Tag Archives: Ennistymon

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A MAN cleaning out a shed made a historical but dangerous discovery on Friday in Lahinch, coming across an old grenade which was left there. It is understood that the shed is on the grounds of a house on Station Road, which recently changed hands. Following the discovery Gardai were alerted, and neighbours were evacuated from their homes for a number of hours. The device was subsequently brought to the grounds of Ennistymon GAA Club, where a controlled explosion was carried out on Saturday. Speaking to the Clare Champion, local County Councillor Bill Slattery said he had spoken to people in the Station Road area who he said had been shocked at having to leave their homes in such circumstances.

  HOW do you run a 145 bedroom without any electricity costs? It’s quite easy, in fact, when you can harness the power of water from an iconic cascade in the heart of Ennistymon. A recently commissioned 220 kilowatt water turbine is providing the Falls Hotel with 100% of its power, and even generates surplus to requirements, during periods of heavy rain. The cascades, which begin just below the bridge crossing the Cullenagh River, in the oldest part of the town, roar like thunder in full flow and are a great tourist attraction. In July, the historic Falls Hotel will have an opportunity to gain big publicity as 80 rooms have been booked by international media covering the Irish Open, something that assistant manager, John McCarthy is looking forward to. “Apart from the media, we are full for the Open and that is good news for us and the town and the general area. People won’t spend all day in …

MARIE Hogan has been the friendly face that welcomed both locals and visitors alike to Kilfenora Post Office for 18 years.On Friday, her tenure as postmistress came to an end with the closure of the North Clare outlet for An Post services. Despite a strong public campaign last year to save several rural post office around the county, some have closed and the day of reckoning has finally arrived for Kilfenora. Marie would have loved to remain open for business but her operation did not fit the criteria set out by An Post in its rationalisation programme. “There are about 400 people in the area served by Kilfenora Post Office but An Post dictated that there should be at least 500 people living within a 10 kilometre radius of any give office. We don’t have the numbers. I had no choice but to close; it was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. The Kilfenora people will now be …

EVEN in the darkest days a gesture of kindness can bring some light. An Ennistymon family who tragically lost their daughter last year, are helping to make this Christmas a little bit brighter for others in an amazing act of generosity. Amy Dutil-Wall and her partner Vincent Wall from Ennistymon have endured the deepest of tragedies with the loss of Estlin Luna just before her fourth birthday in a car crash last year that also left Vincent fighting for his life. In honour of Estlin, the family have decided to donate some Christmas gifts to two worthy young girls around her age. Amy explains that she got the idea after seeing a number of offers of help to those in need on the Clare Free to a Good Home site. “It was something I was thinking of doing for a while, to give a gift in honour of Estlin and I thought why not this year. The holidays can be …

THREE Travellers who had stopped playing soccer for Sporting Ennistymon following incidences of racist abuse, have now returned to the club. Michael Sherlock, Patrick Sherlock and Martin Mongan all returned last week, as the club’s B side were defeated by Rineanna Rovers. Speaking to The Clare Champion on Wednesday , Michael Sherlock said, “We just said we’d go back. There’s a long winter ahead.” While the matter was featured firstly in The Clare Champion and then in the national newspapers, as well as on national TV and radio, Michael said no-one from the FAI or the Clare District Soccer League had ever made contact with him. “I never heard anything from anybody,” he said. The club’s PRO Matthew Crowe said they are glad to have the players back. “It’s brilliant. It’s a great boost to the club. They’re great players and they’ve been involved since they were 13 or 14.” Michael and Patrick Sherlock are brothers and another brother of …

Construction work on a new Multi-Service Innovation Centre located in the heart of Ennistymon will commence on Monday. Clare County Council has signed a contract with Jada Projects Ltd for the development which involves the conversion of an existing building, located on Parliament Street. The Multi-Service Innovation Centre comprises hotdesks with business broadband, incubation units for small businesses, meeting rooms, training rooms and full audio visual facilities. The first floor of the shared services building will be occupied by North-West Clare Family Resource Centre. Mol an Óige Steiner National School is also an existing tenant within the building complex. The local authority facility is scheduled to open in September 2019.

FOUR travellers, who had been playing soccer for Sporting Ennistymon, have left the sport following numerous incidences of racist abuse. Figures in the club have voiced their upset at the abuse meted out to the young men, which had become increasingly frequent since the beginning of the current season. Secretary of the Clare District Soccer League, Michael Lydon, refused to comment on the issue on Wednesday. Twenty-four-year-old Michael Sherlock had played for the club, along with his brothers, Edward and Patrick, and their cousin, Martin Mongan. He said that, in recent months, opponents had increasingly sought to insult their background.“We go out and play and you have fellas saying into your ear, ‘Go away, you knacker’. When we react, the referee doesn’t do anything to the other party.” Earlier this year he was sent off in a match played at Lees Road after reacting to a person who referred to him as a “knacker”, while the player who dispensed the offensive …