The Clare Echo 03/08/23

Road fatality sparks protest in North Clare

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

A PROTEST is to take place in Ballyvaughan today (Thursday) following the tragic death of local biker Jerry O’Connor last week.

Jerry’s funeral took place on Monday with the Lisdoonvarna man pronounced dead at the scene last Thursday morning when he was involved in a collision with a French tourist who has since appeared in court charged with dangerous driving on the N67.

Helga Himmeslbach, Jerry’s widow will be holding a protest in Ballyvaughan today (Thursday) at 10:30am to highlight the state of the roads in the locality and how dangerous they are. She also wishes to remind people to

take more care and attention when driving, and to look for more signage to remind the tourists to drive on the left side of the road.

Karen Courtney of Doolin Pantry stated, “We hope to have many local people for an hour on Thursday morning to come and stand in support of Helga and highlight the dangers we have to deal with every day as locals around here”.

On July 29, another collision took place with a tourist outside the Aran View Filling Station in Doolin with near-misses regularly reported in the locality.

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lAlice Feeney Lyons and Frank Howard enjoying the St. Michael’s Villas 70th Anniversary photo exhibition at Clare Museum

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Wolfhounds return to Bunratty

BUNRATTY Castle and Folk Park has welcomed back Irish Wolfhounds to its paths and laneways, writes Páraic McMahon.

Among the largest of all breeds of dog, Irish wolfhounds were regular guests at Bunratty Castle from the early days of its medieval banquets in the 1960s. The dogs would roam the great hall and dining areas as would have been the custom in medieval times at the castle. 12-week-old Rían, meaning King, and 1-year-old Míde, named after the 5th province of Ireland in Celtic times, took up permanent residence on the grounds of the famous visitor attraction. They replace Meabh and Saoirse, the two previous resident wolfhounds at the castle.

Breeder James Hussey of Cúdáráth Irish Wolfhounds delivered the dogs to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park today where they were welcomed by farm manager Niall Moloney.

According to Aodhagan Behan, Operations Manager at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, “Bunratty Castle is the most complete and authentic medieval fortress in Ireland, and no 15th century Castle is complete without these iconic and noble dogs”.

Niall Moloney, farm manager at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, explained that Irish wolfhounds are known for being gentle, friendly and very intelligent, and they inhabited Ireland long before the arrival of Christianity. “For many visitors, especially children, the sight of wolfhounds wandering throughout the site is the highlight of their visit. We are grateful to Cúdáráth Irish Wolfhounds for their support, and we look forward to hosting Rían and Míde for many years to come”.

lCÉAD MÍDE FÁILTE: Bean an Tí Magella Wilson greeting Niall Moloney, farm manager at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park with newly arrived Irish Wolfhounds 12-week-old Rían, meaning King, and 1-year-old Míde, named after the 5th province of Ireland in Celtic times Photo by Eamon Ward

Railway car park shut

A CLOSURE notice remains in place for the car park of Sixmilebridge train station, writes Páraic McMahon

On Thursday last, Clare County Council announced that the railway station car park was to close temporarily “until further notice”.

In a statement, the local authority advised that “due to essential maintenance work” the car park in Sixmilebridge would be shut off. “Pedestrian only access will be in place and motorists are advised to take this into account when accessing the area”.

It follows the removal of an illegal encampment from the site after two years. Up to four caravans had been based at the train station since the arrival of the encampment in February 2021 when they had moved from the grounds of St Senan’s RFC in Shannon. This figure had reduced to three by March and since June just one caravan remained and it was removed in July.

Shannon unit won’t come into use for asylum seekers until 2024

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

A UNIT in the Shannon Free Zone will not come into use for housing international protection applicants until 2024 if the building is still used, a Department spokesperson has told The Clare Echo

Last week, The Clare Echo reported that the Concerned Shannon Residents Group had circulated plans that designs were being prepared for Unit 153 in the Shannon Free Zones so that it

could accommodate up to 600 international protection applicants with up to 70 bedrooms on the ground floor.

Responding to queries from The Clare Echo, a spokesperson for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth detailed that the unit in question was in state ownership with the Office of Public Works and was “being considered for repurposing as an accommodation centre for international protection applicants”.

Engagement is ongoing between the Depart-

ment and the OPW to develop a proposal to use Unit 153. “For any such property coming into use, inspections are carried out to ensure the general condition of building is up to the standard required and in compliance with fire safety and building control regulations. Sleeping and recreational facilities, sanitation facilities, food service, security and support services for residents will need to be put in place before the building is used,” the spokesperson advised. No layout has been agreed on as of yet, the spokesperson confirmed.

“This Department and the OPW will need to agree on a proposed layout and design for the centre and the OPW will need to ensure condition of the building is in compliance with fire safety and building control regulations. Sleeping, recreational and sanitation facilities, food service, security and support services for residents will need to be put in place before the building is used. Officials in my Department are working with the OPW on the detailed design phase and, once completed, the OPW will submit a request for a Contractor to price the works”.

Available capacity will not be confirmed until the detailed design phase is completed. Provisional estimates as previously reported by The Clare Echo in the region of 300 people are most accurate.

“Given the expected scale of the investment required to deliver the standard required and be compliant with fire safety and building control regulations it is likely that, if the accommodation does come into use, it will not commence until sometime in 2024,” the spokesperson added.

Two farmers fined for health and safety offences over farm death of west Clare man following wall collapse

by Gordon Deegan news@clareecho.ie

A WEST Clare woman has told of her devastation at losing her recently married husband in a farmyard accident more than two and a half years ago.

On January 21st, 2021, full-time farmer, Damien Carmody (36) died when a wall collapsed in on him while he was helping out friend and contractor, Christopher Keane in excavating out a new slatted tank for the storage of slurry on the farm of John Roche at Doonaha, Kilkee.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Mr Carmody’s wife, Elaine told the court that “my whole life fell apart” when Damien’s “young life was tragically taken”.

The couple were one year married and Elaine said only a few hours before Damien died seven simple words ‘I love you. See you this evening,’ spoken between the couple sadly “now mean so much to me”.

The victim impact statement was read out by State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey at the sentencing hearing of two farmers who pleaded guilty to Health and Safety offences on the day.

In court, one of the accused Christopher Keane told the court that Mr Carmody was “a very good friend” while the court heard that John Roche was one of those to carry Mr Carmody’s coffin at his funeral.

Judge Francis Comerford imposed a fine of €30,000 on dairy farmer and contractor, Christopher Keane (48) of Bella, Kilkee after

he pleaded guilty to two health and safety breaches connected to the death of Mr Carmody. Judge Comerford imposed a fine of €3,000 on John Roche (47) of Doonaha, Kilkee for a single health and safety offence. Judge Comerford also ordered that the Health And Safety Authority’s (HSA’s) expenses of €1,968 and DPP expense of €1,500 be paid.

Judge Comerford said that there wasn’t a question of him imposing prison terms as the culpability in the case was “low”. Judge Comerford said that there was no indication of any steps taken in order to increase profit or if there was warning that something would happen and they continued to work away.

Christopher Keane told the court Mr Carmody “was a very good friend and we worked together for a number of years”. Asked what impact Mr Carmody’s death has had on him, Mr Keane in the witness box said: “It has really destroyed my life”.

Counsel for Mr Roche, Patrick Whyms BL (inst by solicitor Daragh Hassett) described what happened as an “awful tragedy” and said that Mr Roche was one of those to carry Mr Carmody’s coffin at his funeral.

Under questioning from Judge Comerford on the events of the day, Mr Keane said, “We done the best we could.” He later told Judge Comerford, “To me the wall looked safe”. The dimensions of the planned tank were five metres wide, 44 metres long and 2.4 metres deep and excavation dimensions were greater and the works

were expanding on an existing tank.

In her victim impact statement, Mr Carmody’s wife Elaine said, “Having to sit down and write this Victim Impact Statement is very difficult because words can never describe the immeasurable amount of grief and loss I feel on a daily basis since Damien’s death. When I lost Damien I lost so much, along with losing my amazing husband I lost all my dreams for the future, dreams of a family, growing old together and all the things we planned to do and see along the way.

“One year married, our lives as a married couple were only just beginning and we were so excited to build our future together. I miss Damien so much. I miss his company, his love and affection, his smile, his laugh, his friendship, his caring nature, his helpfulness to others, the way he could always make me feel so safe and loved.

“Damien was a truly wonderful person and the impact and the trauma his tragic death has had on me both emotionally and psychologically has been immense. I am now faced with the challenge of trying to rebuild my life, a life without Damien and even the thought of this life breaks my heart and makes me so sad.

“On January 22nd 2021, I was given a lifelong sentence, this was having to live a life without my beloved husband, Damien and I will forever wonder why this beautiful young man at the prime of his life to be so senselessly taken. My heart will forever break thinking of all the tomorrows Damien will never see it

is soul destroying imagining the future he was denied.

Counsel for the State, Lorcan Connolly BL described the victim impact statement as “very poignant” and told the court that Elaine wasn’t in court but that members of Mr Carmody’s family were present in court.

In her evidence, inspector with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), Ms Olive Higgins said that the main problem was that the workers didn’t have the space to ‘batter’ back the excavation for the size of the slurry tank.

Ms Higgins said, “One of Mr Keane’s employees who did the excavation work said that they have always batted back excavations but due to tight space in this instance, they didn’t have the space to do what they would normally would do”.

Ms Higgins said that an expert report commissioned by the HSA on what went wrong found that that the wall collapsed due to inadequate strength between the wall and its foundations. Ms Higgins stated that the report also found that due to heavy rainfall, some ground may have washed out. Ms Higgins said that the expert report concluded that the works were unsafe and that the excavation should not have been started until further measures were in place.

Asked were there any aggravating factors in the case by Mr Connolly, Ms Higgins said, “Not really.”

She said, “In my opinion, the tank was too big for the space they had, the timing was bad. No, there are

no aggravating factors”.

Ms Higgins said that neither defendant has previous convictions.

Ms Higgins said that Mr Carmody used to help out Mr Keane at busy times and in return Mr Keane would cut Mr Carmody’s silage for free.

The day of the tragedy was the first day that Mr Carmody helped on the planned slurry tank works.

In the case, Mr Keane trading as Christopher Keane Plant-Hire pleaded guilty to two charges to failing to ensure that in the course of work, individuals were not exposed to risk to their safety, health and welfare at Doonaha, Kilkee on January 22nd 2021.

Mr Keane pleaded guilty to that in particular, an excavation at the site was unsafe and that no adequate measures were taken by him to prevent the collapse of the sides of the excavation on persons working in the excavation and as a consequence, Damien Carmody suffered fatal injuries.

Mr Keane pleaded guilty to a separate health and safety breach where he failed to ensure that adequate precautions were taken at the excavation site to guard against dangers to persons at work from a fall or a dislodgement of earth and as a consequence, Mr Carmody suffered fatal injuries.

Mr Roche pleaded guilty to failing to appoint a competent project design supervisor for the design process for construction work carried out at an excavation at Doonaha, Kilkee on January 22nd 2021 as required by Health and Safety construction regulations.

l REFUGEES: The Shannon Industrial Estate Unit Photo by Joe Buckley

Clare Credit Unions supporting families as the new school year approaches

Credit Union Back to School Tracker 2023 shows significant increase in parents feeling the financial burden of children going back to school

CLARE Credit Unions urge families struggling in the Clare region to come and talk to their local credit union.

Findings from the Irish League of Credit Unions annual School Costs survey are released, tracking the costs and impacts of children returning to school. With 72% of parents saying that covering the costs of back to school is a financial burden, and parents spending €1,152 per primary school child and €1,288 per secondary school child, the summer

months can be an extremely challenging time of year.

Clare Credit Union are aware that covering the costs of back to school can be a big struggle for parents. We are aware that back to school costs can place huge financial pressure on families. Clare Credit Union want to reassure parents that the Credit Union is here, for anyone who needs help, be it with budgeting for the back-to-school spend or taking out a loan to help cover the costs. Your local credit union understands that

these costs can be financial burden, particularly at a time when other costs of living are so high.

The 2023 survey shows that parents continue to feel a considerable financial burden educating their children. While we have seen a slight reduction in the amount being spent per child on back-to-school costs compared to 2022, general cost of living increases are impacting on households. So while the reduction in back-to-school costs are welcome, it is partly due to parents cutting back on extra-curricular activities and we still have parents getting into debt to cover back-toschool costs.

David Malone, CEO of the Irish League of Credit Unions said: “The average level of debt is €306 with 17% of parents having debts of over €500. We are also seeing the same number of parents getting into debt compared to last year (29% both years). Thankfully, the message on getting a credit union loan rather than using Payday or money lenders for help with back-to-school expenses seems to be getting through. For back-to-school supplies, 4%

will seek a credit union loan and no respondent said they would go to a bank or moneylender. This is the type of community need which Credit Unions meet every day”.

Mr Malone said that more generally, cost of living increases are impacting all households and 40% of parents of school children have cancelled or reduced non-essential services / activities to cover rising costs. More concerning is that 18% of parents of school children are trying to earn additional income and the potential impact this might have on family life.

“13% of parents said they were seeking a loan to cover additional household costs with 2% saying they would go to a money lender to do so. Again, we would urge anyone needing help with household costs, particularly those who feel they have no option but to use a money lender to talk their local credit union”.

Back to School Costs

The impact of the cost-of-living crisis is very evident this year with a significant increase in the number of parents saying they are under fi-

nancial pressure with the costs of children returning to school. 72% of parents say that covering the costs of back to school is a financial burden compared to 66% in 2022. Despite this, the amount being spent per child on back-to-school costs has fallen compared to last year and the average debt burden has also fallen. Despite schools being responsible for informing parents of the Free Primary School Books Scheme nearly half of parents surveyed did not know about it. The scheme removes the costs of schoolbooks, including workbooks and copybooks for children attending recognized primary schools and special schools.

Cost of Living Impacts

A majority of households (88%) are experiencing cost of living increases. Of parents with school going children, 88% said they have been affected by cost of living increases. Many parents are using savings to cover these costs, while 13% are seeking loans. Slightly more parents (40% compared to 38% of general respondents) are cutting back on activities to save money.

Fees from planning contributions to be tapped into to fund improvements

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

PLANNING contributions made by housing developers in Crusheen may be tapped into to fund infrastructural works in the village.

Last year, attempts to source Active Travel funding from the National Transport Authority (NTA) for Crusheen were unsuccessful.

In their proposal to the NTA, the Killaloe Municipal District sought to provide improved pedestrian facilities across the R458 and across the L4074 Tulla Rd creating linkages between the housing and activity centres and to incorporate traffic calming measures by Clarke’s super market and service station, by Crusheen’s GAA grounds and the local primary school.

Acting senior engineer in the Killaloe MD, Derek Troy explained, “unfortunately this proposal along with other similar proposals throughout the Killaloe MD was unsuccessful. It is intended Killaloe MD will seek funding from planning contributions in order to deliver this project”.

Installation of a pedestrian crossing in front of Clarke’s shop and service station was requested by Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) at the July meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District. “We are well aware there is a need for safety measures to be put in place, there is a lot of activity going on there, it is unfortunate that Active Travel funding didn’t go the way of Crusheen, a lot of money went into cycling lines which was disappointing, I would have

liked for other projects to have got consideration,” he stated.

“There are a lot more pedestrians crossing the road on the right side leading through

Crusheen,” Cooney flagged. He welcomed the willingness to consider funding the works through planning contributions, “is there a possibility it will be received in 2023 and

works to start in 2023,” he questioned.

According to Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), there has been “a huge amount of disappointment on Active Travel funding and how the Department have moved from it and we look at the plans for the Tulla Rd into Ennis, we’ve seen a lot of Active Travel around Ennis which I don’t believe is meeting the requirements, it is a substantial road going into it and hope it doesn’t impinge on East Clare people going in, ultimately we’ve been the losers here”.

Hayes urged Council management to “draw down the funds from levies” following “huge development in Crusheen”, he added, “one can only hazard a guess at the amount of funding”.

Meetings administrator in the Killaloe MD, Brian McCarthy said he endorsed the view of his colleague that planning contributions could be used to fund the works. “We have met community groups in Crusheen and we might sit down with them in September to see how enhancements can be made,” he stated.

Cllr Cooney repeated his query on whether the planning contributions could be applied for and obtained in 2023 “to try carry out the pedestrian crossing and improve safety to the school and GAA grounds”.

McCarthy responded to say an application for the development contributions could be made this year. “To be fair to the people of Crusheen there has been significant developments and it is only right that it is seen to benefit area. We will make a coordinated approach for enhancements in September”.

Acoustic-rock duo to visit Tuamgraney next week

ACOUSTIC-ROCK duo, the Licata Brothers will be performing in St. Cronan Church in Tuamgraney on Tuesday, writes Elaine Tubridy.

The event is sponsored by the East Clare Baha’i community entitled, “The earth is one country.”

“We are very excited to be able to host this event,” explains local artist Vivienne Bogan. “And to be able to host it in such a beautiful venue just adds to our

excitement. Many thanks to the diocese of Killaloe/ Limerick for making St. Cronan’s available to us for the concert.“

St. Cronan’s Church is the oldest church in continuous use in Ireland and has a recorded connection to Brian Boru - High King of Ireland from 1002-1014.

“Imagine it - when you enter St. Cronan’s church you’ll be entering through the same doorway that Brian Boru used over 1000 years ago,”

adds organiser Gerry Cahill. “Ireland has known so much suffering over the years, most of it caused by needless divisions. We’re all part of the human race and if we can come together and learn how to talk to each other, I’m positive we can solve any problems we have - small, medium or large!”

The Licata Brothers acoustic-rock duo will perform at St. Cronan Church’s,Tuamgraney on August 8th at 7.30pm. Admission free.

l TRAFFIC CALMING: Clarke’s supermarket and service station

Tourist charged in connection with death of motorcyclist

by Gordon Deegan news@clareecho.ie

A 41-year old French tourist has appeared in court charged in connection with the road death of a motorcyclist in his 70s outside the village of Ballyvaughan.

At Ennis District Court on Friday, Olivier Le Bozec appeared after being charged with dangerous driving on the N67 leading out of Ballyvaughan on Thursday morning.

Sgt Louis Moloney told the

court that “the serious road collision” in the Ballyvaughan area resulted in a fatality.

The motorcyclist, named locally as Jeremiah (Jerry) O’Connor, who lived in Lisdoonvarna, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Solicitor for Mr Le Bozec, John Casey said that his client, wife and child had arrived in Ireland just the day before to commence their holiday here.

Mr Le Bozec of Rue Georges Cadoudal, Locoal Mendon,

France was driving his own French registered car when the collision occurred.

Sgt Moloney said that a more serious charge against the accused may follow in the future.

In evidence of arrest, charge and caution at 11.25pm at Ennis Garda Station on Thursday night, Garda Noreen King told the court that Mr Le Bozec made no reply after charge and caution.

Mr Le Bozec required the services of a French interpreter for the hearing and Sgt Moloney said that there was no objection to bail.

Mr Le Bozec - who is in full time employment in France - is free to return home to France and Sgt Moloney said that Mr Le Bozec can be excused from future court sittings until required.

Mr Le Bozec was in custody overnight at Ennis Garda Station and Judge Alec Gabbett granted Mr Le Bozec bail on condition that he has provided his permanent address and an email address to Gardaí.

Sgt Moloney said that the case involves “unusual circumstances” and Judge Gabettt said that Gardaí not looking for additional bail conditions was “very helpful in the circumstances”.

In reply to Judge Gabbett ask-

ing are Gardaí satisfied that Mr Le Bozec will return to Ireland for the case, Sgt Moloney said “yes”.

Judge Gabbett granted legal aid to John Casey to represent the accused.

Judge Gabbett remanded Mr Le Bozec on bail and adjourned the case to November 15th.

Judge Gabbett said that adjourning the case out to November for DPP directions “is realistic”.

As part of the investigation, Gardaí on Friday appealed for any witnesses to this collision to come forward.

A Garda spokesman said that any road users who may have camera footage (including dashcam) and were travelling on the N67 at Ballyvaughan between 10am and 10:45am on Thursday 27th July 2023 are asked to make this footage available to Gardaí.

Local councillor for the area, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) said on Friday that “everyone is shocked and numbed in the area” by the death of Mr O’Connor.

Cllr Garrihy said that he only knew Mr O’Connor to see but from talking to people in the area “he was very highly thought of and was regarded as a lovely, quiet man and also as very experienced on his motor-bike”.

Crossing sought for ‘exceptionally busy’ junction

EFFORTS to install a pedestrian crossing at the Minister’s Cross in Bunratty are underway, writes

Páraic McMahon

A feasibility study is to be completed by Clare County Council on the R471 at the Minister’s Cross on foot of a proposal by Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) before the Shannon Municipal District.

Executive engineer with the Shannon MD, John Strand confirmed that they will begin to liaise with the road design office in the Council following the motion raised by Cllr O’Gorman.

Speaking at a meeting of the Shannon MD, Cllr O’Gorman outlined, “It was brought to my attention by people living in Deerpark that go for a walk with their dog at Rossmanagher Rd that they must cross the road at

the Minister’s Cross which has four or five roads coming together”.

He continued, “It is a great facility for people living in the area and we need to make it safer for people living in the area, it is a busy road but within the speed limit. Cllr Crowe previously looked for a footpath from Bunratty up, it is a continuation of what Cllr Crowe was looking for. It is a great amenity for people living there”. Backing the motion, Cllr PJ Ryan (IND) stated, “it is an extremely busy section of road, there are five roads coming into it, there are quite a lot of people who live in the houses and who access the shop, quite a lot of them use it for recreational walks “It would make huge difference to have pedestrian crossing”.

SUMMER CARNIVAL SUMMER CARNIVAL

lEnnis Courthouse Photo by John Mangan

Dubliner with history of violence changed identity before inflicting ‘reign of terror’

by Gordon Deegan news@clareecho.ie

A DUBLIN man with a history of violence against women and who changed his identity when moving to West Clare inflicted “a reign of terror” on his fourth female victim, a court has heard.

This follows Scott Donegan (37) pleading guilty at Ennis Circuit Court to the false imprisonment of an ex-partner during a four hour ordeal at his home at Knockmore, Kilmilhil, Co Clare on November 9th last.

Named for the first time after reporting restrictions were lifted in the case, Scott Donegan also pleaded guilty to producing a knife at the same address on the same date contrary to Section 11 of the Offensive Weapons and Firearms Act.

In her victim impact statement, the Co Clare woman told the court that Scott Donegan “is a danger to society and he has scarred and damaged me for life”.

The woman said that Donegan imposed “a reign of terror” on her during the four hour ordeal on November 9th despite her begging him to stop. She said, “I believed that I would be killed by him and never see my children or family again”.

In evidence, Det Garda Donal Corkery told the court that four of Donegan’s previous convictions “are crimes of violence against women”. Det Corkery said that the four convictions for assault are against three ex-partners when Mr Donegan went under the name of Paul McMenamy. Det Corkery stated that the most serious is when the Tallaght native “viciously assaulted” his partner in February 2012 at the time resulting in extensive head-injuries and life changing injuries for the woman.

Det Corkery told the court, “Prior to an ambulance being called, he left her with the inju-

ries for 15 hours”.

Det Corkery said that McMenamy received a 10 year prison term with the final two years suspended for the Section 4 causing serious harm assault and he was released from prison in February 2018.

Det Corkery said that “it was around this time that he changed his name to Scott Thomas Donegan by Deed Poll and moved to Miltown Malbay in West Clare”.

Mr Donegan’s latest victim told the court that Donegan legally changed his name “to avoid his past being made apparent where he was convicted of assault on three previous partners the last of whom was left with a brain injury”.

Det Corkery said that the woman in the new case was unaware of Donegan’s past and commenced a relationship with him. However, Det Corkery stated the woman ended the relationship after seeing another side to Donegan “and after learning some bits about his past and his criminal history”. Det Corkery said that Donegan couldn’t accept the relationship was over and last year continued to bombard the woman with messages from various social media platforms and blackmailed her if she didn’t meet with him that he would tell the woman’s former partner that she had an affair with someone else towards the end of their relationship.

Det Corkery stated that the woman felt she had no choice but to go and meet him. Det Corkery stated that at Donegan’s home on November 9th last, Donegan took the mobile phone off her and forced her to sit in a chair “where she was frozen out of fear due to the aggressive behaviour of Mr Donegan”.

Det Corkery stated that Donegan ran at the woman with a knife and put her in fear. Det Corkery said that Donegan then grabbed the

woman by the throat and squeezed her windpipe. He said that Donegan told her that he had a Glock hand-gun and a shot-gun and when saying this put on latex gloves.

Det Corkery said, “In total, the woman was not allowed to leave the house from 7pm to 11pm. She was in constant fear that her life was in jeopardy”.

The detective said that Donegan returned the phone to the woman and she phoned a friend who came to the home to pick her up.

Det Corkery said that Donegan appeared in court on November 15th last and has remained in custody since.

Counsel for Donegan, Patrick Whyms BL (instructed by solicitor Daragh Hassett) said that his client apologised to the victim and is extremely sorry for all of his offences outlined to court. Mr Whyms said that Donegan had gone forward to the circuit court on a signed guilty plea from the district court. Mr Whyms

said that Mr Donegan is in the early stages of a substantial period in custody but has been making the most of his time in prison by engaging with voluntary groups there and signing up for Leaving Cert courses as he left school when he was 14. Mr Whyms said that a report found that Mr Donegan is not diagnosed with any mental illness.

The woman in the case delivered her own victim impact statement in court. She said that prior to November 9th last, “I was subjected to almost two weeks of harassment, stalking, him threatening suicide and threats made against me, my family and friends because I did not want to continue a relationship with him after the reality and gravity of his web of lies that had been told to me became apparent”.

The woman said that during the four hour ordeal, “I have never thought it possible to experience fear like what I did on that night while he held a knife to me, put his hands on me and screamed in my face that he would butcher me”.

The woman said that “the psychological and emotional scars as a result of the trauma he has left with me are very real” and she suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and panic attacks.

She said, “I am left with the trauma, devalued and dehumanised by him”.

The woman said that she wakes up screaming from nightmares “where I can again can feel his hand on my neck, the spit from his mouth as he screamed in my face and him laughing at me taking pleasure as I begged him to stop while holding a knife to me while saying he was going to butcher me”.

Judge Francis Comerford said that there was a lot to consider in sentencing Mr Donegan and remanded him in custody to be sentenced on September 25th.

lScott Thomas Donegan

Busiest Bank Holiday in five years forecast for Shannon

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

SHANNON Airport’s busiest Bank Holiday in five years is forecast for this weekend.

An expected 48,000 passengers will pass through the doors of Shannon Airport over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

It represents a 25 percent increase on passenger traffic for the same period in 2022 and a nine percent hike on the figures for 2019 August Bank Holiday weekend.

During the first six months of this year the airport has recorded its highest passenger traffic figures in over a decade, signifying a strong rebound in overseas travel.

Speaking on the predicted Bank Holiday figures, Mary Considine, CEO of The Shannon Airport Group said, “This will be our busiest August Bank Holiday at Shannon Airport in five years, and we are looking forward to welcoming 48,000 passengers through our doors.

“This summer we are serving 33 destinations to 11 countries across the UK, USA, and Europe.

“We are seeing passengers flying out to popular summer desti-

nations like Mallorca, Lanzarote, Porto, Malta and Naples to name a few. UK City breaks are also in demand such as Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester and Edinburgh, while transatlantic travel to New York, Newark, Boston and our latest destination Chicago is strong both outbound and inbound.

“This increase in passenger

The Town Hall Bistro

Providing a welcoming environment with great value food championing local ingredients.

traffic is a clear sign that overseas travel is back on track. We remain dedicated to providing a safe and smooth experience whilst ensuring Shannon is the friendly and easy choice for all our passengers”.

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The Poets Corner Bar

A traditional Irish pub that opens its doors onto the main town street of Ennis. Perfect for a pint, a bite to eat or traditional Irish music session..

The Brendan O’Regan Restaurant

Ideal for special occasions. The menu features traditional cuisine with a modern day creative twist.

lPRE-BOOK: Full car parks are predicted for Shannon Airport this weekend Photo by Joe Buckley

The Poet's Corner Bar is a traditional Irish pub that opens its doors onto the main town street of Ennis. Perfect for a pint, a bite to eat or traditional Irish music session.

The Brendan O'Regan Restaurant is ideal for special occasions. The menu features traditional cuisine with a modern day creative twist.

Young guns seeking backing in Shannon MD Crowe trying to spread by bidding to secure Fine

FIANNA Fáil have been unable to secure a candidate in Shannon Town for the fourth local election in a row but they have been boosted by the nomination of two young candidates within the Shannon Municipal District, writes Páraic McMahon

Four nominations have been received by Fianna Fáil in the Shannon MD for their upcoming selection convention in September. No indication has been issued by the party on how many candidates will be put forward, the most likely outcome is that three if not all four nominees will end up on the ballot paper.

Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) who has been a county councillor for the past 48years is seeking re-election to the local authority. Though not elected at the 2019 local elections, Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) is a sitting representative and will be battling to retain his seat. Newmarket-on-Fergus native David Griffin is putting himself forward for public office for the first time. He currently works as parliamentary assistant to Kildare Senator, Fiona O’Loughlin (FF).

Rachel Hartigan is the youngest candidate in the mix so far. The 21 year old from Ardnacrusha is currently working as an intern in the constituency office of Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF).

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Deputy Crowe said he did not share the view that Fianna Fáil failed to find a strong candidate in Shannon Town. “I very much see David Griffin as our Shannon candidate, his address is Stonehall but I would consider that more of a Shannon sphere of influence than Newmarket-on-Fergus, he is a puck of ball from Shannon Aerospace, he went to school in Shannon, he has worked and socialised there. I excitedly think he is a Shannon candidate and he can do excellent, I expect that he could win a seat for us”.

“It is very much a strong ticket going forward at Convention. We have two experienced councillors, Pat O’Gorman is doing a fine job and Pat McMahon has years of experience behind him and was very helpful to me in any of my election campaigns.

“We also have David who is a distant cousin of mine and Rachel who I knew first as a past pupil of mine in Parteen NS but who I have got

to know again since working with me in the constituency office,” Crowe added.

Potentially one of the youngest candidates in the country if selected at convention, Rachel has just finished her third year of studies at UL where she is completing a degree in European Studies which includes a mix of French, Spanish and Politics. A past pupil of Parteen NS and Laurel Hill, she told The Clare Echo why she wanted to put her name forward.

“I do politics in college and have been interested in it from a young age, Cathal Crowe was my teacher in sixth, he was our local councillor at the time and I could see the fantastic work he was doing in the community and how many people he helped, he has been a great inspiration to me”.

While interning in Deputy Crowe’s constituency office, she was alerted to the upcoming local elections by the Fianna Fáil TD.

“He was saying in passing that the local elections were coming up, he was a similar age when he first went, it seemed crazy but the more I thought about the more excited I became, it is such a big area with a population in around 8,000, we have a gap for a councillor, we are a bit under-represented and we need a local councillor in the area”.

Education and public transport were pinpointed by Rachel as two issues that she is confident of bringing about improvements in if successful in her endeavours. A lack of female representation in Clare politics was also flagged by Rachel.

“The more gender balance we can have the better, we can protect and create a more equal society”.

27 year old Griffin told The Clare Echo the time is now to inject some youth into Clare County Council.

“For me it is important for the 2024 election and beyond that we start to bring more youth into the Council.

“I don’t think it is a representative place of the society we are in, the youngest councillor in the Shannon MD is in their 50s and we need to represent a younger viewpoint, we need to modernise politics in Clare and use social media properly to do this. I have been knocking around Fianna Fáil for ten years, I have served at a local and national level within the party”.

by

CYRIL Crowe is entering the political arena and is putting himself forward as a prospective Fine Gael candidate for next year’s local elections.

Four nominations have been received by Fine Gael headquarters for the Killaloe Municipal District. Mayor of Clare, Cllr Joe Cooney (FG), Cllr Pat Burke (FG) will be going forward at an upcoming selection convention with two-time candidate Ger O’Halloran nominated alongside Cyril Crowe.

It is expected that the directive from headquarters will be to select three candidates to contest the 2024 local elections in the Killaloe MD which will be held in June. The selection convention will take place on September 11th.

Up until that time, Cllr Cooney will wear the mayoral chains as the county’s first citizen. He was a poll-topper in the Killaloe MD for local elections in 2009, 2014 and 2019. The O’Callaghans Mills man is also a former Chairman of Clare GAA.

First elected in 2009, Cllr Burke will be vying to be re-elected for a fourth term on Clare County Council. The Whitegate man showed a first preference increase of 211 votes at the 2019 local elections. Since then, he has served as Leas Cathaoirleach of the County Council and also Cathaoirleach of the Killaloe MD.

O’Halloran who serves as the parliamentary assistant to Clare TD, Joe Carey (FG) has also been nominated. The Quin man is currently on annual leave having taken on increased responsibilities in the constituency office since Deputy Carey went on sick leave in March. In the 2014 local elections, just three votes separated him from then first time candidate Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) to secure the final seat on the Ennis Municipal District. Boundary changes saw Quin and Clooney moved into the Killaloe MD in the 2019 local elections where he amassed 1,036 first preferences but again lost out on the final count.

Entering the fray is Sixmilebridge native Crowe who is seeking the party nomination in his first run for public office. “Since I was young I’ve always had an interest in politics, my uncle John is 26 years on the Council, we’ve always been a Fine Gael family, John has been running for elections since I was 15, I’ve been his right-hand man for his elections and I’ve helped him with his two Seanad campaigns, it was always on the agenda for me to run at some stage and the way things have worked out over the last few months the time is right to give it a go”.

Living in Quin for the past 11 years with his wife Margaret and three children, Daniel (10), Anna (7) and Sam (2), Cyril said the time was right to go

forward given that they have put down roots in the community including a growing involvement with Clooney/Quin GAA club.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, the former Clare U21 and minor hurler who won a Clare SHC with The Bridge in 2002 outlined that housing concerns are growing throughout East Clare. “The big thing in the local area is housing. In the Quin area, there is a huge amount of people who can’t get on the housing ladder, there are couples with two good wages who can’t get on the threshold for mortgages, there really needs to be a huge look at affordability, the rental sec-

tor and the cost of living which is impacting on people all over Clare”.

Rural crime is an issue Cyril has plenty of experience of, given his experience in business as the shop owner of Crowe’s in the Minister’s Cross.

“Rural crime is a huge thing because Garda resources just aren’t there, there should be community groups for rural crime. A lot of the crimes are happening when Gardaí and the Armed Support Unit are off duty, a lot of crimes that have happened to us in the shop have been during 4 to 6am when the Armed Support Unit are off, East Clare has been riddled with crime with roving

Social Democrats appoint officials in

A NEW county committee has been appointed by the Social Democrats as they prepare for the 2024 local elections, writes Páraic McMahon.

Activities in Clare will now be overseen by the new committee as the party bids to elect a representative in the county for the first time. Killaloe’s Garry Miley has been elected as Chairperson, Feakle based Bernhard Rohrer is

Vice Chairperson with Ennis duo Hilary Tonge and Peadar Ó Rathaille taking the roles of Secretary and Treasurer respectively.

“It’s a very exciting time to be a Social Democrat,” said SETU lecturer Miley.

“After Holly Cairns’ success at national level, the momentum behind the Social Democrats is phenomenal. Ordinary people are beginning to realise that

there’s a political party out there that represents their interests,” he added.

Hilary who is very active with the Mná ag Gáire group in Ennis stated, “It’s great to see young people, especially young women, getting behind a political group. There’s a lot of frustration out there with the current political leadership, both at national and local level, especially on quality-of-life issues. This

Páraic McMahon @clareecho.ie

lELECTION: Cyril Crowe at Crowe’s Supermarket in the Minister’s Cross

his political wings Gael nomination

Cahercalla Community Care Summer Party

crime gangs”.

A son of Tim and Bernie, Cyril is the third eldest of their seven children. Between the family’s chain of stores in the Minister’s Cross, Sixmilebridge, Quin, Kilkishen and Mountshannon, he estimated that they have in the region of 125 employees.

While not all of his native Sixmilebridge is within the Killaloe MD, Crowe is hopeful that he should be selected at convention his

base will be strong enough throughout East Clare. “The Killaloe MD goes right to the Mart in Sixmilebridge and back to Castlecrine, up to Quin, back to Newmarket-on-Fergus and up as far as Tubber and Crusheen. My mother is from Scariff, I have 31 first cousins in Scariff with four uncles and aunts, I have a sister living in Whitegate and am well placed in the area from the people I would know through the GAA and farming”.

Thirty nine year old Cyril who has a mixed farm in Quin is also a member of an East Clare Discussion Group which is comprised of 14 to 15 dairy farmers who meet monthly on each other’s farms. He said this group also offers a strong network of supporters. “It will be a huge connection, there’s lads from Killaloe, O’Callaghans Mills and Tulla which adds to the wide discussion spread within the dairy family”.

preparation for elections

is an area which affects women in particular and it’s one which the Social Democrats will be focusing on in the coming months”.

County Chairperson Miley is a lecturer in architecture at South East Technological University.

He also has many years’ experience in architectural practice in Ireland and New York, in both the public and private sectors. He has a particular interest in the planning

and education systems.Hilary Tonge is a psychotherapist and life coach who has also been heavily involved with the Mid-West Hospital Campaign.

Both officers are viewed as potential candidates for next year’s local elections. The party is currently going through the process of choosing candidates for the local elections and expect to finalise their selections in the coming months.

Photo by Joe Buckley

lCOLOURFUL: (above) All hands on deck at the Cahercalla Community Care Summer Party and (below) a doggy pal enjoys some fun in the sun

Collins Jewellers celebrate 50 years

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

COLLINS Jewellers is celebrating its golden anniversary, having expertly served the people of Clare and beyond in the heart of Ennis for the last 50 years.

A family business through and through, the fabric of Collins’ success is made up of excellent customer service, quality craftsmanship and expertise in jewellery which has made them a trusted location for wedding rings, engagement rings and occasion jewellery.

Jewellery’s strong association with love and special occasions is appropriate when it comes to Collins Jewellers founders, Christy and Loyola. Their journey began when they worked as colleagues in Maurer’s Jewellers on O’Connell Street many moons ago, before the pair established Collins Jewellers in 1973 on Parnell Street. The family business moved to 61 O’Connell Street in 1973 and in 1976 they purchased 63 O’Connell Street, where the prominent business stands today.

Set in a prime location across from the famous Old Ground Hotel, since then the shop has been extended and refurbished a number of times to stay in touch with developments in the jewellery trade.

Collins’ are at heart a family business, designing and manufacturing their own bespoke diamond pieces at the in-house workshop. Clarecastle native Christy and Crusheen woman Loyola – whose respective fathers coincidentally both served as Gardaí – became parents to a boy and two girls, and were soon joined by their son Tadg who is a qualified jeweller and hand engraver, and now managing director of the business.

The shop attracts customers from primarily Clare, Limerick and Galway while many

more travel from across the country to Collins Jewellers when choosing the all-important engagement pieces. Loyola says of the business, “We have consciously created an environment which is relaxed and spacious allowing our customers time and space when choosing a piece of jewellery.”

Collins Jewellers has a strong returning customer base and perhaps what’s most impressive about the family business is the longevity of its staff, and the family’s strong involvement. Tadg’s sister Jan (53) has been involved with the business for 26 years, hav-

ing previously run the family opticians which was located upstairs. Christy (84) and Loyola (85) remain heavily involved in the business while Tadg’s son, 21-year-old Tim is next in the line of Collins family jewellers. Jan’s son Luke, a quantity surveying student, looks after the business’s social media accounts.

There are nine working at Collins’ Jewellers including Christy and Loyola, and included in their staff ranks is Christine Corbett from Sixmilebridge, who is in her 50th year working in the business having joined at the age of 16. Other notable members include Tulla

native Maureen Corbett – no relation – who has been with the Collins family for 37 years and Edel Shannon who is with the team eight years.

Tadg (55) and his team take pride in creating custom-made jewellery, particularly wedding rings and engagement rings, an intimate process which involves creating and designing a piece from scratch with the customer. “It’s all I ever wanted to do,” admits Tadg. “We were here since we were kids. Once I finished school at 17, I was straight in.”

Outside of work, Tadg is known for his association with Clarecastle GAA club where he heads up the development committee while Jan is involved with the swimming club and is secretary of Clare Water Safety. Having grown up with the business, Tadg and Jan’s strongest memories include the bedlam of Christmas Eve and the family all rolling up their sleeves on the busiest shopping day of the year. Jan quips that their children’s Christmas presents continue to be hidden in a secret upstairs location before being brought home on Christmas Eve, just as their parents did before them.

Jan notes that they are very grateful for their very loyal support, with many customers following in their parents’ footsteps to purchase engagement rings and wedding rings at Collins’. Tadg adds, “Our customers are very loyal - we’d like to thank them all for their support over the years.”

Collins’ sell a range of jewellery to suit all budgets from €25 while they also offer watch repair service. Engagement rings to suit all budgets are also available. To celebrate 50 years in business, they are running a diamond promotion with 25% off all stock. Visit Collins Jewellers on O’Connell Street or call 065 68 24490. Email collinsjewellers@yahoo.com.

lDIAMONDS ARE FOREVER: Collins Jewellers was established in 1973

Photo by Joe Buckley

Collins Jewellers founders Christy and Loyola

Photo by Joe Buckley

1 in 5 people struggle with literacy skills

by Stuart Holly editor@clareecho.ie

MORE than one in five people have difficulty with literacy skills – a too-often silent struggle for many which impacts our health and wellbeing. However, help is at hand here in County Clare.

While the perception of literacy for many people is the ability to read and write, its definition is ever-changing.

Síle O’Riordan, Regional Literacy Coordinator with the

ness, undiagnosed learning difficulties. So, it’s not fair to specify that some demographics have more issues with literacy needs.”

The recently-launched Adult Literacy for Life strategy was set up to reduce the levels of unmet literacy needs. Over the course of the next 10 years it aims to half the number of people with unmet literacy, numeracy and digital needs.

Síle explains the strong link between literacy skills and health and wellbeing.

ing offered across the county. With campuses in Ennis, Shannon, Scariff, Kilrush, Miltown Malbay, Ennistymon, there are hundreds of relevant courses from a beginners computer course to family learning, general learning courses, and employability skills. Síle stresses, “If somebody wasn’t sure about courses, we have staff in all our campuses whowill help people find the right course for themselves, and

they are always happy to talk to people.”

Seeing the results of people improving their literacy needs has been the greatest reward in Síle’s job, she explains how. “There’s a huge impact. People gain so much in confidence by engaging in classes. People find they are not alone on this journey and they find others have similar stories

“We would have learners that came in and started

with us in the core skills area, which would be the literacy service, and working their way right up and finding other options, going back to education fulltime, getting qualifications, or even being more active in the community, whether that’s through the GAA or community development association, or participating more fully.”

“When somebody takes that step it’s important to be reassured there’ll be a wel-

come there for them and there’ll be no judgement, and they’re very much in the driving seat in terms of driving their own learning journey and that our staff are well equipped and able to help them along the pathway.”

To find out about the range of courses available, visit https://collegeoffet.ie/ for more info contact Síle at sile.oriordan@lcetb.ie

Limerick & Clare Education and Training Board, tells The Clare Echo that literacy “needs to reflect the changes in how we live our lives”.

“As life changes, the demands on literacy change all the time,” she says. “When you take how we all adapted during the pandemic, with so many of us moving online into the virtual space almost overnight, all those things change the needs for literacy and numeracy and digital skills, and it’s to give people the capacity to adapt and cope with the changes. The concept of literacy now is people having gaps in their learning, rather than people not being able to read or write at all.

“It’s developing that concept in society and the better skills we have, the better opportunities that are there for us.”

According to the most recent available statistics in Ireland, there are one in five adults with unmet literacy needs; one in four adults have issues with numeracy; while one in two adults have issues with digital skills. “It’s not confined to any demographic. You can see that one of the causes of unmet literacy needs is poverty and social inequality. It could be poor school attendance, not great structures around promoting the value in education; it might be due to ill-

“One of the tests that was done to determine the statistics was the ability to read a medicine bottle. When you have somebody with difficulty in reading the medicine bottle, it has all the health and safety implications for getting the right dosage, taking the medicine at the right the time, whatever the directions are. You also have the difficulty to communicate with health professionals, looking at appointments coming out in written form, appointments being missed, the right information being understood.

“If someone has a strong health literacy, they are able confident and able to engage and ask for help, and come prepared and are able to manage with the appointment, you’re looking at better health and lifestyle options. This helps improve ones health and wellbeing.

“There is a very strong link with people with poor literacy skills with poor mental health as well. Engaging with education has been linked with an outcome of being able to promote better mental health, and by being engaged it helps people make better choices for themselves.”

The Limerick & Clare Education and Training Board plays an integral role in progressing these statistics with a range of courses be-

College of FET Ennis Campus

Vibrant Feakle International Festival promises to be ‘spectacular showcase’

THE 36th Feakle International Festival of traditional Irish Music is set to captivate music enthusiasts from Wednesday the 9th to Monday the 14th of August. Renowned for its celebration of traditional Irish music and the vibrant atmosphere it brings, this year's festival promises to be a spectacular showcase of talent and a tribute to the late Seamus Begley, a cherished friend of Feakle. The festival will kick off with a magical opening performance by the Irish concertina orchestra, setting the stage for an unforgettable week of events. Thursday morning will see an array of workshops covering various aspects of Irish music,song and dance, offering attendees a unique opportunity to learn from masters of the craft.

Throughout the festival, visitors can look forward to a delightful array of activities, including CD launches, walks, talks, lively sessions, joyous ceilis, and puppetry. Moreover, Feakle will resonate with enchanting concerts, culminating in three extraordinary ticketed events that will thrill audiences.

On Thursday night, Pepper’s marquee will come alive with acts such as Cormac Begley and Liam O'Connor, Danny O'Mahony, and Michéal O'Raghallaigh who will showcase their exceptional talents

and infuse the air with musical magic.

Friday night's infamous music recital will feature a stellar lineup, including the likes of Martin Hayes, Brian Donnellan, Cormac McCarthy, Jimmy Higgins, Rick Epping, Seamie O'Dowd, and Ruth Clinton. Their performances are sure to leave the audience in awe and appreciation for the richness of Irish music.

However, the spotlight of the festival will shine brightest on Saturday night at St. Mary's Church, as the Feakle Festival pays tribute to the late Seamus Begley, a beloved figure in the Irish music community.

Seamus was not only an extraordinary musician but also a great entertainer who brought laughter and joy to all who had the privilege of witnessing his performances. Throughout the years, he graced Feakle with unforgettable concerts, often accompanied by his musical companions Steve Cooney and Joe Fitzgerald.

A regular performer at the sessions in Peppers, Seamus would delight the crowd with his soulful singing, humorous anecdotes, and lively renditions of polkas and slides. His contributions to the festival and the local community left

an indelible mark, and it is only fitting that the 36th Feakle Festival dedicates this special night to celebrating his life and cherished memories.

Seamus' family and musical friends will come together on Saturday night to create a magical tribute. The stage will be graced by Seamus' children Meabh, Eoin, and Níall, as well as Lumiere, Muireann

Nic Amhlaoibh & Donagh Hennessy, Conor Connolly, Andrea Palandri & Ruairi McGorman and the West Kerry dancers. Expect an evening filled with heartfelt performances, laughter, and the spirit of Seamus Begley.

This year's festival promises an immersive celebration of Irish music, culture, and the memory of a beloved musician.

More information about this years Feakle Festival, including event schedules and ticketing details can be found on the festival's website www.feaklefestival.ie or the festivals social media accounts. Tickets are available through the Glor box office, but due to high demand, it is advisable to secure tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.

lGATHER ROUND: Musicians delight the crowds at last year’s festival

Worldwide diaspora descends on St Michael’s Villas to mark 70 year history

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

ST MICHAEL’S Villas

residents were the proudest members of the large crowd who attended the opening of the SMV70 Exhibition at the Clare Museum on Friday.

Members of the St Michael’s Villas diaspora had travelled from the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom and all over Ireland for the weekend of celebrations to mark 70 years of the housing estate in Ennis.

Formed by the first children of the Villas, the SMV70 Choir performed for the crowd on Friday evening. Fr. Brendan Quinlivan, resident of St. Michael’s Villas was MC for the evening and there was much excitement when he introduced Olympian and St. Michael’s native Neil Ryan to officially launch the exhibition which runs until the end of August, daily from 10am to 5pm.

A memorial was unveiled at the Grotto in St Michael’s Villas on Saturday to all the residents who have died in its 70 year history. This was followed by a mass, celebrat-

SOLIDARITY SHINDIG

ed by Fr Tom Ryan, a native of St Michael’s Villas and Fr. Brendan Quinlivan. The SMV70 choir performed at Mass accompanied by musicians, Vincent McMahon, Maeve Kearse, Ann Larkin and John Hanrahan.

Michael Donnellan, two times World Irish dancing champion, star of several shows and choreographer danced during mass with his mother Carrie O’Brien Donnellan, herself a dancing champion. Carrie is a proud native of St. Michael’s Villas and Michael spent many happy days in the Villas with his grandparents the late Maureen and Ronnie O’Brien. This was followed by a recital by Ennis Brass Band, luckily the rain held off to give way to a wonderful street party.

Later in the evening performances by the Villas Band, Los Paddys, Seanie Leahy and Nathalie Leahy were greeted by delight by the community.

The highlight of the event was performances of the St. Michael’s Villas anthem ‘We Had It All’ written by Mike Hanrahan of Stockton’s Wing fame and performed by his brother John and accompanied by the SMV70 choir.

THE organisers of a ‘Solidarity Shindig’ in Ennis this Bank Holiday Saturday say it will be an opportunity for people to meet and get to know some of the Banner County’s newest residents, including people seeking International Protection.

The party, from 4pm-7pm this Saturday 5th August, will include a drumming workshop with West Clare musician Brian Fleming, Kizomba dancing, Nepalese traditional music and a DJ. Food will be served, and people are encouraged to bring their own food to share, ‘pot luck’ style. People are invited to attend the party at Unit 7, Tracklands Business Park, V95 K6F6.

Sarah Clancy, co-ordinator of the Clare Public Participation Network, one of 12 groups involved in the event, said: “This party is a way of saying ‘Welcome’, but it also a great opportunity for people to get to know some of Clare’s newest residents. Those of us involved in the various groups behind this event have enjoyed getting to know many of these new arrivals in recent years. ”

AG CAINT

ENNIS Irish language group Caint agus Comhrá invites speakers of Irish to take part in any of its regular informal chat groups. Their get-togethers take place over morning coffee in the Copper Jug on Mondays; O’Brien’s on Wednesdays, and in glór café on Saturdays, all 11:00am. An evening gathering, to facilitate working people, is held at 8.00pm on Thursdays in the Temple Gate. Anyone can drop in and join a conversation regardless of level of knowledge of Irish, nationality etc.

Enquiries to: caintaguscomhra@outlook.com

CLARIFICATION

THE Clare Echo wishes to clarify that Blackie O’Connell and not Experience Ennis were behind the Piping Heaven Piping Hell music festival held in Ennis in April. The festival was organised by Mr O’Connell in memory of the late Pat Broderick. The festival was promoted by Experience Ennis along with other entities but they had no involvement in the festival which will be returning next year.

Marie Connole presents ‘Dúlamán na Farraige’ at Clare County Museum

WORLD renowned artist Marie Connole’s latest exhbition at the Clare County Museum, ‘Dúlamán na Farraige’, explores our unique relationship with seaweed, writes Elaine Tubridy.

Marie Connole MFA is an award-winning artist who exhibits internationally. Marie’s work is centred in the unique soul of her native Clare and its coastline. Within an atmosphere of oceanic melancholia, ‘Dúlamán na Farraige’ unites seaweed gathering traditions and scientific research. These contemporary watercolours celebrate this overlap between the human world and the natural world.

‘Dúlamán’ is the Irish word for a type of seaweed. This new work expands on Connole’s previous exhibition at the Irish Arts Center in New York. Sublime figures of hybrid sea creatures, informed by folklore, dwell in an aquatic underworld. The merging of their bodies with seaweed conveying an intensity of human emotion.

‘Dúlamán na Farraige’ entices us to reflect on our coastal heritage and the effects climate change pose to our wild Atlantic Ocean.

As part of the exhibition renowned Seanchaí/Storyteller Eddie Lenihan has been invited to present an exciting storytelling event in on 12th August at 12pm. He will share his knowledge around seaweed harvesting, sealore and traditions along the Atlantic coast.

This wonderful exhibition is free of charge and runs from now to 1st September, 2023, and everyone is welcome.

exhibition has been supported by Clare Arts Office, Clare Local Area Grant Scheme and Creative Ireland.

lTHE GATHERING: Michael McMahon, Christine O’Neill O’Doherty, Edward O’Loughlin and Jackie Slattery watch on as Olive McMahon Bowen reads a story of a 1960s Childhood in St. Michael’s Villas Photo by Chris Copley

This

lFreefall by Marie Connole

SHANNON NEWS

in association with

Wettest July on record in 77 years

SHANNON recorded its wettest July in 77 years and unfortunately the unsettled weather is expected to continue into the first half of this month, writes Páraic McMahon.

Parts of Europe may have been dealing with soaring hot temperatures but July had so much rain throughout Ireland that it was within touching distance of breaking official records.

Six inches of rain (150.3mm) fell at the Shannon Airport weather station during the month of July. This figure would have been much larger on higher ground in the west of the county. Only 20.7mm fell in 2022 but July 2020 was also very wet when 130.6 mm fell. July 14th was the wettest day in Shannon when 27mm of rain fell.

Records were broken at weather stations across the country

during July. Shannon experienced its wettest July in 77 years, for Phoenix Park in Dublin it was 82 years and 59 years in Dunsany in Co Meath.

Keith Lambkin, Head of Climate Services Division at Met Éireann explained that there was a number of reasons for the recent wet weather. “We know that because of global warming, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. There was a report out from Met Éireann last week that looked at the average rainfall over the last 30 years compared to the previous 30 years and we’re seeing that about 7% more rainfall on average is falling.

“Really when it comes to this July, the really driving factor behind that rain was really the meteorological setup, the jet stream, which is a big influencer of the type of weather we get here in Ireland, was to the South of Ire-

land for quite a persistent long time.

“That has allowed consistent low-pressure systems all throughout July to pass over Ireland, bringing quite a lot of rain. It’s the same meteorological setup actually that’s allowing that high pressure system to establish in Europe, creating all those problems that we see over there as well”.

This unsettled weather is due to continue into August, he admitted. “So just talking to our forecasters, unfortunately, the dominant feature certainly for the first half of August is for this unsettled weather to continue. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to rain every day, but the jet stream is still expected to be below Ireland into August. So we’d still expect to see that unsettled low pressure systems certainly influencing, the first half of August”.

Residents suffering with anti-social behaviour

AGE-FRIENDLY seating in Shannon is resulting in “a substantial amount of anti-social behaviour” including the consumption of alcohol, an elected representative has claimed, writes Páraic McMahon.

Removal of the seating is viewed as “premature” by staff of Clare County Council. This is despite the efforts of Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) to have the bench removed from Carraig Lia.

In a proposal put to the Shannon MD, Cllr Flynn asked that the recently installed seating be removed along with the stones adjacent to it on the public area outside the perimeter fence encapsulating the prefabricated structure. This was seconded by Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF).

According to Cllr Flynn, “residents in the neighbourhood have suffered a substantial amount of anti-social behaviour and feel that the seating area is a big contributor as a lot of unsociable behaviour has escalated in recent times from people congregating around this area”.

Anne Griffin, acting senior executive officer in the Shan-

lPREMATURE: Age-friendly seating Photo by Joe Buckley

non MD said that it would be “premature” to consider removing the seating considering that it has only been recently installed. She explained that the Shannon MD office identified the required for age-friendly seating to be installed at various locations around the town “particularly in locations near to amenities, walkways, pathways and parks”. Stones outside the perimeter fence will be removed and replaced with a hard surface as soon as possible, she confirmed.

Carraig Lia residents

“have a particular issue with the recently installed seat and stones in the adjacent prefab,” Cllr Flynn outlined. “Residents are suffering with a substantial amount of anti-social behaviour between drinking, hanging out and making noise at all times and chucking stones at their property”.

He told the July meeting of the Shannon MD that he would revert to residents and ask them to monitor if a difference is noticeable, “once the ammunition is gone it might help,” he added.

lRainfall

GREEN CLARE

Plans for Shannon Airport rail link included in new report

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

A FUTURE rail link from Shannon Airport to Limerick City remains on track.

Plans in the New Age of Rail report detail a proposal to link Shannon Airport with Limerick by rail along with connecting airports in Dublin and Belfast with the national rail network.

Published following the first All-Island Strategic Rail Review, the report takes into account Ireland’s rail networks and recommended adding more routes to Ireland’s existing rail lines, electrification of trains, and improved speeds. The plan was published jointly by the Irish Department of Transport and Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure, and includes plans to connect Northern Ireland with the South.

Also among the report’s recommendations was that rail lines be upgraded to allow for faster trains with speeds of up to 200 km/h to make rail travel faster and more attractive than using a car.

If the plans are introduced, it could see 700,000 people living within five kilometres of a train station, and 90 per cent of aviation

passengers travelling to Ireland’s airports by rail.

Implementing the review’s recommendations in full would cost the Government back over €36billion in the next 25 years. If spread evenly over the next 25 years, the cost is estimated to be the equivalent to the amount invested in the motorway network during the late 2000s.

Currently, Ireland has 2,300 kilometers of rail lines, which could be increased to 2,950 kilometers if all the review’s recommendations are implemented. The key recommendation in the plan is to decarbonise the rail network in an attempt to help with Ireland’s emissions targets that have been set by the European Union (EU).

The review also recommended upgrading both the inter-city and cross-country rail lines and to increase the frequency of train times between the main cites, with trains running every half an hour on the lines with most demand.

Reinstating the Western Rail Corridor between Claremorris and Athenry was also among the proposals, with Donegal earmarked to get a rail service for the first time

in decades.

Long distance and fast services could also be separated, leading to shorter journey times at peak hours and on city approaches.

Three time periods are planned for in the review – short-term, which would see plans implemented by 2030, medium-term which would hope to see plans in place by 2030 and 2040, and long-term projects which would be expected to be completed by 2050.

It is not clear which of these timeframes the connection between Shannon Airport

and Limerick City would fall into.

Freight rail services could also see an upgrade, with a proposal for rail links with Ireland’s busiest ports to be strengthened, and reducing track access costs for freight companies.

The next steps will see the recommendations being reviewed by transport ministers North and South of the border, with more work needed to assess the feasibility of each of the recommendations before decisions can be made on which projects get delivered.

Shannon Airport

Iarnród Éireann planning to enhance capacity on Ennis-Limerick rail services

IARNRÓD Éireann are planning to enhance capacity on its rail services between Ennis and Limerick, writes Páraic McMahon

An investment of €300,000 is to be made by Iarnród Éireann this year with a further €400,000 in 2024 to produce studies and commence a design process to enhance capacity between Ennis and Colbert Station in Limerick City. The company said the investment is subject to funding and the project successfully progressing through the various approvals.

Under the Infrastructure Manager Multi-annual contract (IMMAC), €2.8m will be invested in Co Clare, this includes upgrades to assets, improvements to bridges and other structures and improvements to track and other assets such as level crossings. This investment continues on all routes across Clare.

Such plans were outlined in a parliamentary response to Clare TD, Mi-

chael McNamara (IND).

“I welcome the steps being taken by Iarnród Éireann to further enhance capacity on this vitally important rail connection, which had shown significant growth pre-Covid,” he stated.

“Investing in and expanding sustainable transport across Ireland will be key to the Government achieving its stated ambition of reducing car use by 20% by 2030 and for half of all journeys to be made on foot, bicycle, or public transport. Significant investment must be made in rail services between Ennis and Limerick City, including the reduction in the journey time and expanding the frequency of daily services,” Deputy McNamara added.

Meanwhile, Deputy McNamara is backing the growing campaign for the railway station at Crusheen to be reopened but has expressed his dis- appointment with Iarnród Éireann’s position regarding the proposal.

In a written response to Deputy McNamara, the company said, “We will keep the case for a railway station at Crusheen under review in line with future demand trends, but at present there is no provision for a station within the current funding profile”.

“It makes little sense at a time when the Government is encouraging the public to consider sustainable transport options that the Department of Transport is not actively engaging with Iarnród Eireann to have Crusheen railway station reopened,” the Scariff native commented. He added, “The local community in Crusheen and surrounding areas has undertaken a 20-year campaign to have the rail stop reopened and has demonstrated the significant potential for Iarnród Éireann to increase passenger numbers on its Ennis to Galway service. I will be urging Minister Eamon Ryan to explore this potential directly with Iarnród Eireann”.

lEnnis train station Photo by Firestone

Bainigí sás as an deireadh seachtaine fada!

086-8464509

Imeachtaí/Events:

• INIS – CAINT AGUS COMHRÁ, chuile Dé Luain ag 11am sa gCopper Jug, Dé Céadaoin ag 11am in O’Brien’s, oíche Déardaoin sa Temple Gate (8pm), agus Dé Sathairn i nGlór, 11am-12pm Déan teagmháil leo ag: caintaguscomhra@outlook.com

• RAIDIÓ CLARE FM - ‘’Cúl-chaint’’ le Domhnall Ó Loingsigh chuile mhaidin Dé Sathairn, 9am. Seol nuacht chuig: Donal@clare.fm

• INIS - Rith le Ruairí, chuile Dé Máirt ag 7.30pm, ag Local Motion, Sráid Uí Chonaill

• CILL INÍNE BAOITH - Ciorcal Comhrá san XPO, chuile Dé Céadaoin ag 7.30pm

Is fiú breathnú ar seo ar TG4

SEODA Bhailiúchán na Scol, Dé Máirt, 19:30. Is é ‘Bailiúchán na Scol’ an bailiúchán béaloidis is mó a déanadh riamh in Éirinn. Bhailigh gasúir scoile as 50,000 bunscoil beagnach leathmhilliún

leathanach d’ábhar béaloidis óna muintir agus óna gcomharsana idir 1937 agus 1939. Sa gcéad chlár den tsraith, rachaidh Aengus Mac Grianna, iar-láithreoir nuachta le RTÉ, ag tochailt sa mBailiúchán le heolas a chuir ar shean-nósanna a bhain le grá & pósadh. Rachaidh sé chuig cóisir do dhaoine atá singil, chuig cleachtadh bainise daonnachach agus labhróidh sé le daoine ó thíortha éagsúla faoi nósanna pós-

Thought for the week: The importance of friends

RONAN SCULLY

JUST last weekend we celebrated International Friendship day and it made me start to reflect on the nature of friendship, and a few thoughts emerged regarding what constitutes a healthy friendship.

TRUE FRIENDSHIP

We are all humans, so we all make mistakes and have weaknesses, blind spots, frustrations and selfishnesses. Sometimes we are tired, overworked, stressed, addicted or depressed. It is very hard to be full of love and care all the time. We will always disappoint each other and even disappoint ourselves. Yet, the heart of God is always full of love for us. He is our very best friend, who loves us at all times. A big reason friends stop expressing love to one another is because they misunderstand each other. People can find it very hard to fully understand what another person truly means. That is normal, it is human, it is typical for our limited ability to hear, feel, see and comprehend each other. God always fully understands us. He sees the depths of our hearts. He knows our deepest hidden thoughts, feelings, motivations and desires. He knows our blind spots and our weaknesses. He knows our wounds and hurts and is full of compas-

sion and mercy for us. God is our one true friend where all refuge is found and he is true love and true friendship. The more we rest in His love and true friendship, the more we are filled with His mercy and kindness for us, the more He is our true rock and refuge, the more we will be able to be a true friend for others. Friendship is about people who believe in us and in whose goodness we believe.

Friends always listen with their heart and they are always honest with us even though they know that the truth is what we may not be what we want to hear. As a friend I can’t give solutions to all of life’s problems, doubts, or fears.

But I can listen to you, and together we will search for an answer. I can’t change your past with all its heartache and pain, or the future with its untold stories. But I can be there now when you need me to care. I can’t keep your feet from stumbling. I can only offer my hand that you may grasp it and not fall. Your joys, triumphs, successes, and happiness are not mine. Yet, I can share in your laughter. Your decisions in life are not mine to make, nor to judge. I can only support you, encourage you, and help you when you ask.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

As your thought for the week, look around you and truly cherish those special people and friends that are part of your life and always remember that friendship

can be a true place of refuge and is one of life’s most wonderful blessings.

Let me finish this thought with a prayer I say for my friends, “I will pray for you, my friend. I will name you in my heart before God and ask all His blessing be upon you. I will be concerned for your rising and your daily mood.

I will be sympathetic to your personal needs and desires in each day of your life. I will wish you well in your learning, or your work, in your domestic round and your leisure.

I will think of you at the close of each day and pray that God’s peace be with you. If you have been especially kind or helpful to me then I will make my gratitude known to you.

If you are in trouble or difficulty of any kind, or simply tired and worn down, I will do all and anything I can to lift your spirits. I will ache for you in your sorrows and disasters and rejoice with you in your joys and triumphs. I will love and care for you as I love and care for myself. Amen.” Please remember that Friendship is one of the most beautiful, most powerful, and most valuable treasures in life and a true gift from God.

Jesus said: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15: 12-15. Imagine that! Jesus has brought us in on

the conversation He has with His Father. And just as talking with your friend is as important as it is pleasant, so having a conversation with Jesus and His Father is crucial in maintaining our friendship with God. And this is simply called “prayer.” Furthermore, we know that when we love God, we love everyone He loves. And there is actually no one outside of His love. In fact, charity, which is this friendship with God, this love of God for His own sake, is the only way we can love all our neighbors, even our enemies! It helps us to understand something of what friendship with God is like. It also helps us prepare for that experience we will have with Him and all those He loves in heaven. And it’s beginning here on earth. Right now.

ta ina dtíortha fhéin. Tuesday, 8th of August, 7.30pm A series which delves in to the treasures of the Schools Folklore Collection, an archive of almost half a million pages of folklore collected by schoolchildren from their neighbours and relatives in 50,000 schools all over Ireland between 1937-1939. In the first programme Ex RTE News presenter Aengus Mac Grianna looks at traditions relating to love and marriage.

Clare County Council is currently inviting applications from suitably qualified persons for the below competition. Clare County Council will, following the interview process, form a panel for the area set out below from which future relevant vacancies may be filled subject to sanction approval from the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage.

•

EXECUTIVE TECHNICIAN

Completed applications must be emailed to: recruitment@clarecoco.ie not later than 12 noon on Wednesday 30th August 2023. Application forms and further particulars may be obtained by requesting same from the Human Resources Department, Clare County Council at 065-6846250, via e-mail: recruitment@clarecoco.ie or can be downloaded from the following website: www.clarecoco.ie

Clare County Council is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sectors of the Community.

Scriobh chugainn as gaeilge más fearr leat.

BEIDH coirmcheoil den scoth le Denis McAuliffe ar an maindilín agus Breandán Breathnach ar an ngiotár in Ionad Cultúrtha Chill

Chisín Dé Luain seo chugainn, an 7ú lá de Lúnasa, ag 7.30pm. Cead isteach €15. Tuilleadh Eolais ag

l GRÁ & PÓSADH: Aengus Mac Grianna

LE MACDARA Ó CONAOLA

Macalla an Chláir

SHANAHEA, KILDYSART, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

SALEFOR

3 BED DETACHED HOUSE WITH DETACHED GARAGE & LARGE ATTACHED SPACE ASKING PRICE: €230,000

4 BED TERRACED HOUSE – IN POPULAR LOCATION ASKING PRICE: €235,000

6 BED DETACHED HOUSE WITH THE FULL SIZED BASEMENT AT GROUND FLOOR LEVEL TO THE REAR. ASKING PRICE: €495,000

3 BED DETACHED HOUSE ON 1.2 ACRES OPTION TO PURCHASES ADDITIONAL LANDS ASKING PRICE: €185,000

4 BED DETACHED HOUSE WITHIN A SHORT STROLL OF CARRIGAHOLT VILLAGE ASKING PRICE: €249,950

2 BED APARTMENT IN EXCELLENT DECORATIVE ORDER THROUGHOUT ASKING PRICE: €159,000

3 SEMI-DETACHED HOUSE OVERLOOKING GREEN IN POPULAR DEVELOPMENT ASKING PRICE: €219,000

DETACHED HOUSE WITH GARAGE & LARGE REAR SHED ASKING PRICE: €275,000

3 BED DETACHED HOUSE 1KM FROM THE VERY POPULAR BEACH OF WHITE STRAND ASKING PRICE: €399,950

ROAD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

KILMALEY, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

5 SHANACLOON, SHANBALLA, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

15 SUAN NA MARA, CARRIGAHOLT, CO. CLARE 143 ACHA BHILE, LAHINCH ROAD, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

7 BRAMBLE LANE, ENNIS, CO. CLARE BALLAGHBOY, DOORA, ENNIS, CO. CLARE

MILTOWN MALBAY, CO. CLARE

4 BED

Consisting of approximately 18.4 acres, evenly split by a public road, under folio CE20739F, offering a fantastic opportunity for planting, hobby farming, extend existing holding or for a private family home (subject to planning)

Ideally located just 7km from Ennistymon, just off the Ennistymon / Corofin road, the land have several access points off the public road, with a mix of drystone walls and mature hedgerows boundaries and slopes from the minor road to the Ennistymon / Corofin.

Contact: DNG O’Sullivan Hurley

Tel: (065) 684 0200

PSL 002295

Online Auction Sale 11th Aug 2023 12:00

Offering outstanding potential for a private residential site ( subject to planning). Located 5.5km from Ennistymon, 250m from St. Columbas Church, one must view to truely appreciate the stunning location and views. Also suited tot he hobby farmer or adjoining land owner.

Contact: DNG O’Sullivan Hurley

Tel: (065) 684 0200

PSL 002295

ROAD,

Online Auction Sale 11th Aug 2023 12:00

DNG O’Sullivan Hurley are delighted to offer for sale this 3 bedroom detached property in the heart of Clarecastle Village. The property is situated within walking distance of all local amenities and services and within easy access to Ennis Town Centre and the M18 Limerick to Galway Motorway. The property is complete with double glazed windows and doors and electric heating with connections to mains water and sewage. The rear garden has been enclosed with the attached garage to the side also offering extra work or storage space along with private parking. The property would benefit from redecoration and modernisation but offers excellent potential as an investment or private home in the heart of the village. Viewing is highly recommended and strictly by appointment with sole selling agents.

Contact: DNG O’Sullivan Hurley

Tel: (065) 684 0200

PSL 002295

Online Auction Sale 18th Aug 2023 12:00

This 3 bedroom mid terrace property is situated in the centrally located housing development of Clancy Park and is within walking distance of all Ennis town amenities.

The property has an enclosed garden area to the front with private parking. The interior of the home does require cosmetic upgrading, giving the prospective buyer a blank canvas to work with and design the property to their own style and requirements. The accommodation currently consists of an entrance hallway, main reception and kitchen to the ground floor with the main bathroom and 3 bedrooms to the first floor.

Viewing is strictly by appointment only with the sole selling agents.

Contact: DNG O’Sullivan Hurley

Tel: (065) 684 0200

PSL 002295

OLD

CLARECASTLE, ENNIS, CLARE

Panametrics offer world of opportunities from global headquarters in Shannon

FROM its global headquarters in Shannon, Panametrics produces cutting edge technology that is making a difference across a multitude of critical industries, including energy, power generation, food and beverage, water and energy transition, writes

Páraic McMahon

Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, provides solutions in the toughest applications and environments for flow, moisture, hydrogen, oxygen, liquid, gas and steam measurement. Experts in oil and gas flare management, Panametrics technology also reduces flare emissions and optimizes performance.

Established in Shannon in 1973, it has evolved over five decades thanks to its culture of continuous improvement. In 2005, Panametrics moved into its current facility in the Smithstown Industrial Estate. Ten years later it expanded the premises by 100,000 sqft and added a further 20,000 sqft in 2018.

Seven employees started out with Panametrics in Shannon, fifty years ago. It now has a global workforce of 600 which includes eighty engineers and six PhD graduates.

At its Shannon site, Panametrics designs develops and manufactures ultrasonic flow meters used by customers to monitor and control the flow of any liquid. The Shannon team also produce Process Analyzers, which measure moisture, oxygen and hydrogen.

Colin Hehir is a native of Shannon who now resides in Newmarket-on-Fergus, he is the Vice President of Panametrics and has been with the company since 2005. “Baker Hughes generates more than €20bn in revenue per year with around 55,000 employees. Focused on taking energy forward, Baker Hughes is a leading driver in the energy transition.”

Colin is one of seven plant managers in the company’s history in Co Clare. He held the post from 2013 to 2016. Since 2022, John Earls, a man wellknown within Clare sporting circles has been in the role.

Steady growth has been experienced in Shannon every year according to Colin. “We pretty much have every part and every function you need to run a successful business here in Shannon. In addition to the manufacturing teams, we also have a quality team on site, product management, global marketing and technology engineering teams. We also have the wider operations team including many of our buyers, planners and production leads”.

From the creation of Panametrics’ first product, an aluminium oxide probe hygrometer developed in the US in 1967, adaption has been integral for Panametrics’ growth. “Where our customers are adapting, particularly on technology, we have to adapt with them or keep ahead of them. For example, we’ll try to develop new technol-

ogies before a customer realises that they need it”.

Speaking to The Clare Echo, Colin highlighted their strategic marketing team are essential to them staying ahead on client’s future demands. Diverse markets are a strength of Panametrics, he noted. “We sell our technology to some very well well-known soft drink manufacturers, into salmon farming in Korea, and to control water leakage in California. Our technology hits every corner of the globe across a huge spread of sectors. Often regulations are a big help to us - tight regulations increases the likelihood of an organisation investing in technology that accurately and reliably measures their flow or the presence of gas or moisture”.

Transport links from Shannon Airport “are vital for our business,” he admitted while also flagging the importance of their connection to third-level institutes in the Mid-West region. “The proximity to the University of Limerick, University of Galway and TUS is a big selling point and we enjoy very positive partnerships with them. What we’ve found is that once people move to the West of Ireland, they tend to stay here – but you need to get them here first. Further education is a big draw.”

Staff retention is high and is referenced with pride by Colin. “There is a pride in the work that people do here. We develop cutting-edge technology that is key to the energy transition, helping to protect the planet and reduce our customers’ costs. I think that’s worth getting out of bed for, and thankfully so do Panametrics people! I mentioned continuous improvement and that drives people – it’s like winning a hurling match, they want to keep ahead all the time and be better than everyone else - we have a strong culture of that here in Shannon. So much so that we have gone from just a core manufacturing site to a global headquarters”.

Although Panametrics is one of the few companies to have a global headquarters in Shannon, Colin admitted that they have been guilty in the past about “not shouting enough about successes”.

“I would say that Panametrics is an Irish export success story. We export 98% of our products, contributing to the local economy. There are very few businesses in Shannon that have been around for fifty years and are continuing to grow. I’m proud that we’re bringing dollars back into Ireland”.

Colin concluded, “We have a very bright future. We have a number of exciting new technologies that are on the brink of launch; we’re seeing demand for our products increase; while we anticipate expanding the workforce here in Shannon over the next 12 months.

Celebrating fifty years in Shannon is a big achievement. It’s a privilege to be leading Panametrics at such a pivotal and exciting moment in the company’s history”.

l FUTURE: Panametrics Vice President Colin Hehir

Campbell wins South; Nolan's President's Prize in Dromoland

by Seamus Hayes news@clareecho.ie

WARRENPOINT’S Colm Campbell was crowned Pierce Motors South of Ireland amateur golf champion at Lahinch on Sunday.

Rain and gale force winds were the order of the day on Sunday when Campbell came from two down with three to play to win 1 up against Peter O’Keeffe from Douglas who was tasting final defeat for the second year in a row. O’Keeffe went out of bounds on both the 17th and 18th holes.

Lahinch Golf Club:

Lahinch ladies minor cup team won the West Munster area final at East Clare on Saturday where they recorded a 3.5/1.5 win over Tralee. They will contest the All-Ireland finals at Westort from September 21 to 24.

On this Thursday evening, prize presentations will take place in the clubhouse commencing at 9.00pm for the following”

On this Friday, Kevin Molony’s captain’s prize gets underway with qualifying rounds on Friday and Saturday. Valerie Shannon’s Lady Captain’s Prize takes place on Saturday week, 12th August 12, and the timesheet will open at 9.00am on this Saturday morning,.

East Clare Golf Club:

There was a big turnout for William Hayes's captain’s prize last week when Danny Minogue emerged as the winner with 65.

He had one stroke to spare over Paul Hayes with Brian Stritch in third spot with 67. Stephen Moloney won the gross with 71.

Category 1 was won by Francis Moloney with 71 from Conor Meade with a similar score. Jason Horan won category 2 with 68 and he had a stroke to spare over John Duffy. The ctegxory 3 winner was Ger Lenihan with 70 with second spot filled by Eddie Rosney who also had 70. the junior winner was Niall Melody.

The captain’s prize to the senior men was won by Pat Duggan with 40 points from Brendan Magill with 39 and Steve Symes, also wth 39.

Brid Hayes won the captain’s prize to the ladies from Celia Moloney with Ursula Hogan in third spot while Evelyn Skehan won the gross. Margaret Lynch had the longest drive with Heather Cullen nearest the pin.

Kilrush Golf Club:

Captain Bernard Coleman’s prize was played for on Sunday when Tom A Pren-

deville (25) emerged with the honours with 105. He had five strokes to spare over John K. Ryan (16) with third spot filled by Dominic Enright (14) with 112. Rory Lillis (3) won the gross with 127 while the category winners were Noel McMahon (10) with 115, Patrick Coleman (15) with 119 and Brendan Carey (21) with 115.

The captain’s prize to the ladies, a 9 hole competition, was won by Mary Downes (16) with 19 points from Anne Brennan (7) with a

similar score. In third spot, a point back, was Anne Gallagher (7) with 18 points.

Dromoland Golf Club:

Maria Nolan’s president’s prize was played for at Dromoland at the weekend when the winner was Kieran O’Reilly with 61 from Conor Barry with 57 with Edward Egan in third spot with 56.

They were followed by Diarmuid McMahon with 56, Brian Arthur with 56, Bart O’Brien with 55, Cillian O’Connor with 54, Conor McCarthy with 53 and Darragh McCoy with 53. Brian Shally won the gross with 37.

The past president’s category was won by Con Ryan with 37 while Sean Hayes with 39 won the category for handicappers of 22 and over. Noel O’Brien with 21 and Andrew Kenny with 24 won the first and second nines respectively.

The president’s prize to the ladies was won by Cathy Casey from Miriam McCarthy with Deirdre Cooney third. Ellie Cotgreave won the gross.

The president’s prize to the juniors was won by Sive Timmons with 47 points.

Flyers Kirsty claims IRGT final for Fitzgeralds

by Michael Maher news@clareecho.ie

Saturday’s Galway card featured some race week stake semi-final action with the Final of the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust A3 Stake the feature contest of 11.

As the traps rose for the feature contest, Menmal King was just about best away ahead of Flyers Kirsty and Tinks Abbie and rounding the opening bend he led by almost a length. Rounding the bend though the Michael Fitzgerald of Kilrush owned Flyers Kirsty railed superbly to edge into a one length lead entering the back straight. Racing down the back Flyers Kirsty led Tinks Abbie by almost two lengths and once again tracking well out of the back straight the daughter of Ballymac Cashout and Ballymac Arminta then dug deep in the home straight to score by a length from Tinks Abbie in 28.97.

Friday night’s card was dominated by Mini Sweepstake Semi Finals in various grades the finals of which will take place on Saturday but there was no doubting the story of the night and that was the treble landed by The Flaherty Family Syndicate with the three Rinnwood winners on the night namely Leo, Duke and Gem from the successful Pestana-Rinnwood Pearl litter. A further backstory to the achievement was that the dam Rinnwood Pearl (Droopys Cian-Rinnwood Niamh) was part of a kennel hat-trick along with Rinnwood Mikey and Amy back in 2017. The Family Syndicate made up of Proud Grandfather Ted his son Dessie and granddaughter Niamh who has been in charge of the current litter.

In the first semi-final of the Friends of Galway A4 Stake all six runners were in contention as they rounded the first bend, Creevy Bird took a narrow advantage along the inner from Blueway Best and Derra Dolly. Racing down the back Creevy Bird opened up a four length advantage over her rivals headed by Derra Dolly who did begin to close nearing the third bend. Rounding the home bend the leader drifted wide and this allowed the Rachel Murray and Sean O’Riordan of Sixmilebridge owned Derra Dolly(Droopys Sydney-Astro Abby) her chance and the Stephen Murray trained lady led close home to score by three parts of a length in 29.43.

In the Novice 525 yards contest race number two on the card Rosshill Daithi the Joe and Brendan Long of Ballyea owned Rosshill Daithi took command of the con-

test after a competitive first bend, as the son of Good News and Magical Elsie drew clear to defeat Conclusion by four and a half lengths in 29.66.

There was an eye catching performance by De Gander Pen on last Saturday night’s Limerick Card owned by the Ore-Yont Syndicate which comprises of 18 gentlemen from the Quin area, this smashing son of Droopys Sydney and Glengar Badminton recorded a career best and 7th career win in 28.49.

On last Thursday night of the 12 races on offer, five Clare owners were in the winner’s enclosure in Limerick. Trembling Gloria recorded her first success for Ennistymon’s Tom Flanagan with a 29.26 victory in an A5 graded contest, Gloria is a daughter of Romeo Recruit and Trembling Juliet.

Ryans Lemon, a son of Droopys Cain and Lemon Abigail, trained by Patreen’s Joe Collins for the Shankyle Syndiacte recorded a seventh career victory in 29.57.

Dardis Whitepaws followed up from last week’s victory with another one in 29.32 from Donal and Darren Cooney from O’Callaghan Mills, this was this son of Dorotas Wildcat and Urban Fashion, a third win on the bounce and eight in total.

Quilty Horace, a son of Droopys Cain and Klockwork Tip, recorded a sixth win in 29.04, for Seamus Burke from Ennis, and is trained by Cooraclare’s Paddy Conlon. The fastest performance went to Amy’s Jack for Shannon’s Peter Russell, with a 28.85 victory, this was career win 8 for this son of Skywalker Rafa and Notimetotalk who is trained by Donie Duggan.

The greyhound community lost a beloved member this week with the sad passing of Úna O’Sullivan who was based in Kildare but has very strong Clare roots and connections. Along with her husband John, Úna was a great supporter, owner, breeder, and sponsor of grey-

hound sport.

In recent times, she owned some hugely talented trackers including Ballymore Border. Also the passing of Kitty Warren of Kilmaley at Milford Hospice last weekend left her family and many friends in deep sadness.

President Maria Nolan, Cathy Casey Winner & lady Captain Michelle Bennet

Liam Fitzgerald being presented trophy by Dylan Brennan Galway track trainer, Colm Fitzgerald and Oran Fitzgerald

Bricks: We're now in chasing pack

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

THREE years apart from Jack Daly is viewed as an awful long time for Kilmurry Ibrickane, organising a reunion is on their minds as they chase a 17th senior title.

On Sunday, Dublin’s victory over Kerry in the All-Ireland football final saw Stephen Cluxton, James McCarthy and Michael Fitzsimons win their ninth senior championships. In Kilmurry Ibrickane, Enda Coughlan, Michael O’Dwyer and Evan Talty have already claimed nine Clare SFC medals.

Their first medals were obtained in 2002, O’Dwyer starting in the full-forward line, Coughlan coming on as a substitute and Talty an unused substitute. Their roles have changed in the interval and the amount of game-time afforded to them is rarely a 60 minute appearance.

Nonetheless their service to the club is to be lauded. Boss James Murrihy is one of the many individuals within Quilty, Mullagh, Coore and Annagh to appreciate their contributions. “Their mantra is you are retired long enough, you might as well keep playing while the opportunities present themselves."

Four years is the longest period since the 2002 win that Kilmurry Ibrickane have waited to win the title, it occurred twice from 2004 until 2008 and again from 2012 to 2016. Seeing Éire Óg’s current dominance will fuel the appetite of the Bricks. “I wouldn’t say there’s a level of impatience here, for a long time we were the hunted on and off every year, now we are the hunters. There’s a group of clubs like Éire Óg, Ennistymon, St Breckan’s, Lissycasey and Corofin who will all be looking to lead the pack. Each year the championship brings on a life of its own, Éire Óg are the standard bearers now and we’re in the chasing pack”.

New faces have joined James in the man-

agement team. Ex Clare players Odran O’Dwyer and David Russell have departed for coaching roles with St Breckan’s and Doonbeg with Kevin Sexton also bowing out as a selector. Into the frame comes Galway native James Mannion as coach and Kilmihil’s Enda O’Halloran as selector, a role he also fulfilled when Murrihy was manager of the Clare intermediate ladies football team. Indeed they will face off with O’Dwyer and St Breckan’s this Friday in what is their first championship meeting against the men from Doolin, Kilshanny and Lisdoonvarna since they won the 2019 intermediate title. For this battle, James will not be able to call on his midfield general Aidan McCarthy who remains sidelined with a quad injury. Coupled with their experience heads is an abundance of quality in the likes of Keelan Sexton, Daniel Walsh, Dermot Coughlan which is aided by the battling qualities of the Hickey brothers, Martin McMahon and Daragh Sexton which will see Kilmurry Ibrickane remain in the mix until the concluding stages of the championship to take the crown off Éire Óg.

KILMURRY IBRICKANE

MANAGEMENT: James Murrihy (manager), James Mannion (coach), Enda O’Halloran (selector), Diarmuid Whelan (selector), Gary Sexton (selector),

BACKROOM TEAM: Aaron Ryan, Peter

O’Dwyer, Tom O’Connor, Micheál Talty, Paul Shanahan.

PHYSIO: Michelle Downes, David Byrne

CAPTAIN: TBC

KEY PLAYER: Keelan Sexton

ONE TO WATCH: Cathal Talty

FRESH BLOOD: Tomas Sexton, Cathal Talty,

ST BRECKAN'S

MANAGEMENT: Declan O’Keeffe (manager), Odran O’Dwyer (selector/coach), Pat Haugh (selector), Jersey O’Loughlin (selector), John Mooney (selector), John Petty (selector), John Earls (medical)

Captain: Cian Burke

KEY PLAYER: Joe McGann

ONE TO WATCH: Denis O’Callaghan

FRESH BLOOD: Padraig Dwyer, Macdara Garrihy, Aidan O’Loughlin, Paddy Haugh

DEPARTURES GATE: Tristan O’Callaghan (emigrated), Aiden Davidson (emigrat-

ed), Ciaran Flanagan (emigrated), Michael Flanagan (emigrated), Dale Masterson (ACL injury)

TITLES WON: None

LAST SEASON’S RUN: Defeated by one point in the quarter-final by Ennistymon

SCHEDULE:

Round 1 vs Kilmurry Ibrickane in Cusack Park on August 4th at 7pm

Round 2 vs St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield on August 18th/19th/20th

Round 3 vs Corofin on September 1/2/3

Breckan's strive for consistency

by Páraic McMahon

AN ELEMENT of continuity exists despite a change of management for St Breckan’s but they will hope that their status as contenders transpires to reality.

Since winning the intermediate title in 2019 and reaching the provincial final that year, St Breckan’s have acquitted themselves well in senior football. They have reached successive semi-finals in 2020 and 2021 along with making the quarter-finals last season.

Donie Garrihy was central to making the North Clare outfit a force, the man is a giant within the community and certainly leaves big boots to fill. Two-time All Star Declan O’Keeffe was never afraid to put his body on the line when manning the goals for Kerry, he had been coach of the side under Garrihy’s tenure but now steps up to the role of manager with former Clare great Odran O’Dwyer joining him as coach.

Conor Kearney, Tom O’Flaherty.

DEPARTURES GATE: N/A

TITLES WON: 16

LAST SEASON’S RUN: Eliminated in the semi-finals by Ennistymon, penalty shootout

SCHEDULE:

Round 1 vs St Breckans on August 4th in Cusack Park at 7pm

Round 2 vs Corofin on August 18th/19th/20th

Round 3 vs St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield on September 1st/2nd/3rd

Becoming manager was never part of the plan and Declan admits he hasn’t fully transitioned from coach to manager, just yet. “I’m still coaching, Odran is doing the coaching with me but I dip in and out of the coaching bucket. It is very difficult and a different role being the manager, it has its own difficulties with its own administration on top of the coaching role...It is a different role but I love it”.

“It’s just to continue what has been done, Donie did

absolutely fabulous work before me, he brought great organisation and a culture around the group, I’m just continuing the great work done before me.”

What differs is the personnel available, Tristan O’Callaghan was first choice goalkeeper for Clare never mind his club before he jetted off to Australia, corner forward Aiden Davidson and the Flanagans Ciaran and Micheal are also Down Under.

“Those guys were all nailed starters so it has been a job of work trying to replace them and get the standard up with the rest of the panel,” the two-time All-Ireland SFC winner admitted.

Undoubtedly St Breckan’s are viewed as one of the top teams in the county but

a chink in their armour has emerged when it came to the semi-finals of 2020 and 2021 versus Cratloe and Éire Óg while the quarter-final loss to Ennistymon last season saw them outfought.

Producing consistent displays is key to rectifying this, O’Keeffe says. “They are a very young group who are learning all the time. We are trying to get a level of consistency, we have had some good performance followed by poor performances. In those defeats, we felt we didn’t perform on the day but on any given day it can go right or wrong, that is football and that is sport but we are just trying to get more consistency in our performances”.

Their most recent setback was losing out in the FutureTicketing Cusack Cup final to neighbours Ennistymon on a score of 0-10 0-08, their return of 0-02 from play proving costly over the hour. Both Jack Sheedy and Padraig Kelly, two pillars of the Breckan’s side missed that final and are expected to be back in contention for starting roles this weekend.

Three teams will qualify from Group 1, the easiest route to the knockout stages is by winning every game, the Quin based Garda flagged. “We can only take every day as it comes, if you go down the road in the sense to be happy with third place or trying to judge things like that it doesn’t work out in my book, we’re going to try win on Friday and try win every game”.

paraic@clareecho.ie

l Dermot Coughlan will be a vital component of Kilmurry Ibrickane’s side Photo by Gerard O'Neill

l Colm O’Brien of Breckan’s

Photo by Gerard O'Neill

Corofin on crusade for knockout stages

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

REACHING the last four of the Clare SFC in their first season back in the top tier was a case of being back with a bang to the senior grade for Corofin. Now they must replicate the act to maintain this level of progress.

Beaten Munster intermediate club finalists in 2021, Corofin recorded wins over St Joseph’s Miltown and Lissycasey in their return to the senior ranks which sealed their passage to a first semi-final in 27 years. It was here they learned some harsh lessons as Éire Óg kept the scoreless for the entirety of the second half on their way to recording a 1-11 0-03 win.

That was back in October and now with the dawn of a new campaign, joint manager Douglas Hurley admitted they are targeting a return to the knockout stages. “Anything less than getting out of the group will be seen as a step back. We were underdogs in most games last year, there is more pressure on us to perform this time round but hopefully it won’t bother the lads.

“Our focus is to consolidate our status first and foremost, we got to a semi-final last year and we’d be hoping to be there or thereabouts to show progression, we want to reach the same place and go on.

"This game this weekend could be the decider between

the perceived weaker teams in a very tough group,” the director of estate agents DNG

O’Sullivan Hurley added. Assessing the progression, Hurley is fully of the view it will be dictated by their cohort of players between the age of 20 and 22. “Hopefully we will have Diarmuid Cahill available but we’re not sure, he’s 21, then we have Cillian McGroary who is U20 and was still only 19 playing for us last year, Marc O’Loughlin, Kevin Keane, Sean O’Brien and Gearoid Cahill are all still young but we’d be hoping the progression will come from them whereas the likes of Jamie Malone, Gearoid Kelly and Fionn Clancy are the guys upping the standards for us”.

Difficult groups is something Corofin are accustomed to. They defied the odds to be one of the three teams to emerge alongside Éire Óg and St Breckan’s last

season which consigned St Joseph’s Miltown to the relegation series. “We got out of the group with one win last year, it’s quite possible the same could happen again but Doora/Barefield would be looking at it the same way. In our first year back at the top level we did struggle when it came to the more defensively set teams but our experience

COROFIN

MANAGEMENT: Douglas

Hurley (joint manager), Geoff

O’Sullivan (joint manager), Peadar O’Brien (selector), Donnchadh Kelleher (selector), Vincent McCarthy (selector), Eoin Keane (selector), Tony Kenny (analysis)

CAPTAIN: Gearoid Cahill

KEY PLAYER: Jamie Malone

ONE TO WATCH: Marc

O’Loughlin

FRESH BLOOD: Josh O’Brien, Caoimhin O’Dono-

van, James Organ,

DEPARTURES GATE: N/A

LAST YEAR'S RUN: Reached first senior semi-final in 27 years, lost to Éire Óg by eleven points

TITLES WON: None

SCHEDULE: Round 1 vs Doora/Barefield in Shannon on August 5, 3pm Round 2 vs Kilmurry Ibrickane on August 18/19/20 Round 3 vs St Breckan’s on September 1st/2nd/3rd

of playing in the Cusack Cup this year and the games from last year’s championship will stand to us and we will play smarter,” Hurley stated.

Relegation from the Cusack Cup means Corofin drop straight back down to competing in the Garry Cup for 2024 but the league campaign certainly had merit for the North Clare side. “We got the experience of being in the Cusack Cup but we were relegated. Ennistymon beat us to avoid going down and then ending up winning the competition, that shows just how tight the Cusack Cup was. Unduly going back down didn’t really bother us, we played a few games when we were missing over 10 players so it is allowed us to blood lads in”.

For Saturday’s tie against St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield, they are likely to be without lively attacker Diarmuid Cahill who also missed Corofin’s opening encounter in the Clare IHC when they proved far too strong for O’Callaghans Mills.

Recording a 24-point win to commence the hurling campaign will lift Corofin as they switch their focus to the big ball. “They will be on a high, we have the couple of Crusheen and Ruan lads coming into the mix too but we’re only getting to focus solely on football now. Doora/Barefield have a crossover of five from the hurling, they could play a football chal-

lenge before the first round of the hurling whereas we can’t, we have 100 percent crossover, we can’t operate one without the other in Corofin, we can’t start planning properly until Tuesday night to lay things out."

There is a familiarity between Corofin and The Parish. “They won’t fear us, we drew with them in the Garry Cup last year, they got the

better of us in the intermediate final in 2020, we’ve played them at A level up along the underage grades, we both play a similar brand of football and have a similar age profile,” Douglas observed. One win will likely do it for teams in Group 1 to progress to the knockout stages, achieving it in the opening round is an opportunity Corofin cannot afford to let slip.

Parish pumped for big ball redemption

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

TWO unsiccessful outings in the Clare senior hurling championship has strengthened the determination within the ranks of St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield to kick their football campaign off on a winning note.

Defeats to Scariff and Kilmaley have blotted the copybook of Doora/Barefield’s return to the top grade of the Clare SHC fresh from winning the intermediate ti-

tle last season. The footballers claimed the intermediate crown in 2020 and have made the knockout stages for the past two seasons at the top table.

Clondegad ended their aspirations last year in the preliminary quarter-final while it was the actual quarter-final where Lissycasey eliminated them in 2021.

For year three back in the Clare SFC, they are aspiring to again emerge from their group, manager Donagh

Vaughan told The Clare

Echo, “The aim is quite similar to last year, we’re year three in senior, we’re not the new boys anymore but we’re still developing. We still have a gap in the middle in terms of our age profile, we have one 28 year old and then we’re down to 23 and 24 year olds.

“That said, we were beaten in the Garry Cup final but we still got to the top division which is important for us as a club and also important for the lads to start improving as a group. We got to the final and lost after extra time, it

DOORA-BAREFIELD

MANAGEMENT: Donagh Vaughan (manager), Maurice Walsh (selector), Ger ‘Bobby’ Kelly (selector/coach), Davy O’Brien (selector/coach)

CAPTAIN: Jack Hannan

KEY PLAYER: Tom McDonald

ONE TO WATCH: James Curran

FRESH BLOOD: Tom Curran, Oisin O’Donnell, Odhran O’Connell

DEPARTURES GATE: Eoin Hanrahan (emigrated), Tom Hannan (ACL injury), Cian Barron

TITLES WON: 1

LAST SEASON’S RUN: Reached preliminary quarter-final but exited with ten point loss to Clondegad

SCHEDULE:

Round 1 vs Corofin in Shannon on August 5th at 3pm

Round 2 vs St Breckan’s on August

18th/19th/20th

Round 3 vs Kilmurry Ibrickane on September 1st/2nd/3rd

was a great workout prior to championship. Miltown have their act together this year and are taking it very serious so it was very good preparation for us”.

Vaughan continued, “We want to get out of the group but it is a tough group, we know Corofin quite well, we played them in the league last year and in the intermediate final three years ago and got the better of them. We played each other plenty of times at underage level and the two teams know each other well, they bounced up from the intermediate the year after we beat them and got to the semi-finals of the senior last year, they have definitely improved but the question is how much we have improved”.

To reach the knockout stages is certainly their goal but it doesn’t bring undue pressure, Donagh explained. “We’d love to get out of the group, because two of the teams in the group are seeded that means three teams will get out of the group. It is a tough group but it would be

great for us to be one of the three, all eyes are on game one for us”.

Donagh who is also manager of The Grove in Roslevan outlined that they have been “working fine” in terms of handling dual-players.

“Oisin O’Brien is my contact for the hurling management and we are working well together. There are about six to seven starters playing in both codes, it takes managing but it works well. As you go along you worry about player fatigue, we’re used to it at this stage”.

Their motivation has not dipped despite two opening defeats in the hurling championship. “We trained at 8:30 on Sunday morning and all dual players were there, the hurlers had played a game the day be-

fore. They’re coming with the right attitude and the players want to win this”.

Cian Barron has opted to focus solely on hurling only this year with key man Tom Hannan ruled out due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, ex-county minor Eoin Hanrahan is another gone from last year’s side as the qualified primary school teacher has emigrated. On the plus side, they are able to call on both Darragh O’Shea and Conor O’Brien who missed last year’s campaign due to injury.

Fionn Kelleher is continuing his recovery from a groin injury and he may make a return during the group stages.

PICTURED: Tom McDonald’s experience as part of the extended Clare football panel can be an asset for Doora/Barefield Photo by Gerard O'Neill

l Corofin’s Fionn Clancy Photo by Gerard O'Neill

Doonbeg want West Clare bragging rights

by Seamus Hayes news@clareecho.ie

DOONBEG had the edge on St Joseph’s Miltown when they met in last year’s relegation semi-final and the Magpies are determined to maintain the upperhand when it comes to their first round tie this Friday.

Facing Miltown in the opening round this Friday evening in Cooraclare at 7pm is going to be a tough challenge according to Magpies manager John Keane.

“The whole focus is on Miltown who seem to have a bit of form at the minute. They have already won the Garry Cup and just last week they captured the O’Gorman cup”, noted the Doonbeg boss.

“All the groups will be tough and with the exception of champions Éire Óg who are the favourites, there appears to be little between the teams”, he continued. “No one wants to be in the relegation.”

Despite winning their closing games in

the league, Doonbeg were relegated and will compete in the Gary Cup next season Mention of injuries, Doonbeg will be without Tadhg Lillis for this campaign. He suffered a cruciate injury recently which has put him out for the season and his loss is a big blow to the team which has also lost last year’s captain Paraic Ahearne to retirement.

It’s been 13 years since the Jack Daly cup last spent the winter in Doonbeg and for a club with 18 titles to their name since their first success in 1955, that is a long wait.

Former inter-county star David Tubridy is the Doonbeg’s best-known player and he has been their top scorer in league and championship for some time while they will also be looking to Cian O’Mahoney, Mikie Tubridy and Kevin McInerney to lead their challenge.

“The championship is the target. We have prepared well and we will give it our best shot. It’s going to be a tough challenge but you have to be ready”, concluded Keane.

DOONBEG

MANAGEMENT: John Keane (Manager), David Russell (coach); Kieran O’Mahoney, Padraig Gallagher, Conor Whelan (Selectors)

Megan Downes (S and C), Aine Moloney (physio) Ashling O’Mahoney and Ava Keane (Stats); John Killeen (kitman)

CAPTAIN: Cian O’Mahoney

VICE-CAPTAIN: Kevin McInerney

KEY PLAYER: David Tubridy

ONE TO WATCH: Darragh Burns

FRESH BLOOD: Gavin O’Shea, Rory Walsh, Shane Bermingham, Conor Linnane

DEPARTURE GATE: Tadhg Lillis (Long term injury) Paraic Ahearne (Retired), Brian Egan (retired).

TITLES WON: 18

LAST SEASON’S RUN: Finished bottom of their group but survived relegation when beating St Joseph’s Miltown after extra time.

SCHEDULE:

Round 1 v St Joseph’s Miltown

Round 2 v Clondegad

Round 3 v Éire Óg

MILTOWN MALBAY

MANAGEMENT: Martin Guerin (manager), John McDonagh, David Talty ,Jim Marrinan (coaches and selectors); Dylan Kenny(S&C); Aidan O’Looney and Shane O’Connell (Physios), Gerry O’Connor and Joe Talty (Kitmen) Grainne Travers (Nutritionist), James Anastasia, Paul Tubridy, David Meade, Francis Cahill (Stats) Brian Ball (secretary)

CAPTAIN: Enda O’Gorman

KEY PLAYER: Cormac Murray

ONE TO WATCH: Cian Mahoney

FRESH BLOOD: Oisin Meade, Cillian

Keavey, Euan Lineen, Patrick Greene, Sean Hayes, Cormac Byrne Jnr, Cormac O’Loughlin, Tim Lenihan;

DEPARTURE GATE: None

TITLES WON: 15

LAST SEASON’S RUN: Finished bottom in group but survived relegation, beating Kilmihil in relegation decider.

SCHEDULE: Round 1 v Doonbeg Round 2 v Éire Óg

Round 3 v Clondegad

Miltown looking to build

by Seamus Hayes news@clareecho.ie

ST JOSEPH’S Miltown head into this season’s championship on the back of impressive runs in the Garry and O’Gorman cup competitions, both of which they won.

In fact, they have lost just once in competitive fare this season in their final group game in the Garry Cup at which time they had already qualified for the final.

“This is a new competition and the league has no bearing now. [Doonbeg] have had the upperhand on us in recent meetings. They are a big strong side and they still have experience with the likes of David Tubridy while they have brought in a couple of young players”, says Miltown manager Martin Guerin who is in his first season in the role.

“We have tried to inject a bit more youth into the team and there is a bit of transition

there as well”, said the Liscannor man.

The Cleary twins, two of the team’s most experienced players, have had their difficulties with injuries in recent times and Eoin, the Clare senior football captain, isn’t expected to play in this week’s first round. Conor hobbled off at the end of Kilmaley’s first round hurling championship win over Ballyea last

week but he has returned to fitness and hopes are high that he will be in the squad for the clash.

Guerin told The Clare Echo, “this will go down to the wire, down to the last ten minutes. It’s a 50-50 game. Our wins in the Garry and O’Gorman cups have been good preparation but that is all. The championship is a separate competition”.

He continued, “the first game in the championship is crucial. Everyone will be fighting tooth and nail for victory and we can’t afford to look any further ahead. We are in a very tough group with the reigning county champions, Éire Óg and Clondegad who are a good championship team”. Results this season point to a victory for Miltown and both sides will feel that a win here will go a long way to ensuring that neither will be in the relegation play off.

Ennistymon 'know all about Kildysart'

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

ENNISTYMON built strong foundations with their journey to the final last season but with the dawning of a new campaign they must now begin the process brick by brick of assembling their journey back there.

Ennistymon find themselves in a sticky Group 4 alongside reigning intermediate champions Kildysart, twotime champions Cratloe and quarter-finalists for the past four seasons Lissycasey.

That all four teams will fancy their chances of making the quarter-finals is a view shared by Ennistymon manager, Mark Shanahan.

“Since the senior football championship has gone to 12 teams it has been really well contested, I totally agree that all four teams will fancy their chances of making the knockout stages”.

Kicking off with a tie against Kildysart in Corofin on Friday is certainly viewed as a tricky encounter. “There’s always a bounce factor from the team coming up from the intermediate grade. Kildysart have given us two games in the Cusack Cup over the last two years and they have beaten us comprehensively on both occasions, that is the bottom line, we know all about them in that regard so they are definitely a team on the up”.

No better statement could

ENNISTYMON

MANAGEMENT: Mark Shanahan (manager), Ger Quinlan (coach/selector), Brendan Rouine (selector), John McInerney (selector), Brian Conway (selector)

CAPTAIN: Cillian Rouine

KEY PLAYER: Cillian Rouine

ONE TO WATCH: Brian McNamara

FRESH BLOOD: Paudie Considine, Liam Devitt, Ciaran Devitt, Mark Kelleher, Sean Conneally, James Cullinan.

DEPARTURES GATE: Kevin Hehir (injury/travel), Cathal O’Reilly (transfer).

TITLES WON: None

LAST SEASON’S RUN: Beaten county finalists

SCHEDULE:

Round 1 vs Kildysart in Corofin on August 4 at 7pm

Round 2 vs Lissycasey, Aug 18/19/20

Round 3 vs Cratloe on September 1/2/3

be made by Kildysart themselves in the senior race by upsetting Ennistymon in the first round. The North Clare side will be without the injured trio of Cillian Rouine, Darragh Conneally and Diarmuid Ryan, “they definitely won’t be featuring,” Shanahan confirmed while Brendy Rouine is also unlikely to make his first senior appearance for Ennistymon this year and midfielder Cathal Malone is out of the country for the opening round. Such losses can shake a team but those who saw Ennistymon up close last year will have witnessed how they

brought resilience to the fore on countless occasions, indeed it was one of the standout traits that led them all the way to the county final as injuries were a constant thorn in their side in 2022.

Reflecting on their run last year, Mark recounted, “We were genuinely gutted to lose the final but when the dust settled and we saw where we came from we were happy, there was big foundations put in place that we can build on from last year”.

External expectations are for Ennistymon to be among the last four teams standing in the race for the Jack Daly.

Aiding their own ambition is the lift provided by winning the Cusack Cup, an impressive turnaround as they were at risk of relegation from the top tier of the league entering the third last round of games. “It was a fair achievement, I wouldn’t say it has little or no relevance to the championship, I’m not trying to be clever but I genuinely don’t think it has, it was good for us and good for confidence”.

Winning the Cusack Cup gave only the smallest of samples as to what senior success tasted like for Ennistymon, it could be the first such occasion this year but

they must demonstrate their resilience and attacking ability in spades in order to add to the trophy cabinet.

l Seanie Malone

Photo by Gerard O'Neill

l Utility man Sean Rouine

Photo by Gerard O'Neill

Cratloe's bouncebackability test beckons

by Eoin Brennan news@clareecho.ie

CRATLOE’S latest dual senior championship tilt appeared to be going swimmingly until last Friday’s spanner in the works.

With as close to a full hand to pick from as any team could hope for, optimism abounded once more as the hurlers readied themselves for the off in Cusack Park.

However, John O’Gorman’s side were immediate ly handed a sobering reality check from a ravenous New market-on-Fergus side who simply outfought and outthought their neighbours.

Of course, it’s not the first bump in the road that Cratloe have en countered or even a first Round 1 set-back but being a derby and an opportunity to lay down an early marker in a group

not blaring just yet.

A mere eight-day turnaround to their senior football opener could well be a blessing in disguise as with little time to wallow in self-pity, the large crossover between the two squads should relish the opportunity to make an immediate amends and prove that their nine-point hurling reverse was a mere blip.

Any lingering doubts will undoubtedly be addressed by the county’s longest serving club manager as Colm Collins is embarking on his 17th season in Cratloe.

“It’s awfully important to try and start fast, especially for a dual club. We had a tough auld

day evening in the Park but that’s gone now, there’s nothing that we can do about it so we just have to focus the minds again and see how we can tackle the next game this Saturday,” Colm told The Clare Echo

With an additional eight exclusively football panellists joining Cratloe’s pack for the senior football opener in Clarecastle this Saturday, Collins, who manages the side with long-serving sidekick Sean O’Dea as well as Brian O’Connell and Shane Markham, do have a deeper squad to be able to cope better with any injuries etc.

“Rian Considine went off injured on Friday so we’ll just have to assess him during the week and see how he is but other than that, I think everyone came through alright,” admitted Collins.

In a group that involves the reigning Cusack Cup and

CRATLOE

MANAGEMENT: Colm Collins (Manager); Sean O’Dea, Brian O’Connell, Shane Markham (Coaches/Selectors); Oscar O’Dwyer (S&C); Ger Crotty (Physio)

CAPTAIN: Kevin Harnett

KEY PLAYER: Cathal McInerney

ONE TO WATCH: Riain McNamara

FRESH BLOOD: Cathal Lohan, Riain McNamara

DEPARTURE GATE: Rian Considine (Injured)

TITLES WON: 2

LAST SEASON’S RUN: Quarter-Finalists

SCHEDULE

Round 1 - v Lissycasey at Clarecastle, Saturday

4.30pm

for Collins and Co is a third championship showdown in four years against Lissycasey. “They’ve really great underage players coming through and a lot of talented players starting to shine on their senior team. They’ve been very good over the last few years, contested a couple of semi-finals so they have experience and youth and it’s going to be a difficult challenge undoubtedly”.

The opening round of the 2020 Jack Daly race saw Lissycasey lower Cratloe after extra-time while the pressure was slightly subdued for their rematch last summer as both were already through to the quarter-finals.

The stakes are much higher this time, with that added unwanted ingredient of a point to prove ensuring that this is an early four pointer in an already merciless group.

PICTURED: Cratloe’s Diarmuid Ryan will once again be leading the charge as they go in search of a winning start. Photo by Gerard O'Neill

Round 2 - v Kildysart (Weekend of August 19/20th)

Round 3 - v Ennistymon (Weekend of September 1st/2nd/3rd)

Exciting new chapter

by Eoin Brennan news@clareecho.ie

EIGHTEEN years since tasting senior championship action, Kildysart commence a new chapter in Corofin this Friday.

Following an agonising series of heartbreaks including four final reverses in six seasons, they finally clinched a first intermediate crown since 2003 last October and with that monkey finally off their backs, Kildysart are relishing the opportunity to finally express themselves at senior level.

“We’re excited and really looking forward to it,” exclaimed David Butler who has stepped up to the manager’s role

for 2023. "Even though it has never been said, realistically it was now or never for the group we always felt last year. It was a kind of unspoken word within the group so to finally get over the line the way we did against Cooraclare in the intermediate final was almost a relief.

"You could see it when we went back to training that there was an extra pep in lads’ step as we have fellas there like Keith O’Connor, Brian Eyres and Kieran Leahy who have been on the road with this Kildysart side for a long, long time and have given so much to get us to this level. However, with the step up to senior, everything

KILDYSART

MANAGEMENT: David Butler (Manager); John O’Sullivan (Coach); Jacko Cleary, John Murtagh, Terry Murphy, Darragh Butler (Selectors); Kieran Connelly (Physio)

CAPTAIN: Keith O’Connor

KEY PLAYER:

Emmet McMahon

ONE TO WATCH: Jack Cotter

FRESH BLOOD: None

goes up another level too” Butler told The Clare Echo

Indeed, Kildysart were essentially a senior side in all but name in recent seasons, having contested a first ever Cusack Cup last year along with winning the O’Gorman Cup in 2021. Carrying a wave of momentum, Kildysart will hope to get a senior bounce like St Breckan’s did when soaring to back-to-back Jack Daly Cup semi-finals in their first two seasons back in the top tier along with a similar surge from 2021 intermediate champions Corofin to contest last year’s penultimate senior stage.

Transition time at Lissycasey

LISSYCASEY

MANAGEMENT: Aiden Moloney (Manager); Jimmy Collins, Pakie Keane, Danny Lynch (Selectors); Keir McNamara (Physio); Danny Pyne (Video Analysis); Seamus Hayes (Stats)

CAPTAIN: Conor Finnucane

KEY PLAYER: Conor Finnucane

ONE TO WATCH: Shane Culligan

FRESH BLOOD: Cathal Considine, Fionn Cotter, Matthew Culleton, Shane Culligan, Daire Hill, Darren Keane, Darragh Killeen, Michael Meaney, Evan

by Eoin Brennan news@clareecho.ie

BACK-TO-BACK

DEPARTURE GATE: None

TITLES WON: 1 LAST SEASON’S RUN: Intermediate Champions SCHEDULE Round 1 - v Ennistymon at Corofin, Friday 7pm Round 2 - v Cratloe (Weekend of August 19/20th)

Round 3 - v Lissycasey (Weekend of September 1st/2nd/3rd)

“There is momentum and of course we’d love to be in that situation too but to be honest when we have such a tough start, it has just been Ennistymon, Ennistymon and Ennistymon in our minds since the draw was made,” the Kildysart manager admitted.

“It’s probably the toughest start you could get seeing as they won the Cusack Cup only a few weeks ago and were in last year’s final...it’s all about performing for us on Friday and give as good a rattle as we can.”

semi-finalists as recently as 2021, Lissycasey could line out for their latest tilt at the Jack Daly with just a mere third of the team that lined out in that final October penultimate stage clash against Kilmurry Ibrickane.

That’s a remarkable turnover of players in two years but is the reality that faces new manager Aiden Moloney who ironically plotted Lissycasey’s downfall as manager of the ‘Bricks in those semi-final showdowns in 2020 and ’21.

Fortunately for Lissycasey, there’s an ex-

O’Haire, Colin O’Shea

DEPARTURE GATE: Seamus Collins, Aaron Griffin, Ryan Griffin (abroad); Niall McCarthy, Cian Meaney (injured)

TITLES WON: 1

LAST SEASON’S RUN: Quarter-Finalists

SCHEDULE

Round 1 - v Cratloe at Clarecastle, Saturday 4.30pm

Round 2 - v Ennistymon (August 19/20) Round 3 - v Kildysart (Sep 1/2/3)

citing conveyor belt of talent emerging which means that Moloney possesses the raw materials to construct a new team.

So while the future in maroon and white does look extremely bright, it’s the present that concerns the experienced manager who has captured seven Clare Senior Football crowns between playing and managerial exploits.

“Obviously there’s still a lot of the key soldiers there but a lot of new players will make their senior debuts this year as well,” Moloney told The Clare Echo.

Getting that blend between experience and pacy youthful exuber-

ance will inevitably be a swift learning curve for Lissycasey who haven’t much room for errors in such a difficult group that consists of last year’s finalists and Cusack Cup champions Ennistymon, intermediate winners Kildysart and 2020 finalists Cratloe.

“Cratloe have some really good players who know how to win and have been knocking on the door in the senior championship every year," notes McCarthy.

That contrast between Cratloe’s old guard and Lissycasey new front presents a fascinating opening tie in Clarecastle on Saturday (4.30pm) .

Éire Óg's engine ready to hit full throttle

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

HISTORY may beckon for Éire Óg but for now, all involved with their senior footballers is paying little credence to the annals of time.

As Ennis Dalcassians, as Ennis Faughs and as Éire Óg they have won 20 senior football championships but they have never won three in a row, something which may change if the Townies can regain their title - a feat that is viewed as most likely in this year’s race for honours.

Paul Madden continues as manager with an unchanged management team, except for the addition of Michael Carmody, a running coach who has been an ever-present part of Brian Lohan’s setup for the past four seasons.

Talk of history is quickly brushed aside by Madden. “The target is nearly always on our back as an Éire Óg

MANAGEMENT: Paul

Madden (manager), Seanie Buckley (coach), Peter Cosgrave, Shane Daniels, Tom Russell, Rory O’Brien (all selectors), Michael Carmody (athletic coach), Victor

O’Riordan (S&C)

CAPTAIN: Gavin Cooney

KEY PLAYER: Ciaran Russell

ONE TO WATCH: Colm

Walsh O’Loghlen

FRESH BLOOD: Dean Ryan (transferred back), Gavin Murray (transferred), Colm

team. We won in 2021 and with the players that we have it was always seen as fulfilling their potential that they should win one. Then we won again last year which is suddenly more of an issue for others to look at. We’re not focused on three in a row... for us it’s not a discussion point but it is just about competing in round one”.

Éire Óg itself have four senior football titles to its name but the motivation remains strong for the players that have delivered half of these championships for the Ennis club. "The hunger will always be there, as a club we’re aware that we’re not too high up the on roll of honour list. We have always developed players with potential and it was a word we grew to hate because potential is no good if you’re not in the business end of the championship”.

Dominant performances

ÓG

Walsh O’Loghlen.

DEPARTURES GATE: Aidan McGrath (emigrated), Conor O’Halloran (emigrated).

TITLES WON: 20 (including Dalcassians and Faughs)

LAST SEASON’S RUN: County champions.

SCHEDULE:

Round 1 vs Clondegad on Aug 5, Cusack Park at 6:30pm Rd 2 vs Miltown, Aug 18/19/20

Round 3 vs Doonbeg, Sep 1st/2nd/3rd

with powerful displays all over the field have seen Éire Óg’s footballers rightfully earn plaudits in the past two campaigns. They have only lost to one team in the championship in 2021 and 2022, that being their opponents this weekend, Clondegad. Madden recounted, “In 2021 we lost in round two and we had to get a victory in the third round to get out of

what was an extremely tough group. Clondegad had a very good league campaign which they normally do, they are a very difficult team to beat, it will be a tough challenge again on Saturday.”

While Clondegad are able to put strong plans in place during the Cusack Cup, Éire Óg are operating at a lower level in the league and are greatly diminished in terms of personnel due to the high volume of players on Clare panels in both codes.

Keeping quality in training has been central to their progression in recent seasons, the minor championship winner of 1992 maintained.

“The lads operating at the highest level; if you imagine it from a football perspective they are coming back to us at the highest level so the aim for lads not on the county set-up is to get exposed to the highest levels they can so the gap isn’t as vast when the two sides meet”.

Éire Óg were dealt a serious setback when David McNamara went off injured in the opening round of the hurling championship with a season-ending injury. Clare corner back Ronan Lanigan remains Stateside for the first round while Conall Ó hÁiniféin continues his recovery from an ACL injury.

Few teams could afford to ship such knocks but the strength in depth of Éire Óg has been a vital pillar of their

success. They welcome back Dean Ryan while ex-Westmeath footballer Gavin Murray has transferred and will add to their prowess in the middle third.

With the favourites tag resting on their shoulders, Éire Óg are without question the team to beat, whether someone has the ability to stop them in their tilt for three in a row will only be uncovered over the coming months.

Clondegad looking to catch champions

by Páraic McMahon paraic@clareecho.ie

THREE IN a row chasing

Éire Óg have only lost one championship game in the last two years, that a second round defeat to Clondegad in 2021, the men from Ballynacally will look to inflict another group loss on the Ennis side when they do battle this weekend.

As Clondegad put the finishing touches to preparations for this season’s senior football championship,

they are focusing on themselves “and on what we can achieve”, rather than looking at their opponents who happen to be the defending champions Éire Óg who are chasing a third title in a row this year.

That’s according to team manager Dermot Gavin who is in his first year in charge of the Ballynacally based club.

“We are a new management team and we are taking it one game at a time. That has been our approach all season. We used the league

CLONDEGAD

MANAGEMENT: Dermot Gavin (Manager), Robert Ford, Joe Hehir, Colm Quinlivan, Kieran Shannon, Keith McNamara; Garath Walsh (S&C), Aidan Cahill (Stats), Mike Weaving (Physio),

CAPTAIN: Gary Brennan

KEY PLAYER: Gary Brennan

ONE TO WATCH: Colm Meaney

FRESH BLOOD: Colm Meaney, Fiachra Kirby, Niall Carigg, Robbie Markham, Sean McAllister, Cian Kirby; Tadhg Ó hUallachain

to try and get a look at all the players we have available to us that we could establish what we have”, he said this week ahead of their opening game which is set for Saturday evening at Cusack Park. Asked if there is additional pressure because of the fact that they have been so close to a breakthrough in recent years, he said, “we have come in to do the best we can, the past is the past and we are just dealing with that and with the players who are available to us”.

DEPARTURE GATE: None

TITLES WON: None

LAST SEASON’S RUN: Finished third in group and then won play off for a quarter final place where they lost to eventual winners Eire Og

SCHEDULE: Round 1 v Éire Óg

Round 2 v Doonbeg

Round 3 v St Joseph’s Miltown

Clondegad made a great start to this season’s Cusack Cup winning their opening four games and drawing their next outing. Despite losing their final two group games, they had secured a semi-final spot but here they lost out to eventual winners Ennistymon.

Injuries didn’t help their cause and as they finalise arrangements for Saturday there is concern about the fitness of a few key players.

Shane Brennan impressed in the Cusack Cup but he suffered a serious injury in the semi-final and this has ruled him out of this week’s tie while his brother, inter county full back Cillian is currently out due to a hip injury. Daniel Kelly from last year’s under 21 team and newcomer Tadhg Ó hUallachain join the Brennan brothers on the injured list.

With 13 of their panel also members of the Ballyea senior hurling squad, Dermot accepts that, “it’s important to balance things for the dual players and to make sure that lads are not overloaded. It’s the same for every dual

club”.

Former Clare captain Gary Brennan will fill that role for the club and he remains a key member of the squad. Others that supporters of the team will be looking to as they seek to get a winning start include Brian Murphy, Conor Gavin, Peter Casey, Barry Toner and Podge McMahon to mention some.

There is no doubt but they face a serious test against the competition favourites but Clondegad have shown repeatedly that they can match the best. They are

sure to be boosted by Ballyea’s victory in the senior hurling championship last week while the club’s junior A side recently won their league title which will also have given a big lift to the senior squad.

Clondegad and Éire Óg last met in the senior championship quarter final last year when the town side had two goals to spare, winning on a 2-11 to 0-11 scoreline. Overturning that result is the focus for Clondegad this week.

PICTURED: Clondegad goalkeeper, Declan O’Loughlin

Photo by Gerard O'Neill

l Éire Óg's Gavin Cooney

Photo by Gerard O'Neill

Senior Hurling Championship roundup

CLARE SHC GROUP 3, ROUND 1

Newmarket 3-15 Cratloe 0-15

Venue: Cusack Park, Ennis

CLARE SHC GROUP 1, ROUND 2

Ballyea 1-16 Inagh-Kilnamona 0-15

Venue: Shannon

CLARE SHC GROUP 4, ROUND 1

Feakle 2-13 Éire Óg 2-11

Venue: Newmarket-on-Fergus

CLARE SHC GROUP 2, ROUND 1

Clonlara 2-15 O'Callaghan's Mills 1-17

Venue: O'Garney Park, Sixmilebridge

CLARE SHC GROUP 4, ROUND 1

Broadford 1-19 Clarecastle 2-09

Venue: O'Garney Park, Sixmilebridge

CLARE SHC GROUP 1, ROUND 2

Kilmaley 0-24 Doora-Barefield 2-10

Venue: Clarecastle

CLARE SHC GROUP 3, ROUND 1

Clooney-Quin 1-22 Wolfetones 2-11

Venue: Cusack Park, Ennis

Clonlara’s Colm O’Meara

CLARE SHC GROUP 2, ROUND 1

Sixmilebridge 1-21 Crusheen 0-20

Venue: Clarecastle

Players compete for possession

INTERMEDIATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PROFILES

CLARE

A wet sliotar doesn’t stop Colin Guilfoyle from clearing Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Gary Guilfoyle holds onto possession as he is fouled Sports Action Photography

Tony Kelly tries to block Seamus Foudy Sports Action Photography

Cathal Malone pushes off Oisin O'Donnell and Breffni Horner Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Dannan Fox is taken down by Aron Shanagher Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Eoin McMahon tackles Michael O'Malley Photo by Gerard O’Neill

Brendan Bugler of Whitegate

Photo by Gerard O’Neill For an in-depth look at every side in this year's Intermediate Football Championship, visit www.clareecho.ie. Pictured is Clare goalkeeper Stephen Ryan qho will be lining out for Kilrush in the Clare IFC Burren Eye Photography

Mulqueen set for Croker face-off

by Seamus Hayes news@clareecho.ie

OVERCOMING Armagh

was a case of third time lucky when it came to All-Ireland Junior camogie semi-finaloutcomes for midfielder Niamh Mulqueen.

Broadford’s Mulqueen has been part of a number of Clare teams that have reached All-Ireland semi-finals which ended in defeat, so “it’s savage to have got through to the final and we want to go on and get the result now”.

Speaking after training last Thursday the midfielder acknowledged that having the senior and junior teams train together all year has been beneficial to Clare camogie.

“We are all training together and driving each other on and some days go better than others. The senior team will get better as the junior team gets better. The junior team has been getting better and we are in the final and hopefully we can win and get up to intermediate.

"For most of those involved it will be their first time playing in Croke Park”, Niamh told The Clare Echo.

Reflecting on recent seasons, Niamh said “We

McGann proud to see Junior journey culminate in final

played Kerry in Cusack Park a few seasons back and they cleaned us on and went on to win it. That was their first team and they were much better than us on the day. We lost to Armagh in another semi-final and they went on to lose narrowly. We lost to Antrim in another semi-final and they went on to win it out. We have been so close every single time so hopefully we can go on and win it out now”.

Clare’s opponents in the final will be Tipperary who Niamh admits will be “They very, very good”.

Last year Clare and Tipperary juniors met and Clare emerged with a one point win in the Munster championship. The Clare midfielder expects a big Clare following at Sunday’s final. “A number of clubs have bus loads organised. Clare haven’t been in a camogie final in Croke Park since 2008. Hopefully supporters will see the hard work we have put in, we have been training since last October. These are the days people will remember. It makes it all worthwhile to be through to the final and hopefully we can get over the line”, she concluded.

by Seamus Hayes news@clareecho.ie

ANN-MARIE McGann was a selector with the junior side when differing managements were in charge of the county’s two adult sides prior to 2022. Since then she has been ever-present on the sidelines with both outfits in their pursuit of glory.

Clare selector McGann has devoted many seasons to promoting the game at schools, club and county levels.

“We came in in 2016 and I suppose we have come full circle now. We started off in Ballyline with the bare minimum of what we could get whether that was players, mentors, or facilities.

"We had a value on those club girls who might never see a senior jersey or may never have got a chance to wear a county jersey. That’s the value in this junior team, that it’s available to really good club players who can put their hand up and eventually push on to the senior.

"The focus in starting it up is that we value really good club players who weren’t making the senior squad but could make an impact at junior level and look where we are now”, the St. Flannan’s College teacher told The Clare Echo

A former goalkeeper with St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield, she said that her involvement at post-primary level has been an asset to her time in management. “There has been success in schools camogie. There had been a gap for a few years but between St. Flannan’s, the Coláiste and Tulla who had an outstanding couple of years and a lot of those girls have made their way onto starting club teams and onto Clare panels at under 16 and minor and now on the junior team while some have made their way onto the senior team as well.

“There is an importance

to look at club but also at schools camogie where the girls are playing with their friends and that has an impact in them keeping up the game when they leave school. It impacts on a county level and anyone that has some success at schools level will stay involved for a long time because they see the value in it and playing with their friends. If we could get more success at that level be it at A, B or C grades, we could see great success at county level”.

Ann-Marie agrees that having both senior and junior teams training together under the same management has helped. “We have an overview of players who can push on to senior level. Some have pushed on this year and last year and a few of these will push on in a year or two, That’s the real basis of having a joint management team, that we can see those players whereas before you were pulling girls

between senior and junior. If they make the step up we will decide that as a management team. You can see girls that are solely junior and are focusing on junior and girls that might have a chance of playing senior get a bit of game time in the league and that has been a huge success for the junior team this year”.

The experienced mentor felt that Clare “might have been in Croke Park a little bit earlier. In 2020 we got pulled out and we were tipped to be one of the top teams that year and it was very disappointing to be pulled out of it. Two or three very hard years have gone into this junior panel. We have seen a great panel of girls come together and it’s for the good of Clare camogie that we are in Croke Park on Sunday. The panel can really do well if we stay focussed over the next week”.

McGann continued, “Tipperary got a bit of a shock

at the weekend not getting over Waterford in the senior semi-final. It goes to show what can happen on a day. It comes down to on the day. There are a lot of nerves to take into account. These girls have never played in as big a stage as Croke Park and that goes for Tipperary as well. We have a tough test against Armagh under our belts and hopefully that will stand to us. Being four points down in that game we were looking at the bench to see what we were going to bring on and we brought on some fantastic players and they gave us fresh legs. We spoke all year about the importance of the panel. Unfortunately we can’t play everyone, we can only play twenty but everyone has played a huge part in getting us to Croke Park”.

She paid special tribute to former Junior captain, Kate O’Gorman. The Kilkishen player is currently in Australia and is not part of their squad for Sunday’s final. “She has been there from the very start and it’s unfortunate that she is missing the occasion. She has been a great backbone to this team over the years and has captained the team. This will be for those players who started out the journey in 2016. If we get over the line on Sunday this will be for them as well”.

She believes that “a number of these girls will push on to be senior players in the next year or two and build up that senior panel. Getting to an All-Ireland final really puts a good gloss on Clare camogie. The focus is on this junior team. We don’t get many days in Croke Park so hopefully we will have a big following. It’s a great day out. We have had over 140 sessions with this squad already this year and to win on Sunday would see us up to intermediate which would be a huge help going forward”.

l Mulqueen in action against Armagh ©INPHO/Evan Treacy

l Clare selector, Ann-Marie McGann Burren Eye Photography

'We are determined to get over the line' - Loughnane

by Seamus Hayes news@clareecho.ie

SARAH LOUGHNANE will have the task of hitting the frees when Clare’s Junior camogie side go in search of All-Ireland glory this weekend.

“This is what you dream of as a kid growing up. All you want to do is to play in Croke Park. At the start of this year we really sat down and said we have jobs to do. First it’s the league, then Munster and now its the All-Ireland championship. Next Sunday where would you rather be other than Croke Park”.

So said Clare forward Sarah Loughnane from Sixmilebridge when she spoke to The Clare Echo after completing another training session at Clareabbey last week.

Top scorer in the semi-final win over Antrim with 0-9 she accepts that “it’s the first time that 99% of our squad will play in Croke Park. Everyone is absolutely buzzing now ahead of the game”.

“We have come so close in recent years and when you come that close

it really hits and that has been the case, especially last year when it goes to extra time and then extra extra time. At the start of this year we all believed in each other and we hope to finally get over that final step on Sunday”, she outlined.

Sarah is happy that there is a lot of experience in the squad. “A lot have played at various underage levels with club and county. You can see there is experience. There is a massive panel. It’s great and the young players coming onto the team make a difference. We have played at under 16 and minor”.

Having the junior panel train with the senior squad throughout the year “makes it easier, it drives everyone on,” she felt.

Sarah is delighted to represent her club Sixmilebridge in this panel. “There is great support in the ‘Bridge and the hurling and camogie clubs back each other. There are a lot of big families in Sixmilebridge so there are a lot of connections with both the hurling and camogie clubs”.

The talented forward expects a big challenge from Tipperary in

Sunday’s final. “Tipperary always bring aggression and commitment,

they are an excellent side and they would not be in the final otherwise but I believe we will match their commitment and we will bring more if needs be. In the Armagh game we were down four points and we drove on and we are determined not to let this one go by”, she said.

“A win on Sunday would put the icing on the cake, it would make all the effort that has gone in worthwhile. There is no point in getting this far if we are not going to push on and give it everything. It showed in the Armagh game that we were not just there to be in another semi-final, we were there to really really take over. Winning the final would be the dream come through”.

Sarah noted that support is important “any young boys or girl should really get behind this team”, she said before concluding by noting that she has tremendous support from her parents and her family.

l Sarah Loughnane talking to reporter Seamus Hayes

Photo by Gerard O'Neill

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O most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, Fruitful Vine, Splendour of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me this my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart, to succour me in this necessity; there are none that can withstand your power.

O, show me herein you are my Mother,

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. (3 times)

Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands. (3 times)

Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days, and then you must publish it and it will be granted to you.

CLARE

COUNTY COUNCIL 6 BALLYCASEY MANOR, SHANNON, CO CLARE V14 DY94

Take notice that Jerry & Mary Kiely intends to apply for Retention Permission to retain the existing sunroom to the rear of the dwelling house and the 2 No. dining room windows in the side elevation including all ancillary site services and works at the above address.

The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at the offices of the Planning Authority, Clare County Council, Aras Contae an Chlair, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare during its public opening hours.

A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the Planning Authority, in writing, on payment of a fee of €20.00 within five weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the Authority of the Planning Application.

thority of the application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL ANNAGH, QUILTY, CO CLARE

Take notice that Mary Meaney intends to apply for permission to build a new dwelling, garage, upgrade the septic tank & all other site and ancillary works at the above address. The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority, during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20.00, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL MORTYCLOGH, NEW QUAY, CO. CLARE

ment system, percolation area and new site entrance at the above address.

The Planning Application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, €20, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application and such submissions or observations will be considered by the planning authority in making a decision on the application. The planning authority may grant permission subject to or without conditions or may refuse to grant permission.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL FURTHER INFORMATION/

in respect of planning application P23/60057. This information and planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority of Clare County Council, Planning Department, Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the further information or revised plans may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, not later than 2 weeks after the receipt of the newspaper notice and site notice by the planning authority.

the offices of the Planning Authority of Clare County Council during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the further information or revised plans may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, not later than 2 weeks after the receipt of the newspaper notice and site notice by the planning authority.

THE DISTRICT COURT PUBLIC DANCE HALLS ACT, 1935 NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A PUBLIC DANCING LICENCE DISTRICT COURT AREA OF ENNIS

Applicant

DISTRICT NO. 12

CAMISON LIMITED

TAKE NOTICE that the above-named Applicant, Camison Limited c/o Auburn Lodge Hotel, Galway Road, Ennis, Co. Clare, intends to apply to the District Court at Ennis District Court on the 27 September 2023 at 10:30 for the grant of an Annual Dance Licence to use a particular place, to wit:the Auburn Lodge Hotel situate at Gort Road, Ennis, Clare in court area and district aforesaid, for public dancing.

Dated this 24 July 2023

Signed MHP Sellors LLP

Solicitors for Applicant

9/10/11 Bindon Street, Ennis, Co. Clare

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To the District Court Clerk, Ennis District Court, Ennis, Co. Clare.

CLARE

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Take notice that Noreen O Carroll and Gerard Austin, acting as the executors of the estate of the late Margaret Austin, intend to apply for permission to RETAIN the garage attached to the dwelling, the storage sheds & all other site and ancillary works at the above address.

The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority, during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20.00, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL COORE WEST, MULLAGH, CO CLARE

Take notice that Caitriona and Seamus McMahon intend to apply for permission to replace the existing derelict dwelling with a new dwelling, build a garage, upgrade the septic tank & all other site and ancillary works at the above address.

The planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority, during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the application may be made in writing to the authority on payment of the prescribed fee of €20.00, within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the au-

Take notice that Seamus Lynch & Sarah Gill intend to apply to the Planning Authority for permission to retain the changes made to their dwelling house as constructed along with associated site works at the above address.

That the planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours and that a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL, POULAWILLIN, MILTOWN MALBAY, CO. CLARE

Take notice that M. Hehir intends to apply to the Planning Authority for outline permission to construct a dwelling house and proprietary waste water treatment system along with ancillary site works at the above address.

That the planning application may be inspected, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours and that a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing on payment of the prescribed fee within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL KILLERK EAST, BALLYEA, CO. CLARE

Take notice that J. Keane intends to apply to the Planning Authority for permission to erect dwelling house, foul sewer treat-

REVISED PLANS

Planning Ref: P23/161

Development Description:

The construction of a new dwelling house and garage complete with a new entrance, sewage treatment system and ancillary works.

Location: Carrowmore

North, Doonbeg, Co. Clare

Take notice that Cian O’Mahoney & Denise Lynch have lodged significant further information in respect of planning application P23/161. This information and planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority of Clare County Council, Planning Department, Aras Contae an Chlair, New Road, Ennis, Co Clare during its public opening hours. A submission or observation in relation to the further information or revised plans may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, not later than 2 weeks after the receipt of the newspaper notice and site notice by the planning authority or in the case of a planning application accompanied by an EIS within 5 weeks of receipt of such notices by the planning authority.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL: FURTHER INFORMATION/

REVISED PLANS

Planning Ref: P23/60057

Development Description: Demolition of an existing detached dwelling; the construction of a new part single storey/ part two storey, split-level detached dwelling; a proposed waste-water treatment unit/ septic tank & associated percolation area, along with all associated site development works Location: Ballyellery, Liscannor, Ennis, Co.

Clare Take notice that John Bohan has lodged significant further information

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL FURTHER INFORMATION/ REVISED PLANS REFERENCE NUMBER OF THE PLANNING APPLICATION: P23-60039

Development Description: the Construction of 4No 2-bedroom two storey Town Houses, with site works and connections to services Location: Leitrim, Cree, Kilrush, Co. Clare Take notice that Maura Conway has lodged significant further information in respect of P23-60039

This information and planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the Planning Authority of Clare County Council, Planning Department, Aras Contae an Chlair, New Road, Ennis, Co Clare during its public opening hours.

A submission or observation in relation to the further information or revised plans may be made in writing to the planning authority on payment of the prescribed fee, not later than 2 weeks after receipt of the newspaper notice and site notice by the planning authority.

CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL THE CORNER HOUSE, BUTTERMARKET STREET, ENNIS, CO CLARE V95 V6KP Further Information/ Revised Plans Planning Reference: P23/255

Development Description : Retention of the existing temporary access gate at the side of my dwellinghouse to provide off-street parking Location : The Corner House, Buttermarket Street, Ennis, Co Clare V95 V6KP

Take notice that Ms Mary Collins has lodged significant further information in respect of planning application P23/255. This information and planning application may be inspected or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy at

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