proposal of Councillor McNamara that the maximum allowance be allocated for the position. However, speaking after the meeting Councillor Flynn said that he would not be drawing down this stipend as per his election promise not to take any allowances or expenses. He explained that as he lives within a mile from the council chamber, he does not incur the same kind of expense as some full time councillors who live outside the town bounds. He said he hoped to work with his fellow councillors to see if the allowance allocation could be redirected to …

Tourism promoters in Ennis are calling on the business community here to treat everyone as if they are a judge in this year’s Tourism Towns and Tidy Towns competitions. Local co-ordinator of the Tourism Towns competition, Teresa McGrath who is also vice -chairperson of Ennis Tidy Towns, explains that Toursm Town competition is a prestigious one, is organised by Failte Ireland on a national basis and is now in its third year. She and her colleagues are urging businesses here to pull out all the stops when it comes to customer service, especially during the months of June and July when the judges will be in the town for Ireland’s Tourism Towns Competition. “Winning the competition would have long-term beneficial effects by way of tourism and social events as everybody knows that a strong tourist industry contributes to the sustainability of towns and villages and to the economic viability of the business community,” she said. “The Tidy Towns competition is …

Ann Doherty, the chief executive of the University of Limerick Hospitals Group, has told The Clare Champion of her “upset” at instances where people attending the emergency department in Limerick experience “reduced privacy and dignity.” Ms Doherty was responding to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report, published last Friday, which highlighted a number of patient safety risks in the hospital group. One of the areas pinpointed in the report was the negative impact arising from overcrowding at the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick. “It impeded access to patients for care and observation, reduced privacy and dignity, increased the risk of transmission of infection and prevented adequate cleaning of the department,” the report read. “It upsets me and I have said that,” Ann Doherty commented. “Dignity and respect is a very important value for me as a human being, for me as a practitioner and for us as an organisation. Our emergency department, in its current state because …

A paramedic who brought a patient to Dooradoyle had to argue with staff to get his trolley back, so under-resourced was the Regional Hospital, this week’s meeting of Clare County Council heard. Councillors also speculated that overcrowding at the Mid Western Regional Hospital is leading to people dying prematurely. Standing orders at the council meeting were suspended, as the members discussed the current situation at Dooradoyle, which all agreed was unacceptable.They called for A&E services to be restored at Ennis, while they also want urgent action to be taken to put an adequate facility in place at Dooradoyle. Councillor PJ Ryan said when he brought someone to hospital, he saw a “paramedic pleading with staff to give him his trolley back so he could respond to an emergency”. He said someone could have been dying of a heart attack but the driver wasn’t able to leave and it amounted to “a disgraceful situation”. Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom McNamara said the inadequacy of …

Famous musician and actor, David Essex honoured Travellers this Wednesday at the fifth Traveller Pride Awards, which recognise the achievements and contributions they make to their own community and to Irish society. The winner of the sport award went to David McCarthy of Ennis, who accepted it from broadcaster and “voice of Gaelic games” , Michael Ó Muircheartaigh at a ceremony in the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin. David, who plays for Avenue United, was a key member of this year’s Clare Oscar Traynor side. Winners included a senior county soccer captain, aPhD student, an emerging actor and script writer and a World Health Organisation award winning health initiative. Singer and musician Christy Moore, broadcaster Michael O’Muircheartaigh and Norah Casey RTE and Newstalk presenter were among those who presented awards and celebrated with winners from Meath, Dublin, Clare, Kerry, and Galway in various categories. David Essex brought an extra stir of excitement at the ceremony, not just because of his outstanding musical …

Gardaí in Ennis are still carrying out enquiries following the robbery of  the Xtra Vision store in the Market  early Monday morning, which was held up by a man brandishing what is believed to be a hammer. The incident occurred at approximately 7.30am, when the store was being opened by a member of staff. It is understood that the male employee was approached by a lone male, who was brandishing a weapon, after the alarm of the shop was de-activated. This person then made demands for cash from the employee. The suspect is understood to have had a hoodie covering his head, shielding his identity. The employee was not injured in the incident, which lasted a matter of minutes and the culprit fled the scene having stolen a quantity of cash. It is not yet clear in what direction he travelled. Gardai are currently gathering and viewing CCTV from the property and other businesses in the town. A description of …

Gardaí are on the hunt for two men who broke into Cassidy’s Pharmacy in Ennis in the early hours of Tuesday morning after what has been described by gardai as a “smash and grab” incident. The premises, which is located on O’Connell Street , was targeted at approximately 2am by two men who “using a sledgehammer bashed in the door” of the well known pharmacy. It took the culprits approximately three minutes to break the glass to gain entry and clear shelves of cosmetics products before they were gone again. A senior garda said this was an unusual type of crime in that it was so “daring”, and described it as a “smash and grab” incident as it took so little time to execute. Gardaí believe high value cosmetics were the primary target as these were the only items stolen in the burglary.  The theft was over in a matter of minutes as the items were cleared from shelves onto …