Tag Archives: Order of Malta

LOCAL woman Carmel Peacock has been awarded a long service medal having put down 40 years in the local Order of Malta branch. Speaking to the Clare Champion Carmel said that she hadn’t expected to receive the award at the time that she did. “We had 19 new officers being commissioned on Sunday and the awards were given out on the back of that. I was included in those.” While she has been involved in the organisation since she was a national school child, last week was one of the busiest in all that time, before it was capped with the award. “We had a very, very long week, to be fair. There was a Cadet camp on the previous weekend, the cadets participated in that on Saturday and Sunday. There were cadets from all over Ireland and that was on up in Co Fermanagh, I drove the cadets up there on the mini bus. “Then we were straight into …

THE Shannon unit of the Order of Malta is marking 50 years of operations this year and is looking to get a premises of its own. At the March meeting of Shannon Municipal District, Councillor Donna McGettigan put forward a motion asking that the Council help the unit to acquire a place of its own. In a written response to her motion, Senior Executive Officer Jason Murphy said, “The team in Shannon MD recognises the valuable contribution the Order of Malta has made to the town and surrounding areas over the last 50years. “Shannon MD will work with the local group and explore available avenues to assist them in identifying suitable space.” Councillor McGettigan also proposed that a civic reception be afforded to the group. Lieutenant Eavan Dempsey is the officer in charge of the Shannon unit of the Order of Malta and she said it would be great if it finally had its own premises. “We don’t have anywhere …

IN the week of the first anniversary of his wife’s tragic death, Bernard Lucas has said he definitely senses her presence when he is on a call-out with Doolin Coast Guard. On September 12, 2016, Caitríona Lucas died, while on board a Kilkee Coast Guard rigid inflatable boat, during a search for Lissycasey man David McMahon (RIP). At 4.30pm this Saturday, a plaque, in memory of Caitríona, who lived with her husband and children in Liscannor and was originally from Ballyvaughan, will be unveiled at the Doolin Coast Guard Centre. The public is invited to attend the ceremony. “It would be great if people come along and see what we do,” Bernard Lucas told The Clare Champion this week. “People might not have seen the new rescue centre since it opened and this could be the opportunity to do that. They can see what we do and the gear that we have,” he added. Since Caitríona’s untimely death, Bernard has …

NEXT Wednesday, there will be an open day at Shannon Garda Station, from 12 noon to 3pm. Garda Ailish Hanley said there will be a lot of items on display in the station for the occasion and all are welcome. “It’s an open day and there will be few of the national units down,” she explained. “The mounted unit are coming down with the horses; we will have the Order of Malta here; the motorbikes will be over from Ennis and, obviously, our patrol cars and vans and that. It’ll be kind of a family day to open up the station for people to see the equipment that is there and to meet the gardaí working in Shannon.” There will be activities for children, such as face-painting and a bouncy castle, but she said there will also be plenty to interest the adults present. “Anyone is welcome. People mightn’t have much contact with the guards and it’s to open the …