Tag Archives: Ennis

MINISTER for Housing Jan O’Sullivan will address a meeting in Ennis  today ( Friday), hosted by the Clare Citizen Information Service along with the Alliance of Social Protection of Recipients. The minister will speak on the recent funding allocations and plans for the future. The event has been organised to look at the key issues that need to change in order for those in the rental market to be able to source suitable and adequate accommodation that meet the required standards. Dermot Hayes of the Alliance of Social Protection Recipients said, “With almost 4,000 people on the housing list in Clare and a growing population we need to put in place a strong and sustainable strategy.” While Paul Woulfe of the Citizen Information Services added, “The rent allowance needs to be reviewed and restructured to bring it in line with the current market rental rates in order to avoid homelessness and couch surfing’’. Other’s to address the meeting will be: …

ENNIS residents are being urged to ensure that the town is looking its best this May with judges for the Ireland’s Best Kept Town Competition set to visit. Aine Purcell, chairperson of the Ennis Tidy Towns committee explained that the competition is separate to the national Tidy Towns competition which starts in June. And she said that strong efforts are being made locally to give judges for the Best Kept Town a good impression of our county’s capital. Ennis will be competing in the large urban centre category. The Ireland’s Best Kept Towns Awards ceremony will take place in S S Nomadic, Titanic Quarter, Belfast on Tuesday, June 24 at 12.30pm. This North-South competition commenced in 1995 and is organised jointly by the Department of Environment and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council (NIAC), a voluntary organisation. The competition provides an opportunity for some of the high achievers in the national Tidy Towns competition in the South, and the NIAC’s Best …

THE new Ennis National School will be officially opened next month by Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn. As well as the minister, the official opening on May 16 will also be attended by Bishop Kieran O’Reilly. A series of activities and events have been organised for the day to mark the occasion. Among these will be the publication of a new book exploring the history of Ennis National School. The new state of the art school at Ashline opened its doors to its first pupils back in August. Among the many benefits of the school’s new location is the greater ease of access and increased parking. There was a concerted effort between Ennis Town Council, Clare County Council, An Garda Síochána and the school authorities prior to the school’s opening relating to the Travel Plan. And it is hoped that sustainable travel methods – walking, cycling, ‘walking bus’, car-pooling – will be used by increased numbers of students in keeping …

A GROUP of Ennis students have proved they can talk the talk after making it to the semi-finals of a national competition. The newly formed St Flannan’s College debating team have reached the semis of the Concern Debates, Concern Worldwide’s flagship school’s activity. For the semi-finals the St Flannan’s team will debate Coláiste Bhríde, Carnew, County Wicklow on this Tuesday  in the Irish Chartered Institute of Accountants Building, Pearse Street Dublin. The motion is ‘Confidence that world leaders will take meaningful action on the latest IPCC report is misplaced’ and St Flannan’s will propose the motion. Almost 150 schools initially entered the competition this year. Saint Flannan’s College have triumphed in their previous six rounds and are now down to the four top debating schools in the country. In the group stages, Saint Flannan’s College have beaten Presentation Secondary School, Limerick, Saint Caimin’s Community School, Shannon, and Salesian’s Secondary School Limerick. In the group’s decider, St Flannan’s defeated Laurel Hill …

By Aneesha Abdalla, Coláiste Muire, Ennis. Highly commended, junior Clare Champion Short Story Competition HAVING two parents in your life is important. We need both a mother and a father figure. But sometimes things don’t turn out as you want them to be. Some people grow up with one. For me, it’s my mom. All my life I just wanted the feeling and relationship or bond with my father. Every time someone brings up their dad it just makes me feel sad because I have never known or had the chance to get close to my father. Every Father’s Day I write a letter, which I wish I could send. I write about how I feel, my emotions and everything that I would ask him such as “Do you ever think about how I’m getting on?”, “Do you have another family?”, “Why did you leave?”. These questions are always on my mind. After I’m done writing the letter, I read …

By Eve Quinn, Coláiste Muire, Enis. Highly commended, senior Clare Champion Short Story Competition. THE Angelus chimed tunelessly over the whining tyres and impatient horns and babble of voices. Six o’clock was her favourite time of day – it always had been. The suit-clad businessmen and businesswomen bustled past, carrying bulging briefcases, wearing weary expressions. Their eyebrows were pulled together in frustration and their lips were sealed in a firm line of discontent. But beneath the hard exteriors, she could see the love, the hunger to be home, the longing to see family. Some stood waiting at the dilapidated bus stop. Others made their way towards the underground car park, where a private mode of transport awaited them. At six o’clock, everybody had a purpose. She could see what that must have felt like – to actually live for something. As people passed her by, most avoided eye contact. Their eyes darted nervously or disgustedly or judgmentally to the other …

MUSICIANS and dancers from Rice College in Ennis have made it to the finals of the All Ireland Schools Talent Search. Over 600 entries for this competition have been whittled down to the last ten, and “Riches of Rice” have made the final ten. According to a spokesperson for the school, “It’s a huge achievement in our school and we are extremely excited about this wonderful achievement.” The final takes place in the University of Limerick Concert Hall this Saturday. The twelve students, with their teachers, Ms Hanrahan and Ms Brooks have been diligently practising during the Easter holidays and are greatly looking forward to the final, which will be televised by TV3 and broadcast on Sunday May 4. The only Clare entry in the final, the Riches of Rice team will represent County Clare in true Clare style, with beautiful arrangements of traditional tunes, slip-jig and reel, with sean-nós dancing and soft and hard shoe step dancing. It has …