Tag Archives: scariff

THERE has been a further blow to the county’s calendar of summer events, with confirmation in recent days that the annual Scariff Harbour Festival will not go ahead this year. The news follows the cancellation of a number of high-profile events, including the Willie Clancy Summer School, Spancilhill Fair, the Feakle Festival and more, and is in line with government recommendations and Covid-19 restrictions. The Waterways Ireland-sponsored festival, scheduled for the August Bank holiday week-end, is internationally regarded for the quality of its contributors, drawing key-note speakers, entertainers and performers of renown. The event, which was to have marked its 18th year, also showcased key attractions in East Clare and offered a host of free outdoor music, walks, talks, guest speakers, boat tours and children’s entertainment, making it a social highlight and a key driver for the local economy. “It is a huge disappointment for the community, festival-goers and the organising committee that this year’s festival cannot happen,” said Chairman, Mike …

A YOUNG Whitegate woman is determined to show her support for East Clare’s older citizens during the lock-down, by pledging to run 100km before May 5. Through her challenge, Anna Madden, who lives in Galway City, has raised over €3,000 to-date for Raheen Community Hospital. The 28-year-old is meeting her goal, while sticking to public health guidelines of exercising within a 2km radius of home, and undertook the fundraising challenge after fearing that the Community Hospital was being forgotten about in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. “I found it a bit upsetting and sad to find that nothing was being done by way of fundraising,” said Anna. “All of the focus at the moment seems to be on the big hospitals and their facilities. My mum works at Raheen Community Hospital and almost everyone in Whitegate area has some kind of connection. They do such wonderful work and there’s an amazing atmosphere there.” Anna admits that her fundraising ambitions …

BUSINESSES across rural East Clare have been pulling out all of the stops to support their customer base in a time of crisis, and are determined to keep services going in the midst of the Covid-19 restrictions. Even before the Coronavirus hit, many communities in the east of the county struggled with social isolation, meaning local businesses are a lifeline. But, with long commutes to work another facet of rural life, small retailers can find themselves overlooked and losing out to the big multiples in larger towns. Against the backdrop of the lock-down and strict controls on travel and social distancing, some smaller outlets have experienced a boost to their business and are hopeful that shopping locally could become more popular in the long-term. In Tulla, Kate Murphy who runs the popular Holly Tree Café on Church Road in Tulla, was facing into the prospect of long-term closure as the lock-down took effect. Now, with a little imagination, creativity and …

THE last woman in the country to put through a call via manual exchange has retired from An Post this past week. Mrs Florence Bugler was the postmistress at Mountshannon Post Office in 1987 when the country went fully automatic for telephone calls and she put through the last call from Dr Michael Smurfit to the then Taoiseach Charlie Haughey. Mrs Bugler began her career with An Post, when she left school to help her grandaunt Mrs Florence Veller at Mountshannon Post Office in the late 1960s. Mrs Veller suffered a stroke and was sick for a number of years and passed away in 1972. In 1974 Mrs Bugler became postmistress in Mountshannon. She really enjoyed the work, meeting people and in 1983 she married Gerard Bugler and in when the couple learned the post office in Scariff was vacant and so they applied for it and in 1990 took up the mantel. “We never looked back since, we were …

Check out the latest episode of our news and current affairs podcast, The Champion Report. https://soundcloud.com/clarechampion/the-champion-report-episode-6-mp3

LOCALS in Scariff have said they feel their town has been “abandoned” by Clare County Council who they say “dug up the whole street” more than a year ago and “left it like a dangerous building site”. Scariff based publican, Eamon Moloney said “The people of Scariff have been long suffering. They dug up the whole street about two years ago [sic] to put down ESB cables and they just left it like a building site. It’s nothing better than a hard hat area. I’m just amazed how any town could be left like that for so long. How someone didn’t get seriously injured I don’t know. I don’t know how anybody could leave the main street in any town in the country in that condition is beyond me”. Mr Moloney who runs a pub on Bridge street said, while he understands the need to have to dig the paths up for necessary works, and that there was a certain …

Scariff Community College 5-10 St. Fergal’s Rathdowney 2-12 A twenty eight year wait ended before a big crowd at a well appointed Toomevara GAA grounds this afternoon when Scariff Community College were crowned All-Ireland hurling champions. A merited win over St Fergals from Rathdowney saw the East Clare school take home the Michael Cusack cup after they overcame the challenge of the Leinster champions in the All-Ireland C final. Scariff last won All-Ireland hurling honours in 1990 when they were crowned B champions after they accounted for Athenry from Galway. In bright sunshine at the North Tipperary venue this afternoon, Scariff took the lead in the tenty minute when Mark Eodgers had their opening goal and from here to the final whistle they led the way. One of the key factors in their march to this title has been the ability of their full forward trio of Rodgers, Ciaran Keenan and Fergus Madden to score goals and this was again …

A PUBLIC information session will be held on the proposed upgrade of Main Street in Scariff at the Killaloe Municipal District Office in Scarriff on Wednesday, February 22, from 5pm to 8pm. The proposed works, which are being carried out by Clare County Council under the town and village renewal scheme and overseen by the planning department of the local authority, will include road and footpath alignment works to improve safety and accessibility of all users, and hard and soft landscaping works. Clare County Council says the proposed public realm enhancement scheme is being guided by the Scariff Tidy Towns and Environmental Improvement Strategy, which was developed in 2013 in consultation with various community groups. The €111,764 project is 85% funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and is expected to be completed by mid-2017. The development is one of four community infrastructure projects in Shannon, Kilkee, Clarecastle and Scariff benefitting from funding under the Town and …