Tag Archives: North Clare

SCHOOL places for Ukrainian children fleeing the war will be allocated based on capacity and existing enrolment, the Education Minister has told a Clare TD. On foot of three Dáil questions from Deputy Cathal Crowe, Minister Norma Foley outlined a range of supports for children forced to flee Ukraine and come to Ireland. She said the Department of Education already has school capacity data based on annual enrolment returns. However, the location where families are living will also have a bearing, she confirmed, and coordination will take place with other Government departments. In the first instance, Deputy Crowe asked what steps that her Department of Education has taken to mark sure schools “are adequately equipped with teachers, accommodation, furniture, schoolbooks, special needs assistants and so on, to cater for the influx of Ukrainian children that will be entering their schools”. Deputy Crowe also asked that Departmental staff might be appointed as coordinators “to oversee the even distribution of Ukrainian children to …

HUNDREDS of people fleeing war-ravaged Ukraine have received a cead míle fáilte in North Clare as community groups, organisations and local representatives have come together to ensure a co-ordinated welcome for the new arrivals. More than 500 Ukrainians have arrived in Lisdoonvarna with a further 100 staying in Ballyvaughan in local hotels. This isn’t the first time that Lisdoonvarna has played host to the people of Ukraine as the town has fond memories of welcoming the Ukrainian Special Olympics delegation in 2003. More than 200 Ukrainian refugees who are now staying in the Hydro Hotel in Lisdoonvarna this week called for world leaders to stop the war. The refugees who arrived at the hotel last week have called for peace saying, “All Ukrainians and all people of the world, one peace now. Please stop this senseless war. World leaders help us to stop this war. Kindness and compassion to all humanity.” Hotel owner Marcus White told The Clare Champion that …

COMMUNITIES across North Clare have until March 24 to stake their claim for a chance to host the now famous statue of the mythical Púca.  Last month, a majority of residents of Ennistymon rejected the planned sculpture, following a long-running controversy over the nature of the design as well as the public consultation process. After the Council confirmed the change of plan, applications are now being accepted from other areas interested in giving a home to the two-metre high bronze artwork.  The local authority this Thursday publicised a list of criteria that communities will need to meet in order to be considered as the new home of the Púca. For the moment, applications will only be considered from the North Clare Electoral Area and details of the exact location as well as written consent from the landowner must be provided. In addition, applicants must show “demonstrable community buy-in” through meetings and surveys. They must also prove they can create a …

COUNCILLOR Joe Garrihy has called on Clare County Council and partners Fáilte Ireland to focus as a priority on the regeneration and investment in the towns and villages of North Clare included in the Burren Discovery Trail, writes Conor Clohessy. The towns of Corofin, Kilfenora and Lisdoonvarna are key, Councillor Garrihy stated, to the survival and sustainability of living communities, heritage and services associated with their adjacent rural catchments. He claimed they are in urgent need of focus and investment while the current opportunities of funding and objectives of the “Our Rural Future” are available. Councillor Garrihy added that while he supports and appreciates all of the beautiful projects happening around Clare, he worries that most are south of Ennistymon, and has a deep concern for the state of anything north of that. “Unfortunately, you’ll find a lot of town centre dereliction in these areas, and a lot of identity that has been lost for many, many years due to …

AFTER five decades of reporting the news from Inagh, Flan Garvey has handed on the mantle of notes correspondent and is just beginning a well-earned retirement.  A retired school principal, Flan has been at the heart of local news and notes for almost 50 years. He was Inagh’s very first notes correspondent, after spotting a gap in The Clare Champion’s coverage in the early 1970s.  “I was a very young, enthusiastic teacher in the parish and joined the staff of Gortbofarna National School in 1965,” he outlined. “In 1973, I started at the national school Inagh and was there until I retired. I was an avid reader of The Champion and noticed that some areas had notes and details of local events. I approached Frank O’Dea, the editor at the time and Flan Galvin, the owner, with a view to starting the Inagh notes. They said, ‘Yes, by all means’ and it took off from there. I suppose I wanted …

THE chair of Save Ennistymon’s Heritage insists the community has “waited long enough” for action to be taken on the infamous Blake’s Corner and is calling on Clare County Council to address the situation “urgently”. Denis Vaughan was speaking after two tourists escaped injury in recent weeks at the corner when their car mounted a wall. When contacted by The Clare Champion about the local concerns, Seán Lenihan, Senior Engineer, stated that Clare County Council is “absolutely committed to resolving the potential conflict that exists at Blakes Corner in Ennistymon”. The council are awaiting an An Bord Pleanala decision on plans to purchase land and buildings around the site to begin construction of a ‘relief road’ between the N85 and N67 Mr Vaughan recalled that the tourists’ car mounted the wall at the end of November. “Besides causing traffic chaos at the busiest corner in Ireland and creating avoidable congestion, it is clearly dangerous. “This situation is likely to continue …

CHANGING misspellings on signs around North Clare could actually require a plebiscite of locals, this week’s meeting of Kilrush and Ennistymon Municipal District Councillors heard. Those erecting signs with the incorrect spellings are taking their interpretation from the Ordnance Survey map of 1914, the meeting was told. Green Party Councillor Liam Grant put forward a motion asking for the correct spellings to be introduced. “I am calling on the West Clare MD to change the road signage for Lahinch, Ennistymon, Corofin and other towns to the previously used and most preferred spelling. “I realise this issue has been raised in the past so I would also like an update on any progress made and if any funding has been secured. “These are tourist towns, and the names form a very strong part of the brand. We had thousands of visitors attending the Irish Open at Lahinch Golf Club greeted by road signs reading ‘Lehinch’. It’s confusing and damaging for the …

THE Cuban Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Hugo Ramos Milanes, will be the speaker at an event in North Clare next week. On Thursday, October 28 at 8.30pm in Hotel Doolin the ambassador will speak about Cuba’s place in the modern world, including the country’s links with Clare and its work in helping fight Covid-19. Denis Vaughan of the North Clare Labour Party is urging people to come along to what he describes as a “very interesting evening”, adding, “Cuba is a fascinating story and Ambassador Milanes is an inspirational speaker”. “His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Hugo Ramos Milanes will discuss Cuba’s place in the modern world, its struggle for independence similar to Ireland, Cuba’s amazing medical help to 15 countries in fighting the Covid Virus, Ireland – Cuba relations and Che Guevara’s visit to Clare in the 1960s.” Denis continues, “Could we in Ireland survive if we had 11 million people and were embargoed illegally for the last 60 years by the USA? …