Tag Archives: Ennis

AN award winning Ennis restaurant has announced it is closing its doors for good. The owners of the Rowan Tree Cafe Bar on Harmony Row confirmed they have made the “difficult decision” to cease trading as of Monday of this week. According to a social media post the decision to close was made “due to increasing and unsustainable operational costs”. “We would like to thank all our loyal guests and customers for their valued custom over the years and most importantly thanks to our fantastic employees many of whom have been with us since the beginning, for their loyalty and dedicated hard work, we will miss the interactions with you all on a daily basis but we feel now is the right time to end this chapter,” stated Brian and Marianne O’Neill. They have urged anybody with a gift voucher to contact them by email at info@rowantreecafebar.ie before Friday.

THE family of the late Tim Smythe has described the development of a new dressing room building at the Ennis park which bears his name as “amazing”. On Tuesday the new development, costing in the region of €500,000, was officially launched by the local authority at Tim Smythe Park. Michael Smythe, son of the late athlete and politician, told The Clare Champion he believes his father would have been thrilled at what has been done in his name. “It is absolutely amazing. He was never a person that sought out thanks or praise, but he would absolutely have been happy with this. “The dressing rooms are just a fantastic addition to what has already been done here. I remember when I used to come here to play with Lifford, this is just so amazing to see.” Michael, now based in the US, added that his father would have been particularly delighted with the park’s running track. “That was his love …

Author’s collaboration with CBS Primary pupils results in a fantastic flight of fantasy set in Ennis THE students of CBS Primary in Ennis and writer Chris Judge have joined forces to create a magical new book with the county capital very much at its heart. CBS Primary, Ennis is launching A Town Called Ennis, written by Chris and the students of CBS Primary and also illustrated by Chris. This Friday will see the official launch of the book as well as the unveiling of specially commissioned artworks throughout the school, based on the illustrations created by Chris in the book. The school community is eagerly anticipating the launch of the book, which is notable at national level as the very first fiction book created in collaboration between an author and the students of a school, through the Per Cent for Art scheme. The scheme, associated with the capital construction of CBS Primary’s new school building, enabled the school to commission …

ENNIS’ Market building, described this week as a “glorified car park”, should be put in the hands of trustees operating independently from the local authority, a meeting of councillors has heard. Councillor Pat Daly believes that Limerick’s Milk Market may provide the inspiration for “positive ideas for the future promotion of the Market Building at Market Street, Ennis.” Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District he urged that a visit be organised for councillors and staff within the local authority to the market in Limerick. Backing the proposal, Councillor Johnny Flynn suggested that the market building could be leased out by the council to a group of public/private trustees. He estimated the Council could charge between €25,000 and €30,000 a year for use of the building giving “a good return” to the local authority. The market building was constructed at a cost of €500,000 as part of a €1.75m redevelopment of the market area in 2016. Councillor …

THE founder of The Haven Hub in Limerick has praised the community of Ennis for coming together to shine a light on suicide prevention. A new Haven Hub will be launched in the county capital following this Friday’s Light the Night event on the River Fergus. The new crisis centre will give peer support to anybody that is struggling with low mood or at risk of harming themselves late at night. Founder of The Haven Hub in Limerick Leona O’Callaghan explained, “Suicide has affected so many people in both Limerick and Clare. The most tragic part about that is how preventable suicide is. “If experts alone could prevent suicide then we would not have an epidemic. In reality what people need in their darkest moments is connection, someone to hold hope for them when they have lost it for themselves. Someone to help them stay safe when they can no longer do that for themselves. “We are delighted that Ennis …

AN Ennis school has become the first in the country to get on board with an innovative fitness and learning tool, writes Jessica Quinn. St Clare’s has just taken delivery of four ActivAll Boards for use throughout the school with all 83 learners. The learning boards are all based outside in the school grounds and work off electricity helping learners with daily physical and mental activities to get their heart rate going as well as developinng hand-eye coordination and motor skills. Principal John Murphy said the school community and young people have waited a long time for the boards to be installed but now they are here the staff and learners are using them constantly throughout the day. “Covid and Brexit delayed the arrival of the boards which come from the UK,” said Mr Murphy, noting St Clare’s is the first school in Ireland to engage with this new technology. “All staff received training last week and the boards went …

Late loved ones to be remembered with event that will benefit the soon to open Haven Hub Clare THE River Fergus will be lit with hundreds of lights next week as a symbol of hope for those who have lost loved ones. On Friday, October 8, at dusk, Ennis will ‘Light the Night’ with lanterns floating down the river through the town. Each light will represent the memory of someone who has passed away. Organiser Tina Whelan hopes this action will bring some comfort to those who are grieving a loss, while also helping to support a new after hours peer support and suicide prevention centre opening shortly in Ennis. Funds raised from the event will go towards the Haven Hub Clare which will open its doors this October in the Clonroad Business Park. The centre will be a sister hub of The Haven Hub Limerick, which was founded by Leona O’ Callaghan. Tina explained that the new Clare service …

BUS Éireann has confirmed there are no current plans to allocate staff to Ennis bus station. The national transport company was responding to a Dáil Question from Independent TD Michael McNamara. The lack of staff at the station had also been raised recently by Councillor Mary Howard who had expressed fear that the station could become a “hotspot of anti-social behaviour”. “It can be a scary place and we want to ensure that we don’t have those issues in Ennis.” Deputy McNamara had asked the Minister for Transport his plans to allocate staff to Ennis bus station “given the very high number of staycations around the county and the lack of services available to them at Ennis bus station.” The Department of Transport referred the question to Bus Éireann which responded, “There are no current plans to allocate staff to the station. “Bus Éireann, is currently working on a nationwide upgrade to all our information displays in stations including Ennis, …