Tag Archives: Old Ground Hotel

A record price of €390,000 was achieved for a house and 13.6 acres at a public auction in Ennis this week. The house, located between the church and school in Deerpark, Doora, was the home of the late Fr Paddy Lynch. The house is set back some 350 metres from the road and is approached by a tree-lined avenue. Dating to the 1700s, it is a small period house and is need of refurbishment. Nevertheless, more than 35 parties viewed the house over the past five weeks and in excess of 60 people packed the Lemenagh Room in the Old Ground Hotel for the auction on Thursday afternoon. “Bidding opened at €200,000 and briskly reached €370,000 in €10,000 increments. Five further bids brought down the hammer at €390,000,” auctioneer, Paddy Darmody of Sherry FitzGerald MccMahon reported. “I have been with Sherry FitzGerald McMahon for more than 35 years and this house is unique in that it is a small country …

FRACKING Free Clare will host a screening of Gasland 2 in the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis on Thursday night at 7.30pm, followed by a brief update on the current fracking situation in Ireland. A new Irish short film by Roisin Ní Gháirbhithabout fracking by  will also be shown. This film should be of interest to those living in Clare who want to find out more about fracking and its possible impact on the local area. Clare is one of many areas on the island of Ireland that has been earmarked for fracking.

IN the early 1980s, numbers playing the game of squash in Clare were at an all-time high. There were 21 courts across 14 clubs in the county and there were a whole series of competitions taking place, catering for men and women of varying standards. Towards the end of the ‘80s, however, numbers playing the game dropped at an alarming rate, leading to the closure of many of the clubs. In recent years, interest in the game is on the rise again, particularly in Ennis, where the Ennis CBS club is particularly busy. It is generally accepted that the opening of the One Mile Inn club in 1974 sparked off interest in the game, which led to the development of the other clubs across the county. The club quickly went from strength to strength and players representing the One Mile Inn began to win competitions involving players from Limerick, Nenagh and Charleville. Former One Mile Inn club chairman, Ger Browne …

by Peter O’Connell THE first staging of the National Concertina Convention (Consairtín) will be held in Ennis this weekend.  The festival directors are concertina player and teacher Tim Collins along with Áine Hensey, who is also very involved in the traditional arts in Clare. “It’s a new music festival on the music landscape of Clare,” Tim said. “It’s about capturing the colossal interest in the instrument, not just in Clare anymore. In the last 20 or 30 years the concertina has become a very popular instrument right across the country and beyond. “Áine Hensey and I felt that the time was right to bring an international festival to Ennis that would capture the interest in the instrument. We have a broad weekend planned including a mixture of teaching and a lot of performances,” he added. The festival will be officially opened by Jurgen Suttner on Friday at 7.30pm in the Old Ground Hotel. “There are lectures as well each day …

IT’S certainly good ‘nudes’ for four local charities following the amazing success of the Ennis Players production of Calendar Girls. A fantastic €31,000 has been raised over the play’s four-night run in Glór, with the amount expected to rise even further. Ennis Players are the donating proceeds to Cahercalla Hospice, Sláinte an Chláir Cancer Centre; the West Clare Mini Marathon Cancer Centre and the Alzheimer’s Day Care Centre in Ennis. [doptg id=”6″] According to Ennis Players, the show was such a success that they have not ruled out returning their 40th anniversary production to the stage.  Chairperson Jackie Scanlan said, “The cast and crew need a much-deserved break but, who knows, we might just look at running it for two nights in October or November. In the meantime, we will be concentrating on our annual supper theatre in The Old Ground Hotel. To those lucky enough to get tickets for the Calendar Girls, we thank you for your continued support …

SUPPORTING an amazing 55 charities since its foundation in 1964, the Ennis and District Soroptimist Club have been at the forefront of charitable fundraising for five decades. A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the organisation was held in Ennis at the weekend, with current president Deirdre Power O’Donnell describing it as a “wonderful occasion.” Guest speaker at the event in the Old Ground Hotel was Minister of State for Housing and Planning Jan O’Sullivan, with an address by Soroptimist National President Noreen Walshe. There were attendances not only from local members, past and present, but also representatives from ten other Soroptimist clubs around Ireland. Deirdre, daughter of founding member Maura Power, recalled how her mother and the other founders Peg Ruttle, Tras Honan, Marie O’Gorman and Ann O’Driscoll started the organisation 50 years ago. And she said that the spirit that encouraged the founders to work for the good of the local community continues on in the organisation’s current …