Tag Archives: Ennis

AN Ennis school has proven itself to be out of this world by being a part of a NASA mission to Mars. The names of some 300 St Flannan’s College students and teachers have been sent to the Red Planet on NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover, with the spacecraft expected to touchdown on February 18. St Flannan’s physics teacher John Conneely tells us that the school is excited to be a part of this momentous occasion, which marks one small step towards human exploration of the planet. He explains that the school got involved through NASA’s ‘Send Your Name to Mars’ campaign, part of a public engagement initiative to highlight missions involved with NASA’s journey from the Moon to Mars. The Ennis names join millions of others submitted from people all over the world. “We are very pleased to be part of NASA’s latest educational programme. If the Perseverance lander can survive the ‘seven minutes of terror’ decent into the thin …

CLARE County Council can resume vital works on Parnell Street in Ennis despite the current Covid-19 restrictions, it has been confirmed. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, has stated that public realm works such as the Parnell Street regeneration can proceed under the current regulations. Clare County Clare had halted works on the regeneration of Ennis’ medieval lanes amid concerns that the project did not qualify as “essential works” under the current Covid guidelines. However, Deputy Joe Carey confirmed, “I spoke directly with Minister O’Brien regarding the need to progress the Parnell Street enhancement works. He advised me that a senior official from the Department of Local Government will make contact with the Chief Executive of Clare County Council advising them that Urban Regeneration works such as those currently stalled in Parnell Street are permitted under the current Covid restrictions and that the council should make arrangements to re-start the works as soon as possible.” Minister …

By Gordon Deegan A mother of two who was subjected to an alleged serious assault in Ennis last month lost her fight for life in hospital on Wednesday. Wexford native, Sharon Bennett (29) died at University Hospital Limerick in the early hours of Wednesday morning 13 days after she was admitted to the hospital. Ms Bennett was brought to hospital suffering serious head injuries after being allegedly assaulted by her boyfriend, Patrick Ballard (34) in Ennis’ Market area on the evening of Thursday, January 28, last. Reacting to the confirmation of Ms Bennett’s death on Wednesday, the Mayor of Clare, Councillor Mary Howard (FG) said, “It is absolutely heartbreaking to hear that two children will be left without their mother.” The Ennis based councillor stated, “It is so sad that they grow up and their Mammy isn’t there.” Ms Bennett had her two children from a previous relationship and Cllr Howard said, “My thoughts and prayers are with her family …

SHARED bike schemes for a number of Clare towns were mooted at an online Active Travel briefing last week. The event which was attended by an expert panel, including Transport Minister Éamon Ryan, heard calls for a Dublin-based scheme whereby bikes are available for short-term rental at a variety of locations, to be rolled out outside of the capital. “The Dublin Bike Scheme is great, is there any chance of that being rolled out in towns?” Green Senator, Róisín Garvey, who organised the online event, asked. “Is it a private enterprise, because it would work in Shannon, it would work in Ennis and in Kilrush, maybe. People have been talking a lot about this.” The minister noted the popularity of the scheme as well as some pitfalls. “I think we could and should [extend it],” he said. “It is a private scheme. In Dublin, it was JC Decaux who did a deal with the council, they’re the signage company. I’ll …

A LACK of secondary school places in Ennis is causing “untold anguish” for local pupils and families. That’s according to Clare TD Joe Carey who has called on Education Minister Norma Foley to address the lack of secondary school places in Ennis “as a matter of urgency”. Deputy Carey spoke out after he was contacted by several distressed parents in recent days whose children have still not received placements in schools in the Ennis area. The local Fine Gael TD has repeatedly made representations on the issue in recent years. But he warned the problem has gotten worse and is creating “a most disturbing situation for pupils’ mental health and well-being”. Deputy Carey this week wrote to Minister Foley urging her to intervene in the crisis. He also attached a letter on behalf of 10 local primary school principals in which they expressed “very serious concerns” for the well-being of students who are still without placements. The deputy said, “The lack of secondary …

AN Ennis man is setting the bar high when it comes to giving a lift during lock-down. Michael Casey has given himself the challenge of doing 100 pull ups every day for 100 days, with funds raised going to ISPCC’s Childline. Since starting at the beginning of the new year, the 27-year-old has already raised more than €2,000 and he hopes to exceed this amount as he continues for the coming months. Explaining why he decided to take on the challenge he tells us, “With lock-down so many people are just so depressed, there is a real low mood around the place at the moment and I just wanted to do something to help. I decided that starting on the first of January, in the new year, it might encourage people to focus on the positives in 2021 instead, and leave all of the bad energy of 2020 behind.” Michael is a mental health advocate and has written a book …

THIS year’s Ennis Book Club Festival will be going online, organisers have confirmed. Due to Covid-19 restrictions the popular festival’s March 2021 programme will be virtual, while there are also plans for a day of live events in glór in September. A full programme line-up is due to be announced in the coming weeks, however the EBCF organising committee have revealed some of the big names taking part this year. “We have prioritised giving our readers the chance to engage with their favourite books and writers,” said a spokesperson for the organising committee. As part of that, there will be a bookclub meet-up with Donal Ryan, in small groups, via Zoom, “to allow for intimacy and the sense of one-to-one contact with a writer”. Roddy Doyle will join the festival from home to talk about his most recent title ‘Love’. While Exciting Times author Naoise Dolan will be answering people’s questions in an online chat next March. On September 11 the festival will …

ENNIS could become Ireland’s newest city. Moves are being pushed by members of the Ennis Municipal District to have city status designated on the county capital, with hopes that this will lead to an economic boost with increased tourism and jobs growth. Spearheading the idea is Councillor Pat Daly who at this week’s meeting of the local authority outlined that Ennis is well placed to be named as a city. Making the case he stressed the many advantages Ennis has over other localities, while criticising the IDA for “ignoring” the town. “Over the years we have seen how Ennis has grown from a small town to a very large town, it’s now one of the highest populated towns in this country,” he said. He praised the town’s educational facilities, tourism offerings and sporting amenities. The town is “ideally located” with a quality of shops, hotels, restaurants and bars that “would match any city in Ireland”. The councillor outlined the town’s …